Ch.344344 – The Suspicious Former Hero’s Lecture 2

<344 – The Suspicious Veteran Hero’s Lecture 2>

Professor Destroyer looked at the invisibility cloak in Hestia’s hand and said.

“One more thing. Materials with invisibility enchantments can hide their form but not their phenomena.”

“Ah.”

“Sand is the cheapest means to detect formless monsters. Even if you had brought an invisibility cloak that matched your size, you couldn’t have escaped my eyes.”

As expected, the professor isn’t a professor for nothing.

As Hestia marveled, the professor pressed her.

“Invisibility magic should only be taught in advanced second-year or basic third-year classes. Where did you obtain that item?”

“I found information about a treasure called ‘Hidden Piece’ that seniors had hidden in a room with double-sided notes that can only be accessed during special hours.”

“The room on the second floor of the main building protected by special barriers. You’ve been continuing your mischief quite well.”

“Oh, you knew about it!?”

“I simply ignored it as it wasn’t my concern. While I was there, I even wrote some double-sided notes myself out of boredom.”

“!?”

Not just Hestia but Oknodie was also shocked.

Not only had their secret student hideout been discovered by the professor long ago, but among all the notes filled with professor insults, the professor’s own trap was hidden there.

If they weren’t careful, they could have fallen into the professor’s trap and ended up with misleading information and suffered an unfair event!

“Do other professors know too?”

“With magic formulas openly placed on the stairs, those who should know would know. Most probably thought it was the principal’s prank and left it alone, not wanting to get involved.”

Professor Bronze made a mental note to definitely visit this place called the room of double-sided notes when he had time later.

“So, what’s your name?”

“Hestia.”

“Hestia. Let’s get back to the main topic. What’s your answer?”

Hestia answered with an uncertain tone.

“I don’t know.”

“Zero points. Getting half credit just for sitting still only applies to ordinary lectures. If you don’t think, you’ll just be dragged along by circumstances. Only tragedy awaits at the end of such an adventure. If even heroes can fall into this trap, mercenaries would fare even worse.”

“…I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Take a seat. It probably won’t help much, but if you want to help Oknodie, don’t eavesdrop secretly—listen openly.”

Hestia sat down next to Oknodie.

“Before I reveal the answer, let me tell you what happened afterward. The contract between Niallatotep and the merchant guild leader flourished with much support from the refugees.”

“The more smoothly the merchant guild leader’s business progressed, the more blue cards for food rations were produced, and the more food the refugees could obtain.”

“The hero wanted more profit, but the merchant guild leader didn’t want additional issuance due to the limited amount of food that could be collected.”

“A month after their disagreement, an enormous amount of food cards flooded the market, and the merchant guild leader, suffering from fraud allegations by refugees and targeted investigations by imperial inspectors, committed suicide.”

“For some reason, before leaving the island, the hero purchased artifacts far more expensive than the money he possessed. This was the information and suspicion I had 12 years ago.”

The previous hero Niallatotep.

He clearly did something wrong.

Anyone could tell by looking at the sequence of events.

“That’s a lie!”

Ishtar denied it.

“The goddess referred to the previous hero Niallatotep as a wise one and spoke highly of him!”

-The monotheistic goddess Sophemia told me in a dream. Learn from Niallatotep’s righteousness and do not indulge in evil and cunning schemes.

Ishtar’s admiration for the previous hero was so great that she had said such things in private conversations with Yufi.

To think that Niallatotep himself was actually the one who employed cunning schemes!

“The monotheistic goddess Sophemia, huh? Quite a nostalgic name. In a bad way.”

A sneer appeared on Destroyer’s lips.

Seeing an emotion close to hatred beyond disbelief, even Ishtar couldn’t dare to argue and closed her mouth, overwhelmed by his intensity.

“It’s natural for her to speak highly of Niallatotep. Many gods suffered losses, large and small, because of him, so whether intended or not, it resulted in the monotheistic goddess’s status rising relatively.”

“But a hero beloved by gods doesn’t necessarily mean they were an excellent hero to humans. At least after the food card incident, the refugees became supporters of the Revolutionary and caused a great commotion, only to be massacred by imperial soldiers.”

“Right, I almost forgot this.”

The food card incident was just an event mentioned in the process of discussing the first encounter with the Three Great Evils.

The truly important story was something else.

“The island where the first revolution occurred. The period when the Revolutionary appeared there clearly overlapped with the period when the hero party stayed in the capital.”

“I didn’t witness it directly, but Niallatotep said something like this at that time. That he had found ‘an interesting fellow.'”

After the hero’s first encounter with the Three Great Evils, the hero obtained suspiciously large amounts of money from an unknown source.

The Revolutionary, one of the Three Great Evils, gained many supporters.

“Is this right…?”

“…If you’re righteous, you don’t need public support. That must be true.”

“Hmm~ Really? So Ishtar thinks she’s righteous!”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“No!”

Though Ishtar tried to accept it outwardly, her face revealed inner confusion.

If even the current hero felt this way, it was obvious how Hestia and Oknodie would feel.

‘Professor Destroyer also becomes aggressive when giving lectures. I can’t believe he’s so boldly revealing the hidden story of the previous hero that the Empire has tried to control.’

Is he not afraid of the Empire’s eyes and ears?

As Professor Bronze remained silent, Professor Destroyer’s story continued.

Through the journey of Destroyer, who traveled alone to the island four years ago to uncover the secret history from 12 years ago after completing the hero party’s official activities.

“Four years ago, while retracing the hero party’s journey, I happened to enter the Revolutionary’s advance base and confronted the Revolutionary.”

“You encountered one of the Three Great Evils!? Did they try to harm you, senior?”

“The Revolutionary isn’t a fool who would bring a bomb that could explode if touched into his own home. Unless he’s an arsonist who sets fire to others’ homes.”

For someone discussing an evil being, his expression wasn’t filled with just disgust or hatred.

* * *

The Revolutionary was a bold man who would invite a potential killer to his advance base.

He showed no fear or wariness even in front of Destroyer.

“I heard that a member of the hero party, tired of the arduous hero’s journey, was wandering the continent. I never thought the rumor would be true. I called you hoping we might have a conversation, and I hope it hasn’t been an inconvenience.”

“It hasn’t been an inconvenience. We met because we both have questions for each other.”

The Revolutionary spread his arms and joked.

“Are you curious about the banner of revolution? I’ll tell you anything you want to know. If you want revenge for the Empire’s inadequate treatment, I can also promise support from the rebel forces.”

“I’m only curious about one thing. The deal between Niallatotep and you.”

“…Interesting. Indeed, worthy of being a comrade of Niallatotep. I can’t believe he kept his close associate so ignorant.”

Contrary to his words, the smile disappeared from the Revolutionary’s face.

His face, as stiff as his military uniform, carried an ominous aura.

“Out of respect for an old friend, I’ll tell you one thing. Do you want to know the full story?”

To Destroyer, who had grown from a naive youth into a battle-hardened hero, the truth was already crystal clear.

“I already know as much as I need to. Niallatotep betrayed his trust for ‘fun,’ and your revolutionary group was chosen. Instead of arresting you, who discovered the source of the blue tags, and handing you over to the imperial inspectors, it was Niallatotep who raised you up as a revolutionary to overthrow the Empire.”

“If you knew everything, I find it even more incomprehensible. Why bother coming here to ask? Ignoring it would bring you great benefit, and bringing it up would yield nothing.”

“Teraros, the figure of the dark cult who burned three cities and opened The Reign of Terror, said this. If the spark of revolution hadn’t burned even his hometown to return to, he too could have lived a different life.”

Destroyer’s eyes, deep as a swamp, captured the Revolutionary’s arrogant military spirit in his sight.

No, it was an act that should rightfully be called domination.

“Did you enjoy it? Acting as a revolutionary while controlling the lives of countless people.”

“You…”

“Was it worth it? Worth all those people shedding blood for your revolution.”

Matching Destroyer’s angry fury that rose above the Revolutionary’s momentum, the Revolutionary also raised his own intensity.

The barracks swelled tightly as if about to burst, and the entire rebel forces advance base shook violently as if swept by a typhoon.

Just as the resonance phenomenon of energy as fierce as the spark of revolution that burns everything was about to incinerate the entire atmosphere of the advance base, the Revolutionary opened his mouth.

“The merchant guild leader whom the hero drove to suicide using the imperial inspector’s targeted investigation. He was my biological father.”

“…!”

“He gathered refugees to create an altar. The refugees didn’t understand what they were making. It was no different from a massive cemetery.”

“I can’t believe it.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it. Just as the truth you hold is Niallatotep’s betrayal, the truth I hold was my father’s betrayal.”

Beyond the rough wind, the Revolutionary’s short hair swayed, but his firm eyes did not waver.

“It was a time when even the food the state could provide to refugees was insufficient. Where do you think the food the merchant guild leader procured came from in the first place?”

“Don’t tell me the source of that food was…”

“The Empire. It was the Empire that supplied food to the merchant guild leader, used him to create an altar, and planned to obtain divine objects from evil gods by sacrificing unnecessary refugees and to subjugate evil god worshippers.”

The beginning of one man’s long-standing anger toward destroying the Empire started there.

“It was all the Empire’s doing.”

The emergence of the Three Great Evils.

At its starting point was the Empire.