Chapter 131 – Hero Maniac

“…Is it really okay for you to just show up like this?”

“I’ve already spoken with Sedil, the headmaster of this academy. It’s fine.”

“Uh… Well, I guess you do need the headmaster’s permission, but… aren’t you just avoiding the vice headmaster?”

The Flame Empress’s eyelids trembled.

“Th-that’s not it. I have done nothing wrong to the Fist Demon, so I have no reason to avoid her.”

No, it seems more like she made sure Leona wasn’t at the academy before coming in. When I checked the Terminal earlier, I saw that Leona’s Terminal was turned off.

“For someone with nothing to hide, you were running for your life yesterday…”

“That was… the result of the Fist Demon’s extreme affection for her disciple, mixed with a minor misunderstanding, so you needn’t worry about it.”

With a strained show of dignity, the Flame Empress straightened her shoulders. The two massive mounds of flesh that not even her robe could hide jiggled along with the movement.

“Well… If you say so, Flame Empress. By the way… sorry to keep asking questions, but what’s with all the stuff you’re carrying?”

“Ah! I brought gifts for you, and also to show you some of my most prized treasures.”

A broad grin spread across the Flame Empress’s face.

“…Gifts? Treasures?”

“Yes. Gifts. They are things I cherish dearly. However… I’m not sure if they’ll be to your liking.”

“There’s no such thing as not liking a gift. I’m just grateful and happy, no matter what.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

The Flame Empress, who’d looked a bit down for a moment, broke into a bright, almost childlike smile again.

Really… with a face that looks like it could slap you across the room just for staring, but acts like a total goofball.

“Eliaernes. Gifts aside, I actually came here today to hear your answer.”

“Ah, right. Of course.”

I nodded and pulled my chair forward.

An answer. An answer.

She asked what my relationship to the Star of Calamity was.

I’d already decided what my answer would be.

An answer even the Six Pillars can’t easily argue with or doubt.

But then, 

“I’ve thought a lot about it over the past day. Eliaernes, are you by any chance…”

A fierce flame blazed in the Flame Empress’s eyes.

That silly smile vanished. Her voice grew heavy, and the cool air in the training hall suddenly felt scorching.

And slowly, the scent of fire drifted in.

Amidst it all, the Flame Empress spoke with a seriousness I’d never heard from her before.

“Are you a disciple of Ronan Lujarak?”

“…Excuse me?”

“Maybe ‘disciple’ isn’t quite the right word. Hm, but still, that’s what you’d have to call it. Even if you didn’t learn directly from him, you did learn his ways.”

She just made up her mind and carried on with it.

“Ronan Lujarak was called the Star of Calamity because of his unique combat style. Ordinary humans, no, even heaven-sent geniuses couldn’t copy his extreme use of mana. By erasing all the rebound, delays, and even preparatory movements from every action, he developed a fighting style of his own.”

The question of whether I was a disciple was a bit of a letdown, but… she knew more than I expected about me, about Ronan Lujarak. That was surprising.

“You can see what he looked like in the past, but not hear his voice, so I don’t know the name of the technique. But the method involves detonating the mana inside your body. That explosion flashes like a star in the night sky, and whenever that star appears, disasters follow, that’s why he earned the name Star of Calamity.”

Listening to her, I wondered…

Did this woman lie about her age? Maybe she only told us the last two digits, and she’s actually over four hundred.

She knew so much, it was hard to believe otherwise.

How? Even if she could read memories of the past, knowing this much would be hard.

Wait, does that mean…

“And you, Eliaernes, used the same technique as him. But the history known today is quite different.”

As I thought. The Flame Empress knows.

“I… I’m not sure I should tell you this, in case it shocks you, but anyway, what I mean is… ”

“I already know Ronan Lujarak… wasn’t just a martial artist.”

The Flame Empress’s eyes went wide.

Her mouth dropped open and the hands on the table clenched into fists.

“…That’s right. In the past I saw, he…”

“He could use every weapon.”

“G-goodness. You… Eliaernes, how do you know all that about the past?”

It’s probably best to let her keep guessing and make her own conclusions.

What would she think was my source?

It’s obvious.

“I studied and learned by examining the traces Ronan Lujarak left behind.”

Clatter! 

The Flame Empress jumped up, knocking her chair backward.

“As expected… as expected! So in the Duchy of Eustetia, there must be something Ronan Lujarak left behind!”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Ha, uhuhu, uhuhuhuhahat!”

She broke into the biggest, silliest grin I’d ever seen, laughing like a fool.

Seeing that pure, childlike joy, a guilty pang jabbed my conscience.

But what could I do?

It’s not time to tell the truth yet.

But there’s something else I can tell her.

“And also, I know the name of the technique that gave Ronan the name Star of Calamity.”

“What?! You know the name of that technique?! P-please… tell me! No, wait. Payment! If you want payment, I have plenty in this bag!”

She hefted a massive bag onto the table.

“These are my second most treasured possessions. You can have as many as you want. If you really desire strength, I’m sure you’ll like them!”

“Hm…”

Gulp.

The Flame Empress swallowed dryly, looking as if she was trying to read my expression.

“If it’s not enough… I can even give you money. I have a lot, a whole lot of money. I also have tons of rare gems and magic stones for artifacts…!”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not that I don’t want what you’re giving me, but I don’t really have any desire to force anything out of you.”

Or do I? Maybe I should’ve seen what was inside before answering. Who knows what’s in that bag?

Well… There wouldn’t be any of the weapons I used.

All of those were left in my grave.

So there’s really no need to take anything.

It’s not like I’m short on cash, and I have plenty of elixirs.

Weapons? I’m a martial artist. To give something nice to my parents? I might even have a sibling soon.

So there’s no real need to accept anything.

Honestly, just maintaining a good relationship with the Flame Empress, who’s obsessed with heroes, is more than enough.

With her ability to read the past, there’s no way she wouldn’t be helpful.

“So I’ll just tell you. When it comes to Ronan, I can’t say I know everything, but I’m not completely clueless either.”

That’s what I said.

And a tear slipped from the Flame Empress’s eye.

“Wait, why are you… crying?”

“Kh… The Flame Empress does not cry. I only shed tears when meeting the heroes. Unless that’s the case, I would never, ever cry…”

“But you are. They’re just streaming down your face.”

“This is… just condensation caused by the heat from the flames boiling inside me reacting with the cool air outside.”

With a snap of her fingers, she instantly evaporated the tears and placed her hand on the bag, her face turning serious.

“…Anyway. Let me show you your gift. I truly hope you like it.”

At that, there was a click, and then, at a speed my eyes could barely follow, a series of magical seals began unraveling.

“Oh…”

Advanced sealing magic.

I counted thirty-seven layers, and that wasn’t the end. At least four times as many seals continued to unravel until the clicking finally stopped.

“These are more precious to me than life itself. That’s why I made it so no one could open or destroy this.”

Suddenly, a key made of flame appeared in her hand. She stuck it into the center of the bag and, shiiing! countless chains fell away, and with a grinding sound, the bag opened.

I craned my neck to peek inside, but couldn’t see anything yet.

Just how many layers of magic did she pack into that shabby bag? The Flame Empress’s obsessive spellwork was almost intimidating.

“This is one of the gifts I promised to give you.”

Whether I cared or not, the Flame Empress rummaged through the bag with a beaming smile.

“Since you’re Ronan’s disciple, I thought you’d definitely like it. Oh, but this isn’t payment for what you’re about to tell me. These are just things I wanted to give you. I expect nothing else.”

Her hand emerged from the bag.

And in it, 

“…Huh?”

She was holding a pocket watch.

Old, cracked, faded, clunky.

But familiar, beloved, and something I had desperately wanted to find.

“It’s the pocket watch Ronan Lujarak used.”

The pocket watch Diana gave me as a gift.

“Eliaernes. I don’t know why you’d use a pocket watch in this day and age, but you seemed to really like it. So I picked one from among my most prized treasures. It looks old, ugly, and broken on the outside, but it isn’t. Well, it was broken.”

Its absence left me feeling empty. I always used to keep that heavy, ugly watch tucked inside my clothes.

It became a habit to check it whenever I looked for the time.

That’s why I had a new one made.

But I never liked it. The feel, the way it worked, everything was different.

Still, I had no choice but to get used to it.

And now, the very pocket watch I’d once resolved to look for, just in case, was right in front of my eyes.

The Flame Empress handed me the watch with careful hands.

I accepted it with trembling fingers.

“But I fixed it. I didn’t add any weird magic or anything, just restored it so the hands would move on their own power. There’s no suspicious enchantment. So please, use it without worry.”

“…Are you sure it’s okay to give me something like this?”

“It’s fine. Actually, you could say it’s just going back to its original owner. All the treasures I keep are for that purpose. To give to the descendants or those directly related to the former heroes.”

Once again, a wide, beaming grin appeared on the Flame Empress’s face.

“And if by chance, even the tiniest chance, I ever get to meet any of the other living heroes, I’d return all of these treasures to them.”

“Didn’t you just say they’re your treasures?”

“They are. But they might also be treasures that could connect me to the heroes. Even if to others they’re just junk, I wouldn’t have a single regret. If I could just meet the heroes, that would be enough for me. But… I can never meet Ronan Lujarak. That’s why I decided to give his treasure to the descendant who carries on his history.”

The Flame Empress reached out, not just with her fingers, but with her whole hand, toward me, with deep respect in her gesture.

“And I’ve finally met that descendant. The one who bears Arisa Eustetia’s name and carries on Ronan Lujarak’s great legacy. I am certain that, for me, today will be the happiest and most fulfilling day of my life.”

I can’t understand her thoughts, actions, or expressions.

Why give back everything she spent her life retrieving from the Demon Realm?

She could make a fortune selling just one of those items. So why?

“Do you really… like heroes that much?”

“I admire the heroes. I revere them, love them, and dream of them. Eliaernes, how about you?”

“Me, I… well, I like them too.”

“I knew it.”

The Flame Empress smiled like a child.

“It looks like today is the day all my hardships are rewarded.”