episode_0015

“She’s gone.”

Emil disappeared.

Lyra’s face twisted in disbelief.

“Is it true that that man killed Rich?”

Dekard was her strongest supporter.

He had acted as requested, but he doubted if he was truly the talent they needed, even going as far as to fake his abilities.

“He doesn’t seem to have any special qualities. Are we sure he killed Rich?”

His lineage was mixed. He came from a family without gifts, and he hadn’t even learned magic.

Dekard doubted if he had the power to kill Rich.

“I swear on my honor, Your Highness. That man killed Rich.”

Dekard clenched his fist over his heart.

It was a gesture knights made when swearing an oath.

He had staked his honor on it. He had to be believed.

If Lyra doubted Dekard’s words any further, she could lose his trust.

“But it wasn’t solely his power, was it? Self-sacrifice spell? Didn’t the Pope give him power at the cost of his life?”

“There was a self-sacrifice spell. However, people like the Pope or Professor Eric wouldn’t use it for others, would they?”

Lyra understood Dekard’s response. Eric and the Pope were not the type to sacrifice themselves for others.

“He’s deliberately hiding his power. He knows the secrets of this world and is avoiding trouble.”

The royal family. The Pope. The heroes.

The secrets of this world.

Having learned everything, he turned his back on the world.

“I’ve confirmed once again how vast the world is. To think that someone much younger than me has reached a higher level… It feels like watching a play of absurdity.”

Dekard chuckled.

It was the culmination of his lifetime achievements.

But someone much younger had reached a higher level than him.

“How high a level is it?”

Lyra showed interest.

She wondered if Dekard was in awe.

“Annihilation. He has reached a legendary level. Just by touching, Rich is dying.”

Dekard spoke with an astonished expression.

It was an unbelievable story.

If it hadn’t been Dekard who said it, Lyra wouldn’t have believed it.

“Understood. I will think of a way to bring him in.”

‘But what was that?’

There was something Lyra couldn’t tell her.

Just before Emil killed Rich.

Something strange appeared above his head.

But the light coming down from the sky was too bright for her to see clearly.

‘It must be my old age. If I were younger, I could have judged what it was exactly.’

*****

She was angry. Dekard’s behavior of openly insulting his benefactors irritated her.

I was stupid to think of him as a comrade in fighting Rich.

I may have killed the benefactors, but still, he shouldn’t have said that.

‘If I knew he was like that, I would have let Rich kill him.’

In the history before regression, Lyra didn’t die.

Instead, Dekard lost his life.

Dekard sacrificed himself to stop Rich.

If it weren’t for the sacrifice of the Pope, I wouldn’t have taken action.

My well-being was more important than Dekard’s life.

‘Have you often been told that you lack discretion?’

God suddenly asked.

She couldn’t understand the intention behind the question.

“No. I’ve been told that I worry too much about discretion, though.”

To survive in the aftermath of destruction, one must develop discretion.

“Instead, I’ve heard that once I trust someone, I don’t easily change my mind.”

She was easily trapped by prejudice.

Once she considered someone an enemy, she would continue to be hostile, and once she started trusting someone, she would trust them endlessly.

Because of this trait, she had been betrayed many times.

Of course, she made sure to exact revenge for the betrayals.

“That’s how it is… No, maybe it’s for the best.”

After that, he fell silent.

Split into halves.

Ranked by academic performance.

Entered the highest-ranked class, the Truth Class.

Classmates were already there, chatting.

The conversation stopped abruptly when I entered.

Whether they liked it or not, I was the center of attention.

“Emil, Emil, why did the princess summon you?”

“She didn’t say. She asked if I would become her person.”

I hid the truth about Rich and answered, “I said I am a person devoted to the gods.”

I looked around.

My classmates had gathered around.

“I apologize. I have been suspicious of you all this time. Please accept my apology.”

Marzita approached and bowed deeply.

At a 90-degree angle.

She was in a posture of apology.

“What, what were you suspicious of?”

“…That you did something terrible to Freya.”

Marzita’s apology washed away the resentment that had built up in my heart.

There had been more than one occasion when I was angry at Marzita’s treatment of me as a potential criminal.

“But seeing you stand against Rich made me realize. You are not someone who would harm others.”

Marzita’s words pierced my heart.

No. I harm others for my own gain.

I killed the mayor to avoid punishment.

I killed the pope to obtain a relic.

I killed Professor Eric to hide my identity as the Hero of Destruction.

Guilt froze my body.

“Enough, we will now proceed with the class, so please take your seats.”

Erina opened the door and entered.

She had become the new homeroom teacher in place of the deceased Professor Eric, overseeing the first-year students.

“History has been greatly distorted.”

The one who should have died came back to life, and the one who should have lived died.

The direction of history was unpredictable.

“There was a big incident at the entrance ceremony, but thankfully no one died.”

Erina’s brief introduction continued.

The first day of life at the Hero Academy, which I had longed for, had begun.

“We will now have group formation time. Please find your group members based on the scores you received in the class assignment test, and do not complain.”

Erina put up a paper on the board.

I found the same person in my group.

“It’s her again.”

I looked at Freya sitting next to me.

She kept getting involved. I wished she would stop, but fate continued to linger by my side.

It seemed like she felt similar emotions.

The color drained from her face.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Rowen Hyend.”

“I’m Cecile Degol.”

Their speech was stiff, as if they were from noble families.

There was no one else in our age group who spoke like that except for Daphne.

“I believe there is no one who doesn’t know my name.”

Isn’t that an overstatement?

Even though I lacked social skills, I knew that introducing oneself in that manner was not appropriate.

I silently stared at Freya.

“I’m Freya Whitelion…”

Her voice trailed off.

It would have been better if she had introduced herself normally from the beginning.

“The gender ratio is exactly 2:2. Was that intentional?”

The gender ratio was exactly 2:2.

I looked around. It didn’t seem intentional.

It seemed like the gender ratio just happened to match.

“Looks like the rumors were true, huh?”

“It seems like they know Freya’s weakness.”

“Why would they be holding onto her weakness to get that kind of reaction from Freya?”

Rowen and Cecile exchanged whispers, seemingly knowing each other’s thoughts.

It seemed like a false rumor was spreading.

That I was holding onto Freya’s weakness.

All I had were memories of helping her.

“Ahem, shall we each talk about our relics?”

I needed to stop the strange rumor from spreading.

I changed the subject as I took out my relic.

“Okay. My relic is the raincoat.”

Freya held up the raincoat.

“Oh, the raincoat… Was she the original owner?”

It was a relic from my memory.

A powerful magician had used it.

The story of the battle magician who had activated all sorts of magic using the raincoat remained in my memory.

If used well, one could become a true battle magician who could exploit the weaknesses of other magicians.

“I am the hero of the hammer. My relic is the hammer.”

“I am the hero of reinforcement. My relic is this magic wand.”

Rowen was the hero of the hammer.

Cecil was the hero of reinforcement.

Tanker and debuffer.

With a firepower magician included, it was a perfect party.

“I am the hero of the gauntlet. Look at this. This is my relic.”

Finally, it was my turn.

I held up the gauntlet. There were all kinds of heroes in the world, but there was no hero of the gauntlet.

I presented it as if equipping an RPG.

The black gauntlet reflected light and emitted a dark aura.

“Indeed impressive. Looks very dangerous.”

“You withstood the Lich’s magic alone.”

Rowen and Cecil murmured.

“Next, we will have a time to explore the inside of the academy. Everyone, please rise.”

At Erina’s words, everyone stood up.

The first day of life at the academy had begun.