The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 21 - So It Was You? (2)

"You're asking me to fetch it myself?"

When I looked at Professor Jade with questioning eyes, he nodded nonchalantly.

"Yes. It shouldn't be too difficult to find since you know where the Seven Star Herb infused with magic typically grows."

"And where does it typically grow?"

"Here."

Professor Jade pointed to a dust ball rolling around on the laboratory floor.

Well, obviously, he didn't mean that it grows in this dump of a lab.

"…You mean at the school?"

"That's right. You probably won’t find a place anywhere on the continent where you can easily find the magic-infused Seven Star Herb like here."

The only place on the continent where it’s easy to find the magic-infused Seven Star Herb, huh?

I had a vague idea of the reason why.

"Is it because of the seal?"

"Oh?"

Professor Jade's eyes lit up with interest.

"For someone who scored the lowest in the first-year history class, you know quite a bit."

"Why did you look up my first-year grades?"

"Shouldn't I be aware of the academic standing of my future teaching assistant after graduation?"

"No."

I'm not joining your lab.

"Kkk. Well, in any case, that’s a response worthy of about 80 out of 100 points. It's not precisely because of the seal, but rather the ley lines connected to it."

"…Ley lines?"

Come to think of it, I remembered hearing something about that from Senior Sophia before.

There’s an enormous ley line full of magic running beneath the Hero Academy.

"Since it's come to this, I’ll briefly explain."

Professor Jade, seeming a bit excited, continued speaking.

"Five hundred years ago, after a fierce battle, the five great heroes succeeded in sealing the Demon God."

"Is this turning into a history lecture all of a sudden?"

"Stop talking and listen."

Professor Jade continued the lecture(?) sternly.

"After sealing the Demon God, Reynald established this 'Hero Academy' right on top of that seal."

This was something we learned in our first-year history class.

"Do you know why Reynald founded a school on such dangerous land?"

"Wasn’t it to create a sort of fortress? To guard the Demon God’s seal."

Although historians debate about Reynald’s decision to establish a school on the land where the Demon God was sealed, the prevailing theory is that he built the school to gather heroes from all over the continent to prevent demons from approaching the seal.

‘And that’s exactly what happened.’

At first, many countries opposed sending promising young hero candidates to a place where the Demon God was sealed.

But when Reynald threatened that no one could become a hero without graduating and obtaining a formal certificate from this school, they had no choice but to send their candidates, albeit reluctantly.

‘Now, five hundred years later, no one even cares about it anymore.’

Nowadays, unless it’s covered in a history class, even heroes who graduate from the Hero Academy might not know that the Demon God is sealed beneath it.

Of course...

‘…Soon, people won’t be able to ignore it, whether they want to or not.’

Not many know that the seal on the Demon God is weakening—aside from me, who has experienced the future.

"A fortress… That was certainly one of the reasons."

"There were other reasons?"

"Do you remember the ley lines I mentioned earlier? Reynald… or more precisely, my ancestor, the 'Great Sage' Julius Bastian, connected those ley lines to the seal to reinforce it."

"He connected the ley lines to the seal?"

"Exactly."

Professor Jade stroked his white beard as he continued.

"In a way, it's like chaining the Demon God with the ley lines, reinforcing the lock of the seal."

"Um… That's the first I've heard of that."

"Of course. It's a record passed down exclusively within the Bastian family."

Ah.

So that’s why I’d never heard of it in my previous life.

"In any case, this school is a kind of giant sealing tool designed to concentrate the power of those ley lines."

A giant sealing tool, the school itself.

‘That might explain why the Demon God’s seal weakened in my previous life…’

It’s highly likely that this school had something to do with it.

‘Now I have another reason to stay at the school.’

I never intended to leave the school before graduation, as I need to reunite with my old comrades.

And now, I also have to figure out why the Demon God’s seal is weakening.

‘But since that’s not something I can solve right away…’

It’s wiser to focus on what I can do right now.

"So, because of the influence of those ley lines, the Seven Star Herb infused with magic grows plentifully around here, right?"

"Exactly."

Professor Jade nodded with a satisfied smile, looking pleased.

He picked up a coffee cup from the table, took a sip, and chuckled.

"Being in this position reminds me of the old days when I used to teach classes."

Professor Jade looked up at the lab ceiling with a somewhat nostalgic gaze.

He was once a professor who diligently taught students, but ever since an incident two years ago, he had stopped teaching candidates altogether.

‘The so-called "Student Killer."’

But having worked with Professor Jade for a few days now, I couldn’t see why he had earned such a sinister nickname.

‘He may have an eccentric personality, but he would never kill a student.’

Although my curiosity about his past was piqued…

‘That’s not important right now.’

I had far too many things that needed my attention.

"Anyway, if you can just fetch the magic-infused Seven Star Herb, I’ll be able to complete the Stigma amplifier potion."

"But since you know where it grows, why don't you go get it yourself, Professor…?"

"Are you telling this old man to go out and gather herbs?"

"……."

Old man?

‘If we’re talking about long lives, I’ve lived dozens of times longer than you, you geezer.’

Of course, I couldn’t say that out loud.

But my neck heated up at his audacity—spending a million gold in research funds and expecting me to fetch the ingredients myself.

"Kkk. Besides, if I were to go out and gather the Seven Star Herb personally, it might cause issues with the Holy Kingdom."

"What kind of issues… Ah."

Professor Jade is an authority on the forbidden research of the Stigma, a practice strictly forbidden by the Holy Kingdom.

‘And if such a professor were to roam around collecting the national flower of the Holy Kingdom…?’

It would undoubtedly cause a lot of problems.

"Ugh. Fine."

Though it was a waste of time, there seemed no other way.

"Kkk. I’ll send the location to your Hero Watch, so just search around that area."

The location sent to my Hero Watch was the outdoor training ground where we recently had our Demonic Beast Tracking class.

"…But isn’t the outdoor training ground off-limits except during class?"

"You can get special permission for research purposes."

"Hm. Got it. I’ll head out right away."

I had a mountain of things to do, but…

‘What can you do?’

Since the younger guy wasn't willing to budge, I had no choice but to move myself.

* * *

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"According to the map, it should be somewhere around here…"

After following the map displayed on my Hero Watch for several hours, I realized that the sun was setting faster than usual, and the forest was slowly descending into darkness.

‘If it gets much later, I’ll have to camp out here.’

Although camping was something I was used to, to the point of being sick of it, I didn't feel like sleeping on the bare ground, especially without Iris.

"We have to find it quickly... huh?"

At that moment, I noticed a crack in the rocks through the thick undergrowth.

A crack just big enough for a person to barely squeeze through.

I could feel a faint mana seeping through it.

"Is it here?"

Tilting my head in curiosity, I squeezed my body through the crack, revealing a larger cave than I had expected.

"Let’s see."

I sharpened my senses and scanned the surroundings.

Among the pointed stalactites, I saw a few white flowers growing.

“Seven Star Herb.”

When I plucked one of the Seven Star Herb growing between the stalactites, I could feel mana infused within it.

"Well, at least I avoided having to camp."

Smiling slightly, I placed the Seven Star Herb growing between the stalactites into my bag.

After roughly plucking all the Seven Star Herb I could see and stuffing them into my bag, I gathered about two handfuls of the flowers.

This amount should be sufficient for making the Stigma amplifier potion.

“But just in case, let’s look for some more.”

Although the entrance was narrow, the cave was quite spacious inside, so I hadn't explored it all yet.

As I ventured further into the winding cave,

"...?"

I noticed a faint light coming from a distance.

“A light?”

Why was there light here?

“...”

I quietly made my way towards the source of the light.

‘…That’s…’

The source of the light deep within the cave turned out to be a portable lantern, commonly used for exploration.

And the fact that there was a portable lantern here meant...

‘Someone else is here.’

Was there someone else in the outdoor training ground at this hour?

‘I’m pretty sure there was no outdoor training scheduled today.’

I had confirmed this information earlier when I obtained the permit through Professor Jade.

“Since you can't enter without a permit, it’s not a cadet.”

And there was no way a professor would be alone here at this hour.

‘If it’s neither a professor nor a cadet…’

Who could possibly be in such a hidden cave at this late hour?

“...”

While I held my breath and hid behind a stalactite,

“Damn it... why am I always stuck with these chores?”

I heard someone grumbling inside the cave.

A man with black hair, wearing a shabby robe.

Judging by his appearance, he was well past his thirties, so he definitely wasn’t a cadet.

“Man, if only I were a priest, I wouldn’t have to do this kind of grunt work…”

The man muttered complaints as he hammered a black spike, shaped like a stake, into one of the cave walls.

Then,

-Buuuuuzzzz!

A black aura, emanating from the man’s left chest, flowed into the spike embedded in the cave wall.

The aura had a dark, sinister, and unsettling quality to it.

It wasn't hard to recognize what it was.

‘Demonic energy.’

The energy of the demonic, which could only be wielded by those who had received the blessings of a demon and bore its mark.

There was only one fact proven by this man possessing demonic energy.

A demon.

One of the greatest threats to humanity, alongside demonic beasts, and the top priority for extermination by heroes.

An enemy of humanity.

One that cannot, and must not, be compromised with.

‘What is a demon doing here?’

I couldn’t guess the reason, but...

‘Well, I can just ask him directly.’

Focusing mana into my legs, I lowered my stance.

And then,

Leaping forward.

“Damn it... why is it taking so long today... Argh!”

In an instant, I approached the demon from behind and gathered mana into my fingers, stabbing him in the back of the neck.

The demon’s body stiffened and then collapsed like a scarecrow.

Acupoint strike.

A technique I learned from Berald, striking the meridians where mana flows to paralyze the body.

“What the...! Who are you?”

“You don’t need to know who I am. Just answer my questions. Why did you sneak into the school?”

“Grr... why can’t I move...”

“Well, yeah. I figured you wouldn’t answer easily.”

From my past life, I knew all too well that demons were tight-lipped.

“First, let’s start with a hit.”

Grabbing the fallen demon by the hair, I mercilessly slapped him across the face.

Smack!

The sound was like a whip striking leather, and the demon’s face snapped to the side.

“Ugh! W-wait!”

“I know, I know. You bastards won’t talk just from this.”

“No! Wait a sec...”

“Two hits.”

Smack! Smack! Smack!

The demon’s face swelled with each crisp sound until it was almost unrecognizable.

After about thirty slaps,

“Agh... ugh.”

“Wow, you’re tough. Even now, you won’t talk?”

The demon, blood trickling from his broken teeth, desperately shook his head.

“Well, no choice then.”

If hands don’t work, I’ll have to use a sword.

Srrk.

I drew my sword and brought it close to the man’s face.

“Two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth. Of those, I only need one ear and a mouth…”

I pulled the man’s head closer and smiled brightly.

“So, which ones do you need?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]