This World Needs a Hero

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[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

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The Hero who rode the material transport elevator up the cliff, stood on the cliff and gazed at them once before turning around and disappearing.

The children stood at the edge of the village until his figure was completely out of sight.

The last one to turn their head was, of course, Cuculli.

A deep regret colored her face.

“…Sigh, when will I see him again.”

“Cuculli…”

Evergreen placed her hand on Cuculli’s shoulder as if consoling her.

In essence, Cuculli’s leave of absence was indefinite.

No one knew when she would return.

After stabilizing the situation in the unstable North, it was certain that she could vacate her position.

A few days later, it was difficult for the children returning to their routine in Rosenstark to guess Cuculli’s feelings.

“Hey, why is everyone staring like that!”

Cuculli quickly waved her hands to divert attention, choosing a plump old woman as a topic.

The chieftain of the Snow Rabbit tribe stood solemnly in front of the Hero after pouring out a prophecy.

Cuculli approached her and asked.

“What was that about?”

The hazy eyes turned towards Cuculli.

The scent of bitter herbs.

Cuculli began to doubt if she was in her right mind.

“Hmm…? What?”

“I mean the prophecy from the professor. I’m curious about its meaning.”

…She can’t help but wonder.

Cuculli recalled the prophecy she received last time.

“…You must not go now.”

“Young dragon, you must wait until the hawk comes.”

Was it a coincidence?

The prophecy came true.

Even now, although she didn’t know what ‘hawk’ referred to, waiting was the right thing to do.

If she had ignored her uneasy feeling and headed straight to the sanctum…

‘The expeditionary force would have to face the Demonic Church Leader without reinforcements from the professor.’

The baptism would undoubtedly end in failure, and she, her friends, and everyone in the village would have perished.

Just imagining it sent shivers down her spine.

Thanks to that, when the old woman suddenly appeared in front of the Hero, Cuculli had no choice but to listen to her prophecy.

“…The magpie, your secret will be revealed from the burning nest.”

But the Hero’s prophecy was even more ambiguous than hers.

After hearing it, the Hero fell into deep thought and left with an incomprehensible word.

“So many prophets.”

He seemed indifferent.

But Cuculli felt uneasy for some reason.

It was the moment when she hesitated, waiting for the old woman’s reply.

“Uh, umm…!”

The old woman’s body swayed greatly.

Foam gushed from his mouth.

“It seems you’ve been exposed to too much cold wind. Your condition…”

The Snow Rabbit girl, Ilya, hastily supported her and led her into the village.

The children, who looked at each other with bewildered expressions, spoke again.

It was Gerald who spoke first.

“Well, what do we do now for the remaining time? It’ll be boring to just sit around.”

They had to stay in this deserted village for a few more days.

The outskirts of the Great Snow Sea were not a particularly pleasant area for sightseeing.

At first, it was nice to admire the natural scenery, but things like that tended to get boring quickly.

“Let’s comfort each other with a heartfelt farewell with this sister. Come here.”

As Cuculli approached with her arms open, Gerald recoiled in alarm.

“Oh, don’t come near with those horns!”

Karen and Evergreen scolded him one after another.

“Oh, where is the boredom. Gerald, we should train.”

“When will he come to his senses? Has he forgotten what the professor said?”

They realized how strong the enemies they would face someday were, and they felt it deeply at this opportunity.

In recent months, they had developed tremendously and inadvertently became arrogant.

‘But we’ve gained something.’

Realization.

There had been a perilous real battle where life and death hung in the balance.

It was stranger that there were no sparks of skill improvement.

They needed to internalize it through training as soon as possible.

Their professor seemed to expect this.

“…You must be different when you return to Rosenstark.”

That’s why he left such words.

The moment when the children pondered how to solve the task left by the Hero, there was a moment when Leciel abruptly turned her head.

It was towards the awkwardly standing boy a few steps behind.

Leciel, with her clear red eyes, startled Lucas, who stiffened.

“Follow me.”

“Uh, okay?”

…Lucas just blinked.

It was Leciel who always ignored him.

During their time at the academy, she had never been the one to speak first.

So why suddenly ask him to follow her?

Lucas was both pleased and bewildered.

With a faint sigh, Leciel spoke in a stiff tone.

“I heard you might be re-enrolling next year.”

…It was the result of Wellington’s dedication and Lucas’s courage.

The Hero, seeing Lucas after a long time, instantly recognized how the boy had spent the past few months.

‘…He hasn’t given up.’

Although he couldn’t match the achievements of his peers who trained in Rosenstark, his relentless efforts were evident.

He didn’t succumb to the trial of dropping out and polished himself.

Furthermore, he made significant contributions to resolving the situation in the North.

Therefore, at the end of a brief discussion with Yussi, the Hero decided to give Lucas another chance to enroll in Rosenstark.

And Lucas, despite knowing he would face cold stares and various rumors, accepted it bravely.

Becoming the Hero’s disciple again and dedicating himself to it.

Such things didn’t matter in the face of the only opportunity to cleanse his tarnished honor.

“The professor insisted on supplementing the missed progress.”

…Leciel looked at Lucas with cold eyes and spoke.

“Prepare yourself because we won’t take it lightly.”

“Ah…”

…Lucas, guessing the situation, nodded with a face that seemed like he might cry.

Following Leciel who went ahead with brisk steps, the boy followed.

The other children also found places to train one by one and left.

Thus, at the edge of the village, only Cuculli and Ban remained.

“…”

As if making a promise, the two smiled at each other.

“…Phew, it was really eventful, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, you did well.”

“You too.”

…Parting and reunion, and staying behind.

The destinies of the children in the Great Snow Sea were gradually diverging.

They knew it.

But they wouldn’t forget.

In the end, there was only one destination.

Although they might scatter now, they would meet again on the road someday.

Ban unsheathed his sword with a spin.

“Shall we have a match after a long time?”

“…This guy has gotten so bold, now he’s even challenging the dragon!?”

Cuculli also laughed heartily.

Fangs of a completely different shape from those of humans that sparkled.

But the smiles on both faces resembled each other, as if reflected in a mirror.

* * *

A few days later.

The library of Rosenstark filled with memories.

“Hehehe…”

A low hum echoed through the tall bookshelves.

On a quiet afternoon where the scent of books lightly fluttered.

The footsteps of a librarian contemplating which memories to revisit were as serene and leisurely as usual.

“Today… maybe I’ll look at the Emperor’s first love memories.”

As if determined, Rosalyn’s hand reached for the cover of the book.

But just before that, her movement suddenly stopped.

It was a very fortunate thing for Euphemia, who was suffering in the demonic realm.

“…As fast as ever.”

A faint exclamation escaped her lips.

“You never cease to amaze me with your hastiness.”

Vvvvvv-

Rosalyn gestured into the air behind her.

The scene of the main gate of the library appeared in her mind.

It depicted a man approaching with quick steps.

Rosalyn had known for the past few weeks what hardships he had faced.

However, there was no change in his sturdy appearance.

The same was true for his eyes, which were always full of concentration toward his goal.

“…It’s fascinating.”

Was it the influence of the original?

Or was it inherent?

Or perhaps the result of his life so far?

Despite the many arduous adventures he had experienced, he hadn’t changed since he first appeared in Ted’s shell.

“Did you expect to become someone who loves humans so much?”

Muttering a question to no one in particular, Rosalyn began to prepare to greet her guest.

.

.

.

From the northern edge to the far west of the continent, he flew without rest.

Thanks to that, he was able to arrive in Rosenstark shortly after the beginning of the semester.

Despite the impossibility of such speed, using any existing means of transportation—magic trains, ships, carriages…

‘There’s no way it would raise suspicion.’

Most attributed it to the Hero’s mysterious body capabilities.

They weren’t entirely wrong.

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[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

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If it were Ted, he could have moved faster even on two feet.

He arrived at Rosenstark earlier than planned.

.

.

.

I knew that piles of documents awaited my approval.

…Perhaps Pia would be screaming hoarsely, staring at me with resentful eyes all night.

But unfortunately, there was something else that needed to be dealt with first.

“Professor!”

I shook off the voice echoing in my ears like a hallucination and entered the library.

Now familiar with the sensation of space movement, a subdued voice was heard.

“It’s been a while, Ted.”

…Ted.

No matter when, that address felt unfamiliar.

It felt even more strange because it was called by someone who knew I wasn’t him.

“…It’s been a while.”

I nodded briefly.

There was no time to dwell on introductions or greetings.

I got straight to the point.

“Iris of Laplace told me to look for you.”

Rosalyn’s calm eyes were on me.

It was a gaze that seemed to observe and scrutinize casually, as usual.

“…You’ve come with many questions.”

“You probably have a guess about what I’m going to ask.”

“Hmm.”

Rosalyn tilted her head with a smile.

“I think I know the first question that will be asked.”

That was expected.

Rosalyn is partially linked to Iris of Laplace.

It meant that she roughly knew about what I had seen and experienced during the vacation.

It’s not like she doesn’t know what I’m most curious about.

I opened my mouth to ask her, but…

“I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that question.”

I was blocked before I could even start.

Rosalyn continued with a kind refusal.

“Please understand. I cannot act against the will of my master. As you know, Homunculus is originally such a being.”

“……”

“You have to find the answer yourself.”

…Okay.

If it weren’t as I expected, it would be a lie.

Meetings with Rosalyn were always like this.

I didn’t think she would simply answer.

Always incomplete clues.

Only the information permitted by Zero Requiem.

They always led me to his will.

‘It will be the same this time too….’

There was a difference from before.

That was the fact that more clues had gathered than I thought.

Thanks to that, I felt like I knew the answer to some extent even without Rosalyn’s response.

Now it was time to confirm whether the picture of the puzzle I had pieced together was correct.

“…Well, let’s start by reviewing the memories.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

As if it were the correct answer, Rosalyn smiled with her eyes crescent-shaped.

Fluttering-

The sound of turning pages came from the empty air.

As the surroundings darkened, her gentle voice echoed.

“Well then, I hope it will be a pleasant reminiscence.”

▼

Viewing Part III of the First Age.

▲

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I was in the living room of that polite household.

A soft and cozy space…

It was where Zero Requiem and the elven woman who bore his child resided.

Clack-

The sound of the fireplace crackling monotonously.

I quickly found the owners of the house.

‘…They’re over there.’

The elf was sitting in a comfortable armchair in front of the fireplace, while Zero Requiem stood in front of her.

They were in the middle of a conversation about something…

“You look so tired these days.”

“… It’s not easy to convince the old-fashioned idiots of the Magic Tower. There is a fuss about having the strength to fight against ‘him’. Since ‘he’ wiped out the church’s forces, it may be inevitable.”

I was looking down at them like a ghost in the air.

The conversation continued.

“Elaine, how are you feeling? You seem to be having trouble sleeping lately.”

“…Because I’m worried about you.”

“Me? Because of me?”

“I’m afraid you’ll rush off to find ‘him’ again like last time.”

“I won’t. I promise.”

As tears welled up in Elaine’s eyes, Zero’s voice softened dramatically.

“People say it’s a miracle you’ve come back alive. Even though you’re friendly with ‘him’….”

“You don’t have to worry anymore. Since we’ve agreed to a ceasefire, there won’t be any more meetings with ‘him’. I’m sorry.”

…Watching the conversation just now, I realized two more things.

One was that Elaine’s belly was much more swollen (almost like she was in her last trimester) than I remembered from the previous memories.

The other was the unbelievable fact that, for some reason, ‘he’ who had destroyed the Holy Church forces had agreed to a truce.

“Now, I’ll make sure to stay by the child’s side.”

Zero lowered his body, placing his ear against Elaine’s belly.

Thump-thump-

At that moment, it felt like I could hear a steady heartbeat in my ears too.

With a gentle smile, Elaine reached out and stroked Zero’s hair.

“Zero.”

“Elaine… my Elaine.”

The tranquility finally settled on his face, which had been filled with fatigue.

I watched the scene with a strange sensation.

Grand Mage, Zero Requiem.

The man who saved humanity along with the First Age, and who established countless achievements thereafter, cementing himself as the greatest figure in history.

The scene of him enjoying simple happiness, cuddled in his wife’s embrace like a child, had a poignant corner to it.

‘…Why is it showing me this memory?’

Even emotional synchronization was happening.

I recalled a comment I saw earlier.

[From the 1st Age – Part Ⅱ, the master’s emotions and knowledge will be partially synchronized with the user to facilitate better understanding of memories.]

Was it parental love?

Being happy just with the presence of a child.

Although not even born yet, every moment spent with the child was precious.

The future to nurture together was more anticipated than ever.

An indescribable connection.

An unbreakable bond taking root in the heart.

For a Doppelganger, it could only be an unknown emotion, and I pondered it slowly.

There must be an intention behind making me feel this emotion.

While having such thoughts, Elaine’s clear voice reached my ears.

“By the way, have you decided on a name? You’ve been thinking about it for a while.”

Zero hesitated for a moment before answering.

“If it’s a girl, Rosalyn. If it’s a boy…”

But he didn’t finish his sentence.

Thump-thump-

Someone knocked forcefully on the door, followed by a youthful voice.

“Master! Master!”

Zero got up from his seat, tilting his head.

“…Depikio? What’s the matter?”

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[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

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