This World Needs a Hero

Chapter 100

HEL SCANS

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Just don’t greet me!

Evergreen, facing Lucas’s arrogant face, let out a deep sigh.

… Of course, she was very careful not to let it be heard.

“Haha… W-what’s wrong? Your complexion looks really bad.”

“Hangover. I drank until dawn.”

“Wow… You drank when there’s an exam today?”

“What’s the use of the exam? I’m already out of the eyes of the hero.”

Evergreen’s pupils shook.

The rumors about Lucas seemed to be true without exaggeration.

Associating with unsavory seniors and causing various troubles in flying… such unbecoming rumors.

Seeing the bewildered Evergreen, Lucas’s mouth twisted.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, no… I was just thinking, Lucas is an adult. Ahaha.”

“Envious? Wanna come with me once?”

“It’s okay!”

“Well, anyway, it won’t be fun for you because there are only girls.”

…Isn’t it more fun if there are only girls?

Evergreen briefly pondered such a question, but didn’t express it out loud.

“Well then, do well on the exam…!”

As she was discreetly disappearing, Lucas spat out abruptly.

“Hey, I’ll give you one piece of advice.”

“Uh, okay.”

… Lucas’s advice?

I don’t know what it is, but I don’t feel like listening to it.

It seems unnecessary.

But she couldn’t just ignore it as if it were nothing, as much as her heart desired.

After all, that guy was the heir to a duke’s family, a noble house that could easily push a mouse-sized family off the cliff with a single breath!

Evergreen forced a forced smile and waited for Lucas’s ‘advice’.

There was a faint feeling that her lips were going to twitch.

“You know. You came to the academy to somehow save your rat-sized family.”

“Hahaha, well, it’s not like that. I’m working hard.”

“If you really want that, make some friends properly. With nutritious ones.”

Lucas laughed and continued, sneering.

“Don’t you still get it? The key to your survival is networking.”

“….”

“Anyway, being able to remain as a disciple of the hero until graduation and receive benefits is a privilege for a few, right? It will probably be limited to idiots like Cuculli and Leciel. Do you think a hero would give a disciple title to someone ordinary like you?”

“Well, is that so…?”

“But you’re hanging out with an uneducated mercenary and a bastard.”

At those words, a smile faded from Evergreen’s expression.

“…Don’t say that, they’re good people.”

“Huh, good people?”

Lucas’s cold and sticky gaze reached Evergreen.

An unusual anger was swirling within him.

‘What’s wrong, why is he like that…?’

Evergreen took a step back without realizing it.

“You don’t know why Ban can’t hold a sword, do you want me to tell you?”

No! I don’t want to know.

‘That’s something to talk about when the person wants to!’

But before Evergreen could plug her ears, Lucas spoke with a triumphant voice.

“That brat…”

Vroooom!

Vroom! Vroom!

Suddenly, a loud honk interrupted Lucas’s revelation.

Clang!

Creak!

The sound of metal scraping followed.

It was quite close.

‘What, what is it?’

Evergreen, surprised, looked at the origin of the noise and then turned her gaze back to Lucas.

“…Huh?”

He was gone.

In her confusion, Evergreen looked around, and at that moment.

The bushes on the other side shook, revealing familiar silhouettes.

An exaggerated voice followed.

“Surrender!”

Evergreen, who was stringing arrows for the protest, sighed with relief and lowered her arm.

“Cuculli…?”

“Oh, Evergreen! Meeting here, it truly can’t be anything but a fateful encounter…”

“Shut up!”

Cuculli and Luke bickered, standing in front of Evergreen.

As if they were extremely excited, the horns on both sides of the head were wiggling vigorously.

Seeing that scene, the discomfort from earlier seemed to melt away like snow, and Evergreen couldn’t help but join in the laughter.

After laughing together for a while,

Cuculli shouted with a determined face, “Evergreen! Get on my train!”

…Luke’s mood improved significantly.

* * *

Meanwhile.

“Uaaaah!”

Ban narrowly avoided the demon’s front paw flying towards his chest.

To feel relieved that the claws are blunt is underestimating the mass it carries.

If he takes a direct hit, a bone or two might easily break.

Then the barrier would activate… and he would fail the test.

Swish!

Dodging the tail that came flying in succession, Ban shouted.

“Underneath the exposed tail now! Stab it!”

Thunk!

The movement of the struggling demon quickly came to a halt.

Leciel wrinkled her face.

“Really disgusting.”

“…This one only has a weakness there.”

…This sword has no scabbard.

Swhip-

Leciel frowned as she diligently struck the sword against a tree trunk.

Ban breathed out the breath he had been holding with a grin.

‘Still, I contributed…’

At first, it was a complete division of labor.

While Leciel was beating up the demon, Ban picked up the magic stones from the surroundings.

It was easy, simple, and efficient.

There was no need to go near the demon.

But after repeating that process several times…

Ban felt that it wasn’t always going smoothly.

In other words, conscience.

To be more honest, it was the heart of an adolescent boy.

Waiting for the fight to end by sucking on fingers and rushing to fetch the magic stones was too much of a childish appearance to show to the classmates he admired.

‘….’

So he volunteered for the role of drawing attention.

It turned out to be more worthwhile than he thought.

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Focusing only on evasion, there were no dangerous moments.

The ability to promptly brief on the revealed weaknesses was also an advantage.

Thanks to the improved stability and speed of subjugation, the scores were accumulating at a staggering pace.

If it weren’t for Leciel, he wouldn’t have been able to accumulate even half of it.

“We’ve cleared the high-scoring demons in this area, so let’s go further inside. There might be more demons there.”

Leciel stood up.

Her red hair, flowing with a glossy sheen, gently swayed.

The boy, who had lost his focus for a moment, noticed that sweat was dripping down Leciel’s cheek.

Come to think of it, her breathing was quite rough.

‘…Why is she in such a hurry.’

Even though grades are important, it felt a bit excessive.

Since joining, it had been almost non-stop forced marches.

Ban cautiously spoke up.

“Shall we take a short break? The demonic energy concentration is rising, and it seems like we need to adjust the pace a bit.”

“…Then just 5 minutes.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Leciel sat down abruptly on a rock.

Only then did a faint weariness appear on her composed face.

Ban grinned.

“I’ll keep detecting, so rest comfortably.”

“What about you?”

“I still have some mana left…”

At that remark, Leciel’s almost closed eyelids trembled slightly.

‘How hard did he practice?’

…Ban Dietrich.

Even Leciel, who was usually indifferent to others, felt a hint of curiosity when looking at him.

‘Why does he struggle to keep up in practical situations?’

The first semester was already halfway through.

It was enough time to recognize Ban’s excellence.

‘He’s definitely skilled.’

Leciel had endlessly high standards when it came to swords.

However, Ban’s swordsmanship, often seen in the training ground, was undoubtedly above those high standards.

His physical conditioning was at an exceptional level, approaching the limit without a doubt.

‘…His mana is considerable too.’

He was truly a hexagonal talent.

If there were no issues with wielding a sword.

Under the guidance of a hero, wouldn’t he have experienced explosive growth?

Leciel muttered, “It must be frustrating.”

“Huh?”

“Not being able to wield a sword.”

Leciel stated it plainly.

“Want some help?”

In response to the unexpected offer, Ban looked at Leciel with a puzzled expression.

“W-why all of a sudden?”

“……”

‘Why?’

A small wrinkle appeared on Leciel’s forehead.

…Why, indeed.

Because she was grateful for being moved to the infirmary after collapsing from exhaustion?

Because she accidentally overheard a pitiful story?

Because the hero had told her to start showing interest in his peers?

No, why did he say that to someone who had offered to help him?

“If you don’t want it, forget it.”

Leciel moved away and walked steadily into the forest.

“…Huh?”

Baffled, Ban followed after her.

* * *

Back at the Forest of Martial Arts Control Center.

Many people resided here, each carrying out their assigned tasks.

Employees responsible for maintaining and repairing the artificial core, servants managing practice demons, and security guards responsible for their safety.

The spacious interior was crowded to the point of being lively.

The fact that such an investment was possible in a practice area with not very high usage was likely due to Rosenstark alone.

“If I were a conspirator, I would have planted spies in the center somehow.”

“Identify infiltrators, suppress internal disruptions, and secure the safety of the children with the secure watch. Those are your three missions.”

The secure watch was located on the highest floor.

Yussi, recalling the hero’s instructions, scrutinized the people with his sharp eyes.

‘…Who could it be.’

Unfortunately, there was no one immediately suspicious.

Everyone was focused on their work, tense due to Yussi’s unexpected appearance.

When Rosenstark recruited servants, he set very strict standards.

First and foremost, clear social status and background were required, and there should be no conspirators among family and relatives.

Very detailed tests of personality and aptitude were also mandatory.

Especially for those working in such important facilities, a certain number of years of service was necessary.

In other words, the employees were composed of individuals with an extremely low probability of betrayal.

‘Buying or threatening… perhaps.’

Infiltrators were practically living clues.

If they climbed up, they might reach the conspirator’s head.

In case this operation ended without any gains, it was necessary to find them.

“……”

Yussi observed the busy people for a while before turning her gaze back to the screen of the Secure Watch.

“No abnormalities in Area D at the moment.”

“Oh, thank you.”

One of the employees monitoring the video alongside her reported, bringing the fourth cup of coffee.

The number of video orbs installed in the Forest of Martial Arts exceeded several hundred easily.

Since Yussi couldn’t handle all of them alone, she was currently receiving help from some employees.

Holding a teacup, she looked at the images that appeared on the massive screen in front of her.

The monocle on her nose gleamed in the light.

It was an item she had obtained while following the hero.

‘But they’re more skilled than I thought.’

Of course, she was well aware that they were rare talents.

However, talents were like buds.

If the nurturer is lazy or lacks ability, they cannot grow beautifully.

Isn’t it common for a talented child to be ruined by meeting the wrong mentor?

In that sense, the extreme children were growing in the best environment.

‘They don’t seem like typical freshmen. I understand why the hero was so confident.’

They were not completely accustomed to subjugation yet.

However, there is less immaturity and hesitation that freshmen usually have.

Moreover, they all excelled in physical fitness.

Thanks to that, they coped well even in an environment where mana was constantly consumed.

A faint smile lingered on Yussi’s lips.

It was a scene that made the support provided for the Extreme lecture worthwhile.

…It also reminded her of the scenes from her student days.

The precursor to the Dawn Knights.

They were also like that.

“If you want to fight with me, a lot of training will be needed.”

Revisiting the nostalgic memories, Yussi reached out her hand.

The entrance of a large bag touched the tip of her fingers.

A cold and solid sensation of steel.

Inside the bag was the Alchemy Glove.

It absorbed the elements of the touched object, amplified them with a special device inside, and then, according to the alchemist’s imagination, manifested the desired form—an alchemical weapon like the alter ego of an alchemist.

It was an item that had given her the nickname ‘Mass Murderer’ in her heyday.

Although she was currently consuming a considerable amount of mana to recreate her lost limbs one by one, with this, she could still exhibit combat capabilities stronger than most active combatants.

Clank!

The tough metal coiled around her palm and back of her hand in an instant.

The nearby employees, who were passing by with curious eyes, stared at her with widened eyes.

Wheeeng!

Suddenly, the Alchemy Glove’s tranquil glow was pouring down over the employees who were assisting with monitoring.

Yussi smiled and said,

“Hey.”

“Y-yes, why, why are you doing this?”

The staff looked at her with an incomprehensible look on their faces.

Indeed, it was a shameless expression befitting someone who dared to drug a coffee for an alchemist.

“The coffee tasted delicious.”

It was true; she had charged the Alchemy Glove with a lot of iron elements.

Tang!

A 50 cm-long steel needle ejected from the glove, piercing through the employee’s shoulder.

Jjanggrang!

…The coffee, undeterred, plummeted to the floor in the teacup.

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