This World Needs a Hero - Chapter 116

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Chapter 116

Healer Minerva Barson conveyed sad news with a pained expression.

“Hey, guys, sorry. Discharge has been extended by 3 days. This is really the last time, so please don’t get angry.”

“…Ugh.”

…No strength to get angry.

The extreme children, upon hearing the news, sprawled on the beds like semi-dried squid.

Their earnest eyes were directed towards a large window in one corner of the ward.

The beautiful scenery of the academy was unfolding, but unfortunately, they couldn’t go there.

“When are they going to discharge us already!”

Their physical conditions had long since improved.

As evidence, everyone left their private rooms and gathered in the communal recovery room.

However, the academy insisted on delaying their discharge, stating that they needed to observe the progress since they were directly exposed to demonic energy from the demon commander.

Normally, it would have been great.

All lectures were canceled, troublesome refinement exams were postponed or replaced with assignments.

Any student would dream of such a situation.

However, the children’s expressions were not so bright.

“…Feels frustrating.”

“I want to move.”

“I need to train.”

“How long do we have to lie down? It’s a waste of time.”

“I feel like I’m losing all my muscles.”

This reaction may have been a bit awkward for themselves, but it was a natural response.

…They unexpectedly experienced a threat to their lives.

The magic of the Demon Army Commander exploded right in front of them like a bomb, and if not for Ban being a hero, most of them would have fallen into a deep and static sleep by now.

The children felt it.

“I’m still far away.”

In a few years, they would have to face some demons.

They felt a part of that.

Their hearts couldn’t help but be anxious.

So, they tried to train their bodies at least…

“No! How long do we have to do push-ups!”

There were limits to physical training in the ward.

Raising and lowering the body, squats, planks, simple unarmed combat…

“Let’s knock it out!”

In the end, the children could only sit and practice mana manipulation.

…Amidst the noticeably accumulating complaints.

The one who seemed most uncomfortable was Luke.

“How can I practice mana manipulation in a place like this.”

His method of manipulating mana was somewhat unique, so he couldn’t do it in front of others.

It was possible if he really wanted to, but… he didn’t want to.

Frustrating.

Luke eventually stood up.

“Luke, where are you going?”

Next to him.

Evergreen, who was squeezing the iron frame of the bed like a stress ball, looked at him.

“The lounge. Just going to get some fresh air.”

“Oh, okay. Be careful!”

Luke couldn’t properly see Evergreen smiling brightly.

…Embarrassment.

It wasn’t about the tingling emotions between men and women that he had felt for the past few months.

…It was profound embarrassment.

Luke walked quickly and entered the lounge.

The lounge had a balcony.

He wanted to cool off his overheated head while feeling the wind.

‘Ah.’

…But there was a classmate.

And not a particularly pleasant one at that.

Whoooosh-

The curtains swelled in the cool night breeze.

When Luke saw the sky-colored hair shining through them, he quickly turned his feet.

But the sensitive senses of dragon girl quickly caught that movement…

“Whoa!!!!”

“…Logically, isn’t this the position where I should be surprised?”

“Heh. Playing hard to get, huh?”

“….”

“Unpopular guy.”

…Not just an unpopular guy, but a nonexistent guy.

But it was too tiring to continue the banter.

Luke just walked silently and leaned his elbows on the railing.

“….”

So, in the silence, they remained somewhat dazed for about 5 minutes.

Suddenly, Cuculli opened his mouth.

“You smell.”

At those words, Luke reflexively lifted his arm and sniffed.

Big problem.

Just now, he had talked to Evergreen, and there was no smell, right?

As if puzzled by Cuculli’s words, he chuckled.

“What are you doing?”

…It wasn’t very pleasant to be treated like a fool by a fool.

Luke wrinkled his face in frustration.

“Why are you saying I smell?”

Cuculli sniffed, then casually said.

“Imperfect smell.”

“What?”

“Since you’re ‘practicing that,’ you’ll easily fall for the Demon’s mental attack in one go.”

At that blunt jab.

The heavy stone that had been pressing on his chest for the past few days made a rattling sound.

A turning point.

“You….”

Luke flinched and leaned his body backward.

“What.”

On the other hand, Cuculli leaned in closer.

It was a posture that seemed to say, admit that what she said was true.

“….”

…Indeed.

When Enoch spread ‘Derilium’ in the evacuation centre where Lucas was possessed and fought fiercely.

All the guys who Luke thought of as rivals for a moment resisted.

Cuculli fought without falling asleep at all, and Leciel, despite staggering, fainted while moving the fallen children.

Not to mention Ban who engaged in fierce combat with Enoch.

But he couldn’t resist.

…What he could do was to fall over Evergreen, who had already fallen.

It was pathetic.

Seeing Luke’s complicated expression, Cuculli naturally laughed.

“Silly Luke, I also noticed, wouldn’t the hero have known?”

“…What do you want to say?”

“You’re a student here. Not a mercenary captain.”

“What?”

“Why are you mumbling alone? Hurry up, run over and help! You should.”

While Luke was at a loss for words…

Swoosh-

Cuculli pulled out a piece of bread from her arms that looked like she had stolen it from the kitchen.

…Now, such behaviour didn’t seem entirely innocent to Luke, and he sighed.

“…You.”

“Me?”

“Aren’t you bothered by what happened this time?”

It was an impulsive question.

But as if giving a predetermined answer, Cuculli immediately responded.

“I’m fine. I have no problem because I’m strong. And I’ll get stronger soon.”

“How are you going to get stronger?”

“Curious?”

“…I asked because I’m curious, you idiot.”

Well, in narrow minds.

Cuculli laughed and stuck her teeth into the remaining half of the bread.

Fangs, completely different from human ones, softly pierced the bread.

And in that state, she began to speak.

“E, Ee-eo Aeae Ao Aei (Hey, didn’t you say you went to the snowfield before?).”

“What are you saying?”

“…Oi Eeaeao Eueoao (Have you ever heard of ‘baptism’?)”

“No, if you don’t want to say, don’t… .”

Just when Luke was about to express his frustration…

Bump!

Someone rushed down the corridor in a hurry and found them.

“Cuculli, Luke!”

It was Evergreen.

A bright smile was on her remembered face.

Before they could ask what happened, her arms shook vigorously.

“The professor is here!”

…Was that such an exciting thing?

“…And Ban!”

At that, Cuculli and Luke quickly adjusted their postures.

And they looked a little awkward at each other’s reactions.

“Le-let’s go.”

“Phew, I wonder if Ban is all healed!”

The footsteps echoing in the corridor gradually accelerated, soon turning into a loud running sound.

In the midst of that, Luke suddenly thought.

‘Why was she alone trembling with excitement on the balcony?’

* * *

The hero looked at the children rushing toward the Ban.

“Ban! Is your body okay? Not hurt?”

“Wow, you still haven’t taken off the bandages?”

“What should I do… When will it get better?”

During this time, Ban had a relatively amicable relationship despite his shy temperament.

Because his personalities were generally good.

Of course, the impressive background that anyone would want to be friends with played a role.

But if asked whether there were guys who unintentionally ignored Ban… that wasn’t the case.

The group of children has a wild aspect like the wilderness.

As for Ban…

It was like a large, gentle herbivore with a bulky figure.

Despite being somewhat shy, he had a somewhat gentle herbivorous image.

There were many guys who, taking advantage of the atmosphere created by Lucas, subtly teased or playfully poked at the Ban.

…But now.

As if such behavior had never existed, it disappeared.

“You’re really amazing. How can you be so brave?”

“How do you even think about facing the Demon Army Commander?”

“If it were me, I would have surrendered right away and asked to be killed painlessly.”

“Look at you again, Ban. Isn’t that cool?”

“Hmm, it’s okay.”

“Shut up, Gerald.”

The fact that a friend stood against the Demon Lord Commander made the children shiver with excitement.

Not any monster.

Not just an ordinary demon, but the Demon Lord Commander.

As they reflected on their powerlessness in those days, the awe only increased.

“He’s my friend!”

Some of them even felt a tingling sensation in their shoulders.

Thinking about how Ban confronted such a formidable enemy, they also felt a choked-up emotion.

“…Hahaha, are you guys okay?”

The boy blushed suddenly, seemingly uncomfortable with the sudden attention.

But it wasn’t a look of displeasure.

When some girls handed him letters they had written during his hospital stay, his face lit up with a subtle smile.

Gerald, looking at the scene with a longing gaze, and Cuculli, who eagerly suggested tearing them open (earning sharp glances), were there.

Evergreen, examining Ban’s wounds, and Luke, offering a tissue and patting Ban’s shoulder as if saying.

“You did well.”

Even Leciel, watching from a distance with a secretly relieved look.

The hero waited until Ban thoroughly enjoyed the aftermath with his friends before speaking.

“…Attention.”

The response was immediate.

The children stopped laughing and chatting, turning their attention to the hero.

Somewhat sternly, he went straight to the point.

“The reason I came today is for three things.”

A gulp— the sound of swallowing echoed in the quiet recovery room.

“One, the announcement of the midterm exam results.”

The children tensed up.

Unlike other classes, it was heard that in the extreme class, grades were scheduled to be given almost at the end of the midterm exams, following the explosion of pictures.

Although the public announcement in a gathering place rather than individual notices was an unexpected point.

‘Uh, I wonder what rank I’ll be.’

As a student of Rosenstark, one couldn’t help but be sensitive to grades.

Especially in the Combat Department.

After graduation, mandatory military service awaited them.

Except for some special cases, the assignment of duty locations was generally decided by support…

Naturally, it was based on grades.

‘If I don’t get good grades, my life is over.’

They would end up serving in dangerous duty locations that others avoided.

The formula that ‘grades = future life’ somewhat harshly shaped academy life.

Of course, the children of ‘Extreme’ were a bit more lenient in terms of grades compared to their peers.

‘Anyway, we’ll experience all kinds of dangerous duty locations sooner or later.’

Since they had entered under the command of a hero, they had become a kind of ‘Provisional Dawn Knights.’

It was a clear fact that after graduation, they would go to the battlefield with the hero.

There was no reason to pay attention to grades in terms of ‘priority selection of duty locations.’

But they still had a reason to be attached to grades.

‘In the end, only a few of us can gain fame and honor as disciples of the professor.’

Extreme students had to stand out somehow among the thirty or so competitors to catch the eyes of the hero, and the easiest and most clear indicator was, of course, grades.

For this reason, from the moment the words ‘exam results’ were mentioned, the hearts of the children started pounding.

“Second, even in the recovery room, we will have supplementary classes for the lectures we missed….”

Waaaaah!

“Supplementary! Supplementary! Supplementary!”

“Finally! We can attend the lectures!”

…The hero, who expected a disgusted reaction, was unusually taken aback by the enthusiastic response that unfolded before his eyes.

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