This World Needs a Hero - Chapter 139

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Chapter 139

[PR/N: Too gross. Ew. I hate ya’ll. Fuck valentines.]

Gulp-

With a determined expression, Luke downed a whole flask in one shot and reached out his hand.

A tense atmosphere hung in the air, making it hard to breathe.

Evergreen silently watched over him, cheering him on.

“Phew.”

Plunk-

Droplets of water fell from Luke’s fingertips.

As soon as they touched, the potion inside the flask instantly turned pitch black.

It was undoubtedly a success, completing the task of expelling the snake venom from the flask perfectly.

Only then did Evergreen exclaim in admiration and applaud enthusiastically.

Luke, feeling awkward, glanced at her and muttered softly.

“So, I wanted to show you this.”

“Why…?”

“Now that we can attend classes together.”

What can I say, it was truly an innocence that was unbecoming of a mercenary.

That was what Evergreen liked about him.

Evergreen realized she was smiling.

In fact, the frustration and discomfort she had felt for the past few days since seeing Luke struggling with his assignment with those massive hands had evaporated by about half.

…But there was still the other half to deal with.

“I just felt like sometimes you don’t stick to proper techniques.”

Recalling their conversation during lunch, Evergreen took a step closer to Luke.

“But, Luke, I’m curious about something.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Why did you avoid me all this time?”

…Wait, was she asking so directly?

Luke, taken aback, began to make excuses, waving his hands.

“No, it’s not that I avoided you…”

“To be honest, I was a little hurt.”

…I was hurt.

That statement echoed in Luke’s ears like thunder.

Two conflicting emotions wrestled in the boy’s heart.

One, the joy of having a presence that could make Evergreen feel hurt.

Two, self-loathing for being stupid enough to make Evergreen feel hurt.

These conflicting emotions subtly twisted the handsome boy’s face.

Caught off guard by the girl’s demanding expression, Luke stammered as he tried to explain.

“…I mean, it’s just that. You know?”

“Huh?”

“I just don’t like showing ugly sides.”

“Ugly sides? What ugly sides?”

Feeling embarrassed to explain further, Luke shifted his gaze to the potion in his hand.

This assignment… he probably came close to last among the top students.

As someone who always achieved excellent grades, this incident had really bruised his ego.

It was then that Evergreen let out a quiet sigh.

In terms of interpersonal relationships, she realized she was more mature than Luke.

“Luke.”

“Yeah?”

“Among friends, it’s normal to show your ugly sides and be understood. Who in the world would only have good sides?”

Hero, Leciel, etc.

As counterexamples immediately came to mind, Evergreen cleared her throat and continued.

“Maybe there are such people somewhere… but anyway, if you completely avoid showing your ugly side because it’s embarrassing, it feels like I did something wrong to be ignored…”

“Sorry, that wasn’t my intention…”

“Building friendships by only showing off and admiring each other’s good sides isn’t real friendship, right? Ugh, I hate the thought of having such uncomfortable friends.”

Luke looked at Evergreen with a serious expression.

After a moment.

The girl seemed to realize how impassioned her speech had been and belatedly blushed.

“Anyway! Everyone has some ugliness or mediocrity. So, from now on, don’t do that, okay?”

“I doubt that.”

“What?”

“What ugliness or mediocrity do you have?”

Evergreen was speechless at Luke’s sudden question.

“Oh, uh? My mediocrity?”

…It wasn’t that the question was difficult.

She was always aware of her own flaws, so listing them was easy.

It was just that she hesitated for a moment in the face of the unfamiliar desire that crept up on her.

As Evergreen pondered, Luke chuckled before her.

“If we’re friends, we’re supposed to share those things, right?”

“So, that means…”

Evergreen looked seriously at Luke, who was looking down at her.

…Maybe it’s okay to say it.

She would never have said it under normal circumstances.

More than anyone, she knew her own ugliness.

That too was a part of her, and denying it was impossible.

There had always been a desire to confide in someone and be understood.

And if that someone was Luke…

“It’s okay, so I’ll tell you.”

With a strong desire to be honest with someone, Evergreen didn’t resist.

Yeah.

Since Luke had finally come close, it was only fair for her to take a step closer too!

The girl reached a conclusion and opened her mouth.

There were about twenty minutes left before curfew in the dormitory.

“Ugh… I’ll keep it brief. Luke, you know what our territory is like.”

“I know.”

Luke nodded his head.

As the Mercenary King had a good relationship with the lord near Solintail, he had visited the area several times.

As the boy recalled old memories, he realized that the sunny girl’s face had darkened.

It was a sharp expression, as if she had been pierced by something.

“I…”

“Yeah?”

“I shouldn’t say this, but sometimes I feel fortunate.”

“For what?”

“That I can leave our territory.”

Her tone was deliberately devoid of emotion.

“Do you know why? Even now, there are small graves being dug behind the Solintail lord’s mansion.”

“…Whose graves are they?”

“My friends.”

Evergreen couldn’t help but become gloomy.

It wasn’t just because her chest felt tight after communicating with her parents.

She was concerned about the well-being of the children, whom she had grown up with like siblings since childhood.

But she couldn’t bring herself to confess her guilt.

“I was only better than them because of my bloodline. That’s why I got the opportunity for education.”

“……”

“Even now, while my friends are probably fighting against monsters eyeing the territory, I’m here living comfortably, eating and sleeping, sometimes laughing and chatting as if I’ve forgotten my hometown completely… It’s lucky that I can attend the academy.”

Evergreen bit her lip.

It would be too melodramatic to cry here.

“It’s really unfair. It’s not right.”

Luke didn’t respond.

But he kept listening.

Sniffling, Evergreen sniffed, making excuses.

“I spoke too randomly. Sorry. I guess I just wanted to vent to someone. Actually, I just finished talking to my parents and was on my way here.”

He knew.

He had been waiting for the right moment to speak since dinner, lurking around her.

Luke looked at the teary-eyed Evergreen.

“……”

Actually, there were many things he wanted to say.

Anyone could have such thoughts.

If you were truly selfish, you wouldn’t have seen the Solintail in your dreams.

Was your diligence in learning day and night for the sake of your hometown?

Impressive and admirable.

Many words of comfort passed through his mind.

‘Will such comforting words really resonate?’

Luke resented his profession.

If he were not a mercenary but rather a poet or writer, he could have come up with more beautiful words to provide proper comfort.

For now, all he could do was to promise something that would make her happy.

“When I become the Mercenary King.”

“Yeah.”

“…I’ll take on your requests for free.”

…Although it was a bit uncool, it could be considered a success because it made his depressed friend smile.

* * *

It was two hours before the banquet hosted by Barun began.

“Okay, shall we organize the situation?”

Where did she come from?

Larze brought a whiteboard to their hideout and stood in front of it like a professor.

The chalk in her hand was a bonus.

The Hero looked at the writing she was doing with the feeling of being a student again after a long time.

Surprisingly, she had bad handwriting.

“You said the Iris of Laplace hasn’t shown the next milestone yet, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm, I don’t think just destroying one factory will be satisfying. We probably need to raise our progress to receive the next goal.”

“So?”

“I’ve been thinking, and I have a way to increase the progress of your ‘Forge’.”

At the mention of his progress, the Hero’s eyes lit up.

“How?”

“Would you let me borrow your sword?”

Without a word, the Hero handed the Black Hope, which had been hanging on his back, to Larze.

“Ugh.”

There was a momentary hiccup as she struggled with the weight, but the explanation quickly resumed.

Larze looked at the blade of Black Hope as if she were a master blacksmith.

“It seems like you’ve succeeded in awakening part of the ‘Domain,’ right?”

“I’ve unlocked the first stage. It can only affect the weight of the greatsword for now.”

“Then do you know what the next functions are?”

The Hero nodded.

He knew this part from the Original.

The first stage of the Domain only ends with momentarily adjusting the weight of the sword to maximize destructive power or maneuverability.

He was currently at that stage.

The second is creating a gravitational field.

It creates an extremely powerful gravitational field centered on arbitrary coordinates, blocking various projectiles or attacks.

It was extremely useful as even flying monsters could be slammed into the ground.

The last is gravitational interference, which adjusts the attraction and repulsion forces between objects.

When mastered, it’s possible to instantly approach distant enemies or flee from nearby threats.

This was an incomparably powerful ability, unlike the previous two.

It allows one to fly through the sky like a magician and perform one-sided attacks without suffering any damage.

Larze continued.

“The main ingredients of the sword are gravity magic and iron, which have a good affinity. Probably a much better blacksmith and alchemist than Noubelmag and Yussi collaborated with a magician who is slightly less skilled than me.”

She continued, folding her eyes into crescents and smiling.

“I wondered why such a decisive weapon was made in such a peaceful era, but it seems it was because of your kin.”

“…So, what’s the point?”

“It means that I can fix the magic sealing circle that is placed in each stage so that it can be liberated according to the skill of the owner.”

The Hero narrowed his eyes in amazement for a moment.

If what Larze said was true, it was an achievement on par with opening another salvation.

“The enemies you’ll face soon seem to be stronger than expected. You can’t afford to die, right?”

“…So how does the unsealing work?”

Larze twirled the pure white staff in her hand.

The Hero’s gaze naturally followed it.

“The name of this staff is White Despair, and your sword’s name is Black Hope. Now, what do you think?”

“They must be related.”

“They’re not just related, you know? They were found in the same place.”

“Found in the same place? When?”

“A long time ago. Ted and I found them while exploring the demonic realm, and they’re the most precious and powerful loot we’ve ever obtained.”

Loot from the demonic realm.

The Hero looked at White Despair with narrowed eyes.

A long staff shining pure white throughout its body.

It exuded an immense power that was on par with some of the rare artifacts he had seen.

A bright red crystal similar to Larze’s eyes was embedded in the head.

It is known to have the ability to “positively affect all kinds of magic.”

When casting fire arrows, it sends out beings more powerful and larger than fireballs.

“They were even called three ‘Divine Tools’ in the First Age.”

“What’s the other one?”

“Ashen Peace. It’s an artifact in the form of armor, but nobody knows where it is yet.”

Having finished speaking, Larze brought White Despair over Black Hope.

“Anyway, take a good look.”

“…Can we do it now? Like this, right away?”

“As a great magician, I have no reason to hesitate when I have artifacts of brotherly nature.”

Tap-tap-

It was right after the red crystal of the staff tapped the surface of the sword a few times.

Wooooong-!

Instantly, ripples spread across the jet-black blade.

It was like scattering white paint on a black canvas.

The white pigment, spreading out like human veins, soon formed geometric runes.

It was a type of magic that disappeared in the Second Age.

“Ah….”

The Hero let out a small groan and released the heated handle.

Despite no one holding it, the massive mass of the black sword floated in the air.

Paaaaah-!

The faintly trembling blade began to emit bright light and wind in all directions.

“…Isn’t it truly beautiful?”

Looking straight at the Hero, Larze, with her disheveled bangs from the aftermath, smiled mysteriously.

It wasn’t her usual formal and light laugh.

It was a deep and moving expression she often made when she truly got what she wanted, like in the memory of Zero.

“I love moments like this where the breath of past eras meets the present.”

…I love you.

That was the moment when the last word dispersed into the air.

▼
Recorded Artifact: Unique Ability of ‘Black Hope’
Forced to unlock by unknown power of ‘Domain’
▲

▼
A powerful mystery dwells in the forge.
▲

And the Iris of Laplace presented the next milestone he was waiting for.

▼
Reclaim the stolen blessings.
▲

The hero stared intently at that last comment.

…There was something to be guessed about this.

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