This World Needs a Hero - Chapter 173

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Chapter 173

Meanwhile, the remaining party members were searching the surroundings while waiting for the Hero to return.

“Ah, there’s nothing here.”

Kasim muttered despondently.

Just now, both Noubelmag and Pia had experienced rejection from the portal once each.

Due to the violent shaking of the ground, they gave up entering the portal and focused on searching.

“This side is just a pile of dust, too.”

“They really swept through here.”

…Of course, even if they searched the laboratory thoroughly, they couldn’t find any useful clues.

Covered in dust, they naturally started idling with the portal in front of them, puffing on their pipes.

Pia initiated the conversation with a light question.

“But why exactly can only Professor go in there?”

Kasim answered without much thought.

“Because he’s an extraordinary person, isn’t he?”

“Uh, do you think that’s a sufficient answer… Professor Pierre.”

“Well, anyway, what difference does it make who among us can go in, haha.”

Noubelmag, with deepening wrinkles, interjected while puffing on his pipe.

“Hmm, it doesn’t seem like such a simple matter to think about…”

The old man, gazing at the shimmering portal, then shifted his gaze back to the inscription above it.

Before the anointed one…

It was hard to understand.

Why was the leader called the anointed one, meaning ‘the one who atones for others’ sins’?

Of course, it was true that he bore an immense responsibility that ordinary humans couldn’t handle.

‘But can’t we see all of this as a process of someone paying off someone else’s sins?’

There isn’t a person who doesn’t know that Ted Redymer, far from atoning, strives for the salvation of humanity out of voluntary will.

Sigh-

Noubelmag tried to continue his thoughts, but soon sucked deeply on his pipe and lowered his head.

‘…Am I being too sensitive? Seems like I’m overthinking.’

He shook his head, dispersing the hazy smoke in front of him.

The leader’s inexplicable actions… How many times had he been in ambiguous situations like this?

Each time, it was perplexing, but ultimately, those actions were all for the greater good.

‘He’ll probably explain everything about it later.’

Noubelmag temporarily put aside those recurring questions.

Woo woo woong-

The portal began shimmering again, at that moment.

Pia and Kasim jumped up.

“Hero.”

“Professor!”

The Hero appeared before them, looking noticeably more tired than before.

His expression seemed deeply lost in thought.

“…We shall return now.”

Before they could ask anything, the Hero murmured quietly.

Noubelmag inquired.

“What do you mean by ‘return’?”

The Hero replied.

“To Rosenstark.”

“What?”

Pia and Kasim exclaimed.

“…Why?”

“Well, I don’t know when we can come to the Great Forest again….”

Pia and Kasim pleaded with as pitiful expressions as possible.

Even the staff members urgently needed a vacation.

Going back to Rosenstark after working tirelessly all along, that’s unacceptable.

Moreover, Kasim had only achieved one of his two goals for coming to The Great Forest.

He had improved his skills but…

‘Faerie maidens!’

All this time, he had been engrossed in training, looking like a beggar, unable to speak a word to them.

If they were to return without any memories like this, it would be a lifelong regret.

‘…Not much different from kids.’

The Hero sighed deeply, lowering his head.

“We shall depart in two days.”

Watching them like that, Noubelmag smiled faintly.

He felt reassured.

‘Yes, if he’s the leader, he’ll explain everything someday. We’re comrades.’

The four returned amicably to the Faerie Maidens’ enclave.

* * *

The Faylun River is a river located northeast of Jedo, the largest and widest river in the entire continent.

So massive that when the survivors from the west first encountered it, they mistook it for the sea.

The artificial island Dream Haven, created by Glendor Companu for tourism purposes, was located at its northern end.

With its breathtaking scenery, cool breeze, there’s no better place to escape the heat.

Because of this, by this time, reservations for Dream Haven were usually booked a month in advance, but this time, the owner had cleared the reservation schedule for the resort annex upon request.

“…We should be arriving soon.”

Yussi Glendor yawned while looking at the path leading from the dock.

Heh heh-

A grayish tuft of fur was briskly moving around her ankles.

Its name was Shadow.

It was a runic wolf, a companion specially entrusted to her by the Hero.

Unable to leave it alone in Rosenstark, she had to bring it along.

Shadow, who had grown drastically in just one month compared to before, now had a much larger build than an average large dog.

With an average height of 3 meters, he would continue to grow at this rate for the next year.

He’ll be big enough to ride later on.

“…I’m completely in the role of a babysitter.”

What the Hero entrusted to her wasn’t just the wolf.

As he left for important duties, he also asked Yussi to supervise the children’s 13-night, 14-day trip.

“You’re the only person I trust.”

“Um, won’t the Hero come later?”

“…When the time comes?”

“……”

Yussi was not suited for taking care of children.

…Well, it wasn’t as annoying and unpleasant as before.

It was because she knew how the Hero regarded the extreme kids.

‘The Second Dawn Knights.’

In a way, they could be said to be her juniors.

It was a moment when Yussi was reflecting on the aspects of the extreme kids.

Whoosh-

Glendor’s “Pickup Service” arrived with its first passenger.

A muscular boy with blond hair… no, a young man, jumped off the carriage.

Yussi wrinkled her brow as she looked at the stubbly beard on his chin.

“Hello, Principal! Please take care of me on this trip!”

…What on earth happened during the vacation?

Gerald no longer looked like a student in any way.

Even if they were the same age, it was hard to believe.

“The rest of the friends haven’t arrived yet?”

But his voice was as cheerful and energetic as ever, which was extremely annoying.

Yussi replied with a sigh.

“They’ll be here soon. So please, stop talking.”

“Yes, yes?”

“If you’re bored, play with him.”

“Oh, Shadow!”

Thunk-!

Do whatever you want.

Gerald, turning red, ran towards Shadow.

It seemed he was genuinely pleased to see him after a long time.

“Let’s play, Shadow!”

…Anyway, the extreme kids going to Dream Haven totaled sixteen out of thirty.

The rest couldn’t attend due to personal reasons.

‘No, maybe it’s seventeen if things go well.’

One person said they might be able to attend late, even though it would be difficult to make it on time.

Whoooosh-

Whooosh-

Dust clouds were rising in the distance.

Carriages arriving one after another.

Though they had only been apart for about a month, the kids greeted each other warmly as if they hadn’t seen each other in years.

“Oh, Gerald? Did you eat something bad?”

“Hey, aren’t you a monster?”

“Gerald’s dad, right? I’m Karen, a close friend of Gerald’s.”

“You rascals….”

Fortunately for Gerald, the conversation quickly moved on to other topics.

“Why are you guys here together!”

As they got off the carriage with Leciel, Ban scratched his head with a pure expression.

“Huh? We were just together at our house, so.”

“…What?”

…As Ban continued his spirited explanation, Leciel watched with a face twisted in surprise.

Karen observed the relationship between Ban and Leciel closely.

‘Hmm, what’s going on? Did they get closer during the vacation?’

It seemed like something had changed between them during the semester, but it was hard to pinpoint exactly.

She planned to subtly probe about what had happened during the vacation later.

Scandals were Karen’s favorite topic.

“……”

However, amid the cheerful commotion, there was one girl who quietly looked around.

‘What should I do?’

They were about to depart soon.

She couldn’t help but approach Yussi, a difficult situation for an ordinary student.

Evergreen’s courage was considerable.

“Um… Principal. Excuse me, but is Luke Selsood absent from the trip?”

Yussi recalled a communication from a few days ago.

“It hasn’t been decided yet that I can go, so if someone asks me if I’m coming, can you tell them I can’t go?”

“Got it.”

Yussi nodded up and down.

“He’s absent.”

“Ah….”

Evergreen hung her head dejectedly.

Are you really busy with requests?

Maybe he was hurt.

Or perhaps he didn’t like these kinds of leisure trips.

Still, when they communicated from Solintail, he had agreed to meet at the destination.

…It was a moment when thoughts like these swirled around in her mind.

Deindart approached with a swoosh-.

“Evergreen, I’m here. How have you been?”

“Oh, Senior….”

“By the way, did you hear that the resort has a swimming pool? Do you know how to swim? Did you bring a swimsuit?”

“Uh, not really. I’m not good at it. I grew up in the mountains….”

“That’s great. Big brother’s nickname is a seal. Haha!”

…Meanwhile, a step behind, Nyhill quietly watched all the commotion.

Unlike the other kids who were dressed up for the trip, she wore her usual dull-colored clothes.

The only difference was that she had woven the leaves of the World Tree into a tiara and wore it on her wrist.

She had thought about putting it on her head, but it was too conspicuous, so she gave up.

Even though she was skilled at hiding her presence like a ghost, wearing a bright blue leaf crown would make her invisibility useless.

Nyhill was continuing the thoughts that she couldn’t shake off recently.

‘Why does the Hero keep excluding me from dangerous missions?’

Whether in Harlem or during this expedition in the Great Forest, even though I infiltrated as a student, I am still an agent dispatched by the Shadows to assist the Hero’s activities.

Being continuously marginalized like this is a problem.

‘Maybe my abilities are not sufficient. If I am not helpful, if I cannot prove my usefulness, there is no reason for me to be here. At some point, another agent who can replace me could come to the academy… as always.’

“……”

As Nyhill imagined another agent replacing her, she felt a discomfort in her chest.

It was at that moment.

“Hey, girl! Why do you look so down when the trip is right around the corner?”

“…Cuculli.”

Nyhill instinctively stepped back.

Cuculli’s narrow eyes were observing her intently.

Since the festival, Cuculli had become quite curious about her.

“Hehe, you feel the same, huh?”

“About what?”

“Just when we were starting to become close, the vacation came! Let’s strengthen our friendship on this trip.”

Yussi gathered everyone then.

“Alright, now that everyone’s here, let’s depart!”

Fluttering-

From bow to stern, it was an all-white cruise ship.

Under the sunlight, the sparkling hull slid smoothly towards the dock and came to a stop on one side.

With its white and clean sails, wide deck, and neatly painted hull, against the backdrop of fluttering cloth in the wind, the contours of the beautiful artificial island were faintly visible.

…It was a very smooth departure.

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