This World Needs a Hero - Chapter 67

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Chapter 67

The sound of the notification echoed at the moment when most of the extreme kids were sharing stories in the break room.

[Unir Lecture, Extreme Notice has been updated]

Without anyone saying anything, the kids grabbed their connectors.

Their faces were a mix of anticipation and worry.

‘… This time it was a dungeon, what on earth will the next class be?’

But what greeted them unexpectedly was an announcement of an unusual cancellation.

[Extreme Lecture Cancellation and Makeup Notice]

Hello, this is Pia Joyce, an assistant at Extreme.

I would like to inform you about the cancellation and makeup of the extreme lecture as follows:

Reason: Due to personal reasons of Professor Ted Redymer, who is in charge, the lecture is canceled.

Additional information:
During this cancellation period, a quiz and makeup class led by the assistant will be scheduled twice.

Students are advised to review the previous lecture materials.

If there is additional information to be conveyed, We will announce it later.

Professor Redymer has also left a brief message.

– I hope you don’t neglect your learning and training during the break.

If you have any questions about the past classes or if there are parts that you don’t understand,

Please contact Professor Kasim Pierre or Assistant Pia Joyce.

I hope you approach the makeup class with sincerity.

Date: To be determined
Time: To be determined
Location: To be determined

President ‘Yussi Glendor’ and Professor ‘Labin Hawk’ have taken charge.

In the case of unavoidable absence from the makeup class, please contact the assistant in advance and inform the reason.

Thank you.
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“Wow!”

If the hero had seen it, the scene unfolding in the break room might have been a bit disappointing.

The kids looked at each other and burst into laughter.

“Phew, a makeup class…”

“So, does that mean we don’t have to do practical training this week and next week…really?”

“Sob, sob. Is it my birthday today?”

In reality, before checking the announcement, they were deeply worried.

‘… Where will the hero take us this time?’

It’s not even time for midterms, and they’ve already conquered a dungeon.

They couldn’t help but feel uneasy about what the next practical training would be.

‘Of course it helps a lot, but… .’

The classes are fun and informative.

But sometimes it’s really tough.

There were a lot of assignments.

There were jokes circulating that the reason for not getting a perfect score in the extreme lecture evaluations was because of the difficulty.

But now, a two-week break.

In the midst of the repeated practical training, it was a perfectly timed break.

“By the way, the president is personally conducting the makeup class. Does he usually teach regular classes too?”

“… I don’t know? Maybe we’re all going to learn alchemy together.”

“I don’t know anything about alchemy.”

“Me neither.”

“But it still seems like it would be fun.”

After the explosive reaction, curiosity arose about Yussi and Labin.

“Professor Labin Hawk… he’s the one with the intimidating eyes, right? The bald one.”

“That’s right.”

“Who is he?”

Labin was the professor of another Unir lecture, ‘Understanding the Battlefield.’

Due to the non-duplicating nature of Unir, as students taking the hero’s classes, they couldn’t help but not know Labin.

“My friend takes Professor Labin’s Unir lecture, ‘Understanding the Battlefield.’”

“But?”

“They say he teaches well, but he’s a bit intimidating.”

“I heard he spent a long time at Rosenstark.”

“There’s a rumor that he taught the Hero when he was a student himself.”

“Really? Wow, he’s a professor’s professor.”

“I’m curious about what the makeup class will be like.”

The kids’ eyes sparkled.

Experiencing an entirely new class was something they were eagerly looking forward to.

Moreover, if someone is qualified enough to establish Unir and be the guiding professor, their skills must be top-notch.

It would be helpful in many aspects.

The hero’s intention to assign Labin for the makeup class also seemed clear.

“…But it’s quite surprising that the professor had to leave his position due to personal reasons.”

“Yeah, what personal reasons could it be?”

Until dinner check-in, there was about 30 minutes left.

The kids, with their heads together, began speculating about the hero’s ‘personal reasons.’

Leciel’s footsteps halted as he passed by the break room.

Simultaneously with Cucculi letting out a yawning sound, she spoke.

“Well, maybe he went to meet his girlfriend or something.”

Gerald chuckled.

“Oh, Professor has a girlfriend too?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t he? He’s so strong.”

“What does being strong have to do with having a girlfriend?”

“Why wouldn’t it? My dad has more than ten girlfriends.”

Gerald was at a loss for words.

“….”

Thanks to Cucculi, the topic of conversation naturally shifted to ‘dating.’

It seemed to be one of the favorite keywords for teenagers, and the voices of the kids gradually grew louder.

Evergreen blushed and nervously twiddled her fingers.

“Well, can you imagine Professor dating? He seems so stoic.”

A girl with messy skin who was listening nearby chuckled.

Each time she laughed, her reddish-brown curly hair moved in all directions.

She was Karen, hailing from a territory near the Southern Great Forest.

“This kid doesn’t know anything. People like that are even sweeter when they’re in love. When there’s no relationship, they can be icy, but once they become someone’s man, there’s a charm that comes from the warmth… it’s the gap that makes it attractive.”

“Wow, I see. Karen, have you had a lot of relationships? You seem so mature…”

“Hmph.”

Luke nodded approvingly from behind them, as if he had gained some insight.

Meanwhile, the boys were also engrossed in their conversation.

“Well, honestly, not having a girlfriend doesn’t make sense.”

“There were even dating rumors in the past.”

Gerald’s words captured everyone’s attention for a moment.

In the kingdom, there were weekly magazines that closely covered celebrities.

What Gerald mentioned was about the ‘hero’s dating rumors,’ a topic those magazines loved to cover.

There were various versions of the dating rumors, including romantic entanglements with fellow members of the Dawn Knights, relationships with various noble youths (there were rumors that they requested articles paying hefty fees), and surprisingly, even a crazy magazine linking the hero to the emperor.

It wouldn’t be surprising if someone accused him of heresy, considering the nature of that matter.

Strangely, the editor-in-chief of the prominent magazine that covered these stories is said to be safe even now.

“Hehe, maybe he went to meet one of them…”

“It could just be a mission.”

A mission?

Just a mission!?

Who decided to spoil the fun in the midst of such an interesting conversation?

Gerald opened his eyes wide, turned his head in the direction of the voice, and spotted Leciel standing there with a skewed posture.

Swoosh.

As the tension eased from his forehead, his eyes naturally softened.

For some reason, it seemed like he had to agree with that opinion, at least for now.

“Hahaha, of course, that’s also a high possibility. Maybe he received a secret mission from Her Majesty!”

Gerald laughed brightly.

…Yeah.

Whether it’s a mission or romance.

What’s important about that?

The two-week break is waiting!

‘Please take your time! Enjoy yourself! Come back soon, Professor!’

Gerald earnestly prayed.

…Of course, whether his wish would smoothly come true was uncertain.

There were many opposing wishes as well.

** * *

The enthusiastic welcome for the hero’s absence wasn’t limited to the students.

In the professors’ hideout, excited voices were filling the air.

The professor in charge of ‘Monsters in the Battlefield,’ Bellum, proudly exclaimed, holding up a document,

“Now, everyone, please pay attention!”

He was particularly hostile to the hero among the professors.

Having received lackluster evaluations for several years, he harbored resentment when he saw the hero receiving outstanding reviews right after his arrival.

Despite being only ten years apart in age, he felt a deep inferiority complex, especially after overhearing a female student’s gossip suggesting that the hero looked thirty years younger than him.

Thus, he secretly gathered information to find a way to undermine the hero.

And today…

“I finally got my hands on this.”

Thanks to his connections in the administrative department, he managed to obtain it with some effort.

“The budget and expenditure statement allocated to Extreme!”

Claps and cheers followed.

‘I can’t let this opportunity slip away.’

Surreptitiously taking a portion of the lecture support funds and public funds was almost customary among professors.

Yussi who had been reforming the academy to a great extent, was also concerned that if she touched that part, an all-out war with the professors would break out, so she tolerated the double ledgers being submitted.

One of the professors expressed a different opinion as if he was skeptical.

“Would a figure like the hero dare to touch public funds?”

“Haha, we’re not trying to find a major embezzlement here.”

Of course, the hero’s integrity was well-known.

He used the wealth he accumulated to support the families of fallen comrades and civilians in need of reconstruction.

However, humans can’t be perfect every moment.

“This is several times more funding than existing lectures. Moreover, since the president is a former subordinate, surveillance is useless. There’s no way he didn’t use a single penny of that much money for personal purposes.”

“Ho, it seems like you’re onto something.”

Bellum nodded emphatically.

“Think about it. Just recently, he spent thousands of gold coins at an auction. Do you think he didn’t use that for personal purposes?”

“Hmm, he did mention buying artifacts for the students, right?”

“Heh, using money to show favoritism is still using it for personal purposes.”

Once again, they weren’t looking for a major embezzlement.

Something minor would suffice.

After all, people’s expectations regarding the hero’s morality were already sky-high.

Manipulating public funds, even in a small way, could tarnish his reputation.

With the hero away, now was the time to influence public opinion.

‘Perhaps that abnormal popularity of the hero will decrease a bit.’

Jeremy Eitrobin, the professor in charge of the “History of Demonkind” course, stepped forward confidently.

“I’ll look into it. Manipulating the ledger to some extent can be easily detected.”

He was one of the few young professors who mingled with the elders (as Kasim was almost the only one in the hero faction).

Being one of the rare professors with a business background, he had been entrusted with the manipulation of the elders’ ledgers for a long time.

“Oh, Professor Eitrobin. I trust you with this.”

The professors looked at him with hopeful eyes.

Eitrobin, with a sly smile, confidently spread out the ledger.

…

The professors’ anticipation quickly dwindled.

It was around the time when cold sweat started to bead on Eitrobin’s cheek.

“No, this can’t be happening.”

“Examine it carefully. There might be something you missed.”

It was unbelievable.

Who would stick to using ‘support funds’ strictly for support?

However, no matter how thoroughly he examined the ledger, there was nothing.

“Huh!?”

At the moment when Eitrobin, still unwilling to give up, started to look at the ledger again, the professors’ high expectations drastically faded.

“Why, what did you find?”

“Well, it’s just…”

Eitrobin couldn’t finish his sentence.

Frustrated, another professor grabbed the ledger.

At that moment, an astonished exclamation escaped his lips.

“Savings…?”

His words were delivered with a subtle nuance.

“Savings…?”

The professors erupted with joy.

“As expected!”

“It was the savings after all!”

“I told you. There can’t be such a clean person!”

The professor holding the ledger smirked.

“No, that’s not it…”

It was quite the opposite.

In the ledger’s back pages, it was recorded in detail how the hero had poured a considerable amount of savings into preparing for his lectures.

Even for the hero, it was a staggering amount.

The professors immediately fell silent.

“Well, well.”

“Hmm.”

They had been defeated as human beings.

When the professors’ faces gradually turned red, a deep voice echoed through the room.

“You’ve put in unnecessary effort. He’s not the kind of guy to do such things.”

The chaotic atmosphere instantly quieted down.

Even though they were elders who occasionally made indiscretions on campus, compared to the man who had just spoken, they were nothing.

Professor Labin Hawk, with 25 years of service, was a senior professor who had produced numerous scholars and received unparalleled support in various fields of the empire.

He had also taught the hero directly in the past, and despite his usual negative stance toward the hero, the professors looked at him with puzzled and somewhat betrayed eyes when he spoke in defense of the hero.

Whether the professors agreed or not, Labin glanced at the message board.

The anonymous forum was buzzing with stories about the Extreme makeup classes.

“Ha, it’s makeup.”

… Quite presumptuous.

It was time to show people what true teaching methods were.

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