The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
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‘Let’s head back for now.’
Of course, the extra points were important, but there was something far more critical at hand.
As I slowly opened my eyes, the mental world crumbled away, and my vision flickered.
“Phew!”
I exhaled deeply, releasing the breath I had been holding, and looked around.
Grace stared at me with a gaze filled with shock, while the flames in the cavern had disappeared entirely.
“What about the ember?”
[It’s... it’s gone. Absorbed into you—completely.]
Just as she said, the massive flame that had been blazing in the center of the cavern was nowhere to be seen.
‘There’s still residual heat lingering, though.’
The Primordial Ember was gone, but the heat that had filled the cavern still smoldered, retaining its power.
‘Well, just because the fire is gone doesn’t mean heated iron cools immediately.’
And this wasn’t just a piece of iron—it was land spanning tens of kilometers.
It would likely take decades for all the heat in this place to dissipate completely.
“That’s a relief.”
[...What’s so relieving about that?]
“I mean, we can still enjoy the hot springs in the Thermal Region for the rest of the school trip.”
Of course, without the Primordial Ember, the hot springs in the Thermal Region would eventually disappear, but there wasn’t much that could be done about that.
‘I couldn’t just leave a ticking time bomb down here for the sake of preserving hot springs.’
The Primordial Ember was far less stable than the original Primordial Fire.
That was why Grace had built her tomb here—to suppress its power.
[Hah. Worrying about hot springs at a time like this....]
Grace shook her head, as if she couldn’t believe me.
“Anyway, this means all the embers are gone, right?”
[That’s right.]
Grace glanced around the now extinguished cavern with a faint smile.
[And with this... my mission is finally complete.]
Her voice carried a trace of loneliness.
I turned to look at Grace, remaining silent.
“In that case....”
[It means my wandering as a lingering soul ends here as well.]
“......”
Though our time together hadn’t been long, the thought of Grace disappearing left me feeling oddly empty.
[What’s this? Are you sad that I’m leaving?]
Grace gave me a teasing smile.
“Well, it’d be a lie to say I’m not.”
Especially since she was essentially Iris’s mother.
For Iris, who grew up in an orphanage, the concept of a “mother” must have felt particularly meaningful.
‘I’ve long since stopped feeling anything about it, but....’
Iris was different.
Actually, I was the unusual one; most kids from orphanages had complex feelings about their parents.
In my previous life, I spent countless sleepless nights longing for parents whose names I didn’t even know.
[You’re... a kind person.]
Grace smiled gently at me as she floated closer, placing her hand over my chest.
I shouldn’t have felt anything from her touch as a spirit, yet it left a strange warmth where her hand rested.
[Though our time together was short, I thought this while watching you.]
Her voice was soft and quiet.
[You’re more broken and wounded than anyone I’ve ever met.]
[You may not realize it yourself, but your soul is in a pitiful state. Worn down to the point of being unrecognizable, drained beyond measure, and twisted beyond repair.]
[It’s astonishing how you manage to keep up the pretense of being ‘fine.’]
I had heard similar words before.
From Professor Elisha.
“I’m not pretending—”
[You’re not? Do you truly believe that?]
Her deep, piercing gaze seemed to see right through me.
[You know it too. That you’re far from okay.]
“......”
I said nothing, simply meeting her gaze.
Yes.
I knew.
After living through my previous life, something within me had broken beyond repair.
My life wasn’t one that a “normal” human could endure.
Dying several times a day, burning my bones and shredding my flesh with every use of power, willingly accepting hundreds or thousands of deaths when necessary.
Expecting someone who lived that life to remain normal... was too much to ask.
‘But still.’
Even so—
“Even if you’re broken, people can still live.”
I gave Grace a faint smile.
“As long as they have something precious to hold onto.”
Grace’s eyes trembled as she clasped her hands together and bowed her head.
[May the blessings of the Seven Gods light your path.]
I had heard those words countless times before, but for some reason, they moved me to the verge of tears.
“...Maybe that’s why you’re called a great hero.”
[Hmm? What did you say?]
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
[Hehe. Shall we head back, then?]
Grace floated into the air and began retracing the path we had taken.
I followed her, and as we passed through the gate, I saw the statue of Grace we had first encountered.
[From here, just follow the path upward, and you’ll reach the ruins’ exit.]
“What about you?”
[I’ve fulfilled my mission. There’s no reason for me to remain here any longer.]
“......”
Grace floated higher into the air and waved at me.
[Take care.]
Her figure gradually grew fainter, her voice crackling in my head like a broken radio.
[And... beware of...]
“Beware of who?”
[The Sixth... Hero....]
“What?”
I frowned, focusing on the faint voice echoing in my head.
[Beware... the Sixth Hero.]
With those final words, Grace’s voice faded completely.
“Beware the Sixth Hero...?”
What on earth could she mean?
‘She couldn’t be talking about the current heroes.’
Grace had been trapped here for 500 years.
There was no way she could know about any heroes outside now.
Then—
She must be warning me about one of the heroes from 500 years ago.
“Who’s the sixth hero?”
The number of great heroes is five.
I had never heard anything about a sixth hero, not even in my past lives.
“...What is this?”
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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As I furrowed my brow, lost in thought—
Clink.
A clear metallic sound echoed in my ear.
“Huh?”
I looked down and saw a pure white gem on the ground.
‘This is....’
A relic.
A special artifact imbued with divine blessings.
“With this size... I could turn it into a pendant and wear it around my neck.”
I picked up the gem, which was about the size of two finger joints.
‘I’ll give it to Iris later.’
I pocketed the gem and glanced back at Grace’s statue.
“Rest in peace.”
After awkwardly making the sign of the cross, I followed the path Grace had shown me out of the tomb.
“Now, let’s get back to treasure hunting....”
“Da-Dale! There you are!”
Just then—
A crowd of people rushed toward me from one side of the corridor.
“You little punk! You’ve been hiding out without answering your calls all this time?! Where the hell have you been?!”
Professor Lucas shouted with an angry expression.
‘Why does everyone look so serious?’
It felt like only one or two hours had passed since I absorbed the Primordial Flame with Grace.
Why were they making such a fuss?
“Is there a problem...?”
“A problem?! Do you even know how many hours it’s been since your Hero Watch signal cut out?!”
“...How many hours?”
“12 hours, you idiot! The day’s almost over!”
“...What?”
Twelve hours?
Late at night.
After the cadets who had been deployed to search for me returned to their rooms, I was summoned to Professor Lucas’s office.
“Unauthorized absence and trespassing in a sanctum... What on earth were you thinking?”
Sigh.
Professor Lucas ran his hands through his hair, letting out a deep sigh.
“...Trespassing in a sanctum?”
“You know exactly where you crawled out of, don’t you? That’s Grace’s tomb.”
“.......”
Grace’s tomb, located beneath the ruins.
It was, of course, classified as a sacred ground strictly off-limits to the public within the Holy Kingdom.
And it was also where I, who had been missing for 12 hours, was found.
“Thankfully, Pope Marianne decided to overlook the matter, but if this were by the Holy Kingdom’s laws, you’d be heading straight to prison.”
“.......”
“Anyway... you’ll face disciplinary action when we return to the academy.”
Disciplinary action?
Again with the discipline?
“Wait, hold on a second!”
I jumped up from my seat and shouted urgently.
“This wasn’t something I could help!”
“And why’s that?”
“Well...”
I explained to Professor Lucas about my encounter with Grace’s lingering spirit.
(Though I left out the part about the Primordial Flame.)
“So what you’re saying is...”
A faint laugh escaped from Professor Lucas’s lips as he listened.
“You just happened to encounter the soul of Grace, who died 500 years ago, and somehow ended up inside her tomb?”
“Technically, I passed through a gate and found myself inside the tomb.”
“Haha. Dale... you dumb punk...”
Professor Lucas grabbed my collar and yelled fiercely.
“What? You met Grace’s soul and ended up in her tomb? Do you think that makes any sense, you lunatic?!”
“It’s true! What am I supposed to do?!”
“Got any proof? Proof, you idiot?!”
“.......”
Well, if proof was needed, I did have the relic left behind by Grace.
But if I presented it as evidence, they might accuse me of entering her tomb not by accident but for the purpose of “grave robbing.”
And if that happened, no excuses or clemency would stop me from being sent straight to the Holy Kingdom’s prison.
“Uh... well...”
Desperately trying to think of something to say, I finally muttered weakly,
“...She said she’d fulfilled her mission and disappeared.”
“Haha. Of course, she would.”
Professor Lucas flashed a wide grin and placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Congratulations, Dale. This makes your fourth suspension.”
“.......”
In summary:
Leaving out the unspeakable topics like the Primordial Flame and Hellfire,
When viewed from the outside, the results of this field trip were—
‘Zero bonus points and an additional suspension.’
Haha.
‘Screw my life.’
Why does the world hate me so much?
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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