The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned
The place we arrived at, following Professor Elisha, was the entrance to the imperial underground—the same place where we had first entered.
In other words, the starting point.
"Here?"
"Yes. The presence of the Ember leads this way."
"......."
What?
Does that mean it wasn’t in the imperial underground?
Creak.
Passing through the secret wall, we returned to the imperial palace corridor.
‘What’s going on?’
As I furrowed my brows and looked around in confusion, Professor Elisha strode forward.
"I had a suspicion earlier."
"What kind of suspicion?"
"That underground chamber—it didn’t have just one passage."
"That’s... true."
Just as she said.
The underground chamber where we had encountered the Order of Eternity, Mephisto, and the Apostles of Destruction had multiple passages converging into one place.
It was almost like an ant nest.
"Doesn’t that seem strange? If there are multiple entrances to the secret escape route meant for the royal family, they could end up running into pursuers inside."
"Now that you mention it, that does seem odd."
"My guess is... the underground itself was a diversion. A trick to mislead pursuers into chasing after a false escape route."
A diversion.
"Then... does that mean there’s a real escape route somewhere else?"
"Most likely."
Professor Elisha closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
She spread her arms wide.
"Bind."
Fweeeing!
Threads of spider silk shot out from her ten fingers, covering the palace corridor.
"Ugh."
Professor Elisha bit her lip and drew upon her mana.
The ten strands of spider silk continued to stretch, covering the walls and ceiling of the palace corridor, expanding further and further.
Before long, the spiderweb she wove spread throughout the entire palace.
I let out a quiet gasp as I watched the nearly invisible threads cover the palace interior.
"This is...."
What was this?
I had never seen her spread her web this extensively before.
‘Could it be because of that kiss earlier? Did the influence of the Primordial Flame enhance her abilities?’
No.
That wasn’t possible.
The Primordial Flame wasn’t some kind of buff magic—it didn’t strengthen others just by giving it to them.
‘Even Lanez didn’t become stronger in terms of raw power—he simply gained better control over the Blessing of Frost.’
And besides, what she absorbed wasn’t even my blood—just a bit of saliva at most.
Even though the Primordial Flame resided within me, that didn’t mean its energy extended into my saliva.
Which meant...
The reason why Professor Elisha’s abilities had grown this much was—
"Why are you making that face?"
"No, it’s just... you seem much stronger than before."
"Fufu. Do I?"
Professor Elisha gave a soft smile and shrugged.
"You know, there’s a saying."
"What saying?"
"They say a woman becomes stronger when she’s in love."
"......."
"I used to think it was nonsense... but after experiencing it myself, I understand now."
She gently stroked my cheek and smiled.
"My younger siblings have been growing stronger by the day. As their elder sister, I can’t afford to fall behind, can I?"
Elder sister?
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the unexpected term.
"So you’ve decided to call yourself my sister now?"
"Of course, but only after you graduate. For now, I still have a responsibility as your professor."
"Hmm. Elisha... sis?"
"Fufu. Doesn’t it feel a little different?"
Professor Elisha grinned playfully.
"Then, would Candidate Dale like to call me ‘noona’ instead?"
"By age, I’m actually much older than you."
"Then should I call you ‘oppa’ instead?"
"...Let’s talk about that later."
Hearing Professor Elisha call me ‘oppa’ again... It had happened once before, and it still didn’t suit her at all.
"Very well."
Nodding, Professor Elisha started walking.
"Follow me."
"Did you find the way?"
"Yes."
We walked down a long corridor until we arrived in front of a door—one of the many doors in the imperial palace, but by far the most extravagantly decorated.
Standing guard outside were two knights whose aura alone signaled they were no ordinary individuals.
"That place is...."
"It appears to be Empress Camellia’s chamber."
Empress Camellia’s chamber.
"So you’re saying the real escape route is inside that room?"
"According to what my ‘spiderweb’ has detected, yes."
"Ugh."
Well...
It made sense.
If an emergency escape route was built anywhere, the Empress’s chamber would be the most logical place.
"It doesn’t seem like Empress Camellia is inside, but..."
"The problem is those guards."
Even though Camellia had granted me free movement within the imperial palace, that didn’t necessarily mean I could enter the private chambers of the royal family.
"Let’s at least try and see if we can enter."
"And if they refuse?"
"Then we’ll have no choice but to force our way in."
"...Haa. I’m worried this might turn into a diplomatic issue."
"If we don’t stop the Ember now, that will lead to an even greater conflict."
Leaving the hesitant Professor Elisha behind, I stepped forward toward the Empress’s chamber.
"That aura...."
"T-The Empress’s Blessing?"
The knights’ eyes widened as they saw the seven-colored aura radiating faintly from my body.
"We were instructed that anyone bearing the Empress’s Blessing may enter any location freely!"
Contrary to Professor Elisha’s concerns, the knights moved aside almost too easily, as if they had no doubts at all.
‘Now I see why Camellia is called the heart of the empire.’
For them to unquestioningly allow a complete stranger into the Empress’s chambers just because of her command...
It was only natural for knights to follow imperial orders, but for them to obey so unconditionally—it required an extraordinary level of loyalty.
Click.
At any rate...
That was how we entered the Empress’s chamber.
“So, I’ve lived long enough to find myself stepping into the Empress’s room.”
“It seems that way.”
As someone from an unnamed village and a professor like Elisha, who was once a mere minor hero, I had expected a completely different world to unfold before my eyes...
“Huh? It’s not as extravagant as I thought.”
“Hmm. It’s certainly a stark contrast to where the throne was earlier.”
Unlike the reception room, which was filled with lavish furniture and priceless artworks beyond imagination, Camellia’s room was unexpectedly modest.
“Well, I suppose even an Empress would want to sleep comfortably.”
“That’s a fair point.”
“For now, let’s focus on finding the escape route.”
“Wait a moment.”
Elisha, who had been spinning her spiderwebs across the room, searching every corner, moved toward one spot.
A wall—devoid of any furniture or decorations.
“There’s an energy emanating from here...”
“Step aside for a moment.”
I placed my hand on the wall and closed my eyes.
A faint amount of mana transmitted through my palm.
‘As expected, it’s protected by a barrier.’
Unlike secret passages made for mere deception, the real escape route was safeguarded by a powerful magic barrier.
But—
‘No matter how strong a barrier may be.’
Whoosh!
Ashen flames spread from my hand, wrapping around the wall.
The magical barrier protecting it was entirely devoured by the flames and disappeared.
“...No matter how many times I see it, it’s astonishing.”
Elisha let out a dry chuckle as she gazed at the now-revealed passageway.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Together, we entered the underground passage.
It must not have been used for a long time, as dust filled the air.
A musty stench stung my nose, and the damp, sticky air clung unpleasantly to my skin.
And then—
‘I can feel it.’
Whoosh!
The primordial flame slumbering in my heart writhed violently.
The same sensation I had felt when I descended into that underground space with Grace before.
‘The primordial ember is here.’
Narrowing my eyes, I looked down the passage stretching far below.
“Professor Elisha.”
Tap.
I grabbed Elisha’s hand as she moved ahead.
“Hm? What is it?”
“Stay behind me.”
“But then you won’t be able to find the way—”
“From here on, I can navigate just fine.”
Standing protectively in front of her, I cautiously took a step forward.
As we descended, the heat grew more and more intense.
And at the end of the passage—
Whoosh!
In the depths beneath the imperial palace.
A massive, raging flame.
“Hah.”
A laugh escaped my lips the moment I saw it.
‘It’s much bigger than before.’
The primordial ember burning beneath the imperial palace was several times the size of the one I had seen in the Thermal region.
‘Even that ember alone was powerful enough to turn an entire region into a volcanic wasteland.’
So then, just how much power did this ember hold?
“...No wonder the Empress couldn’t do anything before she died.”
Tsk.
Clicking my tongue, I stepped closer to the ember—
Click, click.
The sound of footsteps echoed through the underground chamber.
A figure emerged, clad in a black robe.
“......”
Judging by the slender frame, a woman.
Her face was hidden beneath a deeply drawn hood, veiled by some kind of dark mist, likely the result of magic.
[How did you get in here?]
A magically altered voice reverberated through the underground space, dripping with gloom.
I turned to look at the black-robed figure and clicked my tongue.
“No need to cover yourself up so much.”
[What do you mean?]
“No matter how much you hide your face and alter your voice, I already know who you are.”
The gloomy voice cut off.
“The only ones who can freely enter and exit a secret passage accessible only through the Empress’s chamber... The one person within the imperial palace who could scheme without arousing any suspicion due to the Empress’s absolute trust.”
And—
“Someone who, in the past, was connected to the ‘Demons.’”
If I hadn’t known that the primordial ember was burning beneath the palace, I might have been uncertain.
But now that I knew, this wasn’t even a riddle.
“As far as I know, there’s only one person in the imperial palace who fits that description.”
“...Tsk.”
The black mist shrouding her face dissipated.
She pushed back the hood covering her head and pulled out a spiked mace from beneath her robe.
“I should have smashed your head back then.”
Melina glared, her expression fierce as she raised her mace.
“You should have crushed my head, huh...?”
I smirked, gripping my sword.
“Well—”
That wouldn’t have been enough.

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