The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

Chapter 25 - You Were That Kind of Woman [Interlude]

[Translator - Night]

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Chapter 25 - You Were That Kind of Woman [Interlude]

The Demon Cult's hideout.

Amidst the thirty-nine corpses scattered inside the hideout, I staggered as I got to my feet.

“Ugh… it hurts like hell.”

The aftermath of the Stigma amplifier had kicked in after its effect wore off.

They said the side effects were completely disregarded in the creation of the drug, and the pain from the distortion of my energy flow throughout my body was beyond imagination.

'Still, the performance is undeniably effective.'

This prototype only increased 30% of the theoretical maximum magic power that the Stigma amplifier could provide, and yet the effect was this significant.

'If just 30% is this powerful, I wonder what the 100% version would be like.'

I thought of the Seven Star Herb I had packed in my bag, a satisfied smile creeping across my face.

“Now then….”

The side effects had subsided, so it was time to investigate the hideout.

'Honestly, I don't expect much.'

The guy went to great lengths to prevent any information from leaking by placing high-level restrictions even on the low-ranking members.

Even if I thoroughly searched this place, the chances of finding anything useful were slim.

'But it's better than doing nothing.'

I weaved through the corpses sprawled on the floor and began investigating the hideout of the Demon Cult.

How long had I been searching every nook and cranny?

I found a pile of black nails in a small room that resembled a storage area.

“These nails contain the ‘curse’ that blinded Iris.”

There were hundreds of black nails, at a rough estimate.

Although each nail contained only a small amount of the curse, with this many, it was a different story.

‘But still, this alone isn't enough to curse an entire school.’

Senior Sophia had taught me about large-scale rituals before.

In large-scale rituals, what's crucial is how many materials are prepared and how meticulously the ritual is designed.

And.

‘Where the caster performs the ritual.’

For a large-scale ritual like this, it would be difficult for the key caster to operate from ‘outside.’

Moreover, this ritual had to be sustained for months until the ‘Seven Eyes’ power was completely drained.

No matter how sophisticated the ritual was, created directly by a high priest of demons, it would be impossible to maintain if the caster was outside.

'Which means.'

Archbishop of Illusions Astaroth must have been hiding within the school during the months the ritual was active.

“No… No, not just months.”

The demons said this was a plan they had been preparing for years.

It was highly likely that the caster had infiltrated the school long before the actual ritual was activated, disguised as someone else.

That way, activating and sustaining the ritual from within the school would have been much more convenient.

‘In other words.’

Archbishop of Illusions Astaroth is currently hiding in the school, disguised as someone.

‘It would be difficult to find him without knowing who he's disguised as.’

There were nearly a thousand candidates within the school alone.

When you add professors, various hired staff, and researchers who stayed on after graduation, the numbers increase even further.

‘It’s impossible to investigate every single one of them.’

Even if I did investigate, it was doubtful whether I could find him, especially if a high-ranking demon priest was determined to hide.

And more importantly.

“I have no reason to go looking for him.”

I smirked as I glanced around the bloodstained hideout.

Right.

Why would I need to go out of my way to find him?

‘He will come to find me first.’

Once Astaroth realizes that his carefully crafted plan, years in the making, has been compromised, he will be desperate to find me.

‘There's no need to leave any evidence behind.’

If I leave too obvious evidence, he might become suspicious.

My job is to wait until he comes to find me quietly.

“Yeah… so he was inside the school.”

Before leaving the hideout, I lightly flicked one of the black nails I had taken and looked up at the moonlit night sky.

I don’t know who you’re disguised as.

Nor do I know why you went to such lengths to target the ‘Seven Eyes’ that Iris possesses, or what you plan to do with the power you took from her.

In my previous life, you died at the hands of the ‘Sword of the Holy Nation’ before we ever met.

'But.'

There is one thing I do know for sure.

“Astaroth.”

This time.

“You’ll meet me before you ever encounter the Sword of the Holy Nation.”

* * *

On my way back to the school dormitory from the Demon Cult’s hideout.

As I walked through the streets already enveloped in darkness, I frowned.

“Ugh… Just a bit of fighting, and I’m already tired.”

The wounds had all healed thanks to the Blessing of Revival, but that didn’t mean my fatigue was gone.

The aftereffects of using the Stigma amplifier, combined with the exhaustion of fighting thirty demons, were making me sleepy.

‘I need to get to bed soon.’

As I hurried toward the dormitory.

“Huh?”

Someone was squatting in front of my dorm room, dozing off.

A glimpse of pink hair peeked out from under a hooded robe.

“…Iris?”

When I cautiously called her name, the woman who had been dozing off suddenly sprang to her feet.

“You bastard…! Ah, no, Dale! Where the hell have you been?!”

Iris marched toward me with an angry expression.

“I messaged you so many times!”

“Oh.”

I belatedly turned on my Hero Watch and saw that there were numerous messages from Iris piled up.

“I was so worried when I found out from Professor Jade that you had taken a permit and gone to the outdoor training grounds!”

Well.

If it had been any other professor, but knowing it was Professor Jade, nicknamed the "Student Killer," who gave permission for the outing, and then losing contact, anyone would have freaked out like she did.

"It's okay. Nothing happened."

"For someone who says nothing happened, what’s with your clothes?"

"That’s…."

I belatedly looked down at my clothes and saw them torn several places.

‘The blessing of revival only heals the body, after all.’

At least I managed to clean off the blood of the demons before returning to the dorm, but there was nothing I could do about the torn fabric.

"Well… I rolled around a bit in the mountains."

Ultimately, the excuse that came out of my mouth was pitifully lame.

"…Rolled around?"

"Yeah. The item Professor Jade asked for was in some rough terrain."

"Hmm."

Iris looked me up and down suspiciously, then grabbed my hand and pointed to the door.

"Open the door."

"…Isn’t it risky if someone sees you entering the men's dorm at this hour?"

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"That's why we need to get in quickly before anyone sees. Do you know how much trouble I had to sneak here without Camilla noticing?"

At her insistence, I opened the door.

The room revealed inside was so shabby that one might doubt it was in the same dormitory as her room.

"Now, take off your clothes and come here."

"…Take off my clothes?"

I stared at her in surprise, and Iris, with her face flushed red, shrieked.

"I need to see your injuries!"

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"Oh, right. But I'm really fine."

"Tsk. If you don’t take them off quickly, I’ll do it for you!"

That would actually be a reward… No, that’s not the point.

"Got it."

I took off my shirt and approached her.

Iris examined my body seriously.

"Hmm. No visible injuries."

"See? I told you I’m fine."

"No. Heroes' bodies are often so tough that injuries don’t show on the surface."

Iris carefully extended her hand to touch my body.

"You said you rolled in the mountains, right?"

"Yeah."

"Judging by the state of your clothes, it seems like you rolled around quite a bit… You might have internal bleeding."

As she said that, Iris cautiously began to channel her mana.

The light radiating from her Stigma seeped into my body.

It felt like a warm broth spreading heat throughout my body.

"…This should take care of any internal bleeding."

"Even if you hadn’t done that, it would have healed independently."

"Tsk! Didn’t I tell you not to say things like that?"

She gently flicked my forehead with a stern expression.

"Got it? You shouldn’t treat your body carelessly, no matter how tough you are. Even heroes feel pain when they’re injured."

"……."

Suddenly.

A faded memory flashed through my mind.

-Don’t treat your body so carelessly.

-What’s the big deal? I’ll just come back to life if I die anyway.

-But you still feel the pain, don’t you?

Ah, right.

You were always like this.

In the previous life, and even now.

Unchanging.

Always.

Always.

"Dale?"

"……."

"…Are you crying?"

I wiped my eyes and shook my head slightly.

"No, it’s nothing."

"……."

An awkward silence settled in the room.

"Ahem!"

Unable to endure the awkwardness, Iris coughed lightly and stood up.

"Anyway! The reason I contacted you today is something else!"

Come to think of it, I hadn’t yet checked why she messaged me today.

"Dale, do you have time this weekend?"

"I think I do… Why?"

"Would you like to go out with me?"

So, that’s why she contacted me—to go out together this weekend.

‘Going on a date with Iris.’

Of course, our relationship hadn’t progressed to the point where it could be called a "date" yet.

But still, the idea of spending time alone with her was an irresistibly sweet offer.

"Where are we going?"

"That…."

As I watched her hesitate to speak, a satisfied smile crept onto my face.

‘Where does she want to go?’

The theater in Valhalla City? Or perhaps a cozy café?

Given her love of food, it could also be a popular restaurant.

‘It doesn’t matter where.’

As long as I could be with her, even if it were in the slums, it wouldn’t matter.

‘There’s no way she’d ask to go to an ant cave, though.’

I smiled bitterly as I waited for her answer.

"Dale… Have you ever heard of the ant hill?"

"…What?"

Does she really want to go to the ant hill?

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]