Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Hero's Parents
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[If not an emperor or king, then what kind of person is he?]
Mitra's question was audible only to Cheon-ho, but it was clear that everyone else was thinking something similar.
I'm curious.
Tell us quick.
So what is it?
Under the barrage of stares, Cheon-ho scratched his cheek with an awkward expression.
Come to think of it, this was the first time he'd ever talked about his father's job like this.
"Son, do you understand why I'm only telling you now... why I didn't tell you as a child and waited until this moment to reveal the truth?"
About four years ago. The day Father first revealed his true identity.
The young Cheon-ho blinked at his father's question. He couldn't think of any reason why it had to be revealed so late.
"To make my middle school syndrome worse?"
When he gave that ridiculous answer, Father burst out laughing and ruffled the young Cheon-ho's hair wildly as he spoke.
"If I told you when you were in kindergarten or elementary school that I was a hero, you would've bragged to your friends for sure. 'My dad's a hero! He saved a world called Phaien!' Then what do you think would've happened? Your friends would've looked at you coldly, and their parents would've pitied you. And it wouldn't stop there—people would've started looking at me and your mom strangely."
Father's words were as convincing as ever.
So Cheon-ho accepted it, and from that day on, he never explained his father's job to anyone.
But this was the Labyrinth World. Not Earth.
Cheon-ho took a deep breath and answered shortly and simply.
"A hero."
"Pardon?"
"A hero. The one who defeated the Demon King and saved Phaien."
Everyone blinked.
And shortly after.
The third wave of shock rocked the room.
* * *
"So, the Hero's father is also a hero?"
"The one who repelled the Demon King that attacked the world called Phaien?"
[Ah, did Father also wield a holy sword?]
"Was Father a mage? A magic hero?"
"W-Wait a second. So both father and son were summoned as heroes to another world?"
"Um, is Mother perhaps an angel too?"
It was a flood of questions.
Cheon-ho enjoyed everyone's enthusiastic reactions and answered them one by one.
"Yes, a hero."
"Yes, he defeated the Demon King."
"Father used a hero sword. Probably in the holy sword category."
"Father wasn't good at magic. Magic was Mother's specialty."
"Yes, both father and son."
"Doesn't seem like an angel."
He answered each one, but the questions spawned more questions. Raguel was especially excited.
"Then Mother is a mage? No, an archmage?!"
It was certainly clear she was an extraordinary mage. Even a 5th Rank Combat Angel specializing in magic couldn't create scrolls on the level Cheon-ho had used.
Yet Cheon-ho's mother had mass-produced them.
"Let's summarize for a moment."
It was Saschiell. He seemed tired from the successive shocks too, but as the leader of the combat angels, he maintained his composure better than most.
"The Hero's father is a hero. He defeated the Demon King and saved the world called Phaien, and the Hero's mother is an extraordinary archmage."
Everyone nodded. Saschiell continued.
"The Hero's parents sent at least 42 items across various worlds to find their son. And one of them reached the Hero."
Everyone's gazes turned to the carrier. This time, only Cheon-ho nodded, while the rest swallowed dryly. They were suddenly curious again about what else might be inside the carrier.
"But there's no guarantee the Hero's parents have fully pinpointed his location yet."
"Yes, that's pretty much the current situation."
It was a simple story once summarized, but still hard to accept.
After all, the Labyrinth World had summoned countless heroes before, but a case like Cheon-ho's was unheard of.
Still, the summarization had its effect—the room's atmosphere calmed considerably.
Eizel shot her hand up high.
"Hero! I have a question!"
"Yes, Eizel."
"What's else in the carrier? The clothes you're wearing now came from inside too, right?"
Everyone nodded at Eizel's question. Raguel praised it in a small voice as a great question.
"First, about the clothes... yes, they came from inside. It's a kind of magic armor—you equip and unequip it by chanting the activation word."
Cheon-ho explained while looking himself over. The blue battle suit covering his entire body was closer to tights than armor, but it wasn't paper-thin or skin-tight.
"Activation word?"
Eizel's eyes sparkled at Cheon-ho's explanation. She seemed eager to see it demonstrated.
Her expression was so cute that Cheon-ho chuckled softly and nodded happily.
"Yes, like this? Armored!"
With a short shout, the blue battle suit disintegrated into particles, the complete opposite of when he'd first equipped it.
And Eizel's eyes sparkled even brighter.
[My lord!]
By the time Mitra shouted urgently, Cheon-ho realized his mistake. His original clothes had been completely disintegrated the first time he'd used Armored.
Fortunately, Lucille right beside him acted quickly. She spread her wings wide to shield him from everyone's view.
The problem was the direction.
Cheon-ho faced Lucille directly, and Lucille hurriedly lifted her downward gaze upward.
Both their faces flushed red at the same time, and Mitra sighed.
[Good grief, my lord. Undressing in front of me is more than enough.]
"Armored!"
Without even the leisure to point out Mitra's wild remark, Cheon-ho hurriedly chanted the activation word.
And about ten seconds later.
As Lucille still blushed and fidgeted, Eizel giggled mischievously, and the rest of the group struggled to suppress their embarrassment and amusement, Cheon-ho opened the carrier.
"For now, let's check the contents."
Everyone's gazes focused back on the carrier's interior.
* * *
"Son, back when I was in Phaien—"
As soon as he opened the carrier, Father's bust appeared in hologram form, just like the first time. Did it appear every time he opened it?
Explanations starting with his time in Phaien always lasted at least an hour, so Cheon-ho tried to dismiss the image like he had mid-battle, but it wasn't easy this time. It was because of the group's reactions.
"Wow, that's the Hero's father?"
"Ooh, as expected of a hero—such a dignified and handsome face."
"You can tell just by looking that he's strong."
[Will you grow up to look like that, my lord? Hmm...]
"Nice middle! He's so handsome!"
In order: Lucille, Luca Queen, Kurt King, Mitra, Eizel.
The others reacted in their own ways too, but overall, they showed quite a high favorable impression of Cheon-ho's father.
"Hmm."
Well, it was awkward to say as his son, but he really was an impressive father.
Handsome, great physique, brimming with confidence.
What if Father had been summoned to the Labyrinth World?
Wouldn't he have hit 7-star Hero right from the start?
Cheon-ho briefly imagined Father standing next to Lucille and shook his head.
A family's peace must be preserved, after all.
[My lord, what strange thoughts are you having?]
Thanks to their increased synchronization, Mitra could now read Cheon-ho's inner thoughts better. She couldn't grasp the specifics, but she knew he was thinking something silly.
"Anyway, we'll watch this later."
As everyone focused intently, Cheon-ho dismissed Father's image. He examined the carrier's interior amid gazes filled with faint resentment, regret, and resignation.
Raguel was the first to speak.
"The bag itself has powerful recognition magic on it. Probably... no one but the Hero can open it. If someone else tries to force it open..."
"If they do?"
"It might explode."
She said it uncertainly, but her eyes showed near certainty.
And if it really did explode?
If it interacted with the scrolls inside, it would be a catastrophe.
[Good thing it has recognition magic.]
No innocent victims would result.
"Hmm."
Still, was it okay to scatter such dangerous items everywhere?
Hoping there were safety measures Raguel hadn't detected, Cheon-ho revealed the carrier's interior to everyone. Aurael and Kurt King touched it and commented.
"I don't know what it's made of, but... incredible durability. It won't budge under normal attacks."
"Indeed. The material itself is special, but it also has powerful protective magic."
"The leather tubes with the scrolls have magic on them too. Probably another item only the Hero can open."
Lucille, finally back to normal, explained while touching the already-used leather tube.
Luca Queen leaned down from on high to peer inside the carrier.
"Hero, what are those canteens? I sense a mysterious power."
They were potion-filled glass bottles. There were three: one red, one blue, and one white.
Cheon-ho already knew what they were.
"The red one's for HP recovery, the blue for MP recovery. The white is a vitality potion. Makes your body overflow with energy, something like that."
He'd seen his parents—Father specifically—use them on Earth.
'Somehow... it feels like they sent a survival kit?'
The attack scrolls were overkill, but the rest weren't that impressive.
Just the bare essentials.
Universal duct tape usable anywhere, emergency rations, some snacks, a few changes of underwear.
Avoiding Eizel—who'd been giggling mischievously—the gaze as he hid the underwear, Cheon-ho finally lifted the last leather tube.
It was the third scroll tube, still unused.
"The other two were impressive, but... this one radiates truly extraordinary magic power."
Raguel swallowed dryly, and Lucille and the other angels nodded. The other two they'd only sensed the powerful protective magic upon touching, but this third tube gave off the vibe just from looking.
What kind of magic could be inside?
[Can you open it briefly? Seeing the scroll might let us guess the spell.]
At Mitra's suggestion, Cheon-ho nodded. Raguel, quite knowledgeable in magic, was here. They might not identify the exact type, but at least whether it was offensive or something else.
"Sure, I'll open it for a sec."
Cheon-ho tried to open the third tube's lid. Or rather, he tried.
"Hero?"
[My lord, what are you doing?]
Lucille and Mitra asked respectively, but Cheon-ho still couldn't open the lid.
Staring at the successive system windows, Cheon-ho blinked in bewilderment.
'Insufficient mana?'
He'd only used Mother's scrolls a handful of times, but this was a first.
"Hero?"
When Raguel asked cautiously, Cheon-ho explained the situation. Raguel narrowed her eyes and said.
"The recognition magic seems to be working fine. So... no one else could open this tube."
Having someone else open it for him was impossible.
And in terms of sheer mana capacity, Cheon-ho was near the top in this room.
It wasn't for nothing he was level 45—the highest in the low floors.
[Perhaps Mother's own safety measure. In case it contains something truly dangerous...]
It was a reasonable theory, but even Mitra trailed off at the end, her conviction waning.
After all, they couldn't imagine what scroll could be more dangerous than the first two.
And if it was that dangerous, why put it in the carrier to begin with?
"It might not be offensive."
Raguel nodded at Lucille's words.
"Yes, if the parents' goal was to find you... it could be something to reverse-summon the Hero."
It made sense upon reflection. A scroll with that much power wouldn't be handleable by just anyone.
It required a certain mana level.
'In other words, they're telling me to level up hard and come back.'
It sounded just like something Father would do.
After all, he'd trained him as a hero while blocking external summons since he never knew when it'd happen.
Of course, this assumed the third scroll was a return scroll, as Raguel suggested.
It could be something else entirely. Their intentions could differ.
"Anyway, the conclusion is: we can't use it right now, but we've got one powerful scroll, three high-quality potions, and the battle robes. We know the Hero's parents are looking for him."
Saschiell's crystal-clear summary.
Eizel beamed.
"So Hero, more stuff like this could come? Maybe even bigger next time?"
Like multiple carriers arriving at once.
Or his parents coming directly.
As Eizel spun her fantasies, everyone started imagining similar scenarios. Either way, it was welcome.
"Th-The Hero's parents..."
As Lucille fidgeted and blushed for some reason.
[Anyway, Hero, let's move on to the next topic.]
They hadn't gathered just to inspect the carrier.
Agreeing with Mitra, Cheon-ho proceeded.
"Fortunately, our side's casualties are minor."
Cheon-ho's group of angels had sustained injuries but no life-threatening ones.
Luca Queen's side hadn't participated in the battle at all, so no losses. Kurt King and the Rock Dwarves had such a short actual combat time that there were hardly any deaths.