Chapter 109
Chapter 109
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 109
Chapter Title: Hero's Lust
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The arena training ground lay in ruins, ravaged by Kairan's secret arts and Krash's relentless barrage of techniques.
A heavy silence blanketed the area.
It was all because of the battle between the examinee Krash and the entrance exam chief examiner, Kairan.
And the outcome painted an unbelievable scene before their eyes.
The one standing on two feet atop the training ground was none other than Krash.
While the one collapsed on the ground was Kairan, the Pirate Empress whose name rang far and wide.
An unprecedented situation where an examinee had defeated an associate professor.
Everyone enrolled in the academy knew of the third trial Kairan had proposed.
They knew it was a test impossible to pass from the start.
Its true purpose was to gauge one's level in that trial and place them in the special class accordingly.
But now, someone had passed that third trial.
Krash Valheim.
The direct heir of the Valheim family, a boy who had been treated like a halfwit in the past and had just turned of age this year.
"Insane."
One of the current students watching from afar muttered a curse without thinking.
There was no other way to describe the sight unfolding before him.
Even when Krash shattered the Aurora Stone, it hadn't shocked them this much.
In that case, they could chalk it up to him simply having an absurd amount of innate aura.
But defeating an associate professor like Kairan, who was practically on par with a full professor?
That was something else entirely.
It meant a storm capable of shaking the Raheln Academy—no, the entire era—had appeared in the eye of the hurricane.
The students' gazes shifted.
Those gathered at Raheln Academy were heirs destined to lead their families into the future.
It went without saying how Krash appeared to them in this moment.
Those who change eras leave extraordinary tales from childhood.
They had just witnessed one such tale with their own eyes.
Yet, unlike the tale itself, Krash was getting an earful from Crimson Garden.
Of course he was.
Kairan had fought Krash with everything she had.
And Krash, meeting her head-on, had poured out his full power in response.
Which meant Krash had pushed Infernal Erosion to its absolute limit from start to finish.
In the end, Kairan had collapsed, but Krash was a mess inside too.
All he could manage was to breathe, letting his Moon Yin Body cool his overheated flesh even slightly.
Crimson Garden referenced the promise they'd made before the entrance ceremony, eyeing Krash with clear displeasure.
Krash felt the throbbing ache from Infernal Erosion as he glanced toward the spectator seats.
The future Generation of the Sky members' eyes were bulging out of their sockets.
Those same guys who had endlessly treated him like a tool in the past.
Yeah, this was more than satisfying, no matter what anyone said.
"Yeah."
Krash gave a short reply, and the mental fortitude that had held him together until the very end finally snapped.
Why did the end always have to be like this?
With Kairan and then Krash collapsing, the second exam was temporarily halted.
They judged the kids who witnessed the fight wouldn't be in any state to take the exam properly.
And that judgment was spot on.
The children were all too busy chattering among themselves about the battle they'd just seen.
And the current students were no different.
An examinee who defeated an associate professor.
Thanks to that, tales of Krash spread like wildfire throughout the Raheln Academy.
As Krash's name danced on everyone's lips, the sun had set and a full day had passed before they knew it.
Srurl—
When Krash opened his eyes, he felt the morning sunlight streaming through the window.
The faint, antiseptic scent hitting his nose told him this was a hospital room.
Even with Thousand Kills Star raising his Infernal Erosion tolerance, he'd pushed it until he blacked out.
There was no way he'd recover without hospitalization.
'Feels like I'm dying.'
He had no intention of dying, but his body hurt enough for such a joke.
And for some reason, his chest felt empty.
As Krash patted himself down wondering why, he realized the cause and let out a hollow chuckle.
The emptiness came from Bianca's absence.
She always stuck to the bedside whenever he ended up like this.
But she wasn't here now.
A little white chick flickered in his mind's eye for no reason.
The hand that usually stroked her hair had nowhere to go and pressed down on the bed instead.
'Do I miss her?'
Was she learning well from her master, Jenna?
It had only been a few days since they'd parted for the entrance exam, yet here he was worrying already.
Krash realized anew just how much time he'd spent glued to Bianca's side.
He'd have to send her a letter, tell her about the entrance ceremony.
As he thought that and tried to sit up—
"If you're thinking of heading out for training like last time, stay put."
Krash heard a familiar voice and looked up.
There was a chair by the bed.
Sitting in it was a woman flipping through what looked like a magazine.
Crimson hair reminiscent of the sun, a figure too mature for her age.
Her intelligent eyes lent her an air of mystique.
Facing her, Krash belatedly showed his confusion.
His senses were still a wreck from overusing Infernal Erosion; he'd only now noticed her in the room.
"Astria?"
"Isn't calling the Saintess by name blasphemy?"
She'd said it in jest, tearing her eyes from the magazine to look at Krash.
But she quickly averted her gaze.
"Your clothes are a mess. I know you just woke up, but could you fix them properly?"
It was a line he'd heard often in the past, now from her lips.
Knowing now that she said it out of shyness rather than dislike, Krash haphazardly adjusted his clothes.
'No wonder moving felt easier than usual despite Infernal Erosion.'
Astria must have healed him.
But how was she here?
The Holy Kingdom wouldn't let their Saintess attend Raheln Academy.
"Wondering why I'm at Raheln Academy?"
"Quick on the uptake."
"You have to be when dealing with the Church."
She crossed her legs as she spoke.
Exposing her pale thighs, but she didn't seem to mind.
"I used the info you gave me. Quitting as Saintess would cause an uproar, so..."
So Astria had followed the same path as in the previous regression, it seemed.
The difference was that it had happened much sooner.
"And I name-dropped your family too."
She'd leveraged this side as well.
No wonder the Church had permitted it.
"Best I could get was enrollment here, but the cage is a bit looser now. Oh, and I'm in theology. Special admission."
But Krash still had questions.
"Why Raheln Academy of all places?"
She could go anywhere if she wanted; it didn't have to be an academy.
At his question, she habitually twirled a lock of hair by her temple.
"Nowhere else has this many talents. My goal is to fully break free from the Church. I need backers, and you're one of them. Got it?"
"Not a problem."
Krash narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You stayed here all night?"
Astria's hand froze mid-twirl.
Her eyes darted around slowly.
With her Saintess powers, healing him and leaving would have sufficed.
Yet she'd insisted on monitoring his condition and waited by his bedside ever since he collapsed.
Astria closed the magazine with a lowered hand.
"Y-you seem fine now. I'll head out. Take care of yourself. Even if it's your own power, overusing it like that shortens your lifespan."
Perhaps because he'd once glimpsed her true feelings, she stammered incoherently and shot to her feet.
Deep down, she wanted to talk more with him after so long, but her burning cheeks made staying impossible.
'Why did it have to be a face right up my alley.'
...Well, that was the problem.
In the end, she fled the room.
Through the crack in the door, her guard knight Diona gave a quick bow and departed.
Krash watched them go, then finally rose from bed.
It was an unexpected visit, but Astria being here wasn't bad.
Meant he could push his body without worry about recovery.
He'd already forgotten her warning about shortening his lifespan as he stepped out of the room—
when he heard a bit of commotion from the hallway.
Turning toward the sound, he saw two women approaching, each carrying a tray of water and towels.
Both were dressed as maids.
One was Alicia, the attendant who'd come with him as his squire.
The other was someone completely unexpected.
"...Lilina?"
It was Lilina, Aslan Egrid's personal maid.
Wondering why she was with Alicia, he voiced his confusion, and the two finally noticed him.
"Ah, Master Krash, you're awake."
Lilina flashed her signature half-smile beside Alicia, who still overdid the formal speech.
"You collapsed last time we met, and now again when we reunite. Are you the sleeping prince, Master Krash?"
Classic Lilina banter.
"Why are you here, Lilina?"
"When Alicia heard you'd collapsed and panicked, I came to help."
Right.
Alicia had training from Aliod, but she wasn't used to emergencies yet.
She must have been shocked hearing her master collapsed.
He owed her one.
"More intact than expected, though. Care to repay my worry?"
"Shall I pay you?"
"Generously."
"N-no, I owe you. I'll pay!"
Alicia panicked at their banter, fumbling in her skirt pocket for money, until Lilina clarified it was a joke.
"Where's Aslan?"
"She finished the magic exam and got her dorm assignment. She was eager to see you again, so greet her when you head to the dorms."
"Will do. Alicia, my dorm room's set too, right?"
"Yes, and your luggage is all moved in."
Dorm assignment meant he'd passed, of course.
Beating the chief examiner Kairan made it a given.
"That smug 'of course I passed' look is a bit brazen."
Lilina pointed out his expression.
"Confidence in oneself, no?"
"Has the innocent Krash I knew vanished? Such a shame."
With that, Lilina sidled up and peered up at him.
He hadn't been this tall before.
Among growth-spurt kids, Krash had shot up especially fast, now towering over Lilina.
"Still, looking all grown up is nice. Not quite Aslan level, but you'll have plenty of girls crying over you."
"I haven't made that many cry..."
He trailed off, recalling Bianca.
Yeah, he'd made her cry a lot, all things considered.
"Thinking of your fiancée right now, aren't you?"
Lilina narrowed her eyes slyly.
"Even bragging has its limits."
It was just who popped into his head, but Lilina pouted sulkily anyway.
"I'll head back to Aslan. Take this."
She shoved the towel into his hands and left.
A whirlwind of a woman, as always.
As Aslan's personal maid, he'd be seeing more of her.
"Alicia, the entrance ceremony?"
"Tomorrow, sir."
Good thing he'd woken before it.
As Krash turned, a crow—Crimson Garden's—perched on the windowsill.
She stared at him through the glass, then transmitted a thought.
It was a tricky label for Krash.