Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Going to the Academy (6)
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“Marley!”
Daisy’s face turned stark white.
Marley, who had dropped that bombshell, simply kept her silence.
‘What…?’
I felt a dizzying confusion from this incomprehensible situation.
Now there were two people pretending to be the hero…
I had no idea how the world was spinning anymore.
I stayed quiet without even bothering to argue back, wondering just how much more nonsense she needed to spew before she’d be satisfied.
Noticing that I didn’t believe a word Marley said, Daisy spoke up.
“Marley is the real hero.”
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
“You saw her use the Purifying Flame.”
“I can use the Purifying Flame too.”
“…Feel this.”
Marley seemed to hesitate for a moment before wrapping her small hand around my index finger.
A powerful divine power flowed in from her warm hand.
Her divine power overwhelmed and devoured even mine.
Startled, I hastily drew up my mana as well and barely managed to isolate her divine power.
Marley muttered nonchalantly.
“My divine power. Stronger than yours.”
“…”
“I prove I’m the hero with divine power.”
My conviction that I was the hero and she was the fake began to waver.
It was hard to explain in words, but her divine power was truly special—it was practically shouting that it belonged to the hero.
As I stayed silent, Marley, looking a bit more confident, declared boldly.
“You know it too.”
I couldn’t bring myself to refute her and maintained my silence before cautiously opening my mouth.
“Fine, let’s say I’m not the hero. Then what am I? How can I use the Purifying Flame?”
“How should I know.”
“…”
“You. This time’s saintess?”
“I’m unambiguously a biological male.”
“No law says a man can’t be a saintess. Need to break free from stereotypes.”
“…”
Marley seemed to hold views that didn’t quite fit this era.
Just then, Daisy, who had been quietly letting Marley handle everything, suddenly chimed in.
“Haven’t you had any unusual experiences? Like getting struck by lightning or drinking water from something sealed inside a thousands-year-old stone.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know how there are historical figures who gained great fortunes even without being heroes. Like the empire’s first emperor or the great-great-great-grand master of the Blue Tower, the first 8-circle mage.”
“…Seriously?”
“Oh, was that a secret?”
I thought it over carefully.
Had I ever drunk public domain oil?
Learned martial arts from some mysterious Taoist who appeared out of nowhere?
Gotten struck by lightning…?
Since I was born into this world with memories of my past life, I had witnessed every single event from the moment of my birth.
If I’d had any such unusual experience, there’s no way I wouldn’t know about it.
I was about to refute that I’d never had anything like that when a sudden thought made me pause.
On second thought, I was a man who had experienced something no one else ever had.
I was a reincarnator.
“…”
As I froze in shock at this revelation, Marley nodded as if she’d expected it.
“You had that kind of experience, huh.”
“…Yeah, I did.”
“You probably got the power back then.”
“That tracks…”
Even after reincarnating, no matter how much I screamed for a status window, not even the first letter appeared.
I never suddenly gained the ability to emit sword aura, nor did a holy sword inhabited by the hero’s spirit drop from the sky, so I figured I hadn’t received any special privileges.
But it turned out I had received one—I just hadn’t noticed.
It was shocking.
“Then why didn’t you reveal you’re the hero, and why have you been pretending to be one, Daisy?”
Daisy answered for her.
“The Church is rotten to the core and can’t be trusted. If they found out Marley was the hero before she’s grown strong enough, she’d have been turned into a puppet with no escape.”
“And you pretended to be the hero in front of us to protect Miss Marley?”
“Yeah.”
“…”
Overwhelmed by the flood of information, I still asked my questions one by one.
Even if Marley was the hero, there were still plenty of mysteries.
“Do the lackeys you hang around with know about this?”
“No, those idiots are just there to protect Marley with their influence in case of emergencies—they know nothing.”
Calling them idiots outright showed Daisy didn’t think much of those guys.
“You smile sweetly at them, though, for people you call idiots.”
“It’s not like smiling costs money. They may be idiots, but their power is real.”
Daisy truly seemed to cherish Marley, like she’d do anything for her.
A loyal retainer, through and through.
“…So what’s with the demon impersonation? Rau said she sensed demonic energy from you too.”
“…”
Daisy hesitated for a moment.
Marley grabbed her clothes as if knowing what she was about to say, but this time Daisy brushed off Marley’s objection.
“The truth is, I’m a half-breed. Half-human, half-succubus.”
“…”
“Thanks to Marley’s divine power completely masking my demonic energy, I’ve been able to attend the academy. The demonic energy I ‘stole’ was a gamble—I wanted to get stronger to protect her.”
“Crazy…”
“Rau must have sensed the tiny leaks when I was absorbing the demonic energy. She really is a genius.”
As Daisy calmly revealed her secret, I finally felt the puzzle pieces falling into place.
I examined Daisy’s pink hair more closely.
It was a hot pink leaning toward red.
Succubus Queen Nania’s hair was a similarly intense, fiery red.
Hair color proved the bloodline connection.
She also received an suspiciously high level of affection from everyone.
I’d thought it was because she was a romance-fantasy heroine with charm stats on par with Yu Bi, but if it was the unconscious pheromones from her succubus side enchanting people, it made perfect sense.
My head spun like I’d been punched as I cautiously said.
“For now, want to talk about this with my party members?”
It was time for some group brainstorming.
***
I skimmed through classes and set out to gather my party members scattered around the academy.
First up was the Divine Studies Department where Rainy taught.
True to its name, the Divine Studies Department was housed inside a magnificent temple building, and every student’s face radiated benevolence.
Organ music flowed endlessly from within, but it wasn’t intrusive—it wafted gently through the air.
“…Could you help me find someone?”
Having arrived at the Divine Studies Department but unsure where to go, I grabbed a passing student and asked.
Even though I’d grabbed her suddenly—enough to annoy anyone—she showed no change in expression and smiled benevolently.
“Of course, brother.”
“Do you happen to know where Saintess Rainy is?”
Given the Knight Department’s manpower shortage, they probably wouldn’t let a top talent like Rainy slack off.
She was likely even busier with classes than I was.
“Ah… If you mean the Saintess, head to the Second Chapel…”
Mentioning Rainy made the girl’s face twitch.
Looks like she was already seen as a figure of terror among the students.
‘What the hell is she doing?’
Worried that Rainy had caused another incident, I quickened my pace.
I could handle her personal hysterics toward me, but I wished she’d restrain herself around others.
Asking directions from the kind students, I arrived at a modest place marked “Second Chapel.”
I knocked carefully on the door.
Knock knock.
“Yes, who is it?”
“It’s me.”
“…Come in.”
Rainy recognized my voice instantly, ridiculously enough.
I slowly opened the door.
The chapel inside was simply furnished, but that very simplicity added to the mystical atmosphere.
Rainy wasn’t in her usual dark saintess robes but in a pure white ones.
Seeing her, who always exuded a gloomy vibe, in pristine white created such a gap that she looked nobler somehow, making it hard to approach.
But Rainy was still Rainy.
Knowing her true nature, I hid my awkwardness and said.
“Hey, we’re screwed.”
“Please refrain from vulgar language.”
Rainy furrowed her brow in displeasure, using polite speech that didn’t suit her.
It was absurd—she had the filthiest mouth herself yet acted all sanctimonious.
She must just want to cosplay as a devout cleric.
In that case, time to shatter the illusion.
I lobbed a bombshell to instantly break her concept.
“There might be another real hero out there.”
“…The fuck are you talking about?”
Mission complete.