The Hero Doesn't Change
After leaving Head Instructor Edmond, Rion was pinned in a corner of the training ground.
He was desperately trying to recall something, rummaging through the fragments of his memory.
He bit his lip, grabbed at his hair, and tried his hardest—but to no avail.
“Damn it…”
It was hazy. The damn thing had faded after too much time had passed.
The situation, where it was just out of reach, was unbearably frustrating.
While accepting reality, he had clearly engraved the parts he needed to remember.
But was it because of the hundred years, or because he couldn’t avoid forgetting?
‘There must be something.’
Yes, otherwise, he couldn’t push Enril aside.
Those who had spoken to Head Instructor Edmond were people who directly engaged in the activities of the Hero Academy.
They were undoubtedly not just socially positioned but also exceptionally skilled in combat.
If they were relying on them, it meant they were truly outstanding individuals.
So, if it was truly that, then whom should Rion choose to focus on and whom should he invest in?
Enril? Or the new person who was about to join, the one from the Combat Priest Corps?
It would be great if he could handle both, but even managing one was difficult now.
He was an instructor, but in reality, he was pouring all his investment into Enril alone.
Even so, no one knew how long it would take.
Of course, he could really put his all into teaching both.
He would suffer until his head shattered, but he would have to endure it.
The problem was that the upper-level superiors wanted a picture where they focused on one side.
To them, Enril already appeared to be the Hero who had reached the peak.
Since she couldn’t go any higher, it seemed they were thinking of finding another Hero candidate.
‘If the upper-level superiors didn’t know, then yes. They could certainly think that.’
They couldn’t imagine that the Tower Master had secretly come out to teach Enril.
All they could see was that Enril had failed nine times.
They could say she had proven more possibilities as a survivor.
But that also meant she had shown she couldn’t surpass a certain limit.
Since Enril wasn’t the type to openly declare “I can defeat the Tower Master now!”, it was even more so.
No matter what, it was a bit hard to call their decisions stupid.
“Ugh—”
Even if he wanted to overturn everything, he couldn’t.
While muttering about controlling his emotions, he was catching his breath.
“What’s the matter?”
When he glanced up, he saw Enril standing awkwardly right in front of him.
She must have come over after seeing Rion stuck in the corner of the training ground.
It looked strange for an instructor to be digging into the ground alone.
“….”
Rion silently looked at her for a moment—
“You said to let go of you and focus on the other Hero candidate.”
He had honestly laid out the facts as they were, without realizing it, right in front of Enril.
“…What?”
“From what I can tell, the superiors seem to think that you’re done. They think it would be better to focus on the new candidate and put your hopes in them.”
Rion said this while secretly observing Enril’s facial expression.
He was the only one who had climbed the Tower and survived.
He was the one who had returned after meeting the Tower Master, no matter the reason.
Now that the situation had come where they were talking about limits rather than possibilities.
He wondered what kind of reaction and what kind of emotions she would have.
“…I see.”
However, Enril’s expression showed clearly that she didn’t care at all.
It was so calm that Rion’s eyebrows twitched.
“Are you angry?”
“Angry? Why would I be angry?”
“It’s me. I’m counting all the hardship you’ve gone through as your limit.”
“From their perspective, isn’t it a reasonable choice? Focusing properly on a candidate who might be able to do something rather than a Hero who has failed nine times.”
They would have no choice but to believe in him again if that candidate failed too.
Watching Enril respond in such a calm tone, Rion had nothing to say.
“And it’s not like she told me to give up either. It’s not ‘you’re no longer a Hero’ or ‘I can’t trust you’ anymore. It’s ‘unfortunately, I’ll try expecting the other side this time’.”
“Hey. From my perspective, it feels like she’s saying ‘give up, you’re not a Hero’ by doing that. That’s how it comes across.”
“It’s an overinterpretation. They must have been deeply troubled too.”
At that point, Rion waved his hand as if it was settled.
Why were they so positive? Everyone was accepting it so purely.
The world wasn’t that simple. People weren’t that good.
If it were him, he would have shouted at them to try it.
Rion had mulled over it several times internally, then let out a sigh once more.
“So, you’re not bothered by this situation, right?”
“I’m a bit upset, but it’s fine. I’ll prepare without stopping, as I am. If the instructor needs help, I can come visit at a time convenient for me, right?”
It wasn’t wrong. The upper ones probably meant the same.
It wasn’t ignoring Enril as the Hero itself, but asking to focus a bit more on the new candidates.
She meant, since she was sufficient now, please take care of the one who might be lacking.
But from Rion’s perspective, he had never thought of any choice other than ‘Enril’.
The only Hero who had come up without deviation, without despair or giving up, had shown that there was still hope for him.
So, this situation made Rion angrier and more irritated than Enril herself.
“It’s really fine. So, please look after the new candidate a lot too.”
“….”
“I’ll prepare hard on my own, and I’ll definitely break the Tower next time. If I get stuck somewhere, I’ll go straight to the instructor, so don’t worry!”
She said she was leaving now, and told him to leave his seat too.
Enril said that, turned her body, and disappeared beyond the training ground.
“….”
Rion stared at her retreating back in a daze.
She didn’t seem angry at all. Not even bothered.
If it had been him, he would have chased after her and yelled what the hell her intentions were.
‘Is that how a Hero is? So understanding and considerate. She really has no flaws. Not even a cheat character… Wait a minute.’
Sagi-kae. Sagi-kae.
Rion muttered the word internally.
Then suddenly, he let out an exclamation “Ah!” and jumped up from his seat.
“Sagi-kae!”
Finally, he remembered. In the faded memories, he finally found the clue.
It was a very long time ago. The phrase introducing the next Hero characters came to mind.
Details hadn’t been made public, but from the specs and skill structure, it sounded like a Sagi-kae.
Furthermore, some settings had leaked: a priest but combat type.
And the information Rion had looked into himself here.
No one from the Combat Priest Corps had been selected as a Hero and gone to the Tower.
They had all said they hoped to stay in the Corps.
‘The Combat Priest Corps. The upper ones are expecting this person as much as Enril. And she’s a Sagi-kae.’
Everything clicked perfectly.
Finally, the picture was roughly drawn.
Why the upper management wanted to assign the priest candidate to him made sense.
Because they had the skill. The tall tree is chosen from the seedling, that’s how it was.
So, naturally, there would be conflict.
Should he keep pushing Enril who had been verified, and put her in front again?
Or train the unverified new candidate again?
The former: since there was trust in Enril so far.
The latter: from looking at the memory fragments, it seemed like there was possibility.
‘He hadn’t taught Enril much yet. It had only been a month. She could switch to the other candidate for a bit, or if not, come back.’
In a way, that could be the most reasonable choice.
Time was running out. The curse tied to the Tower was not a myth, but reality.
Even if it was years ahead, if the Tower didn’t fall within that, the world would collapse.
Rion himself would be stuck sitting alone in that damned place forever.
So, make them alternate attacking both as two.
If both had good skills, one of them would succeed someday.
It would have higher possibility than pushing only one.
“….”
Rion, who was pondering something, bit his lip as if he had made a decision.
And then he moved his feet toward Head Instructor Edmond’s office.
*
When he left the training ground, his steps were the same as usual.
However, as the distance grew farther, Enril started running without realizing it.
Thud—Thud—
“That said to let go of you and focus on the other Hero candidate.”
That word kept lingering in her mind, right in the center of her chest.
It had only been a month since then.
She had received help, but she had only said it was basic.
It was disappointing, but there was no reason to regret it at all.
So, that meant she shouldn’t be bothered—but
‘Why… is my chest so tight…?’
It was an unbearable suffocation. So she ran and ran.
Even so, it didn’t loosen easily. Rather, it seemed more firmly stuck.
Even though there was no change from what she had told Rion.
She could still meet him, and if stuck, she could get help.
She hadn’t denied that she was a Hero, but then why…
‘Why. Why!’
Enril didn’t stop her steps for a very long time.
Rather, she wanted to forget this loss by making her body suffer.
While forcibly erasing the blurring in front of her eyes.
And several days later—
“…What?”
Enril responded in a dazed tone, as if she couldn’t believe it.
Then Head Instructor Edmond scratched his head and said again.
“Enril’s dedicated instructor will continue to be Rion for the time being.”
