Did I Get Caught?
At that moment, as Rion faced Enril, his eyes began to roll wildly.
He unconsciously fidgeted with his face, turning his gaze elsewhere to avoid meeting her eyes.
'No way. Damn it. Why the hell is she here?'
The candidates who came to take the employment test and the examiners sitting there, all of them were average at best, so he had been casually looking them over.
But the last remaining spot was the protagonist, Enril.
He never imagined that the one standing before him was Enril.
Who was Enril? The only Hero who had survived from the Tower.
So, in the Empire, she would be considered a great important person.
For this woman to be sitting as an examiner in a simple instructor employment test!
“Um... Rion-nim might not know much about Enril-yang.”
“From what I've heard, that's right. Rion-nim. The Enril-yang here is actually a Hero! She's the one who reached the very end of the Tower!”
Sorry, I know all that. Too well, that's why I'm in trouble.
Ignoring the examiners boasting about Enril, Rion stole a glance at Enril.
He wouldn't recognize her, right? No way.
After all, in the Tower, the main body is hidden by black flames and shadows.
Still, just in case, he had come out with a somewhat composed face.
'There's a slight worry about the foreign mana, but I can just say she's from across the sea.'
Thinking that, Rion glanced at Enril again...
'Damn it.'
They met. Eyes met. Gaze met. Properly.
Enril was staring at him intently. The gaze grew stronger.
Her expression subtly changed, and a sense of foreboding crept in.
If... if he really got caught... this would be a serious problem.
At least, since she's far from the Tower, she would have received power restrictions.
But she wouldn't lose to Enril. The gap was still huge.
The problem was that due to the narrowed gap from the restrictions...
He couldn't easily suppress Enril like before.
If that happened, Enril might get seriously injured, or in the worst case, die!
'Absolutely not. In this situation, Enril is the only remaining hope.'
What to do. Should he leave this place quickly? No. That would only raise suspicion.
He had come all the way to the employment test site, and now he was supposed to disappear with mana flaring?
If the Academy side traced him back, suspicious points might be revealed.
So, the remaining method was one. To casually brush it off.
“If it's a Hero... I've heard of them. Those who bring down the 'Tower'.”
“Oh my. You know about it? Many people from across the sea don't know about it.”
“I happened to hear about it.”
Pretending not to care, he conversed with the other examiners.
To appear as a black-haired foreigner who is interested in this place, the Hero Academy.
“Do you know anything else?”
“Hmm. Ah! Being a Hero isn't just about having outstanding physical strength and mana control, but also that the 'Sacred Relic' in the Academy recognizes them. The candidates in the Academy are in a state recognized by the Sacred Relic.”
“Exactly! You know a lot!”
A lot, of course. It's just setting. And setting is very important.
It's not that having strength, skill, and mana control makes one a Hero. They must also receive recognition from the Sacred Relic. Only then can they enter the Academy and receive more systematic training.
After polishing their image, they enter the Tower.
Of course, none of those Heroes could approach the Throne Room for 100 years.
Except for one. The Enril sitting in front of Rion right now!
“As an instructor, and also interested in Heroes, I see.”
“Thank you.”
“May I ask the reason? Why do you want to become an instructor at the Hero Academy?”
Reason. Reason. The reason why the boss monster Rion wants to raise the Hero who must kill him?
Want to go home? Well, if it was 50 years ago, maybe, but not now.
The internal life of the Tower is boring? That's a pretty big reason. But not decisive.
'The reason I came all the way here on my own feet.'
While thinking for a moment, Rion soon smiled faintly.
“For curiosity.”
“For curiosity, you say? Are you curious about the Heroes?”
“Yes.”
Curious. How terrible the situation must have been that no one came for nearly 100 years.
How low the level was that they couldn't even reach the final boss.
Only by seeing it with these two eyes would this damned curiosity be satisfied.
“And, I want to teach.”
I want to teach. That you must become Heroes, beyond being Hero candidates.
Not just for myself, but for all of you.
I want to give advice and teach within the bounds of not breaking the rules.
This is... well, the grumbling of a boss monster who came down because he was watching and felt like bursting from the inside.
“I don't need to see more. Let's hire you as an Academy instructor right away! Your skills are solid, and your goals are clear. You seem perfect.”
“I agree.”
“Let's hire immediately!”
“Well, I need to investigate the background a bit more... but I'm also in favor.”
Out of the five examiners, four had already cast votes of approval.
In this situation, Enril had no reason to oppose, and opposing would be ambiguous.
Still, Rion turned his head slightly towards Enril.
The meaning was: Here, they say so, what is your wish as the Hero?
“...”
Enril, who had been looking at Rion, finally opened her lips.
“I also agree.”
'I never thought my hands would tremble over something like this.'
She had come out for a bit of fresh air and almost caught the Hero she was raising.
She couldn't get caught. Right now, she was far from the Tower, receiving power restrictions.
She didn't have the confidence to suppress safely. She had no choice but to be rough, and if she did...
'100% Enril's body would be damaged.'
There is healing magic, but after taking a genuine attack from a demon, there would be aftereffects.
At least, if she came to the Tower, challenged him, and got injured to that extent, maybe.
If she got in such a state somewhere else, Rion's stomach would burst several more times.
“Hey.”
So, he was about to quickly get the instructor badge and run to the accommodation.
Did she sense something strange? Enril was approaching.
“Rion-nim, right?”
This damn guy! Is he about to charge saying 'Take my sword!' ?
Since she might get injured, better not to fight back and just run away.
Thinking that, Rion greeted Enril with a smile.
“Ah, yes. Hero-nim. I'm Rion. Do you have any words to say?”
“...”
He spoke first, why suddenly silence mode. Unsettling.
He wasn't thinking about where to strike first, right?
Just as he was considering whether to run away without looking back,
“By any chance... have we met somewhere before?”
A somewhat cliché line for someone else.
But to Rion, it didn't sound like that at all.
“Seriously, you little shit! You followed me here?! To harass me! Just kill me!”
Ah, no. Enril. You are the only hope!
If you die, only the two of us holding hands and dying together will remain!
“...I don't understand what you're saying. How could I have met the Hero-nim? I just arrived on this continent a while ago, wandered around, and came out of curiosity about the Academy instructor position.”
One good thing about being a demon. Lies and acting are at the level of gods.
If you firmly decide to lie, no one in the world can detect the truth.
To detect, either a god must descend or someone with a holy mark must come.
“Ah... I see. Sorry. It seems I made a mistake.”
“Ah, no. Hero-nim. It's fine.”
Waving his hand dismissively, he took on a somewhat exaggerated appearance.
Then, Enril tilted her head for a moment and opened her lips.
“Rion-nim, didn't you say you would take the instructor position?”
“Huh? Ah, yes. That's right.”
“Then, speak comfortably. I'm still a student at the Hero Academy.”
“Ah, I see...?”
Wait, what? Student? Not a graduate?
“Rion-nim?”
“Call me comfortably.”
“...Enril?”
“Yes, Instructor.”
“From what I heard earlier, you're the only Hero who has gone up to the Tower several times and come back alive.”
That's right. He had sent her up several times himself.
“Yes.”
“But you haven't even graduated from the Hero Academy yet? While all the other graduates and officially recognized Heroes have all died. Only you reached the top floor?”
Nod nod—
Enril slowly nodded her head. As if asking if there was a problem.
'...Damn it. What the hell kind of situation is this.'
Looking at her, Rion spewed out countless curses in his mind.
Problem? There is. Of course there is. Not just normal, there are too many problems.
'The graduates of the Hero Academy all couldn't come to me and died midway? And the only one who came, Enril, turned out to be just a student? I thought she was a graduate?'
It was shocking. Unbelievable. What the hell were the Hero candidates learning and graduating with?
Graduating meant possessing all the abilities a Hero should have.
But those Heroes couldn't even defeat the Tower Master, the boss monster, let alone the lower mobs?
No matter how much party play is not allowed, extreme solo play is forced.
Still, this isn't it. It's not like anyone can be picked up on the street and made a Hero.
'Oh my god. God, what kind of things are these Heroes?'
The situation was so serious that the demon had to seek the god again.