Chapter 67: Assembling the Party at the Hero Academy
"I'm... not pregnant."
"Oh? That's a shame."
"R-right?"
"Ah, don't make that face. I'm not saying anything bad by it."
"Y-yes...."
Han Siu's mind was a whirlwind.
Regret mingled with relief in equal measure.
'Getting caught thinking like this wouldn't be good.'
Elaine hadn't been desperately hoping for pregnancy, but judging by her current expression, it was clear she wouldn't take kindly to him admitting his relief. No, after pounding her pussy full of creampies, there was no way he could say he was glad she wasn't pregnant.
'That would make me sound like total trash....'
Han Siu quickly changed the subject to keep Elaine from looking so down.
"Graduation's just around the corner now."
It was a clumsy pivot, but Elaine smiled faintly and played along.
"A little over a month.... Time flies."
Nearly five months since he'd been summoned to this world.
The Hero Academy had undergone several changes in that time.
For one, the other hero candidates—excluding Han Siu—had grown fairly accustomed to the place.
The outlines of who could graduate were becoming clear, and the soon-to-graduate candidates had formed rough parties based on the member candidates they'd bonded with and hooked up with during their time here. Now, candidates mostly hung out with their prospective party members rather than other heroes.
Typically, the member candidates they were currently running with became the initial party lineup after graduation. Special cases happened occasionally, but they were rare enough that it wasn't worth betting on.
During this period, Han Siu had recruited a total of three party members besides Hildear and Elaine.
Excluding Nina the alchemist, his first recruit, he hadn't spent much time with the other two.
Because he'd headed to Han So-young's mansion too early, the recruitment of the four candidates he'd had in mind fell to Hildear. She'd successfully brought in three, and that was largely thanks to her efforts.
"You really worked hard."
"No need for such words. It was only natural as your servant and guard knight, Lord Siu."
Hildear beamed proudly at his praise.
A few simple words made all her hard work feel rewarded.
"If anything, I'm sorry I couldn't recruit all four...."
"The last one's fine. She's talented, sure... but I wasn't counting on her that much anyway."
"...I hate to say it, but personally, I'm glad she didn't join the party. Ah, not that I didn't give it my all! It's just...."
Her words could come off as a slip, so she hurriedly backpedaled. But Han Siu just chuckled and waved it off. He knew exactly what she meant.
"It's fine. I get it. That woman's got issues in all sorts of ways."
Yuna Harrington, Viscountess.
The woman whose recruitment had failed for both Han Siu and Hildear.
From the Magic Kingdom of Springfield, located in the western continent just like Palania Kingdom. It was one of the continent's four great powers, built on powerful magic and magitech. Yuna Harrington was a genius mage renowned even there.
Her magical talent was exceptional, she was the head disciple of one of the eight great magic towers, and she held a viscountess title. Fitting for this world's powerhouses, she was beautiful with a killer body—but one glaring flaw overshadowed all that.
Her personality.
It was utter trash.
"She probably stayed out because of Elaine."
"...The condition for joining was releasing Lady Elaine, after all."
"Can't help it if the party leader's a hero, but she has to be the top dog among the rest."
That's why Yuna joined a party led by a hero with middling talent. That hero—a repeater—probably thought he'd lucked out with the best teammate ever, but he'd realize the mistake soon enough.
"Our main activity areas might overlap, but we should focus on the three we did recruit."
Nina the alchemist from the Slav Kingdom in the eastern continent.
Rishir the goldkin warrior from the northern Iropan Kingdom.
Rozalin the scout from the central Shamadi Duchy.
Somehow, talents from across the continent had gathered in the western Palania Kingdom to form a single party. Factoring in Saintess Elaine from the north as well, it was an unintentionally well-balanced group.
"Tomorrow, right? First time all six of us will be together."
The other five had met up at the member training grounds since they were all there, but including Han Siu made it the full party for the first time.
His face lit up with anticipation.
Post-graduation life was finally coming into view.
The next day, Han Siu borrowed one of the academy's meeting rooms and gathered all five women who would join his party.
Seated at the head of the table, he stood and spoke.
"No strangers here, and you've all met, but let's reintroduce anyway. Nice to meet you all. I'm Han Siu, the leader and hero of the party you're joining."
As he greeted them, Hildear clapped first with a beaming smile, as if she'd been waiting for it, and the others quickly followed suit.
The spontaneous applause caught him off guard, but he just grinned without embarrassment. Compared to his past life, his skin was getting thicker by the day—this was nothing.
Han Siu slowly scanned the five women still clapping.
'Nice. Every one of them is top-tier right now.'
Blessed Saintess Elaine, chosen by the goddess's system, went without saying—she was the ultimate healer and buffer.
Hildear was often overlooked, but even from a minor kingdom, she was one of the kingdom's top talents as a knight. Thanks to her training in her busy schedule at his request, she was even stronger than before.
The same went for alchemist Nina. Since their first meeting a few months ago, she'd been regularly supplied with his semen to brew Manjus Potions. He couldn't gauge the effects himself, but Elaine and Hildear were satisfied, and red-haired magitech mage Belluna loved them too.
Next, goldkin warrior Rishir. Among the metallic goldkin, she was one of the finest warriors. Female by gender, but her fully metal body felt alien to normal eyes. Male heroes, distracted by charging beauties, ignored her, but her tanking prowess was the best among member candidates.
Finally, scout Rozalin. An archer and recon specialist, she'd already seen frontline action and clashed with demons countless times. Her geography sense was sharp, she had all sorts of skills, and her combat ability held up too.
'Overall DPS is a bit lacking, but we'll stick to non-urgent missions for a while.'
If they really needed firepower, they could hire a mage temporarily.
"You all know each other, so no intros needed. You've probably covered most topics too. So, guess why I called you here?"
He hadn't even told Elaine or Hildear the reason for assembling the full party, so even they were in the dark.
They figured it was just to build camaraderie and unity as a party. But there was another reason? No clue.
A brief silence fell over the meeting room before Rozalin spoke first.
"To explain our future plans. As a hero party."
"Spot on."
Rozalin, with her long frontline experience, was quick on the uptake and knowledgeable about the state of things.
"A bit early, but I'm here to lay out our party's direction."
The party's direction.
It sounded minor, but it was pretty important.
Heroes were originally summoned for the war against demons, but with the prolonged conflict and periodic truces, their role had evolved somewhat.
Other factors included the frontlines being concentrated in the south, 200 candidates summoned yearly, and heroes being useful not just as combat assets but for various purposes.
"I think another war will break out in just a few years."
"......?"
His calm declaration left everyone baffled.
"Four great wars with the demons in the southern continent. Since heroes started getting summoned, two of those: 20 years ago and 43 years ago. The gaps between the first, second, and third were pretty long, so this one's short."
"The demons are wary of heroes too."
"Yeah. But the third and fourth were only 23 years apart. And it's already been 20 years since the fourth.... And...."
"Suspicious demon movements on the frontlines."
Rozalin's expression hardened.
She'd spent about eight years on the southern border frontlines. Plenty of member candidates aspired to hero parties like her, but her motivation was revenge.
Her grudge against demons.
"Right. After their big loss in the last war, they'll be more cautious this time. Shortest estimate: 8 years. Longest: 12. Full war then, with escalating skirmishes and omens sooner."
"......"
"......"
It was heavy talk.
Everyone here was over 20. They'd been born when the fourth war happened, so they'd heard the grim rumors and seen death-tinged landscapes multiple times.
"W-war...."
Nina, the most frightened, murmured the weighty word.
But no one else showed fear.
"Doesn't matter. We came prepared. Goldkin do not retreat."
Rishir answered first, and the others wore similar expressions. Nina glanced around, her puppy-like whimpering face turning serious.
"Wasn't planning to tell anyone to bail. Just that we'll plan assuming war in about 10 years."
"To do real work there when the great war hits...."
"Yeah. Mid-tier ranks won't cut it. Five years. I'll hit SS-grade in that time. And spend the rest mobilizing the continent for war."
Han Siu flashed a sly grin.
His long-term plans, shared with no one but Han So-young.
He began explaining them step by step to the five women before him.