Chapter 116
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Failure Means Rebellion, Success Means Revolution, But Even Success Can Lead to Ruin... (8)
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"Phew... This is exhausting."
With the flood of protests swarming Hero Academy lately, and the nobles seizing the chance to oust him from his position as principal...
Parus hadn't had a proper moment's rest.
On top of that, students were starting to resist fiercely, led by a third-year named Hind Gati, claiming they couldn't accept this kind of education.
The academy could no longer hold proper classes.
Teachers and students were divided, facing off against each other. Even some teachers were siding with the students or wavering.
Naturally, the foreign dignitaries who were already dissatisfied, along with the pack of nobles gunning for Parus, used this as an excuse to sink their teeth in deeper.
But Parus had no intention of yielding to any of it.
"Hero Academy's traditions must be upheld. Only then..."
He thought that as he unlocked a desk drawer sealed with magic.
Inside was a communication orb, its connection destination unknown.
Parus stared at it, lost in thought.
At that moment.
Knock knock knock—
Someone knocked on his door.
He'd finally returned to the mansion after so long and thought he might get some rest.
He started to feel a flicker of annoyance.
But the bright mana emanating from outside quickly calmed his mind.
'It's Mersenne.'
His pride and joy of a son.
And someday... the one who would fulfill his secret wish.
Mersenne Remnant.
He'd been visiting Hasler more often lately, which was a bit concerning.
But a word of caution would fix that.
He was a son who always listened to his father, after all.
"Come in."
Parus permitted his entry.
Moments later, the door opened, and his son Mersenne stepped into the room.
"What brings you here at this late hour?"
Mersenne wore a grave expression at Parus's question.
Well, before he'd met Kane, Mersenne had always been expressionless anyway.
So it was a familiar sight, really.
But he hadn't made that stiff face lately.
Parus mirrored his seriousness.
Then Mersenne spoke.
"Father, I have something urgent to discuss."
"What is it? Speak."
Mersenne took a breath.
And got to the point.
"...Do you know about the lifespan of heroes?"
"......"
He nearly betrayed his shock for a split second.
But Parus held firm with superhuman restraint.
Mersenne was a top-class hero.
He'd notice even the slightest fluctuation in mana.
So Parus desperately kept his body, face, and mana utterly still.
All the while, his mind raced.
Why ask about that out of nowhere?
Did he hear something somewhere?
Is he suspicious that I'm not sick at my age, despite being a hero?
I thought forty-eight was still young enough to brush off...
Maybe being perfectly healthy without a single ailment was too much?
"Lifespan, you say. What's this about all of a sudden?"
His head buzzed, but outwardly, he played it cool.
"...I've heard heroes can only live up to about fifty at most."
Mersenne continued, a hint of gloom crossing his face.
"You'll reach that soon enough. And I... I'll only have a little over twenty years left at best."
The mood grew heavy.
In that instant, Parus's eyes gleamed.
'Could he be developing a desire for a longer life?'
As if confirming it, Mersenne gritted his teeth and said,
"Isn't there any way to live longer...? I don't want to die so young."
Lesser humans lived seventy years, some even eighty or ninety.
Even trained heroes could surpass a century.
"It's unfair. Someone as vital to the world as me—the Hero of Light! To die before even fifty."
"......"
'So the time has finally come.'
Parus had a way to resolve Mersenne's dilemma.
The Mera Federation.
Previously, Parus had aligned with them—the ones who could extend a hero's lifespan and grant even greater power.
He'd built the academy at their behest.
And run it ever since.
No more hiding it.
Parus Remnant was... a spy for Demon King Kraksis of the Mera Federation.
If they accepted the demonic power offered...
They'd become half-human, half-demon monstrosities, but Mersenne could live well beyond fifty, as he wished.
Potentially gaining eternal life, depending.
No, in truth, he'd been pondering how to get that power into Mersenne.
'If Mersenne, bearer of light, also takes in demonic power...'
Light and darkness.
Possessing both forces... a truly perfect being would be born.
On par with an upper demon.
No, perhaps something even more absurd.
'Mersenne will be my masterpiece.'
If that happened, Mersenne would become the Demon King's closest confidant.
And Parus—his father and the one who'd made him half-demon—would be promised an even higher position.
But the problem was...
Born as the Hero of Light was fine, but it made Mersenne too rigid and devout.
He utterly rejected evil power and vowed to eradicate it.
Parus had been agonizing over how to introduce demonic power.
He never imagined it'd roll right into his lap like this.
In the end, obsession with life and longing for immortality outweighed ideals or beliefs.
Mersenne was human—a living being—before he was the Hero of Light.
With that in mind, Parus looked at Mersenne and said,
"If there were a way to extend your lifespan. Or even live forever. What would you do?"
"...!!"
Mersenne looked genuinely stunned at Parus's words.
'Of course. Who'd believe there's a way to live forever right off the bat?'
"Father... you know that method?"
"Hm?"
But the atmosphere felt off somehow.
"Is that why you've stayed so hale up to your age...?"
His fists trembled.
That emotion was...
'Anger? Why?'
Was this something he shouldn't have said?
Did he already suspect and lead me into confessing...?
"Why didn't you tell me, knowing this? Why not the other heroes?"
Ah, anger about that.
Parus chuckled softly and replied,
"Because it's not something you share with just anyone."
Parus steadied his breath and addressed Mersenne, who watched him quietly.
"The Mera Federation. Come with me there."
"...The Mera Federation?"
#
A few days later.
The Remnant father and son slipped out of the mansion in utmost secrecy, unnoticed by anyone.
Heading for the Mera Federation.
"......"
Mersenne's face was stiff as stone.
Parus noticed and said,
"You seem displeased."
"...N-no, Father."
At his words, Mersenne realized his slip.
'Like earlier. My emotions are showing too much. He'll catch on.'
When his father mentioned extending lifespans.
When he learned it tied to the Mera Federation.
He couldn't suppress the surge of rage.
Evil he was duty-bound to eradicate... right under his nose.
The evil he must slay... was his own revered father.
Rage, bitterness.
Emptiness flooded in like a tide, but he held it back desperately.
He'd brushed it off earlier, but keep showing it, and suspicion was certain.
"I am displeased. Just telling me to go to the Mera Federation without proper explanation..."
Mersenne came up with another solid excuse and voiced it.
Parus, who had been observing him silently, finally spoke.
"...Mersenne, what do you think is most important for a hero?"
"Pardon?"
The most important thing for a hero?
Why ask that suddenly?
'If I must answer...'
Mersenne answered based on his values and beliefs.
"Slaying the evil that disrupts the world... isn't it?"
Demons, demonic beasts, monsters, possessed humans, half-breeds, vile criminals.
The evils plaguing the world were endless.
Heroes existed to eradicate them.
And he, bearer of the chosen light, must do so even more rigorously.
That's what he believed.
'...But he might not like that. Humans tied to demons... no, half-breeds.'
Yet surprisingly, Parus nodded in satisfaction at Mersenne's reply.
"Right. The most important thing for a hero is killing enemies in real combat. In other words... fulfill your role as a weapon."
"......"
Weapon?
Mersenne felt a chill at the word.
It was hardly fitting from a hero himself, with a hero son, whose very job was teaching heroes.
"Real combat. Real combat. Just learn to fight in the field and do it. That way, your perspective stays narrow, your knowledge limited. You become easy to manipulate."
"What do you...?"
Narrow perspective, easy to exploit...?
It sounded like...
"So you're saying heroes are raised to be used? That's why you cling to that 'real combat tradition' nonsense?"
Keep heroes ignorant.
So they never question lifespans or anything else.
Raise them stupid.
"Well, yes. Clinging to the real-combat tradition is true. But..."
Heroes had always been that way.
Long before Parus became principal.
Before Demon King Kraksis even invaded.
Far earlier.
"As if they were meant to be exploited from the start."
"......"
Parus spoke with a touch of bitterness, then shook his head.
"I've gone off track. Anyway, narrowing their knowledge keeps heroes from weird suspicions. It's all... to make them sacrifices for Demon King Kraksis."
"...What?"
Mersenne couldn't hold back his fury anymore.
His eyebrow twitched.
But it didn't matter.
This was where normal Mersenne would snap.
"Hear me out. He granted me immortality. He'll grant it to you too."
"...Extending lifespan means accepting demonic power?"
It was utterly ridiculous.
Parus knew Mersenne best.
He knew how dangerous this conversation was.
"...You showed an obsession with life. It will shatter even your convictions."
I know. I went through it myself.
Parus muttered softly.
"So I'll take you to the Mera Federation and make you half-human, half-demon."
Mersenne froze.
As he said it, Parus halted his steps.
"A being of blended light and darkness. You can become... perfect. Judge of both light and dark... an absolute existence."
"......"
With that, Parus extended his hand to Mersenne.
"So come. Become the absolute perfect being. If you refuse, we turn back now. Then... you'll become a target for me and Lord Kraksis's inner circle. You'll die before reaching the fifty years you imagine."
"......"