Chapter 87
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: It's Hard to Accept Negative Reality (8)
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Negative realities are hard to accept.
In the Imperial Library, I was able to absorb a massive amount of knowledge I'd never encountered before.
For example, hypotheses about the true nature of ancient magic.
Details on the high-tech of lost civilizations.
Even information on the demon world, about which almost nothing is known, and the hidden traits of the demon race.
Of course, I also found the materials on martial arts I'd originally set out to look for.
The self-defense techniques that imperial family members are required to learn.
And even fragments of the "Karr Martial Arts," passed down exclusively within the imperial family.
The full contents and essence of the Karr Martial Arts were probably in even deeper sections I couldn't access.
"As expected of a library only accessible to the imperial family."
It was a bit disappointing not to read the imperial histories or the forbidden books.
But risking my life out of curiosity would be idiotic.
Even without those, the sheer volume of knowledge I'd gained was immense.
I spent nearly three weeks there, reading every book I could access three times over.
And I organized notes on them separately.
When I get back to Hasler, I should review those summaries again.
Maybe check if they connect to things I already knew for better applications.
Above all...
"...I need to look into this more."
I looked down at the book in my hand.
The title was... 'Hypotheses on the Short Lives of Heroes'.
Of all the knowledge I gained from the Imperial Library, this struck me as the most important.
The content was straightforward.
It discussed hypotheses on why most heroes die before reaching their mid-forties.
Along with evidence supporting those hypotheses and counter-evidence refuting them.
It was fascinating.
Heroes definitely have short lifespans.
Most lose their lives in their early thirties, and even those who live longer rarely pass their mid-forties before dying of some unidentified illness.
Common wisdom holds that heroes simply take on more dangerous jobs than average, so their life expectancy is naturally shorter.
But when you think about it, that's odd.
Even the robust Marquis Harkur suddenly fell ill with some mystery disease right after turning forty and wasted away until his death.
As if... someone had deliberately made him sick.
The book laid out several hypotheses on this.
Filtering out the absurd ones or those refuted by overwhelming evidence left two main theories.
The first.
Heroes are among the very few who confront demons, so they're exposed to demonic energy far more than others.
The hypothesis posits that this accumulated demonic energy eats away at the body, causing illness and early death.
It certainly sounded plausible.
The very relationship between heroes and demons served as proof.
However, counter-evidence existed: records of heroes across the continent who never once encountered a demon still dying of illness in their forties weren't hard to find.
Yeah, that's weird.
Marquis Harkur had fought upper demons directly, so you could blame his illness on demonic exposure without argument.
But as the counter-evidence showed, records of heroes who never fought demons were plentiful.
No need to look far—even imperial history had a few.
I distinctly remembered seeing them in the capital library's book 'Heroes in Imperial History'.
That left the second hypothesis.
Long ago, when the Demon King descended.
As he retreated, he cursed the very existence of 'heroes'.
At first glance, it sounds like baseless fairy-tale nonsense for kids.
But the supporting evidence made it pretty convincing.
First, heroes with short lifespans became noticeably more common starting 300 years ago, after the Demon King's descent.
There's a book called 'The Demon King and the Hero'—not officially recognized as history, but praised for capturing the era's atmosphere.
It includes the passage:
'The Demon King retreated to the demon world with a fatal wound. Before leaving, he showered the hero with words of a curse. No one but the hero knew what those cursed words were.'
But there are solid counterarguments.
Even before the Demon King's descent, heroes occasionally died in battle or from illness.
And 'The Demon King and the Hero' is dismissed as myth or fiction, not proper history.
"...Heroes' short lives."
If this was something I could resolve...
"...Miss Jenny, Miss Lin."
It might not end like when they lost Marquis Harkur.
Yeah, I should investigate properly.
If it can be prevented, I have to try.
"Whew."
I surveyed the entire Imperial Library.
No unread books left.
I'd read everything accessible three times in a row to maximize comprehension.
Thanks to that, three weeks had flown by.
Oh no.
I'd only requested two weeks' leave.
"...Well, time to head back?"
Hahaha! Whatever~ I'll just grovel to the branch chief first.
"......"
Right now, I was hesitating at the entrance to the Hasler Adventurer's Guild branch.
Hesitating about what?
Obviously, whether to go in or not.
Hey, I'm a guild employee—can't I just walk in?
Think about it.
Could an employee who said they'd take two weeks off, then vanished for four weeks, just stroll into the office without a care?
"Urk, my stomach..."
Tension and stress were making my lower belly ache.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason I was hesitating to enter.
No matter what, they might think I'd gone missing, so I'd contacted them remotely before returning.
[Ka, Kane the Instructor! Get back here now! Only you can solve things here... Argh!]
[Saint?! Is that the Saint?! This is Mersenne—I've been waiting at the guild for a week... Gah!]
[Kane! Kane! Kane! Please come back soon! Without you, I'm going through withdrawal...!]
[Big Brother? Big Brother, why haven't you come back?! Nothing happened, right?!]
"......"
The guild seemed to be in chaos, which only scared me more.
Wait, why was that Mersenne Remnant guy even here?
Shouldn't he be in the capital on hero duty?
Sigh, but I had to go in.
It was my workplace, after all—I'd resolved to stick it out here.
Yeah, at least they were looking for me.
They hadn't fired me or told me not to come back.
Aw, screw it!
Screeech—
I flung the door open and strode in confidently.
When in situations like this, shamelessness is key!
People take two-week vacations and end up resting for four sometimes!
The moment I entered with such bravado...
"Ooooh! The Saint has returned...!"
"Argh! Move aside! I can't see Kane's face!"
"Big Brother?! You're not hurt anywhere, right?! You went and came back alone without escorts!"
"Hahaha! Everyone's losing it now that Kane's back!"
"......"
Hmm, total pandemonium.
Should I turn around and leave...?
I came clean: I'd gotten caught up reading books and lost track of time.
I figured they'd call it ridiculous and chew me out.
"Hm, if it's Instructor Kane, that's plausible."
"Kane could pull that off."
"If it's Kane..."
For some reason, everyone seemed to accept it.
What...? Was that my image?
Anyway, luckily, aside from docking my pay for the missed days, nothing else happened.
A shame about the salary cut, but... I wasn't hurting for money anyway.
Living in the guild dorms and not splurging on food kept my expenses low.
The only real spending was on supplies when joining field expeditions.
These days, adventurers handled that themselves if I tagged along, so even that was rare.
"Oh, right—there is one expense today."
I'd asked Jenny to make some time today.
Not for anything weird—just questions I wanted to ask.
About the hero short-lifespan hypothesis from the Imperial Library.
Specifically, Marquis Harkur's illness and condition at death.
Yeah, I knew full well how cruel and shitty it was to ask her to relive her dead father's final days in detail.
But it was the closest sample I had, so no choice.
If uncovering the truth behind short lifespans could let Jenny or Lin live longer...
I'd gladly be the asshole.
"Time's up."
Our appointment was soon.
Better head to the central square.
I paid attention to my clothes and fixed my hair.
...Not for shady reasons.
But you can't show up looking sloppy to spend time with a lady.
No ulterior motives.
Really.
"Big Brother! I'm here."
I arrived at the central square ten minutes early and waited a bit.
Then Jenny's voice came from behind.
"Ah, you've arri..."
I turned to greet her—and my words caught in my throat.
Twin red tails swaying gently.
A beauty so radiant it was dazzling.
A light sky-blue dress, slightly short, matching the clear weather.
And the voluptuous chest drawing all eyes, paired with smooth thighs peeking from under her skirt.
"...Uh, um."
She was stunning.
The kind of beauty that could make any man glance at least once.
Of course, I already knew Jenny was pretty.
Jenny, Scarlett, Sain—they'd all inherited their mother's looks and been striking since childhood.
Jenny especially had that puppy-like charm paired with her kind, gentle nature, stirring protective instincts and dad smiles.
...Though she didn't need protecting, anyway.
But lately... had she matured?
Sometimes she caught me off guard with her beauty.
Like now, in cute casual clothes.
Ahem.
Uh, isn't the exposure a bit much?
...No? Speed-type adventurers might show more skin.
"Kane, Big Brother?"
Ah! Ahem, my thoughts keep veering weird.
Today was for serious talk.
"Hehe, what do you think, Big Brother?"
Then Jenny leaned forward with a grin.
I desperately fought the urge to let my gaze drop below her face.
"Ah, you're beautiful."
I said it with more sincerity than to anyone in the world.
"Heehee. Right? I put extra effort in today. Didn't expect you to compliment me first..."
Jenny blushed as she spoke... What was this?
This inexplicable flutter?!
I'd come for important talk, so why did it feel like a date?!