Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: More Than Expected...?
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We arrived on the third floor in an astonishing two hours, all of us staring at the girl dangling in midair, dry-heaving.
"Girl! Tell us the location!"
"Mmph!"
[Master... mouth]
I'd completely forgotten.
"Oh, right."
"Puhah!"
The moment I released the seal on her mouth, the girl gulped in fresh air with relish and looked around.
Stunned by our incredible speed, she stuttered.
"Uh... um... so... go left... no, right from here and..."
Her brain wasn't keeping up.
Frustrated by her fumbling, I decided to handle it myself.
"Tch. Forget it. I'll find them."
"Pardon...?"
Focusing my senses, I detected a swarm of monsters to the right, with a boy in the center mercilessly carving through them while a girl protected another lying on the ground.
No need for lengthy explanations.
"Found them. Everyone, follow me!"
"""Yes."""
"Wait...? How... mmph!"
I resealed the noisy girl's mouth and took off.
It wasn't long before we spotted a yellow-haired boy battling a horde of orcs interspersed with trolls, a girl with purple veins bulging on her face, and a nun guarding her.
That had to be the party.
I dispelled the magic sealing the girl's mouth, then levitated their group with magic and brought them before us.
"Wh-what...!"
"Kyaaah!"
The girl screamed in panic.
The monsters glared at us furiously as their prey slipped from their grasp.
-Grrrrowl.
-Kraaaah!
As I prepared to deal with them magically, Lancelot shouted.
"Hold on, Li... Liam! You're gonna grind them up again!"
"Leaving them alive would endanger others."
"That's not it! Troll hides are worth a fortune!"
"Oh..."
This guy's a lost cause. His brain's soaked in adventure highs.
"Fine, you handle it then..."
"Leave it to me!"
The boy, who'd been blankly listening to us, spotted the girl dangling in midair and yelled.
"Sara!"
"Lucas!"
Their eyes sparkled at the joyful reunion.
But one name I couldn't ignore made my eyes tremble fiercely.
"""Lucas...?"""
Jenia and Veronica echoed in disbelief.
"Benefactors! Thank you so much! I'll repay you later, but please save my comrade!"
"Could it be... your identity is..."
There are many with the same name in the world. I sought confirmation.
And from his mouth...
"If you help us, the Holy Kingdom will surely reward you! I'm Lucas, the hero chosen by the Holy Kingdom! So hurry!"
The hero's name from intelligence reports was 'Lucas'—identical to this yellow-haired man claiming to be the hero.
What a coincidence... The hero I'd scoured the academy for was right in front of me.
"Benefactors, please!"
"Ah... Veronica?"
"Yes! Apostle."
First, we save the girl.
Veronica approached the priestess emitting faint holy power and said,
"Could you step aside for a moment?"
"If I stop healing now..."
"It's fine!"
Veronica gently removed the priestess's hands, placed hers on the girl—now with purple veins creeping under her eyes—and unleashed radiant holy power that expelled the poison.
"My... goodness..."
"Gasp!"
The awestruck hero and Sara watched as Veronica finished and looked up at me.
"Apostle, this girl's mana is unstable. Could you take a look?"
"Yeah, I see it. I'll handle next time. Good work, Veronica."
"Heehee, no problem!"
"Veronica...?"
'Oh right, alias...'
They seemed to catch on.
'Talk later.'
The downed girl's mana circuits were clashing improperly.
Forcing external mana inside, they shoved against each other racing toward her core, shocking the circuits.
She must've tried meditating to expel the poison but couldn't handle it.
'Easy fix for this.'
"Jenia, pump some mana in."
"Yes."
"C-Crown Princess!"
Since we'd been exposed anyway, I called her by name without alias, startling the hero again.
Not some wuxia extra yelling titles...
"Then... you are..."
"Three, two, one!"
Jenia cut off surrounding mana. I placed my index finger on the injured girl's hand and controlled the frantic mana flows.
I've done this with Jenia so often, I could do it blindfolded while dancing.
A thin strand of mana wrapped the colliding flows, guiding them smoothly along the circuit.
After a few laps, her complexion improved, breathing steadily. I nodded.
"Done."
"Could it be... you are..."
Everyone except the gleefully rampaging Lancelot pressed their magic tool buttons.
Hair and eye colors shifted, facial disguise magic faded.
"C-Crown Prince!"
"Crown Princess!"
"Baroness Veronica Elias!"
'...Where'd you dig that up?'
I chuckled at them each outing one identity.
"Pleased to meet you, Hero. I'll overlook the earlier rudeness."
I addressed the hero, his eyes shaking wildly.
"Liam Luminaria here. You're enrolling in the academy, right? Let's get along."
"I'm Jenia Ardell."
"Veronica Elias!"
"And the idiot joyfully playing over there is Lancelot Verstappen."
The hero gaped at our lineup.
"Whoa! Look at all this!"
Lancelot gleefully drained troll blood, his face lit with joy at the jackpot on just the third floor.
'Loving it... Wait, you're taking those too?'
I grimaced seeing him eagerly collect the orbs between the troll's legs.
Averting my eyes from the grotesque disassembly show, the hero suddenly bent at the waist in a deep bow.
"Thank you, benefactors! I'll never forget this grace."
"Ah... sure."
"Hm... more than expected..."
'He's fine?'
I'd figured he'd be belligerent or thuggish, but his sincere gratitude said otherwise.
[He's decent...]
He might've been flustered at first, but he didn't seem like a bad guy.
Staring blankly at this unexpected reaction, a puzzled voice came from him.
"Where's that voice coming from...?"
[Gasp!]
'He can hear it?'
I'd concealed Lumié with magic, yet he heard her.
If he senses Lumié, tied to the goddess, there's something special about this hero.
"Hm... Lumié, dispel the magic?"
[Doesn't matter...]
-Snap!
The magic faded, and the hero's party's eyes widened.
"Fairy!?"
"So... cute!"
"This feeling...?"
[Heehee!]
Good reactions.
"Skip the thanks. We're soon-to-be classmates, right? More importantly, any feelings from seeing this fairy?"
They exchanged glances, then the girl in priestess robes spoke.
"It feels... like the prayer room in church. Warm, somehow?"
"Thanks for the input... uh..."
I realized I hadn't learned her name.
I knew it, but formal intros hadn't happened yet.
Trailing off while staring at her...
"Leila. No family name."
She nodded curtly with a blank expression.
I thanked her and turned to the hero.
"Thanks, Leila."
"Hero, nothing for you?"
"Yeah, same as Leila... Oh! The voice sticks in my ears a bit."
Seems only the goddess knows Lumié's true nature.
Pondering what the 'key' meant, I noticed only Lancelot's humming filled the dungeon.
"Ahem! We all know each other now. What about that young lady?"
"I greet the Empire's Star. I'm Sara Flynn of Viscount Flynn's house."
I stopped Sara as she moved to curtsy.
"Ah, no need for formalities."
"Yes."
Silence again...
Glare at Lancelot happily looting, then back to the hero.
Better clear this up.
"So, Hero, about Veronica's situation in the Holy Kingdom..."
"That wasn't my request!"
The hero burst out suddenly, silencing everyone.
But his eyes blazed as he continued.
"Humans aren't born to be enslaved. They have rightful free will, yet the Holy Kingdom's corrupt ones use me for profit without asking, half-threatening! The Lord must be angry and grieving! Look at my companions—they chose to follow me of their own accord, grateful friends..."
-Smack!
Leila solidly whacked the hero's head, shutting him up.
Still expressionless, she translated.
"The hero says it's unrelated to him."
'Ah.'
My inner anger cooled abruptly.
"Exactly! As fellow worshippers, I swear on the Lord!"
Now, with the missing protagonist resolved, nothing bothered me.
Feeling good, I clapped the hero's shoulder with a grin.
"Hm... Lucas, was it? Be casual."
He panicked at my sudden friendliness.
"C-Crown Prince...? Is that okay?"
"Of course~ Fate brought us together. Let's be friends. Okay, Lu. Cas?"
No downside to befriending the hero.
Empire morale tours, and he hates the Holy Kingdom elders—perfect for checks and balances.
Clueless to my scheming, Lucas beamed like a praised puppy.
"S-sure? Liam?"
My broadening smile drew knowing looks only from Jenia and Veronica.
So what? I helped him, he'll help me—a healthy give-and-take.
As I smirked, the downed girl's eyes fluttered open.
"Ugh... where...?"
"""Karin!!"""
Ah, her name's Karin.
I bellowed at Lancelot.
"Hey! Wrap up and come here! New friend!"
"What? I wanna greet too!"
Blood-soaked Lancelot rushed over, so I splashed him with a water orb.
Ew... gross.