The Hero's Blood (2): Stella Academy, the Saintess Hero's Main Stage

Stella Academy was the main stage for the saintess hero. Since it served as the very setting of the game, the location where the academy stood was naturally no ordinary place. After all, it was a school built atop a dragon’s nest!

Long before the empire was even founded, the First Hero fought the infamous Red Dragon that once ruled these lands in a brutal, blood-soaked battle that lasted three days and nights. Only after barely earning the dragon’s recognition did he settle upon its lair and establish the academy—or so the legends claimed.

Because of that history, hidden dragon treasures and powerful items still surfaced from time to time even now. Among the academy’s many clubs was an entire Treasure Hunter activity dedicated to professionally exploring the grounds in search of such relics, which really said everything that needed saying.

The reason I was giving such a detailed lecture on the academy’s background was simple: it was directly connected to the hidden piece we were currently heading out to claim.

After leaving the room, my lady and I arrived in front of an old warehouse on the outer edge of the academy grounds.

“…Dia. This is just a rundown old warehouse.”

My lady swept a displeased gaze across the dust-caked outer wall and furrowed her brows sharply.

“You said it was a nice spot.” “You mustn’t judge by appearances alone, my lady. Have I ever lied to you? Do these eyes look like the eyes of a liar?”

As I spoke, I widened my eyes and stared at her with a gaze brimming with sincerity.

Sincerity always gets through. If it’s my lady, she’ll understand!

“You once said we were going to eat something delicious and then pushed me off a cliff!”

Ah. My sincerity must have been insufficient.

“There really was a sweet berry at the bottom of that cliff that only blooms once every hundred years. Besides, I prepared all the proper safety equipment before I gave you that little nudge.” “You still should have explained it first!”

But if I explained everything in advance, her reaction would be so weak! My lady always responded so perfectly that I simply couldn’t resist teasing her a little. Why couldn’t she see that my true intention had been to feed her something delicious?

Besides, that sweet berry was an essential early-game item that raised maximum mana by a whopping 1,000 points.

I casually let my lady’s continued grumbling protests flow in one ear and out the other. My current physical condition was far too urgent to waste time dwelling on the past. I decided I would listen to her spoiled complaints about not appreciating the sweet berry’s grace at a later date, and stepped up to the dilapidated warehouse door.

Then I lifted the cane I carried and began tapping lightly on the old wooden surface. Though it looked like random knocking, there was actually a precise code.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A brief pause.

Tap. Tap.

Another measured beat of silence.

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

After the final five knocks, only the sound of a chilly wind swirled around us.

“…You’re totally using your illness as an excuse to prank me again, aren’t you.”

I could hear my lady muttering behind me—‘Why did I trust her again?’—but I ignored it.

It’s real this time, so please just wait a moment, my lady.

Then—

“The rightful heir of the great Dranice family. Specialist in shadow magic. The Witch of Dranice. The cutest girl in the world, Iolet Dranice, and her flawless maid, Gladia!”

The firm rejection made the mana circuits on the door surge wildly. Behind me, I could feel my lady’s expression shift into pure outrage—‘My name doesn’t work?!’

I cleared my throat lightly and knocked on the door once more with my cane.

“The one and only unparalleled genius who enrolled at Stella Academy, record holder of a 98-point score on her very first test. The future beacon who will lead the empire’s magical world—my lady—and her perfect maid, Gladia!”

“…Wait, is this thing actually broken?! Open up right now!”

The moment my lady, whose pride had taken a serious hit, angrily raised her foot to kick the warehouse door, I quickly reached out to stop her and knocked one final time.

“Just some pitiful humans.”

In that instant, the previously uncompromising voice softened noticeably.

With a resonant vwoong, the tightly sealed barrier on the warehouse door melted away, revealing a dark staircase leading underground. The intricate blue mana circuits that had covered the door’s surface scattered like mist and vanished.

I turned around, still leaning on my cane, and grinned at my lady.

“Ta-da. See? I was right, wasn’t I?” “Wh-what the heck is this!”

At the sudden appearance of the underground passage, my lady’s voice shot up in a near-scream. As expected, her reactions were always so satisfying. It made me want to tease her even more.

“Come now, let’s head down~. If we stand here spacing out and run into a passing professor or student, it’ll become very troublesome.”

I gently pushed her back and guided her toward the stairs.

“W-wait! It’s way too dark inside! I can’t see anything! Dia, stop pushing! You go first!” “My lady, I’m blind whether it’s bright or dark, so telling me to go first is a bit harsh, don’t you think?” “When did I ever say it like that!”

As expected, our lady’s sense of timing is absolutely perfect.

“Just kidding. Here, I’ll hold your hand. Just follow me.”

I lightly took hold of my frozen lady’s wrist and stepped forward into the pitch-black underground staircase.

After descending for quite some time, the smooth sensation beneath our feet changed to something rough and uneven.

Whoosh—

Damp air surged up from deep underground, carrying a faint fishy scent that brushed past our noses. Most striking of all was the feeling of mana. Even without focusing my Mind’s Eye, I could vividly sense thick, viscous mana floating heavily in every breath I took.

“Wait… what is this place?”

My lady, who had been gripping my hand like a lifeline, suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. I could feel her trembling with shock.

“This isn’t a normal basement! It’s a dungeon! Why is there a dungeon under the academy?!”

Having sensed the abnormal scale of the space and the ominous mana lurking in the darkness, my lady cried out in alarm.

I clicked my tongue lightly and shook my head.

Oh, my lady. It’s common sense that there’s a dungeon beneath the academy. If you say something like that outside, people will call you ignorant.

Currently, Gladia and Iolet were fighting their way through a dungeon while battling the monsters that had noticed their intrusion and were now charging at them.

From the goblins that would feel disappointing to leave out, to slimes, orcs, and even boss-level monsters like twin-headed ogres and chimeras that would normally appear only in high-level dungeons—it was a literal monster clearance sale, a blood-soaked bargain bonanza.

The sight of so many monsters charging all at once would have been nothing short of apocalyptic for ordinary people… but unfortunately for them, their opponents were terrible.

“How annoying!”

The moment Iolet lightly snapped her fingers, thick darkness surged like a wave beneath her feet.

The shadows shot forward like whips toward the orc horde that had closed in.

Crunch!

Dark-attribute first-circle magic—Shadow Control.

It was Iolet’s signature spell: one that infused mana into shadows to give them virtual mass and allowed her to manipulate them at will.

Originally, this was an extremely basic spell used for minor assistance or support through very weak physical force.

But the enormous mana Iolet possessed completely broke that common sense.

The shadows rising from beneath her feet transformed into sharp blades that severed the orcs’ limbs. The sight of arms and legs flying through the air while ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blood ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sprayed everywhere was as brutal as any slasher film.

However, the Iolet Mk.42 who had undergone rapid evolution thanks to Gladia showed no sign of stopping at such a gruesome scene.

When the chimera that leaped out next had its massive foreleg torn away, the shadow cast on the ground opened its maw at Iolet’s gesture. A gigantic jaw rising from the darkness swallowed the chimera’s entire torso in one bite.

At the same time, she lightly waved her hand through the air, and the shadows floating overhead turned into hundreds of black needles that scattered in every direction.

Those needles did more than simply pierce their targets. The goblins impaled by the spines couldn’t even scream before they were eroded by the shadows and crumbled away into dust on the spot.

The surrounding monsters now feared even approaching her and began to back away, but Iolet had no intention of stopping her assault.

Her shadows slithered across the walls like living creatures, completely sealing off the monsters’ escape routes.

After perfectly cutting off their retreat, Iolet raised one hand toward the ceiling.

The shadows from every direction around her began gathering toward a single point as if sucked in by a vacuum cleaner.

Snap.

When Iolet lightly flicked her finger, the tiny orb that had formed at her fingertip expanded with an ominous sound.

A jet-black sphere that seemed to swallow even light itself.

It was Iolet’s ultimate technique—compressing the mass granted to shadows to the extreme and crushing everything it touched. Gladia had named it Murasaki. Iolet herself called it Shadow Hole.

Bang!

With a light firing sound, the orb shot forward like a cannon shell.

There was no explosion. The monsters simply couldn’t even scream as they were instantly flattened along the sphere’s trajectory and reduced to dust.

The gravity sphere that scraped across the floor and swept away the monsters only stopped after punching straight through the far wall of the dungeon.

For a moment, the dungeon fell into complete silence.

Every trace of the monsters that had been swarming only moments ago had vanished without a trace. Only the enormous gouge carved deep into the floor proved that something had just passed through.

“…Looks like we’re done.”

Iolet walked leisurely through the remains of the monsters that had turned to dust.

Perhaps because her mana was still highly stimulated right after battle, the shadows around her danced and rippled with every step she took.

Gladia followed behind her with perfectly calm strides.

Unlike Iolet, who was now covered head to toe in dirt and dust, Gladia’s maid uniform remained spotlessly clean, as if it hadn’t picked up a single particle of dungeon grime. She lightly brushed off her pristine apron with her fingertips and stood beside Iolet without a drop of sweat on her face.

“As expected, my lady, you were truly magnificent.”

Iolet’s gaze snapped toward Gladia like a blade.

She had followed Gladia after being told they were going somewhere nice, only to be thrown into a horde of monsters that attacked with lethal intent instead of a restaurant. And after Gladia had simply cheered “Go, my lady!” from the back the entire time, she now appeared completely nonchalant, as if nothing had happened.

If she weren’t actually sick, I’d seriously…!

Iolet’s lips trembled with frustration. The fact that not a speck of dust marred Gladia’s maid uniform felt especially irritating today.

Just as Iolet was about to turn away with an angry huff—

“My lady, one moment.”

Gladia pulled out a clean handkerchief from her pocket. She began meticulously and tenderly wiping the dirt from Iolet’s cheek.

Even though Gladia couldn’t see right now, her touch was incredibly careful and attentive.

“You moved so vigorously that your face is a mess. It would be troubling if something like this stained such a pretty face.”

Her low, calm voice. Iolet, who had been about to slap the hand away, froze the instant Gladia’s cool fingertips touched her.

Gladia didn’t give her any room to complain. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠She carefully cleaned Iolet’s entire face, even brushing away the dust at the corner of her mouth.

“There. All clean now, yes?”

Gladia smiled brightly as she put the handkerchief away. Feeling her face suddenly burn, Iolet whipped her head to the side.

“…Tsk. Flattering me when you can’t even see.”

Her grumbling voice had lost much of its earlier force. Iolet absently touched the cheek where Gladia’s hand had been, then strode briskly deeper into the dungeon—though she made sure to shorten her steps just enough so Gladia wouldn’t fall behind.