This World Needs a Hero

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“Hmm….”

I don’t know.

It wasn’t originally my area of expertise.

I never had the luxury to try something like this in my lifetime.

‘Just tell me straightforwardly with some intuition.’

What could be the intention of giving clues in such a convoluted way?

As I sighed at the problem that refused to be solved, Pia suddenly thrust her face forward.

“Do you have any concerns, Professor?”

After finding a solution to the Awaken case, Pia became surprisingly bright.

The shadow in her mind must have lifted at the thought that she could save people with her own hands.

I chuckled and replied.

“Well, it seems like you have a lot on your mind.”

“Haha… Huh, huhuh.”

Pia’s laughter was not mere words.

Dark circles under her tired eyes.

Messy hair.

The slightly downturned eyes were directed even lower than usual.

“Phew, the research on Awaken is progressing slower than I thought.”

Her workload exceeded imagination, raising concerns about overwork.

Lecture preparations, personal research, investor meetings, and even additional assistant tasks.

It surpassed the boundaries of personal space.

I even asked if she wanted to hire a temporary assistant, but the answer was a firm rejection.

“No, thank you. I can handle it on my own.”

With a resolute refusal, the appointment of a temporary assistant was inevitably postponed.

“…Huh?”

Pia’s eyes lingered on the paper I had scribbled on.

“The place where ignorance loses its strength, making the elderly sigh… Oh, Professor, do you like mysteries?”

I instinctively tried to hide the paper but stopped.

“Do you like mysteries too?”

I asked.

“I don’t think I’m bad at them. Can I take a look?”

she inquired.

“Of course. If anything comes to mind after looking at it, feel free to let me know.”

Pia, inherently quirky, sighed with anticipation.

I looked at her with anticipation.

“Hmm.”

“…”

“It’s challenging.”

So when she sighed with a wrinkled brow, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

“It’s really difficult…”

“But I understand at least one phrase?”

“What is it?”

“The line about the punishment that even a genius fears.”

Pia, with a proud smile, began to unravel the tangled story.

“It seems like a riddle related to Zero Requiem…”

Zero, a genius who will always be remembered in history.

Not just in magic but in various fields such as art, invention, engineering, and technology.

A prodigy who played a significant role in humans quickly starting the Second Age upon migrating to the Western continent.

As a result, Zero’s close friend, the former emperor, allegedly publicly joked that if Zero died, he would preserve his brain for research purposes.

“It was to the extent that he might leave it in his will, so it might not have been just a joke. There are even rumors that Zero deliberately hid his tracks because of this.”

Pia explained.

“So, the answer to that phrase is punishment.”

“Yes, coincidentally, it’s related to our previous lesson, isn’t it?”

…I looked at the riddle again.

I made the elderly sigh, and I was punished.

Now, everyone is looking at me, laughing and perhaps shedding tears.

“Oh, could you find the hidden me in the place where ignorance loses its strength?”

‘The location the riddle points to… is probably within Rosenstark,’ I thought.

Zero Requiem probably wouldn’t have placed his most significant connection elsewhere.

“The place where ignorance loses its strength,” I mused, seeming to recall something.

Feeling frustrated, I shifted my gaze to the Rosenstark map hanging on the wall.

A relatively small area, with various facilities tightly packed—research labs, practical rooms, dormitories, dining halls, libraries, and more.

“…Library?”

Muttering unintentionally, I received a clap from Pia next to me.

“Oh, right! The place where ignorance loses its strength!”

…It makes sense.

I approached the wall, staring intently at the map.

In this academy, there are dozens of libraries—tactical, alchemical, magical, staff, and the forbidden library.

And…

Library of Memories.

“Oh.”

On the outskirts of the map, seeing the name of the library located in a secluded area, I couldn’t help but burst into hollow laughter.

‘…So it’s here.’

I immediately grabbed my coat.

Pia widened her eyes, looking at me.

“Are you leaving?”

“I’ll leave work to you today.”

“What’s the answer… No, don’t tell me! I’ll figure it out.”

“How about focusing on your work for now?”

“Ugh!”

Ignoring Pia’s exclamation as she returned to her pile of tasks, I left the research lab.

The ‘mysterious place’ indicated by the riddle is a location with strict access control.

Only one person has the key.

‘I’ll pay a visit to Yussi after a long time.’

* * *

“…Ha, amazing.”

The ‘traitor’ reclined on the sofa, savoring the finest wine that most nobles wouldn’t dream of.

Subsequently, a delicate aroma of white sage filled the room.

Equally exquisite.

“It’s like paradise.”

He found this place exceptionally pleasing.

Here, even the emperor would envy him.

Everything he desired was provided.

A secret place where no one would ever discover his secrets.

‘Who would have imagined negotiations taking place in such a place?’

But soon, the man who had been lying leisurely in the world had to abruptly rise.

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It was because an eerie silhouette rose from the floor.

“Long time no see.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while.”

The figure in front was too bizarre to be called human.

A height that seemed to exceed 3 meters.

The body seemed to be made of smoke, with the surface constantly undulating.

As the demon slowly exhaled, a pungent terror pressed down on the room.

“Report on how the plan is progressing.”

…No, he’s getting straight to the point like this?

The traitor blinked with a perplexed expression.

“You’ve become lazy. What happened to the initial enthusiasm?”

“It’s not easy to find his weaknesses yet. If we move recklessly, there’s a risk of exposing our identity.”

“Is your ability to come up with more plausible reasons lacking?”

A low tone that made the bones vibrate.

The ‘traitor’ shivered.

Demon.

The instinctual fear these creatures instilled did not diminish even after facing it multiple times.

No, it seemed to intensify as it stubbornly seeped into the approximation of the heart over time.

The reprimands continued.

“Did we ask too much of you?”

“No, not at all.”

“We asked you to shake him enough to ensure he doesn’t pay any attention to the outside. It’s a pity that even that is difficult for you.”

The traitor’s complexion turned pale.

“H-however, with my humble abilities, can I shake the Hero’s attention..?”

“It might have been impossible in the past.”

For the first time, the demon’s tail curled up.

“But he has weakened.”

“What? What does that mean…?”

“Think about it.”

It was a straightforward story with just a little thought.

The demon recalled the ‘last major battle.’

‘Can a mere human come out of such a fight unscathed?’

On that day, the hero fought on the worst battlefield imaginable.

The heroes of the Dawn Knights were either dead or incapacitated, and the Hero himself was exhausted, breaking through a long encirclement.

All that was left to him were the pathetic human soldiers.

It was an inescapable trap crafted by the betrayers’ long-standing schemes.

In such dire conditions, the hero confronted the ‘Demon King’ alone.

‘…But the Hero lost.’

Contrary to everyone’s expectations, the Demon King retreated with a terrible aftermath, and humans survived unharmed.

However, the demon was certain.

The Hero couldn’t have come out completely unscathed.

Physically, he couldn’t be in perfect condition.

‘For a war fanatic to suddenly choose the path to Rosenstark…’

Therefore, before he recovered, they had to somehow deal with him or at least inflict some damage.

‘…The unfortunate part is that the preparations are insufficient, because of which I have to deal with this trash.’

If only he could take action himself!

The demon glanced disapprovingly at the traitor, concluding his words.

“Before finding another successor, you should hurry and take action.”

“Y-yes, I will keep that in mind!”

As the conversation concluded, the demon rose from his seat.

The traitor secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the demon didn’t leave immediately.

Bringing his massive head close to the traitor’s face, he took a deep breath.

The sensation felt as if a part of the soul was being drawn in, and the traitor shivered.

“We’ve given you what you’ve longed for all your life. I hope this time there will be results worthy of that.”

“W-would that be possible?”

Snap!

The demon left abruptly, just as unexpectedly as when he appeared.

“…”

The traitor, who had been observing his departure for a moment, blinked his eyelids a few times.

In one corner of his vision, the lingering image of the blue haze emanating from the demon’s eyes vanished.

Instead, bright afternoon sunlight greeted him.

‘…Damn.’

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, drank water vigorously, and looked through the glass window on the other side.

A well-organized view of the academy.

It was Rosenstark.

* * *

In front of the principal’s office, a crowd of people was buzzing with activity.

‘Why are the maids and assistants gathered?’

They seemed to be concentrating on something, oblivious to my arrival.

Among them, I spotted familiar black hair.

Nyhill’s first doll, Senneta.

Whispers were circulating among them with lowered voices.

“How many days has it been since she locked himself in? What on earth is she doing there?”

“It’s so frustrating. Hey, youngest! You did the cleaning yesterday, right? What did she say?”

The youngest maid, Senneta, looked upset.

“I couldn’t even go in. She told me not to disturb her by knocking.”

“Wow, this is insane.”

A sudden disappearance of Yussi.

For the past few days, she hadn’t taken a single step outside the office.

The reason was unknown, and even the professors were left waiting outside.

“Should we just open the door?”

“Opening the principal’s mind along with the door. That’s the senior’s early retirement life for you.”

“But should we just leave it like this? The professors are going crazy!”

…It seemed like the dissatisfaction of the professors was causing trouble for the subordinates.

‘What’s going on? It didn’t seem like they had a plan to deal with this.’

Anyway, her seclusion must come to an end now that I’ve arrived.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“If you open the door again and say something stupid, you might get kicked in the butt… Oh my!”

Starting with a surprised assistant, everyone stared at me with wide eyes.

The silence didn’t last long.

“P-Professor Redymer, nice to meet you!”

“I beg your pardon.”

“…Yes?”

“Because we might have to use a stupid method.”

But there was no need to pull the door handle.

Creak!

The door opened first.

Before the door could smack me in the nose, I sidestepped.

The person who appeared was, of course, Yussi.

‘Yussi? Why does she look like that?’

She looked quite disheveled.

Untidy hair, wrinkled clothes.

The usually sparkling glasses were dirty with dust and fingerprints.

“…Professor?”

She looked at me with surprise for a moment, then smiled.

“Ha…”

Brushing through her greasy hair with her fingers, she casually disappeared into the office.

I immediately followed.

“Don’t come in!”

Ignoring her plea, I stepped into the office behind her.

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