<344 - Suspicious Lecture of the Previous Hero 2>
Professor Destroyer looked at the transparent cloak in Hestia’s hand and said.
“One more thing. While the material affected by invisibility hides its form, it cannot conceal its presence.”
“Ah.”
“Sand is the cheapest means to detect shapeless monsters. Even if you brought an invisibility cloak that fits your size, you couldn’t escape my eyes.”
As expected, the professor isn’t a professor for nothing.
Profoundly impressed, Hestia was then interrogated by the professor.
“The invisibility magic should be taught starting from the Upper Class for Second-Year or Lower Class for Third-Year. Where did you acquire that item?”
“I found information about a hidden piece, a treasure hidden by the seniors, in the Room of Double-sided Strips that can only be accessed during special times.”
“Wasn’t that a room protected by a special barrier on the second floor of the Main Building? You’ve been playing around quite cleverly.”
“Ah, did you know about it!?”
“It’s none of my business, so I just turned a blind eye. Since I was there, I also happened to write up a double-sided strip myself.”
“!?”
Both Hestia and Oknodie were startled.
The students’ secret hideout had already been discovered by the professor, and hidden among the countless complaints about professors was the professor’s own trap.
If they weren’t careful, they could easily fall for a trap set by the professor and end up with the wrong information and suffer from an unexpected event!
“Do other professors know?”
“With the spells laid out right on the stairs, those who know will know. Most likely thought it was just a prank by the principal and didn’t want to get involved, so they left it alone.”
Professor Bronze made a mental note to definitely check out the Room of Double-sided Strips when he had the time.
“So, what’s your name?”
“Hestia.”
“Hestia. Let’s return to the topic. What’s your answer?”
Hestia answered uncertainly.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s a zero. Just sitting there while the rest of the class goes by is limited to usual lectures. If you don’t think, you’ll just get dragged along by the situation. The end of such an adventure only waits for tragedy. If it’s like that for warriors, it would be worse for mercenaries.”
“…I will keep that in mind.”
“Sit down. I may not be of much help, but if you want to help Oknodie, don’t eavesdrop; just join in openly.”
Hestia sat beside Oknodie.
“Before I tell you the correct answer, let me share what happened afterwards. The contract between Ni’alatotep and the merchant lord flourished, gathering support from many refugees.”
“The smoother the merchant lord’s business went, the more Blue Cards for distributing food were produced, increasing the amount of food the refugees could receive.”
“While the warrior wanted more profit, the merchant lord didn’t want any more additional issuance due to the limits of food that could be hoarded.”
“A month after there was a disagreement, an enormous amount of food cards flooded the market, and the merchant lord, troubled by the suspicions from the refugees and the targeted investigation by the imperial inspector, committed suicide.”
“For some reason, before leaving the system, the warrior purchased an artifact worth far more than the money he had. This is the information I possessed twelve years ago and a hint of doubt.”
Previous Hero Ni’alatotep.
He must have certainly done something.
From the course of events, anyone would be able to tell.
“That’s a lie!”
Ishtar denied it.
“The goddess referred to Previous Hero Ni’alatotep as a wise man and rated him highly!”
– The One and Only Goddess Sofemia told me in a dream. Learn the righteousness of Ni’alatotep, and please do not get caught up in evil and cunning schemes.
Ishtar’s feelings of admiration towards the previous hero were so strong that she once said such things in a private conversation with Yufi.
To think that the cunning schemer was actually Ni’alatotep!
“Sofemia, the One and Only, is it? Quite a nostalgic name. In a bad way too.”
A smirk graced Destroyer’s lips.
As emotions close to hatred rather than distrust were evident, even Ishtar dared not challenge him and was silenced.
“It’s only natural for her to praise Ni’alatotep. There are not a few gods who suffered losses, large and small, because of him, leading to a rise in the One and Only Goddess’s status, whether intended or not.”
“However, just because a warrior is loved by the gods doesn’t mean he was admirable to humans. At least after the food card incident, the refugees became supporters of the revolutionaries, causing a huge uproar and were subjected to a massacre by imperial soldiers.”
“Right, I almost forgot about that.”
The food card incident was merely mentioned in the context of discussing the first encounter with the Three Great Evils.
The truly important story is different.
“The place where the First Revolution took place. The timing of the revolutionary appearing there coincided with when the Warrior Party was staying in the capital.”
“I didn’t witness it with my own eyes, but Ni’alatotep once said something like, ‘I found an interesting guy.’”
After the first encounter with the Three Great Evils, the warrior gained an unusually large amount of money from an unknown source.
One of the Three Great Evils, the revolutionary, gained countless supporters.
“Is this correct…?”
“…As long as you are justified, public support is unnecessary. It must be so.”
“Mm~ Really? Ishtar believes she’s justified!”
“Got a problem with that?”
“None!”
On the outside, Ishtar tried to feign understanding, but her confusion was clear on her face.
If even the current warrior felt that way, it was obvious what Hestia and Oknodie would think.
‘Professor Destroyer gets aggressive during lectures. Is it possible that he’s so bold as to expose the previous hero’s secret that has been under imperial information control?’
Does he not fear the eyes and ears of the empire?
Amidst Professor Bronze’s silence, Professor Destroyer’s tale continued.
After wrapping up the official activities of the Warrior Party, he ventured alone into the system to dig up the past from twelve years ago.
“Four years ago, while retracing the hero party’s journey, I inadvertently found myself at the revolutionary’s forward base and faced him.”
“You encountered the Three Great Evils!? Were they trying to harm you, senior?”
“The revolutionary isn’t a fool who would intentionally invite his enemy with a bomb into his own house. If he’s an arsonist, then maybe.”
Though discussing great evils, his expression held not just hatred or loathing.
*
The revolutionary was a bold man who would go as far as to invite a deadly adversary to his forward base.
He showed neither fear nor wariness in front of Destroyer.
“I heard a member of the hero party, weary from his arduous adventures, has been wandering the continent. I didn’t expect the rumors to be true. I hope I’m not a bother to you.”
“You’re not a bother. We each had something we were curious about, so we met.”
The revolutionary stretched out his arms and chatted cheerfully.
“Curious about the banner of revolution? Ask away, I’ll tell you anything. If you want to take revenge for the empire’s shabby treatment, I can promise you the support of the Revolutionary Army.”
“I’m only curious about one thing. The transaction between Ni’alatotep and you.”
“…Interesting. Truly, you must be one of the comrades Ni’alatotep took along. I never thought he would walk around with a clueless fool.”
Despite his words, the revolutionary’s smile disappeared from his face.
His expression, as rigid as military uniform, bore an unsettling energy.
“I’ll reveal one thing out of respect for an old friend. Want to know the details of the incident?”
The unassuming young man had long been reborn as the hero of turnaround, and it was already apparent what the circumstances were.
“I already know as much as I need. Ni’alatotep betrayed his loyalty for ‘fun,’ and you revolutionaries were chosen. Instead of apprehending you, who discovered the raw materials for blue cards, Ni’alatotep raised you as a revolutionary to overthrow the empire.”
“I don’t get why you’d come all the way here to pry if you already know everything. Ignoring it would yield great profits, and sharing would bring you nothing but trouble.”
“The one behind the Reign of Terror, Teraros, who set fire to three cities once said something. If the spark of revolution didn’t burn down his hometown, he could have lived another life.”
With deeply sunken eyes that resembled a swamp, Destroyer locked his gaze on the revolutionary’s arrogant demeanor.
No, it was an act that could rightly be called domination.
“Was it enjoyable? Played around as a revolutionary while meddling with numerous lives.”
“You bastard…”
“Were there any true values? Did so many people bleed for your revolution?”
Tension rose as Destroyer’s fury ignited beyond the revolutionary’s demeanor, causing the atmosphere of the entire forward base to swell intently, as if to sweep everything away like a tempest.
At the moment when the resonance of fierce energies intended to obliterate the environment, the revolutionary spoke.
“The warrior caused the merchant lord to commit suicide using the imperial inspector’s targeted investigation. He was my father.”
“…!”
“He gathered the refugees to create a foundation. The refugees had no idea what they were making. It was no different from a massive cemetery.”
“I can’t believe this.”
“It doesn’t matter if you believe it or not. Just like you hold the truth of Ni’alatotep’s betrayal, the truth I hold is my father’s betrayal.”
Beyond the strong wind, the revolutionary’s short hair waved, yet his firm eyes did not waver.
“It was a time when even the state could not provide enough food for the refugees. Where do you think the food the merchant lord obtained came from?”
“Could it be that the source of that food was…?”
“The empire. It was the empire that provided food to the merchant lord, utilized him to create the foundation, sacrificed unnecessary refugees to gain the evil god’s treasures, and plotted to eradicate the evil god worshippers.”
Thus began the long-standing hatred of one man aimed toward the destruction of the empire.
At the center of the emergence of the Three Great Evils, it all started with the empire.
