<343 - The Suspicious Former Hero's Lecture>
Irrefutable evidence has surfaced.
Oknodie has acquired the answer sheet.
From Professor Sadako and Professor Destroyer.
Among the two, only Professor Destroyer could pull off such a scheme.
It must surely be the work of Destroyer, who thrived in the warrior party led by the previous hero, Ni’alatotep, the strongest rogue of the era.
“Impressive.”
Honestly, I never thought someone would stoop to this.
What would Professor Destroyer gain by siding with the Foundation?
Yet the existence of that answer sheet speaks volumes.
No matter how improbable the hypothesis, it’s a fact that this has actually occurred.
Goo
The hand that had been flipping through the answer sheet halted, not even glancing at the howling mandragora, oblivious to the intruder as it thrust its roots into the wall for training.
━━━━
Professor Bronze’s Assignment ②
Professor Bronze’s Assignment ③
Professor Bronze’s Assignment ④
━━━━
The upcoming assignments, minus the first one submitted in the last lecture, are all listed here.
Even I think, based on the content, that these assignments fit the progression perfectly.
The proposed topics and accompanying correct answers were all something one would naturally nod along to.
‘If they had simply stolen my answer sheet, I would have acknowledged their skill and given them full marks. But this…’
Is this truly Oknodie’s achievement?
Couldn’t it be the handiwork of Professor Destroyer, who is assisting her?
The insight and wisdom to see through a professor’s curriculum.
Such a feat cannot be easily imitated unless one is a member of a previous hero party.
The omnipotent rogue, Destroyer.
The probability of him being behind this has risen to the level of certainty.
Of course, the handwriting is scribbled in the howling mandragora’s scratchy script.
This has to be Oknodie’s handwriting, unless a toddler under ten years old wielded the pen.
The original answer sheet had already been destroyed, replaced with a copied assignment submission paper.
In that regard, even if it becomes a point of contention, Professor Destroyer has ample grounds to deny it.
“Myung So, you were right.”
“Hmm. I didn’t want to believe it, but that guy really is reaching out to the Foundation.”
“Professor Destroyer’s earlier display of digging into the Foundation was merely a ruse. Or perhaps he was ensnared in the process.”
A cloud of concern shadowed Myung So’s face.
“Is Oknodie’s position more perilous than it seems… Oh, Ancient Deity, is the fate that the girl must bear so tragic? Please bestow your compassion with virtue.”
“What do you mean?”
“The recent attack on Arcadia Sebiche’s family was orchestrated by Professor Destroyer. The Sebiche Ducal House conspired with the Foundation, and Destroyer received compensation from Oknodie and Arcadia to prevent the annihilation of the Sebiche family.”
“Well, isn’t that a good thing?”
“If Professor Destroyer hadn’t been absorbed by the Foundation, that might have been the case. However, now that he’s intertwined with the Foundation, the assault carries another intent.”
Myung So reconstructed the incident entirely.
“The Foundation was trying to demonstrate that it could eliminate Oknodie’s associates regardless of their status, while attempting to tame them.”
“!!”
“Only Chairman First Wahyhiemhai of the Foundation would commit such an act. The recent murder of the beastman resurgence society members under the Foundation can also be viewed as an extension of taming Oknodie.”
Professor Bronze reflected.
The man he had despised as a novice was now enveloped in deep concern for Oknodie, having meticulously observed and investigated the truth behind the events.
As a rogue, he could have arrived at the truth more swiftly and accurately.
So, who is Oknodie’s master, really?
As a mentor, his pride felt crushed.
“I had no intention of cultivating such shallow emotions as affection, but I guess I’ll have to keep a close eye on this. To prevent worse men from latching on.”
*
━━━━
Thursday, 4th period.
Professor Destroyer’s lecture in the Adventure Department.
[Retired Hero and the World's Evils].
━━━
Surprisingly, two students appeared in Professor Destroyer’s class, which he had believed to be a failed lecture with zero enrollments just last week.
One was Oknodie, the only student from the previous semester, and the other was Ishtar, the top student and currently active warrior.
“Eh? Why is Ishtar here?”
“What’s wrong with a warrior attending a retired hero’s lecture?”
“You didn’t give a damn last semester!”
“…I didn’t feel the need then. But don’t get the wrong idea. Just because I’m attending a class with you doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you for that point scam.”
After her recent boating trip, she felt stronger, but to think she could land a blow on a warrior.
Professor Bronze, who had been eavesdropping from a distance, was quite surprised by his disciple’s antics.
However, the real surprise began during the lecture.
“When a retired hero sets out to eradicate the evils infesting the world, the first enemy they encounter isn’t a trivial monster, but rather a human.”
Professor Destroyer adopted a storytelling approach based on his past adventures for the lecture.
Secrets of the world, known only to those who weren’t members of the warrior party, resurfaced in the cramped classroom, digging up old memories.
“The revolutionary of the Empire. Man’s Representative. Leader of the Organization. Among them, the first entity that encountered the warrior party was the revolutionary.”
Thirteen years ago, when the warrior party, having received a gratitude plaque while touring border villages, made their way into the Capital. At that time, the Capital was packed with refugees trying to escape famine.
“Limited food. Excess farmers. In the midst of chaos, a merchant sought to profit from the minimal food available by offering a strange request: to construct a profit model using the refugees, promising to share 1% of the pure profit with the adventurer who succeeded.”
“That merchant was one of the great evils?”
“The merchant remained a businessman from start to finish. However, our warrior party’s leader, Ni’alatotep, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to earn funds for their activities and took on the merchant’s request with his merchant spirit.”
Ni’alatotep was, indeed, an absurd hero.
The fact that he actually hit the jackpot is another story altogether.
“Compared to the rations provided by the government, the amount of food the merchant could mobilize wasn’t much. However, Ni’alatotep managed to find a means to cleverly release that limited food without appearing generous.”
A small blue token.
At the moment he saw it, Professor Bronze felt a strong aversion.
He remembered that the enormous upheaval that once shook the Empire stemmed from that tiny token.
“Wow! A blue token!”
“Do you recognize it?”
“Of course. If you collect it, you can exchange it for items in the city of ghosts, right?”
“…That’s called a food card. If you gather three, you could exchange them for one meal. What kind of place is the city of ghosts?”
“A secret!”
Ishtar looked bewildered.
“How on earth do you know that, Oknodie? I can’t even recall it since I was just a kid in the Empire.”
“It’s a secret!”
“Certainly strange. Oknodie, aren’t you around 11 years old? How do you know about a food card that existed barely half a year before you were born, in a completely different context?”
Oknodie, now sweating and smiling sheepishly for having overreached, might as well mind her own business.
They could ask her if they wanted, but Professor Destroyer didn’t push further.
That meant the Foundation was secretly using the food card, which had been designated a taboo along with enhancement in the Empire.
Oknodie must have experienced it firsthand.
It felt dirty, but it was not worth digging into right now, nor would Oknodie willingly confess if they did.
Professor Destroyer proceeded with the lecture.
“Ni’alatotep decided to give food cards to the refugees helping with the merchant’s work, and indeed, he made some progress. During a time when every grain of rice and every wheat kernel was precious, there were plenty of desperate people, making labor a bargain.”
“But that’s a technology designated as a taboo by the Empire now. I don’t really know, since I didn’t live in the Capital during my childhood, but what exactly happened with the blue cards, Professor?”
Seemingly pleased with the young warrior’s curiosity, Destroyer turned to ask her a question in return.
“Take a guess. Each of you has one chance. If you get it right, I’ll let you skip a lecture or allow you to eavesdrop one time.”
Three people, huh?
Could it be about me?
Could they have detected something from this distance?
That’s a bit scary.
As Professor Bronze glanced around, her gaze dropped to the ground.
Footsteps.
They weren’t hers, but someone else’s footsteps were visibly left in the empty space.
“Oh, right. Professor, didn’t you know?”
As Oknodie displayed a glimmer of realization at the mention of three people, she rubbed her ring, causing a neat and elegant girl to appear like a puppet.
“A ghost!?”
“Don’t attack! I got permission to bring her along from the professors!”
Professor Destroyer urged with a disinterested expression.
“So what’s the answer?”
“I’ll go first.”
“Go ahead, Ishtar.”
“Perhaps the merchants continued to release blue cards until their resources ran dry, leading to a riot among the refugees who couldn’t obtain food?”
“10 points.”
Ishtar clenched her fist in joy.
Did you see that?
She cockily raised her chin towards Oknodie, flaunting her superiority, but Destroyer spoke coldly.
“Out of a hundred.”
“Pfft.”
Oknodie chuckled, bringing her hand to her mouth and laughing.
The fake younger sister Lin, seeing Oknodie’s expression, mimicked her and laughed just the same.
The warrior’s face turned bright red from the double humiliation.
Instead of Ishtar, who was red-faced and clenching her lips, it was Oknodie who raised her hand.
“It’s my turn, right?”
“Go ahead, Oknodie.”
“I think the rival merchant who acquired raw materials for creating blue cards flooded the market with the same cards, causing the original merchant to go bankrupt! I could totally see that happening!”
“…Someone really is the Dark Princess, having only devilish thoughts stirring in her head.”
Despite Ishtar’s jibe, Professor Destroyer didn’t seem too displeased.
“50 points.”
“Hmm, I only half got it right.”
“This is the final question. What do you think?”
Oknodie’s ghost friend was flustered about needing to respond, but Professor Destroyer’s gaze wasn’t on the ghost.
It wasn’t a ghost.
The target he was asking for an answer from was someone else.
Professor Bronze had also stayed still this time.
She had realized moments ago that the person he was keen on was, in fact, not her.
A ghost leaves no footprints.
A rogue leaves no prints.
Thus, it had to be someone else.
“…How did you know?”
Removing the invisibility cloak, Hestia looked extremely flustered.
“Your size was too large to properly wear that cloak.”
“Still, I was crouched under it properly!”
“From the awkward posture, the pressure of your weight twisted your stance. The footprints became deeper, and since you didn’t erase your tracks, I was able to deduce your existence, location, and build just from your traces.”
“Indeed… I guess I can’t fool the professor’s eyes. I apologize for sneaking in.”
“If it was for a course registration, you could have come forward. What were you trying to achieve by sneaking around?”
Hestia, not matching her bulky frame, fidgeted before answering.
“I was worried about Oknodie. With so many lectures already, I thought I’d sneak in to help during her training…”
Who was helping whom now?
Professor Destroyer, Professor Bronze, and Warrior Ishtar all looked at her in disbelief.
Even Oknodie herself shook her head with a laugh.
“Hestia, I appreciate your concern, but it was unnecessary! The assignments aren’t difficult at all!”
“Really?”
“To properly use the invisibility cloak, you would have needed to acquire another one to increase your size.”
“There was only one cloak recorded in the Room of Double-sided Strips, hiding the hidden piece…?”
“I’d just need to ambush another cloak owner and take theirs!”
“…”
Professor Bronze felt she might have strangled a truly troublesome child.
