Chapter 277
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“I will walk this path to cleanse the world of all evil.
I will pass judgment on those who trample on humanity and deny its dignity.
No matter how arduous this path may be, I will never back down for those who believe in me, and for true justice.The era longs for a new hero, so I will bear that burden.
I will stake everything on this fight.
Those who share my will.
Those who desire justice on thisnd.
Join me.
Remember my name.
I am the new hero, the Second Hero, ‘Arpheus.’
…In honor of the first hero, Ted Redymer.”
This was the deration of Arpheus, proiming himself the new hero.
As this deration spread, the reactions of people—specifically those who knew the real hero—were varied.
“Ha, look at this guy. He’s doing all sorts of things.”
Deep within the royal pce, there were scoffs of disbelief.
“…It wasn’t the professor after all.”
“The professor wouldn’t throw such a grandiose deration.”
“Our professor would never be so full of himself!”
“It might be annoying, but let’s meet him for now. We need all the help we can get right now.”
Gerald quietly expressed his concerns.
“He boldly deres himself the second hero, so he probably has a hostile stance towards our professor. What if he’s rude to us too?”
Luke offered a simple solution.
“We’ll just beat him up.”
…Such conversations were taking ce in the sanctuary where the kids were gathered. Currently, Noubelmag was managing facilities and defensive artifacts in the sanctuary after leaving Rosenstark.
His assistant, Sta, asked him with a gentle smile.
She was a maid doll left behind for Noubelmag by Nyhill.
“A new hero, aren’t you curious?”
Noubelmag snorted.
“There have been many like him. What I’m more curious about is what your master is doing and where.”
“…Haha. Perhaps we’ll meet again someday?”
“Damn, you call yourself a doll, but you have nothing inmon with her. You’re just slick. I should return you.”
“Eek, that’s mean!”
ng!
In the sanctuary’s workshop, the sound of hammers echoed loudly once again.
…Lastly, on the front lines.
The Dawn Knights generally showed skeptical reactions.
“…A new hero, huh. Who the hell is that guy?”
“Let him say whatever he wants. This is a time when even such people are needed.”
“Fraud or rookie.”
“It’ll be more of a problem if he dies quickly.”
In the midst of this, someone said,
“What if he really has the potential to be a hero? He has achieved quite remarkable feats.”
An immediate response came.
“Then, like themander, he will gradually stand out. We can think about it when the timees.”
“Right. For now, let’s head out for the hunt. Our new recruit has already dashed out.”
“Hey, hey!? Leciel! Don’t go alone! Let us swing our swords too!”
.
.
.
Hero, Arpheus.
Unknown origin, and his past actions also unknown.
No one knew what kind of life he had lived before he appeared in public.
Spections abounded, such as that he was from a remote farming vige like the first hero or that he had secluded himself in a deep mountain valley to train after gaining enlightenment.
However, nothing had been clearly revealed yet.
Even Arpheus himself kept silent about his past.
In any case.
His name began to be known about two years ago.
The region where Arpheus was active was the North.
Though the entire continent was in a dire situation, the North was particrly worse off.
This was because Theo, who had absorbed Yol, constantly deployed his direct troops for reconnaissance and raids, knowing that the hero was hiding nearby.
The first thing Theo did after absorbing Yol was to overthrow the Magic Tower.
That day, 100 powerful mages, including Ludwig Bosman, the tower’s master, became undead, and Theo made excellent use of his newly acquired powerful lich army.
Whenever the liches swept through an area, it looked as though it had been bombarded, and the already deste North further lost its vitality.
If not for the demi-human troops led by the ice dragon Cuculliing down from North Hail to aid humans, humans in the North would have been wiped out entirely.
It was during this period that Arpheus suddenly appeared.
In the early days, Arpheus acted alone, so few people saw him fight directly.
However, wherever he passed, the remnants of evil were always left behind.
He sessfully fended off the lich army’s raids and even hunted down several giant monsters known as the cmities of the North, so people’s enthusiasm was only natural.
In a time desperate for heroes.
More and more people in the North began to follow him, and thus he gained enough recognition to boldly dere himself a hero.
Already, those who followed Arpheus had gathered where he stayed, forming a considerable armed group.
“Hero, may Ie in?”
“Come in.”
The young man, deep in thought, looked up.
He appeared to be in his early to mid-20s.
He appeared to be in his early to mid-20s.
He was very tall, withrge, sinewy muscles attached to his broad frame.
Observant individuals could notice that his hairstyle closely resembled that of someone from his youth.
“Then, please excuse me.”
The person who entered through the tent’s entrance was dressed as a butler.
He was a servant employed by the northern lord who had offered Arpheus a ce to stay and looked at Arpheus with great admiration.
‘…He chose to stay in this humble tent in the mountains despite being offered the lord’s castle.’
He had even refused all the weing and victory banquets, saying that if there were such resources, they should be given to the starving residents.
‘Truly, he possesses the demeanor of a hero.’
Arpheus gave a faint smile in response to the butler’s admiring gaze.
In reality, all of this was a deliberate imitation of the actions Ted Redymer had taken in his youth.
It was a method that had already seeded in building recognition once.
He knew it would not fail.
Arpheus’s blue eyes met the butler’s.
“By the way, what brings you here?”
“You asked to be notified when you had visitors, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“A messenger from the Sanctuary has arrived.”
“…Sanctuary?”
Arpheus’s brow furrowed slightly.
The butler added an exnation.
“It’s a kind of relief organization…”
“I know. It’s a group created by the followers of the fake hero.”
“Th-That’s correct.”
The butler was slightly surprised by Arpheus’s blunt words.
“The messengers must be knights of the Lotus Order, then.”
“How did you know!?”
“Isn’t itmon knowledge that they are allied? It’s obvious who they would send as messengers to the dangerous North.”
Wearing a sardonic smile, Arpheus straightened his clothes and stood up abruptly.
“So, who hase?”
Arpheus nodded after receiving the list of names.
“They’vee with only the core members.”
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“They said they would discuss the purpose of their visit in person.”
“Huh, the purpose is obvious.”
If it were a simple matter, it would have been resolved throughmunication.
The reason they came in person was clear.
A request for an alliance.
And before that…
“They intend to test me.”
“Test you, Hero?”
The butler’s expression twisted in displeasure.
“Test what? The people of the North already know.”
Arpheus chuckled.
“Still, we should entertain them. We have our own desires as well.”
* * *
The four men and women sitting on the sofas in the reception room looked a little bored.
A rugged-looking young man, fiddling with the ornaments here and there, sighed deeply first.
His intense eyes, firm jawline, and short-cropped blond hair left a strong impression.
“I thought we’d be staying at the lord’s castle, but why are we in some field tent? How long do we have to wait?”
In contrast, a handsome young man with ck hair waved his hand, trying to calm him down.
“Be patient. You’re not a kid. Why are you bouncing around?”
With long hair reaching his shoulders, he exuded a free and rxed aura, quite different from his previously sharp and fierce demeanor.
“He’lle eventually if we wait a little.”
But when the blonde woman sitting next to him spoke up—
“…Still, this is too much. Holding up busy people like this, what’s the point?”
“Exactly, they’ve gone mad. Should I flip out? Kill them all?”
Her sudden change in tone caused Gerald and Karen, who were watching, to shake their heads simultaneously.
“Luke hasn’t changed since he was a student.”
Gerald sighed deeply, cing his hand on Karen’s shoulder.
“Right, Karen?”
Her cute face, framed by her short bob hair, twisted in annoyance.
“Hands off.”
“Yes.”
…It took a little longer before they started having a productive conversation.
Surprisingly, Gerald was the first to speak.
“…By the way, do you think it’s right to share the location of the seal with this Arpheus or whatever? What are your thoughts?”
At his serious tone, the others wiped the smiles off their faces and focused.
“The more protectors, the better. We’re already short on manpower.”
“It’s not a decided matter. We’re here to assess if he’s worthy in the first ce.”
“It’s a decision made by the higher-ups. It’s not something for us to debate.”
“…True.”
…Indeed, it was the Five Seals.
The axes of the seal that Barret Namsov had built by sacrificing his life were shared with a few trustworthy individuals.
The hero and hispanions couldn’t protect all of them alone.
Hence, Euphemia had mobilized the Empire’s elite (established by the special forces led by Zion Hiyashin) to guard some, and the Lotus Order and the Dawn Knights were also contributing.
Of course, not all locations of the five seals were disclosed to humans.
The essence that blocked the passage to the demon realm was unknown to all but a few high-ranking officials.
The children only knew it as a ‘seal to suppress evil.’
They vaguely suspected that this seal was rted to their master.
Therefore, they were somewhat skeptical about involving Arpheus, who had dered himself the “new hero,” in this matter.
“Still, we have the authority to decide. Let’s meet him and discuss it first. He certainly has significant power. If he doesn’t seem suitable, we can just establish a cooperative rtionship, which would still benefit the Sanctuary.”
“It’s a pity Ban couldn’t be here. His judgment would have been crucial.”
“We couldn’t pull him away from such an important meeting. Let’s do our best to evaluate the situation ourselves.”
Over the past few years, Ban had awakened to his qualities as a leader while overseeing the Lotus Order.
It wasn’t just about his work skills but also his ability to understand people and recognize their potential.
Ban was unparalleled in personnel selection, making his absence felt keenly.
“By the way, since he suddenly dered himself a hero, he seems quite interested in fame… Will he leave his stronghold in the North to help us?”
“If he’s concerned about his reputation, he might be eager to help us.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Imagine the image: the true second hero embracing the disciples of the ‘fake hero.’ It’s quite a picture, isn’t it?”
“Ugh.”
At that moment, a strange voice interrupted them.
“…Well, I’m not particrly interested in fame.”
The children turned their heads toward the sound, their expressions hardening.
‘We didn’t hear the door open.’
Arpheus.
The man they had seen in portraits was looking at them with a rxed smile.
“I didn’t realize the distinguished members of the Lotus Order enjoyed gossiping so much.”
Gerald smiled broadly and responded instantly.
“We’re equally surprised to learn that the third hero enjoys eavesdropping.”
Arpheus’s lips twisted into a peculiar smile.
“It’s the second.”
“Well.”
“Hey, Gerald!”
Karen whispered, but Gerald’s smirking expression didn’t change.
Luke noticed that Gerald was deliberately acting provocatively.
Arpheus spoke in a cold voice.
“There’s no need to waste time since your intentions are obvious.”
“Now you’re making sense.”
“Follow me.”
Swish—
Arpheus’s cloak swirled, momentarily obstructing their view.
“The training ground is a bit far. We can talk while we walk.”
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