Episode 190. Treasure Hunt (5)

‘Let’s go back for now.’

Of course, bonus points are important too.

But right now, there’s something even more important.

Slowly opening my closed eyes, the mental world gradually crumbled, and my vision flickered.

“Phew!”

Exhaling the blocked breath, I looked around.

Grace, with a shocked expression, was looking at me, and the cave where the flames had disappeared was visible.

“The Fire Seed?”

[It, it’s gone. Into you… completely absorbed.]

As she said, the massive flame the size of a house that had been burning in the center of the cave had vanished without a trace.

‘Though the heat still remains.’

The Primordial Flame had disappeared, but the heat filling the cave was still blazing, not having lost its power.

‘Well, just because the fire is gone doesn’t mean the heated metal cools immediately.’

Especially since this isn’t just heated metal but a vast land spanning tens of kilometers.

It would probably take decades for all the heat here to dissipate.

“That’s a relief.”

[…What’s a relief?]

“The hot springs in the Thermal region. I think we can enjoy them leisurely until the school trip ends.”

Of course, with the Primordial Flame gone, the hot springs in the Thermal region will gradually disappear, but there’s nothing we can do about that.

‘We can’t leave a ticking time bomb down here just to save the hot springs.’

The Primordial Flame was much less stable compared to the Primordial Fire.

That’s probably why Grace had built her tomb above it to suppress the flame’s power.

[Sigh. Worrying about hot springs in this situation…]

Grace shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Anyway, does this mean the Fire Seed is completely gone?”

[Yes.]

Grace looked around the cave where the flame had disappeared and smiled faintly.

[My mission… is also over now.]

Her voice sounded somewhat lonely.

I looked at Grace and firmly closed my mouth.

“Then…”

[Now, this lingering state of mine can also come to an end.]

“……”

Although I hadn’t known her for long.

Thinking that Grace would disappear like this made me feel a bit empty inside.

[What? Are you sad that I’m leaving?]

Grace looked at me with a mischievous smile.

“Well, it would be a lie to say I’m not.”

Especially since she was like a mother figure to Iris.

For Iris, who grew up in an orphanage, the concept of a ‘mother’ would feel particularly special.

‘For me, it’s been so long that I don’t feel anything.’

But Iris is different.

No, rather, I’m the unusual case. Most kids from orphanages would have complex feelings about the concept of parents.

In my past life, I too had spent sleepless nights longing for parents whose names I didn’t even know.

[You… are a warm person.]

Grace smiled faintly as she looked at me.

She slowly flew over and placed her hand on my chest.

Being in a spiritual state, I shouldn’t feel any sensation, but for some reason, where her hand touched felt warm.

[It wasn’t a long time, but watching you, I thought this.]

Her voice continued softly.

[More than anyone I’ve ever seen… you’ve been hurt and suffered a lot.]

[You might not realize it yourself, but your soul is in a pitifully broken state right now.]

[Worn down to the point where its shape is unrecognizable, depleted to the point where its form is unclear, distorted to the point where its appearance is unknown.]

[It’s amazing how you can still ‘pretend to be fine.’]

Sometime.

She said the same words I had heard from Professor Elisha.

“I’m not pretending to be fine…”

[No? Do you really think so?]

Her deeply sunken eyes pierced through me.

[You know it too. That you’re… not in a normal state right now.]

“……”

I looked back at Grace, who was staring at me with her mouth firmly shut.

Yes.

I know.

After experiencing my past life, somewhere inside me has been broken beyond repair.

My life isn’t one that a ‘normal’ human could endure.

Having to end my own life several times a day, enduring bone-burning and flesh-tearing pain every time I use my power, and willingly accepting hundreds, thousands of deaths when necessary.

Expecting someone living such a life to be normal is too much of a luxury.

‘But.’

Even so.

“Even if broken, people can still live.”

I looked at Grace with a faint smile.

“If there’s something more precious than that.”

[……]

Grace’s eyes trembled.

She clasped her hands as if in prayer and bowed her head.

[May the blessings of the seven gods fill your path.]

For some reason.

Even though it was a blessing I had heard countless times, I almost burst into tears.

“…No wonder you’re called the Great Hero.”

[Huh? What did you say?]

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

[Hehe. Shall we head back now?]

Grace floated up into the air and headed back through the passage we came from.

Following her and passing through the gate, I saw the statue of Grace we had seen when we first arrived.

[If you go up this entrance, you’ll be able to exit the ruins.]

“Then you…”

[I’ve fulfilled my mission. There’s no reason for me to stay here anymore.]

“……”

Grace floated up into the air and waved at me.

[Take care.]

Her body gradually faded.

Her voice, like a broken radio, echoed in my head before fading away.

[And… beware… of…]

“Beware? Of whom?”

[The sixth… hero…]

“What?”

Frowning, I listened to the voice in my head.

[Beware… the sixth hero.]

With those words.

Grace’s voice completely disappeared.

“Beware the sixth hero…?”

What does that even mean?

‘She can’t be talking about the current heroes.’

She had been trapped alone here for 500 years, so she couldn’t possibly know about any heroes outside now.

Then.

She must have meant to beware of the sixth hero from 500 years ago.

‘Who is the sixth hero?’

The number of Great Heroes is five.

I had never heard of a sixth hero, not even in my past life.

“…What the heck.”

Frowning, I continued to ponder the mystery.

Clink.

A clear metallic sound reached my ears.

“Huh?”

Looking down, I saw a pure white gemstone on the ground.

‘This is…’

A sacred relic.

A special object imbued with divine blessings.

“This size… I can make it into a pendant and wear it around my neck.”

I picked up the gemstone, about the size of two fingers.

‘I’ll give it to Iris later.’

Putting the gemstone in my pocket, I looked back at Grace’s statue.

“Rest in peace.”

After awkwardly making the sign of the cross, I followed the path Grace had shown me and exited the tomb.

“Now, back to the treasure hunt…”

“Da, Dale! There you are!”

At that moment.

A crowd of people came rushing down the corridor.

“You brat! Not answering your calls, where have you been hiding all this time!”

Professor Lucas shouted with an angry expression.

‘Why does everyone look so serious?’

It had only been about 1-2 hours since I absorbed the Primordial Flame with Grace, so why was everyone making such a fuss?

“Is there a problem…”

“A problem? Do you even know how many hours have passed since your Hero Watch signal went dead?”

“…How many hours have passed?”

“12 hours, 12 hours! It’s almost midnight, you lunatic!”

“…Huh?”

12 hours?

* * *

Late at night.

After all the candidates mobilized to search for me had returned to their rooms, I was summoned to Professor Lucas’s room.

“Unauthorized absence and trespassing into a sacred site… What were you thinking, doing something like this?”

Sigh.

Professor Lucas pulled his hair and let out a deep sigh.

“…Trespassing into a sacred site?”

“Don’t you know where you came out from? That’s where Grace’s tomb is.”

“……”

Grace’s tomb, located beneath the ruins.

Of course, it was classified as a sacred site within the Holy Kingdom, strictly off-limits to the general public.

And it was also where I had been found after being missing for a full 12 hours.

“Luckily, Pope Marian intervened, but according to Holy Kingdom law, you should be in prison right now.”

“……”

“Sigh. Anyway… you’ll face disciplinary action when we get back to school.”

Disciplinary action?

Again?

“Ah, no! Wait a minute!”

I jumped up from my seat and urgently shouted.

“This was an unavoidable situation!”

“What kind of situation?”

“Well…”

I told Professor Lucas about meeting Grace’s lingering spirit (of course, omitting the part about the Primordial Flame).

“Hmm. So.”

After hearing my story, Professor Lucas let out a low chuckle.

“You accidentally met the spirit of Grace, who died 500 years ago, and crawled into her tomb?”

“Technically, I passed through a gate and ended up inside the tomb.”

“Haha. Dale… you foolish brat…”

Professor Lucas grabbed me by the collar and shouted angrily.

“What? You met Grace’s spirit and went into her tomb? Huh? Do you think that makes any sense, you lunatic?”

“No! It’s true, what can I do!”

“Evidence? Do you have any evidence?”

“……”

I did have the sacred relic Grace left behind as evidence.

But if I showed that as proof, instead of just trespassing into Grace’s tomb, I could be accused of grave robbing.

In that case, no amount of intervention would save me from being sent straight to Holy Kingdom prison.

“Uh… well, you see…”

Desperately trying to think of something to say, I finally opened my mouth weakly.

“…After some time, she said she had fulfilled her mission and disappeared.”

“Haha. Of course~ she would.”

Professor Lucas smiled brightly and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Congratulations on your fourth suspension, Dale.”

“……”

So.

Excluding the Primordial Flame, Calamity Fire, and other things I can’t tell others.

Looking at the results of this school trip from the outside.

‘Zero bonus points and another suspension.’

Haha.

‘Life is f***ed.’

Why does this always happen to me?