Chapter 202

Chapter 202. Traitors (3)

“No way…”

Yurina looked at Iris and Lanes with hollow eyes, as if she had lost her soul.

“So… I’m the only one who hasn’t kissed Dale yet…?”

Her lifeless gaze slowly turned toward me.

The emptiness in her eyes gradually filled with anger.

“Dale, you…!”

“Gah!”

Yurina roughly grabbed my collar.

Even though she was in the form of a man, her hands were so delicate that it made me doubt if she was really a swordsman. But the strength in those hands was enough to crush steel barehanded.

“How…! How could you do this to me!”

As Yurina vented her frustration, the gazes of the surrounding candidates turned toward us.

“Look, look.”

“Yuren Helios and… who’s that gray-haired guy?”

“You know, that one. The bottom-ranked candidate in the third year who deliberately gets low grades.”

“Ah. His name’s Dale, right?”

The candidates began to murmur.

“I heard he’s been disciplined more than three times.”

“What? Crazy… How much trouble has he caused?”

“They say he doesn’t hold back, even if it’s a senior, if he doesn’t like them.”

“Didn’t you hear the rumor? They say he set the dorm on fire because the room next door was noisy.”

“Wow, isn’t that just insane?”

“Anyway, try not to make eye contact. I heard his actual strength is on par with Yuren Helios.”

Wait, what?

Why am I being treated like some lunatic?

All I did was get suspended five times, set the school dorm on fire, and beat up a senior so bad they had to be hospitalized…

‘Hmm.’

Thinking about it, it’s no wonder those rumors spread.

But the real problem isn’t those baseless rumors—it’s Yurina, who’s so angry her head might explode.

“I… I trusted you, Dale…! How…!”

Yurina gritted her teeth, her shoulders trembling.

It seemed like the fact that even Lanes had already experienced a kiss was a huge shock to her.

At her outburst, the candidates’ eyes sparkled as they watched us.

“What’s going on? A love triangle?”

“Are Yuren and Dale fighting over the Saintess?”

“Or… maybe… the two of them…?”

“Ew, what are you talking about? Two guys?”

“Oh, you’re so behind the times. It’s the age of diversity! Two guys can totally… if they’re careful!”

“Wait, what…? No, never mind. Don’t answer that.”

“If they were dating, who’d be the top? Yuren or Dale?”

“Shut up, please.”

The misunderstanding seemed to be spiraling out of control.

“Yuren. Calm down first…”

“Calm down?! Do I look calm to you?!”

As I pondered how to calm the furious Yurina…

*Bzzz.*

The Hero Watch vibrated at the perfect timing.

I glanced down at the screen and saw a call from Professor Elisha.

“Sorry. Professor Elisha is calling.”

“Ugh…”

Yurina let go of my collar with a look that said we’d settle this later.

I let out a sigh of relief and channeled magic into the Hero Watch on my wrist.

Professor Elisha’s voice came through the hologram screen.

[Candidate Dale. Can you come to my office right now?]

“What’s the matter?”

[I’ll explain when you get here.]

Professor Elisha abruptly told me to come to her office.

She’s a professor, so she’s often busy, but she’s called me like this a few times before to spend some one-on-one time.

‘But this doesn’t feel like that.’

Professor Elisha’s voice through the Hero Watch was heavy and somber.

“Professor Elisha says she has something urgent to discuss, so I need to go to her office.”

“Okay. Take care.”

“C-Can’t I come with you?”

“That might be a bit difficult.”

“O-Okay.”

As I was about to leave Iris, Lanes, and Yurina behind to head to the office…

[Oh, right.]

Professor Elisha’s voice continued.

[Bring Candidate Yuren with you.]

“Huh?”

She wants me to bring Yuren too?

I looked at Yurina with a puzzled expression.

Yurina also shook her head, not understanding what was going on.

“Well, I’m not sure what’s going on, but okay. We were just having lunch together anyway.”

[Good. We’ll discuss the details when you get here.]

* * *

And so, Yurina and I arrived at Professor Elisha’s office.

After a light knock, we opened the door to find Professor Elisha looking through some documents with a stern expression.

“You’re here?”

“Yes. But why did you call both me and Yurina?”

“We’ve got a bit of a headache.”

Professor Elisha clicked her tongue and placed the documents she was holding on the table.

“Recently, Mains have been spotted in Valhalla City.”

“Hmm…”

Mains spotted in Valhalla City, huh.

It’s definitely a problem if Mains are spotted in the city right outside the school, but…

“Isn’t that something that’s been happening for a while now?”

Right.

While the Hero School itself might be safe, Valhalla City is a huge city, so it’s no surprise that many Mains have infiltrated it.

‘Last time, the minions of the Grand Archbishop of Dreaming were hiding in the slums of Valhalla City.’

Only ordinary citizens who don’t know the details would think Valhalla City is safe from Mains.

“True. It’s common knowledge that a significant number of Mains have already infiltrated Valhalla City.”

Professor Elisha nodded, then continued.

“But the Mains spotted this time are different.”

“Different?”

“They’ve been seen wearing suspicious animal masks and moving in a highly organized manner.”

“……”

Suspicious animal masks, huh.

Naturally, the story Lanes told me came to mind.

‘She said she was attacked by a hero wearing a wolf mask.’

Of course, the one who attacked Lanes wasn’t a Main but a ‘hero.’

‘If Mains and heroes are working together…’

It wouldn’t be strange if both Mains and heroes were active within that mysterious masked organization.

“So you want me to go to Valhalla City and capture those Mains?”

“Exactly.”

Professor Elisha nodded and continued.

“This is also a request directly from Chancellor Raonel, who specifically named Candidate Dale.”

“…The Chancellor?”

Chancellor Raonel personally named me?

‘He wants a mere candidate to infiltrate and investigate a Main organization in Valhalla City?’

That’s not something you’d ask of someone unless they were insane.

“How did he know…? Chancellor Raonel seems to have some idea of how strong Candidate Dale is.”

So Chancellor Raonel knows about my strength, huh.

“How much does he know exactly?”

“From what I gathered after talking to him, he doesn’t know much. He doesn’t seem to know that Candidate Dale possesses the Blessing of Resurrection or the Primordial Flame.”

However.

Professor Elisha continued in a low voice.

“But he does know that Candidate Dale is a formidable force, strong enough to rival even the top-ranking heroes.”

“How did he find out?”

“Well, it’s not like you’ve been trying to hide your strength, have you?”

“Well… that’s true.”

I did try to keep some of my techniques, like the Blessing of Resurrection, Calamity Fire, and others, as hidden cards.

But I never tried to hide my basic strength.

‘If I had, I wouldn’t have knocked out a Seven Star Knight or taken first place in the final evaluation.’

Of course, my first place in the final evaluation was nullified due to disciplinary action.

Anyway.

Chancellor Raonel had plenty of clues to guess my strength.

“But even so, is it really okay to entrust such a task to a candidate?”

“There’s a reason for that.”

Professor Elisha sighed and continued.

“Though I hate to admit it, the key personnel information about the Hero School has already been leaked to the Mains. Not just the professors, but even the top-ranking candidates’ information has fallen into their hands.”

In other words.

“So the moment we step outside the school, we become targets?”

“Exactly. No matter how we disguise ourselves, they somehow always figure it out.”

“……”

I recalled what happened with Lanes last time.

As soon as she stepped outside Valhalla City, she was attacked as if they were waiting for her.

‘The moment we step outside, they start tracking us.’

The fact that they tracked her location faster than the school, even after she dropped out, is proof that their information network is spread throughout Valhalla City.

“This… is more serious than I thought.”

“That’s why I called you.”

Professor Elisha nodded and continued.

“The Mains probably don’t know much about Candidate Dale.”

“Jackal recognized me, didn’t he?”

“He recognized you, but he doesn’t know exactly how strong you are.”

“That’s…”

“And according to our investigation, the Mains currently infiltrating Valhalla City only react immediately to professors and the top-ranking candidates.”

So right now…

“You’re saying that since I’m at the bottom, I won’t attract the Mains’ attention?”

“Exactly.”

“……”

Well.

I might be somewhat famous within the school, but to outsiders, I’m just the 472nd out of 472 candidates—a complete idiot.

“…Then why did you call Yuren?”

I asked, looking at Yuren, who had been standing there awkwardly, unable to join the conversation.

“Well, it’s more efficient to investigate with two people than one. Both of you are strong enough to handle most Mains easily.”

“But you said top-ranking candidates are out of the question?”

Yuren is the top of the top, having never lost the first-place spot since entering the school.

“Right. ‘Yuren Helios’ is. But…”

Professor Elisha smiled faintly and looked at Yurina.

“The Mains don’t know about ‘Yurina Helios,’ do they?”

“…Hah.”

I see.

So that’s what she meant.

“Candidate Dale and Candidate Yurina will go to Valhalla City and investigate the suspicious movements of the Mains. It’s a kind of undercover investigation.”

“Undercover investigation…”

“Well, isn’t this a good chance for you two to go on a date?”

“D-Date?!”

Yurina’s eyes sparkled like stars.

Professor Elisha nodded and continued.

“Acting like a normal couple will lower the Mains’ guard more than if you were to search openly.”

“S-So if we’re a normal couple, it’s okay to kiss on the street and stuff?!”

“…Normal couples don’t usually do that in public, do they?”

“No! Just today, I saw a couple kissing openly in the Central Plaza!”

“Really?”

Kids these days…

Professor Elisha clicked her tongue and shook her head disapprovingly.