Chapter 70: Chapter 70

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: An Unexpected Alliance

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Thank you."

"Alright, get inside safely."

After taking Isabel, who seemed somewhat down, to her room, I went to where Shalin had taken Hanon.

It was an empty room in the inn.

Whether they rented it or snuck in, I wasn't sure. For now, I just let it be.

"You playboy, you made me work while you were off playing with another girl!"

Shalin made an absurd complaint.

"Isabel and I?"

"I've always wanted to say that in my life."

I granted her wish.

Leaving Shalin, I looked down at the unconscious Hanon.

"Hanon, you're awake, aren't you?"

"Oh, you caught me?"

Hanon sprang up. I figured he'd recover quickly, given his good recovery rate.

"I didn't intend for things to get this far. I'm sorry."

Even so, I hadn't meant to subdue him with ancient dragon magic. As I offered him a sincere apology, Hanon scratched his head.

"Not really. Like I said before, I don't care what you do with my identity."

He then smiled brightly, his legs turned inward.

"More than that, I was just curious about your true identity. But I ended up seeing something even more interesting than I expected."

Hanon glanced at Shalin, who was beside him.

"That just now, that was ancient dragon magic, wasn't it?"

There was no point in making excuses when I'd been so clearly exposed. Hanon took our silence as confirmation.

I wasn't sure if ancient dragon magic was 'interesting'. I decided to leave it at that and turned to Shalin.

Shalin shrugged and left the room. She was giving us space to talk comfortably.

I promised to buy her another ice cream next time, then sat down in front of Hanon.

Hanon didn't seem to have any intention of running away anymore. He probably wouldn't want to get frozen again if he tried to escape.

"Hanon, as I said before, I can be of great help to you."

I understood why Hanon couldn't trust me. I had arbitrarily used his identity. For that, no amount of apologies would be enough. But precisely because of that, I needed to gain Hanon's cooperation even more. So that he could understand my actions.

"So, I'll give you a reason to trust me."

I had tried my best not to reveal it. But it seemed this was the only way to persuade Hanon.

"Duke Robliajou has allied himself with the Demon Lord."

This was something even the First Prince didn't know yet. If the First Prince knew, everything would have already been turned upside down.

However, there was only one person. Hanon, right in front of me, knew.

Hanon's eyes widened more than anything I'd seen today. He stared at me with eyes full of shock.

Hanon couldn't tell anyone that Duke Robliajou had allied with the Demon Lord. Because he was under a restriction. If he tried to reveal anything about the Demon Lord, he couldn't take any action. That's why I told him myself.

"Of course, I haven't found enough evidence to publicly announce it yet. And I'm sure it's the same for you, Hanon."

Duke Robliajou was a more thorough person than I'd imagined. He hadn't left behind any evidence that could harm him. So, only Hanon and I knew this.

"That's why I came to Jerion Academy in your guise."

Information that no one else knew but me. As I directly revealed that information, Hanon stared at me with a blank expression. It was a shocking revelation for him too, so it was a natural reaction.

Hanon stared at me in silence for a long time. Eventually, as if he had finished organizing his thoughts, he parted his lips.

"My hobby is exploring ruins, you see."

Hanon had an archaeological inclination, enjoying the exploration of legends and ruins. His wanderlust also stemmed from this inclination.

"...It's just a vague guess of mine, but..."

Hanon started leaning his body back and forth. That was a habit he had when he was intensely interested.

"The fact that you suddenly appeared at Jerion Academy. Your power to freely change your appearance, your familiarity with the daughter of the Blue Magic Tower Lord."

Hanon's eyes sparkled more and more intensely. It was a deduction he started with the fragmented information he'd gotten from me.

"And finally, ancient dragon magic. Because of all this, a certain prophecy keeps coming to mind."

Hanon clenched both fists tightly and vigorously swung his arms. He looked like a child watching a sentai show in front of the TV.

"The prophecy of the heroes' reincarnation. It's a very old prophecy, but..."

And that was a prophecy I also knew.

"Among them, Jerion was said to wield ancient dragon magic."

The founder of Jerion Academy and the pinnacle of magic. One of the Six Heroes under the Great Hero Wolfram in the past. Jerion, the Sage of Transcendence. Hanon mentioned him.

In this world, several prophecies and legends exist. That someday, when the world faces a crisis, the reincarnations of heroes would protect this world once more. These were words spoken directly by the Goddess, who lauded their achievements.

Now, it was an old prophecy, so no one paid much attention to it. However, recently, rumors had been circulating in archaeological circles that the heroes' reincarnations were imminent. Hanon was also a person with a strong interest in archaeology. Naturally, he knew about this.

And in reality.

'Jerion has reincarnated.'

But no one else knew that fact besides me. What's more, even the person themselves didn't know they were Jerion's reincarnation. Furthermore, that very person wasn't at Jerion Academy. To be precise, it was someone who would enter Jerion Academy next year.

'The problem is.'

Now, I was being suspected of being that person.

That Hanon, he thought I had deliberately used ancient dragon magic to capture him.

'Wield it? Like hell I did.'

The remnants of the ancient dragon had merely reacted to the mystery and rampaged on their own. It seemed he'd passed out midway and hadn't seen Shalin calm the rampage.

'The misunderstanding is leaning in a strange direction.'

My eyes met Hanon's sparkling ones.

'One of Hanon's habits was to link situations to legends.'

Because he'd encountered so many legends, if something similar to a legend happened, he tended to connect it. And he was subtly stubborn in odd ways.

"That's a ridiculous misunderstanding."

I quickly tried to correct Hanon's misunderstanding. But Hanon's excitement showed no signs of diminishing.

"Oh really? I don't think so."

Hanon's stubbornness suddenly reared its head.

"Even heroes would have crossed the River of Oblivion to reincarnate. So, they might not remember their past lives."

Hanon's legend-loving mind was already an unstoppable runaway train.

"So, it's possible you don't know you're Jerion's reincarnation. But your motivations clearly stem from Jerion's reincarnation."

"I just happened to find out Duke Robliajou allied with the Demon Lord, and I'm merely trying to stop him."

"Hmph, 'happened to'?"

Hanon's eyes curved into crescent moons.

"Do you think something even the Empire's Emperor doesn't know can be dismissed as a 'coincidence'? You said it yourself, there's no evidence."

A question of how I knew something without evidence. I couldn't answer that question. That's because the only reason I knew about Jerion was because I'd played the 'Flame Butterfly' arc.

"Do you know? A goddess's oracle is said to be etched into the recipient without them even realizing it."

Hanon smiled brightly.

"It's a kind of fate."

Fate. Hanon mentioned that grand flow.

"When the Goddess judges that the world's flow is in danger, she implants an oracle in the person she chooses. As mere creations, we cannot perceive this."

The moment I heard that, my body faltered for the first time.

Implants an oracle in the chosen person.

It was a vague thought, but my situation was similar, if not the same.

'I suddenly possessed Vikamen's body.'

What if this was the Goddess's intention? As my thoughts suddenly reached that point, my head began to feel complicated.

And Hanon read my reaction. It was my mistake for losing control of my expression for a moment.

"Right? There's something similar in your fragmented memories, isn't there?"

"Hanon, just now—"

"It's fine. You don't have to make excuses!"

Hanon's eyes had already decided not to listen to any of my excuses.

"As for me, I want to bring down Duke Robliajou, just as you said."

A deep resentment was visible in Hanon's eyes.

"So, I'll do anything for that."

His obsession with legends and ruins was also due to Duke Robliajou. Since ancient texts mentioned that heroes defeated the Demon Lord and drove him into the Demonic Palace, he had been searching for information based on that.

And now, in front of Hanon.

One of the heroes who stopped the Great War and sealed the Demon Lord. Jerion's reincarnation had appeared before his eyes. Of course, that was nothing more than Hanon's wild speculation.

'A person who could simultaneously resolve his resentment and trauma.'

Perhaps Hanon just wanted to believe I was Jerion. A life spent chasing ruins and legends to resolve resentment also wore him down. Seeing an opportunity to escape that pain, he would have wanted to grab onto even a rotten rope.

"Hanon."

While being Jerion's reincarnation was a misunderstanding, one thing was certain.

"I also definitely want to deal with Duke Robliajou."

Duke Robliajou was a figure who absolutely had to be defeated to prevent the bad ending. The final mastermind. To defeat him, I too would do anything. In this regard, Hanon and I were perfectly aligned.

My hand reached out to Hanon.

"So, how about we help each other until then?"

Hanon, who had been staring at my hand, smiled faintly. Then he confidently grasped my hand.

"This is totally classic! It feels like being offered a spot as a comrade by a hero!"

...This guy, he's really doing this because of resentment, right? A feeling of unease washed over me, wondering if he wasn't just a legend fanatic whose eyes had glazed over, helping without thinking.

"First off, what you want is for your true identity not to be revealed, right?"

It seemed he could still think clearly, at least.

"That's right, there's still a lot I need to do."

"In that case, I'll cover for you with the First Prince's faction. You shouldn't have any problem acting as me."

"You can't, by any chance, mention anything about me being Jerion's reincarnation, right?"

If he did that, who knew what ridiculous misunderstandings might pile up.

At that, Hanon looked at me in silence. As I put more force into my eyes, Hanon laughed as if it were a joke.

"So this is what it feels like to know a secret and have your mouth itch to tell it."

He's got a knack for making people uneasy. I just hoped the main story wouldn't get too twisted.

"Well then, I'm done here, so I'll be off!"

I had no reason to detain Hanon any longer. Just as I was about to let him go, something I hadn't asked suddenly came to mind.

"Hanon."

"Hm?"

"...How's Nikita doing?"

Hanon was part of the First Prince's faction. By the time he came looking for me, he must have heard something about Nikita.

"Nikita Cynthia is dead."

Hanon added what everyone already knew.

"So, in heaven, she's probably awakening new talents, studying magic with her brother, and helping him with his magical research."

Hearing those words, I found myself smiling. That was enough.

I looked out the window. The summer sky was truly blue.

I wished for Nikita to fully spread the talents she never got to use and soar freely. I wished for Nikita's future to be happy.