The sanitarium was built on high ground, offering a clear view of most of the city. After the outer gates opened, Zieg Heyerar watched crowds throng both sides of the main street within Windrock City.
“Ah—”
Reid’s mouth fell open, as if he’d just rembered sothing crucial.
“I just rembered! It’s today!”
“Today?”
“Yeah! I heard several Heroes are arriving in Windrock City today! How could I forget?!”
Reid clutched his head in frustration.
“The Heroes...... they’ve finally co.”
“It’s not just the Heroes, brother!”
Reid leaned in, gossiping excitedly.
“I heard that alongside the Heroes, an extrely powerful faction called the White Tower is coming too!”
“Oh right! Several of the world’s S-Rank Experts are with them as well! Real S-Rank! I even heard there’s a new S-Rank among them—unbelievably strong!”
“S-Rank Experts......”
Zieg stared at the welcoming assembly gathering near the gate,
then turned back to Reid, whose eyes sparkled with admiration.
He smiled. “You really do love this kind of talk, don’t you~.”
“Of course I do, big brother!”
Reid’s eyes shone with longing.
“They’re the strongest in the world! Who wouldn’t look up to them?”
“You’re not wrong......”
Zieg smiled again and shifted his gaze back to the gate.
In the distance, a group of imposing mages could be seen entering the city.
Unfortunately, they were too far to make out their faces.
Reid sighed in disappointnt.
“It’s such a sha. A rare chance to see so many incredible people...... Ah, I don’t an you, brother! Your safety matters far more than seeing any famous figure.”
“Alright, alright~. I get it.”
Zieg shook his head with a laugh.
“Still...... Heroes, huh? I’ve heard rumors that this generation’s Heroes are all quite young.”
“Really?! No way!”
Reid perked up instantly, staring at Zieg with wide eyes.
“As an Imperial Knight officer, you must know all kinds of inside information, right?!”
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“Well, I don’t know everything. But I do hear there are three male Heroes and three female Heroes, most of them young—around your age, Reid. The youngest might even be close to Hulim’s age......”
As he spoke, Zieg’s gaze drifted to the distant sky.
“I wonder...... how they’re all doing now.”
“You an Arman and Hulim, brother?”
“Co to think of it, no one’s heard from Hulim since she graduated. The world’s so dangerous right now—what if she runs into trouble?”
“And that idiot Arman! He just left us with a single line and vanished!”
“Not a single word for years. We don’t even know if he’s alive! If I ever see him again, I’ll punch him good! Like this—and like this!”
Reid threw a flurry of punches at thin air.
Watching him, Zieg let out a soft chuckle.
He then lifted his head toward the sky
and spoke slowly:
“Don’t worry, Reid...... I’m sure we’ll et again soday.”
......
Main Avenue, Windrock City.
“Hulim, what’s wrong?”
Miko asked in confusion, looking at Hulim Heyerar, who had stopped in the middle of the road.
She stood frozen, her eyes wandering over the crowd lining the streets.
“Nothing.”
“I just...... thought I felt a familiar gaze.”
“?”
“It must have been my imagination.”
“Imagination?” Miko was about to press further.
“You two.”
Irus suddenly turned around.
“Loitering there will block the way~!”
“Ah—coming!”
The two hurried to catch up.
The brief mont of distraction was quickly forgotten.
......
A cave in the Eastern Wasteland.
Arman squatted beside a campfire, fully focused on roasting a large cut of at.
“Achoo—!”
He let out a loud sneeze,
then rubbed his nose.
“Weird. Who’s talking about behind my back?”
Sizzle~.
The golden-brown roasted at dripped fat into the fire, letting out a crisp, appetizing sound.
Arman leaned in and sniffed, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
“Slls great~. Looks like it’s done.”
He turned and shouted toward the cave:
“Master, the at’s ready—”
Whoosh——!!!
Before he finished speaking,
a violent gust of wind tore through the cave.
Why describe it as a wall of wind?
Because......
Swish! Swish! Swish!
A storm of flashing blades and light swept through the cave at blinding speed.
Half a minute later,
the entire roast was nothing but a clean skeleton.
The group that had devoured it all patted their stomachs and drifted away, looking thoroughly content.
Arant even picked up a wooden toothpick, walked over to Arman, and clapped him on the shoulder.
“Not bad. Your cooking’s gotten way better. From now on, you’re in charge of als, Arman. Burp!”
With that, Arant burped and sauntered off, leaving Arman standing there dumbfounded.
Wait......
I didn’t get to eat any!
......
Windrock City.
“Firuvin, are you...... injured?”
Irus asked hesitantly, staring at the Hero King’s unnaturally pale face.
“It’s nothing serious...... cough—”
“......”
“......In any case, welco. Follow inside.”
Firuvin led the group toward the temple.
“Lord Firuvin, have the other Heroes arrived already?”
A voice called from within the main hall.
A brown-haired boy stepped out monts later.
A strange, distinctive sword hung at his waist, and the Hero’s Crest glowed on the back of his right hand.
A blonde girl followed closely behind him.
“Arthur?”
“Ah! Arthur!”
“Huh? Hulim? And Miko?”
Both groups froze, staring at each other in surprise.
“......So you’re the Holy Sword Hero, Arthur. We all worried when you disappeared so suddenly.”
“Uh, that’s a long story.”
Arthur’s face was filled with mixed emotion.
“Speaking of which——”
“Hulim, you’re the one who surprised . I never imagined you’d beco a new S-Rank Expert. I can barely believe it—you’re even younger than .”
“Well, I’ve been through a lot too...... but......”
Hulim’s gaze shifted to the girl behind Arthur.
“Alice? Is that...... really you, Alice?”
All eyes turned to the blonde girl behind Arthur.
“Why do I sense a Demon Aura coming from you?”
It hadn’t been that long—less than a year, really—since they’d last seen each other.
But Alice seed like a completely different person.
Her presence had matured greatly, and her once-blue eyes had turned an unnatural violet...... though one eye had always been purple.
More importantly, the aura she radiated was nothing like the fragile, harmless girl they once knew.
By every sense,
it was the aura of an S-Rank.
Strangest of all, her energy carried a taint similar to a Demon’s—yet upon closer inspection, it was distinctly different.
“Um, Lady Hulim, I-I...... I really am Alice.”
Alice stamred, flustered and desperate to explain.
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