The Last-Seat Hero Has Returned

62. Midterm Evaluation (7)

A tranquil silence settled over the clearing in the forest.

I stumbled back, my expression a mix of shock and urgency as I asked, “What kind of insane talk is that…?”

“Why, don’t you like it?”

“It’s not a matter of liking or disliking, is it?!”

Professor Elisha chuckled softly at my flustered state.

“Calm down, it was just a joke.”

“……”

I stared at Professor Elisha, who wore an expression so serious I could hardly believe it was a joke at all, my face contorting in disbelief.

‘What kind of world are we living in? A professor making such jokes to a candidate?’

Frowning, I glared at her, and she placed a hand over her heart, a faint smile still lingering.

“Well, aside from the joke, it’s true that I have an interest in Candidate Dale. As a hero, and as a woman, too.”

“…Excuse me?”

Wait, is she really being this direct all of a sudden?

“There’s no rule that says a professor can’t take an interest in a candidate, is there?”

“Well, no, I suppose that’s true.”

“Before being a professor, I’m a woman. It’s only natural to be drawn to a male I find appealing.”

“Um… so right now….”

My mind went blank from the unexpected barrage of directness.

‘Elisha Baldwin is interested in me?’

What kind of situation is this, exactly?

“…Isn’t this our second time meeting to talk?”

It wasn’t a particularly pleasant conversation.

“Hmm? Does the number of times a female meets a male matter if she’s attracted to him?”

“…At least, I don’t think there’s been anything in our meetings so far that would attract you, Professor.”

Let’s set aside the expressions like female and male for now.

“Didn’t I show you? Didn’t I show you right on the first day we met?”

“Are you talking about the sparring with Assistant Vincent?”

Well, it’s true that it’s not common for a mere candidate to overwhelm an assistant in a sparring match.

To be honest, it wasn’t enough to attract the attention of the ‘Spider with the Grim Eyes,’ who ranks 10th among thousands and tens of thousands of heroes.

‘Even Yuren would have easily overwhelmed Assistant Vincent.’

There’s no need to go as far as Yuren.

Even Camilla could have had a fairly even match with Assistant Vincent.

‘Assistant Vincent’s level isn’t really that exceptionally high.’

The reason Assistant Vincent showed overwhelming prowess at first was entirely due to the level of his sparring partner.

Candidates who barely scrape by with average grades couldn’t possibly withstand the attacks of an assistant who primarily uses swift sword techniques.

“Hmm. Of course, there’s that too.”

“Is there something else?”

“Yes.”

Something else that could attract Elisha’s interest.

‘No way.’

Could it be that the secret about the primordial fire has been exposed?

“Hehe. It seems you’re misunderstanding something.”

As I glared at her with suspicious eyes, Professor Elisha gave a faint smile.

“The thing that attracted me the most was Candidate Dale’s appearance.”

“…What?”

My mind went blank at the completely unexpected answer.

Professor Elisha raised her hand and lightly stroked my cheek, then nodded with a satisfied expression.

“No matter how many times I see it, your gloomy and melancholic appearance is really to my liking.”

“……”

What is this?

Is she picking a fight with me right now?

“Uhm. Don’t stare at me like that.”

Professor Elisha averted her gaze slightly and cleared her throat with a cough.

Her cheeks turned red as she looked away.

“…Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“No.”

After calling me gloomy and saying I looked depressing, what’s the point of being embarrassed now?

‘I can’t tell what her true feelings are.’

I sighed deeply and shook my head.

“Well, there’s no need to worry. It’s just curiosity ‘for now’.”

Professor Elisha smiled faintly and took out a cigarette from her pocket.

She gestured at me with the cigarette in her mouth.

“Light.”

“…I don’t carry a lighter.”

“Didn’t you use fire magic when you fought the monster earlier?”

“That was….”

Using primordial fire to light a cigarette seems a bit… inappropriate, doesn’t it?

“Hmm. I guess there’s no choice.”

Professor Elisha took a lighter out of her pocket and handed it to me.

“Light.”

“…You could light it yourself.”

“There’s nothing quite like a cigarette lit by the man you fancy.”

“…….”

What kind of stubborn woman is this?

“Sigh.”

I sighed deeply and lit the cigarette with the lighter Professor Elisha handed me.

Professor Elisha took a deep drag from the cigarette and nodded in satisfaction.

“Ah. That’s good.”

“…So, how are you going to conduct the investigation you mentioned earlier? Should I draw some blood for you?”

“No, it’s fine. There’s nothing we can find out anyway.”

“…….”

“Then why did you say further investigation was needed earlier?”

“Hehe. Isn’t it a good excuse to kiss the man I have in mind? That’s why I love being a special professor.”

“That’s a brilliant idea, just like you, Professor.”

“I’m a bit embarrassed to hear such praise.”

With a serious expression that made it hard to tell if she was joking or not, Professor Elisha exhaled a long puff of smoke.

“By the way, what are those beasts?”

“We’re still confirming that.”

Tick.

Professor Elisha flicked the spent cigarette butt and approached the corpse of the crocodile beast.

“Given the vastness of the test area, it’s not uncommon for beasts to occasionally enter from outside… But this is the first time in the entire 500-year history that a beast of this level has entered.”

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“That means…”

“It’s reasonable to assume that someone intentionally sent the beast.”

Professor Elisha examined the corpse of the crocodile beast with deeply sunken eyes.

“Do you have any suspects in mind?”

“Well, it’s still just a guess…”

Professor Elisha dipped her fingertip into the blood oozing from the crocodile beast’s corpse and touched it to her tongue.

A golden pupil appeared, splitting her violet iris vertically.

The sharp, gleaming eye that emerged when she used her blessing of insight.

“As expected, it’s not just a beast, but someone’s familiar.”

“Like a unicorn?”

“Yes.”

Professor Elisha nodded slightly and continued.

“There aren’t many beings capable of controlling a beast of this level as a familiar.”

“……”

Coincidentally, as soon as I heard those words, a name immediately came to mind.

“Archbishop of Beasts, Jackal.”

Elisha spoke in a heavy, sunken voice, stroking the scar that crossed her left eye.

‘Jackal.’

One of the ‘Six Archbishops’ standing at the pinnacle of demons, a powerful demon commanding thousands, tens of thousands of beasts.

‘It was almost a war just to capture one of them.’

After nearly half of the over 1,000 allied forces of the three kingdoms were sacrificed, they were finally able to kill the demonic army and the jackal he commanded.

‘The hero who killed the jackal back then was definitely… Elisha Baldwin.’

Was it a coincidence, or was it fate?

I clicked my tongue softly as I looked back at Professor Elisha.

In her previous life, she participated in the war against the jackal, cut off his breath, and met her end on the spot.

‘Though I didn’t see it myself.’

The war against the jackal, formed by the alliance of the three kingdoms, took place ten years after I graduated.

It was about twelve years from now.

‘It was around the time I had just quit being a mercenary and started forming a party with Yuren and the others.’

At that time, our party was just being formed, so we did not participate in the war directly.

As I continued to recall the memories of my previous life and think about them.

“Cadet Dale? Do you know anything about the jackal?”

“Yes? Ah… no. I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

Professor Elisha, with her arms crossed, looked down at the corpse of the demonic beast with deeply sunken eyes.

“…Jackal.”

Her eyes gleamed fiercely as she uttered that name.

After staring at the corpse of the demonic beast for a while, Professor Elisha turned her head towards me.

“I have a favor to ask of you, Cadet Dale.”

“What is it?”

“Can you keep this matter a secret, at least until the investigation is over?”

“How far should I keep it a secret…?”

“From everyone. I would like you to keep it a secret even from your supervising professor.”

“…Are you planning to cover up the incident entirely?”

When I made a surprised expression at her request not to tell even Professor Lucas, Professor Elisha nodded heavily.

“If this incident starts to spread in the school, the culprit will escape again. Just like during the last sealing ceremony.”

“……”

The main culprit of the incident during the sealing ceremony did not actually escape and was killed by my hand.

But I couldn’t tell Professor Elisha that fact now.

“Understood. Let’s keep this incident a secret between you and me, Professor.”

“Hooh. The idea of a secret between just the two of us is quite exciting.”

“No.”

“Hehe, just kidding.”

“…You really like jokes, don’t you?”

“Well, I have a naturally humorous and witty personality.”

“Haha. Where did you hear such nonsense?”

The professor is really incorrigible.

“Well, then, I’ll take the corpse of this crocodile beast.”

“Yes.”

“By the way, are you feeling alright? You don’t look so good.”

“Well… to be honest, I’m not in the best condition.”

I was barely holding on, feeling like I could collapse at any moment.

“It seems I’ve kept you here unnecessarily. I’ll take care of the beasts around here, so rest easy.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

I wouldn’t mind being attacked in my sleep, but for Yuren, who had fainted from mana exhaustion, it would be fatal.

Piiiiiing!

With a snap of Professor Elisha’s fingers, dozens of silver threads wrapped around the corpse of the crocodile beast.

Professor Elisha disappeared, dragging the beast’s corpse along.

“Haa.”

I leaned against the rock where I had laid Yuren, exhaling a breath heavy with fatigue.

‘I really can’t hold on any longer.’

Without resisting the drowsiness that was overwhelming me, I slowly closed my eyes.

‘Oh… wait.’

I had a feeling I had forgotten something….

* * *

“I will now announce the test results.”

Professor Lucas spoke, holding a report card in his hand.

“Candidate Yuren is first regardless of the score due to achieving the bonus objective. Next is Candidate Maurice with 182 points in second place… Candidate Camilla with 98 points in third place… Candidate Juliet with 47 points in 57th place… Candidate Albert with 24 points in 136th place… And.”

Professor Lucas’s gaze turned to me.

“Candidate Dale is in 253rd place with 0 points.”

“…….”

No, damn it.

Last place again?