Do Heroes Need Welfare Too? - Chapter 120

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 120

“What? Why the maid all of a sudden?”

Kyrillos left Adam behind and went inside.

Was he playing hide and seek with the maid right now?

“Maid, are you inside?”

Though time was of the essence, Kyrillos decided to wholeheartedly help find Iberis for him.

The maid was definitely someone who would never leave Adam’s side, so she must be nearby.

There was only one reason he had introduced his sister in the first place.

Adam expressed himself visibly, but she kept trying to run away even though she knew.

He had tried to ignite her determination.

Though his sister was curious about the Hero, he knew it wasn’t the romantic feelings Iberis had imagined, but rather to show off to other young ladies her age.

However, when he called for her inside the Demon King’s Castle, only a small echo returned.

She was someone who always came out to greet them whenever he arrived.

‘I wanted to conserve my mana.’

Kyrillos sighed softly and cast a detection spell.

His violet eyes shimmered and changed as his mana swept through the Demon King’s Castle once.

It was no different from usual.

‘The strange energy felt from the underground remains the same. There’s another similar one, but… The maid is definitely not here.’

Kyrillos pondered with a “hmm” and said.

“Maybe she went to play in some village.”

“Eve has never left without telling me. This is also the first time she hasn’t returned for so long.”

Adam acted as if he had separation anxiety.

As far as he knew, he had heard that Iberis had stayed by his side for about a year.

He would have made much longer and more numerous memories than that, yet he had changed like this because of just one year.

“Is there really a need to be so anxious just because you’ve been apart for a bit? That can happen. Wasn’t it like this before?”

“Before…”

Adam’s eyebrows furrowed.

When he and she were separated, hadn’t she nearly died in a fire?

Indeed, she was in danger when not by his side.

No, was his side dangerous too?

Adam gazed down at his hands. But he quickly looked away.

As long as he did well, it would be fine.

“More importantly, it seems the Emperor has made a move. The maid isn’t a five-year-old child, so she’ll return on her own.”

“…I understand.”

When the Emperor was mentioned, Adam seemed interested.

For a moment, a strange light flashed in his eyes before disappearing.

“Where?”

At the finally returning question, Kyrillos grinned and shared the information he had brought.

“Baiten Estate.”

* * *

“Adam, I want you to be happy.”

Why did that memory suddenly come to mind?

It was the day before she disappeared.

Iberis must have thought he was asleep, but Adam was awake.

As the time he spent writhing from nightmares increased, he chose not to sleep.

Whether it was the aftermath of the curse, the frequency of nightmares was too frequent.

At some point, he was so tired he couldn’t think properly, so he only dozed lightly.

However, if Iberis caught him like that, she would worry, so he turned off the lights and lay still on the bed.

Though he had told her not to come in, Iberis carefully opened his door and entered.

She quietly sat on the edge of the bed.

He could feel her gaze looking down from above.

He could have gotten up then, but he stayed still and relaxed so Iberis could watch over him.

‘I’m happy when you’re here.’

It was ridiculous.

But he couldn’t ask why she had said such words.

Because Iberis disappeared that morning.

When he asked Ben, he said she had gone to Dainil Village.

That it was urgent business, so she couldn’t inform the Hero before leaving.

But she hadn’t gone to Dainil Village.

He had already searched there.

Her absence took away his peace.

In the first place, it was because she was there that he could pretend to be at peace, at least outwardly.

God left, and he was abandoned once again.

While waiting at the Demon King’s Castle for her return, Iberis miraculously came.

Adam let out a soft laugh.

In the end, his god had returned.

It would be the same this time.

However, his palms were naturally sweating. The signs weren’t good.

There were few times he had been this nervous.

Was it when he had only become the Hero a ‘few times’? Neither his god nor he knew much about the Demon King’s weaknesses.

It was like being in front of an overwhelming opponent.

“But how did you know?”

“Since my vacation was over, I went to the Imperial Palace to apply for return… I personally suspected there was some kind of deal between the Mage Tower and the Royal Court, so I was following the Emperor when I found someone suspicious and followed them to discover a secret passage.”

“It seemed like the secret passage leading to the underground that a child named Erwin mentioned before, so I wanted to go, but unfortunately I couldn’t go down below.”

“Then…”

“But I didn’t see nothing. That person went into a nearby room and talked with a man who was waiting there first. All I heard was talk about Baiten Estate and someone staying there.”

“Do you know nothing about the person staying there?”

“I have sharp ears, so I heard at least that much! Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to distinguish the words properly.”

Adam nodded.

He didn’t know what scheme the Emperor was hiding, but it was obvious something would happen at Baiten Estate.

Adam muttered with a soft chuckle-like laugh.

“Maybe he hid gold there.”

“It would be bad if it gets taken before we arrive.”

Kyrillos played along with the joke.

“Still, ordinary people couldn’t get ahead of us.”

But it was true they needed to go quickly.

Since the men had entered the Imperial Palace in the morning, it was a race against time.

Whether Kyrillos coming to inform Adam and then leaving would be faster, or them leaving the Imperial Palace and heading to Baiten Estate would be faster.

Kyrillos prided himself on his talent for horseback riding.

No matter how fast he rode, he could ride peacefully, and Adam was the same.

Since they had to leave quickly, they continued the explanation they couldn’t properly give while riding their horses.

They were using mana sporadically as soon as it recharged, so ordinary people couldn’t surpass them and arrive quickly.

However, Kyrillos frowned as he recalled the man he had seen in the morning.

‘Right, if they’re ordinary people… that is.’

Why did he suddenly feel this way?

Kyrillos opened his mouth at a sudden thought.

“Come to think of it, wasn’t there a story you were going to tell?”

“What story?”

“The story about when you kill the Demon King! The situation is always like this, so there’s never a chance to hear it.”

It reminds me of old times.

Kyrillos always told frivolous stories whenever they set out on expeditions to kill the Demon King.

He urged Adam to speak, saying it would help ease the tension a little.

His lips, which had been pressed into a straight line, finally parted.

“The Demon King commands three demons as his limbs. One is Abracxas. He’s a minion of the Demon King’s Castle. He can create hallucinations in people to control them. Personally, he’s the most dangerous demon. And Abaddon. Since he commands insects, you never know where he’ll appear from.”

“Who is the last one?”

“Wait a moment.”

Adam stopped speaking and watched ahead.

They encountered someone approaching from the direction they were heading.

They were about to pass by, but the horse running from the opposite side gradually slowed down.

It seemed he had business with them, so Adam and Kyrillos also stopped their horses.

And removing his robe, he spoke.

“Aren’t you the Hero?”

He was a familiar face.

It was the mercenary captain that the Prince always kept by his side.

Though disguised as an attendant, Adam, who had seen his true identity, recognized him.

Nain greeted him as if pleased to see him.

“Why are you here…? Ah, you’ve come to meet Lord Iberis?”

“What do you mean by that?”

Adam asked urgently.

“Why is the maid at Baiten Estate? …No. Don’t tell me.”

Kyrillos, who had been questioning Nain, widened his eyes as if realizing something and stared at Adam.

Adam’s face turned deathly pale.

It seemed he was thinking the same thing.

The Emperor’s sudden movement.

And those heading to Baiten Estate.

In the end, the conclusion led to one thing.

“…Eve.”

The reason the Emperor moved was because of something targeting her.

Probably because she was the Hero’s weakness.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————