The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 257

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 257. Find the Traitor (1)
The Central Plaza in front of the Main Building of Hero Academy.
The Central Plaza, which would normally bustle with Candidate Program members, was now draped in such profound silence during the break that it felt desolate and forlorn.
“….”
Within the awkward stretch of silence.
I furrowed my brow slightly as I watched Camelia gently caress her own cheek.
‘The only hero she trusts.’
To receive the trust of none other than the Empress herself was truly an honor beyond measure.
“I don’t recall ever doing anything to earn such trust from Your Majesty.”
Right.
What had I actually accomplished to deserve the Empress’s trust?
At most, I’d defeated the Archbishop of Madness and uncovered intelligence about the Eternal Order’s infiltration into the Imperial Palace, suppressed the Eternal Order and the Apostles of Destruction hiding in secret passages, absorbed and eliminated the Primordial Spark that could neutralize the protection of the Seven Stars, dismantled an assassination plot that had been in preparation for years, and comforted her beside her as she was betrayed by a trusted subordinate—that was all.
‘Wait?’
Had I really done all that much?
“You say you don’t recall giving me your trust, even after I saved your life? What exactly do you think I would need to do to earn your trust?”
“Well, it just happened that way. Any other hero would have done the same.”
“Is that so?”
Camelia let out a soft chuckle and continued.
“Do you truly believe that any other hero would have acted exactly as you did?”
“Well, there would be differences depending on their abilities—what they could or couldn’t do.”
“I’m asking under the assumption that both were capable.”
“In that case… yes, I believe they would have acted as I did.”
I nodded without hesitation.
“What is the basis for such a belief?”
“Because they would be heroes.”
Whether the person in question was the Empress or not.
If someone before my eyes faced mortal danger, and I possessed the ability to save them, then saving them was simply the natural thing to do, was it not?
It wasn’t something to boast about or take pride in before others.
I wasn’t pursuing some grandiose goal of protecting the world.
I wasn’t seeking some noble conviction to save humanity.
If there was someone within my reach whom I could help, then extending my hand to them—that alone was what it meant to deserve the title of ‘hero,’ was it not?
“That is precisely why.”
“Pardon?”
Camelia gently caressed my cheek, a faint smile playing at her lips.
“I trust you not because you saved my life… but because you are a hero.”
“….”
I still didn’t quite understand what she meant.
“Hehe. Don’t think too deeply about it.”
Camelia withdrew her hand from my cheek with a playful shrug.
“Well, setting that aside for now. So you’re asking me to find a traitor among the Masters, correct?”
“Indeed.”
“Of course, Her Majesty would be excluded from suspicion….”
Pope Marian, Johan Basillio, Raonel, Kalid Han.
So there’s a traitor among them colluding with the Eternal Order.
“If necessary, you may even suspect me.”
“…Her Majesty?”
The one who asked me to find the traitor couldn’t possibly be the traitor herself.
‘Though, it’s possible this is an elaborate psychological tactic—offering suspicion preemptively to deflect it.’
Well.
I don’t have definitive proof, but I don’t think Camelia is the traitor.
“Is it because she proposed this first?”
“No.”
My reasoning for believing Camelia wasn’t the traitor was simpler than expected.
“Because I trust Her Majesty.”
“…What, what did you say?”
Camelia’s eyes widened, clearly caught off guard by my answer.
“Is, is that so?”
Gone was her usual composure—she stammered and fumbled over her words.
‘Besides, even setting aside trust, the likelihood of Camelia being connected to the Eternal Order is extremely slim.’
If she and the Eternal Order had been colluding, why would they have gone to such lengths, even borrowing Mephistopheles’s power, to sneak into the Imperial Palace like rats?
‘Pope Marian and Johan Basillio are also questionable.’
It was difficult to imagine that they, devout followers of the Seven Star Church before anything else, would join hands with the Eternal Order—a clear heresy.
‘Raonel also… has almost no possibility.’
If Raonel had been colluding with the Eternal Order, he wouldn’t have granted me the unprecedented privilege of the Special Candidate Program and tasked me with pursuing the Eternal Order’s trail.
Of course, like with Camelia, this could also be an elaborate psychological tactic to deceive me.
But from Raonel’s perspective, unaware of my true identity, there was no reason to go through such trouble just to deceive me.
‘That leaves.’
Someone regarded as inferior even among fellow Masters.
A person whose profession is most despised by Heroes.
“…The most suspicious candidate right now is Kalid Han.”
Or more precisely, there was no one else among them who could possibly collude with the Eternal Order.
“I share that assessment.”
“Then isn’t the traitor’s identity already determined?”
“No.”
Camelia shook her head and continued.
“Suspecting Kalid Han is merely circumstantial.”
“That’s… true.”
Without concrete evidence, I couldn’t definitively label him a traitor.
“In that regard, there is something I wish to ask of you.”
“You want me to investigate Kalid Han’s background?”
“We can’t simply wait around investigating him indefinitely, not knowing when he might make contact with the Eternal Order. Besides, your break will be ending soon anyway.”
“Then what would you have me do?”
“Attack him.”
“I beg your pardon?”
My eyes widened at the unexpected word that fell from Camelia’s lips.
“I would have you assault Kalid Han and obtain even a single drop of his blood.”
“…What exactly are you saying?”
She was asking me to suddenly attack Kalid Han and obtain his blood.
What connection could there possibly be between obtaining blood and finding evidence that he was colluding with the Eternal Order?
“Do you know what power the Eternal Cult Leader possesses?”
“…To some extent, yes.”
Resurrecting the dead, dramatically extending a person’s lifespan, rapidly healing wounds.
I still couldn’t say with certainty what the true nature of the Eternal Cult Leader’s power was, but one thing was clear—it was an ability that directly influenced the ‘life’ of its targets.
“When the Imperial Palace investigated the corpses of Eternal Order members who fell in battle, we discovered that their blood contained a common power woven throughout.”
“If it’s woven throughout all of them…”
“Then it must be the ‘blessing’ granted by the Cult Leader.”
Of course.
A power capable of resurrecting the dead and granting centuries of life would naturally be the force of a blessing, not ordinary magic.
“Here, take this.”
Camelia withdrew a short blade no larger than her palm from within her garments.
“I have inscribed magic upon this blade’s edge that changes color when exposed to a specific ‘blessing.'”
“A specific blessing… you mean the blessing of the Eternal Cult Leader?”
“Indeed.”
Camelia nodded in affirmation.
“While I cannot know precisely what blessing the Eternal Cult Leader possesses, the fact that all his followers uniformly accept his power means…”
“If Kalid Han is connected to the Eternal Order, the blade’s color will change the moment his blood touches it.”
Now I understood why Camelia had suddenly demanded that I assault Kalid Han.
And I also understood why she had no choice but to entrust this task to me.
‘Among Heroes who aren’t Masters, there aren’t many capable of wounding a Master.’
If Camelia acted directly, the matter would be resolved simply enough, but should Kalid Han prove innocent, it would fracture the relationship between Masters.
With the formation of the Three-Nation Allied Forces looming before us, she wished to avoid discord arising among the Masters.
‘Yet she couldn’t simply sit idle either.’
Now that circumstances suggested a potential traitor among the Masters existed, she would need to verify whether such a traitor truly was present.
‘And as swiftly as possible, before the Three-Nation Alliance’s formation was publicly announced.’
Thus, the method she had devised was an assault.
The fastest approach, yet one that would secure irrefutable evidence.
“Understood.”
I nodded and accepted the short blade from Camelia.
“Once blood touches the blade’s edge, the magic will activate immediately and the blade will glow with a blue radiance.”
“Yes.”
“And…”
Camelia hesitated for a moment, her words trailing off, before she gripped my hand tightly and continued.
“Be cautious. Though he is called the lowest-ranked Master, he is still a ‘Master’ nonetheless.”
Camelia’s worried expression deepened as she squeezed my hand with greater force.
A faint tremor traveled through our joined hands.
‘Is she genuinely concerned for me?’
That the Empress herself would show such vulnerability was extraordinary.
‘At this rate, one might say she’s become a different person.’
Recalling our first meeting, Camelia’s current demeanor was so transformed that I could scarcely believe it was the same woman.
-It may sound like an excuse, but I regret that incident even now.
So Camelia’s words back then had been sincere after all.
‘I was bewildered because I had never felt such emotions before.’
With that understanding, I found myself sympathizing with Camelia’s harsh words toward Elisha in the past.
Even for an empress wielding absolute authority over all—or perhaps precisely because she possessed such power—opportunities to encounter unfamiliar emotions would have been rare.
‘What should I say… hmm.’
Watching Camelia tremble faintly, I found myself letting out a soft chuckle.
‘She’s adorable.’
I nodded, imagining how Lanez would foam at the mouth and pounce if she heard such a thought.
“There is no need for concern. I need only draw blood and escape immediately.”
Even if my opponent were Camelia rather than Kalid Han, such a feat would be achievable.
“Ahem. Very well.”
Perhaps only then did she realize she had continued holding my hand.
Camelia released a small cough and hastily withdrew her grip.
“And… should you complete your mission faithfully and return safely…”
Camelia’s lips curved into her characteristic leisurely smile as she continued.
“I shall bestow upon you a ‘reward.'”

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