Chapter 112 – At the Celebration.

“Big, big! Then, let’s meet again later… Keheng?!”

After saying those words, Illyana turned to leave, but Tiaran stopped her by grabbing her tail and she froze.

‘This feels good.’

Her tail had a fluffy texture that matched its appearance, so she was impressed for a moment.

“We should go and meet the newbies.”

“W-You mean now?!”

“If not now, when do you want to see it again?”

Although she had been able to maintain a leisurely life until now, it was obvious that there would be a lot of work in the future as Tiaran emerged as a warrior in place of Anis.

“Shouldn’t we meet when we’re all together?”

“That’s right. I’m not mentally prepared yet…”

“It will take a year to prepare. Let’s transform or restore it to its original state and then go in.”

Illyana rolled her eyes as if watching her, but her Tiaran knew that it was meaningless anyway and tried to lead her back to her banquet hall.

-Worst!

If only the sour-sweet scent hadn’t spread along with the sound of water pouring the moment she stepped into the lotus pond.

“Wine?”

Tiaran immediately noticed what was spilling from the scent. A voice is heard as the banquet hall holds its breath in silence, as if paralyzed by the scent that must have originally been contained in the glass.

“… May I ask what this is?”

The owner of the voice was an unfamiliar man with red droplets dripping from his hair, as if he had been covered in wine.

If it were him normally, I would have thought it was just a regular fight and would have paid no attention. The problem is that the one who sprinkled wine on him was Lucia, who was holding an empty glass in her hand.

‘Isn’t he the kind of kid who would do something like that carelessly?’

At least within her party, she was the one who was most knowledgeable about politics and etiquette among nobles, so Tiaran was surprised by her behavior.

“I really want to ask. Why are you suddenly interfering between us and insulting my colleague?”

One of the reasons he put the ladies around Anis was to prevent such a situation.

‘I don’t think shaking hands was the thing that brought the ladies by my side.’

“What’s happening all of a sudden?”

“That man said Hero was a fake.”

“It looks like he’s from another region. Shouldn’t we stop him…?”

“I don’t know! I’m scared!”

Tiaran took a moment to check if there was anything suspicious among the ladies, but they were huddled together and whispering about such conversations, as if they were wary of a man they had never seen before. In this case, the problem was actually being scared.

“Did I say something wrong? Why did you allow Nimaka to impersonate a hero?”

By listening to him, she was able to get a rough idea of ​​what had happened while she was gone.

‘A guy like that is already appearing.’

It was not unexpected. The fact that Tiaran does not have Maka is a fact so famous in Sorrent that it is embarrassing to even call it a secret.

“You’re saying something strange. Is there any guarantee that just because you’re Nimaka, you’re not a hero?”

Lucia had a point. In the first place, she was the only one who didn’t have Maka, and she didn’t even know if it had anything to do with the hero.

“Even so, don’t you think it’s strange that Hero doesn’t show his face?”

‘This was my mistake.’

Even though she was wearing her suit, it was Tiaran who came in wearing a helmet.

“That’s right. Hero always wears armor.”

“You were wearing a helmet today as well.”

“Ugh.”

As people around her became aware of this and started whispering, Lucia also looked frustrated.

“As far as I know, warriors are born with snow-white silver hair and golden eyes like the goddess. Why is the current warrior hiding that symbol?”

Furthermore, she couldn’t help but be persuasive as she mentioned the symbolism of the goddess and the characteristics of the warrior.

‘What should I do?’

Lucia sensed that the situation was not going well for Tiaran and tried to combine all the countermeasures that came to mind, but she could not think of a good solution.

‘I’d rather have Tiaran take off his helmet… No way.’

She considered making Tiaran remove his helmet, but that too involved a handshake. Heroes have been known to have silver hair and golden eyes for generations, so it wasn’t for nothing that people fell for it when Crugild called himself a hero during this incident.

“Eck.”

Lucia was racking her brain thinking about how to defend Tiaran. Her hair turned completely white as she saw the strange man coming up behind her.

“Hey, why are you holding on to the wrong person?”

“Can’t you see the conversation? Why is the hero party using fake heroes…”

“So, you are in front of me. Why are you saying shit to the party members?”

“Ha?”

Only then did the man look back and see Tiaran, standing leisurely, twirling his helmet on his fingertips, revealing his gray hair and eyes.

“Now that I think about it, this voice…”

“Hero?”

“But the hair and eyes.”

‘W-what are you doing!!?’

Lucia covered her own mouth and could barely let out a silent scream. Why has she now put aside her insistence on her armor and taken off her helmet?

“You are proving that this is fake without me having to prove it.”

As she staggered, holding her dizzy head, the man smiled in triumph and spread his arms as if in a play.

“I don’t know where you picked it up, but if you use your mouth carelessly, you could get hooked, right?”

“””?”””

Rather, seeing Tiaran speaking confidently, his expression hardened and everyone’s eyes focused on him.

“Is there any guarantee that a warrior will be born with silver hair and golden eyes?”

“Ha! You’re saying something funny. That’s right, all the warriors of the past were born with silver hair and golden eyes, and they should continue to be like that in the future.”

Yes, that was true as Lucia knew. The hero is one of the closest beings to the goddess. So it would be normal for her to be born with the symbol of a goddess.

“Did you see it in person?”

“Yes?”

Nevertheless, the man’s face cracked at Tiaran’s question.

“Did you see it in person?”

“Is it possible? Even if he was the Hero of the previous generation, he would have been active for at least 100 years or more.”

“Then that means no one saw it.”

The man even looked embarrassed when he started asking questions with his unwaveringly confident attitude and momentum.

“But it’s clear in history books…”

“History books are ultimately written by people. Can you say that there are no errors in such books?”

‘That’s right! Because everyone can only know what a warrior was like through history!’

Even if you saw the hero in person, it is safe to say that the average person rarely has the opportunity to see the hero in person. Even if they did see it, they would all be old and dead now.

‘Still, there are too many records about warriors.’

But Lucia predicted that it wouldn’t work.

“I just heard something. It’s really absurd. Even if you say the same thing about the kingdom’s history books, are you going to deny the history books of the empire and other countries?”

As he thought, the man laughed at Tiaran and even mentioned history books from other countries. Is the warrior really an ordinary being? No matter when or what country you go, you can find descriptions and traces of past warriors everywhere.

“Then just show it to me.”

“What is that…”

Everyone there had the same question. What do you mean by showing?

“Anis.”

“Yeah, did you call me?”

As Lucia was also looking at her with concern, Tiaran called out to Anise.

“Take off the ring.”

“Wait a minute, that’s…!”

“Yes.”

In a completely unexpected situation, Lucia tried to stop them, but Anise acted quickly. She took off her ring, and at the same time, her black hair turned silvery white and her blue eyes also turned gold.

‘Why!?’

Surely she wasn’t trying to hide the fact that she was a hero? Didn’t she also decide that Tiaran would step forward as a warrior? Nevertheless, Lucia was confused by Anise’s actions without a single hesitation.

“That hair! Even those eyes…!”

“It’s the symbol of the goddess, right?!”

“Was that girl really Hero?”

“Then the current hero was fake?!”

Okay, wouldn’t this just make her know that she’s a fake?

“Wait a minute, then why did Hero allow a party member to pretend to be a fake Hero?”

Those were the words of the lady who first approached Anis.

“… Huh?”

“That girl is also a bastard, Hero’s…”

“Were you at the party?”

The question spreads throughout the banquet hall through the surrounding ladies. The man also looked at Anis with shaking eyes, as if he hadn’t expected this situation.

“What about the Holy Sword?”

“Stay here.”

When Tia Ran asked about the holy sword, she closed her eyes and put her hands together as if praying. Light bursts out. The next moment, Zweihender, who looked like he was carved from pure white marble, appeared in her arms.

‘When did something like that happen?’

It was a holy sword, without a doubt. However, Lucia, who had been with her, was as blank as anyone else because it was her first time seeing it.

“Please borrow some.”

“Yes♡”

When Anis accepted in a strange voice and Tia Ran took the holy sword from her arms as if pulling a sword from her scabbard, Lucia came to mind.

‘Like a saint and a hero…!?’

As soon as the thought struck her, her mouth opened in shock. Only warriors can wield the holy sword, but aren’t there some exceptions?

‘Tiaran, really?’

A person who is determined to be chosen by the goddess, such as a saint or a warrior, and who is also born with the symbol of the goddess. Even though she doesn’t have the power to use the holy sword as a weapon, she can touch and move it without hesitation.