This World Needs a Hero

HEL SCANS

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Before going to the counselling session.

Luke briefly heard an explanation about ‘Daydream’ from Ban and Evergreen.

“Do you see what you wish as an illusion?”

Naturally, questions followed.

What will I see?

… What do I desire?

“What did you guys see?”

“Me? I saw the meadow of Solintail… It looked exactly the same.”

“I saw my hometown. It wasn’t exactly the same, but… Come to think of it, Cuculli also went through the Great Snow sea. She said she ate a lot of delicious food there.”

“It’s amazing that you bankrupted a store and still want to eat again.”

… Hometown.

I don’t know anymore.

He, who was an orphan, was picked up by ‘Mercenary King Ravias’ from infancy.

A life born and raised as a mercenary.

For someone who hadn’t stayed in one place for more than a few months, the concept of a hometown seemed nonexistent.

‘……’

He roughly imagined.

Perhaps it would show him surrounded by a pile of gold coins or maybe the scene of successfully inheriting the position of the Mercenary King.

Both were futures that were more than enough for a mercenary.

…It would have been like that.

“Professor, there seems to be some misunderstanding.”

“…I’m not sure about the misunderstanding, but it’s certainly unexpected.”

“I didn’t wish for something like this. Really.”

Contrary to expectations, the counseling session did not go smoothly from the beginning.

Luke masked his expression with an indifferent look and glanced around.

Thanks to his desperate efforts, he could maintain a somewhat composed face, but the blood rushing to his ears was inevitable.

Eventually, he tightly closed his eyes.

‘Damn, why do I have fantasies like this… .’

The place that the daydream revealed to them was the Triumphal Arch in Jido Kyrus.

More precisely, it was the Triumphal Arch dedicated to the exploits of the warriors and the Order of Dawn, filled with artistic depictions.

Originally, the entire path of entry for the punitive forces was adorned with artworks commemorating the achievements of the knights and the Order of Dawn, intending to instill hope and courage in the public.

Consequently, when there were no ceremonies, the Triumphal Arch was also used as a kind of tourist attraction.

Luke, whenever he had business in Jido, had visited a few times and was familiar with it.

A spacious and pleasant environment, statues and paintings vividly portraying the exploits of warriors and heroes, bustling crowds, guides introducing and explaining the artworks—everything was etched vividly in his memory.

The problem was…

The problem was that the protagonist of this Triumphal Arch had changed now.

None other than ‘Luke Selsood.’

“Ah.”

He could no longer avoid looking around.

The boy stood tall with an expression that seemed like he would die of embarrassment.

Ironically, the spot where he stopped was right in front of his statue, bravely charging toward a horde of monsters.

“…Tsk.”

The hero’s cheek couldn’t endure and puckered.

Seeing that, Luke now just wanted to die.

To make matters worse, it wasn’t just Luke who had changed.

Upon closer inspection, the faces of the Order of Dawn members in the artwork had also been swapped with different people.

Even long-deceased mercenaries appeared, and then…

“Ah!”

Discovering a familiar girl running right next to ‘Hero Luke,’ he hastily turned his body to shield her from view.

Fortunately, it seemed the hero hadn’t noticed.

With a narrow escape from disgrace, Luke gasped for breath.

‘…No, is it normal for only such embarrassing illusions to come up?’

Didn’t someone see a meadow, and someone else saw their hometown?

Why am I the one getting illusions fitting for a seven-year-old before bedtime?

Luke, who had always considered himself more mature than his peers, felt this situation was terribly unjust and embarrassing.

He didn’t want to spend even one more second in this dreadful place.

“…Professor. You mentioned that I could stop the counselling if I didn’t want to continue.”

“It’s a rule that we can’t continue counselling if the client doesn’t want it.”

“Then please, I request to stop.”

“Hmm…”

The hero’s eyes narrowed.

“Would you be okay if I don’t show more of your fantasies?”

“Of course!”

And that was the end of it.

With a snap, as if a finger had been flicked, he was back in an ordinary room.

Only then could Luke flush the embarrassment from his face.

“…”

Fortunately, the hero didn’t tease him further or mention the contents of the illusion.

Just with a knowing look in his eyes, he added a few words.

“Daydreams are inventions of the great wizard Zero Requiem.”

“Yes… I’ve heard.”

“He certainly behaves capriciously, but there are no errors. It mostly shows superficial desires, but sometimes it delves deep into the subconscious, revealing one’s true intentions.”

“…True intentions?”

“So, instead of just being embarrassed, carefully consider why you saw such an illusion. It might be good to discuss it at that time.”

“I will do that.”

…He probably won’t.

Luke hastily left the temporary counselling room and hurried his steps.

No, he tried to hurry.

*Squelch.*

HEL SCANS

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—————

Perhaps the assistant had already left; there was complete darkness on the first floor of the research lab, no lights.

The boy stood still in that darkness for a moment.

Why, he didn’t know.

Maybe it was because of the lingering embarrassment from the shameful illusion in the daydream.

“Beliefs? Goodness? Honour? Risking your life for those uncertain things is what losers do.”

“You are a mercenary. You’ve been a mercenary since birth, and you should die as a mercenary. That’s how you repay the grace of the one who picked you up.”

A voice that had accompanied him throughout his life passed through his ears like an auditory hallucination.

“…”

*Squelch, squelch.*

The footsteps quickened and faded away.

“…..”

.

.

.

▼

Understanding of Luke Selsood deepens.

Understanding Level: 6/100 -> 10/100

Additional Comment from Luke Selsood:

– Daydreamer

▲

* * *

Back in the research lab.

“Phew….”

With this, all counselling sessions were over.

After Luke rushed out, I began organizing the counselling records.

Firstly, Leciel.

Keywords for her include pressure, burden, and responsibility.

I was well aware that most members of prestigious families would inevitably be familiar with such words.

After all, humans are creatures that unreasonably expect a lot from the next generation.

Hiyashin is undoubtedly the top prestigious family in the empire.

I naturally expected Leciel, the sole successor, to bear a similar burden.

However, it was only with her recent hospitalization that I realized the extent of it.

‘I didn’t expect it to be this severe.’

She was an outstanding child.

Without a doubt, she would be the most exceptional among her peers across the continent.

That’s why I never anticipated that she would be suffering from such intense pressure.

“Hmm….”

I recalled Leciel’s appearance in the infirmary.

Pale complexion and trembling hands.

Sunken cheeks.

It was right after the intense dungeon training.

Going straight to the training grounds for an additional two days of practice immediately afterward was by no means a normal mindset.

Diligence is commendable, but such intensity can easily turn into poison.

“I may need to discuss this with the Head of Hiyashin.”

If there was an issue in her upbringing, it needed to be addressed.

He thought that the previous Swordmaster would not be friendly to the ‘Hero’ who defeated her and took away her title as the Swordmaster, so he had not thought of contacting her until now, but now he felt the need to contact him.

But now, there was a need for contact.

“…Still, I’m fortunate that the illusions shown in the daydream were fitting.”

Leciel seemed to have loosened her guard against me to some extent and appeared to have accepted advice.

The increased understanding level and the added progress comment proved this.

▼

The warm wind somewhat pushed away the dampness of the firewood, but it still couldn’t be lit.

▲

Her condition seemed to have improved compared to before, though the comments suggesting the administration of medicine were still there.

I thought about the next person.

Luke.

When I first saw his daydream, I was honestly a bit perplexed.

But as soon as I understood its meaning, I felt relieved.

“I was worried.”

Luke is the successor of the Mercenary King, Ravias.

Ravias, the Mercenary King, is a typical ‘bad mercenary.’

An individual who moves based on profit and loss, devoid of morals and ethics.

While he now upholds a certain dignity as a king, during the time when his influence was weak, I knew the unsavoury deeds he did to accumulate power for his mercenary band.

There were even jokes about why Ravias sided with humans instead of demons—because demons, no matter how much gold they offer, wouldn’t have a human society to enjoy if they became dominant.

With such a hardcore character as Ravias being Luke’s mentor, I couldn’t help but worry about whether Luke would turn out normal.

‘… But I never thought he would like the life of a mercenary very much.’

Luke’s keywords are admiration and longing.

The improvement in understanding Luke’s character brought some relief.

Surprisingly, he seemed to harbour an unspoken desire for trust, honour, and justice—qualities that mercenaries typically disdain.

‘He doesn’t seem to be aware of it himself.’

It was good news.

Cultivating such tendencies and steering Luke towards becoming a ‘hero’ who aspires to those ideals rather than a mere ‘mercenary’ would be my role.

For Leciel, I’d provide space.

For Luke, I’d instill conviction.

With these thoughts in mind, I closed the counselling records and turned my attention to the ‘reward.’

▼

Find the retired Storekeeper.

▲

The comment that appeared when I finished counselling other children was ‘Find the storekeeper.’

It has now changed to ‘Find the retired Storekeeper.’

…Retired.

It seemed like a minor change.

However, that one adjective helped me realize the identity of the elusive ‘Storekeeper’ that had eluded me for so long.

‘…Noubelmag’

I tapped the desk, recalling the dwarf I had seen a few times during the early days of exploration.

‘… Even if it wasn’t for the wolf statue, I would have had to look for him anyway.’

Storekeeper.

I had a rough idea of what I could gain by finding him.

‘It’s strange. Where did all those items go?’

‘Original’ enjoyed exploring the magical realms.

However, in recent years, he couldn’t embark on explorations due to the intensifying war.

Until then, he had unearthed numerous relics from the First Age buried in the magical realms, excavating artifacts.

‘He said he stashed them away because he had no immediate use for them.’

But after he passed away, I searched all the hiding places, but I couldn’t find those artifacts.

The probability of Noubelmag having them is high.

If he was entrusted with maintaining those items, it would make sense.

First Age artifacts were not something just any craftsman could handle.

‘If I can retrieve those artifacts, they will be useful when arming the children in the future.’

“Wolf statue and artifacts. There were two reasons to find Noubelmag.”

I turned my gaze to the documents on the desk.

Last night, Mother Ghost, the leader of the clandestine group, had conveyed information through Nyhill.

‘…It contains the presumed location of Noubelmag’s hiding place, where he has concealed his tracks.’

It was closer than I thought, perhaps close enough to make a round trip for reinforcement a couple of times during classes.

‘The problem is not the distance, but…’

I looked at the postscript written at the end of the report.

[Three days ago, a report came in that a stake had been driven into a nearby city]

It seemed like I might need a reliable ‘companion.’

HEL SCANS

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