I Became the 101st Hero – Chapter 102

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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“If Professor Siren has the authority, they can look inside as much as they want.”

“No, because of the individual contract I made with the god, they won’t be able to see.”

Freya, who had agreed to teach me Libero’s swordsmanship, asked if it was okay to show me the swordsmanship, and I was once again headed for the trial.

“You made a contract with the god of this place? Not surprising coming from you…”

She shook her head knowingly, well aware of my actions so far.

“So, you want me to teach you Libero’s swordsmanship?”

“Yes, even if you can’t demonstrate it yourself, the theory is enough.”

“Theory… I didn’t learn it that systematically from Libero either.”

She said, placing her hand on her chin.

“I don’t know where to start, but first, can you give me a sword?”

She didn’t have an inventory because she had a constellation, nor did she have the ability to create a sword out of thin air like Libero.

I handed her an ordinary sword I had requested from the god.

“It feels a bit long, but this should be fine.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the sword automatically shortened to the length she desired.

“Ha, those gods sure have amazing abilities. In the end, they’re no different from old geezers cooped up in a room.”

The words, You’re no different, being an old geezer yourself…, rose to the tip of my tongue, but I somehow managed to suppress them.

“Still, it’s thanks to the god that you’re using this space, right?”

“Well, I’m not sure if the god created this place or is just parasitizing it.”

Saying so, she held the sword upright.

“First, let’s see how well you can handle Libero’s swordsmanship.”

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A moment later, Freya wore a dumbfounded expression.

“No, with this level of skill, you want to learn more swordsmanship here?”

She hadn’t been able to beat me even once in our sparring.

Her strength and speed stats were all higher than mine, but it was due to the difference in swordsmanship.

She was familiar with the knowledge of Libero’s swordsmanship but hadn’t reached enlightenment, so she couldn’t replicate it.

“Swordsmanship is all I have. No matter how much I improve it, it still feels insufficient.”

I had improved my archery a lot, but that was just a smokescreen. Swordsmanship was still the only means I had to properly deal with the Demon Kings.

“That’s… well, that’s certainly true. Honestly, it’s close to a miracle that you’ve been catching Demon Kings with just swordsmanship so far.”

“Yes, to increase the probability of that miracle even a little, I need the Libero swordsmanship you know.”

“But you seem more proficient in Libero’s swordsmanship than I am now?”

I shook my head.

“My replication of Libero’s swordsmanship is just a kind of trick. Of course, I learned most of the basic forms, but I haven’t learned the things that come after.”

Freya nodded as if she understood.

“Certainly, if you ask me if the swordsmanship just now was perfect, it wasn’t.”

That was exactly what I wanted from her.

“Which part wasn’t perfect? That’s exactly what I need right now.”

Then, Freya began to explain theoretically the parts that were lacking in my swordsmanship.

And I began to engrave her points one by one in my brain.

Her theories were certainly quite helpful.

‘This part, which arose while referencing the Reedvall family’s swordsmanship, was meaningless in Libero’s swordsmanship.’

Of course, there were parts in her guidance that conflicted with what I had learned from Libero.

For the most part, she backed down on such points.

“Of course, even when I first met Libero, he was monstrously strong, but he must have grown quite a bit since then.”

In the end, it was impossible to learn all the swordsmanship Libero possessed, even through her.

Still, it wasn’t unhelpful.

“Speaking of which, when I first met Libero…”

She told me stories about when she first met Libero, in addition to his swordsmanship.

It seemed to be a story from about 450 years ago, when Demon Kings, including Libero, first began to appear and the existence of Demon Kings gradually became known.

“Back then, the main characteristic known about Demon Kings was that they didn’t age. You might know, but most of the early Demon Kings weren’t that strong. In the first place, the heavy title of Demon King was given to them because of what the 12th Demon King did.”

What the 12th Demon King did was quite famous.

His notoriety was still being passed down.

And his notoriety was also transferred to all the other Demon Kings under the name of Demon King.

“Those who don’t age. As soon as I heard the rumor, I thought I had to go find them. I, who lived after losing all my kin to chaos in my childhood, realized it at some point. That while I may not be a Demon King, I’m not the same as a human either.”

She gave a bitter smile.

“So, I succeeded in contacting the ageless ones, the Demon Kings, and I sought to find the sense of belonging I lacked in my relationship with them. Even the sight of the early Demon Kings each running towards their own goals seemed quite cool to me. Unlike me, who lived without any purpose, just not aging.”

So she followed other Demon Kings, trying to experience as much as possible.

She learned swordsmanship from Libero and traveled the world with a Demon King named Violet, whom I’d never heard of before.

It seemed to have been a rather enjoyable time, but it didn’t last forever.

“As time passed, some left, and new Demon Kings appeared one by one. The Demon King Assembly was formed, and the atmosphere among the Demon Kings changed. It gradually became different from the image of the Demon King I knew. Then… that incident happened.”

“That incident?”

“The collapse of the Ice Valley. That incident marked a definite change in the direction of the Demon Kings, and I became increasingly distant from them. To the point where I walked into the Church and got captured.”

I knew from Sigrit that she had been imprisoned by the Church.

However, I didn’t know it was voluntary.

“Did you meet Professor Sigrit there?”

“Did you hear it from Sigrit? Well, yes. He was an unexpected stimulus to me, who was imprisoned alone there, having lost all will. It was a coincidence that I taught him swordsmanship. I can’t deny that’s why I’m a professor now.”

Listening to her, I swung the sword again.

It was swordsmanship that I had refined by applying all the advice she had given me.

Watching me, she said,

“Libero would be proud if he saw this.”

But there was a slight fallacy in those words.

“That may be so, but if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have been able to complete it to this extent. You’re also my master.”

“Master…”

To her, trailing off, I said,

“About the task I gave you. Don’t you already know the answer?”

“What do you mean?”

“What you’re doing right now. You’re enjoying it, aren’t you?”

Freya frowned.

“Being a professor at the Hero Academy?”

“Yes, there are many other good jobs in the Church, just being disappointed in the current Demon Kings isn’t enough of a reason.”

“Well, I’m quite talented at teaching swordsmanship.”

That was true.

In fact, even Sigrit, who was just mediocre, was able to reach near high-ranking hero status after being briefly taught by her,

And his current teaching was also based to some extent on Freya’s teachings.

But that alone couldn’t be an excuse.

“There’s still one crucial thing left. You want to die, but why are the targets you want to kill limited to your students?”

“…Did Sigrit tell you that much?”

I nodded.

Then she lowered her head.

“I regret that. Sigrit was just an ordinary boy back then. The problem was that he was my first student.”

She said with a smile,

“Yes, the moment I taught him, I realized. That I definitely wanted to leave something behind. Of course. That was my complex for 400 years.”

‘Wanted to leave something behind?’

“I told you, I’m different from ordinary humans, even in species. So, since my entire clan was annihilated, I couldn’t have children. However, the sense of loss that had tormented me for 400 years… was filled by the existence of students.”

This was an unexpected story.

Until now, I only knew that she wanted to have students, but I didn’t know the reason.

“So I thought I had found my purpose in life. That’s why I decided to become a professor at the Hero Academy, and I was actually quite happy as a professor… until I made another mistake with my talented student.”

The talented student must be referring to the guy who’s currently ranked 2nd.

“He told me. That I already knew the reality. That I, a Demon King, couldn’t stay at the Hero Academy forever. That within 10 years at most, it would be revealed that I wasn’t aging. So he asked me to kill him.”

And he refused to kill her.

After that incident, she realized that her life as a professor also had limits.

“Even after that incident, I couldn’t bring myself to give up being a professor. It was my stubbornness that I wanted to continue being a professor at least until it was revealed that I wasn’t aging. Time flew by quickly, and the day of revelation was approaching.”

She looked at me and said,

“That’s when you appeared. I wanted to end it. This crazy play that continued even though I knew it was an unattainable purpose in life. So I decided to die by your hand.”

“But in the end, I became your student. Don’t you think you would have regretted it if you had died by my hand yesterday?”

“That’s… true.”

She smiled.

It was a heartbreaking smile.

At the same time, it felt frustrating.

“Just reveal that you’re not the Demon King. Then you can continue being a professor, can’t you?”

“If I did that, the Demon King side wouldn’t leave me alone anymore. Right now, I’m protected by the few remaining early Demon Kings because I’m a fellow Demon King, but if it’s revealed that I’m not a Demon King, they’ll try to kill me by any means necessary.”

“What if I take down the Demon King side first?”

She burst out laughing at my words.

But seeing my rather serious expression, she stopped laughing.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course. Of course, I’m not doing this because of you. As I said before, my purpose is to protect this world, and that’s just part of the process.”

“But…”

“I know you’re disappointed in your former student. Still, I hope you’ll trust me.”

I smiled at her.

“Whatever happens, isn’t it better than dying without even trying?”

Then she finally smiled properly.

“Certainly, you’re right.”

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