Chapter 255

[13th Round] Running into a Wild Dragon!

Thanks to my help, the student council president's journey proceeded smoothly.

But there were always sacrifices behind success.

Although Sword King Alex, famous for his cockroach-like vitality, decided to stay with the Hero, the Mercenary King found the mission too dangerous, stating that no amount of money would be enough to stop him from leaving.

But that wasn't a big problem.

She still had many companions, after all.

She had the MAX-Class Righteous Prophet, a powerful demon who betrayed her father for love, the Snow Woman that had feathers of the highest quality, the First Spirit equipped with a paired ring, the Wind and Water Spirit Kings under his armpits, the Earth and Fire Spirit Kings guarding his groin, and the Soul Spirit King, protecting his "Holy Spear." Many other spirits also accompanied them.

There were also Rice Pie, Green Cake, and Boris, all of whom could be summoned anytime. Shadow A, which I left on the Southern Continent, could also be called forth.

All in all, the student council president's group was quite impressive!

"I didn't really betray my father for the sake of love, but you won't let me sleep at night if I argue against it, so I'll just keep quiet about it. Still, no matter how you look at it, isn't this your journey? All the companions you introduced, except Alex, belong to you. Besides..." Ssosia began grumbling as she glared at the sleeping beauty hugging my shoulder.

"Are you jealous, Second Demon?"

"No!"

"Like what I did back in my glory days, she's recovering in the arms of a companion. And in this group, besides Alex and me, there are no other men."

And I was objectively a hundred times better than Alex!

Hence, every time we stayed in expensive hotels, the student council president came to my bedroom at night.

"Well... let's go. I didn't come here in the middle of the night to find out which one of you is the real hero."

"Why did you, then?"

"That idiot is coming."

There was only one person whom Ssosia called an idiot.

The First Hero.

But in this era, he was just an ordinary hero who helped every beauty he could find, regardless of race...

"He's already defeated the Cursed Queen Malfaricia?"

"Don't be so surprised."

"When will he arrive?"

"Soon. Hmm... With his current speed, maybe ten seconds?"

"You should've told me earlier!"

She wasn't kidding. I could feel it now too.

My senior's younger version was weaker than he currently was, but the energy emanating from his companions was unusual.

We were now in the Central Continent.

The student council president decided to go here since it hadn't yet been properly developed. It was also to avoid overlapping with the "First Hero" on the Eastern Continent.

Due to that, our journey went smoothly.

But they were bound to cross paths sooner or later.

The number of dungeons and ruins that the Hero could plunder was limited, after all.

"What should we do? Our Hero isn't ready yet."

Even at this moment, she was still naked and slept like a baby.

One could immediately tell by the dark spots under her eyes and the bruises on her buttocks that she suffered from extreme fatigue.

This was a problem.

"You're the one who bruised her ass, you savage!"

"Hmm... It can't be helped. I, the MAX-Class Righteous Prophet, will have to act as the Hero's representative and proxy.

"Has that been your plan all this time, my cunning hubby?"

"What are you talking about? You're jumping to conclusions again."

This wasn't the first time bruises appeared on our Hero's butt. It just was just a coincidence that they appeared this time again.

"All of this feels suspicious for some reason..."

"Enough with the idle chatter and follow me. He most likely wants us to get out of the hotel and face him as fast as we can."

As far as I knew my senior, he wasn't crazy enough to start a fight in a city full of civilians.

However, I couldn't say with certainty that he was completely above doing such atrocities.

After all, he would willingly kill millions of people for the sake of beautiful women, and he wouldn't find any problems with it.

▶ Announcement: A message has arrived for cadet Kang Han Soo: due to the voluntary resignation of another Hero and the candidates' low marks, the teaching staff has decided to reinstate you. All of your questions shall be answered by the trainee. We pray for your unlimited growth. That will be all.

Their timing was impeccable.

They couldn't even personally convey such important news. Instead, they put all the responsibilities on Trainee Teacher's shoulders. They definitely had no conscience.

▶ Shrug: Isn't that an indicator of how much my senior colleagues trust me? To officially become a teacher, I need to work for 200 years on a probationary period, but I can now significantly shorten that period, and it's all because of you, Kang Han Soo. Thank you so much!

'Oh... I don't know if I should be thanked for that.'

I didn't do anything. The faculty members were just sneakily manipulating her.

▶ Justification: It's not that bad. Once I'm officially hired, then I'll have a stable income. In this era of endless wars, such a job is rare. Two centuries are nothing to me if that's taken into account. I've always dreamed of becoming a teacher anyway.

'If you find all of this beneficial, then I'll just support you, Trainee Teacher!'

Anyway...

Did I just regain my title as the Hero?

▶ Confirmation: Yes, but not on paper yet. I want to sort this out quickly, but some of my senior colleagues are opposed to this decision, so it'll probably take some time. Judging by the atmosphere, though, you'll probably be fully reinstated within ten days. You'll definitely receive a notification after everything's been finalized.

'I see! So I'm the main character again!'

"Cowardly hubby... What are you doing?" Ssosia looked at me like I was going crazy as I began undressing while we walked along the hotel corridor."

"Trainee Teacher said I was reinstated as the Hero. I need to look the part."

I hung the Holy Sword Nucleon on my belt and donned angelic armor paired with a majestic cloak.

I completed my look with a scarf made of the Snow Woman's feathers!

"You look like a child who just received a new toy."

"Really? But I just have my usual expression displayed."

"That's what you think."

Ignoring Ssosia's reproach, I solemnly walked to the exit from the hotel and soon met with my senior's group.

I chuckled as I looked at them.

"What kind of scam is this?"

He had girls of extraordinary beauty with him, all of them having different hair colors.

Red, blue, yellow, gold, silver, green, pink...

His companions were members of the many dragon races.

Their party wasn't only composed of women, though.

"The Supreme Dragon of Oblivion, Noebius, huh? There were times when that tyrant, whom even my father feared, became that idiot's companion."

For the first time, I saw my dear friend in human form.

His outfit, much like his hair and eyes, was all black except for the eye-catching yellow scarf around his neck. He looked like a middle-aged man with a cold, murderous gaze.

"Why is he with him? I asked Ssosia, although her answer wouldn't have made much of a difference in our situation anyway.

"Chronic dragon curiosity. He found the idiot's bravery interesting, so he began to follow him. As a result, they became friends. Considering he'll never let a single skirt pass by him without interruption, and Noebius isn't interested in women at all, females can't spark conflict between them."

"So... This whole ordeal is about the strength of Brave?"

There was a time when I, too, relied on this power and was fascinated by it.

The vain Supreme Dragon of Oblivion, Noebius, couldn't refuse the opportunity to grow stronger.

Then why were other dragons following him?

Honestly, I wasn't interested in that at all. The First Hero couldn't care less about race. He seduced every girl he found to be his type.

"Not all."

"Well, except for a couple of women."

Why was this cowardly demon being so nitpicky with my words?

"Can you see that green-haired dragon standing next to the Dragon King?"

"Oh! She has such big breasts."

"That's the Divine Dragon Queen Erdanti. She's the first Saintess to gain the ability to revive the dead and give them eternal life. The ones that succeeded her borrowed their power from God, but she worked miracles on her own."

"Yes, I remember seeing her before."

She was among the companions Phantom King Shakespeare summoned using his G-rank skill.

At that time, she was limited to her verbal battle against Green Cake, leaving me with no knowledge about her fighting style, but judging by Ssosia's words, she specialized in healing.

"If a fight starts between you two, make sure you take her out first. Otherwise, you'll never be able to win."

She made it sound like that lizard's healing ability was a scam, but she didn't interest me.

The dragon with blue hair was the one that caught my attention.

I just met her quite recently.

Cursed Queen Malfaricia.

There was a thick collar around her neck, clearly showing that she was enslaved.

Her renounced expression made what she was thinking about unclear.

Based on what I heard, she was defeated in a battle of attrition and was then imprisoned as a slave.

I had encountered that power before.

It was the one used by the priestess who watched over the "training cave" on the Northern Continent and tried to deceive and subjugate me.

Contrary to her expectations, I was the one who subdued her. Still, I couldn't deny that it was a rather dangerous moment.

"Prophet Kang Han Soo, I challenge you to battle!" My senior's younger version proclaimed menacingly.

I replied with a smile.

"If that nonsense was all you wanted to say, you shouldn't have waited for my wife to finish her boring explanations."

"Hmph. I provided you with useful information, yet you're still not satisfied with me." Ssosia sounded offended.

"Stop being so shallow and ignorant. I'm just provoking my enemy."

"Huh? Oh, you just sounded so genuine that I thought you were serious."

I didn't deny it.

Regardless, even though I had already announced I was provoking him, the First Hero still fell for it.

"Let the Snow Woman go!"

"Oh my God! You're still mad at me for that?"

The wizard who previously looked after the Snow Woman chose me as her new guardian, and she herself agreed.

Yet he was still holding a grudge against me? How pathetic.

"I don't know about now, but in the past, that idiot was extremely persistent, especially when it came to matters like this. He never gave up no matter how many times women rejected him. He went to great lengths to win over the Dragon Queen Erdanti, who was unrequitedly in love with the Dragon King Noebius, whose identity wasn't known yet at the time. Also— Oh, he might start a war if his reputation gets damaged, so I'll stop here."

I knew the rest anyway.

Noebius would be defeated as the "Supreme Dragon of Oblivion," but bound by the strength of Brave, he'd become unable to die, thus becoming the angels' pet... for a very long time.

I gave the First Hero the signature smile of the Righteous Hero.

"Come back once you've trained long and hard, senior. You're not ready to fight me yet."

"What?!"

Fshuk! Fshuk! Fshuk! Fshuk! Fshuk!

I didn't want long conversations.

I aimed my wings of the righteous hero towards my senior, who looked offended. As if pulling the trigger of a submachine gun, I then shot him with thorns.

"Aaaagghh!!"

"A surprise attack?!"

"Agh!"

People put on armor to protect their bodies and vital organs. However, the dragons that imitated humans never thought about that.

Face, neck, shoulders, belly, thighs, calves...

Their outfits were so revealing that taking off their clothes wouldn't make that much of a difference.

Hence, what ensued was total annihilation!

If only they were in their dragonian forms, which covered their bodies with thick scales, this wouldn't have happened.

Tsk! They brought shame to their race.

"I think the cause of that is the huge difference between your combat powers and not their outfits, my cowardly hubby..."

"Well, that too."

The First Hero and his party instantly retired from the scene.

However, not everyone died.

"Master Noebius, you protected m—"

"Make no mistake, Divine Dragon Queen Erdanti. You survived simply because you're next to me."

"Yes. I know that."

"You're just as stupid... as the Queen of Wisdom Malfaricia, who got involved in a senseless fight over some dwarf."

Three dragons survived from my first offensive since I was reinstated as the Hero.

The Supreme Dragon of Oblivion, Noebius.

Divine Dragon Queen Erdanti.

Cursed Queen Malfaricia.

Malfaricia was supposed to stay alive according to my plan, though.

Only once we had met in the Eastern Continent should I slay her, whose identity would be Cursed Queen Malfaricia by then, as the MAX-Class Righteous Hero.

But the same couldn't be said for the Supreme Dragon of Oblivion and the Divine Dragon Queen.

No, I had already expected my dear friend to be completely unscathed by such an attack. Only the Divine Dragon Queen surpassed my expectations.

"What a peculiar man... spirit. I feel my energy in you."

My attack only slightly damaged Noebius' clothes, revealing not human skin but dark scales.

The Divine Dragon Queen blushed at the sight.

BOOM!

While I was distracted, Noebius punched me... No, he lashed his tail at me, which he hid behind his back.

He responded to my surprise attack with his own!

"Heh..."

Wiping the blood from the corners of my lips with the back of my hand, I smiled.

If I didn't get serious, I'd die here before I could properly greet my father-in-law.

I started to gather the power of heroes.

▶ Request: Please do not destroy the planet...

'Naturally! Believe in me, the protagonist!'