Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy

People believed that the hero was the one who led the gods' civil war to victory, guiding the benevolent gods to triumph.

They hailed him as the savior who blocked the destruction of the continent, and praised him as the messiah who gifted humanity with a future.

The hero himself, however, found such praise discomforting. He knew that the victory he had achieved was merely a postponement of the inevitable.

"I've been called a fool and an irresponsible human, but even someone as foolish as I am cannot forget a certain sight."

"What is that?"

"People's misfortune."

There was a time when a child, desperate to survive, would chew on their parent's corpse.

There was a time when people, in agony, would scream that they wished to die, but no one could tell them otherwise.

Everyone had become more familiar with death than life, and the only reason they endured their miserable existence was the hope for an empty future.

The days when the hero lived as the hero were some of the darkest days in history.

"As much as one experiences misfortune, one naturally becomes accustomed to it, but I could never accept that. The misfortune of the people always felt new to me."

Despite knowing how foolish it was, the hero engraved the misfortunes of everyone into his heart.

He carried the despair they must have felt within his chest. And to become their hope, he smiled, raising his weapon to ensure such misfortune would not happen again.

"I became a hero to rid this world of misfortune. But I knew that what I had done was nothing but delaying it. How could I remain silent?"

"You're a fool. An idiot."

"I've heard that many times, but I couldn't change my nature."

Even in the face of an endless despair, the hero raised his weapon proudly. During the civil war, his resolve had been a symbol of hope, but after the war, things were different.

Most of those who survived the long, horrific war yearned for rest.

"They were not wrong. The strange one was me. It's foolish to act as if I would prevent a disaster that won’t come for hundreds of years, right after the war barely ended."

Considering the distant future seemed impractical when the present reality was so grim.

The land, after the long war, was too barren to nurture life.

The forests that should have borne fruit were mostly burned, the animals that should have provided meat had disappeared, and even the young who should have worked were lacking.

On top of this, during the lengthy war, farming, livestock, and other essential daily skills had all but disappeared, making it impossible for the situation to improve easily.

The biggest problem, however, was that the gods had left humanity.

Those who had grown accustomed to living with gods now found themselves in a situation where there was no one to seek advice from.

The war had ended, but the misfortune of reality had not. For humanity, life was still a hell. In such a situation, who would rise up for a distant future?

"There were people who said I had to follow their orders because I was the hero, but in my view, that would only cause unrest. So I left on my own. It's my stubbornness, so I thought it was best to find a way on my own. After that..."

"You failed miserably, didn't you?"

"...How did you know?"

"You're just a fool with nothing special besides your kindness. You probably stuck your face into a bunch of useless things, yet never got any closer to your goal."

Even just hearing about the hero’s story, it's easy to imagine how grand his failures must have been.

How many failures must have piled up for such a positive person to collapse in that way?

In fact, the annihilation of the evil gods was an impossible task.

As long as concepts exist in this world, they will never disappear.

The only answer is something like what Erginus did—stripping them of their position. But even a mediocre person who takes the godly position would merely become tainted by the evil within the concept and turn into the same evil god.

...Come to think of it, isn’t the best way to defeat the evil gods by keeping them sealed like this? Trying anything else would only make things worse.

"Hmm. As you think, I failed miserably. I caused trouble for my comrades too. I thought I could replace myself with the divine position one day, but that’s something no human mind can bear! I almost made a huge mistake!"

The fact that a big mistake almost happened means you actually tried it, right?

If it had gone wrong, you would have been crushed under the divine influence!

Ah! It was at that time! You must have gone half-mad and come to find me!

You definitely did something weird while still under the influence of the divine power!

I thought you were despairing after your failures, but it turns out your mind just snapped!

This makes me feel like the worries of the hero aren't a big deal! I misunderstood it all!

"Erginus said if humans can’t bear it, we should create something that can bear the divine position. But that’s easy to say, isn't it? How could that ever be possible?"

"Well, it seems it is possible."

"...Is that really true?"

"It might be too much of a position for someone like you, but it’s true."

"That... can’t be true. Even Erginus himself gave up on the experiment, saying it was impossible."

The hero, who until now had been surprised but not overly disturbed, seemed shocked at the fact that someone had taken the divine position.

It’s not surprising that he’s flustered when something he thought was impossible turns out to be real.

Hmm, but isn’t that more of a coincidence? After all, the Fairy Queen said that without sharing the burden of the divine position, it would have been difficult.

"Indeed. The Fairy Queen is someone who is infinitely close to the divine position. If Erginus’s mind and that person’s soul combined, it wouldn't be strange for a miracle to happen."

When I relayed this fact, the hero quickly accepted it, as if the earlier shock had been a lie.

"By the way, the Fairy Queen and Erginus, huh. When I meet them in the future, I’ll make sure to congratulate them."

He even said he couldn’t go himself, so he wanted someone to celebrate on his behalf, shedding tears as he was relieved that Erginus’s wish was fulfilled in this way.

"Ahem. Anyway, after thinking of various ways, the conclusion I came to hasn’t changed from the beginning. The best option is to leave the evil gods sealed as they are. As long as the seal doesn’t break, there’s no safer way than this."

"You really have a pure brain, don’t you? Think a little. Is there such a thing as an unbreakable seal?"

"I agree with that. No matter how powerful magic is, it is powerless before time. There is no seal that will never break. So, what should we do? After much thought, the answer I arrived at was that an unyielding mind could serve as the seal."

Understanding the hero’s words wasn’t difficult. He had chosen to become the seal himself. Even if it meant being alone for hundreds of years, he had decided to fulfill his duty.

"What I’m guarding here is the core of the evil god Agra. Even if all other evil gods awaken, if Agra, the core, doesn't resurrect, then the catastrophe of that time won’t happen again."

Watching the hero, who smiled and said that no disaster could be avoided, but that he would do what he could, I felt more conflicted than impressed.

A hero wouldn’t enjoy enduring loneliness for such a long time. He was a person full of vitality, caring for those around him.

He wouldn’t be at peace in loneliness, unlike Erginus, who only wanted a place to study magic.

Yet, he chose loneliness because he believed it was his duty.

"I see. The dungeon you overcame was actually a trap designed by the great gods and Erginus working together. It was created to drain the power from Agra’s seal, which is why such a bizarre dungeon could be made."

"...Are you fools? What you’re saying is that if someone like this idiot gets up, they’ll create such dungeons."

"That’s true. It looks like there’s one more reason to protect the seal."

"No."

"Well, since someone like you is trying to conquer this dungeon, it may not be a bad thing."

Hearing the hero’s reckless words, I thought about it.

I admit there’s some nobility in the conclusion he chose.

I understand that his sacrifice would make the world a bit safer.

But still, I can’t agree with the hero’s actions.

Why? I could give you an answer.

A peace born from one person's sacrifice is an unstable peace that ends with the fall of that one person.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

It’s wrong to make misfortune the price for peace.

There may be another way.

But these are just pitiful excuses.

The reason I glare at the hero’s smile is that I don’t like him acting so confident.

"Thanks to talking to you, I feel like I can last another five hundred years. Thank you for putting up with an old man’s boring story."

The hero is still human. He must have countless emotions built up inside him. And those emotions are probably more negative than positive.

Yet, he smiles without a complaint, just as he did as the hero.

He’s putting on a strong front to reassure me.

What a cocky adult.

How can I break that mask?

As I was thinking, the hero suddenly cut off the conversation with a firm expression.

"You still have much to do, don’t you? You shouldn’t waste your time on a ghostly opponent."

His words were a firm command.

"As if it’s any of your business how I spend my time? Are you worried about it? So, you’re saying that fool of an old man is a beast too?"

I deliberately scratched at him, but the hero’s smile didn’t waver.

"By the way, I’ll let you know. What you saw at the end of the dungeons were the voices inside you. I don’t know what you saw, but I hope the inner advice helped you."

I was about to say I’d stay a bit longer, but before I could, my body started to fade slightly. The owner of this space was the hero, so I was being pushed out.

"Send my regards to those dwelling in your weapon. Oh, and check that I’ve placed part of my power inside the weapon."

Watching the hero wave me off like a parent seeing their child off, I felt irritation rising.

Why does he get to boss me around?

I’m going to do what I want!

I gave him my sympathy, but the failure still rejected it! How arrogant!

Hey! Useless god! You brought me here, didn’t you! You have something for me, don’t you?!

Tell me! Right now!

I just want to slap that face that looks like he’s gotten something!