Chapter 208: Interlude – The Red Moon (1)
With a dying groan, the light quickly extinguished from the eyes behind the wolf mask. “Kugh! Urrrghk!”
Yurina gasped for breath as she yanked her sword free from the enemy’s heart.
She let out a small sigh at the sight of the man’s corpse, then flinched, her shoulders trembling. “S-sorry, Dale.”
“Hm? For what?” I asked.
“I should’ve interrogated him first. I should’ve asked what he was doing in Valhalla City before, before I ended up....”
I swallowed a bitter smile and shook my head. “Ah, that? It’s fine.”
I had originally planned to capture the masked figures and interrogate them, but watching the battle unfold had changed my mind midway. Even if we tried questioning them, we probably wouldn’t get much.
The fox-masked and rabbit-masked figures were clearly far inferior to the wolf-masked figure. Even if we captured the first two alive, they likely knew next to nothing. And the wolf-masked man, the only one who could have had anything useful, was the type that wouldn’t break under interrogation anyway.
“But still....”
“And it’s not like the only way to get information is by talking, right?”
I approached the wolf-masked man’s corpse and removed his mask. Under the mask was a middle-aged man with a square jaw and thick brows. His face was so covered in scars that it was hard to find a single patch of unblemished skin.
It looked like something stitched back together from leftover parts. The sheer number of scars was enough to make me wonder how the man had been alive at all.
I studied his face carefully, with a frown. I had never seen it in my previous life. Of course, I didn’t remember every last detail of my past life, so I couldn’t be absolutely sure.
But this face wasn’t in my memories.
“Who could he be? His skill was easily top-tier even among Rankers.”
“No idea. And none of the current High Rankers look like him at all.”
The term Ranker wasn’t an official title. It was a list that gossip lovers across the three nations had come up with. Because of that, it was common for a powerful hero to exist without ever making it onto any ranking board.
“Let’s at least take some photos first.”
Using my Hero Watch, I took pictures of the wolf-masked and fox-masked figures’ faces. I skipped the last one as the rabbit-masked man’s corpse had been burned to the point where the face was unrecognizable.
“Hm, in the end, we still can’t figure out who this man was?” Yurina muttered.
“At the very least, the academy can investigate. We might get something.”
“The academy?”
“These guys aren’t demons, they’re heroes.”
Realizing what I meant, Yurina let out a gasp. “Ah!”
If they bore a soul stigmata, they were probably graduates of the Hero Academy.
“What if they were heroes acting without an official Hero License?”
“Well, then it gets a lot harder,” I replied.
Unfortunately, if that were the case, further tracking would be nearly impossible.
“Should we head back to the academy?”
We thoroughly searched the corpses of the wolf-masked and fox-masked figures, but as expected, we found nothing that hinted at their identities.
“We really shouldn’t have killed them,” Yurina murmured.
“They were the ones who went out of their way to hide their identities with masks. It’s not like we were going to find much.”
We had expected this outcome from the start.
Yurina stared gloomily down at the corpses. “B-but...”
Perhaps the realization hit her again, that she was the one who had created those corpses. A heavy shadow clouded her expression. I gave a small, wry smile.
At least, this helped her grow a little. Staining her sword with blood was something she would inevitably have to learn if she wanted to live as a hero.
“Let’s go, Yurina. We’ll report this to the academy and have them retrieve the bodies.”
Yurina nodded and trailed behind me. “O-okay.”
***
After returning to the academy, Yurina and I headed straight to Professor Baldwin’s office.
Professor Baldwin smiled in satisfaction as she looked at the photos of the masked figures I had sent her. “You both worked hard. I didn’t expect you to track them down in just a single day.”
“We got some help from a local,” I replied.
“A local?”
“Yes. A kid from the slums. We brought him and his friend back with us. If possible, I’d like the academy to protect them for a while.”
Any survivors from the masked group could target Luka and Ren, so we had brought them to the academy temporarily.
“I see. I’ll personally ensure their safety,” Professor Baldwin replied.
“I appreciate it.”
“But we can’t keep them here forever. What do you plan to do later?” she asked.
“I’ll ask Iris for help. She knows an orphanage run by the Holy Empire.”
She nodded. “Oh? An orphanage managed by the Holy Empire? That’s trustworthy. Well then, I’ll start looking into these photos you took.”
“Thank you. Please let me know if you find anything.”
“Of course. Ah, and one more thing. The headmaster wants to have a meal with you.”
“Headmaster Ryu?”
A meal between a bottom-rank cadet and the headmaster of the academy, just imagining it felt absurdly mismatched.
“Yes. Since he was the one who directly ordered this mission, I assume he intends to discuss compensation over the meal.”
“Ah!”
True enough, Headmaster Ryu wasn’t the type to assign a dangerous mission to a cadet and pretend nothing happened afterward.
“You might even have your disciplinary punishment overturned.”
“Haha!”
The disciplinary issue, huh.
I needed more time to think about how to handle that.
Professor Baldwin glanced at Yurina, who stood quietly beside me. “By the way, did something happen to Yurina? Her expression doesn’t look good.”
“Well, something did happen.”
Professor Baldwin looked at me with open suspicion. “Don’t tell me, did you make some kind of mistake on your date, Dale?”
Yurina gave a faint, powerless smile and shook her head. “No. It’s nothing like that.”
“Then what is it?”
Yurina hesitated for a moment. Her hand trembled slightly as she hid it behind her back before she finally spoke. “Those people... weren’t demons.”
Only then did Professor Baldwin seem to understand what had happened. “Ah!”
She let out a soft sigh. “Hmmm. The first time is always hard. Especially for someone as kindhearted as you, Yurina.”
She gave Yurina a bittersweet smile. Then, after observing Yurina’s downcast expression for a while, she turned to me. “Well, this works out nicely. Dale, you’ll be staying the night in Yurina’s room.”
“Sorry?”
Why was she suddenly telling me to sleep in Yurina’s room?
“I was wondering where to house the two children you brought. The kids can use your room, and you’ll stay with Yurina,” she added.
“That’s a bit much,” I said.
Professor Baldwin lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “Hm? Then, do you plan to leave Yurina depressed and alone like that? At times like this, the person she trusts most should be by her side.”
I swallowed hard and turned to Yurina. “Are you okay with that?”
Yurina nodded energetically. “Y-yeah! Dale and I have slept in the same room plenty of times already!”
And so, after leaving the professor’s office, I followed Yurina back to her room. The door opened, revealing the familiar interior. It was a spacious room, befitting the dormitory in Building A.
An awkward silence settled over us.
I scratched my head and finally said, “Well, want to have dinner first?”
“O-okay.”
Yurina nodded and turned toward the kitchen, but I gently pulled her back by the shoulder and shook my head. “You should rest.”
“But...”
“You’re not really in the mood to cook, are you?”
Quietly, Yurina nodded and went to sit on the sofa. She removed her sword from her belt and set it on the table, staring blankly at the blood still smeared on it. Meanwhile, I prepared something simple to eat and brought it to her. But she simply sat there, frozen before the steaming meal.
I let out a dry laugh and moved the food away. “Doesn’t look like you’re in the mood to eat either.”
“S-sorry.”
“It’s fine,” I said as I gently held her hand.
A faint tremor traveled from her palm to mine.
“Dale.”
“Yeah?”
“I-I killed someone.”
“I know.”
Her grip tightened as she asked, voice trembling, “Was... that the right thing to do?”
I pondered her question. “Well...”
Even I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do.
I said in a serious tone, “Whatever it was, it was something you needed to do. Eventually.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
A small smile formed on her lips. “If it was something I had to do, then I did well, didn’t I?”
“Well, I guess you could say that.”
She looked up at me with bright, expectant eyes. “Then, shouldn’t I get a reward?”
She was so excited that no one could tell that she had been miserable moments ago,
I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Of course, you’ll get a reward.”
Even if I had pushed her a little, the decision to stain her sword had ultimately been hers.
“Alright, lean your head this way—”
Yurina suddenly jumped to her feet. “W-wait! Before that, um, can I take a shower first?”’
“Oh.”
Fair enough, after a battle like that, the sweat was probably bothering her.
“Go ahead.”
“O-okay! I’ll be quick, so don’t go anywhere!”
She darted into the bathroom. A moment later, the sound of running water filled the room.
Still, Professor Baldwin was right. I’m glad I’m here, I thought.
When I recalled how Yurina had been trembling, unable to eat a single bite, I knew I would’ve regretted sending her back alone. If just being by her side could bring her comfort, then I could stay as long as she needed. Guiding and comforting those precious to me was my role.
Suddenly, I heard a soft thud. Something had fallen from where Yurina had unpacked her things.
I tilted my head and picked it up. “This is...”
It was an empty shopping bag. Inside had been the “sexy underwear” that she was supposedly forced to buy.
At that moment, the bathroom door opened softly.
Yurina stepped out, wrapped in nothing but a large bath towel draped over her shoulders like a cloak. “D-Dale, I-I’m... d-done washing.”
In the moonlight streaming through the window, her face was flushed. It was so red it looked like it would burst at any moment.
