The Lowest-Ranked Hero Has Returned

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 164: Witch of the Night (5)

“Alright, then.”

Slowly, I turned my head, glancing around at my surroundings.

Aaron, looking at me with eyes full of anticipation.

Bella, sighing with an expression that seemed to say, ‘Here we go again.’

Laios, arms crossed with a smug look on his face, and Lanez, watching with concern.

Step by step.

I became the center of my seniors' attention as I turned back toward the lizard demonic beast with seven gleaming eyes.

I lowered my sword so that its tip almost touched the ground, creating an opening.

“Hissssss!”

Observing my movements, the lizard demonic beast let out a sharp screech and lunged at me.

I swung my sword toward the charging creature.

“Hiss!”

Using its tail as a support, the lizard demonic beast quickly lifted itself, dodging the blade.

A Seven-Eyes demonic beast’s speed is no joke, but—

Berald's Martial Arts.

Sweeping Leaves.

My leg swung low, scraping the ground and striking the demonic beast's tail.

The lizard demonic beast instantly lost its balance, tipping over.

And in the direction it fell—

Slash!

The blade it had initially dodged was waiting, angled for the kill.

“Gaaaargh…”

With a final, agonizing scream, the demonic beast’s head was severed.

“……”

“……”

“……”

A curtain of silence descended.

Aaron, Bella, and Laios looked at me with wide-eyed astonishment.

“J-just now, what…?”

Bella trailed off, clearly bewildered.

“…Ha.”

Aaron, too, looked down at the decapitated demonic beast, a complicated expression on his face.

Stroking his chin, he alternated glances between my sword and the creature’s corpse as if replaying the battle in his mind.

“You deliberately left an opening to lure it in… then used your combat techniques. Oh, and when it charged, you swung your sword, pushing it to use its tail for support, right?”

“It was just luck.”

I brushed it off modestly, and Aaron gave a light chuckle, shaking his head.

“No, it wasn’t luck. You placed your blade exactly where the demonic beast’s neck would land.”

His voice was filled with excitement as he shook his head, eyes shining.

“So that rumor was true?”

“What rumor?”

“There’s talk that your skills are comparable to those of Yuren Helios.”

“……”

Well.

It’s only natural for such rumors to spread since I’ve been training with Yuren for a long time now.

“To be honest, I thought it was just gossip… but it seems there’s some truth to it.”

“I still have a lot of areas where I fall short compared to Yuren.”

“Hahaha! And humble, too. I really like you, our dear junior.”

Aaron looked at me like he had just stumbled upon a hidden gem, his eyes gleaming.

“So… have you thought about what you’ll do after graduation?”

“No, I haven’t decided yet.”

“Haha. Then, how about joining our party? We’ve been looking for a reliable frontline fighter.”

Aaron, who had been assessing me like he was “testing the waters” a moment ago, was now openly extending a recruitment offer.

Well, it made sense.

The “Baek” family, to which he belonged, had recently lost ground in comparison to its rivals, so he likely didn’t want to let a valuable talent slip by.

“If you join our party, I can personally coach you outside of regular mentoring sessions.”

“…Personal coaching?”

“Yep.”

Aaron nodded confidently.

“If you learn from me, you could graduate as an even greater hero than Yuren Helios.”

“……”

I couldn’t help but laugh quietly.

Who was teaching whom?

Of course, Aaron would naturally assume his skills were superior.

‘It’s not like I’ve shown anything serious.’

I hadn’t intended to hold back, but since the opponents so far had been so weak, there hadn’t been much to show.

I didn't intend to join Aaron’s party, anyway.

‘I’ll play along for now.’

I let out a short sigh, wearing a contemplative expression.

“Sorry. I can’t make a decision right now.”

“Haha, don’t rush. You still have plenty of time to think it over.”

Aaron gave me a hearty smile, patting my shoulder.

“By the way, aren’t you getting hungry? As much as training is great, let’s eat first.”

With that, he glanced over at Lanez.

Lanez, who had been looking at the scattered demonic beast corpses in horror, jolted and scrambled to her feet.

“Oh, y-yeah! I’ll prepare the meal right away!”

She opened her backpack and started taking out cooking utensils.

Watching her, I wondered if she hadn’t fully recovered her stamina.

Beads of sweat dotted her face as she focused on cooking, her expression filled with exhaustion.

“Need a ha—”

Just as I was about to offer to help…

‘Help her?’

Suddenly.

Memories from my past life surfaced.

An endless, snow-white field.

A blizzard raging around me.

Puffs of white breath escaping between my lips.

Feet sinking knee-deep into the snow.

Silence descending like a curtain.

White.

Endless white.

“……”

A wave of unbearable hatred surged within me.

Grinding my teeth, I clenched my fists.

‘Don’t pity her.’

The creature before me was the witch who had destroyed half the world.

Sure, that event hadn’t happened yet—it was a tragedy waiting in the future—but that didn’t mean I could just let it go as if it were nothing.

Even if she had forgotten.

I still remembered.

That terrible catastrophe, that bottomless despair, that endless nightmare.

I…

I still remember it all.

‘…And.’

The reason Lanez was truly dangerous wasn’t simply because of the dormant power within her capable of freezing half the world.

If that were the only issue, what did that make me, who possessed the power of the primordial flame?

No, the real reason Lanez was so dangerous wasn’t because of her “blessing of the frost.”

‘It’s because she has no control over it whatsoever.’

Even when she betrayed humanity and became the Witch of the Night, Lanez couldn’t fully control her power.

She accidentally killed her allies all the time, and at one point nearly ruined the Demon’s cherished plan to liberate the Demon God.

A catastrophe for both friend and foe alike.

That was Lanez Malam, the Witch of the Night.

‘Killing her would be the right choice.’

Leaving a ticking time bomb unchecked wasn’t an option.

“Haha, Lanez’s cooking skills are quite something, so it’s worth looking forward to, right?”

“…Yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

I listened to Aaron’s words with half an ear, my gaze shifting away from Lanez.

Soon, the comforting aroma of soup filled the air.

“Look, it’s done! I’ll serve it up right away!”

Lanez carefully ladled the soup into bowls and darted around, handing it out to each party member one by one.

It felt less like a party member was serving us and more like we had brought a maid along.

Lanez was making her way towards me, carrying the last bowl of hot soup.

Thud.

"Ahhh!"

Lanez tripped over the corpse of a beast.

The bowl of hot soup tumbled, spilling toward my thigh.

Lanez looked at me, her face drained of color.

“S-Sorry! I'm so sorry! I wasn’t paying attention...!”

“...”

"I-I'll clean it up right away!"

“...No, it’s fine.”

I dodged before it could really spill, so only a few drops had splashed on me.

“A towel… where did I put the towel? Oh, ugh. I'm so sorry. I'll clean it up right away….”

"Lanez."

Aron flashed her a gentle smile as she frantically searched her bag.

Lanez's shoulders flinched.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"Didn’t Dale say you don’t need to clean it up?"

“B-but….”

“Just sit down.”

“Uh, okay. Alright.”

Lanez nervously settled down, her legs trembling.

Aron turned to me with a concerned look.

“You okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“Haha. Sorry about that.”

“...?”

Sorry?

What exactly did Aron have to apologize for in this situation?

"Here you go."

“Thank you.”

Aron handed me a new bowl of soup.

As he mentioned, Lanez’s cooking was indeed delicious.

"Alright, now that we’re all full, shall we get back to hunting the demonic beasts?"

After we finished eating, Aron rose to his feet.

Lanez, who had hastily cleaned up, reached for her backpack.

"Give it here."

Aron stepped over to Lanez and took the backpack from her.

"Aron...?"

"Lanez, you must be exhausted too, right?"

"B-but."

“Haha. It’s fine. I’m strong, remember?”

Aron effortlessly lifted the heavy backpack.

“Uh, thanks, Aron.”

Lanez bowed her head slightly.

"Let’s move out."

We walked further into the jungle.

"Grhhhr!"

The lizard demonic beast from before reappeared.

Just one this time.

As I reached for my sword to deal with it—

“Wait.”

Bella glanced at Lanez before speaking.

"Lanez. This time, why don’t you handle it?"

"What? M-me? Fight it?”

“You’re a party member too, aren’t you? Instead of freeloading, shouldn’t you pull your weight a little?”

“I mean, that’s why I carried the backpack….”

“Backpack? Aron’s got that now, doesn’t he?”

“...!”

Lanez turned pale, her body trembling.

“N-no. I mean… I, uh…”

“What, you think I’m gonna die fighting it? If it gets dangerous, we’ll help you. Just do something for once.”

“Well….”

“What, are you hesitant because it’s your cousin or something?”

“C-cousin…?”

“Hah. Why? Don’t you have a bit of demon blood in you? Doesn’t that make you and the demonic beast practically cousins?”

Bella smirked, her lips curled in disdain.

“…Ah.”

Half-pushed, Lanez took a shaky step towards the beast.

I turned my head to look at Aron.

"…."

He stood there, arms crossed, silently watching Lanez’s uneasy approach.

“Senior Aron.”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you going to stop her?”

“Oh.”

Aron smiled gently.

“Lanez made a mistake with you today, right?”

“…You mean when she spilled the soup?”

“Yup, that.”

Aron nodded, continuing to speak.

“This all happens because she let her guard down.”

“...”

A strange unease.

A slimy discomfort crept up my spine.

"It’s like training a dog or a cat. If you don’t discipline them now and then, they’ll definitely mess up again later."

“...Heh.”

A twisted chuckle slipped from my lips at Aron's casual words.

Suddenly, a memory floated into my mind—something the witch had once said to me.

-Yeah… I was cold.

Ah, I see.

So that’s how it was.

-For a very long time… it’s been… very cold.

You too.

You’re living in a nightmare.

A horrifically long nightmare that never ends.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]