Chapter 17 – The Saintess(2)

<Saintess’s POV – Continued>

The Saintess seethed with fury.

(Henry… Yudelheit… You’ve done something truly unforgivable.)

————Those chosen to be Heroes are granted a mark by the spirits.

In this era, that mark had been bestowed upon Derek.

Thus, Derek was recognized as the current Hero.

And rightfully so—his growth rate was monstrous.

By the age of sixteen, his swordsmanship had already surpassed even the captain of the First Knight Order Commander.

This was common knowledge among the nobility.

And yet…

For such a Hero to be lost…

For the Hero to be killed…

Such a thing should never have happened.

It was an unforgivable sin.

(The crime of slaying the Hero… I will never forgive this. I must report to Her Majesty at once.)

The Saintess rose to her feet.

Leaving the altar behind, she headed straight for the royal castle.

-0-

The Saintess relayed the information she had received from the spirits to the Queen.

The result?

An investigation was ordered—confirmation was needed on whether the Hero had truly died.

Normally, a report of the Hero’s death would have been dismissed as nonsense, laughed off as absurd.

But when the Saintess herself delivered the news, the matter could not be ignored.

Among the nobles, the prevailing belief was that the Hero’s death was likely true.

Thus, soon after…

The upper echelons of the Ludral Kingdom swiftly mobilized to hunt down Henry.

Bounties were issued to mercenaries and adventurers.

The royal knights were dispatched to eliminate him.

And once the Hero’s death was officially confirmed…

Henry would be declared an international fugitive.

-0-

Of course, none in the Ludral Kingdom knew…

That Henry had awakened his ultimate ability—[Psychokinesis].

They assumed Derek’s death had been the result of some underhanded trick.

Perhaps poison slipped into his drink.

Perhaps a cowardly strike from behind while he was weakened from battling monsters.

…No one believed Henry possessed real strength.

『Killing a weakling like Henry will be an easy task. 』

With that blind confidence, they set out to destroy him.