I tracked down the source of the delicious smell. At first, I wondered why it was so strong, but it came from a tavern with every table outside packed. The night air was cool, and since the place sat on a hill, it offered a decent view.
I sat down and ordered a mountain of food: grilled meat, steamed meat, fried meat, a stew loaded with meat chunks, and even apple juice.
It had been a long time since I'd eaten a proper free meal, so I stuffed myself as much as I could.
Perhaps the owners saw the sudden influx of customers as an opportunity, because new dishes I had never seen before appeared, and the overall quality felt higher than usual. The prices were certainly steeper, but that hardly concerned me.
"You eat well," one of them said.
I nodded while chewing. "Yes..."
Traditionally, the phrase was meant as a compliment.
I hadn't finished yet, but the meal had relaxed me enough to study my two unexpected companions. As I mentioned, they were about my age and showed signs of training.
No. That wasn't just training. At this level, they were already formidable. In my current condition, with only half my strength recovered, I suspected fighting either of them would prove difficult.
While I ate, they introduced themselves. The fierce-looking man went by Zial, and the woman was called Haro.
Are they both swordsmen?
Their physiques and the swords at their waists suggested those weapons were anything but ornamental. They had clearly trained in swordsmanship at a professional level.
Zial and Haro... The names sounded absurd, but they could easily be aliases, the same as mine.
I asked, "So, what brings you two to the academy?"
"Ah..." Zial said, "Well, we were mostly dragged here by our master."
Their master? I tilted my head as I sipped my apple juice.
Haro cut in with a confident voice. "That isn't it! We're here to check out the hero disciples!"
"Hey, Haro."
"What? It's the truth."
"Still, you could phrase it more politely," Zial said with a sigh.
"Ugh, so naggy. Are you my older brother or something?"
I watched their bickering and asked again, "What do you want with the hero disciples?"
"To see if they're really as strong as the rumors say!" Haro answered.
So they were here to fight? A flicker of disbelief ran through me. Alderson had been right—all sorts of people were swarming in.
I poked at the boiled chicken with my fork. "Then are the two of you drifters? Wandering around as warriors... No, wandering across the empire doing chivalrous deeds?"
"Sort of..."
"Sort of? What do you mean, sort of?"
Haro pulled something from her clothes with a triumphant grin. " Tada !"
It was a metal badge, one with a familiar design.
"Oh..." I said in a rather surprised voice, "You two were heroes from the Hero Society."
"That's right!"
The badge marked formal recognition as a hero by the Hero Society. I had one as well, though mine wasn't impressive. I had earned it through the training camp route and received a D-class badge, the lowest rank, which marked me as an apprentice hero.
A closer look showed Haro's badge differed from mine. The material wasn't the same. Badge materials reflected rank, and this one's bronze sheen meant C-class.
C-class sounded low, but it wasn't. The organization awarded it only to those proven capable of carrying out their duties. In other words, these two, rough around the edges as they appeared, had real battlefield experience against the church and had crossed the line between life and death more than once.
"So you're here to assert dominance over your future juniors?" I asked.
"More like establishing the hierarchy. You know, the way the Badnikers hand out hero titles as they please." Haro frowned. "I've always thought that was excessive. Maybe nobles deserve some privilege, but if they truly believe in their strength, they should come to the Hero Society and take the official exam."
I nodded in partial agreement.
Haro continued, "The Badnikers have always been shady. I can't imagine how that gloomy family decides who becomes a hero."
"Hey, Haro. You're saying this again—"
"So what? Did I say something wrong?"
Zial glanced at me cautiously, as if suspecting I was of noble blood. I probably gave subtle clues with my table manners, but it didn't bother me. If anything, I somewhat agreed with her.
"That's true, regarding the Badnikers. There are many bad rumors about them. The family is so closed off it's hard to know what they're thinking," I said.
"Exactly! I knew I could talk to you," Haro said, laughing. "Anyway, I heard three people earned Hero Badges at this year's training camp: Hector Badniker, Charon Woodjack, and Luan Badniker."
I hadn't expected them to know this. Did the Hero Society have a sophisticated intelligence network? Or had the Badnikers spread it themselves?
"In fact, this seems fishy. At a training camp run by the Badnikers, two family members earned Hero Badges... There has to be a backstory."
I hummed. "Is it really that serious?"
"That's right! And Charon—he achieved excellent results despite all of that." Her tone carried an odd note of admiration.
I tilted my head. "Do you know Charon Woodjack?"
Zial looked at me and smiled bitterly. "We aren't friends. We just played together a few times when we passed through the Swamp long ago."
Isn't that enough to be called a friend? I thought as I chewed on meat. In any case, Charon was badly injured now, and I wasn't sure whether to mention him to these two.
"Anyway, I need to teach that Luan fellow a proper lesson!" Haro declared.
I ordered more meat and asked, "Is that necessary? I heard Luan Badniker is supposed to be a good guy."
"Good guy, my foot. Just a year ago, all I heard were bad rumors. And suddenly, he earns hero qualification and plays a decisive role in stopping the demon king's descent. There has to be some manipulation." Haro muttered, "The Hero Society shouldn't be artificially made like this."
I frowned, puzzled.
"We've been at the academy for some time, but haven't seen a single hero disciple. Isn't there a way to meet them?"
Strangely, she asked while staring at the food, as if reminding me why they were paying for my meal.
I wasn't a heartless person, so I crossed my arms and replied, "It doesn't have to be Luan, right?"
"He's the most irritating, but if it can't be him, so be it. He's despicable anyway. I doubt he'll fight openly."
"Then wouldn't Hector be appropriate?" I suggested.
I had heard he was among the least injured hero disciples—no serious wounds, no major mental trauma, though he seemed busy being pulled around from place to place.
"The genius Hector Badniker..." she muttered. "That should be fine. But how do you plan to approach him?"
I answered, "I know him. I mean, it is worth asking for a favor. He probably won't refuse a challenge."
"Ah..." Haro glanced at me cautiously. "Nalu, are you a noble by any chance?"
"Yes?"
"As expected... I thought you looked high-class."
What the hell did she mean by that? I mulled over it for a moment. Then I suddenly looked at Zial, who was smiling sheepishly. The more I observed, the clearer it became. There was a huge gap in their levels. Zial was hiding his strength.
Still, how should I describe it? Haro clearly seemed to take the lead.
Haro exhaled in relief. "In any case, it's a relief. I didn't come all this way for nothing. Now I can face our master without shame."
I grew curious. "Who is this master you keep mentioning?"
"That is a good question! The identity of our master..." Haro said confidently. "It is none other than the Sky-Destroying Sword, Maxim!"
Her voice held more certainty than when she had shown me the Hero Badge, leaving me even more astonished.
"If it is Maxim... He is an S-class hero of the Hero Society!" I exclaimed.
S-class heroes formed the most elite force of the Hero Society, and there were fewer than twenty of them. Among them, the Sky-Destroying Sword stood out as a true celebrity.
Maxim, known as the Sky-Destroying Sword, also carried the title War Hero Maxim. The reason was simple. He had single-handedly ended the wars that erupted repeatedly in the eastern empire, where tension and conflicts flared between races and tribes. Each time, he seemed to cut through the sky, earning him the legendary nickname.
"A bigshot like him came all the way to the academy?" I asked.
It felt strange. the Hero Society would deploy someone of his caliber if the demon king had truly descended, but that wasn't the case. Sending an S-class hero just to check on the aftermath seemed excessive.
"I've heard that Sky-Destroying Sword Maxim is one of the busiest heroes," I added.
It would make sense if only his disciples had come, but sending Maxim himself was a serious waste of manpower.
Haro chuckled. "He didn't come as a hero of the Hero Society. The imperial family actually summoned the Middle Names."
For the first time, my hands froze mid-bite.
Zial opened his mouth. "Haro, that—"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I made a mistake," Haro apologized.
I no longer felt like eating. It wasn't just because I had emptied more than fifteen bowls.
"The Middle Names were summoned? Really?" I asked.
"Yes. Do you know about them?"
Of course I did. With the surname Badniker, I had to know. There was no way I could be that ignorant.
I leapt from my seat. "I just remembered something urgent. I'll be going. The meal was excellent."
"What? W-wait! Then the meeting with Hector Badniker—"
"I'll send him here tomorrow at this time." I left immediately. They reached out reflexively, only to be stopped by the waiter.
"Guests? You haven't paid yet," the waiter said firmly.
"N-no. We weren't trying to run away."
"We understand, but the bill comes first," the waiter pressed.
"We... understand..."
They both gasped. "W-what? Why is the price so—?"
"That's how prices work in the capital," the waiter replied flatly.
Who were the Middle Names? They were a group that followed the imperial family's orders, yet calling them mere subordinates felt inaccurate. Their privileges were so extensive that they could even defy the emperor's commands.
In truth, calling them a group was misleading. Their members had no real connection, rarely interacted, and shared nothing in common. All Middle Names were chosen based on a single criterion: strength. They were candidates for the title of the empire's strongest, including the Sky-Destroying Sword Maxim.
Of course, among the empire's powerhouses, one of the top contenders of the Middle Names—the charisma of a Great Family, the ultimate demon hunter, the Dark Executioner—was my father, the Iron-Blooded Lord, Delac C. Badniker.
Damn.
Tension rose inside my previously relaxed body. Out of everyone in the empire, the last person I wanted to encounter now was the Iron-Blooded Lord. I could conceal my Dark Qi, but I had no guarantee it would fool him. If he grew suspicious and questioned me while activating his blessing, I would have no chance of remaining undetected.
Really, what is this? I couldn't avoid him forever, but the timing was all wrong. Should I wait until he left? Where even was he now?
A voice cut through my thoughts. "Hey, kid. If you don't want to get hurt, drop everything and leave."
My mind was already tangled with anxiety. Who was this random punk interrupting me?
I glanced over and saw him. At first glance, he looked like a thug. How did someone like him get into the academy? Was it because Alderson was absent?
To my surprise, I wasn't the one he was addressing.
The burly thug was grinning while blocking the path of a boy in a robe. Jet-black hair peeked out from the boy's hood, and his dark skin was unusual.
The moment our eyes met, a chill ran down my spine. I almost cursed aloud.
Hah, shit. Father. Why are you here?