C280: THE ANCIENT HERO

Sensei is fond of teaching people.
He even gleefully taught the Demon King and me before.

That’s why this situation is truly a delightful one for him.
Many talented teens are seeking his knowledge, after all.
It must be heaven.
Whether heaven is a desirable place for the undead is another matter, though.

“Don’t think about anything and just react to what you feel. It’s like closing your eyes and honing your other senses. Similarly, detach yourself from your primary senses and be conscious of something else: your sixth sense…”

Just by following Sensei’s advice, the kids who were terrible at magic quickly mastered it.
He’s so good at teaching people.

“In the past, many people thought that only members of the Order could use the humans’ thaumaturgy. But this is not true. The Order just keeps its methodologies to itself. I’ll show you how to use it.”

He’s…

“Thaumaturgy is seen as black magic for it depletes natural mana, but it’s all in how you use it. Any power can turn good or bad depending on its user. If cast with the right discernment, the celestial deities’ magic can be a protection against irrationalities.”

He’s almost a little too good at teaching, no?
I feel like his pupils can become world-class just by learning from him.

“I just have so much fun teaching, so I tend to go overboard.”
“Don’t go overboard, please.”

After class was over, Sensei came to me.

“I haven’t felt this alive in hundreds of years… Ever since you came, my days have become much more vibrant, Lord Saint.”

Before I started my farm here, Sensei spent all his time alone in the depths of his gloomy dungeon for hundreds of years.
It’s not easy to endure such mind-numbing loneliness, even for an undead.

“What monochromatic days those were, now that I think about it. It’s incomparable to now when every day is changing bewilderingly,” happily says Sensei.

Well, our primary focus is not on him but on the teens he’s teaching, though.
We started this study program with the hope that they’d become the future leaders of their nation, but with Sensei’s efforts, we’re raising even more outstanding students than anticipated.
However, there’s one student who takes the cake.

“Look, Sensei! I’ve mastered the new spell!”

It’s Ritheseus.
He’s already mastered the spell Sensei just taught him.

“…Doesn’t he seem a little too gifted for you, Sensei?” I ask.
“Indeed.”

With his talent, it’s almost hard to believe that he was just a feudal lord’s chamberlain before he came here.

He won the match against Eryngear on Day 1, and his quick wit in everything he does makes you wonder if he’s the protagonist of this story.
Alas, he was born in an ordinary rural village, so he doesn’t seem to have any prestigious lineage.
Maybe he’s a genuine prodigy mutant?

“…He’s probably a hero,” says Sensei.
“Hero?”

Aren’t heroes here people summoned from another world?
In that sense, I’m a hero, too.

…
Or maybe…

“Or maybe he has a dramatic backstory, summoned when he was a baby and grew up having no recollection of it?!”
“No, not that.”

No?

“I don’t know where to start… But this world used to have a different kind of hero thousands of years ago.”
“A different kind?”

Different from those summoned from other worlds?

“Long ago, the gods descended to the mortal realm as they pleased and made love to the opposite sex. Their children then became half-human, half-god.”

What’s this out of the blue?
Oh, but why do I feel like I’ve heard this story before?

“They were called demigods, who naturally had powers beyond human comprehension and thus were considered heroes. Still, the gods’ affairs never stopped, and the number of demigods grew to the point where they were all over the place.”

Deities really are scum.

“In the end, all the demigods were welcomed into the realm of their divine parent as they could upset the balance of the world. Since then, it was agreed that the gods should not casually descend to the mortal realm and mingle with them.”
“Why are you talking about this now?”
“Just stay with me for a little more… You know those demigods grow up, get married, and have children? The first generation of demigods may have left for the divine realm. Still, their grandchild or great-grandchild born from other demigods remained on earth without being qualified to be welcomed into their realm because they’ve more or less lost their divinity.”

Huh!

“However, if they have even a small amount of divine blood mixed in, they’re still far more powerful than an ordinary person. Such beings blossomed their talents and became remarkable people on the battlefield. And such people were called… ‘heroes.’”
“So a hero’s definition is different now than in the past?”
“Indeed. Though, the inherited divine blood weakened with each passing generation until it ultimately vanished.”

Thus, they resorted to summoning heroes from another world instead?

“The heroes summoned from other worlds acted as a substitute for those who inherited the divine bloodline. Hence, they’re both called heroes. But to distinguish between the two, maybe we should call the first-ever heroes as ancient heroes.”

Ancient heroes…

“And Ritheseus is an ancient hero.”
“Huh?!”

That’s what this leads to?!
But wait a minute. To summarize Sensei’s story, ancient heroes are extinct, right?
Shouldn’t the divine bloodline that makes heroes, heroes have weakened over time till it’s nothing?!

“Atavism is what makes this possible. Ritheseus must’ve gotten his exceptional talent through this modification.”
“But what makes you so sure?”
“Do you not feel the hint of solemnity that emanates from him, Lord Saint?”

Hmm?
Come to think of it, Ritheseus does emit a kind of aura.
But I feel like I’ve felt this before…
…Deja vu?

“Saint, I’d like to brew another kind of alcohol. It’s called Spirytus…” approaches Bacchus, the demigod.

It’s him!
It struck me as somewhat familiar because it was similar to this guy’s aura.
Oh yeah, the first time I heard about demigods was when he showed up.

“The fact that he emits an aura similar to the demigod Bacchus is proof that he is an atavistic ancient hero.”
“Hmm?”

Bacchus, who joined the conversation halfway without knowing the full context, briskly walks up to Ritheseus and asks, “You a relative?”
“P-Pardon?!”

I’m not surprised he reacted like that if he’s called a relative by someone who has one foot deep in the myths.

“Of all my students, Ritheseus is particularly promising. We must educate and guide him well…”

It’s scary because he’s already gifted enough to decide this world’s fate.
Ritheseus, can you be the standard-bearer of the new era?

“Unacceptable!!!”

Ahhh!
What the heck?

There’s a pouting demoness behind us!
It’s Eryngear!
Were you listening?!

“I… To think that he’s a being above us… Our demon supremacy will crumble! No… If we mess up, it could even spark a rebellion!”

To her, who can never let go of her demon pride, Ritheseus’ existence is inexcusable.

“If I don’t get rid of him… the demon race’s future will be bleak! I will make way for our race’s glory with my own hands!!!”

I can tell this is going to be a bother in ways more than one.