Chapter 44 Goddess, You Too?!

In later generations, humanity recorded these historic images in the annals of history as: "Offering a Smile for the Birth of the Hero."

Only the true name of the Hero was glossed over rather vaguely, leaving historians with much time spent on textual research...

"It's coming!" Within the magic circle, Dain wore an expression of fulfillment and excitement.

He could already faintly sense the Goddess's gaze.

The Hero—I have achieved it!

"Dain might become the Hero." Outside the magic circle, Roche, who was constantly monitoring the state of the ritual, narrowed his eyes slightly.

"However, it is quite unlikely that Dain will become the Hero."

He began to slightly turn the magic ring on his middle finger, softly chanting a complex and cumbersome spell of interference.

"Let the breath—be reversed—"

"K.A.I!"

At that very moment, only Roche, who was closely monitoring the magic array, knew that the soul aura belonging exclusively to Dain had been grafted and transferred onto Shana.

A blinding light erupted abruptly, the magic in the arena was instantly vacuumed, and the radiance of the array shattered inch by inch. All the magical energy condensed in the air into a sacred rune, which plummeted vertically to land upon the figure bathing in the holy light.

"Ah, haha, excuse me, pardon me, haha."

On the royal terrace, Duke Mors had already begun his payout calculations. Having placed the heaviest wager, he walked toward the gambling table with an immensely irritating, beaming smile.

Right at that moment.

Duke Clyde grabbed Mors by the arm.

"Huh? Clyde, what's wrong with you? Can't bear to see others succeed?" Mors turned his head in dissatisfaction, only to suddenly realize that as the light of the awakening array faded, the terrace had grown... somewhat eerie in its silence.

Where were the cheers? Where was the laughter? Where were the smug faces of the gamblers? What on earth was wrong with these people? Were they brain-damaged from winning money?

Looking at the group of nobles whose smiles were vanishing, coupled with Clyde's deathly, grim expression, Mors felt a vague sense of unease. He turned his head to look toward the awakening grounds, and his eyes suddenly bulged!

...

The sacred Hero's mark took shape along with the condensation of the magic array—this was the Goddess's acknowledgment of the Hero.

The mark gently descended, merging into a slender, bandage-wrapped hand.

The bandaged right hand trembled in astonishment, clenched slightly, and finally settled into a prolonged stillness.

Under the stunned gazes of everyone, the owner of the hand slowly raised it high, while her other hand swept up the cloak behind her, displaying the Hero's mark in the most conspicuous posture possible.

She was striking a pose—

Absolute silence.

Dain's smile froze on his face. As if he still hadn't processed what had happened, he lowered his head and stared at the back of his bare hand.

Eh, strange, shouldn't there be... something here?

Seeing no reaction from anyone, Shana skillfully and familiarly changed her posture once more.

This time, she extended her right hand toward the sunlight, quietly watching the Hero's mark gleaming on the back of her hand, and let out a deep, soft sigh:

"I see, I am beginning to understand everything now—"

"Goddess, you fellow, are you also a follower of the darkness..."

"As if that were ever possible, you damn fool!!!"

The next moment, Dain with a ferocious expression hurled his Hero Candidate Certificate onto the ground!

"Why?! There must be some mistake somewhere, right?!" Dain stammered incoherently.

"Whether it was becoming a Hero candidate or getting the top score in the overall evaluation, clearly... clearly I was the first one here!!!"

"How on earth did it end up like this?!!"

On the royal terrace, Prince Ota, upon witnessing this scene, abruptly doubled over. A strange flush surged across his pale face, making him feel so dizzy and lightheaded that he could barely keep his footing.

Minister Toth nearby hurried forward to support Ota, his heart shaken to its core. Could even His Highness Ota, a ruler known for his composure, lose his poise to such a degree?!

"One..." Ota's lips trembled weakly, and only Minister Toth, standing close by, could catch his faint voice.

"Your Highness, what did you say, Your Highness?"

"One to... one hundred."

Ota coughed violently twice, then his hands began to tremble as a radiant light of pleasant surprise shot from his eyes: "One to one hundred!"

"Ah?!" Toth was shocked.

Shana had become the Hero? And he had wagered ten gold coins—did that mean in an instant, he had gained a thousand gold coins?!!

Ota was overwhelmed by sudden happiness, moved to tears of excitement.

They were back! Everything was back!

The losses from his figurines and manga were all recovered!!!

Praise the Goddess!

The nobles present stared in shock as the frail Prince Ota instantly looked as though he had taken an aphrodisiac, glowing with vitality as if experiencing a second youth!

What was going on? They heard that Princess Kalia had also recently recovered from her illness as if undergoing a genetic mutation, and now Prince Ota too? Was sudden, explosive power a trend in your House of Kuur?!

Compared to the thriving Prince Ota, Duke Mors was not nearly as fortunate. In the span of a single breath, he looked as though he had suffered a devastating bereavement, his entire person completely unglued.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

The next instant, Duke Mors let out a wail akin to a slaughtered pig: "How could that mentally unstable little girl possibly become the Hero?!"

"Oh, my moneyyyyy!!!!!"

The nobles had initially worn terrible expressions, but upon hearing Duke Mors's lamentation, they gradually relaxed and nodded to themselves in self-consolation.

The amount they had lost was merely tens or hundreds of gold coins, but what Duke Mors had lost was several times their own earnings.

As expected of Duke Mors: a compulsive gambler, fond of going all-in, loving to show off, prone to emotional breakdowns, and always running into terrible misfortune... They all adored him.

"Alright, prepare to descend." Ota rose from his seat, reclaiming his royal smile.

"Now, for the birth of the new Hero... fire the salute!"

Bang!

Bang, bang!

The pre-arranged fireworks magic rose into the sky at this moment, and the news of the Hero's birth spread rapidly to all corners of the kingdom with heart-stirring speed.

...

Inside the training grounds, Dain, his soul seemingly detached, still had a head full of mush as he raised his head in a daze.

Huh? What was that noise?

It's fireworks... for whom, the Hero? Who was that...

Huh? What was that noise... It's fireworks...

The system crash lasted until the arrival of Ota and the others before Dain snapped back to reality. Subconsciously grasping at his last straw, he rushed over to Ota.

"Your Highness! Prince Ota, there must be something wrong with the ritual, right?!"

"This shouldn't be happening!"

Ota remained silent, but Minister Toth behind him intervened: "Candidate Dain, according to the procedure, the Goddess has chosen Shana as the Hero."

"Please do not take it to heart. Even without becoming the Hero, you Hero candidates remain an essential pillar of the kingdom."

"How can I not take it to heart?!" Dain blurted out:

"I am the one most suited to be the Hero, am I not? You should all know, every single evaluation score I received in the training camp was a perfect score! Even Hero Minoa back in the day failed to achieve that!"

"How could you possibly accept letting a mentally unstable little girl become the Hero?! That would be the laughingstock of the kingdom!"

Dain could no longer care about any pretense of elegance. The reckless words tumbled out, completely failing to notice that the faces of Prince Ota and the surrounding nobles had turned pitch black.

Do you think we wanted this... But now the ritual is over, the Goddess's mark has fallen upon Shana, and what good is your hindsight whining now?

"I'd say, 'Candidate' Dain, it's not like I'm trying to pick a fight."

The caustic remark came from Duke Mors, whose mood was already at rock bottom. The moment he spoke, he heavily emphasized the word "Candidate," driving a vicious dagger straight into Dain's heart.

Duke Mors said with sarcastic venom:

"Why are you clinging so tightly to your evaluation scores, then—"