Chapter 4: You cant judge a book by its cover

[Morning Calm]

The inn I arrived at, following the pamphlet, wasn’t particularly luxurious.
Nor was it shabby—just an utterly ordinary-looking inn.

A three-story building.
The first floor housed a tavern and restaurant, while the upper floors had inn rooms, with windows spaced evenly apart.

Buzzing—

The place seemed quite popular, as the lively chatter of the evening crowd spilled out from the first-floor restaurant.
Well, if the mentor of that delicious chicken skewer shop owner runs this place, it makes sense.

Anticipating a tasty dinner, I stepped inside.

“Hahaha! So I…”
“…and lately the guard captain…”
“The hunting’s been lackluster these days…”

The customers were engrossed in their meals and conversations, not even noticing my entrance.

“Welcome!”
“Sit anywhere there’s an empty spot!”

A woman, who seemed to be the restaurant owner, greeted me warmly while bustling about with trays of food.

This feeling.
It’s strange.

At the Hero Academy, every time I entered the dining hall, all eyes turned to me.
I was that well-known, after all.

Not in a good way, of course.

‘F*ck, that guy’s eating here too?’
‘Tch! The food’s ruined. Let’s go.’
‘A commoner daring to eat with heroes?’

The attention was always sharp and hostile, with insults thrown loud enough for me to hear.

I didn’t care and ate my meals anyway.
That’s why the students nicknamed me the “Meal Bug Teacher”—a step up from “Pseudo-Teacher.”

Anyway, this complete indifference feels like a first in a long time.

Here, I’m not special.
Just another ordinary part of the world.

Unlike heroes or great heroes with grand abilities, I’m just an utterly normal citizen.
That’s only natural, but until now, I’ve had to live in a world where that normalcy didn’t exist.

For some reason, it feels like the tension I’ve been holding onto is slowly unraveling.

“Ready to order?”

As I sat at an empty table after looking around, a pretty young woman, likely the head waitress, approached with a polite smile.

“Chicken soup and a serving of bread, please.”
“Got it! Chicken soup and bread for one. No drinks?”

She scribbled my order on a notepad, still smiling brightly as she glanced at me.

Drinks, huh.

Looking around, I saw everyone with large wooden mugs of frothy beer on their tables.

Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I had a drink.
Maybe a cold beer for old times’ sake?

“One beer, please.”
“Got it! One beer.”

After placing my order, I gazed absently at a boisterous adventurer party.

“Khaha! That’s not how it went!”
“No, seriously, I…”

They felt like close friends.
No stiff formality.

That free-spirited vibe is nice.
Heroes and great heroes, with their grand missions to serve the nation and the world, tend to have a rigid atmosphere.
Probably because over 90% of them are nobles.

Adventurers, though, are different.
Free, rough, and hearty.
Their reputation isn’t exactly great, though.

To most, they’re seen as lowlife errand-runners who’ll do anything for money—from cleaning to murder or robbery.

Of course, not many adventurers actually commit crimes.
They just take on the quests they want, roaming freely from place to place.
That’s the kind of freedom they have.

“Jealous.”

Having only ever lived in the Harkur Marquis’s territory and the Hero Academy, I can’t help but envy them.

“…Hm?”

One of them—a woman in leather armor with fiery red hair tied back neatly in a ponytail—was staring at me.

Did I offend her by staring too long?
Yeah, that was pretty rude.

…But something feels off.
She looks so familiar.

That blazing red hair, tied back to avoid getting in the way.
Her fair, flawless skin, making her hair stand out even more.
Her delicate, almost tearful eyes and slender red lips that make you want to protect her.
And that leather outfit, barely containing her striking figure.

I know this face, this vibe.
She’s definitely…

“Scarlet, you’re second-born!”
“No way! It’s really Kane!”

I shot up from my seat and shouted without thinking.

It clicked! Scarlet Harkur!
The second child and eldest daughter of the Harkur family!
Now that I think about it, she left the estate seven or eight years ago to become an adventurer!

As I realized who she was, Scarlet seemed to recognize me too, shouting even louder—so loud the whole restaurant could hear.

Man, that hearty energy is just the same.
Her personality is the spitting image of her father’s.

Scarlet Harkur.
The second child and eldest daughter of the Harkur family.

Her hair color and personality are exactly like her father’s, but her refined, elegant appearance is the spitting image of her mother.

As is typical for the Harkur family, her aptitude is hero-level.

[Name: Scarlet Harkur]
[Aptitude]
[Physical Skill Integration (34 types) – S]
[Enhancement Magic – C]
[Hero’s Qualities – S]

As a hero, she doesn’t have multiple integrated aptitudes, but her physical skill aptitude is even more overwhelming than Jenny’s.
She has ten more physical aptitudes than Jenny.
While not quite at the level of Marquis Harkur, who had the most physical aptitudes I’ve ever seen, she’s a close second.

She also has an aptitude for enhancement magic, making her already powerful body even stronger.
She’s the epitome of a physical-specialized warrior.

Like her father, she has no academic aptitudes and is entirely combat-focused.

Despite her incredible talent, she threw a fit, refusing to attend the Hero Academy, and ran away from home to become an adventurer.

Rumors occasionally reached the Harkur estate that she achieved S-rank adventurer status at record speed, making a name for herself.
Who’d have thought I’d run into her here?

“Scarlet…? You mean the Blood Empress?”
“Despite her pretty looks, she swings a massive greatsword, leaving a trail of blood!”
“No way, really…?”

My shouting drew the restaurant’s attention, and people started murmuring.

It’s a familiar atmosphere, but this time, the focus isn’t on me—it’s on her.
The Blood Empress, Scarlet.

With her delicate, refined appearance, swinging a greatsword as big as a person must be so striking that it earned her that nickname.

…Honestly, even I still find her vibe a bit of a mystery.

But I can pinpoint the reason.

[Name: Scarlet Harkur]
[Aptitude]
[Physical Skill Integration (34 types) – S]
[Enhancement Magic – C]
[Hero’s Qualities – S]

Among her 34 physical skill aptitudes, there’s one I can’t quite figure out.

…
[Crushing – S]
[Archery – S]
[Delicate Charm – S]
[Greatsword Mastery – S]
…

“…”

What the heck is Delicate Charm?

[Delicate Charm – S]
[Maintains a beautiful and delicate appearance no matter how much the body is trained.]

According to the description, no matter how much she trains, her appearance remains delicate and refined.
…Is that really an aptitude?
It puzzled me when I first saw her, and it’s still a mystery.

What’s clear, though, is that her aptitude has fully awakened.
Compared to seven years ago when she was fifteen, she’s even more beautiful and delicate now.
With the added maturity of adulthood, her appearance is practically perfect.

No offense to Jenny, but she might be the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

“But why are you here, Kane? I heard you got a job at the Hero Academy.”

Jenny must’ve told her.
Well, I haven’t done anything to feel guilty about.
I’ll just tell the truth.

“Oh, I quit yesterday.”
“Oho! That’s so you, Kane! Hahaha!”

Thwack! Thwack!
She laughed heartily, slapping my back.
I’m not kidding—it felt like my spine might snap.

But seeing such rough behavior and hearty laughter from someone with her stunning appearance creates a cognitive dissonance that makes the pain fade quickly.

“…”
“…”

The people muttering about the “Blood Empress” seemed thrown off by this unexpected contrast, their expressions turning subtle.

“What’s that, Scarlet? You’ve got a brother?”
“Who’s this guy? Introduce us!”

Her adventurer party members, unfazed, laughed and chatted with her.

“Alright, yeah! Since we’ve run into each other like this, let’s eat together, Kane!”
“…Sure.”

It’s been seven years, so it’s a bit hard to adjust, but… it reminds me of the old days in the Harkur estate, and it feels nice.

Following her lead, I sat at the table with Scarlet and her companions.

“Your real brother?”
“You said academy—don’t tell me, the Hero Academy?!”
“You’re a teacher at the Hero Academy?”

Three men and women fired questions at me with sparkling eyes.

I wasn’t fazed.

‘Why are you here?’
‘Don’t commoners only eat potatoes?’
‘Why do commoners smell?’

At the academy, I faced hundreds of glares and malicious questions daily.
Three curious questions without malice? Piece of cake.

“He’s not my real brother. I was a servant at the Harkur estate, and we grew up together, so we’re close.”

“I did work as a teacher at the Hero Academy, but it was thanks to Marquis Harkur’s recommendation, not my own ability.”

As I answered smoothly, they looked at me, slightly stunned.

“Wow! Recommended by Marquis Harkur? That’s huge!”
“Getting into the Hero Academy on a recommendation alone? You must be crazy skilled…”

Their eyes sparkled as they started praising me, almost to an uncomfortable degree.

“Hah! Kane’s pretty impressive, isn’t he?”

…Why are you acting proud, Scarlet?

“Why’s Scarlet the one bragging?”

One of her party members, a blonde woman in a mage-like robe, giggled, clearly thinking the same thing I was.

Wait, that woman…

“An elf?”
“Huh…?”
“What?”

A brief silence fell over the party.

“…Oh.”

I must’ve muttered that out loud.
If she’s really an elf, that might’ve been rude.

“How did you know I’m an elf…?”

As expected.
She looked visibly flustered.

It makes sense. If she’s using polymorph and concealment magic to hide her identity, my blurting it out could’ve upset her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

Elves are extremely rare on this continent.
With near-immortal lifespans and exceptional skill in spirit magic and archery, they’re a powerful race.
But their reproduction rate is nearly zero.

It’s said only a single-digit number of elves are born each year, and even that number is declining.
They often live hidden in their own lands, so even a lifetime of searching might not lead to meeting one.

Plus, their beautiful, ageless appearance makes young, vulnerable elves frequent targets for enslavement.
That’s why they’re extremely wary of humans and other races.

…That’s all from books, but it’s probably right.

Anyway, to expose an elf hiding her identity like that—
I’m so tactless.

“I’m really sorry…”
“No, I’m not upset. I’ve fully transformed to look human and used mana-blocking magic to suppress my spirit energy. How did you…?”

…What? The vibe’s off.
It’s not “How dare you figure out I’m an elf?! You’re dead!”
It’s more like, “Whoa, how’d you know? That’s wild!”

Scarlet and the others didn’t seem surprised that she’s an elf—they’re just shocked I noticed.

…Guess they all knew.
That’s a relief.

But how did I know?

“When you laughed earlier, I saw your ears under the robe. There was a distortion unique to polymorph magic around them. To transform your ears that much, they must be very different from human ears. And that gem in your ring—it’s not a gem, but the fruit of the ‘Elvab’ plant, only found in elven forests, right? If you’re wearing that, you’re either an elf or deeply connected to them…”

“…”
“…”

…What?
Why are they looking at me like I’m some rare creature?

That’s just common knowledge, isn’t it?
You can find all that in books…

Oh, maybe they’re creeped out that I observed a woman so closely?
That could definitely be off-putting.

“I have a habit of observing people… Sorry.”
“…”
“…”

The vibe’s still weird.
…Is that not it either?