Gradually, Irus wore a sheepish look of having messed up.

“……How could you possibly know? What in the world is Rank S??!”

If anything, it was the first time she’d even heard the term! According to both biographical records and family lore, her ancestor Olubet Heyerar had only ever been a Rank A! Rank S…… Wait a minute, wasn’t that a legendary realm?! She’d heard that there were only a handful of Rank S powerhouses in the entire world, and they were all extremely mysterious, with no verifiable records of their existence.

“Oopsie~, I really messed up this time. I never thought that guy wouldn’t even tell his own descendants about this! Can you just forget what I said earlier~?”

“There’s no way I can forget that!”

“By the way…… How do you even know something like this, Irus? Was my ancestor Olubet really a Rank S powerhouse?!”

Hulim Heyerar was dying to know how the elf had learned this secret. She was certain that no one in the Parasara Empire knew the truth about Olubet’s Rank S status—because Rank S was a completely different realm from any rank below it. It was a domain of superhumans, a natural disaster capable of destroying an entire country single-handedly!

If her ancestor had truly been a Rank S powerhouse, the empire would never have treated him with such casual respect, let alone bestowed the title of Imperial Guardian Knight upon him. To enfeoff a being of a higher order with a lower-ranking title was nothing short of folly. The only explanation was that no one back then had known the truth.

“Hmm——, I know you must be skeptical right now. After all, even you, his direct descendant, are in the dark about this, while I—a member of a different race—am the one spilling the beans. It does sound utterly unbelievable.”

Irus’s words were blunt, but they perfectly echoed Hulim’s own thoughts.

“But believe it or not, as a long-lived species, I can guarantee that every word I’m about to say is true. Because I saw it with my own eyes……”

For the rest of the time, Irus uncovered for Hulim a hidden chapter of history—an unrecorded truth about her ancestor Olubet Heyerar……

More than three hundred years ago, during the period of the Parasara Empire’s civil unrest, Irus—the elf who hadn’t yet opened her potion shop and was still wandering the lands of Himmler—had arrived in the empire.

By her own account, it had been a mere coincidence. She’d come to the empire to take care of some personal business, never expecting to get caught up in the rebellion, let alone witness what happened next.

It was shortly after Olubet Heyerar had single-handedly wiped out the rebel army with nothing but his sword.

He’d tracked down the true mastermind behind the entire uprising and engaged him in a ferocious battle. True to his reputation as a one-man army, Olubet quickly annihilated the mastermind’s forces and cornered the villain himself.

But no one could have anticipated that the mastermind would choose mutual destruction, releasing a synthetic magical beast he hadn’t yet fully mastered!

Irus didn’t elaborate on the technology used to create such a creature, only mentioning that it involved long-extinct ancient civilizations and the Demon Race.

One thing, however, was certain: the power level of this synthetic magical beast had reached Rank S!

Given the state of the Parasara Empire at the time, facing a Rank S synthetic magical beast meant nothing less than total annihilation. In fact, it wasn’t just the empire—numerous neighboring countries would have been destroyed as well, unless those elusive Rank S powerhouses chose to intervene.

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Despite his original plan of mutual destruction, the moment the synthetic magical beast was unleashed, the mastermind had actually become convinced that he would win, believing that Olubet would soon be crushed by the beast.

But he was destined to be disappointed.

Faced with an enemy of seemingly insurmountable power, Olubet did not retreat. Instead, he charged forward without hesitation, and in the crucible of life and death, he shattered his own limits and ascended to the superhuman realm of Rank S.

Most astonishingly of all, the newly ascended Rank S Olubet immediately unleashed that legendary spell—the strongest of all Sixth Circle Magics: the non-elemental Sixth Circle Magic—”Body and Soul Unison”!

In the end, the synthetic magical beast that had inspired such despair just moments earlier was utterly crushed……

After that, Olubet beheaded the mastermind and brought his head back to Langard, to the presence of the only surviving member of the imperial royal family. This entire chain of events had unfolded in a mere three days after he’d left to eliminate the rebel army.

No one knew what he had endured during those three days, let alone that he had transcended into an entirely different realm……

Because the impact of a Rank S powerhouse on the mortal world was far too great, Olubet declined the royal family’s earnest entreaties to stay and departed the empire shortly afterward.

As a witness to the entire incident, Irus had once spoken with Olubet Heyerar, forging a tentative friendship. As a seasoned wanderer herself, she had much in common with him, and the two had maintained contact for many years after that.

She was among the few people in the world who knew what had become of Olubet in the decades that followed……

“……And that’s pretty much the gist of it. Do you have any more questions? Oh, if you want to know what he got up to in those following decades, there’s far too much to cover in one day. Save those questions for later.”

“……”

Hulim Heyerar silently picked up her teacup and drained it in one gulp. The tea cleared her mind, and her turbulent emotions gradually calmed.

She had to admit that her entire worldview had been turned upside down in the span of just a few hours.

She’d never imagined that behind her ancestor’s already legendary heroic story, there lay such a shocking truth.

If she told her father about this, she wondered what kind of expression he would make……

“Thank you, Irus, for telling me all of this……”

Hulim thanked her sincerely.

“No need to thank me so profusely. I just told you what I know. If you want to thank someone, go thank your ancestor—— Oh, wait a minute. Asking you to thank him might be a bit awkward, considering how irresponsible he seems to have been with his descendants, judging by the state of your family……”

“……No, I don’t hold any resentment toward him. Without him, there would be no Heyerar family, and there would be no me.”

“……Hmm, you’re right about that.”

“Speaking of which, Irus, let me pay you back the money I owe you first.”

Hulim pulled a coin purse out of her bag and handed it to Irus.

Irus took the coin purse, her gaze falling on the mithril sword Hulim had set aside beside her.

“This mithril sword of yours is in really bad shape. Just how intense was the battle you were in to damage it this badly?”

“……It was definitely a very tough fight.”

Hulim picked up the mithril sword and drew it from its scabbard.

The once gleaming, beautiful blade was now pitted and covered with jagged nicks.

“My opponent was a Rank B, and for some reason, he was able to resist the effects of the Enchanted Dragon Dream Incense.”

“Oh ho~, you’re finally willing to spill the beans about what happened back then~?”

“Yeah. You told me so much, it’s only fair that I tell you a little something in return.”

“Just a little something……”

Irus wore a rather ambiguous expression.

Then Hulim recounted the events of that incident, carefully omitting all descriptions of the actual combat.

“Whoa——, Hulim, you may look like a kid, but you’re actually pretty experienced, huh? I’ve been curious about this for a while now—who exactly taught you everything you know? That ‘someone’ must be an incredible person~. I’d love to meet them……”

As she spoke, Irus fixed Hulim with a curious, probing gaze.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that!”

Hulim refused firmly.

“Aww, that’s such a shame——”

Irus wore an exaggerated look of disappointment, but the expression faded from her face in less than two seconds, replaced by a mischievous grin.

“Say~, Hulim, you just said you handled that entire incident all by yourself, right?”

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