Chapter 70: The Hero Isn't Dead..?

Saiba wakes up in a familiar room on a familiar bed. Similarly, he wakes up to a familiar scene as Isabelle looms over him.

Saiba quickly sits up and moves away from her, surprised. A little teary-eyed, Isabelle says,

"S-Sorry Mr. Saiba! I thought you would never wake up!"

Saiba reassures her saying,

"Don't worry! I'm the legendary hero, after all!"

Isabelle lunges at him and squeezes him tightly. Gasping for air, Saiba says,

"I-... I'm fine! I promise!"

Choking, Isabelle finally lets go while frantically shouting,

"I'm so sorry!"

Saiba looks around and asks,

"How'd I get here? If I remember right, I was on the mountain fighting those giants... Oh right! The giants! What happened to them!?"

Isabelle answers,

"The [Jotunds]? You defeated them, didn't you?"

Saiba thinks,

"Did I defeat them? I remember getting one, and then there was one stuck in the wall, and there was one that disappeared... But I don't really remember what else happened..."

Saiba replies,

"Oh... Yeah! I defeated them! I just woke up, so my mind is still a little fuzzy..."

Isabelle insists,

"Are you sure you're okay, Mr. Saiba!?"

Saiba chuckles awkwardly and says,

"Yeah..."

Something catches his eye as he looks towards the door. Through the window, a large crowd of people wait, intently watching him with their observant eyes.

His expression becomes a shocked and scared one. Saiba points toward the audience and asks,

"Wh-Who are those guys!? Why are they watching us!?"

Looking towards the shut door as well, she answers,

"Oh, the students? They've been quite worried about you as well."

Saiba mumbles,

"Worried? About me? There's no way that's true."

From behind the door, murmurs start rising as a man approaches. The door opens as a man with blonde hair, brown eyes, and a red velvet robe comes marching in. While waving, Saiba greets,

"Heya, Mr. Gladius!"

Gladius greets back,

"Hello Hero! Good work out there! You defeated the [Jotunds] and managed to gain the trust of Class 1-B!"

Confused, Saiba asks,

"Gained their trust?"

Gladius replies,

"Why yes! Why do you think they're all standing out there, awaiting your recovery? This was all a part of your plan, correct?"

Awkwardly, Saiba answers,

"O-O-Of course! Killing two birds with one stone, complete efficiency! That's the motto of the legendary hero!"

With a cheerful grin, Gladius says,

"As expected of someone like you!"

He continues,

"Well, I guess your mission is over! You can continue on with the more important one!"

Saiba mutters,

"That's it?"

Gladius asks,

"Did you want to do more?"

Saiba answers,

"There's no reward? I mean, I did all that work, didn't I?"

Gladius replies,

"Hm... Is there anything you have in mind?"

He adds,

"Oh! Hold that thought for our next rendezvous! It seems that I have some business I must attend to! If you could excuse me!"

He sits on one of the infirmary beds and shuts the curtain around him. Isabelle walks over and opens the covers as Gladius is nowhere to be found. Saiba thinks,

"I knew it! He can disappear!"

He looks over at Isabelle as she is now standing near the door. She suggests,

"Should we let them in now? They have been waiting quite a while."

Without waiting for a response, she opens the door as the students of Class 1-B come flooding in.

Leading the group, Robbie marches in. He has a confident look on his face. Seeing this, Saiba shouts,

"What do you want? You gonna make fun of me for passing out?"

Robbie grins as his eyes light up. From behind him, he pulls out a pencil and paper while shouting,

"Mr. Legendary Hero Sir! Can I please have your signature?"

Saiba looks confused and a little disgusted. Other students also ask for the same thing. Saiba questions,

"I thought I was a wannabe? What made you change your mind so quickly?"

Robbie answers,

"A wannabe? Of course not! I never thought anything even close to that! It's not like the King had a grand procession to bring you back to the school and told us that you were the Legendary Hero... I knew all along!"

Disappointedly, Saiba thinks,

"Ah... That's why..."

He gets fired up and shouts,

"Sure! I'll give you my signature! I'm the legendary hero after all! But first, you have to promise me something!"

In unison, the class nods excitedly. Pulling Isabelle close to him, Saiba commands,

"You have to listen to whatever she says, got it? No more fooling around in class! You're in school to learn!"

The class thinks while mumbling,

"Hm..."

All at once, they give thumbs up as a sign of agreement. Saiba hops out of his bed and says,

"Well then, I feel much better now and it seems my work here is done, so I'll be going now! It was fun while it lasted... I guess..."

The students clear a path for him as he walks to the exit. Before he leaves, Isabelle gives Saiba a big hug and whispers,

"Thank you, Mr. Saiba... Come visit me again when you get the chance..."

Saiba nods and keeps walking. He exits the gate and lets out a big sigh. His cheeks turn red and he starts sweating while frantically mumbling,

"What was that!? Was that an invitation for something!? Is me being a hero finally paying off!? My popular phase has finally arrived!"

He calms down while thinking,

"Well, I heard they got the winning prize... I didn't actually find out what it was, but I know they won by a lot... I mean, it was mostly 'cause of me, but I'm still proud of them... I guess..."

From behind, someone grabs him on the shoulder and he gets a chill up his spine. An intimidating voice whispers,

"Where do you think you're going... Hero?.."

Saiba sweats profusely, frozen in fear, as three menacing figures approach him.