“Really?”
“It’s common knowledge, you know?”
This would likely prevent further inquiries. Rather than appear a suspicious individual who was clearly hiding secrets, it was better to give what appeared to be a plausible explanation.
Dorothea wasn’t likely to dig deeper than that, and indeed she did not. Instead, she changed the topic.
“Suimei-san, you sound just like a lecturer on magic. —Do you mind if I ask something? If not by incantation, then how else can magic be activated?”
“That’s a secret.”
“Hmph. You’re surprisingly stingy, Suimei-san.”
“Are there really people that expose their secrets so easily?” Suimei replied with a shrug.
Dorothea seemed to accept that answer.
“I guess that’s true,” she said, before switching topics yet again. “…I have to say, though… While Roha-san is definitely a rather impulsive person, but sudden incidents like the one earlier sure have been happening a lot more lately.”
Dorothea’s remark seemed intended to alleviate some of the blame Suimei may have placed on the guild staff. This led Suimei to ask a question of his own.
“…There are really that many people who play pranks?”
“Yeah, there really are. There are those who approach the reception window dreaming of the adventurer’s life despite not having the least bit of combat ability, as well as more unpleasant types who only care about the advantages of guild membership. I think it might be due to the Hero’s appearance, but starting from three days ago, there’s been a lot more of them.”
It seemed like this had caused a lot of trouble for guild staff, causing Dorothea to sigh heavily as they walked. For humanity, disheartened as it was in the wake of the fall of Noxeas at the hands of the demons, the summoning of the Hero had been like a shot in the arm. He wasn’t quite sure what most people thought of the Hero, but if their feelings were anything like those in the city, then lack of evidence notwithstanding, they likely viewed his existence as the symbol of their victory. Indeed, they had likely been inspired to think that with a little effort, they could do anything. For that reason, a number of people had likely been “infected” to the point that they’d lost sight of reality and begun to think that will could take the place of ability.
It had been this rabid enthusiasm that had caused the incident earlier.
“Does that mean I’m going to run into people like that where we’re going?”
In his mind, he envisioned a crowd of chuunibyou-suffers gathered together.
“Nope. You’re the last person left to be evaluated today. Everyone else has finished already.”
“…I see.”
“Something strange about that?”
“…No, it’s nothing. Nothing at all.”
Suimei waved off the issue before the puzzled Dorothea, prompting her to change the topic yet again.
“Oh, that reminds me, Suimei-san. Did you happen to see the Hero during the parade?”
“Well, I guess you could say that…”
Or rather, the sight of that face had been a daily occurrence for him before – but it went without saying that this was something that ought not be shared.
Dorothea seemed admiring.
“Reiji-sama, right? He really has just this indescribable aura to him, as expected of one called Hero. From what I’ve heard, every generation of Hero seems like they just about embody courage and justice.”
As she spoke, she suddenly stopped and closed her eyes, an expression of yearning on her face. She must have been reliving the moment of the parade.