Raising A Hero – Chapter 84

Ch 84: The Witch’s Daughter.

Ludivine Martinez.

The Witch’s Daughter.

Strictly speaking, she was the daughter of a woman who was once a witch. Ludivine’s mother, Martinez, was no longer a witch.

Ji-hyuk also remembered vaguely from rumors long ago that Martinez had betrayed the witches and sided with humans. The reason was that the witches had eaten Ludivine’s father.

Enraged, Martinez went to the Empire and revealed the locations of all the witches. Thanks to this, the Empire was able to eliminate a considerable number of witches, and for her contribution, the Imperial family pardoned Martinez’s crimes and bestowed a mansion upon her.

Of course, the label of “witch” did not easily disappear. Naturally, her daughter was also bullied for her mother being a witch. That’s why Ya-el immediately mentioned the witch’s daughter.

Perhaps, that was why Ya-el hadn’t mentioned her name to the captain until now. Ji-hyuk considered both skill and personality important factors, so recommending the witch’s daughter was probably something she was reluctant to do.

Of course, Ji-hyuk understood perfectly. The distrust and hatred of humans towards witches were natural. It was all the witches’ fault. Just look at how the witches sacrificed hundreds of victims to summon demons in Helladium a while ago.

If Ji-hyuk didn’t know a woman named Ludivine at all, he might have been hesitant. His perception of witches wasn’t good either.

However, the hero knew quite a bit about this witch’s daughter. He knew about her accomplishments in other hero teams.

“I heard her skills are excellent. But, well… because of her origins…”

Ya-el’s expression was somewhat ambiguous after speaking. Ji-hyuk brushed it off as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Are there any other recommendations?”

“I’ll take a closer look once more.”

“Alright.”

Now, nearly all of the candidates had come up. Still, just in case, he should take a careful look.

Ji-hyuk finished tidying up his place and stood up. Ya-el quickly got up from the floor and went to the door first to open it wide. The captain nodded as if to say thank you.

“When will you come to the mansion?”

“As soon as I finish my thesis. It’ll probably take three days.”

“Alright, then I’ll see you then.”

“Yes, Captain… be careful on your way.”

Ya-el bit her lip, gazing at the hero’s back with eyes full of longing. …It was so regrettable, but all she could do was look forward to the next time.

As soon as Ji-hyuk left the Theory Department building, he headed straight for the Alchemy Department building. It was tucked away in a secluded corner to the northwest of the Magic Academy. That was exactly the status of the Alchemy Department at the academy. The Alchemy Department proudly held one of the worst positions in popularity among the departments in the academy. Naturally, heroes rarely sought magicians from the Alchemy Department.

But since a hero, and one with fierce rumors circulating in the capital, Gang Ji-hyuk, had appeared, the staff room couldn’t help but be in an uproar.

Of course, no one thought he came for recruitment. They guessed he came to find a professor for advice related to alchemy.

However, when he specifically called for a student, Ludivine, instead of a professor, the staff room was once again in an uproar. They were all gossiping that it must be related to the witch.

Ludivine received the summons during class and stood up from her seat. As a model student, she wanted to finish the class, but she couldn’t ignore the summons from the department head.

With messy red hair and light freckles dotted here and there, she wasn’t particularly outstanding in appearance. Still, she gave off a charming impression.

She had even received love letters from male students in her freshman year sometimes. Of course, after it was known that she was the witch’s daughter, even those stopped coming.

…What is going on?

In fact, it was the first time she had been called out in the middle of class like this. So she felt a bit uneasy.

She soon stood in front of the department head’s office. After straightening her clothes, she took a deep breath and carefully knocked on the door.

“It’s Ludivine. I came because you called for me.”

━ Come in.

Ludivine opened the door and went in. She saw the department head smiling kindly. He was the only one here who treated her without discrimination, a kind person.

“Hello, department head. You called for me, so…”

“Yes, you came quickly.”

She glanced at the person sitting opposite the department head. He was a young and handsome man. Of course, she didn’t know who he was, nor did she have any idea.

“Greet him. He is the Hero.”

ㅡㅡ!!

Ludivine was startled and quickly bowed deeply.

“It’s Ludivine Martinez.”

“Ah, so you are Ludivine. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Hero Gang Ji-hyuk.”

“It is an honor to meet you, Hero.”

Ji-hyuk stood up. He wanted to talk to her privately in a quiet place.

“Department head, is there a quiet place where we can talk?”

“I will guide you.”

The department head volunteered to be the guide. The three left the department head’s office and went to a secluded room at the end of the hallway. There were no windows there either.

“This will be perfect. Thank you.”

“Not at all. Then, please have a comfortable conversation…”

The department head politely bowed his head and left the room. Soon, only the hero and Ludivine were left in the room.

Ludivine’s heart pounded. Why did the hero want to see her…? Naturally, bad thoughts came to mind first. Since the heroes often hunted witches, maybe it was related to her mother’s work, and she began to worry.

“Alright, sit down.”

“Yes, thank you.”

She carefully sat down in the seat he offered. Strangely, she was afraid to look at the hero’s face. She felt scared and afraid for no reason, even though she had done nothing wrong.

“Don’t be anxious. It’s not what you’re worried about.”

“…Ah, yes.”

The hero smiled.

“How’s your academy life?”

“Life? …Ah, it’s good. I’m enjoying my life.”

“Are there any troubles? Is there nothing like that?”

Ludivine’s heart skipped a beat, wondering if the hero had come as an investigator from the Imperial family. Then, she had to be careful with every word. If she made a mistake, there could be a backlash she couldn’t handle.

“Ah, there’s no trouble at all. The kids are all kind and nice. I’m fine.”

“…Is that so?”

Although he had a somewhat doubtful look, he didn’t ask any more questions. A moment of silence passed. Her mouth was dry.

“Do you know why I’m here?”

Ludivine tilted her head from side to side, glancing at the hero. Honestly, she had no idea.

The hero smiled deeply.

“I want to recruit you.”

“…Yes?”

The red-haired girl doubted her ears. She thought she had misheard for a moment.

“I want to recruit you. Into my team.”

…Ah….

Ludivine was so surprised. Her heart was pounding, and her vision was getting blurry. She felt a sudden heat rise within her.

A recruitment offer from the hero!

It was the glory of the family. Even for nobles, to become a companion of a hero meant great success. It was no exception for Ludivine.

However, she couldn’t understand such a sudden recruitment offer.

…Why me? There must be many magicians with much better talent than me…?

Of course, she always took first place in the Alchemy Department and her magic skills were pretty good, but she didn’t think that was enough to receive a recruitment offer from a hero. If that was the case, many companions of the hero would have already come out of the Alchemy Department. …There was a reason for everything.

“Why? You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s not that I don’t like it… Honestly, I don’t know the reason… Why did you make this offer to me…”

“I’ve had my eye on you.”

“…Yes?”

“Because I like you. You are very talented. The department head guaranteed that you would do well.”

Ah.

Ludivine clenched her two fists on her knees. …Honestly, she was moved. It was the first time in her life that she had been recognized.

Ji-hyuk thought of the previous timeline as he looked at Ludivine. …The conversation he had with her, who was in another hero team, came to mind. This pure girl, at that time, was as boisterous and rough as a mercenary. Of course, she was also vulgar.

The impression was so deep that he remembered all the conversations.

━ If, let’s say.

━ Yes.

━ If I went back to the past and tried to recruit you, how would I do it?

━ …Go back to the past? When?

━ Well, just, before you joined the guild. Any time.

Ludivine, who had been drinking beer and hiccuping, twirled her finger and said.

━ Just… a word of praise would be enough.

━ …Praise?

━ Yes… You’re good. You’re kind. You’re nice. Anyway, if you say good things, I would have been completely convinced… Even though I am like this now, I was very naive back then.

So her colleagues laughed and shouted at her not to talk nonsense. Hey, you bastards, it’s true! Ludivine really went crazy at them.

━ And now?

━ Hey, I wouldn’t fall for it now, damn… I’m sorry, hehe. If I had known that I would have had to go through all this trouble, I would have just stayed in the countryside and sucked the Orc’s dick.

Coughㅡ. She burped.

━ Oh, but, our hero’s dick is so big, they say. …Show me, please? I’m really good at sucking. Look at this. Ererereee. I’ll be good to you. Handsome oppa.

…That was her, and now she was such a gentle and demure maiden.

Honestly, the gap was bigger than he imagined. …Well, in the mercenary corps or the guild, it was normal for the personality to be ruined if you messed up. Still, she had the skills and wasn’t she successful, joining the hero team later on?

At the outset, she was the witch’s daughter. There, her magical talent was almost guaranteed. And the students basically learn basic magic and combat magic, so, if she gains some experience like Ya-el, she’ll quickly improve her skills.

And if he trains Ludivine intensively before Ya-el leaves, he thought that she might still be able to do some of her part. …Of course, that was only if Ludivine accepted the offer.

First, since she said she would be swayed by praise, he decided to give her a lot of praise.

“You are kind and smart, they say. I know the circumstances. But I’m proud of you, who are steadfast and trying to go down the right path.”

…Ah.

“Do you really think I’m joking about recruiting you? I even talked to the department head, didn’t I? …I looked into everything and carefully examined it before making my decision. So, I hope you don’t have any doubts about that.”

Then, Ludivine suddenly started shedding tears like a chicken.

“Hup, so, so sorry. Ah, this is, that, hup.”

She must be thinking of the hardships she had gone through.

It was a life worth crying about. He knew how she had lived her life.

“I’m not asking you to decide right now. Think about it slowly. …But you should know that this is an opportunity that doesn’t come easily.”

“Yes.”

“I hope you make a decision within three days. If you accept, come to my mansion. Got it?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Alright, I’ll be going.”

The two stood up. The hero extended his hand to Ludivine. The red-haired, freckled girl respectfully held out her hand. He gently took her hand and shook it lightly up and down.

The hero left the room and disappeared to the end of the hallway. Ludivine bowed her head until the hero had left.

What’s happening to me now….

She was bewildered right now. But soon, the corners of her mouth began to stretch long.

“This… fck! It’s good. It’s so good. Shit, it worked. This sht fukingㅡ!! Me, me, I really made it, right? Waa, sht, really, waa.”

Ludivine couldn’t contain her joy. She pounded the wall with her palms. This sht fckㅡ. The profanity came out naturally.

A hero’s recruitment offerㅡㅡ!!

“I’m successful nowㅡㅡㅡ!!”

She wanted to boast to everyone so much that she was going crazy.

…Especially, to her beloved mother.