However, Shion couldn’t tolerate Alphonse’s last statement.
…On that day, at that time, Shion had seen the figure of a great hero in Alphonse. He had felt deep respect for the noble way Alphonse fought.
Shion couldn’t stand the thought of such a man being called a “false hero.”
“You seem to misunderstand that I defeated the Dragon, but that doesn’t matter right now. …However, let me say this clearly.”
His voice now carried a strong, serious tone, unlike his previous somewhat oblivious manner.
“When the Dragon appeared at the academy and attacked the students, I couldn’t save them. It was because you bravely faced the Black Dragon of Annihilation, Schwarzwaldius, and fought that they were saved.”
“…!”
Alphonse was at a loss for words as Shion spoke, fixing him with an intense gaze.
Alphonse’s mind flashed back to that day when he had desperately suppressed his fear and faced the Black Dragon, solely to save everyone.
“And you know,”
Shion continued,
“A hero isn’t someone who has incredibly amazing powers or achieves great feats.”
Shion’s eyes shone with an even stronger light.
“When someone stands up to protect or save others… That’s always what makes them a hero.”
“…!!”
Something struck Alphonse’s heart powerfully, incredibly strongly.
“On that day, you faced the Black Dragon of Annihilation, Schwarzwaldius, to save many students, and you did save them. You are a true hero. So—”
Shion said sternly, yet with a hint of kindness,
“Never again say that you’re a ‘false hero.'”
“…!!”
Struck by a sensation that left him breathless and made his chest tighten, Alphonse’s eyes widened.
“…!”
…He had always thought he was unworthy of being a descendant of a great hero, that he was a failure.
He had resigned himself to the belief that he could never become a hero.
Even so, he had continued to strive, hoping that even if he couldn’t do anything grand, he could at least protect someone.
And now, the man before him was saying to such a person as himself:
“You are a hero.”
Gradually, Alphonse’s eyes began to burn with emotion, and his face contorted.
Covering his eyes with his right hand, he spoke:
“…Shion… I…”
Desperately holding back sobs, Alphonse struggled to form words.
“Did I… really become… a hero?”
As he asked this, tears he couldn’t contain spilled from beneath the hand covering his eyes.
“Of course you did. Try calling yourself a ‘false hero’ one more time, and I’ll tear you to shreds,”
Shion said, gently placing a hand on Alphonse’s trembling shoulder.
“Hold your head high, Alphonse Fried. No matter what anyone says, you are a ‘hero.'”
“…uh… !”
…Tears continued to flow uncontrollably from Alphonse’s eyes as he could no longer hold back his sobs.
On the afternoon of the same day Alphonse had discussed the aftermath of the Black Annihilation Dragon Schwarzwaldius incident with Shion,
the students of Class 2-A were having a mock battle lesson.
“Thank you very much.”
“Ah, th-thank you very much…!!”
Alphonse exchanged greetings with a female student after finishing their mock battle.
“Ah, um! Fried-kun!”
“…? What is it?”
Alphonse was about to leave the field when the female student called out to him.
“Um, well… Fried-kun, thank you so much for saving me the other day…!”
She spoke as if mustering all her courage, looking very nervous.
“The other day…? Ah, that’s right…”
The words “the other day” and “saved” naturally reminded him of the recent Dragon incident. He remembered that this female student was indeed one of those he had shielded from the Black Dragon’s attack.
“I should have thanked you right then, but I was so scared that I ran away without saying anything… I’m sorry…!”
“No, no! Don’t worry about it at all!! In fact, I’m really happy that you’re thanking me now!!”
Alphonse desperately urged the deeply bowing female student to raise her head.
“I was really scared… I thought, ‘This is it,’ and ‘I’m going to die’… but you saved me… Thank you so, so much…!”
“…!”
When she raised her face, her eyes were tearful, and her voice trembled.
“(I see… If I hadn’t helped her then, maybe she would have…)”
If his hand hadn’t reached her that day, at that time…
Realizing that the worst could have happened, Alphonse felt immensely glad to see the female student safe and well. He strongly felt that he had truly managed to save someone.
“…Here, if you’d like,”
Alphonse said, offering an unused handkerchief to the teary-eyed female student.
“Ah, n-no, I’m fine!”
She declined with a slight wave of her hand near her chest, but said, “But thank you,” as she wiped her eyes with her own fingers.
“Fried-kun, you’re really so kind… I… before, I thought you were…”
“…A cold person?”
Alphonse finished her sentence as she hesitated, looking somewhat apologetic.
“Eh!? No, um… That’s not… !”
“…It’s okay. To be honest, I can’t blame anyone for thinking that way about me.”
Alphonse gently accepted her words as she frantically tried to deny it, clearly flustered at having her thoughts accurately guessed.
“I’m sorry… But that was just my misunderstanding. Now I know that Fried-kun is actually a very kind person…! Really!”
“Haha, thank you. It makes me happy to hear you say that.”
Alphonse smiled kindly at the female student, who looked extremely apologetic.
To be honest, he couldn’t deny feeling a bit lonely about how he had been perceived before, but he was glad that people’s views of him were changing.
This change in perception towards Alphonse wasn’t limited to just her.
Many students who had been directly saved by him during the incident, or who had later heard about how he had fought alone against the ferocious Dragon at the risk of his life, had changed their view of him.
…However, unfortunately, not everyone’s perception of him had improved.
“Huh…?”
Alphonse suddenly glanced outside the match field and noticed four male students who seemed to be arguing.
“…Sorry, I’ll be right back. Thanks for taking the time to thank me. It made me really happy.”
“Oh, no, I should be the one thanking you, Fried…!”
“Alright then,” Alphonse smiled and quickly headed towards the quarreling male students.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“What’s the deal, Dessel? Don’t tell me you’re changing sides just because you were helped once?”
“Don’t act like a good guy now. You’re one of us, aren’t you?”
“Don’t you hate that Alphonse bastard?”
Kevin Roberts, Som Mijun, and Dominic Torres from Class 2-A, all top students in their class, confronted Dessel.
“…I’m not trying to act like a good person now. To be honest, I had a feeling… that he wasn’t really a bad guy. That feeling just turned into certainty, that’s all. …Don’t you guys understand that too, deep down?”
Dessel questioned the three.
“He’s a good guy because he fought for everyone? Hah. He’s just a self-satisfied jerk who pretended to be a hero and butted in. And everyone’s praising him as a hero or whatever. It pisses me off.”
Kevin spat out irritably.
“…I was just like you guys until recently. So I’m not trying to lecture you now. But let me say this as someone who’s been hanging out with you: stop doing uncool things that others can see.”
Although Dessel had his own thoughts about Kevin’s words, he held back and spoke calmly.
“…Hey, you better watch it. You’re not trying to lecture us? Stop doing uncool things? Who do you think you are to say that?”
“Talking like you’ve got it all figured out, you think you’re better than us now?”
“Don’t you realize that suddenly changing sides and acting all high and mighty makes you look even more uncool than us?”
Kevin, Som, and Dominic criticized Dessel one after another.
“…Yeah, you’re right. I’m the uncoolest of all. I know that very well myself. …Even so, this is a debt of gratitude I have to repay.”
Despite being attacked by all three at once, Dessel stood his ground firmly. Kevin sighed exasperatedly.
“…Sigh. Dessel. You’ve become boring.”
Kevin opened his mouth, giving Dessel a cold look.
“Fine, if you hate it so much, we’ll do it without you. Let’s cut ties with this guy, Som, Dominic.”
“Yeah.”
“Sure thing, Kevin.”
As Kevin glanced at them, the two agreed.
“See ya, fair-weather friend.”
As Kevin said this and tried to leave, Dessel grabbed his shoulder firmly.
“Hey, wait.”
Kevin turned towards Dessel, glaring at him.
“…Let go, Dessel.”
“What are you planning?”
Som grabbed Dessel’s arm, trying to pry him off Kevin.
“I said we’re not letting you do it.”
However, Dessel still gripped Kevin’s shoulder tightly.
“Dessel! You bastard, that’s enough…!!”
Dominic grabbed Dessel’s collar with an angry shout, creating a tense atmosphere.
…But just then.
“Dessel, are you alright? Did something happen?”
Alphonse appeared before the four of them.
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