Hero, Go To School! - Chapter 13

Ian gripped his face with both hands and muttered lowly.

His expression was steeped in an indescribable sense of revulsion, as if acknowledging this face as his own was an insult in itself.

Honestly, was it really something to hate that much?

For Ares Balthazar, who had survived countless battles stained with blood, the refined and elegant appearance of Ian Zenor might have felt unfamiliar. Still, Ian was undeniably considered the most beautiful man in the world, no matter what anyone said.

Of course, Ares himself was no less in terms of looks. Though his accomplishments and capabilities often overshadowed it, people always said he had “the kind of face that made enemies nervous for other reasons.”

If Ares boasted a masculine and dignified beauty like a sun god out of myth, then Ian possessed an elegant and sophisticated allure, like an elf sitting in a flower garden playing the harp, naturally drawing everyone’s eyes.

So, while the two both fell under the category of “handsome men,” the direction of their charm was completely different.

Ares was a presence that overwhelmed others with fierce intensity and weight, while Ian had the delicate and noble allure of a glass flower, beautiful, but breakable.

And apparently, that face of Ian’s was unbearably uncomfortable for Ares to inhabit.

“Looking like this…?”

Ares regarded his current appearance as if it were the most hideous thing in the world, wholly consumed by deep distress.

He was being utterly ridiculous. From where I stood, as a third party, they were both just different types of stunningly rare beauties. That was all.

“Now do you believe me?”

I shot him a glance while nudging the shards of glass into the corner with my foot. The harsh scrape of the fragments echoed through the room.

“I… I’ve come back to life.”

Ian—no, Ares—murmured, unable to fully grasp the situation.

He slowly lowered his head and shut his eyes tight in despair. His fingers trembled faintly before going completely limp, as if all strength had drained from them.

He sat there in silence for a long while, then finally asked in a voice laced with resignation,

“What became of Prince Gilbert?”

He was someone from the era Ares Balthazar had lived in.

The name sounded familiar… but I wasn’t exactly sure. I scrambled for a moment, trying to come up with an answer, and before the silence dragged on too long, I opened my mouth.

“He ascended the throne and passed away at the age of 92. Had eleven kids, too.”

I answered like I knew what I was talking about, but truthfully, I was just making it up.

I vaguely remembered that Gilbert had become king, but couldn’t recall which generation monarch he was.

All I could remember was that he kept many concubines, and the number of children was just a generic guess.

“…He was never one to crave the throne.”

Ares spoke quietly after a short pause.

I simply shrugged.

“Life rarely turns out the way we want.”

He didn’t react, just stared vacantly at the tips of his toes.

Normally, he would’ve argued with me immediately. However now, he seemed lost in thought.

“Done sorting through things in that head of yours?”

I asked with a touch of ease.

He slowly raised his head.

His face had changed quite a bit in the past few days.

The beauty remained, but after not eating for four days, his cheeks had noticeably thinned.

“So this is a second life I’ve been given.”

“No. You’re just borrowing that guy’s body. Once the mission is done, everyone goes back to where they belong. So you…”

“Die.”

The softly spoken word came out flat.

For a while, he hadn’t looked at me, but now his gaze slowly moved and landed on my face. The moment our eyes met, I unconsciously clenched my fists.

Was I too honest?

A flicker of regret brushed against my chest. After all, if the end of all this effort is just death, who would want to cooperate with a quest?

I couldn’t get the words out. I knew I had to say something, but my mind was a mess, trying to calculate how he might react.

Ian stared at me in silence, as if trying to pierce through me. With this overly sensitive, deer-like brat, I had to be careful not to provoke him while still nudging him toward my goal.