The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1270

The faint smell of ash spread through the air. Kouna followed the strange scent and scanned the surroundings, then summoned Haitai. “Do you... know anything about this?”

Haitai silently looked at her, then quietly vanished. Alas, that was just how Haitai was. There was something different about it compared to other divine beasts. Kouna hadn’t formed a contract with any divine beast like the Vermilion Bird or Azure Dragon yet, so there was no alternative.

Kouna waited for an answer, then Haitai eventually reappeared and gave a soft response.

[Something feels wrong. Get rid of that handkerchief.] 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

“But there are no traces of magic on it.”

[I won't stop you, but being around that thing feels like my whole body is being stabbed with needles.]

Having said that, Haitai disappeared again.

Left alone once more, Kouna suppressed the complicated thoughts swirling in her mind and returned to her room.

Knock knock!

Just then, a sound snapped her out of her thoughts. Startled, she hurriedly hid the pretty dresses that looked a bit too mature for someone her age to wear, along with the revealing outfits scattered around.

Clack!

“W-What is it?” She tried to put on a neutral expression as she opened the door and saw exactly who she had expected standing there.

“I heard you were here. You haven’t dropped by in a while.”

Since it was Davey who had told her she could visit whenever she liked, it wasn’t anything strange for her to show up. Still, Davey seemed a bit surprised by her sudden visit, considering she had declined so many times before.

“It just kind of happened.”

“I guess you’re still mad.”

“It’s not like that. I was the one being stubborn in the first place,” she replied calmly. She then walked over to a cupboard and took out some snacks. “Would you like some?”

“No. I just came to check on you, not to take up your time.”

His calm response didn’t sit well with her. She never understood why he always drew such clear lines, and why they couldn’t just talk normally.

That’s when it happened.

“Is that blood?”

When she tried to hide her hand in her pocket, Davey suddenly frowned and grabbed her arm. At the same time, a bloodstained handkerchief fell from her hand. Davey stared silently at the handkerchief, his expression hardening. “Is this your blood?”

“No... I found that.”

Davey looked at her, clearly troubled. “You're saying it’s not yours?”

“Yeah. Look, I don’t have any wounds,” Kouna answered honestly, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.

Davey seemed to think for a moment before tilting his head. “Where did you find it? The gate?”

She had a feeling that if she said it was from there, he’d make a big deal out of it. Just in case, she answered honestly again, “I found it here.”

“What?” His expression turned serious in an instant. With a hardened face, he activated his communication device and made a call.

“Amy.”

- Yes, Your Highness?

“I know you’re busy, but can you pause everything for a second and check one thing for me? Please verify that everyone currently staying at the castle is accounted for, including staff and guests. Everyone.”

- Yes, understood.

She didn’t question him and immediately got to work.

“What’s going on?” Kouna was confused, seeing his urgency.

“The color of the blood is bothering me. You don’t get blood that red just from wiping up a small wound.”

For blood to be like that, the wound had to be serious.

Just then, Davey noticed something on the corner of the handkerchief and looked at it with a subtle expression. “Ah. There’s a set of initials here.”

“These are initials?” She hadn’t spotted that before.

“Yeah. Usually people embroider initials on the corners of their handkerchiefs, but this one says K.R. on it. Never seen that before, and no one here has those initials. Are you sure you found this here?”

She took the handkerchief back as she replied, “Yes. I picked it up just outside the window.”

“Give it here. I’ll take care of it.”

“No...” She could’ve just handed it over. Yet for some reason, she didn’t want to let go of it. “I’ll return it to the owner myself later. I found it, after all.”

“Still, the lord of the house should—”

“Am I a stranger to you?” She began to tease him stubbornly. She rarely ever pushed like this, but she insisted on holding onto the handkerchief.

Seeing this, Davey backed off without much fuss. He then cleared his throat.

“By the way... that thing,” he muttered. “It’s not from Tionis. It’s from Earth.”

Her eyes flew wide open at the revelation.

* * *

After Davey left, Kouna stared closely at the bloodstained handkerchief.

‘So it isn’t from Tionis, but from Earth.’

It wasn’t anything surprising as there was regular exchange between Earth and this world. Yet, it still gave her a strange feeling.

It probably meant the handkerchief didn’t belong to any of the servants in the castle. What bothered her most was the mysterious initial on it.

That’s when she felt that eerie gaze again. This time, she didn’t plan on missing it.

Reacting instinctively, she drew her sword and slashed out.

Clang!!

A heavy metallic sound rang out, and she stared at the tip of her blade with widened eyes.“Twilight?!”

The sword that blocked her strike, wielded by a figure draped in rags, with bloodshot eyes, was the deep crimson blade, Twilight.

[Fool! Look closely. That’s not the same monstrous sword.]

Haitai’s voice pulled her back to her senses. The sword definitely looked similar to Twilight, but the engravings were different.

Clank!! Clang!!

Kouna twisted her sword and knocked away the sword of the pervert who had been spying on her.

The intruder’s presence screamed of overwhelming hatred, as if they loathed everything in the world, yet strangely enough, they didn’t direct any killing aura at her.

Clang!! Clank!!

After several clashes, Kouna leapt back and looked down at her sword, tense.

It was a sword known for its exceptional quality. Even so, it felt like it was about to break after a few exchanges.

In contrast, the enemy pushed her back effortlessly. There was a clear difference in strength, to the extent that it wasn’t even a contest.

She grit her teeth. This was where Davey lived. She couldn’t help but wonder why he still hadn’t noticed the clash of power yet.

Just as that thought crossed her mind, the intruder clicked their tongue and moved like a blur before lunging straight at her.

Clang!!

In an instant, the space around them twisted. The space the intruder had just occupied was no exception.

“Bold of you to break into someone else’s home.”

Kouna’s eyes widened as she turned toward the man who had suddenly appeared.

It was Davey O’Rowane, the one at the center of her confusion as well as the person she had been waiting for.

In a tense standoff, Davey calmly looked at the ragged figure. Only one of the intruder’s bloodshot eyes was visible beneath their wide hood.

Kouna’s eyes widened further when she noticed it trembling violently.

“I’ll ask later why you came here and why you attacked Kouna.”

Clang!!

With a thunderous crash, their body was crushed under pressure.

“Then, after that, I’ll decide whether to kill you.” His cold declaration didn’t carry even a shred of hesitation.

The intruder’s broken, rasping voice rang out, “T-The... handkerchief...”

“What?” Davey was surprised an intruder would talk at all.

“I came... to take back the handkerchief...”

The assailant forced out the words with a cracked voice, and Davey glanced at Kouna. Startled, she pulled the bloodstained handkerchief out from her pocket.

“This is what you’re looking for?”

“A... Ahhh!” His eyes went wide as he slowly began walking forward.

Davey moved to block him, but Kouna shook her head. “I’m just returning what isn’t mine.”

“So this handkerchief is yours?” Davey pressed the man for answers.

The intruder gave no response. Instead, he reached out with a trembling hand and took the handkerchief. His hands were pale and thin, covered in hardened calluses that spoke of long years of hardship.

“Found it...” Trembling with joy, sorrow, and unbearable pain, he clutched the handkerchief tightly to his chest.

Davey drew his sword. “That doesn’t change the fact that I can’t let an intruder walk free.”

“Wait!” Kouna shouted, “He only came here to get back what belonged to him.”

“You really think someone like him came only for that?” Davey’s eyes were fixed on something beyond what Kouna saw. “Who are you?”

Facing his question, the man, clutching the handkerchief with his eyes shut, slowly raised his head.

“Forget about me.” He cast one last glance at Kouna. “I’m satisfied now.”

He turned away as if he carried no regrets, so Davey clicked his tongue and strode forward.

Instead of walking away, the intruder suddenly stopped and turned to face him. With bloodshot eyes, the ragged man gave a small nod. “I’m sorry. And I’ll keep being sorry.”

Davey’s eyes twitched faintly. “Sorry for what?”

“I just wanted to say it.”

“You don’t sound like you’re apologizing just for trespassing.”

The man didn’t answer. Instead, he swept his hand through the air.

Whummm!!

A torrent of overwhelming energy abruptly surged forth.

“Warp?” Davey muttered with interest.

The intruder had cast an 8th Circle grand spell, Warp Magic.

* * *

The intruder left just like that.

Davey used the fact that the man had targeted Kouna as an excuse to keep her from leaving. Though Kouna was confused, he thought it’d do them no good to get any more involved.

He wondered what the man had wanted. He had never heard of anyone with that kind of power. Of course the world was big and he couldn’t be certain no one like that existed, but still, the whole thing left a bad taste in his mouth. He felt like he shouldn’t have just let the man go.

Ssss.

“Aina?”

“Urgent message.”

Davey, holding Abel fast asleep in his arms while working, called out when Aina quietly appeared. It was rather surprising as she hardly ever showed up so urgently. “What is it?”

“There’s a rumor spreading through the Western Continent,” she informed him.

“A rumor?”

“Yes. Rumor says Lady Perserque is a demon.”

Davey’s eyes widened in response. “What? What kind of nonsense is that?”

It wasn’t entirely wrong to say that Perserque was a demon, but it was nonsense considering there had been no way for that fact to be leaked. If anyone found out at that moment, it’d cause trouble.

Davey got to his feet as Aina spoke, “I haven’t been able to figure out the situation completely yet, but the rumor is spreading too fast. It feels like someone is deliberately circulating it.”

Davey put on his coat at once.

Aina was shocked. “Do you want to go yourself?

“I just hope innocent lives aren’t taken.”

If the southern kingdoms of the Western Continent started delving into that news, he couldn’t dismiss it lightly, as those kingdoms still treated demons as mortal enemies.

At that moment, the sudden apology of the man he’d met the day before crossed his mind.

‘Could it have been him?’

Davey knew he should’ve caught the man and found out who he was, but for some reason, he’d felt he shouldn’t.

Davey frowned, mired in confusion.