SSS-Knight in a Hero World-Chapter 115: Gallionic Knight

On the way back to the road entrance, Ferris worried about how Magpie felt.

If I were to leave out any lady alone like that.

He halted. There was a lingering taste of bitterness in his tongue that made him stop thinking about his actions.

Magpie's no ordinary lady, but that doesn't mean I should continue to treat her like this.

Ferris had a regretful face.

Once he arrived at the asphalt road, he immediately apologized to her, but there was no reaction from Magpie as she immediately went on to the driver's seat, then turned on the loud engine right after.

Ferris also made himself comfortable in the princess seat as he tried to sneak in some glances to gauge her emotional state.

No reaction, huh... Ferris unsurprisingly thought, but he at least wanted to be surprised in the future.

There's no way someone as unique as her would stay the same forever.

As he finished his thoughts, he had an idea.

"Excuse me, please let me see your back."

Magpie blinked at him before turning towards the car door.

Placing his palms flatly on her back, Ferris tried to resonate with her.

Just like resonating with living beings, resonating with inanimate objects was the same, except that it was easier to do. However, Ferris didn't want to think of Magpie like that.

Once it was finished, he tried to look for her core, if it existed.

Where is it?

Ferris thoroughly searched her entire being, then eventually—

She has one! Ferris exclaimed, and since they were resonated with each other, Magpie felt his surprise on a conscious level.

It's insanely tiny, though...

If Soleil's essence core was a spotlight, then Magpie's core would be a matchstick lit within a blizzard.

Gaining a 9th layer doesn't require you to have a certain amount of essence, so it's theoretically possible for Magpie.

To play things safely, Ferris carefully arranged the little amount of essence that Magpie had to form a thin veil around her essence core.

. . .

Crack.

Damn. Ferris sighed inside before quickly dismantling the veil of essence.

"I'm finished."

Normally, Ferris expected a quick reply because of the oddity of his behavior, but there wasn't.

With the silence caused by Magpie's inability to start or even continue a conversation, the two sat idly by until Ferris noticed something strange.

"Why aren't we moving?"

"How can we move if we do not know where we are going?"

Ferris looked away in embarrassment.

That's true. Can't blame her when I was the one who asked for the ride.

He turned back.

"Hero Association headquarters in City 13, my lady," Ferris joked, trying to get a reaction from her.

But the only reaction that happened was when Ferris' skull got knocked back into his seat due to the sudden acceleration.

Recovering from the whiplash, Ferris groaned out a few words. "And please, stop by at any fast food joint on the way."

Thanks to the interconnected highways between cities, Magpie's efficient navigation and driving, the journey only left Ferris mildly starving for his life.

Thank God online wallets exists. I just blew my last remaining money for the drive-through. Ferris moaned in a mix of joy and sadness.

Amongst the few times in this life and his last life, his financial status has now become a single-digit number.

Once Magpie saw that Ferris finished his unhealthy meal of grease and calories, she finally spoke. "Should I look for us a disposal area?"

Ferris shook his head as he crumpled his wrap into a tiny sphere before tossing it into the brown bag. "That depends."

Magpie remained expressionless as she continued to drive within the maximum speed limit.

It depends if my unique layer ability is still the same.

Since he already knew what it was, Ferris instinctively used it like he always used to.

He grabbed his waste and imagined the space within him.

His own dominion.

Then, he imagined pushing his waste into his dominion.

This ability, which was at first considered quite odd and useless by his fellow comrades, was called

Pocket.

A crackling noise emerged as he pushed the bag down his chest. At some point, his entire clenched fist entered his chest.

The act created ripples in the air and waves of blue essence that covered his torso.

After the waste was fully submerged within his domain, Ferris released his grip on it before reemerging his hand.

At least in this life, Yaromech isn't here to abuse my unique layer ability and turn me into a human chest.

With this, I can store various useful items instead of camping equipment and perishable food...

Ferris tracked himself back, the ability to store a portable tent and meals at hefty quantities was not at all useless.

Magpie gave Ferris the side eye while she kept her face pointed at the road.

She couldn't help but affirm what she had seen. "You have a blessing, and yet the government has listed you as having no blessing?"

Ferris shook his head again. "No, it isn't. That's not it."

So I have to go through all that again? Ferris wondered about the future and how tedious everything will be in his journey to recollect his old abilities.

But despite that, Ferris had a hunch that it wouldn't be so predictable.

Whether it be through confidence or his very existence in this world.

Ferris firmly believed that things are never decided by fate.

"May I inquire?" Magpie suddenly asked.

Ferris thought it was about his strange abilities, but it wasn't.

"What will you do inside the Hero Association's headquarters?"

A good question!

Ferris nodded. It was great that Magpie isn't shy about asking peering questions.

Ferris' demeanor suddenly changed into a more expressive and proud one. "Well, you see... If there is a disaster, the government is bound to provide relief efforts." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

In other words, the disaster of the hero examination will certainly get Ferris a more plump envelope of "rewards," a well-deserved compensation.

He pinched his index finger and thumb before rubbing them together in front of Magpie. However, she could only give him a side eye at the unknown gesture.

Then after a while, and to his absolute shock, Magpie did the same gesture...

Using both of her hands!

"Magpie, the road!" Ferris screamed in terror. Even that plump reward isn't enough to afford the supercar.

Steer!

Catching the steering wheel quickly, Magpie found herself perplexed by the incident as she couldn't find the appropriate combination of words to express herself.

Meanwhile, Ferris was trying to calm his heart down on the way to the association's headquarters.

***

Once the two arrived at the front plaza, Ferris stepped out first before facing Magpie.

"You can go back. I'm planning on staying for a while here."

After he finished his sentence, the car suddenly accelerated away with a loud rumble, causing the bystanders to look at the trailing car, then to Ferris.

Well, maybe she forgot to download laws regarding noise pollution, he thought.

With that in mind, he quickly left the scene to avoid the second-hand embarrassment.

The scenery of the headquarters struck him with quiet nostalgia. Compared to the entrance exam day, the amount of people here was less than half of that.

It feels even more spacious now. Ferris admired the surrounding area before entering the building and heading towards the front desk.

I hope there's compensation... but there has to be, I'm so sure! Ferris prayed as he approached one of the employees manning the service desk.

He first introduced himself with his name and examinee status before asking about the hero exam.

Thankfully, the employee answered his specific questions. However, it wasn't pleasing to the ears.

According to what the employee described, Ferris would receive an automatic pass as compensation for the catastrophic examination, with the sign-up bonus unaffected.

. . .

Bastards, so cheap! Ferris politely smiled at the worker. "Thank you for telling me."

With a disaster like that, previous participants who wanted to become heroes would now have been discouraged to sign up even if it was a free pass.

What a shame indeed.

But the perks of becoming a hero were there, such as the availability of weapons, and most importantly,

the public commission board where heroes can take up certain jobs that provide separate pay.

Due to that, some lower-ranking heroes end up making more than their higher-ranking seniors. However, Ferris was more interested in the opportunities for the knowledge gained... and extra pay.

Then, after making full use of his benefits, he could choose to leave whenever.

"I accept the compensation," Ferris answered.