The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1120

The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1120

Chapter 1120
Sitting in the pub, Davey couldn't help but be surprised.
The Daughter of Heaven was said to be dead, yet the person standing before him was undeniably her.
Karon, the pub owner, noticed his shocked expression and made a reluctant face, then quickly caught on and stepped back.
“I think I’ll... step out for a while. Should take about an hour.”
‘Quick on the uptake. Good.’
Davey gave a small nod, silently granting permission. At the same time, Perserque turned to the Daughter of Heaven and asked, “The Daughter of Heaven... How are you here? Wait, no, you’re alive!”
“Yup! Yup! I sure am alive. I survived, though it was no easy feat!” Her awkward vernacular was likely a habit from trying to maintain royal dignity.
“Let’s calm down for a moment—”
Grrrowl.
Just then, her stomach let out a loud rumble, and she bowed her head in silence.
Davey stared at her blankly for a moment before noticing tears quietly trickling down her cheeks.
“How pathetic of me... What right does a worthless ruler who couldn’t even protect one retainer have to complain of hunger?”
“You need to eat first.” Davey stood up from his seat with nonchalance and headed for the kitchen. “The Great Empire of Ming uses rice as a food staple, right?”
“Davey...”
“Just wait a moment.” He spotted some eggs, as well as a decent amount of rice Karon had stocked for the dwarves, so there was no problem there.
Perserque spoke up from the side, “Hey, hey. What do you think you're going to do?”
Davey didn't understand what she meant. “What?”
“You’re really planning to cook right now?”
“What’s wrong with that? It’s not like I’m going to poison her or anything.”
“Your cooking’s decent enough—just decent.” Perserque gave him a little shove. “You should stay with her. Can’t you tell she needs someone?”
She lowered her voice so the Daughter of Heaven wouldn’t hear. “She’s terrified. I don’t know exactly what happened, but someone like her needs someone nearby who makes her feel safe right now.”
Davey’s eyes narrowed slightly at her thoughtfulness. “Got it.”
With that taken care of, Perserque took over and headed into the kitchen in his place.
Davey handed the nervous girl a snack. “Here you go, Daughter of Heaven. Have some of this first.”
“What is this?”
“A simple nutrient supplement. Be honest with me—how long has it been since you last ate?”
The Daughter of Heaven fell silent. Then, after a long pause, she answered hesitantly, “F-Four days.”
“
Tch.
”
A girl still in her growth period had gone four days without food. Given the timing, it was easy to imagine what had happened right after the attempted assassination.
“That’s why you need to eat this first. If you eat real food right away, your body might not handle it well.”
“W-Will I feel satiated if I eat this...?”
“Well, you’ll still feel hungry, but it’ll help protect your stomach.”
“S-Stomach?” She tilted her head, clearly not understanding.
“Just trust me. It’s good for you.”
She took the bottle from his hands, but then flinched. “I-It’s fine. I won’t get sick from just four days of fasting.”
Before she could finish, Davey pulled her into a gentle hug.
“W-What... What are you doing, Davey?”
“Trust me; I’ve never played around when it comes to feeding children.”
The Daughter of Heaven felt an overwhelming sense of safety in his arms. Nonetheless, for some reason, she couldn’t let go of her wariness completely.
She had written letters to him so often, calling herself his fan and saying he was her idol. Yet when face to face with him, she couldn’t even bring herself to trust him.
Davey couldn’t fathom just how badly she had been betrayed to end up feeling like that.
In truth, she was a stranger to him. Her mother had once colluded with a vampire who was his enemy. They’d even clashed over the Divine Tree's Land in the past.
However, he couldn’t bring himself to be cold to a starving child, especially when Evangeline came to mind. Even just the thought of her starving brought a bitter taste in his mouth.
Though they were different in age, appearance, and personality, looking at the girl stirred nothing but sympathy in him.
“You’re safe here. This place is safe. You know me, right? Don’t you?”
“T-That...”
“So you can just relax, even if it’s only for a little while.”
She seemed to hesitate at his words, then collapsed right into his arms as the tension finally left her body. Seeing her state, he couldn’t imagine how much she had gone through the previous couple of days.
He caught her gently and silently checked her condition. Severe malnutrition, crippling stress, and exhaustion. Her body was in terrible shape.
“
Tch.
”
Davey was already feeling like the world was meaningless because of Evangeline’s rebellious phase; the Daughter of Heaven was just another headache added to the pile.
He couldn’t help but think that he was being pestered both inside and outside his home. Still, he didn’t resent the Daughter of Heaven. She was a victim.
The way she let her guard down after talking with Davey, despite being wary of everyone else, meant she truly trusted him.
“Davey?”
“
Shh
.”
He raised an index finger to his lips and then gently picked her up in his arms. He carried her up the stairs with practiced familiarity and laid her down in one of the guest rooms.
Perserque felt somewhat disappointed. “
Hmmm.
At this rate, she won’t even be able to eat what I prepared.”
“I’ll eat whatever you made. Her body’s too weak, so we need to let her rest for now. Recovery comes first.”
“If that’s the case, maybe we should take her to the castle or the academy’s infirmary.”
“Let’s purify her first.” In an instant, pure white holy energy began to radiate from Davey.
[Cure]
After a silent cast filled with his will, the divine energy settled into her body. Almost immediately, black powder-like toxins began seeping out of her skin.
“Coagulated toxins... I’ve never seen this kind before.”
“It’s a venom that was infamous in the western regions. My father taught me about it, and he said it comes from a monster that’s extremely rare to encounter.”
Unlike typical toxins that simply corroded the body from the inside, the ones before them hardened into clots, clogged the veins, and caused skin necrosis in the infected.
“Thankfully, it looks like it hasn't been in her system for too long. Funny, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“Ttis taking comes from a monster called a black python. Even after they reach full maturity, they usually only get bigger. They’re not supposed to have venom, but some of them do indeed develop lethal toxins in very rare cases,” Davey explained calmly.
“Black python? Oh yeah, I’ve heard of them. They have incredibly low population counts, and I was told they aren’t venomous,” Perserque commented while sitting next to him.
“Like I said, this is an exceptionally rare case. Anyways, black python venom behaves differently from typical venom. Once it enters the bloodstream, it quickly coagulates and swells after a short incubation period. It's a near-irreversible poison.”
While he had indeed cured her of the toxin, it was only possible because of the extremely high level of his holy magic.
For anyone else to detoxify black python venom would require both a significant amount of time and an exceptionally skilled priest.
Given the level of medical technology in Tionis, there wasn't even a working antidote available.
“Fascinating... But what’s so funny about it?”
“The venom’s incurable, but its immediate lethality is really low. The victim only dies after some time passes, somewhat like a ticking time bomb. If they wanted her dead, there are other more accessible poisons that would kill instantly. The Great Empire of Ming even has some of the most advanced toxin research institutions in the world.”
There were plenty of poisons that killed before a person could even realize they’d been dosed.
Especially for a young girl like the Daughter of Heaven, whose immune system would be weak, the options were endless.
“Why would they go through the trouble of using a rare, slow-acting poison like this?” Davey asked.
“Even if you think about it the other way around, the pieces still fit. Or if you consider it a coincidence, everything still lines up. There’s just nothing you can be certain of,” Perserque said as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
What Davey had said was just speculation. After all, they didn’t even know who had poisoned her yet.
“In the end, we’ll still have to hear the full story from her directly.”
“For now, let’s just let her sleep.”
Davey wasn’t particularly fond of getting involved in foreign politics.
He was sure to cast Cure on her a few more times before finishing. No matter how deadly black python venom was, it wasn’t something beyond his ability to deal with.
Sleeping with a much calmer expression than before, the young girl had finally drifted off into a dreamless, peaceful slumber.
* * *
The moment Davey entered the castle, the first person he ran into was Evangeline.
She looked utterly worn out, like she’d just come back from intense sword training.
“
Ah.
Eva... No, Evangeline.”
When he smiled and stepped toward her, she pinched her nose and backed away. “
Ugh,
you smell like alcohol...”
“
Gah!
”
She didn’t say she hated him or that he disgusted her, but her expression said it all.
Grumbling under her breath, she brushed past him.
Seeing this, a fire was lit in Perserque’s eyes. “Evangeline.”
At the cold tone of the woman’s voice, she flinched and turned around. “You always take Dad’s side. You never care about me!”
“What did you just say?”
Perserque rose from Davey’s shoulder, expanded her form back to normal size, and stepped onto the ground. She then began walking toward Evangeline.
“Evangeline.”
“It’s true! Look at yourself now; you’re only glaring at me!”
It was clearly the tantrum of an immature child.
“How can you say something like that?” Davey asked her, flabbergasted.
“So what?! All I said was you smell like alcohol! Why are you yelling at me?! You hate me, don’t you?!”
“That’s not what this is about!” Perserque shouted with a bitter face.
Despite how long she had lived, she was lacking in experience when it came to handling such delicate emotional situations.
“
Oh,
please! You do hate me! You’re not even really—”
Slap!!
The sharp sound rang out instantly, and Evangeline’s eyes widened as she turned her head. Her cheek was flushing red.
“Super Ribbon...”
“There are some things you shouldn’t say, Evangeline.” The one coldly glaring at her was truly none other than Super Ribbon.
Without anyone noticing any movement, Super Ribbon had suddenly appeared and slapped her across the face. It seemed those two sword gals, Red Ribbon and Blue Ribbon, had merged and manifested without Davey knowing.
“Why? Why did you...”
“Apologize. Now,” she said in a cold, firm voice before she pointed at Perserque, who stood frozen with a pale face.
However, Evangeline didn't back down so easily, her pride clearly wounded.
Whether child or adult, plenty of people often struggled to admit fault even when they knew they were wrong. It was likely much worse for her, in the middle of her rebellious phase.
Rebellious phases, where one begins to reject the authority they once depended on, were meant to help develop an adolescent’s independence. However, reality rarely played out as neatly as the theory.
“I-I don’t want to!”
“I won’t ask you again, Evangeline.”
“Who even are you to tell me what to do?!” She shouted through tears. “You’re just like the rest of them! Everyone’s always picking on me!”
Letting out a final parting cry, she turned and ran off.
Watching her flee, Super Ribbon let out a deep sigh. “I’ll go talk to her.”
“Yeah... Please do.”
At that moment, they figured a sibling’s comfort and support might be more effective than a parent's.
“Don’t scold her. Just talk to her gently.”
“Got it.” Super Ribbon smiled brightly, then floated up and vanished in the direction Evangeline had gone.
‘Trouble inside, trouble outside.’
It was a miracle that anything was staying functional and afloat at that point, given the circumstances.
Davey muttered to himself, “Seriously, it’s like I’m cursed.”
Even he had to admit that his words hit a little too close to home.
* * *
The Daughter of Heaven didn’t wake until the following day.
Davey had initially laid her down at the pub’s lodging, but later moved her to the bed in his underground personal workshop beneath the lord’s manor.
Despite being called a workshop and being located underground, the room was clean and beautifully decorated.
“W-Water... I want to drink some water.”
“Here.” Davey handed her a glass, and she gulped it down in big, sleepy swallows.
She then froze for a moment, eyes widening in shock when she saw her surroundings. “Wha?!”
She immediately looked around warily.
“You’re safe. This is the underground workshop beneath the lord’s manor,” Davey reassured her.
“
Ah.
”
“Just in case, I brought you here so your presence wouldn’t be discovered.”
“T-Thank you...” Her voice was weak, and her stomach chose just then to let out a loud growl. The nutritional supplement from the previous day had helped her body hold on, but what she truly needed was a proper meal.
Davey had already prepared food after calculating the approximate time she would wake up.
“Here, have some porridge. It won’t upset your stomach.”
“
Ugh.
I don’t particularly favor porridge...”
Even so, she didn’t turn it down. He had no doubt that the building hunger from the previous few days had caught up with her.
“Take it slow. You can get indigestion if you eat too fast, even if it’s porridge.”
She flinched slightly at his words, then began diligently moving her spoon.
By the time she’d finished eating, a fair amount of time had already passed. She ate like someone who hadn’t had a proper meal in ages, even letting out a few tears as she filled her belly.
Once she was finished, Davey finally questioned her. “Alright. So, Daughter of Heaven... can you explain what happened?”
She lowered her gaze, not knowing where to start.
“Explain...”
Perserque informed her, “When we heard the news, it was ed that you were assassinated. They didn’t find a body, but blood believed to be yours was discovered at the scene.”
She shivered, clearly recalling something unpleasant. “B-Before that, may I ask of you one thing?”
“Yes?”
“Davey... can you promise... that you will never betray me?”
“Pardon?” he asked, suspecting he had misheard her.
“A-Answer me! Swear it! Swear on the god you serve that you’ll never betray me!” The desperation in her voice was unmistakable.
Davey simply shrugged. “Sure, I swear.”
“Then I will trust you...” Tears welled up in her eyes as she trembled. “That day...”
She wore a pained expression as she slowly recalled the day the world believed she, the Daughter of Heaven, had died.
“I had twenty royal guards, but all of them suddenly turned on me and I don’t know why. I have no idea what made them attack me so suddenly without warning.”
“For twenty of your guards to turn on you... They collapsed too easily afterward, didn’t they?”
“They were my closest elite guards, yet they stormed into my chambers without a word and attacked. I was already completely exhausted from work and couldn’t escape.”
There was no way a child like her could escape from twenty trained warriors regardless of the circumstances.
“Everyone guarding the palace was slaughtered. There was blood everywhere, and I still can’t forget the screams... Those who tried to kill me were those who’d pledged their loyalty to me! I still can’t believe it! How could they... how could they betray me?!”
Grabbing his arm, she burst into sobs, overwhelmed by the memory.
When she had given up hope, believing death was certain, a newly appointed guard suddenly broke in, rescued her, and fled the palace with her.
Later, after fainting from the shock and despair, she awoke in an unfamiliar forest.
“I didn’t know where I was, unfortunately. Only ten guards remained—those who’d joined me more recently, including Jang-Goong, the new guard.”
“What about the royal guards in the palace? Or the capital defense forces? Are you telling me the entire Great Empire of Ming had its foundation shaken by just twenty men?”
It didn’t make sense. Even if her personal guards had included a Swordmaster, the follow-up response had been far too sloppy.
“We eventually came upon a mana gate, but it wasn’t connected to a destination. I went through it alone. Jang-Goong insisted on staying behind to hold the line and told me to escape through the gate.”
Davey closed his eyes for a moment.
A mana gate not linked to a fixed destination was practically a live bomb.
“It was the only way. I, the useless girl, ran away like that... wandered through the forest for days... But I never imagined I’d end up in Heins Territory.”
“Then why didn’t you come find me right away? Or make your identity known? And also, what was with the wine when you first entered the pub?”
She fell silent for a moment.
“That was because...”

.
!
Chapter 1120