The Retired Hero is an Extra

Jash was correct in his guess.

As soon as the examinees stepped through the portal, they found themselves in small preparation rooms with other examinees.

Each room held up to five examinees, with no regard to the order of their arrival.

The examinees were tagged using mana to make sure they would end up in the room with the ones they didn't know.

However, it was only true for the most part.

Mostly, the nobles and the talented found themselves huddled together, overshadowing the others in the room.

Only, this time, it wasn't just humans but elves and dwarves as well who were huddled together.

It ended up making the randomization far easier due to most not knowing people in the other races.

Still, there were a few exceptions.

"Princess Sylvie, it's been a while," greeted a well-dressed girl, with a genuine smile plastered on her face.

"Oh, Princess Ava," Sylvie, the princess of elves, replied. Though she was unsure of calling it a long time.

For elves, they could easily outlive any human by three times, so what was a long time for Ava wasn't all that long for Sylvie.

As Sylvie and Ava caught up, another room revealed familiar faces.

"Zaos!"

"Grunghin..." the long green-haired, blue-eyed elf with pointed ears sighed as he took the name of the Dwarven Prince.

Grunghin, with fiery orange hair and amber eyes, grinned at the sight of Zaos, the elven prince.

The other three in that room were humans, who distanced themselves due to the rumors of animosity between dwarves and elves.

Of course, it was just a long time ago and Grunghin approached Zaos with a feisty grin, wanting to go for a hug.

However, Zaos tried to evade it, not wanting to meet Grunghin if possible.

Meanwhile, Avon, Amael, Ziva, and Caera were all in rooms where they failed to recognize anyone else, making them sit patiently.

The same was true for the protagonist, who greeted the ones in his room with a kind and warm smile.

The only one who had a different attitude to all this was Jash.

He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, trying to get some peace and quiet in the room, which he luckily got.

At least until the final examinee showed up.

With silver hair shining in the light, his orange eyes shimmering with golden hues, he caught all the attention with his characteristic smile.

Jash only looked on from a distance, his wish for quiet forgotten in the face of the newcomer.

"You're from the Church, right? What's your name? Have you ever met the Saintess?"

After the teen answered all the questions with his polite smile, his impression increased in the hearts of the three people.

'Caeron Agria,' Jash called out his name inwardly, trying to remember his plot and mention within the church.

After all, if he turned out to be someone from the protagonist camp, Jash's behavior would be different.

'Saint of... Fortune?' Jash mused, finding it ironically funny. Since the actual name contained fortune, while Caeron's life was anything but that.

In fact, it was better to call him the "Saint of Misfortune" or so Jash believed.

'This guy... just what kind of crazy plot he has!?' Jash thought in disbelief.

It starts from Caeron being treated as a precious treasure by the Village he had lived in due to his latent charm.

They all believed that Caeron was a Treasure from the Heavens due to the good fortune he would bring to the Villagers that were close to him.

Yet, at the mere age of 4, Caeron was kidnapped by a greedy man who heard of his good fortune and sold him off to make a small fortune himself.

For the next few years, Caeron continued to live as nothing but a slave until he was found by Members of the Church.

They were investigating illegal slave traders and human traffickers in disguise to find the root cause, but their anger boiled at the sight.

In the end, they saved and freed the slaves, offering them a chance to also come with them and become a part of the Holy Church.

Naturally, Caeron declined, wanting to return to his family and village but his saviors had complicated expressions after hearing his village name.

Rekrodival village had been destroyed by monsters, taking the lives of every single individual.

Only when the High Priest in-charge of the mission heard about it, he went to meet Caeron in person and felt something strange.

In simple words, a lot happened and Caeron ended up going to the Headquarters of the Church of Light.

Due to most of the slaves already around 12 years of age, they were taken to the Pope and Bishops who advised them to awaken.

Almost everyone accepted and after awakening, Caeron's potential became evident.

However, it was only when the Saintess accidentally saw him and his potential did she promote him to a Saint Candidate.

He was the third one, the first being Vivia and the second being the protagonist.

Yet the two didn't get along with Caeron at all, only getting along with each other, isolating him.

Of course, the major factor was the Saintess hiding the fact that Caeron was a Descendant of the First Pope of the Holy Church.

Not only that but she also hid the cause for Caeron's fortune, which was a blessing from the heavens.

Sadly, Caeron also remained unaware of it and these words were the one of the last the Saintess uttered on her deathbed.

"If only I had revealed his origins... his powers... he would be here... The Saint of Fortune..."

Obviously, the one who heard it kept it a secret forever and Jash only shook his head after recalling the entire plot considering Caeron.

Although intriguing and useful, Jash couldn't decide on what to do with the guy.

Should he win his trust or align himself with Caeron?

In the end, it was much too complicated as his identity as the duke's child hindered him from forming connections with just anyone.

Looking at Caeron comforting the three and telling them to be strong and face the challenges head on, Jash couldn't help but scoff inwardly.

'You yourself are just putting up a mask to cover your real personality so as to not get judged and keep your place in everyone's heart....'

'...yet you have the nerve to give them advice,' Jash completed his mocking comment, keeping it to himself.

After all, it was the best thing to negotiate support from Caeron.

'No matter what his fortune isn't something that can be ignored, plus the sword legacy of the forgotten swordmaster he can get to...'

In essence, Jash didn't need that inheritance as he had more than enough sword techniques, but it never hurt to look at a prominent swordmasters legacy.

And the best part was that Caeron didn't just have a sword master's legacy!

'Still, the problem is his False Personality...' Jash noted the serene smile on his face while Caeron's legs were slightly wobbly.

The False Personality Caeron showed was that of an Ideal Man who was both righteous and confident while also possessing Dignity.

Unfortunately, that was something Caeon faked since he was sold as a slave. He had no other option, if he wished to continue living and one day return home.

Understanding this, Jash didn't take any hasty steps and waited for it to naturally happen.

Just as he was thinking so, a portal appeared at one end of the room and from it came a person wearing the Solarnelle Academy's clothing.

'Now what?' Jash wondered, putting the matter of Caeron at the back of his mind.