Chapter 6
I looked at my hand, then at the white-haired woman again.
A woman with a youthful face, her eyes rolled back as she lay unconscious.
Normally, I should check on her condition, but I didn't have time for that now.
The Outer God's power had grown stronger?
I stared hard at the status window, but nothing appeared.
All those resistance messages I'd seen just now.
It seemed like I was resisting something with my formidable mental fortitude right now, but...
<-You bastard!>
What?
I heard something muttering in my head.
I closed my eyes and focused, but heard nothing.
Didn't someone just call me "you bastard"?
For now.
“...”
“...”
When I opened my eyes and looked around, I realized everyone was staring at me.
Lydia, staring at me with wide eyes, and the other death-flag teammates reacting the same way.
Only Gerd blinked at me as if he had no idea what had happened.
“H-How...?”
Then one of the death-flag teammates spoke in a dazed voice.
“What was that just-“
I don't know either.
“This much is child's play.”
The others fell silent at my answer.
At the same time, footsteps began to approach from far away.
“What is— Eeeek!”
Professor Albert's familiar voice rang out as he appeared,
then fainted at the sight of my face.
I mean, I was covered in blood, but wasn't that a bit much?
Especially for a middle-aged man.
For now, I'd avoided my death.
[You hear a whisper!]
[However, you resisted with your formidable mental fortitude!]
...Did I avoid it?
The rumors spread far and wide.
Rumors that Aiden Starfive had cut down two Corrupted on his very first training expedition.
One of them was even Benjamin Frick.
Even if he was a disowned son, the death of a baron's son—someone who still held his title even on this ruined continent—was bound to cause a stir.
But no one condemned Aiden Starfive.
First of all, the accounts of those he'd saved were consistent.
"He saved my life."
So said the candidate for sainthood whose name could not be revealed.
"His words were a little—no, very scary, but his face was... no, his face was scary too..."
"B-But he really didn't kill anyone! No, he did look like he might kill someone, and he actually did kill someone, but anyway, he didn't kill anyone!"
The man with the enormous shield, whose name was not revealed, recalled:
"In all my life, the only swordsmanship that fast was the mercenary captain's during the defense of Il Mare. Good grief, the man vanished like the wind and cut down his foe in one strike. I couldn't begin to understand what kind of trick it was."
"He didn't kill anyone. ...Probably. No, don't write that down. If they find out, I'm dead."
Everyone's testimony agreed that Aiden Starfive had only killed Corrupted, and Benjamin's corpse had been found in a grotesque state, his spine pulled out—plainly the appearance of a Corrupted.
That wasn't all.
There were even rumors that he'd casually saved a student who was turning into a Corrupted.
"When he touched them, they went back to normal! The black energy got sucked into his body—"
Those were the words of the brown-haired candidate for sainthood whose name could not be revealed.
"They were definitely just about to change, but I don't know how he did it..."
The mercenary who'd accompanied Aiden Starfive, the one with the enormous shield whose name was not revealed, said the same thing.
"Anyway, it was incredible. When I asked how he did it, he just said, 'I ate it,' so I had nothing to say."
Putting all the accounts together, Aiden Starfive had contained the energy of the Corrupted inside his own body.
“He saved me.”
“He came up to me and held out his hand, and the dark energy receded, the evil spirit's voice stopped, and... my body returned to normal...”
“Can you hear me? It was amazing, really! It was like a miracle!”
“Hey! I'm fine! Don't take me to the temple! I have to see him!”
“I said I'm fine! Let go!”
Of course, there were also people who couldn't be reasoned with.
"...The number of times a Corrupted has been restored throughout history can be counted on one hand."
Albert, who had recovered after seeing Aiden Starfive soaked in blood and letting out an undignified scream before fainting, spoke to Academy Headmaster Gildar, trembling.
"Only the miracles performed by the former saintess and the grand magic cast by the Archmage could compare!"
"..."
Gildar had a headache too.
According to the records, restoring a Corrupted to normal wasn't unheard of.
It was just that every method had been dramatic or required extensive preparation.
The story of the former saintess becoming a wreck after using all her holy power to restore a Pope who had become Corrupted,
and the tale of the Archmage killing three hundred half-elves to build an altar from their blood in order to save the Elven Queen, and so on.
Every one of them had required enormous sacrifices.
But he restored a Corrupted just by touching them?
"Shouldn't we report this at the official meeting—"
"No."
Gildar stopped Albert, who was trembling.
"For now, this stays between us. Tell the witnesses the same. She wasn't turning into a Corrupted; she'd simply had a panic attack from excessive stress."
"H-Headmaster."
"Think about it. We still don't know anything for certain."
If people learned that Aiden Starfive could restore Corrupted, all kinds of people would flock to him.
From refugees who'd fled after leaving their Corrupted family members behind, to the emperor who was forcibly confining a prince who'd turned into a monster.
And he wouldn't be able to answer all those demands.
"Just imagine if something went wrong."
The former saintess had purified them, but if the rumors were true, Aiden Starfive took the Corrupted's energy into his own body.
"What if he tries to restore the prince, the energy rebounds, and he turns into a monster himself? What if he goes on to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor?"
Albert's face went deathly pale at that.
They might be held responsible too. No, they definitely would be.
They'd be summoned to a hearing and asked, "What exactly was the headmaster doing while a student destroyed the Empire? Did you even intend to keep him under control?"
With bad luck, they could be executed for it.
"Th-That's..."
"Exactly. We can't reveal it all when nothing's been confirmed yet."
They could tell people after learning more about his ability.
That wasn't all.
"An academy's duty is to educate its students."
Gildar closed his eyes.
Of course, they were all student soldiers. In times like these, getting an education was a luxury.
Every race had been driven from its home and crowded onto this cramped continent, and Corrupted appeared almost every day.
That was why academy students learned the bare minimum of combat before being deployed to reclaim the continent.
They had Stigmata, after all.
Aiden Starfive would also receive a little training, form a team, and be sent to reclaim the continent.
"He doesn't even know what kind of burden he'll have to bear yet. We can't recklessly spread rumors about him."
The students already carried countless burdens as it was.
Being hailed as a hero by someone might feel good, but people would always expect them to act like the heroes they were made out to be.
"For now, keep an eye on him. Especially you, Albert. You're in charge of that class, so watch him closely."
"That's frightening..."
"Ahem."
So much for Albert the Ironblood.
Gildar sighed at the thought.
*
Unlike the academy staff, the Frick family was in complete uproar.
"That little bastard...!"
The Baron of Frick slammed his fist onto the desk, seething with rage.
The desk shattered with a bang.
"We made sure he got a good Stigma and sent him to the academy, and now he turns into a Corrupted and dies?"
What a failure, through and through.
He'd discarded him long ago, of course, but had kept him around thinking he might still be useful.
"Huff, huff..."
After letting out an angry sigh, the Baron looked at his subordinate, who had his head bowed.
"So, what about that brat from House Starfive?"
"He wasn't injured, sir. They say he only has a mild ankle sprain."
"..."
The Baron's pride was wounded, and his face twisted along with it.
"The information?"
"Here it is."
The Baron took the paper his subordinate held out and read it.
Doubt began to creep into his enraged expression.
"Swordsmanship?"
"Yes."
“Is there any record of Aiden Starfive learning swordsmanship?”
"No. In fact, until a few days ago, he was attending magic lessons."
"...Hah."
A sneer spread across the Baron's face at those words.
"So he was in on it."
"..."
Learn magic, then suddenly become good with a sword?
Did that make any sense? Not unless he'd suddenly become a different person.
So even House Starfive was in on it.
He didn't know where it all began, but...
The Baron spoke.
"We need to test his abilities. Aren't there students at the academy who take jobs?"
"There are. Who should I call?"
"You know that one who's always saving money."
The Kingdom of Crown.
Remembering the name of the kingdom that no longer existed, the Baron smiled.
"Put the princess of the fallen kingdom on the job. She gets things done."
“Understood.”
“And.”
The Baron looked at his subordinate.
“What word from the organization?”
“They say Benjamin's death means they'll move the plan up a little.”
“Understood.”
A son who was useless even in death.
The Baron muttered, gazing toward the academy.
“Foolish.”
He muttered something incomprehensible.
*
[Someone is watching you!]
[Your accomplishments grow even greater!]
[Awe: 27%]
What is it this time? Why's my Awe going up when I haven't done anything?
"Eek!"
"Gah!"
"Aaaah!"
Groans and screams could be heard.
People backed away, terrified.
For the record, all this was happening just because I was walking down the hallway.
I wasn't doing anything. Just walking down the hall.
And yet, a miracle was taking place as I walked down the hallway.
The crowd parted like the Red Sea before some religious figure, and I walked forward without a single obstacle.
Nothing too significant happened, after all.
I'd cut Benjamin in half, and even restored that huge hat to normal with some inexplicable power, yet no one had summoned me to reprimand me or take my statement.
The pointy-hat woman I'd saved had even been transferred straight to the temple.
It was almost like someone had my back.
No, who'd have my back? Even now, nobody was walking behind me because they were too scared.
Actually, there was one person.
"H-H-H-Hello!"
Lydia Straw greeted me from far behind, trembling.
I was scared of her. If she suddenly lost it and turned into a Corrupted, I'd be the one to die.
"What did I tell you?"
"Yes! I'll bow my head!"
Lydia immediately lowered her head at my words.
Her round crown came into view again.
Phew. Now that I couldn't see her face, I felt a little better.
Just looking at her face gave me the creeps. The creeps.
Anyway, this incident had made one thing clear.
If I could stop other people's... um, what do you call it? Their negative traits from flaring up, then it might be okay to take a few more teammates with me.
Of course, I didn't know what kind of side effects this would have on me, so I couldn't bring too many people along.
And I should only take people who wouldn't cause as much trouble.
A perfect example: Lydia Straw, following behind me from far away with her head bowed.
She was a no.
If she went off, the difficulty would be so brutal I'd be better off making a new character.
One of the few people in Dark Fantasy Saga you absolutely should never mess with.
You shouldn't even have her as an ally. A crazy bitch like that.
Thinking that, I entered the classroom and took my seat,
-Clink!
A coin rang out.
[You resisted with your mental fortitude!]
Resisted what?
As I stared at the status window that had suddenly appeared, a voice began to speak.
"...Is Aiden Starfive here?"
A blonde woman was looking at me.
A bold face, with eyes red as flames.
She looked confident, and yet her peculiar elegance blended strangely well with that impression.
"I need to see that guy."
I knew that woman.
Knew her all too well. She was one of my worst nightmares.
Laura Crown.
The princess of a fallen kingdom, and a miser.
And the boss of Chapter 2, gone mad.
Why was that woman suddenly looking for me?
"I asked where Aiden Starfive is."
"U-Um..."
As she searched for me in a bold voice, Lydia's finger pointed me out and our eyes met.
Looking at that face, my stomach turned again.
"Eek."
I grimaced without meaning to, and when her eyes met mine, she froze on the spot.
"Get that mug out of my sight."
I answered harshly without thinking,
"Hic!"
Hearing those words, Laura Crown hiccupped on the spot.