Chapter 10
The main conference room of Aruen Academy.
It was a splendid room decorated with the emblems of all three kingdoms of the Southern Continent. The heads of all three departments, who were usually too busy to gather, had assembled there for the first time in ages.
Instructor of the Swordsmanship Department,
Zach, the ‘Hero’ of the Kingdom of Gallia.
Dean of the Magic Department,
Edmond, the ‘Archmage’ of the Republic of Arcana.
Representative of the Divine Studies Department,
Albert, the ‘Cardinal’ of the Holy Theocracy.
They all sat with cautious expressions in the vast room. Even they, who had experienced all kinds of incidents as instructors for over a decade, had to consider the matter carefully.
It was the awakening of a ‘Hero.’
“….”
“….”
“….”
Instructor Zach sat with his thick arms folded, his expression unwavering, while Cardinal Albert wore a gentle smile. Dean Edmond remained silent, his face expressionless.
“….”
“….”
“….”
Under normal circumstances, this meeting should have been about reprimanding Zach for his negligence in dungeon management and holding him strictly responsible. But they could only fall silent before this turn of events, which had far exceeded their expectations.
In the end, Cardinal Albert was the first to speak.
“…First of all, we offer our profound thanks to the Sun God that all the cadets from the Swordsmanship and Divine Studies Departments survived their dungeon training. A terrible tragedy nearly took place.”
Instructor Zach looked at the cardinal with sunken eyes.
“….”
The cardinal was praying with a gentle smile. He sent a silent message to Instructor Zach—a mild reprimand directed at him.
-Regardless of today’s topic, don’t forget this happened because of your negligence. And remember, too, that I have forgiven you.
“….”
Instructor Zach paid no heed to the cardinal’s attitude.
‘…He’s still acting like a noble.’
Instructor Zach had been prepared for this.
The academy cadets were supposed to live as ordinary students, beyond distinctions of status, from the moment they enrolled. But what if cadets had been sacrificed because of his judgment? He was ready to take full responsibility.
Ever since he came here over ten years ago…
And as a member of the secret society, the ‘Ember Knights.’
‘…Everything is for the greater cause.’
To stop the demon worshippers who sought to claim this land: the ‘Black Temple.’
Instructor Zach, an Ember Knight, had concealed his true purpose at the academy. He fulfilled his duties and waited for the Hero to appear.
And then.
The proud last member of the order—Princess Lydia—had finally found the Hero. Instructor Zach had helped her from behind the scenes so she could do her part.
“….”
‘Could this be what Lady Lydia had been preparing for over the past ten years?’
The plan proposed by an abandoned royal—a girl of eight—had astonished every Ember Knight. Even their strongest recluse, the leader himself—the ‘Sword Saint.’
They had sensed it.
This final flame…
The tenth member would become their new hope.
The strongest Sword Master and leader of the Ember Knights, the ‘Sword Saint,’ made a vow to the young girl.
-…In that case, we will trust in your path.
‘…Hmm.’
Instructor Zach smiled to himself.
But the cardinal’s pressure, disguised as prayer, continued.
“O merciful Sun God, please forgive our mistakes and help us move forward.”
“….”
Even if Cardinal Albert didn’t know Instructor Zach’s true purpose, he couldn’t possibly be unaware of his stubborn nature. There was no need to emphasize responsibility so much.
What the cardinal wanted was probably to take control of this meeting.
As expected,
after finishing his prayer, the cardinal spoke again.
“…We must now put the Hero who appeared alongside the new Sacred Sword to the test.”
“…!”
Instructor Zach furrowed his brow and glared at the cardinal.
Dean Edmond, who had been silent, spoke in a puzzled voice.
“A Hero? A test? Isn’t the Holy Theocracy assigning too much significance to a cadet who awakened an artifact during an academy lesson?”
“Hehe, Brother Edmond, that’s an interesting interpretation. But to ‘us,’ the Sacred Sword is no ordinary artifact. It is a revelation from the Sun God. If He has shone His light upon us, then we must confirm it.”
“The Sun God… The Holy Theocracy’s way of interpreting the will of the ‘Spirits’ is difficult to understand. Since the Spirits’ will has already manifested in the awakening of an artifact, isn’t everything else a matter for humans?”
“Hehe….”
Not a god, but a spirit.
-It is not the Sun God, but a Spirit of the Sun. Humans have no reason to be subservient to one among countless manifestations of mana.
Dean Edmond’s words came close to denying the faith in the Sun God. But the cardinal merely smiled at remarks so typical of a Republic mage.
Cardinal Albert spoke quietly.
“…Just because the sun is shining, can we turn a blind eye to the shadows cast by human beings?”
“….”
“….”
Instructor Zach spoke up.
“Shadows? The Sacred Sword ‘Dannan’ has already chosen its Hero. We should be preparing to send the Hero to the front lines as soon as possible.”
“You’re in quite a hurry.”
Instructor Zach spoke, keeping the greater cause in mind.
“The Sacred Sword Dannan is a kind of declaration of war, appearing the moment the forces of the Dark Realm try to swallow this land. We must prepare for the coming war and help the Hero grow stronger.”
“Heh heh, Brother Zach’s interpretation is quite interesting, too. But the Sacred Sword wielded by Hero Aruen was taken away by the Sun God. No one knows whether the Sacred Sword that has appeared here is truly ‘Dannan.’ That is why we must confirm it.”
“…This verification is unnecessary. Cadet Arti defeated the skeletal rider with the help of two other cadets and awakened the light of the Sacred Sword. Arti has already proven their worth.”
“Worth? What kind of worth are we talking about? The worth that Instructor Zach personally believes Arti has? Aren’t you confusing it with gratitude toward a cadet who covered up your mistake?”
“….”
Instructor Zach and Cardinal Albert stared at each other intensely. Tension hung between them.
“….”
“….”
Instructor Zach clenched his fists as anger welled up inside him. Instinctively, he sensed that they were trying to ruin ‘Lydia’s plan.’
‘Their argument is that even the unquestionably genuine Sacred Sword and Hero must be under their control.’
Instructor Zach’s instincts cried out.
The Holy Theocracy was an ‘enemy’ that would undermine the Ember Knights’ cause.
A flame began to smolder in his heart.
‘…Should I remove them for the sake of the greater cause?’
Should he cast aside his position as an instructor
and return to being a ‘Knight of the Order’?
“….”
At that moment,
he remembered a message from Sir Mirian, who served Princess Lydia.
The instruction had come from the ‘Sword Saint.’
-Sir Zach, if you waver before a small flame, the shadows will hide their true nature and waver as well. They will reveal themselves before a great blaze.
“….”
Not yet….
It wasn’t time.
Even if Instructor Zach openly resisted, Cardinal Albert would likely argue that he was ‘protecting a cadet out of personal feelings.’
“….”
Instructor Zach quietly unclenched his fists. Dean Edmond watched him with narrowed eyes, then turned away with indifference.
Cardinal Albert watched him and smiled pleasantly.
“Then it’s decided. I’ll contact His Holiness, the Holy Emperor of my homeland, and arrange for the Hero to be tested soon.”
“….”
“….”
And so,
the Hero’s test was decided.
*
“….”
Early morning.
Aria was sitting on a rock.
It was a rock in an empty lot at the edge of the academy.
Aria no longer hid and watched from afar. She openly observed Arti’s morning training. Her silver hair fluttered and shimmered in the morning breeze.
In the middle of the empty lot in the distance, Arti and Lydia, dressed comfortably, were lightly sparring with wooden swords. Their blades crossed again and again, making a lively sound.
Tap!
Tap!
Tap!
The sound was like a light percussion performance. Arti was actually fighting desperately, but Lydia kept tapping Arti and breaking their rhythm, making it all look easy.
Aria watched them in a daze.
“….”
‘Why won’t Cardinal Albert recognize the Hero right away…? Ever since I was little, he taught me that the Saintess was meant to walk alongside the Hero….’
An incarnation of the Sun God,
a divine agent descended upon this land.
Saintess Aria believed she had a destiny she must follow as a ‘Saintess.’ That was why she had been happier than anyone when Arti awakened, but she also had a question.
‘Why didn’t the Hero run away back then…?’
-Run away!
-No, this is a fight I chose.
“….”
As long as the Hero was alive,
she had thought that one day the Hero would face their destiny.
But.
The Hero hadn’t waited for a revelation.
The Hero had chosen for themselves.
-Fate is will…!
And then the Hero had been engulfed in an immense light.
It really was a light as radiant as the sun.
The Hero’s figure was truly…
“…so cool.”
Aria clapped a hand over her mouth, letting out a ‘Hup!’
She had meant to think, ‘That was just like a Hero,’ but something completely different had come out of her mouth. Clutching her pounding heart, she tilted her head.
‘Why am I acting like this…? The most important thing is for the Hero to be recognized as a Hero. Are these really the feelings I should have as a Saintess…?’
The Saintess was undoubtedly destined to be with the Hero.
She had been taught that all her life.
“….”
But now she seemed to be feeling something a little different. She wanted to get closer to the Hero, little by little, but at the same time, she also wanted to put some distance between them. She was embarrassed.
‘What is this feeling…?’
Thump
Thump
“….”
…I don’t know.
“….”
Aria lifted her head.
The training was still going on.
The Hero was passionately crossing swords with the princess.
She should have been praising the Hero,
but for some reason, her mood was gradually sinking.
Aria pressed a hand against her chest.
Press—
“….”
Why?
‘For some reason, my heart aches when I see the Hero with the princess. She’s definitely helping the Hero grow stronger and keeping the Hero from going down a bad path. And the Hero still thinks of me as a companion.’
That should be enough.
“….”
‘It’s not enough….’
Aria still didn’t know why. So she simply kept watching Arti.
Arti charged forward with a wooden sword in hand.
“Hah—!”
“….”
Lydia casually tapped Arti on the head with her wooden sword.
Thwack!
“Ugh?!”
Even after being hit on the head, Arti only flinched for a moment before swinging the wooden sword from side to side, flicking sweat into the air. The blade cut dazzling arcs through the air.
Lydia blocked Arti’s attacks without moving from her spot.
Thwack!
“Keep your balance, Arti. Your breathing is getting ragged.”
“Hng! Hah!”
Thwack!
“Aaagh—?!”
“Balance. Keep your balance.”
“Huu…!”
Only then did Arti put some distance between them and steady their breathing. Arti adjusted their stance, pointing the wooden sword at Lydia.
Once Arti had regained their composure, Lydia continued explaining.
“Arti, you made excellent choices in the fight against the monsters. You kept protecting yourself and the others, constantly switching between attack and defense. But unlike a fight against an endless stream of monsters, a duel between humans requires you to hold your ground.”
“Hold my ground…?”
“That’s right. Keep your balance, observe your opponent’s stance, and strike in a single instant. Unlike monsters, humans will actively draw out and target your openings.”
“….”
Lydia kicked some dirt and gravel with her foot.
Flick—!
The dirt and gravel flew up to Arti’s head and fell back down. Arti hunched their shoulders and reflexively leaned away.
Lydia calmly brought her wooden sword to Arti’s neck.
“Like this, I could distract you by throwing the filth on the ground at you.”
“…!”
“I could provoke your anger with crude words, or hold a sword to the neck of someone precious to you who was watching from the sidelines.”
“Huh…?!”
Arti glanced toward where Aria was sitting.
“…!”
Then Arti reflexively shook their head. Since that day, Arti had been strangely conscious of Aria openly following them around.
Aria was sitting far away, watching them in a daze. She didn’t seem to have noticed Arti looking her way for a moment.
“….”
Lydia gave Arti and Aria a faint smile.
‘The suspension-bridge effect, maybe? They already had feelings for each other, so it doesn’t take much to make them conscious of one another. It’s hard enough to get this far in the original story.’
The original story.
Aria was the first heroine to approach Arti in the original, too. Unlike the knight Mave or the witch Morgan, who looked down on Arti, she had supported and encouraged Arti wholeheartedly from the very beginning.
At this point, early-game Aria seemed far too ideal. That was why most players chose her as their first heroine.
But…
-I have a service with the cardinal this week….
-I have prayers with the upperclassmen tomorrow….
-There’s a theology interpretation debate today….
“….”
Aria was far too busy with her duties as a ‘Saintess.’
‘She only showed interest in Arti because she was fulfilling her duties as a ‘Saintess.’ The catch was that she couldn’t rank that duty above her other ‘duties as a Saintess.’’
In the end, if you didn’t raise Aria’s affection at the right time, she would simply support Arti as a ‘Saintess’ until she became a background character before you knew it.
So when Aria voluntarily began stalking Arti, Lydia had a feeling that she’d ‘done it.’
‘I don’t really know why, though. Anyway, it’s resolved, so that’s good. All that’s left is to make this guy stronger and have him meet the remaining heroines….’
Just as Lydia was about to swing her wooden sword without a care…
A familiar voice rang out from far away. Unlike Aria’s, it was the voice of a very forceful, stubborn woman.
“Arti! I have something to discuss with you!”
?
?
?
Arti, Aria, and Lydia looked toward the source of the voice.
There stood trainee knight Mave, her face slightly flushed and her arms crossed, looking thoroughly confident. With an embarrassed expression, she spoke to Arti.
“I-I won’t acknowledge it!”
“Acknowledge what…?”
“The rumor that a plain country bumpkin like you saved me and defeated that skeletal rider—I can’t believe it! I need to find out if it’s true!”
?
Arti looked at Lydia with a look that said, ‘Wasn’t it Lydia who saved them?’ But Lydia merely shrugged.
‘I didn’t want to stand out, so I had Sir Zach give Arti all the credit.’
Mave pointed at Arti and said,
“I-I challenge you to a duel! If you’re a man, accept my challenge!”
“….”
Arti looked miserable.
Why, exactly, me…?