Chapter 35
The living room of the dimly lit dormitory suite.
Arti tossed and turned before sitting up.
Apart from Morgan, who had her own room, all the girls were sleeping in Lydia’s room. So Arti was alone in the living room, covered by a blanket.
“Phew.”
He glanced out the window,
and saw the sky turning indigo.
‘…I usually wake up around this time and head to the clearing.’
Dawn was approaching.
The final test was just around the corner.
In the end, he hadn’t slept a wink.
“….”
In the first place, it would’ve been strange to sleep soundly in this situation.
‘Being alone in a place full of girls is so nerve-racking. Usually, we part ways after dinner at the latest.’
What had happened up until last night.
He’d eaten dinner cooked by Aria and Lydia, then had a light spar with Mave, who was wearing casual clothes. He’d gotten a rough idea of how Morgan lived in Lydia’s suite.
‘That redhead even reads books at home.’
Then, after watching everyone change into comfortable clothes and head into the bedroom, he washed up and went to sleep on his own.
…Or tried to, anyway.
“….”
Arti tilted his head. It struck him as strange how many women had ended up in his memories… and one of them was royalty, while another was a Saintess.
‘How did things end up like this?’
I’m a commoner.
Though I’m about to become a Hero.
‘…But is being a Hero just about fighting monsters?’
Hmm.
Something.
Something….
“Something’s strange…?”
“What is strange?”
“!”
It was Lydia’s voice.
Arti hurriedly turned his head.
“Ah, Lydi…?!”
It was as if a golden candle had been lit in the dark living room.
Lydia was dressed in a thin nightgown.
Her curves showed clearly beneath the thin nightgown and fabric. ‘Those’ things, swaying like overwhelming waves, struck Arti right in the eyes.
“Hk—?!”
Arti squeezed his eyes shut.
He bit his lip hard,
and pictured the Sun God’s sacred form.
Memories with Aria,
and what he wanted to tell her after the Hero’s examination.
‘Ah, aaah… Aaah… Sun God, I didn’t see a thing. The only one in my heart is the Saintess.’
Good thoughts.
Holy thoughts.
Beautiful thoughts.
‘But really, now that I think about it, they are pretty huge….’
Arti stuck out his tongue and bit down on it.
He sought to punish himself for his impudence.
“Ghk…?!”
Lydia watched Arti twisting desperately and spoke. She had no intention of scolding him, but it was amusing to see him making a fuss all on his own.
“That’s enough. You can open your eyes. You’ve seen everything while carrying me during training… You’re making far too much of a fuss.”
“B-but…! It’s too thin…!”
“I only need to talk with you for a moment. If you focus on the conversation, I won’t blame you. It’s only natural for your eyes to be drawn to a large chest, isn’t it? I can understand.”
“K-kyaaaagh…!”
Arti clutched his head. In the end, he kept his eyes closed and handed Lydia the blanket he’d been sleeping under.
“Just… cover up, please.”
“Hmm, understood.”
Lydia calmly accepted the blanket and wrapped it around herself. The mountains that had been tormenting Arti were now hidden. The alluring silhouette was gone, replaced by the solemn appearance of a prophet.
“Can you focus now?”
“…Yes.”
“Good. Let’s step out into the courtyard for a moment.”
“Yes.”
The two went out into the courtyard as dawn brightened. The warm breeze of late spring cleared their heads.
Lydia said,
“Things are about to get hectic, so I’ll tell you this first.”
“?”
“Arti, do you remember what I told you the night I found the Sacred Sword?”
“!”
How could he forget?
How could he ever forget the day he first received the Sacred Sword, Danan?
Arti answered.
“You said the Sacred Sword was my destiny, and that you’d make me strong enough to be ready to receive it.”
“That’s right.”
“And you really did make me stronger.”
“You still have a long way to go. You need to reach the realm of Aurora, the same realm as Hero Arien, at the very least, if you’re to protect yourself without relying on the Sacred Sword. For now, you’re only proving that you have the potential to be called a Hero.”
“….”
Those were extraordinary standards.
To consider a Sword Master the bare minimum…
‘There are only four people at that level in the Southern Continent, and only two in Gallia….’
Lydia continued without concern.
“And do you remember me saying I would make you my ‘sword’?”
“Yes. You said I should become a subordinate who could make decisions with pride….”
“Are you ready to answer that?”
“….”
Arti nodded carefully.
“…Yes.”
“Even though you don’t know what I’m fighting?”
“But I know you, Lydia.”
Noble,
clear-headed,
and beautiful teacher.
He was certain the path she walked wasn’t wicked.
“I can at least tell that the path Lydia walks isn’t something pathetic, like hurting someone to gain power or bullying the weak to get rich.”
“I see.”
“Then surely the path walked by someone as noble as you is one that those ‘pathetic people’ would hate.”
“Are you ready to fight those ‘pathetic people’?”
“…Yes.”
Arti spoke resolutely.
“If that’s why I’m becoming stronger… then I’ll gladly walk that path and become your ‘sword.’ And as I walk it, I want to become someone who can stand proudly before the Saintess, too.”
“That’s good.”
“Is it?”
“…For Aria.”
“Huh?”
Lydia didn’t answer. Instead, she looked toward the suite’s front door. A silver-haired girl with a disgruntled expression was peeking through the half-open doorway.
Their eyes met.
Arti’s face turned bright red.
“Gasp—?!”
“….”
Aria approached in quick little steps, wrapped in a blanket. Then she lightly tapped Arti’s stomach with her fist. It was a playful gesture, almost affectionate.
Thump—!
“Ugh, cough, hack…?!”
“…Just this once.”
“W-what?”
“Your chest.”
“I’m sorry.”
Aria looked at Lydia.
“So was Lydia trying to make the Hero ‘her pet sword’? To help people? …I misunderstood without knowing that.”
“Pet sword? What are you talking about?”
“You trained the Hero like a pet.”
“….”
Lydia pinched the space between her brows slightly.
“…Aria, ‘sword’ is just a metaphor for a direct subordinate or a knight you can trust. It doesn’t mean someone you keep as a pet, like a dog or a cat.”
“….”
Aria spoke calmly. But her ears were bright red.
“I knew that. It’s just that I’m from a commoner background, so I used a rural expression from the Theocracy.”
“The Southern Continent uses Gallian as its common language, but there’s no such bizarre dialect. At least, not in the royal archives.”
“….”
Aria lowered her head.
But what surprised Arti was something else.
“Huh? S-Saintess, you’re a commoner…?”
“?”
“?”
Lydia said,
“You didn’t know?”
“N-not at all.”
“You’re pretty bold, too. I thought you were so comfortable hanging around Aria because you knew she was a Saintess from a commoner background. You’ve been following her around even though you thought she was a noblewoman of the Theocracy?”
“….”
This time, Arti lowered his head. His ears were red, too.
“The nobles of the Theocracy treated her with such reverence, so I thought the Saintess was a noble, too….”
“In the Theocracy, religious authority is recognized above one’s birth status.”
“…I didn’t know.”
“Hmm.”
Good grief….
In the eroge,
it was just a misunderstanding resolved through some early affection dialogue.
‘Now that this is reality, was this a little mishap caused by how much more awkward it is to ask about each other’s status?’
Aria kept her head bowed and gave Arti, who was also looking down, a light tap on the arm. It was the shy, bashful gesture of a girl who was embarrassed.
Wham—!
“Guh…?! No, Saintess, why was that so hard…?”
“I knew.”
“Huh?”
“That you’re a commoner, Hero.”
“….”
“So I want you to know that, too.”
“…Yes.”
Lydia looked on with satisfaction.
Only then did Arti and Aria look at each other for the first time. They must have been expressing their regret at having been so late to understand each other.
“….”
Before they knew it,
dawn had broken.
The dark night passed,
and the time for the final test drew near.
“We should get ready.”
“!”
“!”
Arti and Aria answered.
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
Lydia continued the conversation in her mind.
‘Because those pathetic people will be making their move soon.’
*
The stairs leading up to the academy chapel were quiet.
Normally,
it was the path the cadets of the Department of Theology took to attend morning prayer.
But today, only two people climbed the stairs.
Arti and Aria.
They were wearing their academy uniforms. They wore neither sacred vestments nor elegant armor and ceremonial cloaks.
They climbed in nothing but their ordinary academy uniforms.
At the end of that path was the Hero and Saintess’s final test, and the first step toward the future.
“….”
“….”
Instructor Zach, the training assistants, and the holy knights stood below the chapel.
Everyone except the Prayer Priest, the witness to the final test, watched them climb from below, holding their breath.
The final test would now take place up there.
“….”
“….”
“….”
In the silence,
the chapel doors opened.
Rumble—
-The rite is ready. The two of you may enter.
At the Prayer Priest’s words,
the Hero and Saintess entered.
Adrian looked at them and said,
“Normally, either I or the Inquisitor presides over this test. But at the Saintess’s will, as the divine representative, she will preside over the test and receive the Hero candidate’s oath.”
Aria nodded.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“…So I will take part beside her as a notary.”
“Understood.”
“Then begin.”
Arti and Aria looked ahead.
The sacred altar was glowing.
The design embodying the light of the sun and the sacred statue of the Sun God glowed softly. If someone made a false oath before it, or possessed the power of darkness, it would be exposed.
“….”
“….”
But they weren’t anxious.
Both of them
had come with sincere hearts.
Aria went before the altar and said,
“Hero candidate, come forward.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
“Kneel beneath the sacred sun.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
Arti knelt before her. He wasn’t kneeling to surrender to anyone, but to prove himself.
Aria hesitated for a moment.
“….”
Normally,
she would have had to say: Respect the nations and nobles, and do them no harm.
Submit beneath the banner and authority of the Theocracy.
…That was what she was supposed to say, but.
‘I… am the divine representative. I have the right to ensure no nation or power blocks his path.’
So she said something a little different.
“Hero candidate, swear that you will not abandon your pride or convictions.”
“I swear that I will not abandon my pride or convictions.”
The light of the altar grew stronger.
It meant his heart was true.
“Hero candidate, swear that you will not flee from the voices of the wronged or the conscience within you.”
“I swear that I will not flee from the voices of the wronged or the conscience within me.”
Aria asked,
“Do you swear, beneath the Sun God, to believe in the light?”
“Yes, I swear.”
Arti answered.
“…And.”
“?”
“I will trust you.”
“!”
With trembling hands,
Aria reached out to take Arti’s hand.
Just as their hands were about to touch,
the chapel doors burst open.
Bang—!
“?!”
“?!”
When they turned,
a figure cloaked in shadows stood with the dawn at his back.
Adrian spoke solemnly.
“Inquisitor, the test is underway. You must not interrupt…”
“…Shut up.”
Raul slowly pointed at Aria and Arti. Red eyes glowed within his shadow.
“You are heretics.”
“What…?”
“I declare you heretics for defying the Sun God’s destiny.”
Behind him,
a tremendous scream rang out.
-Kyaaaah?!
-Monsters! Monsters have appeared—!
-Monsters have appeared in the shopping district and at the academy!
Raul drew his sword, leaving the screams behind him.
Shing—
“As an Inquisitor… it is my duty to correct what is wrong.”