Chapter 122
Chapter 122
All eyes in the hall were focused on me.
Carius stood there with his mouth agape, wearing an expression that said he had no idea what was going on, while Darius frowned deeply, his gaze brimming with displeasure.
Behind them, murmurs filled with shock rose from nameless extras, and even from my own party, no small amount of unrest slowly seeped out. Still, my gaze was fixed solely on the Saintess who had caused this entire mess.
Violet eyes that did not match her snow-white hair. Someone had once said that looking into them felt like staring into a bottomless abyss, but all that surged up in me was irritation.
‘I had no intention of making such a spectacle.’
But could I really expose Alice?
No matter how tightly one kept things under wraps, there were always gaps. And those gaps would inevitably become fatal openings for us in one way or another.
‘Damn it, I’ll have to revise the entire plan.’
On the way here, I had assumed even the worst of the worst, but I had never imagined things would unfold like this. That Saintess alone had ruined everything.
When I turned my gaze toward the Holy King, he too looked as though this was the first he was hearing of it, clearly shaken. Moreover, he seemed quite flustered by the notion that I was a Hero.
‘Does he already know that Alice is the Hero?’
Still, no matter how perceptive he was, he could never have predicted that the Saintess would so openly speak of the Hero, or that I would step forward and claim to be one myself.
“…Things have grown a bit noisy. I will have rooms prepared in a palace annex, so you should rest there, recover from your journey, and prepare for the exchange event.”
Before the situation grew any more complicated, the Holy King stepped in to contain it.
It was little more than a cover-up, but Carius snapped back to his senses at those words, then bowed his head and responded. He gestured to the group, signaling that they should leave.
Even as the Bayern Academy representative group exited the audience chamber, everyone continued to cast sidelong glances our way. I maintained as calm an expression as possible and walked out ahead of them.
“Ostia.”
“…Understood.”
Carius, walking beside me, called out in a low voice.
I would have preferred he refrained, given how much attention we were already drawing, but now that things had turned out this way, there were matters I needed to speak with him about frankly.
Soon, we arrived at the annex the Holy King had assigned to us. The inn we had stayed at in the capital had been luxurious enough, but naturally, the Holy Palace was on an entirely different level.
Places that upheld religion usually devoted everything beyond the bare minimum of assets to aiding the populace, but the Holy Palace symbolized the authority of the Holy Kingdom, and beyond that, the god they served. Compared even to my own palace, this splendor left nothing lacking.
Yet the Bayern Academy Representative Team seemed too distracted by other matters to feel much awe at the scenery before them.
Amid the lingering confusion, Carius clapped his hands to draw everyone’s attention.
“As the Holy King said, from here on, rest and prepare individually for the upcoming exchange event. If anything comes up, direct your questions to your respective representatives.”
Finishing his words succinctly, he dismissed the group before any further chatter could arise. I, too, turned without a word and returned to the room assigned to me.
Knock, knock-.
Not long after, someone knocked on the door. Thinking it might be Carius, I opened it, only to find familiar faces standing there.
“Ostia, can we come in?”
Alice and the rest of my companions looked up at me. As soon as I opened the door, they rushed inside and took their seats. Then they all stared at me like baby birds waiting to be fed.
It was clearly because of my declaration during the earlier audience that I was a Hero. Letting out a sigh, I pulled over a chair and sat down in front of them.
“You all know that I obtained Excalibur.”
“Yeah.”
“Separate from that, there are those in this world who are chosen by the goddess. Each of them bears that mark on their body.”
“And you were chosen too?”
“…….”
At Werner’s question, I looked at Alice.
The lie I had used back when I first met her, to persuade her to take my side, now came back to me like this. But Alice herself had also concealed the fact that she was the Hero. Now, I intended to set that straight.
“No, I was not chosen. The one who was chosen is Alice.”
“……!”
Everyone’s gaze snapped toward Alice. She looked back at me with a complicated expression.
“Normally, being chosen alone isn’t enough to be called a Hero. But she truly was chosen by the goddess. You’ve all heard myths or heroic tales as children, haven’t you? Alice stands in the same lineage as those beings.”
“Then why…….”
Why had I called myself a Hero?
Someone cautiously voiced the question.
Hearing the hesitation in that voice, I could tell they had imagined all sorts of possibilities in that brief moment—from me coveting the glory of the Hero and trying to steal it, to using it for some ulterior purpose.
Given my past actions, I couldn’t exactly deny it, but I shook my head with a bitter smile.
“I knew from the beginning that Alice was the Hero. She tried hard to hide it, though. Of course, I wasn’t jealous of it, nor was I trying to take it from her.”
“You said you were chosen just like me, so it was even. And I needed at least one piece of insurance. …After that, I missed the timing to say anything.”
“I don’t blame you for it. I already knew anyway, and you must have needed a shield in your own way. But….”
The Saintess with near-silver white hair and violet eyes. Because of that one woman, everything we had built up until now had become tangled.
“Alice being revealed as the Hero right now is unacceptable. We’ve seen it in Britain, in the Kingdom of Demedrio, in South Yorkshire, and in Leipzig. The Majin and the Demons are strong. Until now, we were lucky, and we were able to turn situations in our favor using information only we knew. But if it becomes known that Alice is the Hero, all of their attention will converge on her. If we’re careless, a monster even I can’t handle might come after us.”
“That’s….”
At those words, everyone fell silent, at a loss for what to say.
As I said earlier, everyone must have heard plenty of old legends or myths when they were young. So you should at least be able to grasp how heavy the name “Hero” truly is.
“But that damned Saintess ruined everything. If only I could tear that smiling face of hers apart…….”
I wanted nothing more than to shred her face to pieces, but the Saintess was, like Alice, an important figure in the upcoming battle against the Demonic Realm. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do that.
‘But I have no intention of letting this slide.’
“…Then why would the Saintess bring something like that up? From what I saw earlier, it didn’t seem like the others knew either. Was it a slip of the tongue because she’s still young?”
At Reyis’s words, I shook my head. The Saintess was not stupid. If anything, she was more cunning than anyone else here.
‘She’s only a year younger than us, after all.’
If it became known that Alice was the Hero, public attention would inevitably converge on her.
As interest rose, danger would naturally follow, and it would lend weight to the Holy Kingdom’s stance of protecting her until she matured. Put simply, they were trying to cut off my escape route.
“It seems they’ve already finished investigating our side. And it looks like the Saintess holds no small amount of influence within the Holy Kingdom.”
With the position of being the Holy King’s granddaughter and bearing the title of Saintess, she would wield authority second only to the Holy King himself within the Holy Kingdom.
Judging by how the Holy King and the high-ranking bishops seated there earlier had been unable to say a single word before leaving, it felt as though she had been coddled and indulged all this time.
Knock knock-.
In the midst of our discussion, someone knocked on the door again.
Thinking this time it must surely be Carius, I opened the door, only to find a single knight clad in white armor standing before it.
“I am Paladin Aion. The Saintess has invited you to a luncheon banquet. If you have the time, she sincerely hopes you will attend.”
Aion spoke with utmost politeness, but in his eyes was a will that brooked no refusal.
Yet more than his attitude, I found his words utterly absurd.
‘To use someone of Paladin rank as nothing more than a messenger.’
Simply put, a Paladin could be considered the Holy Kingdom’s Sword Master. Not only were they deeply devout, but their martial prowess surpassed the limits of humanity, making them monsters in their own right.
Perhaps he had been ordered to bring me no matter what, because a faint pressure radiated from his entire body, bearing down on me. I snorted and scattered my own presence in response.
Boom.
With the door between us, the auras of two transcendent humans collided.
Aion looked shocked, as though it had never crossed his mind that I might stand on the same level as him, and he was pushed back a step by the clash of pressure.
“…….”
Even among Sword Masters, there were levels.
In other words, to someone like me, who had already achieved one awakening, an ordinary Paladin or a run-of-the-mill Sword Master was no match.
However, perhaps thinking that his retreat was due to a sudden ambush, he flushed slightly and forcefully flared his aura once more.
I did not meet it head-on. Instead, I lifted the corner of my mouth slightly and spoke.
“So the Holy Kingdom’s Paladins lack manners.”
“…….”
At that taunt—asking whether his competitive spirit took precedence over his master’s orders—Aion seemed to realize the situation. He erased his aura in an instant, his face reddening once more, and bowed his head with an apologetic expression.
“…I beg your pardon. However, the Saintess truly looks forward to meeting you.”
Seeing a man of Paladin rank practically pleading like this was not an unpleasant feeling. So I turned back toward my companions inside and spoke.
“Then I’ll go and return shortly. I’ve already given Alice a rough explanation, so she’ll fill you in.”
During the carriage ride here, Alice had read through the contents written on the parchment. I left the details to her and followed behind Aion.
“…….”
As we walked through the corridors of the Holy Palace, Aion kept stealing glances in my direction. He seemed to think he was being discreet, but it was painfully obvious.
“You’re a Paladin, so you know my status.”
“…Yes, Your Highness Leios.”
But separate from that, he would never have imagined that I had reached the level of a Sword Master.
Aion was the youngest Paladin in the Holy Kingdom.
A powerful warrior who adored the Saintess and served at her side. Yet the fact that someone at least ten years younger than him had reached a realm comparable to his own must have left him no choice but to be stunned.
Still, as if determined not to make the same mistake twice, he carried out his duty with due responsibility.
Knock.
“Saintess, Paladin Aion has returned with His Highness Leios.”
Having moved from the annex to the central building, we stood before a massive door. When Aion knocked, it slowly opened, revealing the interior.
White walls were inlaid with golden crosses and emblems symbolizing the Holy Kingdom. And at the center, atop a large table, a lavish spread of food had been laid out.
“Ah.”
Whether she had prepared it herself or was merely pretending to, the Saintess—who had been setting the plates—looked up at our arrival and approached us.
“Your Highness Leios, I have heard much of your illustrious reputation. Was there anything uncomfortable during your stay in the Holy Kingdom?”
She then lifted both sides of her skirt slightly in the manner of an imperial noble’s greeting and approached me with a playful expression. If Petra or Alice had done that, I might have found it cute.
But knowing her duplicitous nature, seeing her act that way instead made me feel a tinge of revulsion.
“Uncomfortable, you say…….”
I mulled over her words and extended one hand.
She must have taken it as an offer of a handshake, because she smiled brightly and reached out—but instead, I immediately summoned Excalibur and swung for her neck.
Clang-!
A sharp metallic cry rang out through the room. Unfortunately, Excalibur failed to complete its task.
At some point, Aion—who had been watching us with a satisfied expression—had drawn his sword and blocked my attack.
Because it all happened in a split second, he must not have blocked it perfectly; a thin line of vivid red blood trickled down from the Saintess’s neck where Excalibur’s tip had grazed her.
“T-this is……!”
Aion stared at me with eyes wide in shock.
“O Saintess of the Holy Kingdom.”
The Saintess herself was no different. She lifted her head with a blank expression, as though she could not comprehend the situation she now faced.
At that, I twisted my lips into a distorted smile and spoke to her.
“Do you wish to die?”