Chapter 129

〈 Chapter 130 〉 Relic Allocation (5)

*

Relic: Resonance (4-Star, Bow)

Owner: Ludmilla Gruendenvalt (Hero)

Heir: Sung Yoo-rang (Hero Candidate)

Submitting the following proposal for the inheritance of the Relic Resonance.

Evidence is the record of Sung Yoo-rang’s use of Resonance recorded in the ‘Lake’.

Hero Candidate Yoo-rang smoothly utilizes Resonance with wind magic…

“Hmmm…”

Ludmilla, who was writing the proposal with her pen, stopped for a moment.

The word ‘smoothly’ wasn’t quite right.

‘That guy back then…’

She felt resistance.

Though she pretended to be indifferent, as the owner of the bow, she knew better than anyone.

That was a sensation she felt each time she drew the bow.

‘Especially when flicking the last arrow, the level of resistance was severe.’

The last arrow that had absorbed three arrows.

That guy’s first attempt to flick it was practically a failure.

‘At that point, I didn’t even know if he would succeed.’

But in the next attempt, he changed.

Suddenly, a strange wind flowed from him, and he succeeded in flicking the arrow.

Yet, there was definitely visible fatigue in him.

‘Was it just simple fatigue?’

The level of relics could be considered absolute.

Ordinary humans could never hope to wield a relic no matter how hard they tried.

Yet, he suddenly became able to use the relic all at once.

Is it possible to do that simply in exchange for fatigue?

That’s absurd.

There must be some kind of other price.

‘But still…’

That was his own judgment.

Using Resonance was a price worth paying.

He must have deemed it as such himself.

And if possible, she wanted to respect that judgment.

‘I wouldn’t have been any different.’

She raised her right hand, which wasn’t holding the pen.

Her hand was rough, calloused, and now looked unsightly.

Despite that, each time she used Resonance, the callus would split open and bleed.

It hurt.

Even if she didn’t use the bow, a numb pain lingered in her fingers.

Because of this, she, who was originally right-handed, had to learn to hold the pen and fork with her left hand.

That was her price to pay.

So, she had a little hope that Sung Yoo-rang, who could handle the wind, might be able to shoot without such a price.

But it turned out that even Yoo-rang had another price to pay.

‘What that price is, I don’t know, but…’

Still, just as she endured the chronic pain in her hand to flick the arrow, he must have had the same resolve.

She did not want to ignore that resolve.

So, she continued writing the proposal.

…Can use without hindrance.

Therefore, I am confident that he is a worthy candidate for inheriting the relic Resonance.

Now, all that remains is for this proposal to pass the Apostle meeting.

*

Underground of the Church Headquarters.

In the deepest secret chamber of the Church, individuals cloaked in white robes gathered.

They were called ‘Apostles’.

Everyone wore the same white robes, and thanks to the magic placed on them, their faces were obscured, making it practically impossible to distinguish one from another.

Unlike the numbered Demon Kings, they didn’t even have titles to identify one another.

This was due to their ideology that prioritized their role as the High Priest’s subordinates over individuality.

However, they at least had minimal roles, with the Apostle who seemed to be the chair of the meeting speaking first.

His voice had an oddly monotonous and dry male tone, almost like it was altered.

“Year 513 of Chaos, fourth quarter. Let’s commence the regular Apostle meeting.”

The regular Apostle meeting.

Unlike the Demon Kings, they held meetings quarterly.

Given their important role in the Church, there were tasks they had to regularly handle.

One of those was the evaluation of Hero successors.

“First, we must address… the Hero candidates from the Hero Academy, which occurs every fourth quarter.”

“Understood.”

The reply came in a similarly altered voice but with a hint of fatigue.

The Apostle in charge of paperwork placed a few documents on the table.

All were related to the inheritance at the Hero Academy.

“Then, shall we start with the 3-Star relics first?”

For 3-Star relics, there were almost no cases where inheritance was impossible unless extremely unusual.

Their importance was quite low as well.

“Pass.”

“Pass.”

“Pass.”

Thus, most relics were approved by the chair in a brief manner.

But things changed from 4-Star onward.

“Next is the Relic Resonance. The owner is Hero Ludmilla, and the heir is Candidate Sung Yoo-rang.”

4-Star relics were far fewer in number than 3-Star relics, and to inherit, it was necessary to verify that the individual could wield the relic.

Therefore, it was usually a common practice for one Apostle to oversee the testing of qualifications, but at the Hero Academy, it was simply enough to test during trials and submit the records, making it quite straightforward.

“The submitted evidence is the record saved in the lake.”

And the Apostles had a means to bring out those records from the lake.

An Apostle poured water brought from the Trial Lake into a basin and illuminated it with a lantern.

Suddenly, the ceiling began projecting the records from the lake.

In the footage, Yoo-rang was seen plucking the strings of the bow.

Then, three arrows stuck in the distance burst at once.

Anyone could clearly see it was a display of Resonance.

“There are no signs of external manipulation.”

“The finicky Ludmilla chose him, so there’s no reason to suspect his archery skills.”

“No, his archery skills seemed quite lacking during the graduation tournament.”

“If that’s the case, did Ludmilla, having lost Wilhelm, choose him out of desperation?”

A moment of silence followed.

The lack of archery skills was indeed a valid reason to reject the inheritance.

However, as an Apostle was watching the repeatedly looping record, one of them remarked.

“While there are many who can draw that bow, very few can flick it. She must have made the right choice.”

“That’s true. Then, how many Apostles agree to the inheritance?”

Most of the Apostles raised their hands.

“Then, who disagrees?”

None.

They had already given quite a few privileges to Ludmilla under the pretext of seeking a successor.

If it continued for another year, the processing would become quite troublesome.

“Then, what is the Hero ranking of the heir, Sung Yoo-rang?”

Inheritance wasn’t just about taking over the relic.

It was also possible to inherit part of the hero ranking of the owner along with the relic.

And if the owner was a high-ranking hero, that was a significant matter.

“Ludmilla is currently ranked 75th. According to precedent from the last 75th ranked hero’s inheritance, he was placed at 300th.”

From 75th to 300th.

The difference was more significant than mere numbers, but one had to consider that 300th was still fairly high for a newcomer who had just become a Hero.

Not excessively low for a high-ranking hero’s successor, nor overly high for a newbie.

That was 300th.

“Let’s set it at 300th. After all, rankings will adjust over time according to one’s abilities.”

There was again no opposing opinion.

Thus, the Hero ranking of Sung Yoo-rang was decided at 300th.

However, with a few more 4-Star relic inheritances decided afterwards, his rank ultimately ended up at 305th.

“Is this all finalized?”

The Apostle in charge of the documents nodded and began to put the papers away again.

“Then, as briefly mentioned earlier, let’s discuss Wilhelm.”

A regular meeting wasn’t solely for the same work every time.

Exchanging information about individual duties and discussing recent pressing matters was also a role of the meeting.

And one of the most important recent matters was Wilhelm.

“We have successfully secured Wilhelm, thanks to our thorough investigation into the Rosemond Family.”

“Now, what are we supposed to do with Wilhelm?”

“First, we keep him underground and acclimate him to the ‘Thorn’. That was the extent of the High Priest’s command.”

The High Priest’s orders.

An absolute factor that moved the Apostles.

The fact that the Apostles had regular meetings and evaluated successors was all made possible by the High Priest’s commands.

“Understood. Then, regarding Yusera, did the High Priest mention anything specific?”

“Nothing has changed since last time. Interactions with Yusera are now prohibited.”

“But my investigation revealed that Yusera had no involvement with Allen Pleuk before the graduation tournament…”

“Remove your emotions, Apostle. I know that you effectively raised that individual, but a mere sentiment should not exist for an Apostle.”

“Understood.”

The reprimanded Apostle lowered his head in reflection.

Seeing his self-reflection, the chair Apostle continued.

“Moreover, it is merely your speculation that letting Yusera slip from our grasp is related to Allen Pleuk.”

“That’s… true.”

Confirming his self-reflection, the Apostle moved on to the next subject.

“And the High Priest made a decision regarding the information that Allen Pleuk will head to the Central Sea System.”

It was something he learned from the conversation between Allen and Gwen during the recent graduation tournament.

Naturally, it had been reported to the High Priest, and a decision regarding that had also been made.

“The High Priest instructed that we send as many Heroes as possible to assist him in the Central Sea System.”

“But at the moment, the situation in the Leim Kingdom also seems strange…”

“Apostle, that is the High Priest’s command. The High Priest is not blind to that fact. Yet, even so, sending the Heroes to the Central Sea System is certainly the High Priest’s intent.”

The Apostles were beings that followed solely the High Priest’s command.

There should be no room for doubt.

Even if that command was utterly incomprehensible.

“After all, he is the one who has saved this world until now.”

With those words, the chair Apostle slowly stood up.

The other Apostles simultaneously rose from their seats as well.

“Then let’s conclude this meeting. For humanity, for the gods…”

All of them recited the prayer in their monotonous voices.

“For the world.”

*

“With the inheritance complete, we’ll soon be graduating.”

The student cafeteria had a drastically different atmosphere than before.

I was sitting across from Elsie, having a meal.

“Right, graduation is just around the corner.”

In fact, at this point, I was already a Hero rather than just a Hero Candidate since the inheritance was over.

However, since Elsie’s relic allocation had not concluded yet, I decided to stay here until the graduation ceremony.

After all, there was no gain in rushing to the Leim Kingdom.

“By the way, I wonder how Yusera is doing?”

I must have revealed my anxious feelings.

Just to be clear, Yusera was invited to a lunch appointment with Headmaster Heinz to inherit a relic.

Honestly, I was worried, but I could only trust Heinz’s friendly nature.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do to help her.”

Of course, I did remind her not to do about ten things before going.

But still, I was uneasy about Yusera.

‘How did those Apostles raise Yusera, anyway?’

They seemed like capable individuals, but I couldn’t help but wonder.

Separately, there were aspects that felt eerie.

Especially considering their demeanor as shown in the Hundred Braves, there surely seemed to be a spy from the Demon Kings among them.

‘They seem to have cleanly given up on Yusera for some reason.’

Despite providing her with a talented swordsmanship instructor, they had invested quite generously in Yusera.

However, recent reports suggested that contact with them had completely ceased for Yusera.

‘Did they realize my contact?’

No, that couldn’t be.

I had avoided that by having direct dealings with the High Priest.

Only a few colleagues and the High Priest knew that I was both Sung Yoo-rang and Allen. Therefore, it must have been the High Priest who directly issued orders to them.

‘These guys would hardly move without the High Priest’s command in the first place.’

And the High Priest was clearly at odds with the Demon Kings.

So there was no need to worry too much about those who followed the High Priest’s orders.

Moreover, I was quite overwhelmed trying to focus on the Leim Kingdom right now.

“Let’s go back there then.”

That place meant trials.

I didn’t have any particular plan besides that, and recently I had been running practical drills by implementing the Leim Kingdom into the trials.

“Um…”

“Yeah?”

“Since we’ll be graduating soon, and we can’t properly practice without Yusera here…”

She turned her head shyly while maintaining her characteristic mischief-filled eyes.

This was probably it.

‘Of course, it’s nice…’

Moreover, this could be considered a significant element in the bond between Elsie and me.

But still, it was a bit frightening.

While I could replenish my stamina in the trials, what if we had to do it in reality afterwards…

‘But even stamina stats don’t grow well here.’

It seems like I need to seriously contemplate this matter sooner or later.

*