That night, in the Academy dormitory.
“So, are you participating too?”
“Looks like it…”
LuDel nodded at Kurt’s question and let out a short sigh.
This whole situation basically left LuDel without a choice.
After all, it was the Pope’s words, equivalent to the Empire’s emperor.
Unless he wanted to be marked by the Church that spread across the continent, he had no choice but to accept.
“Don’t think of it too negatively! It means the Pope recognized your true worth!”
“I-I think the same as the Duchess… C-Count Weinstein is an incredible person…”
“Flattery won’t get you extra research funding.”
“N-No…!! I-I’m serious!”
Silphier, who emitted a disappointed sound, shook her head, puffing her cheeks like a chipmunk and shouted.
Kurt sitting next to them nodded along.
“She’s right. You are an excellent leader and warrior. That’s undeniable.”
“Kurt, you too…”
Why is everyone overrated me like this?
With that thought, LuDel stared out the window.
Prucelium, enveloped in deep darkness, sparkled with gorgeous lights as always.
“A hero…”
In his first life, he had dreamed of such a thing.
Thinking back, it was truly a foolish dream.
“So, when does this selection thing start?”
“A month from now. It will take place in the Yustania Kingdom.”
Yustania Kingdom.
It was a nation formed around priests serving the gods, the only city-state on the continent, and the first nation as well.
Also, it was the most religious nation on the continent.
“Do we really have to go there…?”
“We have no choice. The Holy Sword is there.”
The distance between the kingdom and the Holy Kingdom was far enough that it would take at least over a week.
But considering the weight of the term Holy Sword, it wouldn’t make sense to hold the selection abroad.
For LuDel and his group, they had no choice but to accept.
“If we go to the Holy Kingdom, we’ll actually get to see the Holy Sword, right? They say it’s the world’s best sword…”
“Don’t trust rumors. The best weapon is the one that has endured many years together.”
Kurt responded coldly to Reje, who spoke with sparkling eyes filled with excitement.
“But it’s the Holy Sword! The world’s best sword? Isn’t that tempting?”
“For the Nord Clan, a weapon is like a lover. Anyone who carelessly changes weapons when there are better ones is bound to die because of it.”
“Why not just throw a curse then…”
Reje, looking utterly stunned, changed the subject again.
“By the way, is that rumor really true? They say only the chosen one can even pick up the Holy Sword.”
According to the rumor, the Holy Sword was kept deep within the sacred site of the Holy Kingdom, and it could not even be moved unless by the chosen one.
It sounded like tales from a legendary European country notorious for bad food or a hero wielding a hammer from famous American comics, but this world was a fictional one.
It wouldn’t be strange if something that looked familiar appeared.
“It must be some kind of magic. I’ve heard there are those among the Nord Clan who can wield such magic.”
“What do you think, LuDel?”
“Well… I don’t think it’s strange for such a sword to exist.”
After all, it was a world where monsters roamed, and magic and divine powers truly existed.
A cursed sword wouldn’t be anything unusual.
“Seriously, why are us guys so devoid of romance?”
Reje grumbled in disbelief at their reactions…
“Everyone who valued romance is dead.”
“Romance doesn’t feed you.”
“Right, why would I discuss this with you guys.”
With a look of fatigue, Reje squinted her eyes and sat down with a short sigh.
“Speaking of which, how are you planning to prepare?”
“Me? I’m not planning to prepare at all?”
Since he wasn’t even participating out of his own will, LuDel thought he would just do what was necessary to not stand out too much.
But then… it happened.
“Are you kidding me? You plan to just wing it on a massive stage?!”
“No, I never intended to participate in the first place…”
“You can’t do that! Until the selection, I’ll train you hard!”
“Huh? Training? W-Wait a second!? What are you doing!? Why are you dragging me off!?”
As Reje stood up and shouted, she grabbed LuDel’s arm and headed somewhere, leaving LuDel unable to resist at all.
“I-I’m fine…!! Somebody stop her!!”
LuDel desperately tried to escape Reje’s grip, but he had no chance against her strength.
“Accept it, it’s your fate.”
“H-Hang in there! I’ll cheer for you too!”
In a frantic voice, LuDel sought help, but no one stepped in…
“You traitors!!”
LuDel’s outcry echoed through the long hallway.
*
A month swiftly passed,
“Ughhhh… I’m dying…”
“Dying over that? Your stamina really sucks, doesn’t it? We’ve been taking it super easy.”
Inside a flamboyantly designed carriage, LuDel groaned.
Seeing this, Reje looked at him incredulously.
“If you train by your standards, normal people would really die…”
Reje’s training regimen was literally murderous.
Starting from basic exercises like push-ups and sit-ups to swinging the sword 10,000 times a day, and running around the playground a hundred times…
While she might think it was nothing serious, if an ordinary person followed her routine, they wouldn’t last a few days before facing death.
“Still, by now, you should have built enough basic stamina, right?”
“But I’m a magician…”
Have you ever seen a physically trained magician?
At least LuDel hadn’t.
“Even if you’re a magician, you still need stamina! No matter what, you’re way too scrawny!”
“Ugh…”
“She’s right. A man should have at least some stamina.”
“Are you going to say that too…”
Kurt, who was watching the two bicker, said this, and LuDel narrowed his eyes at him.
He felt like he wanted to defend himself immediately, but he couldn’t.
That was because Kurt was the only person in the academy who could keep up with her routine.
The physical monsters of the academy.
From LuDel’s perspective, that was the only way to describe those two.
“I think you’re being very rude.”
“I didn’t think anything.”
LuDel, avoiding Kurt’s squint-eyed gaze, turned to look out the window.
The air had grown chilly, and the sky was turning a deeper shade of blue.
Golden fields of wheat swayed gently in the autumn breeze.
“I hope the territory is doing fine…”
LuDel murmured as he gazed at the scenery.
According to Kyle’s letter, everything was running smoothly, but still, she couldn’t help but worry.
She never knew when the Church would reach out its monstrous claws.
Of course, the military power of the Count’s domain had become quite formidable, so they wouldn’t be so defenseless, but still, it was human psychology that one could never feel completely at ease.
Just then, while LuDel looked worriedly out the window,
“Guys! Look over there!”
Reje shouted as if she had found something, and the group turned their heads toward the window.
“Whoa…”
“That’s incredible.”
“T-That’s the Sacred Flame Tower…”
And at that moment, they couldn’t help but exclaim in awe.
A vast expanse of golden wheatfields sprawled across the plains.
Beyond that, an enormous structure was visible.
A gigantic white tree extended endlessly toward the sky in a spiral shape.
At the top of that tree rested a structure resembling a temple, and a bright light was radiating from within it.
“That’s the Sacred Flame Tower…”
The structure was called the Sacred Flame Tower.
It was built by the gods after ending the heavenly war to signify that they would never wage war again.
It was said that the sacred flame at the top, powered by the gods themselves, had never once gone out in thousands of years.
Whether that story was true or not was another matter, but the sight soaring skyward was solemn enough even for LuDel, who had little faith.
“Finally, we’ve arrived…”
Seeing that meant they were not far from the Holy Kingdom anymore.
What kind of incidents would await them this time…
With that thought, LuDel gazed intently at the approaching Sacred Flame Tower.
