Aisha.
The user who holds the 9th rank and the only “Second Job” of the hidden class.
Commonly known as the Sword Saint (劒星), she was famous for her exceptional swordsmanship, and after the former top-ranked “Sword God” disappeared, she became the best swordsman among users.
Additionally, she was in a situation where she learned the absurd technique called “Cutting the Sky” from Lily.
Aisha was experiencing a second prime time in her career, thriving compared to her days as a professional or when she used to follow the Sword God…
But.
“…With great power comes great responsibility. You know, that sort of thing?”
Her actual performance in the Siege War was lackluster.
Or rather, could that even be called performance?
Her opponent was a ranker hovering around the 20-30 range.
Among them, Ayane, who stood out in the Rookie Alliance, was somewhat strong but not enough to surpass the Sword Saint’s sword.
Ayane couldn’t defeat the Sword Saint and indeed hastily fled…
“…Damn.”
She couldn’t catch her.
She had to let Ayane go while being trapped in a crowd, unable to strike the villagers manipulated by the Puppet Technique.
Fortunately, as time passed, the Puppet Technique was released, and she managed to break free, but she couldn’t bring herself to move forward.
It was pathetic.
‘Even if I gained strong power, it’s useless.’
Holding a few people hostage, and she couldn’t do anything.
In the past, she wouldn’t have hesitated to strike.
Back when she was famous as the Sword Saint, she saw the villagers as nothing more than “NPCs.”
She wouldn’t have cared if a few got hurt or died.
Of course, knowing they were Lily’s villagers, she would have been cautious, but now her perception of them had changed somewhat.
“……”
They were similar to people.
No matter how much they were NPCs, it didn’t feel right to view them as consumables, things to be discarded.
Though she wasn’t sure why, it was certainly enough to stop her.
Aisha returned to the academy’s training ground and swung her sword.
Having been in a daze, the Siege War was over, so she should finish what she was doing before.
Whoosh!
‘I was flustered back then, but… there were plenty of ways to escape. Like using the sword’s reverse strike to lightly push her away. They might understand if I just grazed her.’
Whoosh!
‘Or it could’ve been possible to briefly bind her with what I learned in magic class. Damn, have I stiffened up from swinging my sword too much?’
Whoosh!
‘…Otherwise, utilizing the “Second Job” wouldn’t have been a bad idea either. Folding my wings to create an opening and slip away, something like that. How foolish.’
There were more than enough ways to escape.
There were countless ways to do it.
Even if they were controlled by Puppet Technique, they were merely level 30 residents.
To make it hard to touch them, there were no buffs like Body Enhancement, so if they wanted to escape, it would have been easy.
However, the situation being experienced for the first time kept Aisha from making a choice.
To Aisha, who was slowly trying to rise higher, the residents below seemed like they would break with just a slight touch.
Huff!
“…Is Lily getting stronger by keeping track of everything like this?”
She thought Lily was probably much, much, much stronger than her.
She said she wouldn’t participate, but when they crossed the line, she went here and there, turning castles upside down.
If Lily had won by an overwhelming difference, there might have been some talk.
But as a broadcaster who thrives on public attention, she wrapped up the siege war by forfeiting the victory.
‘The Medium and Small Alliance might be a bit mad about that.’
Other guilds, alliances, and kingdoms were satisfied, so it should be considered a decent conclusion.
Huff!
‘If she’s that strong, she should naturally develop a sense of superiority.’
Why on earth does she care about and look after the weak like this?
It’s not strange to look after the weak, and in fact, there are those among the seasoned veterans who nurture only newbies, but Lily took it to an extreme.
They only provide help to a few specific people they like, but Lily’s target was hundreds or thousands of unspecified individuals.
Even at the end, freezing all the castle troops and giving the weak guild a chance to reclaim was…
“…I don’t know. Reality or Deoen.”
I thought reality was harder to grasp, but now that I think about it, Deoen seems even more incomprehensible.
What on earth are they doing and what happened in the past?
Huff… Up!
“Ugh?!”
Clang!
The sword fell.
Amidst countless thoughts, Aisha continued to swing her sword, but now she reached down with trembling hands to pick it up again.
Was she pushing herself too hard?
But up until now, she had never dropped her sword just because she swung it a bit…
─When that day comes, I guess I’ll have to make a choice. It seems I’ve already picked a side.
“?! Who is it?!”
Huff… huff…
Aisha hurriedly reached for her sword and scanned her surroundings.
Her still shaking hands made her want to drop the sword, but Aisha gritted her teeth and grabbed it tighter.
A voice was heard.
Sound comes through.
─Well, I’ve been influenced a lot by ‘her.’ Wouldn’t the outcome change?
─Nah. You’ve got something, but how shameless. No matter what, the choice doesn’t change.
─…That’s a bit disappointing. Still, it should be easier to handle power here.
─Hmph. This side is better at handling power. What are you talking about?
One voice belongs to a deep-voiced man, and the other to a thin-voiced woman.
As the two sounds buzzed in her head, Aisha pressed her head with one hand and raised her sword with the other.
Whoosh!!
The holy sword aura surged around her enchanted sword, the Meteor Sword.
The woman’s voice shouted joyfully.
─See! You’re handling it well.
─That’s because I’m riding on your power. If it were the opposite, I’d be able to handle more magic.
─Magic my foot. You’re always just swinging your sword.
─Tch. Still, you never know. ‘Her’ existence can never be overlooked. Whether it’s Yena or now…
“Come out! Come out and talk!”
Her head throbbed.
She felt sick to her stomach and wanted to vomit, even though this wasn’t reality.
If it had been the old Aisha, she wouldn’t have been able to deduce anything about this situation. But it’s been over half a year since she obtained her second hidden class.
“False Gemelynus!”
She wasn’t foolish enough to not deduce the side effects of the job she had gained.
‘False Gemelynus.’
Twins born with the power of the Impossible Being.
During the Kraken subjugation, Aisha and the Sword Saint went through a place called the Altar of the Impossible, where they could change classes as the final reward.
The way to change classes was to choose one of the arranged statues, and she was drawn to one of the twin statues that depicted a woman with angel wings.
The other one depicted a man with demon wings, both posed similarly.
Aisha chose the woman with angel wings, obtaining the class of False Gemelynus (Path of Light).
The woman’s voice echoed.
─You’re not as dumb as I thought?
─You looked dumb back then. Your head doesn’t seem entirely ornamental.
─I agree.
“Shut up…! I’m not dumb!”
Who are those crazy angels and demons calling her dumb!
As Aisha yelled, raising her sword to the sky, the man responded gruffly.
─You didn’t even choose the most important thing because you were busy feeding this and that to the guy trailing behind you. If that’s not dumb, then what is?
“Is that not stupid, then what is it?”
“Uh, that’s…”
─ “Choosing us was the better option, but if it were me, I would have chosen ‘her.'”
─ “It’s a hard truth to deny.”
“Her…?”
If we’re talking about the best one among the statues back then after the twins…
‘A statue resembling Lily.’
“Are you talking about Lily? I’ve been curious about that; is it Hidden Job Lily? Or is it something like Past Lily?”
─ “…You seem about half clueless.”
─ “I agree.”
“Hey!”
Who keeps calling me stupid!?
I want to cut through the sky using my cool technique and slice them apart, but how can I attack those faceless twins?
After all, they’re the embodiment of my power, what can I do?
All I can do is endure this pounding headache and listen to insults about being dumb.
Aisha sensed that asking any more would only get her labeled as dumb again, so she decided to change the topic.
“Sigh… Forget it. So what about ‘that day’? Does it mean I’ll have to choose something?”
─ “That day is that day.”
“No, don’t play with words…”
Thud.
My left wing, which I instinctively spread out, shook violently.
In an instant, with an overwhelming pain, Aisha collapsed, and a faint shape loomed above her.
The excruciating pain felt like it would pull her consciousness away at any moment.
In her fading mind, she felt someone’s touch.
─ “When that day comes, many who followed ‘her’ will turn their backs. Of course, she won’t resent them for it.”
‘What, what?’
─ “…An unwanted situation may occur. Perhaps they’ll act a bit more ‘like before’ than now.”
─ “Think of it as a preparation for that day. You have the privilege to choose both sides.”
‘What do I choose?’
─ “Make your judgment wisely.”
─ “Hmph. I don’t like it, but good is good.”
It’s leaving.
The faint shape gradually faded, and Aisha’s consciousness began to slip away completely.
“Hey! What am I supposed to choose!!”
Though an answer was never given until the end.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
