So, Yeah.
Just moments ago, Nadan had boldly declared that he and Eve had no reason to cross paths. Now, staring at the woman with her radiant silver hair fluttering before him, he wore a puzzled expression.
“Pardon?”
He let out a dazed sound.
“You're Nadan Tes, right?”
“Yeah, sure. That's me. Saintess Eve Arcadia.”
Up close, she was even more stunning... but even Nadan, who lost his mind over beautiful women, could tell something was off about this situation. After all, he'd never once caught a woman's attention in his life. So why would someone like her approach him out of the blue?
She's got some ulterior motive, no doubt. But damn, this is no joke... No wonder those guys who saw her face yesterday lost their minds.
“So, what brings you here?”
Nadan cut straight to the point. Beating around the bush wasn't his style.
“Ah, well...”
Eve scrambled for an excuse to strike up a conversation. She couldn't exactly admit she was here to get close to Ludenberg.
Conveniently, she had a perfect pretext.
“I've been curious about Solemnute theology. Especially how students at Solemnute Adem think about it. And in asking around, I heard that Nadan here is the top first-year theology student.”
In short: You're the top first-year theology student, so I came to you. That was Eve's pitch.
Oh ho. But that's not the real reason, is it? If she really wanted theology knowledge, she wouldn't come to a first-year like me. We've got professors like my sister and others. Whatever, who cares? When else am I gonna chat up a woman like this?
“Theology, huh? What do you wanna know? I can probably answer just about anything.”
He decided to play along—good things were good things.
“Wow, really?!”
“You bet.”
Now I just gotta sweet-talk this guy a bit. People can't help but get swept up by those around them, after all.
It was a delusion on par with a medical condition.
But Eve had every reason to believe it, given her past. Most people she'd encountered had fawned over her every whim, so falling into this misconception wasn't surprising.
The problem was, Nadan didn't fit that mold.
He wasn't an easy mark—in fact, he was the type to seize any opportunity that came knocking.
Yes. He was a man who desperately dreamed of talking to women.
“Shall I start from the origins of Solemnute theology, then?”
He knew she had an agenda, but that alone made it worth it. So he eagerly dove in, sharing everything he'd studied as a Star Pilgrim and student.
One by one. Slowly. From the beginning. Stretching the conversation as long as possible.
No—keeping her there as long as he could.
……Nadan's knowledge of theology far exceeded normal human limits.
He was, after all, a genuine saint of Setra—and a knowledge-obsessed Star Pilgrim who could lose his mind over it.
Once he opened his mouth, an endless wave of information crashed over Eve.
“When it comes to origins, it's gotta be the Sun God Solem. In Solemnute theology, Solem is the beginning of all things. I'm no priest of the Solem church, so I don't know as much as they do, but as a student, I've got plenty of scholarly knowledge to share. Solem is the most just and righteous god, a symbol of hope—probably on par with your Arcada from Abaran, Saintess. Of course, opinions differ, leading to social clashes, but as foundational gods of their nations, they share some common ground.”
This... something's wrong here...?
It didn't take long for Eve to sense the problem amid Nadan's nonstop torrent of words.
She wasn't great with people, but her academic knowledge was solid enough to follow.
“Ah, so Solemnute sees it that way. But there's a slight difference. Arcada isn't just a symbol of light—she's the root of all Abaran faith.”
Eve chimed in politely. But the conversation's reins had already slipped to Nadan.
She was the one asking, he was answering—and they were strangers.
For Eve, who needed to win him over to shift Ludenberg's bad impression of her, interrupting wasn't an option.
The talk dragged on.
Nadan poured out words like he'd been holding them back forever, leaving Eve's mind in a fog.
This guy's not right in the head...
Trapped in his info storm, Eve realized her terrible mistake.
Nadan, seeing no disgust on her face despite his rambling, got even more excited and kept going—truly, she'd dug her own grave.
And when the endless chat finally ended...
Eve had one realization.
This guy's just like Ludenberg. Not someone I can manipulate...
A realization that came far too late.
Whether her face turned pale or not, Nadan was just thrilled to have yapped happily with a pretty woman.
* * *
As soon as everyone from Abaran and Istaltin arrived, the friendly match schedule was announced.
The format: Each nation holds qualifiers to select four teams, making sixteen total for the matches. The qualifiers counted toward the friendly matches, so anticipation was high.
“You guys hear?”
Dalia seemed pumped for the qualifiers too. She grinned at Ludenberg, Ashytara, and Seia.
“The qualifiers... this one's gonna be fierce. Last year, there were plenty of spots, but only four teams now?”
“Tara and Ludenberg are locks, obviously.”
“Yeah.”
“What about you, Seia? Thinking of entering?”
“Not really. Especially not this year.”
“Aw, I wanna go!”
“Don't you ever get tired, senpai? It's a huge stamina drain.”
“Third-year vibes, y'know? Graduating after this. So... wanna team up?”
“That's what you meant, huh?”
“Yep! And you know good results here boost your finals eval.”
Seia sighed at Dalia's words.
“I know. I've been mulling it... Guess no choice.”
“For real?! Yes!”
Dalia cheered as Seia trailed off.
Ludenberg and Ashytara watched, knowing the qualifiers wouldn't be a cakewalk. Dalia and Seia hadn't gone all-out last time.
“Uh, yeah... Hope we don't meet in qualifiers.”
“Probably not.”
“Dalia-senpai.”
“Hm?”
“Qualifier deadline?”
“Day after tomorrow. Lots of applicants expected—better early.”
“We're signing up now, then.”
Dalia nodded at Ludenberg's reply.
“Smart. Kinda curious about other nations' qualifiers too. Like, how Istaltin's saint law users fight?”
“Us too. Setra saint laws aren't great for combat, right?”
“Exactly. Istaltin's basically a massive Setra church... We'll see. They might fight like church knights.”
“Makes sense. Oh, and Abaran's holy knights sound fun.”
Ashytara nodded at Dalia.
“Yeah. Curious about Abaran's style. Gonna be interesting—used to just worry about Ortara, now everyone.”
“Ugh, maybe skip...”
Seia sighed at Dalia's words.
“Why?!”
“Facing other nations' students too? Ortara's familiar, but not Istaltin or Abaran.”
Dalia, feeling the fatigue, twirled her light blue hair and said to Seia,
“B-but... we can manage, right...?”
“Kidding. Just teasing you, senpai.”
“You little!”
As Dalia fumed, Seia smirked and looked away.
* * *
“Qualifiers... Should I enter?”
Eden's face was full of conflict as he spoke to Mion.
“Better to. Counts for finals.”
“Time's precious. Training might be better.”
“Agree, but points matter. Plus, fighting varied opponents builds experience—you can't ignore that.”
Eden looked skeptical.
“We won't rank high anyway, right? Tons of upperclassmen.”
“Gotta try. We've grown a lot since the Solemnute raid. Ludenberg might be impossible, but others? Maybe.”
As Mion said, post-raid, they'd focused on self-growth over schemes against Ludenberg or Ashytara.
Eden absorbed holy relics Mion procured, training relentlessly for stunning progress.
Still, he knew he couldn't beat Ludenberg yet.
“Was aiming for the Glory Tournament later, but now? Gotta test the gap first.”
“Good call.”
“You? Beat Ashytara?”
“Not yet. Her physicals are insane. But... gotta keep trying. Can't give up.”
Eden nodded at Mion's shrug.
“Right. Let's apply.”
“Yeah.”
The two headed off to sign up for the qualifiers.