The Saintess's Spurned Proposal
The semi-finals between Ludenberg Lavante and Ashytara Solenute, Eve Arcadia and Meia Andem held the day before had sparked a flurry of talking points. Right off the bat, there was Eve Arcadia—the Abaran saintess who commanded fanatical devotion from Abaran's citizens—making her advances toward Ludenberg. That alone was enough to leave the entire stadium stunned, but Ludenberg had rejected her courtship without a moment's hesitation, sharp as a blade.
Because of it, Ludenberg's surroundings were now a bit—no, extremely chaotic.
"No way, Ash-for-brains, what country did you save in a past life or something?"
"If I had, would I be wandering around looking like this? Cut the bullshit, will ya."
"I'm jealous, man! Jealous as hell!"
"Jealous my ass... Now I've just got a bigger headache."
"And that's what you say after turning down a proposal from that beautiful saintess? A headache?"
In an instant, Nadan Tes's demeanor shifted.
"...?"
"Don't bullshit me, you lucky bastard!"
Nadan looked ready to burst into tears, his rugged face twisting in a way that didn't suit his massive frame. He even seemed on the verge of grabbing Ludenberg by the collar, a fierce killing intent radiating from his distorted expression.
It was understandable for him to react that way. When Eve had spoken with Nadan before, he'd treated her with genuine goodwill from the depths of his heart, but she'd misinterpreted it as a verbal attack. Ever since, he'd watched her avoid him, and though he never said it aloud, he'd been deeply hurt. And now, the guy who'd just been proposed to by the very woman he'd longed for was acting like a block of wood.
Nadan began trembling with rage at the sheer unfairness of human affairs.
Ludenberg could sense another headache coming on from the guy who was usually so glib and easygoing.
"Haa."
The intensity of his anger was on another level; it seemed he'd been bottling up quite the grudge. Well, for all his endless womanizing talk, Eve's stunning appearance must have hit Nadan harder than expected.
But what could Ludenberg do about it? Nothing.
He gave up thinking about it and walked off, leaving the fuming Nadan behind.
Tara should be here by now, right?
Today featured another semi-final match anyway. Dalia and Seia he already knew well from experience, but he needed to analyze Heydel—alias Eil—and Illiana Nadiel's capabilities, so he'd made plans to meet Ashytara.
Then again, even without that excuse, wandering around with her had become part of his daily routine, so maybe he didn't need an appointment at all.
In any case, as Ludenberg headed to their meeting spot, the whispers from those around him inevitably reached his ears.
"Not content with the girls from the Knight Faculty, now even Abaran's saintess..."
"I'm so damn jealous."
"If I'd been born with a face like that, I'd be surrounded by girls too."
Pointless chatter.
He furrowed his brow slightly and kept walking toward the meeting spot.
Even as he moved, some dismissed his rejection of the Abaran saintess as pathetic. Ludenberg ignored the murmurs and pressed on silently. There was no need to respond.
How long had he walked? From a distance, a striking beauty became unmistakably clear.
"Rud!"
Ashytara waved enthusiastically, her face lighting up with joy as she looked his way. Ludenberg stared, utterly captivated.
That was why. He had many reasons for rejecting Eve Arcadia's proposal, but the biggest one was right here.
His heart was already filled with one person.
When winter had come to him, locking his heart with ice, the key of brilliant flames had melted it away.
So Ludenberg had turned Eve down. With one person already in his heart, there was no room for anyone else.
Ashytara's current smile was no different from the one he usually saw. Yet for some reason, his heart raced.
A pleasant thumping.
Stronger than when he'd awakened to the new possibility of conviction, stronger than when he'd surpassed Eden Asta.
The pounding of his heart struck him harder than ever before. Ludenberg rushed to her side in a heartbeat.
"You're early."
"So are you."
"Hehe. Doesn't the air feel especially refreshing today? You look good too, Rud."
"Yeah. Feels great."
Her lips brimmed with happiness, making her more captivating than ever. Ludenberg gave a short reply and smiled. A single happy smile was worth a hundred words.
* * *
The two joined hands as usual and headed to the stadium. Dalia Retiu, Seia Shahain, Eil, Illiana Nadiel. Aside from Illiana, the other three were all too familiar to Ludenberg and Ashytara.
"Who do you think'll win?"
"Hard to say, but I'd bet on Senior Dalia's team. Heh... I mean, even if Brother Eil's strong, Dalia Senior and Seia Senior aren't just any students."
"You never know, though."
"True. I'm clueless about Ortara's divine power or saint laws, but... that priestess, Illiana Nadiel—she doesn't seem ordinary."
Ashytara nodded in agreement with Ludenberg's assessment.
"Yeah. The divine power flowing into Brother Eil is abnormally strong. Makes me curious about their relationship."
"Hey, Tara."
"Yeah?"
"Got a question... about Brother Eil. Y'know, divine power."
Ludenberg deliberately lowered his voice, leaning in close to Ashytara's ear before speaking.
"Oh, yeah. Right."
Ashytara's face flushed slightly at the sudden intimacy, as if her imagination had run wild.
"But can he even accept Ortara's saint laws?"
"Not sure myself, but... seems like no issues."
"...Hmm."
"If you're that curious, we can ask later. Come to think of it, I haven't tested it properly, so I can't say for sure."
"Maybe it's 'cause he has Ortara blood flowing in him, including you."
"Could be, but nothing confirmed. Let's ask him separately later."
"Sure."
Ludenberg and Ashytara decided it was best to just ask Eil directly. All their chatter was just speculation anyway.
They fell silent and turned their eyes to the arena.
All four combatants regarded each other with relaxed expressions.
"We meet again, just like last year."
Dalia addressed Eil.
"Yes."
Eil smiled back.
"Shall we see how much we've grown since then?"
"Sounds good."
Even with Solenute's prince right in front of her, Dalia didn't seem to recognize him as Heydel. It made sense—Heydel had lived only within Solem's church since age twelve, and when he turned seventeen for Solemnute Adem enrollment, he'd gone into seclusion instead. Not even most nobles knew his face well. Five years later, with his sharper jawline and dyed hair, he looked even more like Ortara National School's second-year student Eil than Prince Heydel.
Eil drew his sword. An ordinary longsword. He could have infused it with Solem's divine power, but he deliberately held back.
He glanced at Illiana, who was exchanging glares with Seia beside him.
"Lina."
"Yes."
At his call alone, Illiana understood and invoked her saint law. A fierce current of divine power, carrying ancestral spirits, settled into Eil's body.
Black haze rose around him as his gaze fixed on Dalia. She met his eyes with admiration.
It wasn't just the saint law's potency.
"You've gotten so much stronger—can't even compare to last year."
A smile deepened on Dalia's lips.
"But... still not enough."
Dalia summoned Terra's divine power. The axe-spear in her hands resonated with the earth, fragments of ground absorbing into the blade. The weapon morphed into a more vicious form as Terra's power around her surged explosively.
Thud.
She stepped forward, charging at Eil with her axe-spear raised. Eil watched her approach with a tense expression.
A chilling aura washed over him. Each step from her small frame cratered the ground, hinting at the immense power within.
So Eil swung his sword with full force.
Last year I lost pathetically, but this time it'll be different.
He wasn't the same guy who'd been crushed by Dalia last year. Through relentless effort, he'd reached a level rivaling even third-years.
This time would be different, he believed.
Right up until Dalia's axe-spear met his strike.
Kwaaaang!
A deafening roar—not something a sword and axe-spear clash should produce—shook the stadium. The shockwave pulverized the surrounding ground.
"Nngh..."
Eil groaned under the overwhelming force. He'd underestimated her. Thought a year would be enough to catch up, having glimpsed the possibility after last year's crushing defeat.
But it was nonsense. If he'd had a year, so had she.
In that year, Dalia had grown far beyond her previous self—heaven knew what she'd done.
The arena floor cracked as Eil was pushed back. Illiana's relaxed expression vanished at the sight; she tried strengthening her saint law on Eil, but Seia wasn't about to let that happen.
As Illiana focused, she noticed fog settling around her. Worse, Dalia, Eil, and Seia had vanished from right in front of her.
"Damn...!"
"Eil grows strong through your power."
"...!"
Her eyes snapped toward the voice, but nothing was there.
"So the answer's simple: separate you from Eil."
Still, nothing visible around Illiana. Last year, Seia hadn't used anything like this, doubling her bewilderment.
"I might've seemed weak last year, just firing puny arrows beside Senior Dalia... but I can't let you underestimate me forever."
Among Solemnute's myriad saint laws, the most mysterious and complex had to be Lanur's. And Seia—barely a year into Solemnute Adem—was already hailed as one of Lanur Church's top geniuses, masters of those very laws.