Chapter 164
Chapter 164
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Enlightenment (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What in the world was this sudden turn of events?
“Why on earth!”
I hadn’t taken a Gaecheondan, nor had I performed a Starseeking.
Ascension was something even the most gifted individuals might never achieve in a lifetime of dedication. What in the world had I done to deserve this?
It was so absurd, I was utterly dumbfounded.
Still, there was a silver lining.
Professor Navian was right here beside me.
She had the power to stop my ascension.
Hadn’t she already halted my ascension once before?
It would be the same this time.
*Squeeze.*
She took my hand.
“Just as I thought! I knew I could count on…?”
I froze.
My eyes fell upon Professor Navian's flushed face.
Her lips parted slightly.
“A joint ascension… not bad. Hm?”
As I silently mouthed her words, I flinched in shock.
Help me? Fat chance.
Professor Navian looked like she had no intention of stopping my ascension.
In fact, she seemed to be welcoming the situation.
Talk about being betrayed by someone you trust. This was the perfect example.
If this kept up, the two of us were about to take a one-way trip to the heavens, hand in hand.
“Professor!”
I cried out in desperation.
“I don't want to ascend! No! Please, help me!”
I prayed my sincere desire not to leave this world just yet would get through to her.
I shouted again and again, pouring all my desperation into my voice.
“Tsk.”
Professor Navian clicked her tongue.
Her face was filled with disappointment, like someone being forced to put down a precious artifact they had just acquired.
It seemed she was finally willing to help me.
Honestly, I couldn't tell if my sincerity had reached her or if she simply couldn't stand my shrill screaming right next to her.
I had no way of knowing.
All that mattered now was that she hadn't completely ignored my plea.
Her hand rested on her favored sword.
A flash of light, and then I heard the sound of something being severed.
“Thank youuuuuu—argh!”
But by then, Alias Fortress was already a distant speck below, and I began to plummet toward the ground.
“Aaaaaaah!”
A scream escaped me instinctively.
Of course, the disaster of my body slamming into the ground never came to pass.
Professor Navian caught me in her arms.
*Thud.*
A faint sound reached my ears.
That was it.
Before I knew it, we were back on the ramparts.
“Huuuh.”
A groan escaped my lips.
My heart was still pounding in my chest.
The fact that I had nearly ascended against my will sent a shiver down my spine.
I let out several sighs of relief before a strange feeling made me look up.
“Uh, um.”
Countless eyes were fixed on us.
The soldiers remaining in the fortress were all staring in our direction.
It made sense. A person had just been flying through the air right before their eyes; it would have been stranger if they *hadn't* been captivated.
It was an incredibly awkward situation.
Suddenly, I felt that something was off.
The soldiers' reactions were somehow strange.
After witnessing such a spectacle, cheers or gasps of awe should have erupted.
But the fortress was silent.
Countless eyes were watching, yet no one spoke a word.
*Thump, thump.*
The soldiers nearest to us suddenly fell to the ground, prostrating themselves.
Their posture was reverent, as if in worship.
The others reacted in much the same way.
They looked less like they'd seen a curious spectacle and more like they'd witnessed a divine miracle.
Only then did I realize how the recent event must have appeared to the soldiers.
It happened right after the dark clouds that had tormented them finally dispersed.
Just as the gloomy world was filled with brilliant sunlight.
At that exact moment, I had been enveloped in light and ascended.
It was the perfect scene for a misunderstanding.
Something auspicious. Or perhaps, something straight out of a myth.
My mind raced.
What was I going to do?
I had to salvage this situation somehow.
But there was no need.
“The... the Knight of the Cradle has performed a miracle.”
“She has cleared away the ominous dark clouds and bestowed light upon us!”
“Oh, Starseeker!”
The object of the soldiers' worship wasn't me.
They thought the recent phenomenon was Professor Navian's doing.
No one suspected a mere cadet was responsible.
*Scramble.*
I scrambled out of Professor Navian's arms.
Leaving her standing there dumbfounded, I took a spot right beside the prostrated soldiers.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat.
“The evil darkness that loomed over this fortress has finally vanished!”
Then I yelled.
“Her glorious deeds have reached the heavens!”
I threw my hands in the air.
“All hail Professor Navian!”
I shouted again and again.
“...?”
Professor Navian stared at me, dumbfounded.
Her expression seemed to ask what on earth I was doing.
I paid her no mind and continued to sing her praises.
There was no need to invent empty flattery.
After all, Hrist, whom she had defeated, was truly the deepest darkness to have fallen upon the fortress.
“All hail the Professor!”
My praise and worship were justified.
Even if the timing was a bit strange.
*Thump.*
Just then, someone came to stand beside me.
The commander-in-chief of the 13th Legion and the man in charge of Alias Fortress.
“Oh, Sword of Gaznae!”
He praised Professor Navian at the top of his lungs.
“Light of the Cradle! Brighter than any star!”
Not to be outdone, I yelled back.
“Savior of the fortress! The hero of legend who drove out the darkness!”
The commander, too, shouted competitively.
***
*Gulp, gulp.*
I gulped down water.
I cleared my throat.
“Ahem, ahem! Ah, ah, ah!”
My cracked and hoarse voice sounded like scraping metal.
“Ah, my throat is killing me. Seriously.”
It was all that damned commander's fault.
The commander had jumped in and started praising Professor Navian with such pointless enthusiasm that I got caught up in it, too.
“Ahem, ahem!”
I drank more water and cleared my throat.
I repeated the process several times.
Suddenly, a worry crept in.
My memory was hazy.
Toward the end, I'd just been spouting whatever nonsense came to mind.
Perhaps it was an aftereffect of the ascension.
Well, it didn't matter.
It was all in the past now.
Professor Navian seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.
“Hmm, hmm.”
So good, in fact, that she was even humming a little tune.
It was just a barely audible, unrecognizable melody, but still.
In any case, she never struck me as the type to care for empty praise, so this was a surprise.
I watched the rare sight of the Black Knight humming for a while.
“...?”
She turned to look at me.
I must have been staring too intently.
“I never knew you held me in such high regard.”
Professor Navian smiled softly.
The affection in her dark eyes, framed by a crescent-moon smile, was so thick and unabashed.
She'd smiled at me like this often before, but this time felt different.
The difference was something like this.
Before, it felt like she was looking at an adopted son. Now, it was as if she were looking at her own flesh and blood.
Either way, it was incredibly burdensome for me.
It seemed I had overdone the praise.
Otherwise, she wouldn't be looking at me with an expression so sweet it could drip honey.
I couldn't decide.
Should I be proud of my silver tongue for charming the Black Knight, or should I be ashamed for running my mouth too much?
It was ambiguous.
In any case, it all ended well, so that was that.
[Curious Sloth] Oh, my sides~~~ Someone's dying of regret over here~~~ and you two are being all sweet to each other~~~ I can't believe I missed it~~ I missed all the good parts~~~~
The Outskirts Constellation channel, which had been cut off by the dark clouds, was back to normal.
I expected them to start chattering away immediately, but aside from the Curious Sloth, everyone was quiet.
Even the Curious Sloth was more taciturn than usual.
[Elegant Lefty] Shh. Quiet. She'll notice.
It was all because of Professor Navian.
Apparently, her senses had grown sharper, and she might detect the conversation on the Constellation channel.
Considering she could sense even the energy flowing through the heavens, it certainly seemed possible.
It was happening even now.
“...?”
A flicker of puzzlement crossed Professor Navian's face as she looked in my direction.
She was clearly sensing something.
[Curious Sloth] ...... (silence)
[Elegant Lefty] Stop that. Just stay quiet.
[Curious Sloth] Mmph (lips sealed)
[Elegant Lefty] You incorrigible chatterbox. Hah. She's coming.
The stars went silent.
Professor Navian, who had approached without my noticing, suddenly reached out her hand.
*Swish, swish.*
She groped the air above my head, then frowned.
“It felt like there was some kind of disturbance, but it's gone now.”
I'd wondered if it was possible, and it was true.
Professor Navian really could detect the conversations on the Constellation channel.
“How strange. Very strange.”
It didn't seem like she could eavesdrop on the conversations themselves, but she could definitely sense that *something* was being exchanged.
Of course, I played dumb.
“So, Professor. Are you going to keep staying here?”
I asked cautiously, trying to change the subject.
I was beating around the bush, but the point was clear: was she going to stick to my side?
“It seemed that's what you wanted.”
I sighed inwardly at Professor Navian's reply.
The mouth is the root of all evil, they say.
And they were talking about mine.
***
A few days passed with Professor Navian sticking close to my side.
“Our allies have returned!”
The allied forces that had advanced beyond the border returned to the fortress.
“Welcome the victorious with the respect they are due!”
The commander welcomed them with a grand triumphal ceremony.
It seemed less a gesture of respect for the victorious army and more a ploy to curry favor with the professors from the Cradle.
Mobilizing soldiers who were far from healthy for his pathetic ambitions... I disliked the man to the very end.
“Long live the Cradle of Stars!”
“Hoorah!”
The only silver lining was that, though they had been forcibly mobilized, their cheers were genuine.
“We're returning to the Cradle.”
The moment the ceremony ended, the professors from the Cradle announced their departure.
I could guarantee it.
The overly clingy commander had no small influence on that decision.
Whatever the reason, we had to return eventually.
“To the Knights of the Cradle!”
“May the path of those blessed by the stars be ever fortunate!”
The commander saw us off with another grand farewell ceremony.
The soldiers, too, shouted their respects and blessings as they bid us farewell.
Of course, the respect and blessings they offered were all for the professors.
A few soldiers shouted blessings for the cadets' futures as well, but not many.
I wasn't particularly upset.
The glory and valor forged on the battlefield belonged to the knights, after all.
“Do you have a moment?”
Just as our party was leaving the fortress, a group of soldiers stopped us.
The professors, feeling magnanimous after a long-awaited victory, readily granted the soldiers' request.
It didn't matter to me.
I was just a bystander, after all.
Whatever the soldiers were up to, it had nothing to do with me.
Or so I thought.
“Centurion Yan.”
Until familiar faces surrounded me.
“We will never forget your incredible wisdom and courage.”
“And we hope you will remember us as well.”
Centurion Bravos, Centurion Quantana, and many other commanders.
“This is a token of our camaraderie, a sign that you are our brother-in-arms.”
They took the epaulets from their own shoulders and pinned them to my uniform.
“What is this?”
This uniform is expensive, and they're poking holes all over it.
I grumbled quietly.
And they were so heavy.
But I straightened my back and bore the weight.
Rejecting such a gesture of friendship and goodwill would have been far too rude.
“I, Rocarno Matiasi, and the entire Matiasi family will forever treat you as a brother. Should you ever visit Zikambri, do not hesitate to find me.”
Watching the soldiers pin their epaulets on me, Rocarno Matiasi fumbled with his own uniform before hastily handing me something.
Before I could even see what it was,
“Troops! Attention!”
the centurions bellowed.
“Salute to Centurion Yan!”
*Clack!*
Countless soldiers stamped their feet and saluted me.
“Centurion Yan! We hope to see you again someday!”
“I'm Bella! I'll become a great commander just like you, Centurion! And I'll earn lots of medals!”
“May you have continued success!”
And so, I left the 13th Front, seen off by the comrades I had fought alongside for a time.