Deliberation
"...I am... so very..."
It happened in the middle of the initiation ceremony.
I had already received a thorough explanation of the process from the other knights—my "seniors," so to speak. All that was left was for Bernice to deliver her final words to conclude the ceremony.
"..."
Yet, Bernice could not bring herself to continue.
"......"
A chilly silence settled over the empty hall.
Without moving a muscle, I waited for her voice. I waited for her.
But what reached my ears next was not her voice, but the clicking of her heels as she walked out of the hall.
Bernice was abruptly leaving.
"Your Holiness...!"
Ines's urgent voice rang out as Bernice brushed past me.
As she passed, she whispered so softly that I wouldn't have heard it had I not been paying close attention.
"...I'm sorry."
Bernice was apologizing to me.
Because her head was bowed, I couldn't see her face, but I knew she wasn't wearing a bright expression.
Ines immediately rushed out of the hall to pursue her.
...What happened?
Since the situation was so sudden, I chose to remain still rather than make a hasty move.
As I stood there in my posture, pondering, Ecklin approached me from across the room.
"Um..."
She was hesitating, searching for the right words. It seemed she was just as flustered as I was.
Scratching her head, Ecklin finally spoke.
"Let's... just say the initiation ceremony is over with this."
At her words, I pushed myself up from my kneeling position.
"Is it really alright to do that?"
Ecklin raised an eyebrow at my question.
"Hey, I might not look it, but I'm the Vice-Commander, you know?"
"...More importantly, shouldn't you go after her as well, Vice-Commander?"
"The Commander went, so it should be fine. To be honest, I don't really know what's going on either. But whatever the case..."
Ecklin trailed off, her short green hair swaying as she turned her head.
Her eyes were fixed on the direction Bernice had gone.
"...An unprecedented situation has occurred where a new recruit didn't receive the Saintess's blessing at their initiation."
Muttering those words in a low voice, Ecklin sighed. "How did things turn out like this..." she murmured.
"I am fine, but... I am worried about Her Holiness. I wonder if something happened to her..."
"...I'm sure she didn't reject your admission. I can guarantee you that much."
Ecklin patted my shoulder.
"Don't worry too much about it. I'm sure everything will be fine."
When I didn't offer much of a reply, Ecklin offered her comfort.
Smiling bitterly at her kindness, I replayed the recent events in my mind.
The restriction of Bernice's divine authority.
She cannot tell a lie.
The word she couldn't bring herself to say at the very end was...
...happy.
She wanted to say she was happy that I had joined the knights, happy that I would become her sword.
Though it was a mere formality, for Bernice, she could only utter those words if she truly felt happy in that exact moment.
Which meant she wasn't happy just now... though it was difficult to judge exactly why.
Was she truly unable to speak because of her restriction, or was there another reason that made it hard for her to continue?
For instance, perhaps it was due to the energy radiating from my body.
There were countless other possibilities.
...Still, I didn't think it was the worst-case scenario where she had suddenly lost her favor or turned her back on me.
Judging by Ecklin's reaction, too...
Above all, those words Bernice whispered as she brushed past me—they, too, must have been the absolute, unvarnished truth.
[ "You couldn't bring yourself to tell her this time either, I see." ]
As we walked through the darkness, Sierra, who was strolling alongside me, tapped her lips and spoke.
We were on our way back to the dormitory after the initiation ceremony.
Shedy was a spirit, so Bernice, who had little connection to spirits, would find her hard to detect. But Sierra was a different story.
As Sierra said, it would be best to explain things to Bernice eventually, but the timing didn't seem right this time.
"Well, things turned out the way they did," I said, shrugging.
With Bernice's sudden departure, the welcoming party was naturally postponed.
Although the welcoming party would only consist of Ecklin, Ines, and Bernice, they were all key figures within the knights, making it a rather important opportunity to build rapport.
[ "She is quite difficult to read, this Saintess..." ]
"Who could truly understand the life of a Saintess?"
At my reply, Sierra covered her mouth with her sleeve, letting out a soft laugh in agreement.
I continued walking, chatting idly with her.
The darkness I was walking through was none other than Shedy's shadow.
The master of this shadow realm, Shedy, was currently perched on top of my head, absorbing my life force.
"Food. Tasty."
Shedy muttered as she consumed her "food."
Tasty... Did life force actually have different flavors?
I wanted to ask, but since Shedy could still only speak in simple words, it would be difficult to get a proper answer.
Traveling through the shadow was incredibly convenient in many ways.
Most importantly, it allowed me to easily escape the eyes of others.
Thanks to this, I could converse freely with Sierra like this.
It was proving highly useful in daily life, whether traveling to and from the academy or wandering around the city.
However, I had yet to use it in combat.
The current 'Shadow Hide-and-Seek' didn't consume much of Shedy's power.
I was starting to get a rough grasp of the consumption rate for each skill.
Among them, the one with the highest consumption was Shedy's 'Manifestation'.
It was essentially a 'summoned beast' that materialized out of its spiritual state.
From a rough estimate, its destructive power seemed immense... but judging by the sinister black mass forming in my mind, it didn't seem like she would manifest in the form of the Shade I had seen before.
Not that I lacked destructive power or martial prowess myself, so I wondered if I'd ever need to use it, but I was still curious.
Call it a gamer's curiosity.
You know how you always want to test out a newly acquired skill, even in an empty field with no enemies around?
Unless it's an extreme emergency, I should probably only use it when I'm moving alone...
Shedy's power required caution.
Since it looked blatantly suspicious, it was best to keep it hidden from others if possible.
The next 'episode' was gradually drawing near.
In this episode, I would be fighting alongside like-minded companions. It was easiest to think of it as a raid.
At any rate, we would likely be traveling far, so wouldn't it be better to experience Shedy's power beforehand?
I organized my thoughts, going over my plans step by step.
Chatting with Sierra as I walked, I soon arrived in front of the dormitory.
Shadow Hide-and-Seek allowed me to scale high floors without any trouble. It felt as though the building's interior structure was perfectly replicated, only cast in shadow.
Soon, my body emerged from the dark shadow beside my bed.
I immediately threw myself onto the mattress.
Sierra gently approached and caressed my cheek.
[ "...You look uncharacteristically exhausted." ]
Her gentle voice echoed in my mind.
"Well, this little one has been sucking my blood quite a bit."
I vigorously rubbed Shedy's fluffy fur as she lay on my chest.
Having my life force drained didn't cause pain, but it certainly made me tired.
I wanted nothing more than to just lie here and fall asleep, but I had to head to the academy shortly.
Meanwhile, on the very night Zeto was dealing with the demon and undergoing his initiation ceremony, Yuri Clementine was deeply immersed in cooking.
Her goal was to personally prepare a "delicious" nourishing meal for Zeto.
"...It's done."
Yuri gulped as she pushed the dish onto the dining table.
The kitchen was a chaotic mess, littered with the remnants of her culinary experiments.
The food Yuri had prepared was now out of her hands.
All that remained was an "objective evaluation."
Sitting at the table, a blue-haired girl picked up a fork with an incredibly solemn expression.
Her hand was trembling violently.
And for good reason—something that could hardly be classified as food was squirming inside the bowl.
The food was squirming.
The girl wondered how such a feat was even possible, but looking at Yuri's face, she barely managed to swallow her question.
Finally, she placed a bite of Yuri's creation into her mouth.
Chew, chew.
The girl tilted her head as she chewed.
Chew, chew.
After chewing a few more times...
"..."
Silence fell.
Yuri bit her lip, silently waiting for the girl—Lucia—to open her mouth.
Possessing a pure and kind heart, Lucia tried her best to put on a bright smile, but her face had long since frozen from the indescribable taste of the food.
Finally, Lucia parted her lips.
"Huuu..."
Her body shuddered.
Whether it was because it was delicious or terrible was the crucial question.
"How is it, how is it? It's good this time, right?!"
"Th-this is not something a human should eat... I can't... do this anymore..."
Leaving behind those final words, Lucia slumped forward, her head hitting the table with a thud.
It was a miracle she had even tried to chew and swallow it instead of spitting it out immediately.
"...Another failure? What on earth is the problem?"
Yuri muttered, staring at the dish in deep thought.
I was absolutely sure I followed the recipe exactly this time...
Cooking was not easy.
Yuri wanted to personally make a nourishing meal for Zeto, but the taste was the issue.
Even she knew it was absurd to expect to win his favor by serving him something terrible.
Yet, no matter how hard she tried, her dreadful cooking skills showed no signs of improvement.
That was why she had brought along Lucia, who was part of the cooking exchange club, to seek her advice.
"Mmm..."
Yuri took a bite of her own food, her brow furrowing as she let out a low groan.
It was a taste that even the creator herself found hard to endure.
However, she believed she had figured out what was lacking.
"...Alright, let's try one more time..."
"Huh...?"
At Yuri's murmur, Lucia, who had managed to get up and was cleansing her palate with a piece of bread, gasped in horror.
"Y-Yuri...! I've been wondering this for a while, but you don't hate me, do you? Right...?"
Lucia finally began to tear up.
Yuri tilted her head with a bright smile, as if asking what she could possibly mean.
Indeed.
A Clementine would not be broken by something of this level.
"...Hic."
However, Lucia, who was in charge of the "objective tasting," looked as though she would break at any moment.