That's Not How You Disguise Yourself
"...Still, she hasn't come back since then."
So said Deidros, the blacksmith who had crafted the Demon Blade and a Gold Dragon in disguise. He swirled his glass, followed by the clinking of ice against the crystal.
He was still practically living on alcohol.
I'm glad Bernice hasn't visited him again.
On my way back from dealing with the demon earlier, I had stopped by Deidros's mansion.
There was something I wanted to quickly verify.
Just as I had discovered the true name of Shady, the shadow spirit, through my Ki Sense, I wanted to see if it would work on a 'Dragon'—beings who, like spirits, possessed true names.
To skip straight to the conclusion: I found it.
Deidros's true name, that is.
Was this an effect of the Blindfold That Pierces the Truth?
I couldn't be entirely sure yet, but I knew at least that some hidden, extraordinary power lay within it that I had yet to fully grasp.
It was common knowledge that items of Legendary grade always carried their own lore.
If I went to an Appraiser, I could probably find out some basic information, but honestly, I'd rather avoid crossing paths with one altogether.
Since this was a story-driven game, it was highly unlikely they would just throw such an item at me without any accompanying lore. Yet, I had never once encountered anyone who could sense the blindfold's unique energy or who even knew of its existence.
And that was despite having met quite a few of the continent's most prominent figures.
The Gold Dragon right in front of me, the Saintess, the Sword Saint... If there was an extra story, it clearly wasn't tied to them.
My Fame stat was reasonably high, so was it that the villains weren't making any moves... or was it simply because I had been meticulously avoiding the major ones?
After all, no one knew the notorious villains of this continent better than I did.
"So, why did she seek you out? The Saintess, I mean."
Deidros took a sip of his drink, set it down on the table, and asked.
"She offered me a position in her knight order."
"...Aren't you an academy cadet?"
"I am. That's why she created a position called 'Honorary Knight' for me."
"...An Honorary Knight. Ha, she used her head. Wait... there is one thing I do not understand... Isn't the Saintess's knight order strictly female-only?"
I couldn't help but chuckle at Deidros's question.
"Hahaha, I thought so too."
At my laughter, Deidros narrowed his eyes.
"......Judging by the faint scent of demonic blood on you, it seems you have already joined."
Deidros closed his eyes tightly and shook his head.
Did the smell of blood stick to me...?
I instinctively leaned down and sniffed my clothes.
Perhaps because the scent of blood was already stuck in my nose, I couldn't smell anything unusual.
Deidros told me that when the Saintess had come to ask about me, he had spun a web of lies to protect me, fearing I might be in danger.
When I told him what the current Saintess Bernice's authority actually was, he could only let out a hollow laugh.
Building a friendship with a dragon is normally no easy feat, but somehow, things had worked out incredibly well with him.
It was probably because I had managed to pique his curiosity in so many ways.
"By the way, you certainly have some nerve joining the Saintess's knights while carrying such things on your person... No matter how faint their presence, there's no way the Saintess wouldn't notice."
Deidros tapped his finger toward my chest as he spoke.
The Tears of the Deceased near my heart, the Demon Blade Sierra, and even Shady.
Just as he said, I was practically teeming with dark things that were completely incompatible with a Saintess.
Deidros was capable of sensing spiritual energy. This was news to me.
Apparently, he had clashed with spirits a few times in the past.
Even so, he could only faintly sense their presence; he couldn't actually see them with his naked eyes.
"Miss Sierra is the problem..."
Deidros's gaze drifted toward Sierra, who was floating beside me.
It was already confirmed that Bernice could see Sierra. I had yet to explain to her why I had to carry around such a dangerous object as a Demon Blade.
Deidros also remarked that if I just told her the story, it wasn't an insurmountable issue.
After all, who could ignore the tender love between a master and disciple that transcended death?
It probably is better to tell her in advance...
Even if I couldn't reveal the other things hidden inside my body, disclosing what I could—like the Demon Blade—would be far less suspicious than trying to hide everything.
Unfortunately, the timing hadn't been great last time.
I wished I could have at least harvested a horn while dealing with the demon this time, but Shady had devoured everything, leaving absolutely nothing behind.
Will it have to wait a bit longer...?
It wasn't an urgent matter anyway, since I wouldn't be seeing Bernice very often.
Meanwhile, Saintess Bernice had entered the academy in 'disguise' alongside Ecklin, the Vice-Commander of the Silver Wing Knights.
Since their faces had already been revealed to the academy during the open class, a disguise was inevitable for this unofficial visit.
However, the problem lay in the disguise Ecklin had come up with.
Mascot suits, of all things...
Wearing mascot suits that were usually reserved for festivals certainly kept their identities safe, but as far as Bernice was concerned, it was drawing an immense amount of attention in its own right.
They had somehow managed to sneak into the city. By scaling the fence, they had successfully avoided the academy staff stationed at the main gate.
Now, they just had to find Zeto.
"What's that? Is it some kind of promotion?"
"I know them! It's Coby and Becky!"
"So cute..."
But as passing cadets began to react one by one, the two were instantly surrounded by a crowd, reduced to a novel spectacle.
They had received an explanation about the characters from the general store owner who sold them the suits.
Apparently, this bear and rabbit were the main characters of a picture book highly popular among children.
"What should we do...?"
Bernice whispered to Ecklin beside her.
But Ecklin was equally flustered.
Hearing that these characters were popular, Ecklin had assumed they could blend in naturally and appear anywhere without raising suspicion.
How on earth were they this popular even among adult academy cadets?
The picture book the store owner had shown Ecklin for reference was definitely a very childish, ordinary book meant for toddlers.
However, the reason was simple.
The female cadets were just watching because they liked cute things, and the male cadets were only gathering around to strike up conversations with the female cadets.
For Ecklin, whose interests were vastly different from other women her age, this was completely incomprehensible.
Soon, Ecklin, clad in the large and adorable bear suit, made a natural gesture to defuse the awkward situation and spoke.
"I'm Coby! Nice to meet you all~!"
It was a gesture so adorable that no one would ever imagine it came from the Vice-Commander of a knight order.
Thinking she had put Bernice in a tight spot, Ecklin threw her pride out the window.
Fortunately, her face was hidden... so perhaps she felt slightly less embarrassed.
Ecklin hoped that if she humored them for a bit, they would lose interest and leave, but the cadets' enthusiasm only grew.
"Kyaaa—!!"
"So cute!"
"Oh, it's a girl...!"
Soon, the cadets' eyes turned to Bernice—or rather, 'Becky' in the rabbit suit.
Coby and Becky were always a pair.
Having watched Coby's introduction, the cadets were now eagerly anticipating Becky's.
Your Holiness, please try not to speak if possible.
Having agreed on this with Ecklin beforehand, Bernice stood frozen, utterly at a loss.
Bernice's divine authority rejected even a simple phrase like, "I'm Becky."
Because that would be a 'lie'.
As Bernice's silence stretched on, people began to tilt their heads. Anticipation was turning into confusion.
Left with no choice, Bernice moved her body.
Since she couldn't speak, she decided to meet their expectations with a gesture far cuter than the one Ecklin had just shown.
"...Kyun."
Mimicking Becky's pose from the picture book perfectly, a strange squeak escaped Bernice's lips.
She hadn't intended to, but it felt like she absolutely had to make that sound when striking this pose.
Unfortunately, because the crowd had quieted down in anticipation, everyone heard Bernice's adorable voice.
Bernice endured it.
She believed this was yet another trial sent by the Lord, one she had to bear to seek Zeto's forgiveness.
Watching Bernice maintain her pose amidst the erupting cheers of the cadets, Ecklin stood there, completely dazed.
The Saintess... making such a... cute gesture...
As someone who absolutely adored Bernice, she was currently having a nosebleed. Ecklin thought it was a blessing that no one could see her bleeding thanks to the mascot head.
How much longer must I stay like this...
Just as Bernice was blushing furiously while holding her pose, someone burst through the crowd and approached them.
The crimson-haired female cadet who squeezed through the crowd was also sporting a nosebleed, just like Ecklin.
Wiping the blood away nonchalantly, she pointed at Bernice and spoke.
"This... This is the... 'real' Becky..."
The one spouting this nonsense was none other than Yuri Clementine, who had an unusually strong fondness for picture books.
Yuri absolutely loved Coby and Becky.
In her room back at her family's estate, plushies of them were piled up like a mountain.
At Yuri's sudden appearance, the surrounding cadets, as well as Ecklin and Bernice roleplaying as Coby and Becky, were all left utterly dumbfounded.
What is she doing?
Ignoring their silent bewilderment, Yuri immediately began to mutter.
"Becky is originally a shy and delicate rabbit... Introducing herself in front of so many strangers would be completely out of character for her... Yet, that quick judgment to defuse the situation by striking Becky's 'happy pose'..."
Yuri's dead-serious analysis continued in a low voice.
Listening quietly, Ecklin whispered softly to Bernice.
"Isn't this cadet the lady of the Clementine family we saw during the open class...?"
At Ecklin's dubious question, Bernice, still holding her pose perfectly, gave a slight nod.
Lord Clementine, is this what you meant when you said your daughter has a very innocent side...?
Bernice recalled the conversation she had shared with Jeras during the open class.
"How... How should I commemorate this...? I can't even draw... Ugh..."
Yuri stomped her feet in frustration.
Leaving Yuri to her antics, Ecklin scanned their surroundings.
The crowd was growing larger.
This was not good.
Just as she was contemplating whether they should run away and come back with a different disguise instead of mascot suits, someone else emerged from the crowd.
The man walking through the crowd wore an outfit different from the cadets.
Ecklin and Bernice knew exactly who he was.
Sensing his presence, Yuri, who was standing in front of them, turned around and spoke.
"Instructor Edward?"
"Ah, Miss Yuri is here as well. I came over after hearing reports of an unauthorized duo wearing mascot suits..."
Edward trailed off, his eyes squinted so narrowly that his pupils were barely visible as his gaze swept over the disguised Ecklin and Bernice.
"...Follow me."
With a sly smile, Edward delivered a brief command.
Yuri blankly watched 'Coby and Becky' quietly follow Edward away.
"I need to... commemorate this..."
Edward led them to a quiet, deserted clearing where no one was around.
He had already sensed Bernice's divine power and realized her identity as the Saintess. Having spent years alongside Priscilla, who possessed immense holy magic, he was highly sensitive to it.
There was no one else besides the Saintess who could possess an amount of divine power that surpassed Priscilla's.
"Since you say it is a personal visit... I understand."
Edward replied after listening to Ecklin's explanation.
Ecklin and Bernice quietly awaited Edward's 'measures'.
They assumed they would ultimately be turned away since it was an unauthorized visit. After all, Innocence Academy was a highly exclusive city-state.
However, after clapping his hands and saying, "How amusing, how amusing," Edward's next words defied their expectations.
"If you were going to disguise yourselves, you should have done it properly. Mascot suits? It was entertaining, but I can hardly call that a disguise. As you can see, it's far too conspicuous."
Ecklin nodded in agreement with Edward's words, but she couldn't help but wonder.
Since it was her first time ever trying to disguise herself, it was bound to be clumsy.
So while he wasn't wrong, why was this man critiquing their 'disguise' rather than addressing their 'unauthorized entry'?
Ecklin found it highly puzzling.
Soon, Edward spoke again.
"A disguise is meant to blend you into the crowd. But since the Saintess's face is well-known to many, I suppose that was difficult?"
Listening to Edward's sudden 'lesson', Bernice and Ecklin nodded.
Then, Edward's lips curled up into a suspicious smirk as he snapped his fingers with a sharp clack.
"In that sense, how about wearing the cadets' uniforms? To the other cadets, you won't look like the Saintess, but rather a new face... a cadet who happens to look a lot like her. More importantly, if you walk around in uniforms, you won't draw much attention in the first place."
...Edward's suggestion actually sounded quite plausible.
But wasn't he overlooking something crucial?
With that thought in mind, Bernice asked him cautiously.
"But we don't have any uniforms...?"
"Indeed. The only way to obtain an Innocence Academy cadet's uniform through normal channels is, of course, by enrolling. However, I happen to have a way. I do have a rather influential father, after all... I can procure two sets for you."
Edward was the son of Principal Juliut Klaus. In other words, he was openly declaring his intention to 'abuse' his authority.
"Is it really alright to do such a thing? No, more importantly... why are you going to such lengths for us?"
Unable to comprehend Edward's actions, Ecklin asked.
"...Isn't it more fun this way?"
Edward shrugged in response to her question.
Just what is wrong with this man...
Because of her divine authority, Bernice knew that Edward's words were the absolute 'truth'.
Edward Klaus was an utterly unpredictable individual, even to the Saintess of Purity.