An Ominous Aura
"Waaaaah!"
Following the deafening roar of the crowd, they began to chant.
"Zeto! Zeto! Zeto!"
The spectators filling the Colosseum chanted my name in unison.
'I wonder if my Fame stat went up by a lot.'
With a crowd this size, the impact on my Fame would be substantial. Given the nature of this open class, word of today's event wouldn't just stay within the academy; it would spread far and wide through the mouths of the visitors who had come from the outside. Considering my unique traits, this might make it harder for me to operate covertly outside the academy, but as long as I kept a low profile and avoided unnecessary attention, I should be fine. Besides, a higher Fame stat would bring more benefits than drawbacks in the future. Most of the VIPs sitting in the gallery right now were influential figures who could be of help to me in one way or another. Leaving a strong impression on them was by no means a bad thing.
"Wow, he completely toyed with a third-year!"
"I know, right? I was wondering what he was doing at first..."
"I always believed in you, Zeto!"
"Zeto! Zeto! Zeto!"
...Except for the fact that it was all a bit overwhelming.
As I stood there awkwardly amidst the deafening cheers and chants, a voice drifted over from behind me—the voice of the opponent I had just faced.
"Didn't you agree to throw the match...?"
Kiph Ockentia. I knew his name. Or rather, it was more accurate to say I recognized his family name.
I had wondered why someone with absolutely no connection to me had called me over before the match, and it turned out he wanted to propose a "match-fixing" deal.
'How about you throw this duel for me? Make it look natural. If you do, I promise you a handsome reward on the name of Ockentia. For a mere commoner like you, I'm sure it's an offer you can't refuse.'
That was what he had whispered to me right before the duel began.
'...Sounds good.'
I had simply smiled and nodded at him.
Well, and now we were here.
I had casually dodged his attacks until I got bored, at which point I aimed for his neck. Immediately after, his protective barrier shattered into pieces, and his body went rolling across the Colosseum floor.
"Ah, right. I completely forgot."
When I scratched my head and gave him a cheeky response, his gaze turned murderous. He immediately spat out a threat.
"Do you think you're untouchable just because you're blind? Do you honestly believe you'll get away with doing this to an Ockentia? No... you probably don't even know what the name Ockentia means, do you? That's why you dared to pull a stunt like this."
Contrary to his assumptions, I knew exactly who his father was.
Terlos Ockentia. He was the Commander of the Golden Lion Knights of the Terasia Kingdom.
The reason I remembered Terlos wasn't because he was some legendary figure or an atrocious villain. Terlos was utterly incompetent. He was nothing more than a figurehead, and the true power behind the knights lay elsewhere.
'The real problem is that the true power behind the knights—whose job is to hunt demons—is actually a demon...'
In any case, Terlos was an issue I would have to deal with eventually, but there was a more pressing matter at hand.
"..."
Ignoring the pathetic sight of the guy sprawled on the ground, I casually turned my head toward the VIP gallery. Sitting there was a white-haired woman who hadn't been present earlier, staring intently at me.
It was the Saintess, Bernice.
Her arrival at the academy wasn't unexpected. She was supposed to come, and if anything, it was her delay that was unusual. The problem was the timing of her late arrival.
Right before the duel, Sierra had been floating toward the VIP gallery. She probably wanted to get a closer look at the Sword Saint. But as she approached, she had muttered something puzzling.
'If she is the Saintess... did Deidros not say that she could see souls...?'
With those words, she had phased straight through the wall beneath the gallery and hadn't shown herself since.
'It seems she made eye contact with the Saintess...'
I figured Sierra had handled it well enough in her own way. In fact, considering the circumstances, this might be better than her being spotted right next to me. First, I needed to talk to her.
Having made my decision, I immediately headed out of the Colosseum.
As soon as I stepped into the corridor, Sierra phased out of the wall, just as expected. Her eyes were wide with panic as she emerged.
Sierra cried out, practically throwing herself into my arms.
"I have a general idea of what happened. The Saintess is here, right?"
I calmed her down with a steady voice. I couldn't sense anyone else nearby in the corridor.
Sierra abruptly cut herself off and clamped her hands over her mouth. She seemed worried that the Saintess might hear our current conversation as well. Seeing her cover her mouth like that—a stark, adorable contrast to her usual dignified and imposing demeanor—made me chuckle.
"Haha, she won't be able to hear you now. If she could, she would have gone mad long ago. She'd be hearing the voices of every single deceased soul in the world all at once."
Only then did Sierra seem to calm down, slowly backing away from my chest.
In truth, the Saintess wasn't a threat to Sierra. Even though Sierra was a spiritual entity, her soul was already sealed within the Demon Blade. Unless the blade itself was destroyed and every trace of her vanished, she couldn't be forcibly 'exorcised' or sent to the afterlife. However, back when I was curing Antony's daughter, I hadn't expected to be able to interact and converse with Sierra like this. For now, keeping her existence hidden seemed like the wisest course of action. If things went according to my plan, the Saintess wouldn't view me as an enemy. In fact, that was the very seed I had planted beforehand. Timing and order were crucial in these matters. Fortunately, there was a simple way to hide Sierra.
"...Even if it is a bit uncomfortable, would you mind stepping inside the Demon Blade for a moment?"
I tapped the hilt of the Demon Blade at my waist, speaking to the visibly anxious Sierra.
Sierra murmured before slipping smoothly back into the sword.
I knew I would have to meet the Saintess eventually. The gaze she had directed at me earlier... was far from ordinary.
Bernice, the Saintess of Purity. While her flawless, pure white silhouette naturally evoked the concept of purity, she also symbolized 'innocence' in another sense. As the sole Apostle of the Chief God, a Saintess or Saint received the deity's love, allowing them to wield near-infinite Divine Power. But that wasn't all. Each Saintess and Saint was granted a unique ability known as an Authority. Bernice's Authority as a Saintess was the 'Eye of Truth,' which functioned essentially as a lie detector. Her eyes could instantly discern whether a person's words were truth or falsehood.
However, even Apostles couldn't use their Authorities without a price. An Apostle of the Chief God had to live with a restriction tied directly to their Authority. Due to this restriction, Bernice could never utter a single lie. This was the very reason she was called the Saintess of Purity.
'Well, it looks like we're about to have our first meeting...'
I had many secrets. The 'lies' I harbored were practically overflowing. But if she had come looking for me knowing who I was, her favorability toward me would already be high due to the matter with Antony, so I wasn't too worried. Unless she was determined to interrogate me, there were plenty of loopholes to exploit. Bernice's Authority was simpler than it seemed, leaving many gaps to slip through. In the game, the Saintess's influence was incredibly powerful. Establishing a good relationship with her now would make my future endeavors much easier.
'I just hope our conversation ends on a good note...'
Setting her Authority aside, there were a few other things that concerned me. ...Well, the die was cast, and as always, I would simply make the best choices available to me.
'Is it break time now?'
I finally cleared my cluttered mind and resumed my walk.
Having just entered a break period, I was in a hurry to find Zeto.
"Since Cadet Zeto's match just ended, he's likely near the waiting room," Ecklin said, following close behind me.
While watching Zeto's duel, I had learned from a conversation with Jeras that Zeto practiced 'acupuncture.' Jeras Clementine. Even though he claimed today was the first time he had seen Zeto in person, he possessed surprisingly detailed information about him. Most of it was apparently what he had heard from his daughter, but still... Why was the head of one of the Four Elemental Families so interested in Zeto? In any case, the likelihood that this academy cadet named Zeto—who wore a white bandage over his eyes—was the 'blind acupuncturist' I was searching for was now almost certain. The remaining challenge was how to bring it up naturally.
'But more importantly, who was that Eastern woman I saw earlier...?'
What kind of grudge did she hold to be wandering around the Colosseum like that? Had there been a fatal accident here in the past? ...Considering Innocence Academy was a place governed strictly by meritocracy, such an occurrence wouldn't be entirely surprising.
As I followed Ecklin's guidance toward the waiting room area, she suddenly called out.
"Oh! There he is!"
In the distance, Zeto was walking while gently brushing his hand against the hilt of the sword at his waist. Ecklin called out to him.
"Cadet Zeto!"
"..."
At her call, Zeto stopped in his tracks and turned his head. Then, he tilted his head slightly.
'Is he confused because it's a voice he's never heard before?'
We slowly approached him. With every step, the distance between us closed. Finally. I was finally meeting him. Ever since I heard about him from Antony, he had lingered in a corner of my mind, constantly drawing my attention. Just what kind of person was he? How could someone be so kind as to be called a 'Saint' even while a Saintess was alive and well, and earn the description of 'mysterious' from a merchant who had met countless people?
Mystery. I loved the unique, tickling sensation that word brought. I wanted to know more, to dig deeper. Perhaps it was because the 'ability' granted to me by the Chief God had divided all the people in the world into two distinct categories. Those who speak lies, and those who speak the truth. Very few people could maintain an air of mystery in front of me. Because of that, my expectations were incredibly high.
'What is this...?'
Yet, the closer I got to him, the more a strange doubt crept into my mind. It was only when I stood directly in front of him that I realized the source of my unease. From the man I was finally facing... an ominous aura was emanating. And it wasn't just one or two. It was a faint energy, so subtle that one wouldn't notice without focusing deeply, but it was absolutely not a positive one.
Without realizing it, I raised my arm and snapped my fingers.
*Snap.*
Immediately, a brilliant light—Divine Power—poured down upon Zeto's body.
"Saintess...?"
Ines, standing beside me, asked in confusion.
"Ah..."
Because the aura emanating from him bothered me so much, I had purified the area out of habit. I couldn't explain myself to Ines. I was incapable of lying. If I opened my mouth to speak, I would have to utter the rude truth right in front of him—that I had sensed an ominous aura from his person. Though it had been done out of a good intention to cleanse a bad energy... it was hardly appropriate behavior for a first meeting, before we had even introduced ourselves. Feeling apologetic, I was about to open my mouth to offer an excuse.
However, despite what should have been a thorough purification.
'Why...?'
The negative energy clinging to him did not disappear. I couldn't tell exactly what it was, but something he possessed was actively 'interfering' with my Divine Power.