Everyone's Son-in-Law
On my way back from meeting the Saintess, Bernice.
I was retracing the conversation we had just shared while stroking the jewel embedded in the pommel of Sierra.
The conversation might have concluded better than I expected, but...
"Has Cadet Zeto... killed a demon recently?"
...The Saintess's information network exceeded my expectations.
To think she would connect me to Krectar.
Bernice might have only asked as a shot in the dark, but because of her Authority, I had no choice but to speak the truth.
I had planned to build a decent rapport with her this time and ask for her help when needed, but Bernice had tried to recruit me into her order of knights.
'A fence.'
Certainly, considering my future activities, having such a shield wouldn't be a bad thing.
However, there was a catch.
It wasn't so much a matter of conversation or excuses... but rather the Saintess's actions toward me.
The moment Bernice met me, she had suddenly poured divine power into me.
She must have sensed it immediately.
The ominous energy emanating from me.
Well, since it wasn't something that could be erased by mere purification, there was no real damage. But even before that, her divine power seemed to have been blocked by the coat I was wearing.
The Shroud of Night possessed resistance to holy magic, after all.
Thanks to Barsium, the original owner of the coat, being a vampire, the resistance itself was quite high.
'I hadn't kept it in mind because I thought it was a largely useless option, but...'
Fortunately, Bernice didn't seem to have grasped any details.
At least, not yet.
I could reveal the Demon Blade eventually when the time was right.
Bernice wasn't completely inflexible.
Recalling the misunderstanding Deidros had when crafting the Demon Blade, I figured the Saintess might also empathize and understand.
But the Tears of the Deceased... I had no excuse for that.
I couldn't just casually say, 'I killed a Lich, got this, and implanted it into my heart.'
Aside from inevitably getting closer to Bernice, belonging to the Saintess's order of knights did seem convenient in many ways.
While I was lost in thought, Sierra suddenly began to hum and vibrate.
Soon after, Sierra slipped out of the Demon Blade and spoke.
[ M-My disciple... Couldst thou please stop caressing it so...? ]
Speaking in a bashful voice, Sierra writhed her body as if she didn't know what to do with herself.
It seemed that my absentminded stroking of the sword at my waist while deep in thought had been quite bothersome to her.
"Which part of you is it connected to...?"
I asked, tapping the jewel on the pommel.
'I'm sure she didn't mind the hilt.'
At that, Sierra's body immediately trembled.
[ Ah... S-Stop... Cease this at once... ]
...Judging by her reaction, it seemed to be an extremely sensitive spot.
"...I understand."
I took my hand off Sierra and raised my palms in surrender.
Sierra quickly composed herself and glared at me.
It appeared that when Sierra was inside the Demon Blade, her senses were much more intensely linked to it than when she was manifested outside.
In any case, walking around the academy with her like this seemed difficult for the time being.
"Master, even if it's frustrating, could you bear with it for a little while? I don't want to be discovered by the Saintess just yet."
[ ...Does that mean it will be fine later? ]
With a pout, Sierra placed both hands on my shoulders and asked, casting a sidelong glance at me.
"If things go according to my plan."
I replied to her and continued walking toward the Colosseum.
Would Bernice's Authority even work on Sierra, who had already become a departed soul?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The climax of the second day of the public classes was, without a doubt, the duel between the rising star, Eisel Ludwig, and Yuri Clementine of the continent's Four Great Elemental Families.
It began with Yuri calling her out.
With a confident expression, she summoned Eisel to the arena.
The two then displayed overwhelming skill, whipping the Colosseum into a frenzy.
The result was Eisel's victory.
Yuri was certainly strong enough in her own right.
Unfortunately, her skills were not yet at a level where she could overcome the massive wall of a 'Regressor'.
Nevertheless, the duel they showcased far exceeded the expectations for first-year cadets, so Yuri's defeat did nothing to tarnish the reputation of the Clementine family.
Above all, even Yuri's father, Jeras Clementine, was quite satisfied with his daughter's performance.
Normally, he would have scolded her, but he was in an exceptionally good mood.
Amid his deepening worries regarding the First Prince, discovering a cadet named Zeto was an unexpected stroke of good fortune for him.
With the second day's events concluded, the outsiders would now spend the next few days observing the cadets' academy life.
Thus, Jeras had paid a visit to Yuri's dormitory.
Yuri's room was not much different from her room back at the main estate.
Not a single item was out of place; it was a pristine room where even a speck of dust was hard to find.
On the other side, his lovely daughter, Yuri, sat on the bed with a sullen expression.
A book lay at the head of the bed where she sat.
'She still loves fairy tales.'
A warm smile spread across Jeras's face at his daughter's enduring innocence since childhood.
"You don't look to be in a very good mood," Jeras asked, stepping closer to Yuri.
"...I lost. How could I possibly be in a good mood?"
Yuri snapped her head away.
She was barely suppressing the rising frustration inside her. There was no need to take her annoyance out on her father, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
"Hahaha, that's my girl. Indeed, when a wall blocks your path, burn it down and leap over it. That is the way of the Clementines."
Jeras laughed heartily.
He felt proud of how well he had raised his daughter.
"...It's unusual for you not to say something harsh, Father," Yuri said, resting her chin on her hand.
"As you said, Miss Eisel is indeed strong. A 'Ludwig' who uses lightning magic... I haven't heard of such a family before."
"I've never asked about her family either. I just assumed there was such a clan somewhere on the continent... Anyway, she's a strange girl. Suddenly coming back injured out of nowhere..."
Yuri began to ramble on about Eisel.
Watching her, Jeras smiled warmly and patted her head.
Perhaps Zeto wasn't Yuri's only friend.
Engaging in friendly rivalry with a friend was a good thing.
After all, looking at his own youth, he had bickered and clashed with Maxim Caligula almost every single day.
"...And I don't even know when she got so close to Zeto, either," Yuri muttered, playing with her crimson hair.
At her words, Jeras raised an eyebrow.
"...Is Miss Eisel close with young Zeto as well?"
"It seems so."
"Hmm..."
Jeras stroked his beard, humming thoughtfully.
And then, a thought struck him.
Perhaps, to Yuri, Eisel was not a friend, but a love rival.
From what he had observed briefly, Zeto was quite popular among the female cadets.
It was only natural for him to reach such a conclusion.
"Haha, it seems my daughter has quite a headache ahead of her."
At Jeras's sudden remark, Yuri tilted her head.
She crossed her arms and glared at Jeras, as if asking what nonsense he was spouting now.
"Yuri, my lovely daughter. Let your father give you a piece of advice... Love, you see, becomes quite painful if you miss your chance."
"Love...? Father, what on earth are you talking about?!"
Only then did Yuri realize what her father was implying.
"Zeto is... h-he's just a friend, I tell you."
Pushing Jeras away, Yuri stammered.
"Is that so? Then you wouldn't mind at all if Miss Eisel and young Zeto were whispering sweet nothings to each other right in front of you?"
"T-That... There's no way Eisel and Zeto would..."
Even as she spoke, Yuri recalled the way Eisel looked at Zeto.
It was an incredibly intense, almost sticky... strange gaze.
Yuri ultimately couldn't finish her sentence.
Jeras smiled at Yuri, who had her head bowed low, and quietly threw out a parting word as he headed for the door.
"If it's a son-in-law like Zeto, your father is always in favor."
Leaving the room, Jeras had no doubt that Yuri would handle the rest well on her own after this nudge.
Left alone in her room, Yuri remained in a state of shock.
'A son-in-law...'
No matter how she looked at it, wasn't that jumping too far ahead?
"Zeto is just a friend... I haven't even held his hand, so what do you mean, marriage..."
As she muttered those words quietly, Yuri let out an, "Ah."
'Wait, have we already held hands...?'
Yuri immediately walked over to the nightstand beside her bed and pulled something out of the drawer.
As she closed the drawer, a single shard of ice was held in her hand.
It was the souvenir Lucia had distributed to everyone when they visited the North.
She sat on the edge of the bed and channeled mana into the ice shard.
Afterward, Yuri spent a long time replaying that memory, those precious moments, with a gentle smile on her face.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Meanwhile, in the same dormitory building, a pink-haired girl with twin tails held the exact same thing in her hand.
It was Kaen.
Whenever night fell, her hand naturally drifted toward the ice shard.
Just as she was about to channel mana into it, making a firm resolution to 'not get a nosebleed today,' a sound broke the silence.
Creak.
The sound of a window suddenly sliding open echoed in the dark room.
'What is it...? An intruder? There have been rumors of a phantom thief sneaking into the academy...'
They had chosen the wrong target.
Kaen was the disciple of the Sword Saint.
Shring.
She immediately drew the sword resting beside her bed, aiming to thrust it at the mysterious intruder.
However.
Ting.
With a clear, ringing sound, the sword Kaen thrust forward was flicked away by the intruder's finger.
"Your skills have grown rusty."
The intruder's voice was one that was incredibly familiar to her.
Kaen cried out in bewilderment.
"Grandfather?!"
"Tsk, who would ever feel threatened by a sword thrust with so little conviction?"
The identity of the intruder was none other than Kaen's master and the Sword Saint, Chris.
Clicking his tongue, Chris casually began to look around his granddaughter's room.
Perhaps because she had wandered with him since childhood, the room was remarkably sparse, almost pitifully so.
There were barely any personal belongings, making it look incredibly humble.
"I mean, why use the window when there's a perfectly good door..."
Kaen trailed off as she stared at Chris, quickly realizing why he had done such a thing.
After all, her relationship with Chris was currently being kept a secret.
"Ahem... Grandfather, so what brings you here at this late hour?"
Clearing her throat, Kaen sheathed her sword and addressed him.
Looking around the room, Chris replied.
"I met with Zeto this morning."
"You met Cadet Zeto?"
"Yes. I had some questions while observing his swordsmanship, so we had a little chat. Only then did I understand why you lost."
He didn't bother mentioning that he had tried to take Zeto as his disciple.
"...If we fight again, I can win."
Kaen said, assuming Chris was scolding her.
But Chris's response was not what she expected.
"There is no need for that. It seems best to keep the fact that you are my disciple a secret. Especially from that fellow Zeto."
"...Huh?"
"...I have my reasons."
Chris vaguely brushed off Kaen's confusion.
At this, Kaen narrowed her eyes and tilted her head.
Since Chris was such an eccentric figure, Kaen couldn't fully comprehend his actions or words either.
As Chris observed Kaen, his eyes caught the ice shard held in her hand.
Grabbing her hand, Chris asked.
"What is this?"
"T-This... It's just ice. Ice for eating. Ehehe... I guess you could say I eat it whenever I get thirsty!"
At Chris's question, Kaen hastily popped the ice shard into her mouth and scratched her cheek.
'I... swallowed Zeto...'
With the ice shard in her mouth, Kaen wanted to cry, but she had no choice but to smile foolishly.
She only hoped that the ice wouldn't melt.
Staring at Kaen as she popped the hand-soiled ice into her mouth, Chris wondered if he had neglected to teach her proper manners.
Just then, a ring on Kaen's finger as she scratched her cheek caught Chris's eye.
"Hmm? That's a ring I haven't seen before," Chris asked.
Kaen glanced down at the ring.
"Ah, this is a ring I received from Cadet Zeto. Isn't it wonderful?!"
Kaen proudly splayed her fingers to show Chris.
In fact, the clothes Kaen was wearing right now were also bought for her by Zeto.
Contrary to Zeto's assumption that she would only wear it once, she wore it quite frequently.
"You received a ring?"
Chris's eyes widened.
"Uh, well... somehow it just happened..."
Kaen mumbled, her pronunciation slightly slurred due to the ice shard in her mouth.
She couldn't tell him that she had obtained it while hunting a blood mage with Zeto.
This was a secret shared only between Zeto and Kaen.
Hearing this, Chris was deeply shocked.
'They are already at the stage of exchanging rings...?!'
No matter how ignorant Chris was about romance, even he knew that exchanging rings carried immense significance.
Soon, Chris's lips curled up into a wide grin, revealing his teeth.
He clapped a hand heavily onto Kaen's shoulder.
"Splendid, Kaen! Keep striving forward!"
"...Striving forward?"
Kaen was bewildered once again by Chris's hard-to-understand words, but Chris paid her confusion no mind.
Chris had come to find Kaen after agonizing over how to hook her up with Zeto, but contrary to his worries, his disciple seemed to be doing perfectly fine on her own.
He didn't feel like his trip had been in vain.
Leaving Kaen with a face full of question marks, Chris stepped onto the windowsill to depart and threw one last comment over his shoulder.
"...If possible, I would like to see them soon. My grandchild... no, my great-grandchild. Since you've already received a ring, that's the only thing left, isn't it?"
He was jumping to conclusions, and by quite a margin.
"G-Great-grandchild?!"
Leaving behind Kaen's immediate, bewildered shout, Chris slipped out through the window.
'Kaen is still young, so she's quite shy.'
Chris thought as he floated lightly into the air.
"Ugh..."
Having suffered through Chris's sudden visit, Kaen spat out the ice shard.
The ice had not melted.
Although she had heard it wouldn't melt, she had worried needlessly, thinking it would be incredibly unfair if it disappeared because of something like this.
With those thoughts, she rolled her eyes and muttered.
"A great-grandchild... No way..."
Kaen suspected her grandfather, Chris, was deeply mistaken, but the fact that he had said such things meant Zeto had won his approval.
'Zeto and... me...'
Recalling the process of obtaining the 'great-grandchild' Chris spoke of, Kaen's face flushed bright red.
She quickly covered her mouth with a gasp.
...In any case, washing the ice shard came first.