Symbols
Surprisingly, it worked.
I memorized a two-hundred-page history book in less than half a day.
"You really are smart. You would have been a great success even if you'd taken up magic."
"..."
My head felt a bit fuzzy, but the memorized contents were astonishingly clear.
Is this the life of a genius...?
Come to think of it, there was no way the body of the Sword Saint would be ordinary, but I hadn't expected him to be brainy as well.
I spent some time retracing my memories of the past few days, and sure enough, I could recall everything with perfect clarity.
In the process, a question I had buried resurfaced.
"By the way, what is my name?"
"Huh?"
I asked Luniere, who was preparing to leave.
"Because no one has told me. My name, that is."
"Oh my?"
Reacting like that just because I asked for my name...?
Or was she surprised by the fact that no one had told me my name until now?
Well, it was a rather shocking revelation.
"The Emperor didn't tell you?"
I nodded, my expression filled with a sense of grievance.
"Then I can't tell you either..."
"Pardon?"
"But I think I can guess why he didn't."
So it wasn't just that he forgot?
That was a bit of a shock.
"Here, take this."
Luniere hesitated for a moment before handing the history book back to me.
The moment I took it, the pages of the book began to flip rapidly.
It stopped near the very end.
"Look here."
Luniere's long, slender finger reached over my shoulder and touched the page.
I focused my gaze on it as if possessed.
"Would you read this?"
"'The Golden Mind, the Symbol of the first Emperor, overcame the calamity to establish the Great Empire and ascended to a Mystery. This was not merely a grand feat, but a leap forward for the human species...'"
"Good boy. That's enough."
She was treating me like a child, but strangely, I didn't feel any aversion to it.
Was it because she was an elf?
"In this world, there exist Mysteries and Symbols. A Symbol is a trace engraved upon the world, while a Mystery is that trace sublimated into a rule. Do you understand?"
"No."
How could I?
What on earth did that even mean?
"Ahaha... Sorry. I sometimes forget that you're basically in the state of a newborn. You're just so calm."
Luniere said this and began to explain her own Symbol.
"A Symbol is the world's response to the history a living being leaves behind. It is also a primordial mystery."
I still have no idea what you're talking about.
"My Symbol is 'Evergreen Wisdom'. I awakened it the moment I promised to pursue endless inquiry, as I have always done."
"...Right."
So, what actually is it?
Is it like a title or something?
"The power of my Symbol is limit break. As long as my heart does not break, there is no end."
Does that mean there's no level cap?
"Does that mean your growth never stops?"
"Hmm... Something like that. Do you understand what a Symbol is now?"
Now I had a grasp of it.
It really was a title.
In games, don't you get passive stats or extra effects when you acquire a title?
It felt exactly like that.
Except the extra effects were ridiculously overpowered.
"Then, what do you think is the difference between a Symbol and a Mystery?"
Fortunately, this time I could understand it immediately.
"A Mystery doesn't disappear even if the owner dies?"
"Oh... Smart."
She reached out to pat my head as she spoke, but stopped herself and pulled her hand back.
It was a little disappointing.
"Unlike a Symbol, a Mystery never disappears. Because it becomes a rule of the world. That is the biggest reason why so many kingdoms gathered under the name of Everhardt."
"Oh..."
It was interesting.
Somehow... it finally felt like I had entered a real fantasy world.
"That is why the Emperor didn't tell you your name."
Ah, right. We were talking about that.
"Did you forget?"
"No."
"Hmm..."
When I widened my eyes to show my absolute sincerity, she nodded as if she understood.
"Did you know that you also possessed a Symbol? My disciple figured out that your memories were gone by applying that knowledge. She realized it when she saw that your Symbol was damaged."
"Ah..."
No wonder they hadn't caught on to my possession.
Indeed, reading someone's mind couldn't possibly be that easy.
"The moment you lose your memories, you become a different person from before. Naturally, your Symbol loses its light as well. Thanks to your body remaining the same, it seems about half of it is left... but it won't be easy to use. Just like this morning."
This morning?
A Symbol was essentially a special ability.
Thinking of it that way, something immediately came to mind.
"Ah, that..."
"Yes. Our Sword Saint's Symbol, 'Severance'. It is an iron authority that cuts through everything. Though I really didn't expect you to slash your own Symbol as well."
No wonder it was so damn hard to use. It was a ultimate move.
"How was it? Your experience using a half-broken Symbol?"
I felt it instinctively.
She had come all this way just to ask this question.
Once again, I faced a choice.
Truth or lie.
Unlike other things, this was directly linked to my current combat capability.
Even if she was an ally for now, it was an uncomfortable matter to speak of honestly.
But what if I hid it and got caught?
She had been uncannily quick at reading my inner thoughts from the start.
There was no need to make her suspicious of me.
After a brief hesitation, I gave a vague explanation.
"It felt like it was putting a heavy strain on my body. I can't use it multiple times, and I can't control it properly."
After saying it, I wondered if I had been too detailed, but in the end, I had hidden the exact limit, so I was satisfied.
She listened to my symptoms with an intrigued expression, then pulled a piece of parchment from her robe and began to write something down.
Having finished her notes, she finally explained the reason why the Emperor hadn't told me my name.
"Once you learn your name, your Symbol will find you. That means the history contained within the Symbol will also return to you."
Did that mean he didn't want my memories to return?
Well, I had been wearing handcuffs, after all.
The Emperor's statement that the Sword Saint had returned meant that, previously, he wasn't the Sword Saint.
I hadn't understood it at the time, but considering I had lost my memories and ego due to the Heart Demon, it was a fitting expression.
Since the two elves speculated that the Heart Demon had ended when my memories vanished, the return of my memories meant the return of the Heart Demon as well.
"I see..."
It seemed that when the memories flew away, the Symbol had vanished along with them.
Had the world judged me and Eisenhardt to be different people?
I figured I could think of it as a sort of mind-body-spirit theory.
As I organized my thoughts, Luniere spoke with a look of relief.
"You really are quick to understand. I don't think I need to worry."
Worry about what?
"Ah, the Grand Council has been moved up to two days from now. You've probably heard, but you have to attend as well."
"...What? I've only just learned a little bit of history."
"That's just how it is. What can you do? You are the Imperial Knight Commander, after all."
You said I had a week.
When I expressed my despair with my entire body, Luniere chuckled and explained the background story.
A noble who had traveled to the capital early for the Grand Council had received news that his father was in critical condition.
However, returning home was a problem; because he came from the outskirts, the journey alone would take several days at best.
Moreover, it wasn't easy to just leave immediately when his family was in critical condition.
Yet, missing the Grand Council, which was a noble's duty, was out of the question.
Caught in this tragic dilemma, the nobles collectively submitted a petition.
To move the schedule of the Grand Council forward.
Having finished her explanation, Luniere smiled brightly and said,
"They really are funny humans."
"...Pardon?"
I was taken aback, having internally thought that it couldn't be helped.
At this point, I recalled a classic trait of elves.
Typical elf trait: severely lacking in empathy...
"I haven't lost my emotions. It's just that their little scheme is so transparent."
Ah, damn it. Read my mind again.
More importantly, a scheme?
"Pfft... What was that just now?"
"Ah."
I quickly straightened my head, which I had tilted out of habit.
This wasn't a habit of this body.
It was mine.
It seemed I was slowly getting used to this body.
"So, what do you mean by a scheme?"
Luniere tilted her head in response.
It was a bit annoying that she was mimicking me to tease, but I couldn't say anything, so I kept quiet.
Besides, when Luniere did it, it actually looked quite picturesque.
Finally, she opened her mouth.
"Exactly what it sounds like. A scheme to pull the Grand Council forward by any means, just to see you in public a little sooner."
I re-evaluated my position once again.
It seemed I was an even more incredible person than I thought.
To the point where the nobles were waiting for me with bated breath.
A few days later, the day of the Grand Council arrived.
I stepped out into the hallway, dressed in unfamiliar attire.
A stiff black uniform with silver embroidery across the chest.
They said this uniform, decorated with silver ornaments on a solid black base, reflected my past preferences.
Originally, it was supposed to be several times flashier with all sorts of additional decorations.
Just looking around, that seemed to be the case.
Everyone else was glittering and shining.
I decided to feel grateful to my past self.
That kind of flashiness was definitely not my style.
It wasn't just my clothes that had changed.
I stared at my reflection in the window.
Mainly my hair.
My carefully styled hair exuded a restrained wildness.
When it was messy and disheveled, I looked no better than a beggar, but styled like this, it looked quite handsome.
Just as I was thinking that, a thunderous salute echoed from ahead.
""Loyalty!!!""
I nodded, recalling what I had learned.
This was something I had studied.
It was the salute of ordinary knights.
Then, what about the greeting of Moritz or the bulky knight I had met in the hallway earlier?
"Greetings, Lord Eisenhardt."
"Greetings, Lord Eisenhardt!"
That was the etiquette of high-ranking knights, like the two standing here.
Either they came from good families, or they possessed great skill.
Though they were unfamiliar faces, I gave them a casual nod in return.
The palace hallways were noisier than usual today.
People were practically bumping into each other with every step.
It was even dizzying because almost everyone greeted me.
Trying to control my Qi Sensing in the midst of it all made it even worse.
I was still very clumsy at it, but at least I could manage some level of control now.
If I still couldn't control my Qi Sensing, it would have felt like I was holding a sword to the throat of everyone in this hallway.
Just thinking about it was horrifying.
I had to maintain good mental control because I would revert to my previous state if I got nervous, but I could manage that much.
It wasn't like I was heading onto a battlefield.
"Ah, greetings, Lord Eisenhardt."
Just as I was about to nod naturally and pass by, my eyes met with a woman standing behind a knight.
Pink eyes and pink hair.
My gaze lingered for a moment on the color combination, which practically demanded attention.
"Hello!!"
A brief silence fell over the hallway.
"Hello."
To me, who was still close to a modern person, it was a perfectly normal greeting, but not here.
The pink-haired woman's face turned white as a sheet.
At the same time, nobles popped out from all directions.
"Lord Eisenhardt, I apologize on her behalf. I am of the House of Count Hatzfeld..."
"I, too, offer my apologies. I am of the House of Count Schwerin..."
I was a bit puzzled by their desperate attempts to cover for her.
I had heard that the nobles got along well... but I hadn't expected it to be to this extent.
In my mind, nobles were the furthest thing from harmonious.
Or was it because she was pink-haired?
Pink-haired characters usually possessed that kind of magic.
The magic of lowering the intelligence of those around them.
As I stood there with an indifferent expression, thinking such thoughts, the pink-haired girl gritted her teeth and stepped forward.
"N-No, that is... Anne of the House of Viscount Kirsch greets you...!"
The greeting she barely managed to stammer out was finally in accordance with proper etiquette.
When I accepted her greeting, voices finally began to murmur around us.
"Haha, what a cute young lady."
"She is a pure soul."
"The House of Viscount Kirsch, I've heard of them. A place where cherry blossoms bloom beautifully."
"Haha, my goodness. You must have been busy lately. To not know Lady Kirsch."
"I've heard rumors of her good deeds... is there more?"
"I'll tell you later. More importantly, Lord Eisenhardt is as strong and generous as ever."
"To accept an apology so casually. That is true class. His appearance is exactly as it was before, too."
Just as Luniere had assessed, they were truly gentle people.
Quite unlike typical nobles.
I continued down the hallway, feeling a strange sense of dissonance.
(Sword Saint, Eisenhardt)