Weeks of Routine and the Holy Sword's Shadow
Several weeks passed. It hadn't been particularly nourishing time, I suppose.
Every morning during that span, I went to see Lucrezia. Even as I sat by her side reading a book, she showed no particular reaction.
Still, one thing had changed.
Knock knock.
“Lucrezia, it's Flora.”
“...Yeah.”
Now, she responded right away when I knocked.
She must have realized that this was far more comfortable than engaging in a staring contest every single time.
“You, why do you always wait for a reply each time?”
“It's manners.”
“...Manners?”
Lucrezia glared at me for a moment before sighing and pulling her sleep mask back down. I sat near her today as well, flipping through my book.
It had become a fairly familiar morning scene by now.
Once reading time ended, I posted the official notice on the bulletin board.
A document outlining my schedule and permitted activity areas.
I wasn't sure if any servants were actually avoiding me because of it, but a promise was a promise, so I kept posting it diligently.
I hesitated for a moment, then added a small line at the bottom.
◆ If it's inconvenient for you, feel free to avoid me. It's not that I don't want to run into you all, so don't misunderstand.
Satisfying.
After posting the notice, I headed to Carsella's office.
“Flora.”
Carsella was buried in a mountain of documents. Still, her face softened into a gentle smile at the sight of me.
“How's your blood magic training going?”
“Just as I expected—it's not going well.”
Blood magic was a type of magic that all vampires used.
I'd only recently started learning it, but there hadn't been much progress.
I wasn't particularly disappointed. It was more or less what I'd anticipated.
Flora Alberich had no talent for blood magic.
This wasn't me blaming the body—I was saying it for real. This vessel just had terrible compatibility with blood magic.
“She had the trait [Blood Magic Dullard] equipped, after all.”
A talent so lacking that even the effort to barely make it usable feels like a waste.
“Traits... It'd be convenient if you could really see such things.”
“Carsella had [Blood Magic Prodigy].”
“Hee-hee, is that so? Indeed, I've never really hit a wall while learning blood magic.”
In Eden's Crusade, you could check traits for every character, including boss ones.
And the description for [Blood Magic Dullard] was brutally straightforward.
Even if possession changed other things, it seemed innate talents stayed the same.
“Looks like I should focus on training my innate traits instead of blood magic.”
Innate traits.
The name sounded grandiose, but simply put, they were cheat-level traits. No other character had the same ones, so they were sometimes called unique traits.
Carsella's [Blood Magic Prodigy] was one of them, too.
“...Flora, do you really have to train them?”
“I don't know how strong the hero will get.”
Even in the normal ending, the hero conquers the demon world. Depending on the route, they could grow strong beyond imagination.
I had no intention of just sitting back and watching.
But Carsella looked reluctant. And understandably so—Flora's innate traits were far from safe or elegant.
[Super Regeneration] and [Predation].
Two of them, no less.
'What insane traits.'
There was a reason Flora absorbing Carsella turned her into a catastrophe.
Flora's original sole weakness as a vampire was her inability to use blood magic. But what if she absorbed Carsella, a Vampire Lord?
“You said [Super Regeneration] and [Predation], right?”
“Yes, that's correct.”
“If [Predation] is real, then in the worst case, even that seal downstairs wouldn't have been safe.”
“Probably not?”
Regular vampires couldn't fully absorb power even from eating other vampires.
The basement seal hadn't accounted for Flora's traits at all when it was made.
No one had known about them.
If they had, it wouldn't have ended with just a seal. Someone would have tried to kill her long ago.
“But Flora, focusing on innate traits for training means...”
“Yeah, well...”
In the end, it'd come down to close-quarters brawling.
Unable to use blood magic, combat would naturally shift to hand-to-hand.
Ignoring gashes and slashes, charging in to smash the opponent flat.
Carsella couldn't look favorably on her little sister fighting like that.
“Flora.”
“Yes.”
“Isn't there another way?”
“Of course, I'd prefer safe methods if possible. But being weak isn't helpful.”
“...Haa.”
Carsella let out a small sigh, her desire to dissuade me plain as day.
“Isn't there a way to identify that hero you mentioned ahead of time?”
“I can't tell which route they'll take. If they cause a huge incident somewhere, maybe I'd know, but...”
In the absolute worst case, pinpointing and nipping the hero in the bud early was something I'd considered.
The problem was, hero = player.
Race, traits, actions, appearance—nothing was fixed.
The fate of the hero's emergence was certain, but who they were and how they'd act? Unknown.
No guarantee they'd even act heroically...
“You said the hero appears far in the distant future, right?”
“Elisiel hasn't gone into seclusion yet. Even if she did today, it still means centuries from now.”
I added to Carsella, who wore a troubled expression.
“Don't worry. I hate pain too, so I'll avoid fights as much as possible.”
This was sincere.
I was training just in case, but if it could be resolved without fighting, I would.
“I trust you, Flora.”
“Of course.”
I nodded.
Only then did Carsella relax her expression. She opened a drawer and pulled out a thick bundle of parchment.
“Then let's set aside the heavy talk. Here—the continent map you asked for a few days ago.”
“Finally.”
I received it politely with both hands and spread it wide across an empty table. Lowering my gaze, I examined the continent's layout.
“Very different?”
“Much more than I thought.”
It differed quite a bit from the map in Eden's Crusade.
Still, spotting a few familiar place names was a small comfort.
I picked up a pen. Circles for regions I knew but weren't important; double circles for ones I needed to visit later.
As I stared intently at the map, marking it up, Carsella returned to her work beside me.
“Carsella, I have a question.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“...Are there always this many documents normally?”
At my question, Carsella paused her pen and glanced lightly at the papers surrounding her.
“...It's not usually like this.”
“And now?”
“There have been a lot of big family matters lately, right? Our Flora woke from her long sleep, the basement seal adjustments and release work in progress. And... your adorable complaints about Mother.”
Adorable complaints...?
I stared at her in disbelief, but Carsella just smiled gracefully, unperturbed.
“Don't feel too bad about it. I know your actions come from serious thoughts, Flora. But in the documents...”
“No, it's not that I'm upset...”
“Hee-hee.”
I scratched my head awkwardly and turned back to the map. Carsella added in a tender voice.
“In short, it's just a pile-up of letters from the elder council demanding investigations and protests.”
“Demanding I be sealed back in the basement?”
“Yes, though I won't let that happen.”
I see.
Glancing at the contents, they were indeed close to protests.
“If I'd known you were this busy, I would've asked Elisiel for the map instead.”
“Elisiel's swamped with the seal release too. It's truly no burden, so don't worry. Tell me anything you need, without holding back.”
She soothed me kindly, but eyeing that towering stack of documents, I decided to hold off on requests for a while.
As we chatted and I continued marking...
My gaze stopped on a tiny territory in the corner.
“Huh?”
“What's wrong?”
I lifted the map right up to my face.
No mistake.
The name was different, so I'd nearly glossed over it, but it was definitely the place I knew.
“Carsella, take a look here for a sec.”
“Where... Orlan's territory. Is there something noteworthy there?”
“Something huge.”
Orlan.
A name I'd never heard.
Which meant not a game character.
“What's our connection to this person?”
“...Hmm, Flora. Are you asking about my personal ties, or the families' relations?”
“Either's fine.”
“No personal ties at all. The families' connection isn't deep. Status-wise, we're above them, so they'll show respect, but don't expect blind cooperation or favors beyond that.”
I stroked my chin, eyes fixed on the spot marked Orlan's territory.
“Flora, what's in that territory?”
“...The Holy Sword.”
“Holy Sword?”
As Carsella's eyes widened in surprise, I thought to myself.
Should I steal it? The Holy Sword.