Chapter 162: Heresy Inquisitors (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 162: Heresy Inquisitors (2)
Those in the know were aware that I held a special position in charge of the Leon royalty.
To those who didn't, however, I was just an ordinary student from the Leon Kingdom.
If I were to add a bit of a title, perhaps I was the one who had defeated Asran, the Minor Sword Emperor and the rising star of the Empire?
But it would have been one thing if only one person had won.
Since our Sososo had lost to both Prince Ellen and me, the spotlight naturally shifted away from me—the second-in-command of the Swordsmanship Department—and toward the top-ranked Prince Ellen.
Of course, after that, I did attract some brief attention by becoming the lover of Daisy, who had begun to monopolize the interest of not just the Academy but the entire world.
And while I was currently considered something of a public enemy to the Magic Department...
My public image was simply that of a nutcase from the Swordsmanship Department, not anyone particularly important.
"In particular, the record of you defeating the first observed Demon alongside the Saintess was moving no matter how many times I read it."
Apparently, that wasn't the case for the Inquisitor standing before me.
...Come to think of it, I only saw the Pope briefly, but I got a bad vibe from him too.
Is this some kind of Holy Kingdom passive trait?
As expected, the Holy Kingdom was a place I should never visit.
"I'm looking forward to it! How you can so easily track down Dark Mages that even we, with techniques accumulated over decades and centuries, find difficult to locate!"
The Inquisitor's face was full of anticipation as she gazed at me with sparkling eyes.
"Uh, well..."
...They usually just come looking for me if I stay still at the Academy.
And if that's not enough, they tend to gather on their own if I just leave Daisy somewhere.
"......"
Since I couldn't bring myself to say, "You just have to use your Saintess as bait," I had to settle for something else.
"It's a secret."
"How could you!"
I had no choice but to claim it was a trade secret.
"Catching Dark Mages at that level can certainly be considered a secret technique. However, brother, for the sake of a better world, we must pluck the seeds of evil from this world by the root."
I wanted to do that too, but according to Boradori, there were still enough Dark Mages left to be considered a national-level threat.
Not only that, but Demons had started popping up before we could even clear them all out. I had long since decided to view the relationship between people and Demons like that of a person living in an old apartment and cockroaches.
What does that mean?
It means when one shows up, I just think, Oh, another one.
But that's an explanation only for those who understand the RoFan world to some extent.
Even Uncle Aeryun accepted it... Come to think of it, it didn't take him that long.
"You'll find out if you wait."
"I see... You're saying you'll tell me once trust and faith have been built!"
I really meant she'd naturally find out after living at the Academy for about a year.
"Ah, yes."
Explaining that was far too much work.
I could only nod in response.
As soon as I returned, I got saddled with a chore.
"I'm bored."
"Then please go home."
"It's even more boring there because Mom is sleeping."
I had asked the cold-blooded Uncle Aeryun for an excuse to escape the persistent Inquisitor from the Church of Light.
In response, he had dumped me onto the Ancestor, who was grumbling about being bored while left alone at the Academy.
"Didn't you say you were close with the High Elf who came with the Elf delegation?"
"I guess I'm the only one who thinks so. She won't play with me."
...Our Ancestor. He actually had some social awareness.
To realize he was the only one who thought they were close.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you're thinking, 'He actually did that knowing the truth?!'"
"Good heavens."
To act like that even with that level of intuition.
"...Let's fight."
"Why are you picking on your descendant again?"
"Hey! You're not even royalty! Why do you keep calling yourself my descendant!"
"Didn't you know? A King is the father of his people, and as royalty, you must fulfill that responsibility."
"Is that how you look at royalty then?!"
"What did I even do..."
"Do you want me to bring you a mirror?!"
As expected of Boradori's assessment.
He had the keen eyes of a character who never appeared in the original work.
To think he was this quick-witted... You'd never imagine it in a RoFan.
However, I had a finishing move of my own.
"If you keep this up, I won't take you to the Kingdom."
It was the declaration of abandoning him at the Academy.
"...Didn't you say I was royalty there? Is it okay not to take me?"
The Ancestor looked dumbfounded, but I nodded confidently.
"There's no reason I can't."
Normally it would be a big deal, but this summer, the Sword Emperor himself was planning to return to the Kingdom with us.
If it were anyone else, maybe, but our King and the Commander would surely welcome the Sword Emperor more than a troublesome genealogy-destroyer.
If I didn't bring him, they would surely say, "Ah, that makes sense," or "Make sure to bring him in the winter."
"Wow..."
The Ancestor, looking utterly speechless, hesitated for a long time before letting out a deep sigh and declaring his surrender.
"It better be fun."
"Why is that my fault?"
"You said a King is the father of his people, and since I'm royalty, I should fulfill my responsibility. Conversely, if the father is bored, he can tell his kid to put on a show."
"That's just being a tyrant."
"Didn't you know? All Dragonkin are like that."
It was a remarkably persuasive argument.
"But really, what are you planning to do there? The Leon Kingdom isn't much."
It was just a place filled with passing swordsmen, aspiring swordsmen, the occasional slightly strong swordsman, and mage wannabes.
Compared to the Empire—the center of modern continental civilization, the heart of RoFan, and a place where weirdos pop up whenever the plot demands a villain—it was a neighborhood where there wasn't much to do.
What was he planning to do there?
"Dojo cracking."
"......?"
What was he actually planning?
"You said it's the Kingdom of Knights. You said it's the neighborhood where Father's descendants live."
"That's right."
"Father's sword alone was enough to charm Mother. How much more impressive must the evolved swordsmanship of his descendants be!"
"......"
Theoretically, that made sense, but in a fantasy world, that's rarely the case.
Even now, weren't ancient civilization artifacts recorded only in history, or Daisy's mythic-era Magic Sword, overwhelming modern technology?
It was the same for swordsmen.
While the average skill level might have risen, the peak felt lower compared to the romantic era when royalty would go out to hunt dragons just to become Dragon Slayers.
...Well, even if we ignore the "red pill" realization that those who thought they were Dragon Slayers actually turned out to be dragon-lovers.
"If it's Leon, there must be a swordsman who can beat me, right?"
So, for the sake of the Ancestor who was swelling with anticipation...
"Anyone would think you'd already beaten everyone at the Academy..."
"Hey! I told you, that was because of the sword!"
I decided to throw a bit of cold water on his excitement.
And so, until the students returned to the Academy.
I spent my days running away from the persistent Inquisitor of the Church of Light (surprisingly, we still hadn't introduced ourselves) and dealing with the Elves who had been dumped on me along with the Ancestor.
On a Sunday afternoon, the students finally returned.
"I'm ruined!"
"I'll curse you, Adam Smith!"
As if they had been waiting, the exam results were announced immediately.
It felt like a long time because of the stay on Aken Island including the vacation, but the exams had actually ended a week ago, so the grading was perfectly finished.
Just as the students, who had returned from a sweet week at a vacation spot even the Imperial Family used, were falling into despair...
"Prince Ellen."
"...Adam?"
"You lost again."
"I didn't lose in the overall grades last year!"
"But you lost this time, didn't you?"
1st Place: Adam Smith.
Looking at the name shining loftily at the very top, I immediately unleashed the teabagging I hadn't finished on Prince Ellen.
Well, there were variables this time, like the aggro from the Magic Department and the fact that I skipped the written exams.
But the fact that I was first remained unchanged.
"Prince. The Leon Royal Family must be very worried. You rarely lost before studying abroad, but you were caught as soon as you left."
"Hey! This wasn't pure skill! And you saw it too! I even created an Aura, even if it's unstable!"
"......"
I did see it. That "Thousand Cherry Blossoms" that even the Sword Emperor evaluated by saying, "But what the hell is this?"
"It's just that I took the wrong direction. In just a year... no, half a year, I'm confident I can create a perfect Aura."
"......"
Normally, if someone said that, I could just laugh it off.
Countless swordsmen fail to cross the wall of a Sword Master and fall into despair.
Some somehow climb up and maintain a state similar to Ellen's before crossing the wall, but most just fall back down.
Therefore, Ellen himself must have known how ridiculous it sounded to say he could create a perfect Aura in half a year.
...The problem was that there were at least two people in this world who knew it was actually possible.
"You don't believe me? If you don't believe me, let's spar after dinner!"
No, I'm trembling because I believe you way too much.
The Commander's words from when I reported back on the day I first returned to the Academy naturally came to mind.
—...Aura? That's possible?
—Ah, well. Right. As expected of the Imperial Academy. He's growing faster than we thought...
—Hmm... Right. But you learned together... Did you gain some realization too?
—Fire and ice coming from your hands? I heard that last time. Are you trying to become the Tower Master after returning to the Academy? Well, since fire and ice come out, you might have a shot if you beat the current Tower Master. But be careful, okay? I'm not even sure I can beat that guy.
—...Right. It's shameless of me to tell you to become a Sword Master just because Prince Ellen became one. No matter how much it's the Leon Royal Family. No, because it's the Leon Royal Family, I can't make such a demand. It's not like Sword Masters can be mass-produced...
—...But is there really no way?
Do you think it's possible?
I had answered that way, but the Commander's long silence lingered in my mind.
Because of that.
"Ah, and also. I couldn't ask because you suddenly disappeared from the island, but what happened with Daisy? Daisy won't tell me... Adam?"
Watching Ellen get worked up by himself, I made my escape.
As usual, nothing particularly special happened at the Academy after the final exams ended.
A rebellion broke out in the southern part of the Empire, but it ended in three days.
The Inquisitors found two Dark Mages who had infiltrated the Academy.
But since that only meant Uncle Aeryun was working himself to death, it had nothing to do with us.
Thus, the ordinary students began preparing for the upcoming Founding Day Festival.
And I was making preparations for the Leon Royal Family's return.
"My vacation..."
I knew it was coming, but calculating it made me want to cry.
Until now, through the power of fantasy civilization—the Magic Tower's teleportation circles—it took at most three days to return.
But because of out-of-spec existences like Sword Masters and Dragonkin, using the Magic Tower's circles was said to be nearly impossible.
Of course, it wasn't completely impossible, but...
With the capabilities of our Magic Tower—that group of mage wannabes—it was possible to bombard a future Demon King's castle, but controlling the high-level magic of spatial movement was impossible.
The only saving grace was that my efforts had paid off; the Empire had granted us a favor and scheduled a direct airship to the Leon Kingdom.
"At least there's this."
That alone took about 15 days, meaning a month of vacation was gone for the round trip.
But I never imagined something even more disastrous would happen.
"Why are you here?"
"They told me to follow."
"Who..."
"Your Ancestor..."
Setting aside the High Elf who looked like she was about to cry...
"And why are you..."
"It's vacation, so I'm on holiday!"
"Who goes to Leon for a holiday..."
"I do!"
Looking at the Inquisitor from the Church—who still hadn't introduced herself—smiling brightly, I seriously considered whether I should just jump off the airship.