Chapter 19
Chapter 19
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: 019. Gift Exchange - (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Tear of the Sun was a rare item that appeared only once per playthrough, even in the original game.
Because of that, among players, it was more often used by hoarding it in the warehouse, screenshotting the count, and posting it to the community rather than actually consuming it.
Having ten of them proved you were a veteran who'd cleared ten cycles.
- [This makes 100 cycles. Insane?]
I actually remembered duplicating them up to a hundred using the trainer and farming likes.
Ah, youthful folly.
"Hm..."
Anyway.
The effect of the Tear of the Sun was simple.
Full HP recovery upon consumption, removal of all status ailments.
And a permanent slight increase in stats.
Slight as it was, in Throne of the Academy, a game with fixed upper limits on experience points you could gain through the story, a consumable that unconditionally boosted stats was not just precious—it was the only one of its kind, aside from the Tear of the Sun.
And now, that precious item was in my hand.
The reason was obvious, of course.
"...Ciris must have left it."
There was no way a princess would carelessly drop something like a Tear of the Sun.
Moreover, it being prominently placed on top of the offering box was a silent sign that it was a gift for me.
"...Have I been marked?"
No one would casually hand over something as valuable as a royal treasure.
She couldn't have figured out I was a transmigrator.
She must have felt some curiosity from our conversation, that's for sure.
I could call it a miracle that she didn't judge me a dangerous variable and kill me on the spot.
Or maybe being marked by Ciris was considerable misfortune.
I couldn't tell yet.
"Alright. Now what to do."
I held the Tear of the Sun up to the sunset light.
The golden liquid inside the vial sloshed gently.
If I drank this, I'd definitely get stronger than before.
A slight stat increase.
For someone like me, utterly devoid of talent, that would mean doubling or tripling my strength.
Not just physical abilities, but I'd probably be able to use divine power or magic too.
It was tempting, no denying that.
"...No, am I insane?"
I shook my head after staring at it for a moment.
It didn't make sense for a mediocre nobody like me to use something this precious.
As the Orphanage Director Priest said, I didn't have even a speck of talent.
You don't use a cattle knife to kill a chicken, right?
More importantly, the moment I consumed it, I'd be tied to Ciris forever.
"I'll... hold onto this for now."
This elixir is meant for the protagonists.
Even if I drank it and got middling strong, I'd still be less than dust before the dangers ahead.
Better to give it to an original character later, depending on the situation.
Efficiency-wise, it'd be best for Elise, the caster-type Saintess Candidate.
But handing an elixir out of the blue to someone with zero connection...
"Um..."
A sudden voice interrupted my thoughts.
I looked up to see a woman with green eyes standing at the end of the path leading to the chapel.
What more was there to say?
It was Sword Saint Sophia Aquilova.
"Master, I've sinned. Would you hear my confession?"
Sophia visited me once or twice a week to report her achievements.
I decided not to dwell deeply on why she called me Master, why she came here instead of the cathedral confessional, or why she smiled so brightly despite confessing her sins.
I shrugged.
"Yes. But the chapel door is locked, so tell me here."
"Today, I broke the ankles of all the girls who were bullying me."
"..."
"Do you praise me for that too?"
This wasn't exactly a place to seek praise.
The burnout girl from last time was similar—somehow, my confessional had become a trend for proudly confessing sins.
As I pondered how to respond, Sophia hurriedly added,
"Ah, I've been following your teachings continuously!"
"Teachings?"
"Yes! You said not to waste strength on petty fights, so I only used half."
It wasn't advice to half-ass it.
"You said true strength wins without drawing the sword, so I fought only with hand-to-hand."
It might have been more merciful for the victims if she'd used a wooden sword.
Her eyes shone with admiration, making it hard to say that wasn't the intent.
Very hard.
"...Hm. Yes. Well done..."
With any other parishioner, I might have just scolded mildly, but Sophia was a key figure I'd need to keep defeating bosses with.
No point antagonizing her. So I gave perfunctory praise, and her face lit up as she approached and tilted her head toward me.
What? Pet me?
'She's a real puppy...'
Just like how I noticed from her scent last time.
Maybe Aquilova's symbol should be a dog instead of an eagle.
I cautiously raised my hand and slipped it into her deep crimson hair. The sensation of her sun-warmed, soft strands between my fingers wasn't bad at all.
"Hehe."
Watching Sophia wag her tail like a puppy—no, her sheathed sword at her waist—I suddenly had a thought.
'Wait a minute.'
An idea flashed through my mind.
I'd just decided to pass the Tear of the Sun to an original character depending on the situation.
But...
'No need for that.'
The original protagonist, the Sword Saint, was right in front of me.
"Sister Sophia."
"...Yes!"
Sophia looked up.
I carefully pulled the golden vial from my robes.
"For your hard work, I'd like to give you a gift."
At those words, a gleam sparked in Sophia's green eyes.
The Full Moon Festival investigation committee fizzled out anticlimactically.
Because Princess Ciris had suddenly appeared and thrown a wrench in it.
Even the prominent great nobles cowered before the princess's command, so Erebos Royal Academy had no choice but to comply. Apparently, Count of House Kreuz had swallowed his anger and returned to his territory.
Thus, Sophia escaped the meeting room on her own two feet without any punishment.
However, though unpunished, rumors had already spread rampant within the academy.
"They say she killed Lady Isabella."
"And she used some weird sword? Apparently, it's the one an old rebel used."
"...Blood can't lie. My parents said they'll lobby the academy together soon."
Despite the academy's official announcement, Sophia was being treated as Isabella's killer.
A public villain.
Students from departments other than the Knight Faculty were looking at Sophia like a monster.
'That Saintess Candidate even got an award.'
It wasn't particularly surprising.
This stark difference in treatment was familiar to Sophia.
In the past, she wouldn't have been able to show her face, but now was different.
"Duel me. I'll use only half strength, no sword, and you can all come at me at once—seven of you."
"Y-You bastard, who do you think we are...!"
"Hey! Beat her!"
Sophia had the sweet reward of victory.
And a Master who unconditionally affirmed it.
What was there to fear?
Sophia approached the chapel with light steps and received an unexpected gift this time.
"For your hard work, I'd like to give you a gift."
What Leo pulled from his priest robes was an elixir that looked luxurious at a glance.
"Ah... No wonder you're looking at it like that. It's not poison. No proof, but..."
"No. I don't doubt it."
Sophia didn't even consider it could be harmful.
It was an elixir personally prepared by her Master.
Just like the sword she wielded.
Half of what made up Sophia now came from the priest.
It would be weirder not to trust.
"Ah, then... Um... Yes. Please accept it."
Leo handed over the golden glass vial with an awkward expression, and Sophia tucked it into her bosom like a sacred relic.
"Thank you. I'll never forget this grace."
"Grace is a bit much..."
"I'll come again."
Leo's face grew complicated at those words.
But Sophia, thrilled with her gift, didn't notice.
She was half-skipping back to the dormitory.
"You."
Someone blocked Sophia's path.
At first, she thought it was the gang whose ankles she'd broken today.
But before her stood a beauty in white holy robes with golden eyes.
"Elise."
The Saintess Candidate Elise's gaze was fixed on the golden glass vial in Sophia's left hand.
A brief standoff.
Whoosh.
Elise reached out casually. Sophia hurriedly stepped back.
"What are you doing?"
"That's not something you should have. You must have stolen it. I knew it."
"What nonsense. It's mine. A gift from my Master!"
At Sophia's words, Elise blinked several times.
"...A gift?"
Elise froze, and Sophia seized the moment to bolt.
Where did it go wrong?
Elise couldn't understand.
She'd donated nearly thirty gold coins to the offering box alone. Though Elise lived affluent and had little sense of money, she knew thirty gold coins nearly equaled a semester's tuition at Erebos Royal Academy.
Yet.
Why give a gift to that grubby girl instead of her, who'd donated so much?
"...Because I didn't reveal my identity."
Elise found her own answer.
Actually, during the Full Moon Festival, Elise had a chance to reveal herself to Leo.
But she refused.
The current relationship was perfect. Priest Leo had no inkling she was a Saintess Candidate. Information asymmetry. Elise held the advantage over Leo. It felt great.
Above all, she wanted to see his shocked face when he realized his first visitor was a Saintess Candidate, after all the misunderstandings piled up.
But because of that plan, she didn't get the gift.
"That elixir... probably worthless anyway."
That was certainly true.
She knew the chapel's budget from skimming the ledgers. The best elixir they could afford was cheap potion level.
Nothing compared to the elixirs she drank as a Saintess Candidate.
Nothing impressive.
No need to mind it.
But...
"...It bothers me."
This wasn't rational.
Something in her chest prickled uncomfortably.
The priest's favor, that cheap elixir, going to that girl of all people—it grated on her.
Yes, it was just displeasure at the disorder, at part of her donation going to Sophia.
"To get a gift... Right. I just need to give one first."
Elise decided and rang the bell by her dormitory room corner.
"Miss Helena."
"Yes! You called?"
"From my jewelry box, pick something moderately precious but not too expensive."
At Elise's abrupt request, the maid Helena tilted her head.
"...Pardon? The jewelry box... Are you perhaps giving it to someone as a gift?"
"Yes."
"And the recipient is... a man...?"
"...Y-Yes? Is that a problem?"
Helena fainted.
The next day, a small, ornate earring lay atop the offering box.
"Now what's this?"
A golden egg-laying offering box?