Chapter 3
Chapter 3
You never know anything before you open the box
“What… what? Is that magic?”
Evelyn, still visibly flustered, tried to understand what that flash of light had been, but unfortunately, magic was not the correct answer.
“No.”
“Then… divine power? No, that can’t be it. So… an ability. It’s an ability!”
“Yeah.”
An ability. A completely separate force from mana. It is so rare that merely possessing it is enough to grant unconditional admission into the Imperial Royal Academy.
Only around twenty people a year are recorded as ability users in the academy.
Because of that, even the “Luca” from Saint Fairy Tale, despite having terrible sword skills, was still able to enter the academy.
“Right now, I can only use it to block sight like this.”
“Haha… still, that’s amazing. I wonder if it can be used in other ways? If you combine it with swordsmanship? Or maybe something like how aura is applied to a blade… no, maybe something else… or something more…”
Evelyn began muttering to himself like an artist suddenly struck by inspiration.
“Ah! Ahem. S-sorry. That was a bit embarrassing.”
…Is this really the Evelyn from the story? How did he grow up to be the so-called sociopath readers talk about?
“I’ve never lost to someone my age in sparring before. I think I got a bit excited…”
“It’s fine. And it’s not like I won fairly anyway.”
“No! That’s just an excuse. In a situation where your life is on the line, losing and making excuses means nothing.”
A bit harsh for a twelve-year-old mindset, but in this world, maybe that’s actually correct.
As Evelyn said, this is a world full of danger. Demons, who are humanity’s natural enemies, and constant internal conflicts among humans themselves.
Wasn’t that the reason Evelyn came here in the first place? Because something dangerous was happening inside House Aurelion?
“So I have to get stronger. Stronger than anyone… I want to protect the people who matter to me.”
“That’s cool.”
It was sincere. A reason to become strong not for himself, but for others. How admirable.
“Then I’ll protect you too.”
I said it casually, thinking I wanted to protect this kid who seemed so earnest.
“Eh?”
It must have been the first time he heard something like that, because Evelyn’s face turned bright red.
…Wait, did he think something like, “You? Protect me? You’re weak and you’re showing off because you won once?” Is that why he’s embarrassed?
“S-sorry…”
Before I could finish apologizing, Evelyn quickly ran out of the room, leaving my words hanging in the air.
“….”
Left alone, I suddenly felt a chill down my neck.
Shit. Am I going to get my throat cut already?
Evelyn returned to his room and replayed what had just happened.
“I’ll protect you too.”
Aaahhh!!!
He buried his face into the pillow and started pounding it in embarrassment. Of course, he held back his strength, otherwise the pillow would have exploded and feathers would have filled the room.
“It… it was cool!”
Evelyn had a secret dream he could never tell anyone. The dream of meeting a knight straight out of a fairy tale.
“But I can’t. I have to lead House Aurelion…”
He forced himself to calm down.
For some reason, his chest felt tight today, both physically and emotionally.
“…If I say I’m a girl while all this Aurelion chaos is happening, it’ll get even worse.”
Evelyn buried his face deeper into the pillow, hiding his biggest secret.
The fact that he was a girl.
Even so, at this age, a girl’s heart is like scattered flower petals in the wind. She tries to hold it together, but it never stays in place easily.
“R-right.”
Just being friends is fine. Yes. That’s it. She convinced herself that it was just excitement from finally having a friend her age.
It’s not like she could fall for someone she just met. Especially since she had been living as a boy.
Knock knock.
“Eek!”
Evelyn let out a startled squeak at the sudden knock.
“It’s me. Can I come in?”
It was Luca. The room had only been assigned today, but Evelyn quickly looked around to make sure it was tidy.
“…Y-yeah.”
The door opened, and her heart began to race faster. Thump. Thump.
Each step sounded heavy, echoing in her chest.
“About earlier… I’m sorry.”
The first words Luca said were unexpected.
“Eh?”
“I overstepped. Acting proud after winning like that with a surprise attack.”
“N-no, it’s not like that.”
Evelyn quickly realized there was a misunderstanding.
“Next time—”
“No!”
“Hmm?”
Suddenly shouting, Evelyn startled Luca instead.
“I wasn’t… uncomfortable.”
She stopped herself before saying she actually enjoyed it too much.
“I don’t have any friends, so I was happy… that we could be friends…”
Luca closed his eyes tightly. He nearly teared up. How pitiful this kid was.
“You know, being the only son of House Aurelion makes it hard for people to approach me. So I was happy. That you treated me as Evelyn, not as the Aurelion heir.”
“…”
Evelyn fanned her face awkwardly, feeling unusually hot.
“Evelyn. Let’s make a promise. I’ll be your friend. Even if you betray me, I won’t betray you.”
“I won’t betray you either! I promise too.”
Evelyn’s blue eyes met Luca’s golden ones.
“I’ll protect you. Because I’m strong.”
It had already been three months since Evelyn arrived at the Griffir estate.
“Luca!”
After spending so much time together, we had become close enough to call each other best friends. Though there was one odd thing about Evelyn.
She really liked physical contact.
Especially suddenly appearing behind me and hugging me. Is that normal for boys at this age?
I wondered about it, but decided it was just her way of expressing friendship. She did say I was her first friend.
“Look at this!”
I tilted my head in confusion as I watched Evelyn close her eyes and hold a sword.
“Huh?”
I was shocked. There was a silver aura flowing from Evelyn’s blade.
“Is that… aura?”
“Yep!”
That meant she had already reached the level of Sword Expert. At only twelve years old.
This was faster than in the original story. The timing wasn’t exact, but Evelyn was supposed to reach Sword Expert later, inside the ducal estate.
“That’s amazing!”
I stammered without realizing it. This was no small feat. At this point, she wasn’t just a capable knight. She could easily become a knight commander in any territory.
“If we spar now, I’d lose a hundred times out of a hundred.”
Before, I had at least a small chance thanks to my ability, maybe three wins out of ten. But now the gap was too wide.
Still, I had no intention of staying still.
If I did, I’d just be a pig waiting to be slaughtered while the world ended for reasons I didn’t even understand.
On the contrary, I felt excited.
Evelyn reaching Sword Expert earlier means she might become even stronger than in the original story.
That increases the chance of stopping the world’s destruction.
My fists tightened.
Not because I had some grand mission to save the world, but because I wanted to protect the people I cared about. And ironically, that meant I had to stop the apocalypse.
“What are you thinking about?”
“That this is good news.”
“Really?”
“Should we celebrate?”
“Huh? N-no, a party is too much.”
Evelyn tugged at her clothes awkwardly.
“I don’t need anything fancy. Just… maybe cake with you would be enough.”
I almost asked more, but stopped myself.
“Got it. Any fruit you like?”
“Or… orange?”
“Orange?”
“Yeah. The person I like always smells like oranges.”
She said it without thinking, then froze, eyes widening as her face turned red.
“Someone you like?”
“I-I can’t tell you who!”
Did Evelyn ever meet the Saint?
“Alright. Then I’ll ask for oranges. I’m not even sure they have them.”
“Hey! That’s cheating!”
A girl with golden hair and green eyes shook her head as if she had a headache.
“Saint, is something wrong?”
“No, Cardinal. I’m fine.”
The elderly priest known as Cardinal Radion, despite his high status, bowed deeply to the girl who was clearly much younger than him, almost panicking when she swayed slightly.
After all, she was not an ordinary girl. She was the Saint, called the daughter of the sun god Solia.
In truth, her position was higher than anyone’s.
“Cardinal Radion.”
“Yes, Saint. I will do anything you ask.”
“Where is Griffir Territory?”
Radion quickly checked a map.
“It’s a baron-level territory on the Empire’s border.”
“I see.”
The Saint stood up, her eyes unusually sharp for a child.
“Prepare a carriage for me.”
“I understand.”
A faint, unreadable smile appeared on her face.
“Let’s go to Griffir Territory.”
And so, her journey began.