Exchange Students (1)
Exchange Students (1)
Fortunately, only I could hear the dagger's voice and see its illusions.
After thanking the Grand Archduchess, who had collapsed from exhaustion, I went straight home.
Once home, I locked my door and gripped the now-vocal Ego Dagger once more.
[Please state the name of your new master.]
The dagger's first words picked up where its illusion had left off: the matter of its "master."
"Alex... De Gracia."
[The new master's name has been registered. Alex De Gracia has become the second master of the Firebird Dagger.]
"Is this sort of process always necessary for artifacts?"
[No. It is not necessary. I simply needed to know your name in order to converse with you.]
For some reason, a slight chill ran through me. I continued the conversation, feeling somewhat dragged along by this sentient weapon.
"If I'm the second master, who was the first?"
It had mentioned a hero, and since I had retrieved it from the ruins of the Katrin family, it was likely one of their ancestors.
[He is the Firebird Hero, Rattenhamar. He is the hero who escaped a besieged fortress alone to bring back reinforcements, saving countless soldiers, and who drove the Demon King and the monsters to the east alongside the other heroes.]
Just as I expected.
He was the hero whose name became the foundation of the Katrin family, and the very hero who had been active in the ruins of our territory.
I asked the Ego why the dagger had ended up deep underground in the tomb on our territory.
[Before the great battle to directly confront the Demon King, he left us in the place where he first obtained his abilities, wishing to pass us down to his descendants.]
So the treasure chamber beneath the tomb really was a place the hero had prepared to pass things down to his descendants.
Unfortunately, he must have died on the battlefield before he could pass on its location. Afterward, the place was ransacked by monsters, and the dagger ended up submerged in a deep underground pool.
I could piece together roughly how things had played out.
As I listened to the story, I recalled the hardships I had faced in that dungeon. Just how many times had I died back then?
[It seems I have waited longer than expected. Are you the successor of the Hero Rattenhamar? Or perhaps his descendant?]
Hmm, would I have to give a rather disappointing answer this time?
"I'm neither his successor nor his descendant."
[That cannot be. You are clearly utilizing the abilities of my first master...]
"That might be true, but my own abilities are much closer to those of Knight Carlos."
My awakened ability, 'Physical Optimization,' as well as my Mana Cultivation Technique and the still-inactive 'Mana Resonance'...
...were all inherited abilities of Knight Carlos.
[No, that is impossible. Are you saying you can use the abilities of different heroes simultaneously? No, more importantly, of all people, how could you possess the abilities of that muscle idiot?]
Was possessing Knight Carlos's abilities more of an issue than possessing the abilities of two heroes at once?
The Ego Dagger worked itself up and started babbling rapidly.
"A lot of time has passed... Hundreds of years have gone by, and so many things have changed."
It wasn't actually because of the passage of time, but I said it anyway to help the Ego Dagger make sense of things.
[...In the end, my former master's wishes were never conveyed. Have I fallen into the hands of a grave robber?]
Well, not really. His descendants are doing perfectly fine. And I'm not a grave robber either.
But the more I explained, the more troublesome it seemed, so I chose not to argue with the Ego Dagger.
"More importantly, now that you're fully repaired, is there anything useful you can do for me?"
I hadn't gone through the trouble of repairing a broken dagger just to listen to an Ego complain.
[The three weapons of the Hero Rattenhamar: the Firebird Dagger, the Firebird Sword, and the Firebird Shield. The greatest among them was I, the Firebird Dagger—Vanessa's companion and a sentient Ego.]
Did that mean this dagger was the only Ego among the relic weapons held by the Hero Rattenhamar?
Come to think of it, carrying around more than one weapon that talked like this would probably drive anyone insane.
Surely he hadn't thrown it into the treasure chamber just because it was too noisy, right?
No, more importantly, why was it bragging about itself when I asked if it had anything useful to offer?
[Having received an abundance of the hero's love, I have continuously absorbed his mana, allowing his descendants to easily inherit his abilities.]
"Wait, if what you're saying is true, then the reason I was able to use the Hero Rattenhamar's abilities was all thanks to your help."
[Precisely!]
The Ego Dagger spoke proudly, but in the end, that meant...
"Then doesn't that mean you've already outlived your usefulness? In the end, all that's left is a chatterbox Ego."
[But I have been of great help all this time...]
It certainly had been a great help, but after the Grand Archduchess had gone to all that trouble to fix it, I was left with nothing but a useless Ego.
"I wonder if she'd turn it back if I asked her to..."
Since this Ego was not only noisy but also brimming with bizarre pride, it seemed better off when it couldn't speak.
"Or maybe I should just lock you away in the warehouse too. Since I can use the abilities well enough with other weapons now..."
[Ah, there is absolutely no need for that! I-I can recognize the weapons and relics used by other heroes. Since other relics cannot speak, only I can do this!]
As expected, threatening it was the best method.
The Ego, which had done nothing but babble nonsense, finally said something useful.
If weapons used by other heroes had a similar effect to this dagger, I might be able to acquire new abilities through those relics.
"If you have that kind of eye, then there's no reason to lock you up in the warehouse."
Though it didn't say anything, I could feel the dagger letting out a sigh of relief.
"In that case, was I able to use the shield's ability simply because I was with Katrin?"
I had thought I'd awakened a new ability through sheer talent, but it seemed I wasn't quite that amazing.
No, then again, being able to use an ability just by observing it from the side might still be considered impressive.
At any rate, I felt like I needed to borrow the shield and sword from Katrin to run some tests.
Since I had acquired abilities through the shield and the dagger, holding the sword that Katrin's family originally possessed might grant me yet another new ability.
I found myself eagerly anticipating the start of the upcoming second semester.
Threatening to lock it away in the warehouse was the Ego Dagger's greatest weakness.
The dagger's boasting and noisy chatter were instantly sealed away after I brought up that weakness a few times.
The Firebird Dagger promised to keep its mouth shut unless I asked it a question or it spotted another hero's relic, allowing me to enjoy some quiet time once again.
Not long after awakening the dagger, it was time to head back to the Academy.
The Kingdom's climate was mild year-round, making summer vacation seem almost unnecessary, but getting only a single week of rest was still a source of frustration for the students of this world.
"To think we have to come straight back to school after going through all that suffering... The whole world is hell."
A student who had returned from a dispatch class with the border troops buried their head in their desk with a gloomy expression.
"I barely arrived in the capital yesterday. Well, I suppose staying at the Academy might actually be better..."
Another student, who had returned from the remote southern wilds, had a sun-blackened face and a look of pure enlightenment.
The only ones who looked relatively decent were those who had been dispatched to prosperous territories.
Even before the liberal arts class began, students were already huddling together based on the territories they had visited, making it look as though factions had already formed.
But when I caught a whisper of their hushed conversations, I realized they were talking about me.
"By the way, did you hear the rumor?"
"What rumor?"
"Apparently, the Grand Archduchess of the Duchy has come to the capital."
"Really? Why the Grand Archduchess? Even the Crown Prince of the Duchy has never visited the Kingdom."
"There's no way the Crown Prince of the Duchy would come to the Kingdom."
"And what makes the Grand Archduchess any different?"
Another student chimed in, intrigued by the topic.
"Besides, I heard the Grand Archduchess is in poor health."
"Where did you hear that?"
Another student asked the very question I wanted to ask.
"It's a pretty well-known story. Nobles trying to secure a connection to the Duchy through marriage were even running around searching for elixirs."
The speed at which gossip spread among the nobility was downright terrifying.
"Wait a minute, wasn't the Duchy where the Princess went for her dispatch class?"
"That's right. Don't tell me she came back with the Princess?"
"Is that how it happened?"
"Was the reason the Princess went to the Duchy to bring the Grand Archduchess back with her?"
"We can just ask directly."
"To the Princess? You ask her, then."
"There's no need to ask the Princess. She wasn't the only one who went on that dispatch class."
The student who was speaking called out to Balea, who was chatting with some other female students.
"Miss Balea. Did something happen during the dispatch class?"
Every student's gaze shifted toward Balea.
Any other student would have turned beet red, but Balea was different.
"The dispatch class? Hmm. Yes, indeed. Quite a lot of things happened."
She crossed her arms and nodded slowly.
Her expression only served to heighten everyone's curiosity.
They had intended to ask about the Grand Archduchess, but as Balea spoke, her eyes drifted toward someone else.
Uh... me?
The other students followed her gaze.
"Ah, so that's how it is."
The students who looked at me nodded in understanding.
Wait, what do you mean "that's how it is"?
"Right. Young Lord Alex went as well, didn't he? There's no way nothing happened if he was there."
Why does something always have to happen whenever I go somewhere?
How on earth did my reputation end up like this?
More importantly, weren't you guys trying to ask about the Grand Archduchess?
Why is the guy who asked the question nodding along!
The only time I actually caused an incident was during the 'Field Study'.
During the 'Practical Class', I had done nothing but fight monsters with everything I had.
This was definitely because of Balea, who was currently giggling behind her hand.
She was undoubtedly spreading strange rumors about me.
"Well, I've never seen anyone tear through monsters like that before. Did he hunt down monsters in the Duchy too?"
I did hunt down some imperial knights instead of monsters, but...
In the end, was it my own original sin rather than Balea's fault?
Several students teased me in that manner.
These were students who used to ignore me completely. They were teasing me, but it meant we had grown closer since the start of the Academy.
The number of students who disliked me had also increased.
Just as some of those who used to ignore me had become friendly, the number of those who actively disliked me had grown in equal measure.
Even now, a few groups of students were clicking their tongues as they looked at me.
Looking at them, it seemed my quiet school life had ended a long time ago.
The pre-class commotion came to an end when the professor walked in.
But the classroom erupted into a frenzy once more upon seeing the people who followed the professor inside.
The very person they had been discussing just moments ago had entered.
"These are the international and exchange students who will be joining us starting this semester."
The first person introduced was someone I knew all too well.
The Grand Archduchess, daughter of the Grand Prince, had come to the Academy as an international student.
But the students who accompanied her were completely unexpected.
A boy and a girl who appeared to be in their mid-teens.
The boy spoke first.
"It is an honor to study alongside the Grand Archduchess and the Princess. I have come from the Empire as an exchange student. I am Joachim von Schirach, the third son of Count Schirach."
It was definitely a face I was seeing for the first time, yet it felt incredibly familiar.
Though his age and demeanor were different, he bore a striking resemblance to Vid, who had died by my hand not too long ago.