Chapter 69: New Club Member (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 69: New Club Member (1)
After leaving the principal's office...
Step, step.
The sound of my footsteps and the Sword Emperor's filled the hallway of the main building. He walked ahead as if leading the way, and I followed closely behind.
A silence settled between us. A suffocating, heavy silence.
The reason for this awkward atmosphere was, of course, the bombshell the Sword Emperor had dropped moments ago.
"I shall bequeath my position as a Seven Stars Hero to Kang Geomma."
My heart had dropped the instant I heard those words. Honestly, even now, several minutes later, my mind was still reeling. My brow furrowed in confusion.
I looked up at the Sword Emperor's back. He walked so fast that the distance between us widened in the blink of an eye. Yet, his stride was still full of grace and dignity.
I didn't know what his secret was, but he had to be taking some top-tier restorative medicine.
I moved my feet, my lips twitching. I was hesitant about how to bring it up. But if I didn't address it now, I felt like I would regret it forever. Steeling myself, I finally spoke.
"Sword Emperor, sir. Do you have a moment?"
Only then did the Sword Emperor slow down and glance back. The playful demeanor he had shown in the principal's office was gone, replaced by his usual solemn, majestic gaze.
As I thought, he was just acting to ease the principal's worries.
The Sword Emperor stared at me for a moment. Sunlight streaming through the hallway window cast a golden glint in his eyes. After a few seconds of tense silence, he spoke.
"Is this about the Seven Stars Hero succession?"
His sharp voice reached my ears, as if he had expected this. Flinching slightly, I nodded. He stopped walking and leaned his back against the wall.
"It must feel sudden. But as I said earlier, this is a decision I reached after much thought and deliberation. Of course, I apologize for not telling you in advance, but once my mind was made up, I wanted to declare it in front of Medea."
He let out a short breath. Then, he suddenly asked me:
"Do you know why the Seven Stars Heroes have remained at only four members all this time?"
"Uh, well..."
I hesitated. It wasn't something I had ever really thought about, but looking back, it did feel strange.
The Seven Stars Heroes originally had seven seats. However, after the Basmon Subjugation War, three had died, leaving only four.
Fifty long years had passed, yet those three seats had remained vacant. I had vaguely assumed they kept them empty to honor the three who sacrificed themselves to Basmon.
"...Is it not to honor your fallen comrades, sir?"
When I answered, the Sword Emperor let out a faint smile and spoke again.
"Well, one could look at it that way. Ah, of course, I have absolutely no intention of disparaging my departed friends. It is thanks to their noble sacrifice that you and I can walk this earth today. However, saying we left the seats vacant solely for that reason is a bit of a misnomer."
The Sword Emperor shook his head and swept his hair back with one hand. His silver-white hair bore the traces of time. He added:
"To be perfectly honest, the reason is simple."
"...?"
"It is because no hero stronger than us has appeared since then."
I could only blink. The Sword Emperor let out a short chuckle. He pushed himself off the wall and stared at me, his eyes shining with sharp intelligence.
"The power of the demons is unfathomable. Although humanity outnumbers them, if the demons were to mobilize their entire army, we would be wiped out in less than half a year. Dialogue and trade can only happen when both parties stand on equal footing. The only way to keep them in check is sheer power."
"What does that have to do with keeping the three seats vacant?"
The Sword Emperor shook his head vigorously.
"Half-baked, mediocre power is worse than none at all. Think about it. If a Seven Stars Hero were to fall to a mere magical beast, how could humanity maintain its faith?"
"I suppose that makes sense."
"The position of a Seven Stars Hero is not one of mere luxury. It is a role to keep the demons in check and represent humanity. As the famous saying goes, 'With great power comes great responsibility.' Though that meaning seems to have faded somewhat these days."
As he spoke, the Sword Emperor frowned slightly. I could guess why he reacted that way. A certain person must have crossed his mind.
The Archery Saint, Saki Kojima.
He was a man who actively exploited his prestige as a Seven Stars Hero to serve as the lifetime Prime Minister of Japan. Since he was also Saki Ryozo's father, I didn't want to speak ill of him, but the public essentially treated him as a dictator.
...Come to think of it, Ryozo barely ever talked about her family.
Even Chloe occasionally brought up her family, but Ryozo was strangely tight-lipped about her household and background.
Even when I played Miracle Blessing M, the other Seven Stars, the Archery Saint and the Spear Saint, were only mentioned and never actually appeared, so their personalities and actions remained a mystery to me.
...Ah, that wasn't what was important right now. I had gotten swept up in the Sword Emperor's words, but what I wanted to ask wasn't why there were only four Seven Stars. Shaking off my stray thoughts, I asked quietly.
"I understand what you're saying, Sword Emperor, but that's not what I'm curious about. Please explain why it has to be me."
When I said that, the Sword Emperor looked at me as if I were being utterly ridiculous. He tilted his head repeatedly, scanning me up and down as if sizing me up.
"...Kang Geomma, are you pretending to be dense, or are you actually dense?"
"Excuse me?"
"I'm saying this because you don't seem to have understood my point. The reason I am passing my position to you is because you are stronger than me—by a landslide. Isn't that an obvious fact?"
"...Ah."
I couldn't say a word. Strictly speaking, the Sword Emperor had a point. After all, I was the one who had beaten the 5th Corps Commander, Agor, to within an inch of her life.
However, my memories of that moment were so hazy that it was hard to call it entirely my own power. As I fell silent, lost in thought, the Sword Emperor stared intently at me before speaking.
"There is something I've been curious about regarding you for a while now. But now, I must know."
His voice was calm. Though slightly puzzled, I hid my reaction and nodded. After a brief silence, he spoke.
"It seems your power has a time limit."
"……!"
My heart pounded furiously. It felt as if my deepest weakness had been exposed.
There was no particular reason to hide it, but since nothing good would come of revealing it, I hadn't told anyone.
Thump, thump, thump.
I locked eyes with the Sword Emperor. He studied my expression, shrugged, and added:
"Don't be so alarmed. To be honest, it was just a guess, so I wasn't entirely sure. But there is no way a human can use such immense power without any restrictions. Even if that human is you, Kang Geomma."
"……."
"Ah, and guessing that the restriction was a time limit was also just a hunch. During the class placement exam and on Avallon Island, you collapsed after about a minute."
I listened to him in silence for a long moment, weighing my options in my head.
On one side of the scale, the benefits of revealing my limitations to him; on the other, the risks.
After a brief moment of deliberation, I made up my mind.
"Sword Emperor, sir."
Seeing my serious expression, the smile faded from the Sword Emperor's lips. I caught my breath and spoke slowly.
"There is something I should tell you about my power."
* * *
A moment later, after I finished my explanation, the Sword Emperor nodded as if he understood.
"So what you're saying is... when you manifest your Blessing, immense pain rushes in as the price for that power, and you suppress it with another Blessing?"
"Yes, that's correct."
I explained the Blessing of the Sword God and the Blessing of Painlessness to him. Of course, I left out the finer details. No matter how trustworthy the Sword Emperor was, revealing one's weakness to someone required caution.
The only reason I told him was to borrow his wisdom, not because I wanted sympathy or understanding.
I stared at him silently. Sensing my gaze, the Sword Emperor patted my shoulder reassuringly.
"Rest assured, I have no intention of telling anyone. And using one Blessing to suppress the restrictions of another is a truly revolutionary idea. You certainly have talent."
The Sword Emperor tapped his temple with his index finger.
"But pacing your power is also crucial depending on the situation. I'm sure you don't want to fight while constantly pressed for time forever. To do that, you'll need an experienced master—"
The Sword Emperor trailed off, a smile playing on his aged lips.
"—and I just so happen to be in need of an exceptionally talented disciple."
I blinked. The Sword Emperor then stroked his right sleeve and let out a bright laugh.
"Since I've chosen you as my successor, the handover is my responsibility too, isn't it? Besides, even though I've decided to retire, just thinking about doing nothing makes me restless. Anyway, once things are sorted out, I'll call for you. Until then, enjoy your academy life, hahaha!"
"S-Sword Emperor, sir!"
With that, the Sword Emperor spun around and walked away with a light step.
I reached out a hand too late to stop him.
But as if my words didn't even reach his ears, he reached the end of the hallway in an instant. His footwork was incredibly swift and agile, hard to believe for an old man.
"……."
For a moment, I considered activating the Blessing of the Sword God to chase after him, but I shook my head.
"To think I'd consider charging at someone who just showed me such kindness with a sashimi knife..."
I must have hit my head on the island. Or maybe it was the aftereffects of Agor's mental magic.
Sighing, I stopped my hand from rummaging through my pocket.
* * *
The weekend passed after that incident.
It was my last break before returning to school, so I had planned to rest fully, but...
"Sigh."
I let out a short sigh. The words the Sword Emperor had dumped on me like homework kept weighing on my mind, preventing me from getting any proper rest.
"...How on earth is this going to turn out?"
I had tried to laugh off minor deviations from the original story, but at this rate, the official history was going to be completely turned upside down.
Suppressing the thoughts swirling in my head, I walked down the hallway of the professors' building.
The chatter of the cadets sounded like background music. Listening to it made me feel a bit more relaxed.
"Complaining won't change anything."
Right. As the Sword Emperor said, even if the succession process went smoothly, it was a major event that would take at least half a year. I just had to persuade him otherwise before then.
Honestly, the perks of being a Seven Stars Hero were mouth-watering, but when I thought about the 2nd Human-Demon War that would break out in three years, I wanted to politely decline.
The thought of wielding a sashimi knife in a blood-soaked carnage of a battlefield was absurd. And above all, it was a burden. A massive, fucking burden.
"Maybe it's because it's been a while since I've been to school, but I don't feel too bad."
One corner of my mouth curled up slightly. I looked up and scanned my surroundings. That was when I noticed a crowd of cadets gathered in one particular spot in the hallway.
Unable to overcome my curiosity, I headed in that direction. The place where the cadets were gathered was in front of a bulletin board covered in various posters.
"Hey, did you see this? What's up with this club poster? Ugh, the design is absolute trash."
"Right? I wouldn't join a club like this even if the student council president were in it."
"But even though the background is a total eyesore, doesn't this blue sea otter look strangely melancholic?"
As I drew closer, the murmurs of the cadets reached my ears clearly. I peered at the bulletin board from the back of the crowd.
Since I was on the taller side, I could easily see over the heads of the male cadets.
A few of these guys are definitely going to go bald later.
My pitying gaze lasted only a moment. Hanging where my eyes landed was a poster with colors so garish they made me feel nauseous.
"Wow, incredible."
The design was truly jaw-dropping.
Having been a chef and a business owner in my past life, I knew the importance of marketing all too well. Even for a mere club poster, this was incredibly crude.
The moment I stepped a bit closer, the cadets standing there glanced at me and suddenly parted to make way. As I awkwardly stepped forward, my body froze.
⌜Recruiting members to join the 'Travel Club'. Created by Speed Weapon.⌟
My eyes widened to the size of saucers. Soon, my lips parted on their own.
"What kind of crazy—"
I couldn't bring myself to finish the sentence. A wave of secondhand embarrassment washed over me.
* * *
Later that day, during lunchtime in the academy's backyard.
I had a heartwarming reunion with the members of the Travel Club. Chloe clung to me, crying tears and snot, while Ryozo nonchalantly handed me some yanggaeng. The atmosphere on the lawn was filled with relief and joy.
But my gaze was fixed on Weapon, who was sitting nearby. I crossed my arms and stared at him. He wore a pleasant smile as he congratulated me on my discharge from the hospital.
"Hey, do you have any idea how much we worried about you while you were hospitalized?! I'm just glad you look healthy. Oh, right. While you were gone, we did our own prep work to establish the club."
Weapon said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He seemed to be subtly fishing for a compliment. Suppressing the twitch in my lips, I spoke in a low voice.
"...Yeah, I saw the poster."
"Oh, really? Well, I did focus on visibility to make sure it really popped. No way anyone could miss it."
"……."
I pondered how to react. His effort was commendable in its own way, but if I praised him, it would mean acknowledging that monstrosity of a poster.
The businessman's blood engraved in my body seemed to violently reject the idea. I merely responded with a weak nod.
"Sniff, I'm sorry, Geomma. I should have stopped him."
Chloe muttered beside me, biting her lower lip in frustration. Turning my head slightly, I saw Saki holding her forehead. Dark circles of fatigue hung heavily under her eyes.
"Sigh, I'm sorry. Weapon is so incredibly stubborn... I tried to stop him as best as I could, but I never expected that bastard to go and paste it on the bulletin board at dawn."
"...You did your best."
The scent of early summer sunlight. The faint aroma of budding life and fresh greenery drifted through the air.
Yet, despite the pleasant weather, the atmosphere among the club members—excluding Weapon—was solemn.
At this rate, we'll never find any other members.
Establishing the club was a crucial step for future dungeon raids. My plan was to gather a team, subjugate magical beasts, and use the materials harvested from them to reinforce Murasame...
Having the club's creation hindered by a mere poster was not something I could easily overlook.
As I groaned inwardly, trying to come up with a solution...
Ring, ring, ring—!
A sharp ringtone echoed from somewhere. Weapon quickly pulled his phone out of his pocket. Tilting his head in confusion, he answered the call.
"Hello—"
Weapon spoke cautiously, almost in a whisper. After exchanging a few words, he hung up. Ryozo, resting her chin on her palm, casually threw a question at him.
"What is it? Did the administration office tell you to take down the poster? Well, it would be weirder to leave such trash hanging proudly on the bulletin board, tsk."
"...No."
"Then why do you have that look on your face? Don't keep us in suspense, spit it out."
"...They said they're coming for a club interview later?"
"What?!"