The Hero's Blood (1): The Price of Power
It had already been a full day since the first class ended.
Maybe it was because Professor Elaheem had worked me like a pack mule right from day one, but fortunately there were no other schedules for me this week aside from her lectures. Well, that tracks. In the game, they gave you a tutorial period to wander around and explore Stella Academy’s facilities. I hadn’t expected that to carry over into reality.
No matter how elite Stella Academy is, it seems they don’t throw freshmen into the meat grinder during the very first week.
Still, something kept nagging at me. After the first day’s class, on my way to dinner, I ran into Elaheem in the corridor. For some reason she was radiating displeasure and kept shooting me these sharp, sidelong glares.
Why, though? Was it because of that?
Anyway.
That was how this dreamlike holiday had arrived. Normally I would have done some light training and spent the time with Iolet, but right now I didn’t have the bandwidth. The reason was simple—my body was in terrible shape.
“Ughhh…”
I was currently sprawled on the bed, still in the maid uniform I’d barely managed to change into, groaning in misery.
Tap. Tap.
It felt like someone was hammering nails straight into my skull.
A deep, bone-grinding pain echoed from the very marrow of my body, carving through every inch of me without mercy. It reminded me of the godawful hangover I’d suffered the morning after my first company dinner in my previous life, when I’d pounded drink after drink.
The cause wasn’t anything complicated.
‘That goddamn Trial of the World…!’
The Trial of the World has been triggered.
The rebound that came after drawing and sheathing my sword was an old, familiar affliction I’d been carrying since the beginning. If I had used it in moderation, I wouldn’t have ended up fused to this bed and whimpering like this.
The problem was that I’d gotten a little too excited lately—between enrolling at Stella Academy and everything else. Maybe it was the thrill of finally stepping into the main story. Unlike my usual self, I’d drawn my blade without restraint, and now I was paying for it with this brutal backlash.
Click.
Just then the door opened and a familiar trace of mana entered the room.
“…Dia?”
It was none other than my lady, Iolet, making a personal appearance.
Since I hadn’t come out, she had come all the way to my room.
For the record, I had already registered her mana so she could enter my room freely. After all, when Sword Saint wasn’t active, my own mana was practically nonexistent.
“……Dia.”
Her usual aloof voice had dropped a full tone lower than normal.
The mattress sank on one side as she plopped down beside me. Even without seeing, I could clearly picture the expression on her face as she looked down at me.
The girl who used to hole up in her room all day had come all the way to mine and was sitting right next to me.
…I’m genuinely touched. All that devoted service I’ve given her has paid off.
Yes, our lady might act prickly on the surface, but deep down she’s kind and caring. My educational philosophy was correct after all…! I had successfully turned a beast into a person!
“Dia, I’m hungry. Feed me.”
“……”
…It seemed I had raised a beast after all.
The moment I heard her voice—reminiscent of a certain green dinosaur scratching its belly—my heart, which had been swelling with emotion, instantly froze over.
Of course. When had our lady’s personality ever been redeemable?
…Though to be fair, she hadn’t always reacted like this.
Three years ago, right after we formally established our master-servant contract, I had been over the moon.
After all, I had endured an entire month completely blind! So when my sight returned, of course I was ecstatic.
That was why, on one occasion, I had walked around all day with my sword in hand. I knew there would be a rebound, but I thought it would be manageable. That was a mistake.
The instant I let go of the sword to fall asleep—
The Trial of the World has been triggered.
Hell itself descended.
My vision was swallowed by pitch-black darkness once more, while an excruciating pain tore through me as if every bone and organ in my body had been tossed into a blender. I fell off the bed, crawling across the floor while letting out grotesque, choking moans. I’m not someone who cries easily, but even I teared up that time.
And Iolet, who happened to be passing by my room, witnessed the whole pathetic scene. She had burst into tears and snot, screaming for a doctor, clutching my hand in helpless panic. That frail girl’s desperate face is still vivid in my mind. (Though back then I couldn’t actually see it since I couldn’t draw my sword.)
Now, three years later, look at us.
Time really can be cruel.
If I had stopped after experiencing that hell once, my reputation probably wouldn’t have fallen this far. But if I wanted to survive at the academy while carrying the handicap of blindness, I needed to understand the exact limits of my power.
That was how it began. For the past three years I had desperately studied Sword Saint and the Trial of the World.
After countless collisions and breakdowns, I discovered that the longer I kept Sword Saint active, the exponentially heavier the pressure of the Trial of the World became in return.
To test that limit, I would spend entire weeks lying in my room like a corpse every so often.
At first, when it happened once or twice, Iolet would cry and wail as if the world was ending alongside me. But once it reached three, four, five times… at some point she started giving me these subtly cloudy looks.
These days she treats it like a monthly period that comes around regularly.
“Dia, I said I’m hungry.”
The whining voice stuck right next to my ear finally forced my heavy eyelids open. My vision was still pure darkness, but the luxurious lavender scent unique to my lady tickled my nose from up close.
“…If you’re hungry, why don’t you go eat at the academy cafeteria?”
My cracked voice barely leaked out from between the blankets. What kind of cruel labor exploitation was this toward a patient? It was the politest refusal I could manage, but of course it had zero effect on my lady.
“The menu there sucks today.”
She shot down my suggestion without hesitation. How very like her—her pickiness could pierce the heavens themselves.
The Stella Academy cafeteria is actually pretty good for institutional food… but this is what happens when you grow up wealthy from birth. If she had lived like a beggar for even a month like I had, she’d be licking the tray clean even if they served plain rice porridge.
That was when it happened.
There was a rustling sound as the blanket was pulled back, followed by an eerily smooth and cool hand slipping straight under the hem of my maid uniform.
“……What are you doing?”
“You always carry snacks on you. Take some out. I remember it coming from around here last time. Is it here?”
Her determined little fingers, having invaded beneath my skirt, began boldly groping around my thigh area.
Wait, this girl—?! Where do you think you’re touching? Where?!
The shy girl who used to blush at the slightest physical contact—where had she gone?!
Her smooth fingers, which had snuck under my skirt, scratched at empty air.
That was because I had gathered the last of my strength, kicked the blanket away, and dove to the opposite side of the bed like I was performing a tactical roll.
Biting my lip to swallow a groan, I forced my trembling legs to stand.
This couldn’t continue…!
It wasn’t that I felt pathetic lying in bed and suffering my lady’s trivial counterattack.
I had only just set foot in Stella Academy. Once the main story truly kicked into gear, all sorts of outrageous incidents and accidents were scheduled to explode like bombs.
Considering the flow of the game, something could happen as early as next week. So was I really going to spend an entire day glued to this bed just because I drew my sword a few times?
That was unacceptable!
As a die-hard fan of the Saintess Heroine and a veteran player, I wanted to witness the main story with my own eyes no matter what!
Therefore, I had to find some way to deal with the Trial of the World.
If I couldn’t reduce the rebound, then at least a method to recover faster!
As I thought that, one thing immediately came to mind.
A hidden piece that no veteran player of the Saintess Heroine route could possibly miss—an ultra-early-game item.
It was only obtainable in the beginning and its performance was so-so, so it wasn’t used much, but I was certain it was exactly what I needed right now.
In that case…
‘Shall we go fetch it… the hidden piece.’
Hmm… but in my current condition, going alone would be awkward.
Fortunately, however, my precious master—whom I could freely put to work—was right beside me.
I rose from the bed and took the cane that had been leaning against it.
Then I opened my mouth toward Iolet, who was now sprawled lazily across my bed and rolling around.
“Milady.”
“Y-yes?”
“Would you like to go somewhere nice with me?”