Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Triumphal Return (2)
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“No, that can’t be right.”
Sheshes couldn’t believe his eyes.
His one and only daughter, Sena, hadn’t even reached 3-star at that age. She was still only 4-star now.
And yet Sion had... attained 6-star mana at the tender age of sixteen?
“That’s impossible!”
“What’s impossible?”
“How could a sixteen-year-old become an Iron Wall Knight who can wield sword aura? That’s just not possible!”
“But, Headquarters Chief.”
Sion pointed Ashurai toward Sheshes.
“If this isn’t sword aura, then what is it?”
“Ugh...”
The silvery-white energy coating the blade was unmistakably sword aura.
Even if you condensed sword energy as a swordsman, you couldn’t coat the entire blade so uniformly.
“Maybe... maybe it’s just the power of Ashurai creating that!”
“True, Ashurai does respond well to mana. I’ll admit I’ve benefited from that.”
“Then...!”
“But I’m sure you’ve already realized this sword aura comes from me myself, Headquarters Chief.”
Sion’s voice was ice-cold.
“I can’t imagine the Headquarters Chief, Sheshes Aleyas—a 9-star Heavenly Rank Knight—mistaking something like this.”
“...!”
Hearing that, Sheshes had no choice but to shut his mouth.
He understood that arguing further would only make him look foolish.
“Sion’s right, Sheshes.”
At that moment, Ianus spoke up.
“Have you forgotten the clan meeting? Sion’s the one who stored 3-star level mana in a single circle.”
“Ah...”
“He’s a genius outside the norms. That’s what this kid is.”
Before they knew it, Ianus was no longer speaking as the Knight Order Leader, but as the head of the Aleyas family... no, as Sion’s grandfather.
“Sion.”
“Yes, Knight Order Leader, Your Excellency.”
“How many circles do you have now?”
“Two.”
“So, two circles, and you’ve stored enough mana to wield sword aura?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Two circles, yet a 6-star knight. He really can’t be judged by conventional standards.”
Ianus stroked his chin with an admiring expression.
“Two circles for 6-star mana...!”
“I heard he concentrated all his mana into a single circle, holding more than others...”
“But how is that even possible? The Holy Heaven Eight Emperors Method can’t produce something like that.”
“They say Kurt, the Judgment Knight Brigade Leader and his father, didn’t teach him mana circulation techniques. So he trained on his own and ended up like this.”
Ianus wasn’t the only one amazed.
The surrounding executives were all gazing at Sion with eyes full of awe.
“Kuuh...”
Sheshes bit his lip.
He’d only pointed it out because he couldn’t just let Sion’s massive achievement slide... but in the end, he’d only helped Sion’s cause.
“Truly astonishing, Sion.”
“I think operating in the mana-rich Western Great Forest helped.”
“I see. It all worked out for the best, then.”
With those words, Ianus turned his gaze elsewhere.
“Speaking of which... it was the Heresy Inquisition Chief who sent Sion to the Western Great Forest.”
“...!”
The named Helena flinched and raised her head.
“Helena Aleyas, Inquisition Chief.”
“Yes, Leader, Your Excellency!”
“What do you think of what Sheshes Aleyas, the Integration Oversight Headquarters Chief, pointed out earlier? Do you believe there was a problem with Sion Aleyas’s judgment in using Ashurai?”
“Th-that’s...”
Helena’s eyes darted as she pondered.
“Is it Grade 1 heresy, as the Headquarters Chief claims?”
“N-no, it’s not! From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t resemble an evil demon spirit sword, and given the emergency situation... it seems like something a field commander could reasonably decide!”
“So, not heresy.”
With the head of the Heresy Inquisition declaring as much, Sion was cleared.
Unless the Holy Spirit Church’s auditors got involved, it was settled as a non-issue within the Holy Knight Order.
“Ugh...”
A total defeat for Sheshes.
* * *
[In the end, Helena ended up defending you.]
‘She had no choice in the situation.’
Even if Helena had sided with Sheshes here, she wouldn’t have won.
It was far more advantageous to play to Ianus’s favor.
‘In the end, Helena just acted in her own self-interest.’
Originally, she was the one who stood to lose the most from this incident.
She’d sent me to the Western Great Forest to mess with me, but not only did I secure Ashurai, I even took out Archbishop Gerkius and came back.
But Sheshes stuck his nose in and picked a fight with me, twisting everything.
[In the end, Sheshes took the biggest loss, all because of his pointless meddling.]
‘He made some sharp points, in his own way.’
By defending me, Helena could curry favor with Ianus while shoving her rival Sheshes even deeper into a corner.
“As a result, sending Sion to the Western Great Forest was a most appropriate decision by the Inquisition Chief. Let’s remember that.”
“Th-thank you! I believed Sion could pull it off! He has such incredible talent!”
Helena swiftly changed her tune.
She’d sent me there to screw me over, and now she was acting like this... it was almost funny.
“And... Independent Knight Brigade Leader.”
“Yes, Knight Order Leader, Your Excellency.”
Bernhard, who’d been watching from the back, replied in a calm voice.
“You were right. The future of our Holy Knight Order lies in the Independent Knight Brigade.”
“It’s only thanks to your faith and support in the Independent Knight Brigade, Your Excellency.”
“We’ll invest even more in the Independent Knight Brigade going forward. I’ll discuss it with the Integration Oversight Headquarters Chief.”
The mentioned Sheshes flinched.
“I hope you’ll continue achieving great feats alongside Sion.”
“Understood, Knight Order Leader, Your Excellency.”
Bernhard bowed politely.
Ianus nodded at the sight, then scanned the room once more.
“The Holy Knight Order will grow even stronger from here. Don’t stop at fulfilling your roles—strive to reach greater heights.”
“Understood, Your Excellency!”
A new wind was blowing through the Holy Knight Order.
* * *
After leaving the conference room.
As I exited the headquarters building and headed toward the Independent Knight Brigade, I heard footsteps chasing after me.
“Sion!”
It was Helena.
Her clothes were disheveled from running over in a hurry.
“What’s wrong, Aunt?”
“Don’t call me aunt—call me Lady Helena. Anyway...”
She cleared her throat awkwardly and glanced at me.
“Sion, you... you’re not going to badmouth me to the Knight Order Leader about this, are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well...”
Helena trailed off.
From her demeanor, I realized why she was acting this way.
‘She’s worried I’ll tattle to Ianus about her.’
My deployment to the Western Great Forest had been her scheme.
It was meant to put me in a tough spot, but just now in front of Ianus, she’d lied and said she’d trusted my abilities.
She was fretting that I might resent it and snitch to Ianus.
‘Aunt’s worrying about the weirdest things.’
I chuckled inwardly.
For someone her age, she hadn’t changed much from her younger days when Archbishop Hausel had trounced her.
“Aunt.”
I changed the subject.
“About Ashurai.”
“Hm?”
“What’s going to happen to it?”
“What do you mean, happen to it...”
I’d just handed Ashurai over to the Heresy Inquisition.
“They’ll verify it’s not subject to sealing, draw up the official documents... and it’ll be stored at Holy Knight Order headquarters, right? Not sent to the Holy Spirit Church.”
“I see.”
“Why?”
“Aunt, could I ask you for one favor?”
“A f-favor?”
Helena blinked.
“I want to keep Ashurai.”
“W-what?!”
“It’s a weapon I found, after all. Can’t you just let me have it?”
“That’s ridiculous! Ashurai is a demon spirit sword! A famous blade on par with our Holy Knight Order’s sacred swords! How could we give it to you?”
The five sacred swords were held by Ianus and his children.
Only 9-star Sky Rank or Heavenly Rank Knights were qualified to wield them.
So, me—a mere 6-star—holding Ashurai, equal to a sacred sword... yeah, it didn’t make much sense.
“That’s why I’m asking you, Aunt. Please put in a good word for me.”
“D-don’t be absurd. Why would I go out of my way for you...”
“Just talk to Grandpa. You can say it’s thanks to you that I was able to make my achievements in the Western Great Forest. He’ll listen if it’s you asking.”
“What? Thanks to me?”
“You trusted my abilities and sent me there, right?”
“...”
Helena’s eyes darted frantically.
“Right?”
“Y-yeah. Sure.”
Helena seemed to catch on to what I was getting at.
“Hmm... You did secure Ashurai, so maybe it makes sense for you to use it.”
“Right?”
“Your father even said he’d reward you earlier. If I speak up nicely, it should work.”
“Then please put in the effort for me. I’m begging you.”
“Fine, got it.”
Helena nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Trust only this aunt. I’ll make sure her nephew gets a cool sword as a gift.”
“Thank you.”
“So... when you see Father, speak well of me too. Got it?”
“Of course. There’s nothing bad to say anyway.”
“Y-yeah...”
Helena nodded with an awkward smile.
“Well, I’ll be off then... You go too.”
“Yes, see you later, Aunt.”
“I said Lady Helena...”
Muttering that, Helena departed.
[Did you see Helena’s face just now? She looked so uncomfortable.]
‘What’s wrong with that? I want to get along with Aunt Helena.’
[What? With that woman who’s dying to devour you?]
‘She’s easy to handle.’
Among the four Aleyas siblings, Helena was the easiest to control.
Sheshes wielded great power, Estr was hard to read, and Kurt was my father.
‘Helena also heads the Heresy Inquisition, the Holy Knight Order’s intelligence organ. If I bring her to my side, there’s plenty of ways to use her.’
[Ah, I see!]
Even just for gathering all sorts of information, maintaining friendly ties with Helena was smart.
Of course, it wouldn’t be equal.
I’d hold the reins and control Helena.
[So Helena unwittingly becomes your puppet.]
‘That’s how it’ll go. And it’ll probably benefit her too.’
I planned to exploit Helena to the fullest.
‘Helena’s not incompetent by any means.’
[We talked about this before.]
‘She excels at gathering and analyzing information. Ianus didn’t hand her the Heresy Inquisition—an intelligence organ—for nothing.’
Ianus’s four children each shone in different areas.
Helena’s specialty was intelligence gathering and analysis.
Deciphering an enemy’s complex movements to uncover hidden strategic goals... Helena was the best in the Holy Knight Order at that.
‘The problem is she lacks the ability to devise and execute plans based on that analysis. That’s why her schemes always fail.’
[Great at analysis, but poor at utilizing it.]
‘Exactly.’
[Then someone needs to stand by her side and make use of her talents. That way, she can truly shine.]
Igzard spoke admiringly.
[So now you’re going to play that role? You’re one scary guy.]
‘Don’t say it like that. I just want to get along with my aunt.’
Why I needed to get along with Helena.
Because she held the most information in the Holy Knight Order.
‘I need information.’
It wouldn’t end with just using her to get Ashurai.
I needed to leverage Helena to reach even higher.
‘Especially... to find my subordinates.’
The ‘left arm’ of Archbishop Hausel that Gerkius had mentioned.
To reclaim her, I needed Helena’s help, at the very least.