Prove It. - (2) Aria Is a Trap Heroine
Prove it.
—(2) Aria is a trap heroine. That was the unanimous opinion of every gamer who had played Holy Sword Hero Biography.
『Aria: Hero! You are…! It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve been wanting to meet you. I look forward to working with you from now on.』
『Mave: Who the hell is this country bumpkin?』
『Morgan: Get out of my workshop.』
Aria was the only one who welcomed the player with genuine warmth in those brutal early stages. Players battered by the other heroines’ scorn naturally gravitated toward her. But it was a trap.
Using “the duties of the Saintess” as an excuse, Aria rarely appeared on the affection list during the first year. If a player neglected their stats while chasing her favor, they would face an absurdly strengthened Hero’s Trial on her route. Gamers were horrified by its vicious difficulty.
“Every other route—even Lydia’s—treats the Hero’s Trial as just another passing event.”
The enhanced trial was impossible to clear on a first attempt without save-scumming. One careless mistake sent the player straight into Aria’s NTR ending. Players panicked.
—Was this game always this hard?
—Wasting even a single day leads straight to NTR or game over…
Yet watching players on other routes made them realize something.
—Mave becomes your girlfriend after just a few sparring matches?
—That red-haired shut-in is ridiculously easy lol
『Mave: Haha, I misunderstood you at first. …Sorry. Let’s meet again tomorrow. I want to keep getting stronger with you.』
『Morgan: C-come again tomorrow. No one’s ever given me a gift like this before.』
In the game, Aria had been a trap heroine. Brutally difficult, with the most unsettling NTR ending of all. “Of course, as if to compensate the player, her route had the most explicit scenes and pure-love events.”
Still, as a gamer… Aria’s route was one of the hardest. Not something you’d recommend to beginners.
But the Arty standing here now loved Aria. He had chosen this terrifying path in reality. Not a game he could restart, but the one and only reality—and he had picked the most difficult road. He had no choice. The moment he saw her smile, he was drawn to her.
—Hero!
—Saintess…!
To Arty, that smile was not a trap. It was salvation.
Lydia respected his resolve. And she made a decision.
“…”
‘…In that case.’
I will help him. So that he can overcome even the trials he does not yet know. I will watch over his efforts. In this world, I alone will acknowledge them. That was the duty of the one who had led him here.
‘I will make sure you never regret following me.’
So for now, prove it.
“…”
Lydia murmured from the stands.
“…Hang in there. If it’s you now, you can do it.”
“…”
Morgan tilted her head at Lydia’s words. In her estimation, Arty overcoming that trial was nearly impossible.
‘That good-for-nothing can clear it?’
Mave remained silent beside her. Her silence did not waver even amid the roaring crowd. Yet her fists trembled slightly.
“…”
‘Could I endure in that place?’
Mave’s gaze was fixed on a single point.
—Waaaaah—!
The direction of the spectators’ cheers. On the vast sandy floor of the training ground, ten Holy Knights drew their swords. Their brilliant helms and armor gleamed beneath the midday sun.
The prayer priest’s voice rang out.
—Holy Knights, prepare for the trial. From this moment, you will test the Hero candidate for ten minutes—!
“!”
They withdrew into a wide circle, surrounding a single figure. The space spanned dozens of meters, yet the presence of those ten alone was impossible to ignore. Mana rippled from their bodies like heat haze at noon, radiating overwhelming pressure. It felt like a furnace heated by the sun itself.
The audience clenched their fists.
“As expected of the Sun’s Holy Knights… They’ve learned the Theocracy’s mana technique that grows stronger beneath the sun!”
“All ten seem to be under the direct command of Inquisitor Raoul. Their aura is fierce.”
“An Inquisitor who has reached Ignition, leading ten elite swordsmen… That unit alone is stronger than most high-ranking noble factions. Only a Sword Master’s elite royal unit could stand against them.”
“Can he even last against that?”
In the center of the training ground, surrounded by them, stood Arty.
“…”
By common sense, being surrounded by three equals meant certain defeat. Here, he faced ten. The trial itself was already a desperate situation.
“…”
Even so, Arty stood calm. He wore only leather guards and a cloth armor. In his gauntleted hands he held a shield and a single iron sword. Compared to the Holy Knights in their shining plate, he looked pitifully under-equipped. Yet he did not waver.
His eyes turned toward the girl seated on the ornate chair guarded by the Heresy Inquisitor in the distance.
‘Aria…’
Aria was looking his way. Her silver hair swayed conspicuously in the wind. Even from afar, her beauty was palpable. The two gazed at each other across the distance.
“…”
“…”
Arty sighed inwardly. Damn it. She was too far away; he couldn’t see her expression.
‘That Inquisitor’s armor is shining too brightly.’
Was Aria worried he might get hurt before the true Holy Sword bearer even reached the battlefield? Or was she anxious that he might fail to be recognized as the true Hero…?
“…”
He couldn’t tell.
‘What I actually want to prove today isn’t that I’m the Hero…’
At that moment, the prayer priest’s second cry echoed.
—Today’s trial is not to take each other’s lives, but solely to verify qualifications! Therefore, all present on the training ground shall swear a solemn oath beneath the gaze of the Sun God!
With his words, a faint white mark of the Sun God shimmered on the left wrists of the Holy Knights and Arty alike. The contents of the oath the priest had set were engraved upon it.
One. They may only subdue one another; lethal attacks that would claim life are forbidden. However, the boy may strike the Holy Knights’ helms.
Two. The moment a Holy Knight feels they have been subdued, they must cease all movement. This applies even if their helm is struck.
Three. The trial shall last ten minutes and end the moment all Holy Knights are defeated or the boy’s will breaks.
Four. If the boy remains standing after ten minutes…
“…that shall count as the Hero candidate’s first trial passed.”
The prayer priest declared solemnly.
“Then let the trial begin—!”
“!”
“!”
“!”
At those words, the Holy Knights charged Arty as one.
Thud, thud, thud—!
It felt like ten war chariots bearing down on him.
“…!”
Arty shuddered. The time to prove himself had come. He drew mana from his second heart and lowered his stance. He searched for an opening in the encircling formation rushing toward him. There was still dozens of meters of space—he could break through.
‘First… the direction that looks most threatening!’
He recalled the calm voice of the princess in his mind.
「Do not be swept away by the enemy’s bluster. Weaknesses hide where they appear most threatening.」
“…!”
Arty’s body shot forward like an arrow. His speed left afterimages. The reckless movement twisted his muscles, but the Holy Sword’s healing acceleration aided his recovery.
Taah—!
Blue mana surged from Arty’s body. Like a blue arrow, he charged with sword and shield at the forefront.
“Haaah—!”
“!”
“!”
The two leading Holy Knights faltered.
‘…He’s charging instead.’
The boy they had expected to flee like a rabbit had instead rushed straight at them. The remaining Holy Knights, who had been shifting into an encircling formation, also hesitated.
“This is…”
Charging while surrounded? Admirable courage, but he had chosen the worst possible move.
‘Foolish boy. Of course the strongest lead the charge as beaters…’
Chak—!
Their feet stopped. Sand kicked up beneath the weight of their heavy armor.
“Hup!”
The two Holy Knights took their stances. They prepared to meet the charging boy’s attack. Having long trained in the Flow realm, they saw countless openings in the Hero candidate’s posture. It seemed the trial would end far sooner than expected.
The spectators thought the same.
—Has he given up…?
Arty hid his right hand behind his shield and swung his sword down at the two Holy Knights from above. It was less swordsmanship than an instinctive thrust while charging.
“Haaah!”
Whoosh—
The Holy Knights sneered.
“Hah, he thinks we’re fools.”
“With such an ordinary downward slash…!”
But Arty’s sword left his hand. He had thrown it. The plain longsword spun through the air.
Whooooosh—!
The Holy Knights could not tear their eyes from the unremarkable iron sword flying toward them. The spinning blade caught the sunlight and gleamed all the brighter.
“What…?!”
“Wh-what?!”
Their minds froze—not at the thrown attack that could not harm them through their helms anyway, but at the sheer stupidity of discarding one’s only weapon on the battlefield. Their long experience in real combat only deepened their bewilderment.
‘Wh-what the…?!’
Then they remembered.
‘…Wait. That boy is the Hero candidate.’
Hero Arlen could freely store and retrieve the Holy Sword from the mark on his right hand. The speed had been said to be far swifter than any artifact. The Holy Theocracy had claimed that the sword being tested today was “not the one belonging to Hero Arlen.” That was why they had not thought of Arlen’s Holy Sword.
But…
‘If this boy’s Holy Sword is similar to Arlen’s…?’
“No way?!”
“?!”
The Holy Knights looked at Arty’s right hand. But it was already too late. Arty now gripped a blue sword that had appeared in the hand he had hidden behind his shield. In an instant he closed the distance and struck at the helms of the two knights whose attention had been stolen by the thrown sword. Before they could react, two crisp metallic sounds rang out.
Tang, taang—!
The spectators recalled the rules at that moment.
“!”
Two. The moment a Holy Knight feels they have been subdued, they must cease all movement. This applies even if their helm is struck.
And the two Holy Knights truly could not move. The Sun God’s oath engraved on their left hands shone. The oath had forcibly halted them.
Realizing this, the crowd could not help but erupt in exhilarated cheers.
“Waaaaah—!”