Chapter 42: Elective Class (5)
Among the Seven Heroes, who was the strongest?
There had never once been a clear answer that satisfied everyone to that question.
But if one were to name the most honorable, everyone without exception chose the Dragon Emperor, Third Prince Behad Amandine Bestrang, as the foremost.
Just a few years later at most.
The demons suddenly launched a massive, surprise offensive.
Once again, the continent was engulfed in war.
Whether it was because they had prepared thoroughly after tasting bitter defeat in the past, or because humanity had grown arrogant from centuries of peace and victory, no one knew.
But at the beginning, they were helplessly pushed back by the terrifying momentum of the demons’ advance.
However, in turbulent times, heroes always appeared.
And among those heroes, the ones who stood out the most were the Seven Heroes.
Though each of them accomplished great feats, the one who contributed the most in terms of strategy was, without question, the Dragon Emperor, Behad Amandine Bestrang.
Around 300 years ago, when demons threatened to swallow the continent whole, countless races had united in alliance to resist them.
But as long years passed, those glorious old alliances had long since broken, and in some places, even exchange itself had been cut off entirely.
The one who restored those alliances and brought the other races back as allies was none other than Behad.
It was said that many races had changed their hearts because of his honorable path, his bold and loyal nature, and his genuine attitude.
……But for me, who still remembered his image and reputation back at the academy, those words could not help but feel somewhat puzzling.
Only now did I pass it off as him having simply concealed himself to a certain extent back then.
‘Every single one of the people around me isn’t ordinary.’
An orc and a lizardman.
And the girl beside them, although she looked no different from a human, I could feel the unique aura of the beastkin from her.
“……”
A sticky, metallic, rough aura.
This was unmistakably the unique feeling of a werewolf.
“Well then, why don’t we start with introductions first?”
Behad spoke with his characteristic sly smile.
“Behad Amandine Bestrang. You can just call me Prince if you like, but since there are other princes in this academy besides me…… it would be better if you could call me by name, with some friendliness.”
“Cruyak, Crouching Water Buffalo.”
The orc spoke next, in a solemn voice.
Unlike elves, who had the custom of attaching the name of their birthplace before their own, orcs had the custom of adding metaphorical expressions depending on the day and time they were born.
“My tribesmen just call me Cruyak. You can call me Riak, or Criak. Whatever you like is fine.”
“My name is Br Riik Konafa.”
The lizardman spoke in a trembling, rattling voice unique to his kind.
His vertically slit pupils, peculiar to reptiles, slowly scanned the surroundings.
“It’s not Brick but Br, Riik. Nice to meet you all.”
“……Harira.”
The woman with dark brown hair spoke quietly, with a low, resonant voice.
For a werewolf, she was rather small in build, though that was only by the standards of her race.
Compared to me, whose build was above average, she was still far more robust.
“I am Lian Gwendil. I look forward to working with you.”
“Allen Amiel.”
“The First Enbarso of the Blue Forest Temple.”
Once everyone finished their brief introductions, Behad kept his easy smile and smoothly carried the conversation forward.
“The professor said that, while introducing ourselves, each team should freely discuss what we think is the strongest weapon…… so before that, how about each of us talks about the weapon we favor most, to get to know each other better?”
“That is not a bad suggestion.”
The orc, Cruyak, nodded.
Then, he pulled out the enormous object he had been carrying on his back.
Its head was covered with a cloth, but its shape was distinctive enough that anyone could tell what it was at a glance.
A protrusion jutting forward like a bird’s beak, the other side wide and flat like a hammer.
It was clearly a warhammer.
Made entirely of steel down to the shaft, it was heavy enough that not only most humans but even most orcs would not dare to lift it easily.
Yet Cruyak set it down lightly with one hand and spoke in a calm voice.
“Then I shall start first. Without question, I believe blunt weapons, particularly this warhammer I use, are the strongest weapons. My reasons are……”
Starting with him, Br Riik Konafa and Harira spoke in turn.
They mentioned weapons such as flails, bolas, and crossbows, and before long, the turn came to Allen and me.
“I believe the sword is the strongest.”
At Allen’s words, I could see Behad’s eyes light up as if he had been waiting for this.
Now that I thought about it, Behad’s primary weapons had indeed been spear and sword.
‘Come to think of it, I heard the two of them immediately recognized each other the moment they met.’
Perhaps they had felt some inexplicable pull toward each other, and Behad had been the one to approach first.
And that made sense, because when it came to the sword, Allen had reached a realm so high that it would not be an exaggeration to call him the very best.
……Though what he had shown so far had not been particularly reassuring, still, that was the truth.
“Wow, our opinions match pretty well, don’t they? I was also thinking that spear or sword is the best.”
Behad burst into loud, almost frivolous laughter, then turned his head toward me.
I had been thinking of casually answering “sword” and passing my turn along.
“Alright.”
Just moments ago he had been smiling warmly with friendliness, but suddenly he straightened his posture and fixed his eyes on me.
His gaze was shining in a way different from when he looked at Allen.
Eyes that seemed to pierce through everything about his opponent, as if not wanting to miss the slightest detail.
From that look, I finally realized that the one he had in mind from the very beginning was not Allen, but me.
‘……Why again.’
This time, why was even this man looking at me like that?
I barely managed to hold back a sigh that almost escaped me.
“You said your name was Lian, right? I really would like to hear your opinion as well.”
Behad said that with a smile.
Even his eyes curved softly like the corners of his lips.
But his pupils were not smiling at all.
“In fact, your opinion was the one I was most curious about.”
No, don’t do this.
That was what I muttered only within my heart.
As with any famous or well-known person, Behad Amandine Bestrang had many nicknames.
But unlike his half-sister Velita’s nickname of “Jewel of the Empire,” his were not the sort that made one cringe.
The Fool of Valhenmutra, Lecher, Waterlogged Crow……
Among them, the one he liked the most was none other than “eccentric.”
The reason he had been called eccentric was precisely to mock his behavior of being overly close with other races.
“How was it?”
“What do you mean, brother?”
“That man earlier. Lian Gwendil.”
At Behad’s question, Cruyak fell silent as if in thought.
Then Br Riik Konafa, standing behind them, rattled with laughter in his lizard-like voice.
“He was interesting. I especially liked the answer he gave.”
Cruyak tilted his head as if he could not understand.
“You mean that vague nonsense about the strongest weapon being a faithful person?”
“Yes. After all, I also serve a god, so I cannot help but feel the same.”
The lizardman, who believed not in Creator God Ilionel but in their own ancestor god, the God of the Seven Star Dragons, answered.
“That is why I agree with his words. Even an army armed with a thousand suits of armor and a thousand spears is nothing but a rabble if they lack the blazing fire in their hearts.”
“Sounds like the words of a priest.”
Cruyak muttered as if unconvinced.
“A rabble is a rabble because they lacked proper training and discipline. Faith has nothing to do with it.”
“Oh no, Cruyak. Certainly priests welcome faithful people, but that is not something limited to them alone. To be faithful also means to be trustworthy and true.”
Br Riik nodded and began humming almost as if singing.
“A commoner’s blade is needed only to cut men down. Once its wielder dies, it rusts away. But a blade held by one with firm and faithful will shines even after death. The wise and brave wield the tip, the upright wield the edge, the benevolent wield the spine, and the loyal wield the body of the blade. Such is the way.”
“It didn’t sound like that man was speaking of kingship, or keeping you in mind, brother.”
Cruyak spoke with a deep inhale.
“But to return to the point, brother, honestly it was intriguing. Do you remember how, at the end of class, everyone took turns picking up the many weapons placed at the back?”
At that time, Behad, who had been flirting with another female student, nodded with a suddenly serious face as if it were obvious.
Harira, who had been watching him carefully, only cast him a contemptuous glance without saying a word.
“He seemed very familiar with weapons. What I saw here and there was clearly not the touch of a novice. It was the hand of a warrior with at least a few years’ experience.”
“And how can you be so sure of that?”
“Because he picked them up exactly according to their use and purpose. Though he adjusted his grip awkwardly in the middle.”
The orc, praised as the most outstanding warrior even within his tribe, stated with certainty.
“Among them were several things that no first-timer could possibly have known.”
At that point, Cruyak furrowed his brows in puzzlement.
“But as far as I know, humans of the Holy Sun Church are forbidden from handling blades. Was I mistaken?”
“I don’t know their doctrine in detail, but I am sure you are correct, Cruyak. Unless under special status or in certain cases, they strictly forbid the use of blades.”
“Truly foolish and ignorant.”
Br Riik nodded in agreement, then added, “But something is strange.”
“So according to what you saw, Cruyak, he seemed more like a warrior than a priest?”
“Do you think otherwise?”
“Yes. I do not doubt your eyes, Cruyak, but…”
Br Riik shrugged his shoulders.
“What I saw from him was a sacred power and prayer that were anything but ordinary. Even a holy knight, after all, stains their hands with blood, and thus cannot easily emanate such lofty aura. Not unless one were a venerable monk who had trained in asceticism for decades at least.”
“I am not a priest, so I cannot say in that field. But in the end, you mean his power is on a considerable level?”
“Well, I can at least say that he stands at a higher level as a priest than I do.”
At his casually spoken words, not only Cruyak and Harira but even Behad flinched.
They were the ones who knew his power better than anyone else.
Br Riik Konafa was a man praised as a peerless genius even among his tribe.
“I see……”
Behad slowly nodded his head.
“Harira, what about you?”
“He was an unpleasant human.”
At Behad’s question, the werewolf in human form sneered.
“Leaving aside the fact that he strangely kept his guard up against me, his true nature was like a swamp buried under volcanic ash—completely unreadable. Humans like that are usually swindlers or harbor something deeply wrong inside.”
“You’re being too harsh.”
“And aren’t you overestimating that man too much?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
At his confident reply, Harira looked at him with a surprised expression.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Well.”
To her question, Behad only let out a quiet laugh.
The words—because there was no way that woman would have approached him for nothing—he kept firmly pressed inside his mouth.
“Anyway, Cruyak, Konafa. From what you two see, that man isn’t ordinary, right?”
“Hmm.”
“At least from what this humble one saw, yes.”
At their agreement, Behad quietly nodded.
From the moment that strangely uncanny gaze had fixed on him, he had been sure the man was not ordinary……
And though his expectations had proven correct, he could not feel pleased.
“……”
Even though he had rushed an investigation, he had not found a single suspicious detail about the man’s background.
And then there was the illegitimate son of the Amiel family, standing at his side like a bodyguard, exuding an odd scent similar to his own.
Most of all, the sense of dissonance he had felt when directly facing the two of them had sent sharp warnings from his instincts again and again.
‘Yes, there’s no way that woman would have taken an interest in him for no reason.’
Just before the Dungeon Field Class, Princess Velita had suddenly approached him without warning.
Then, during that very Dungeon Field Class, the unprecedented incident of students being attacked had occurred.
After that, Archbishop Rahma had suddenly gone missing, and Professor Shagas had moved with uncanny swiftness as if he had known everything beforehand.
And at the center of the incident were Lian Gwendil and Cecilia Everglenn.
It was suspicious in every possible way.
In truth, even setting aside the other matters, the single fact that Velita herself had moved to approach him was reason enough to be on guard.
“……”
Second Princess Velita.
Among the countless siblings, only he and his twin sister had realized the truth about her.
Because they knew her real nature, he and his sister had been making their own plans for survival rather than sitting quietly and waiting for the day of their deaths.
His siblings who stayed at his side, and the few subordinates his sister commanded, were the same.
But both he and his sister knew well that this was nowhere near enough.
For now, they had to keep their claws hidden.
For now, they had to remain quietly submerged beneath the surface.
If she discovered that they had seen through her true nature…… what would follow was so obvious that he did not even want to imagine it.
‘First of all, I’ll need to figure out what kind of relationship they have, and what exactly happened.’
That didn’t mean he was foolish enough to simply leave the wriggling unknown danger lurking beneath his nose alone.
‘Perhaps I should spend some time mingling with him.’
With that conclusion, he immediately quickened his steps.
He was going to meet the only person, in this situation, far more reliable than himself—someone with whom he could share wisdom head-to-head.