Chapter 83: Omen (1)
……Before I began laying out the story in earnest.
It was only a few days ago.
Let’s rewind to just before the assault incident.
For several days, uneventful, peaceful days had continued.
Every day, I honed what I thought I needed for myself.
Of course, in addition to training with Cecilia, I also never failed to keep watch on Allen through the Spirits.
During that time, various things had happened.
First of all, the confirmation day for elective classes had quickly drawn near.
Perhaps because of that, the inside of the Academy felt so unsettled that one could notice it at a glance.
‘Well, as for me, I had already decided everything long ago…….’
Sister Roberta’s Advanced Divine Power.
Professor Deiare’s Weapon Arts.
Professor Windy May’s private lessons.
And lastly, the Liberal Arts Course I would take together with Cecilia.
……Now that I listed them out, it felt like I was taking a bit fewer than others, but well.
What I needed wasn’t grades, after all.
‘Above all else, I had to gain strength.’
In that sense, I could say that, at present, the paths given to me largely fell into four.
In truth, even the classes I had chosen were deeply connected to these.
To polish Divine Power.
To hone martial arts along with my overall physical abilities.
Magic…… in other words, handling my strength as the Sky Guide.
And lastly, becoming able to control the Brands.
‘First….’
In the case of the first two, only time would solve them.
If I continued training diligently, I was confident that in just a few years I would reach that level…… no, far beyond it.
As for magic, that is, as the Sky Guide, there was nothing I could do right now.
I was already in a situation where both Professor Windy May and Yuran were personally guiding me.
Rather than recklessly moving in impatience and ruining things, it was far better to calmly follow their teachings.
And lastly.
The Brands.
‘…In fact, this was the main issue.’
At present, two Brands resided within me.
Or rather, would it be more accurate to say they were engraved upon me?
Since they were the very definition of the unknown to me, I could neither make a hasty conclusion nor jump to assumptions.
Only one thing.
If there was a fact I could confidently conclude, it was that if I could freely control them, they would surely become a great power for me.
‘Rahma, even if only temporarily, deflected all the attacks of the High Spirits.’
And didn’t Cecilia say it even nullified the many vital-point strikes she had aimed at me?
Such power could hardly be called anything but useful.
The problem was, I had absolutely no idea how to use this power, the Brand.
‘It had appeared so suddenly, at a completely unexpected moment…….’
If it had activated in a situation where my life was threatened, or when I had desperately wished for it, I wouldn’t have been worrying this much.
But for it to appear while I was lying down, just trying to grab something.
I couldn’t grasp at all what the trigger had been.
Over the past few days, I had tried all sorts of postures while lying down in the dormitory, but no matter how much I tried, there wasn’t even a sign of it reappearing, which made it all the more frustrating.
‘I couldn’t exactly reveal it openly and seek advice or train with it either.’
In the end, I had no choice but to keep searching somehow.
In my pent-up frustration, I unknowingly let out a small sigh.
“Phew……”
“Junior? Is something not going well?”
Snapping back to my senses, I noticed Lancia watching me with a worried look.
I shook my head slightly and showed a faint smile.
“Yes, it’s a little difficult. I didn’t know refining Divine Power would require so much technique.”
Sister Roberta’s class.
Today’s lesson was training to refine Divine Power so that one could respond under any situation.
I honestly hadn’t expected that merely refining Divine Power and keeping it in a steady state would be this tricky.
Compared to weaving it instantly, it felt several times harder.
Just when it seemed to take the shape of a sphere, it would collapse into a jumbled mess, over and over again.
“Ahaha…… I’ve heard that even active Holy Knights and Priests often struggle with this.”
Lancia also seemed to find refining Divine Power difficult, giving a wry smile.
Glancing around, it didn’t look like we were the only ones struggling, so at least I felt spared from complete embarrassment.
‘……No, that wasn’t right. If I thought about it, I had years of experience, and I was still falling behind like this.’
If anything, I was only keeping up thanks to that experience; otherwise, one slip and I would fall far behind in an instant—it was obvious.
The harsh reality struck me, and I had to focus all my attention once more on refining Divine Power.
But as someone once said, doing too much was no different from doing too little.
The form collapsed far more badly than before, and I could only let go of my hands and heave another deep sigh.
At that, Lancia, who had been hesitating, cautiously spoke up while glancing at me.
“Could it be because of something I said before?”
“Yes? What do you mean…… ah.”
I immediately realized what she was referring to.
She had been the very first to tell me about the rumors regarding Allen.
Lowering the hand that was still trembling a little from exertion, I said,
“The rumors spread even further, didn’t they?”
“……Mm.”
“It’s fine, please tell me honestly. Since it’s about a close friend of mine, I can’t help but take it personally.”
Lancia nodded.
“Yes. Compared to when I first told you, even more malicious stories were going around for a while. Though it seems to have died down a little these past few days.”
“Kyren Amiel…… must be because that senior declared it directly.”
“That’s most likely it. Because the person involved personally stepped forward with a warning, the story spread to our side as well.”
The Academy, despite its enormous size, was a place where rumors spread with astonishing speed.
All the more so if they concerned a powerful family or a prestigious house.
Especially for a prestigious family like the Amiel family, when it came to areas related to the military or knight orders……
Anyone who stepped into those fields, whether they liked it or not, would inevitably be touched by their influence, so the reactions seemed all the more sensitive, keen, and swift.
“Certainly, even among us, the rumors have died down. ……At least, if we’re only talking about the rumors.”
“It must be very difficult for you. For your friend, and for you as well.”
“I believe in my strong friend. I’m sure he’ll overcome it.”
I clasped my hands together again to resume training, murmuring softly.
“I had been quite worried, but these past few days, he seemed to have regained some energy, so I felt a little relieved.”
“That’s truly fortunate.”
Lancia let out a sigh of relief, as if she sincerely thought so.
“I may be meddling, but it didn’t feel like someone else’s problem to me either.”
“Thank you for worrying together with me.”
“Ahaha….”
Seeing her give an awkward smile, I simply nodded as if I hadn’t noticed.
Come to think of it, she too had been a major victim of malicious rumors.
Of course, in her case, it had been rather unusual in several ways.
“So well, there isn’t much I can do. I just walk with him casually and treat him normally, that’s all. Fortunately—or maybe not—my family isn’t a house that gets much attention, so even when I’m with him, others don’t really read too much into it.”
“That alone will surely be a great support for your friend.”
“Then I’m glad. ……Ah, come to think of it.”
I remembered that tomorrow would be the weekend and asked her.
“Are you going to volunteer tomorrow as well?”
“Yes, of course.”
With the Departure Festival, the Merchant Group of Demons, and all sorts of busyness, I thought volunteering might have been put aside, but it seemed it continued steadily.
I was relieved by that and quickly spoke.
“If it’s alright, may I join tomorrow as well?”
“For me, you’re welcome anytime! I’m sure everyone else will welcome you too.”
Seeing her face light up with joy, I too gave a faint smile.
Since freshmen still had strict restrictions on going outside, there was no more certain and convenient method than this.
‘It feels a bit like deception, but…….’
Well, it wasn’t as if I would shirk work once I was there.
Muttering that to myself, I began thinking of the items I would need to order once I went outside.
‘The mace that was broken during the Dungeon Field Class needs to be sent for repair right away, and it would be good to quickly look for armor as well. And then…….’
“Um, excuse me.”
At that sudden thought, I looked at Lancia and asked,
“Would it be alright if I brought another friend along? It’s not certain yet—I’d have to ask him first.”
“We’re always happy to have more. Oh, by any chance……?”
“Yes, it’s the one you’re thinking of.”
Some might call it needless meddling.
But to me, it felt like a pretty decent move.
‘Looking at the situation, they’ll surely try to pin something on Allen.’
Kyren had told me not to get involved, but there were always fools who didn’t know their limits.
So rather than letting him get caught in needless trouble, I planned to take him away beforehand.
It would also give him some fresh air, help him relax, and serve as proof and witness of his innocence.
“Of course! I’ll let them know in advance. Please also tell him to come with peace of mind.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Senior.”
“Ah, haha…… you don’t need to be that formal.”
At my polite thanks, Lancia gave an awkward, embarrassed laugh.
A moment later, as if to dispel the awkward mood, she suddenly raised her voice in a rather
deliberate tone.
“Th-that reminds me, didn’t you say you were taking additional lessons regarding the Dungeon Class?”
“Yes, I just checked the details—it will be held next week.”
“Yes, I saw the notice posted on the board too.”
Lancia nodded.
“It’s a small blessing amid misfortune. For an artifact that had worked without issue for hundreds of years to malfunction right then—who would have thought such a thing would happen……”
“At least it was fortunate that there weren’t major casualties.”
“Yes, exactly. Just as you said, the fact that there were no fatalities was truly fortunate.”
And then, sounding genuinely sorrowful, she murmured,
“Although Archbishop Rahma was at the center of the incident and couldn’t avoid the accident…… since not a single student was harmed, perhaps he even considered that a blessing.”
She repeated quietly, as if recalling,
“Perhaps he even gave thanks that he alone suffered misfortune. Archbishop Rahma was that kind of person.”
“……Yes. Though it was a short time, he was truly a good man.”
Suppressing an inexplicable unease, I nodded.
Lancia, who had lowered her eyes in silent prayer, soon looked back at me and asked,
“So, who will be in charge now?”
“From what I can tell, it’s most likely Professor Yul Runberg….”
“Ah, Professor Yul. He’s truly a wonderful professor.”
Lancia nodded as she spoke.
“Of course, not to say the other two are lacking…… but since Professor Yul is also from Arpentia, he shows much consideration for the students.”
She added,
“And of course, he’s highly skilled as well.”
“Indeed, it didn’t seem like he gained such renown at such a young age for no reason.”
“Exactly, exactly!”
Lancia nodded so vigorously it almost made a buzzing sound.
“To the point that even the Holy Sun Church has heard his name.”
“The Holy Sun Church as well?”
“More precisely, the Holy Knights. I heard it from upperclassmen.”
She pressed her lips together, as if recalling something.
“Mm…… he definitely made some great contribution, but since it’s classified, they said it couldn’t be made public. But what’s certain is that he did a great service in relation to the Cultists of the Evil God.”
“……That really is incredible.”
I could only shake my head in amazement.
It was already remarkable enough that he became a direct knight of the Emperor for his achievements, but to even be owed by the Holy Sun Church.
It was a moment where I realized once again just how extraordinary he was.
“At that level, even if he alone claimed all the credit for others’ deeds, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”
“Exactly. That’s why he’s even called a hero in the world.”
Lancia murmured while glancing aside.
I silently agreed with her, recalling my previous life.
‘For someone like that to have been ambushed and left half-dead in my past life……
Thinking about it now, it’s stranger that an even greater uproar didn’t occur.’
“Uh, hem.”
Lancia let out another rather deliberate-sounding cough.
When I turned to look at her, she clenched her fists and said to me,
“A-anyway! I hope you learn well in class and get good marks too! Aja! Aja aja, you can do it!”
“Mhm.”
Just then, the sound of someone clearing their throat came from behind us.
Startled, Lancia and I turned around.
There stood Sister Roberta, as always wearing a kind smile.
Only, it was just her lips smiling—her eyes were not.
“It’s fine to have a pleasant chat, but I’d like you both to remember this is still class time.”
“S-sorry, Professor.”
“……I apologize.”
Hearing our apologies, Sister Roberta’s expression softened slightly, just a little.
“Normally, I would have deducted points for conduct, but since it’s still the registration period……”
Grin.
Sister Roberta gave a smile that seemed to brook no refusal.
“Instead, I trust you both will assist me in Cleaning the classroom after class, won’t you?”
Lancia and I had no choice but to nod.