Chapter 8
Kainel had always thought of himself as someone different from others.
After being chosen by the Holy Sword of Light, he might have been inflated with vanity.
And this is the result.
‘I can do it without using mana.’
He thought as he looked at the numerous coin fragments scattered on the ground today. Come to think of it, it was the same when facing the Shadow Wolf before.
He almost neglected the Holy Sword because of his past. If he had, it would have been a disaster. To be honest, he got arrogant, thinking he had become stronger.
His beautiful childhood friend was by his side, and after enduring a rather tough time, he overestimated his strength.
His body, without using mana, was too weak.
But how could the Dark Knight wield his sword so well without even using magic?
“Licht, why are you so strong?”
“Are you talking about me?”
After all the lectures ended, I stopped walking alongside him on the way home. His brown eyes gleamed from inside the helmet.
“I had something I wanted to achieve, so I worked hard.”
“What’s that?”
“I wanted to make unhappy people happy.”
“You’re talking about that person from before, right?”
“Yes?”
Was it a beautiful woman with silver hair? I tried to recall the previous conversation as I opened my mouth.
Then, Licht’s steps became unnatural. His left foot and left arm were moving together. He resembled a creaky clockwork doll.
“So it’s true.”
“N-no… it’s n-not…”
A reaction that was clearly an admission to anyone watching.
He was such an easy-to-read friend, so who could have captured the heart of this Dark Knight? Maybe it’s someone like Ariel to him. In that case, I could understand why he became so strong.
I felt like I could somewhat understand that feeling, and a slight smile formed on my lips.
“I saw you looking around the lecture hall earlier, trying to find someone. Man.”
“… Are you saying that was me? That can’t be.”
“Then I guess I don’t need to tell you about the person you looked like you saw?”
“Where did you see them?!”
I felt a sudden urge to tease him.
He, who knew the habits of the Shadow Wolf well. The Dark Knight who had been trying to advance things between Ariel and me. And Licht, who attended the same lectures. They all seemed like different people.
“Sorry, just kidding.”
“Say things like that to Miss Ariel, not me.”
“No way. She’d probably throw a fireball at me right away.”
“She has a good reason for that.”
If we could even joke about silly things like this, didn’t that make us friends? I briefly lost myself in thought.
“Licht.”
“Yes?”
Just like him, I wanted to become strong to protect Ariel too. But right now, I was too weak to be her hero.
“Would it be okay if I trained swordsmanship with you?”
Kainel decided to move forward a bit more.
***
The Grand Hearts Academia’s swordsmanship training hall.
A place of education, adorned with various types of weapons along the walls and dozens of protective magic circles etched into the gleaming floor.
The hero and the Dark Knight were there.
‘What on earth is this?’
I had barely escaped the hot-blooded training reunion with Master, and now I’m supposed to train swordsmanship with the blond hero?
This could jeopardize my route… This isn’t just a likability check, is it?
Is this some kind of sudden event? I crossed my arms and pondered.
“In return, join Miss Ariel’s magic club.”
“What..? I’ll think about it.”
I responded, considering the companion route in my head. This means I have to support him from the side.
No harm done. An odd expression surfaced on Kainel’s face.
‘That’s all?’ his expression seemed to say, but I need you two to get together quickly. Nothing more is necessary.
I grabbed a sword from the storage.
Oh, it’s in good condition. Maybe I can take one.
“I’d like to say one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Do your best.”
“I’m already doing that.”
The blond hero steeled himself. That’s not it, your mindset is wrong. I shook my head.
“Even if you’re not strong, you can still protect someone.”
“Then what do I need?”
“Make sure not to leave any regrets.”
“… I see.”
He looked as if he finally understood. Someone who is absolutely obsessed with something is scarier than someone who is just incredibly strong.
I was the former type, and that’s why I worked hard.
‘That’s why I even caught the Demon King back then.’
No matter how much I taught Kainel advanced swordsmanship, his problem wasn’t combat ability.
The issue was his indecisive personality and his excessive reliance on the Holy Sword of Light.
‘Detecting evil intentions, isn’t that too overpowered?’
He probably doesn’t know that there are weaknesses to it. One of the reasons, his nickname in the community was “Yellow Dog.”
I had seen so many posts with the title [The Poor Kainel, Betrayed Again Today]. My face lost its smile.
Like Pavlov’s dog, he checks if the Holy Sword shakes first before making any decisions.
He trusts anyone and gets backstabbed.
The detection ability seems flawless, but it doesn’t work on the Demon Kings.
That’s why even the mighty Dennis is drowning in alcohol. To catch those guys, you’d have to gather the Ten Greats again.
And there’s one more downside.
“I’ll swing my sword, so try activating the Holy Sword.”
“Are you sure? You seem to know something too.”
“They can’t come here. How many magic circles are there?”
If you mean those cultists, just attempting to invade this academy is a suicide mission. There are quite a few heroes here who have sent those guys to their coffins.
“Let there be light.”
A halo of light rose from Kainel’s Holy Sword.
“Now, here’s a question for you.”
“What now?”
“Is this action I’m taking now considered ‘evil’?”
Just as Drake did, I quickly flicked some coins his way.
Ping. Clang.
Then, unlike in the previous lesson, he sliced through the coins while circulating mana through his body.
“Well.”
He fell into deep thought as he looked at the coin fragments that made a metallic sound as they hit the ground.
“The Holy Sword of Light has a weakness.”
“Who are you really? A traitor? Or a double agent?”
“Let’s say I’m your arch-nemesis. For now.”