‘What’s going on in the Holy Kingdom for there to be battlefields riddled with dead soldiers… The last time any big battle took place was during the civil war. Everything has been relatively peaceful since.’

Is the empire and surrounding nations aware of this, she thought again.

Regardless, if they found out that equipment from the Holy Kingdom ended up here, they’re bound to think the same thing as her—something was going on in the Holy Kingdom and no news had reached the public yet.

This is dangerous. If there are families who want to visit their relatives in the Holy Kingdom then they might end up getting caught in conflicts and losing their lives.

She’ll just have to trust that the empire will do something once the relevant people hear about the stolen equipment.

Adavire noticed that she had come to an area filled with adventurers, the district where blacksmiths, armorers, apothecaries, and magic stores are commonly found.

‘There’s quite a lot of them. Is this a normal occurrence every day?’

If that’s the case then the owners of these stores must be getting thousands of gold weekly just from selling their stuff to the adventurers.

While Adavire was looking at the crowd of adventurers, she heard someone call out to her.

“—Miss Verith! Are you here to repair your weapon? Don’t bother because you’ll be here all day with this crowd in the way.”

Adavire glanced towards the familiar voice. A girl with flaming red hair and eyes approached Adavire.

“Oh, Miss Stella von Ayried.” Adavire faced her junior and bowed towards her, “Good day.”

“T-There’s no need for that kind of formality…” Stella replied while scratching her cheek.

“We are outside the academy so there are no rules for me to uphold to the daughter of a duke.” She replied calmly and noticed something in Stella’s hands—a longsword?

“To answer your question, I am not here to repair my weapon or commission a new one since my rapier has served me for many years without fail. I was just walking around the city aimlessly.”

“Ah, but the sword at your hip looks kind of out of place with your dress…”

“Yes, I am aware of that. But carrying it gives me piece of mind knowing I can use it at any time if a situation requires me to. The empire’s patrols are getting lazy and overlooking certain crimes, so if something were to endanger the life of a citizen then I can respond immediately.”

“Does Miss Verith not know any martial arts? It’s not normal for a citizen to just walk around with their weapons if they aren’t adventurers or mercenaries.”

“Ah, I did not think of that… But no, I don’t have any knowledge of martial arts. I only have weapon arts which requires my rapier. It seems I should’ve brought my magic bag along, after all…”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine so long as you don’t draw it amongst a crowd for no reason…”

Adavire blushed a little remembering how she held her rapier to that poor fellow’s neck. The people didn’t exactly freak out about it so she didn’t think it was a big deal at first.

She decided to change the subject, “Is that a new sword? It’s quite large when held in your hands…”

More precisely, it was almost Stella’s chest height from the ground up.

Stella was about a head and a half shorter than Adavire but even Adavire wouldn’t use a longsword since it didn’t fit her.

“I came to pick it up. The dwarf blacksmith was supposed to deliver it to the academy but he said that he got swamped in work and forgot.” Stella huffed.

“But why are you using a weapon that requires one to use both hands?”

“…Arnold said that I should try out longswords because it suits me better than ordinary one-handed swords.”

“That is a misconception with red aura. Just because it has higher strength-boosting properties than other aura types don’t mean the user is required to only focus on strength-oriented equipment and skills.”

“I know that but it doesn’t hurt to try…”

“...Yes, I suppose that’s true. But don’t get comfortable with one weapon type. You might regret it when you grow older.”

She nodded repeatedly.

‘Hmm, I heard that Stella is quite the hot-head but I see none of that in her. She’s more reserved and respectful than anything.’

Maybe this is the attitude she adopts when conversing with a senior? If so then Arnold could learn a thing or two.

“If it is alright with Miss Adavire, could you be my sparring partner? I have two new skills that I’ve learned but haven’t tested yet. I haven’t been able to train with others either lately. Even our household knights are hesitant to train with me fearing that they’ll hurt me.”

The day was still far from over so Adavire didn’t think it would be an issue to help her junior out a little bit. It’s a senior’s duty to guide their juniors and act as their role models. That’s what she’s believes. She wished she had a senior like that, though….

“Where should we spar?”

Stella’s face brightened up at Adavire’s question.

“There’s a public training ground not far from here! Follow me!” she jogged off after her enthusiastic reply.

Adavire made a small smile before following after her.

**

The two arrived at the open clearing next to a small park that overlooked a cathedral. The training grounds were separated from the park by a magical fence, ensuring the safety of the children playing nearby.

The cathedral's towering spires cast long shadows over the park, and the sound of bells chiming softly in the distance created a serene atmosphere.

‘I recall Duchess Isolde telling me she lives near a church. This is the only church in this district. I think the mansion is west of here? I can go there after I’m done.’

But what would she do after that? Adavire didn’t exactly know how to enjoy her day. Her life had been so regimented and focused on training that leisure time felt foreign to her. She thought back to the books she had read, filled with tales of heroes who knew how to balance duty and pleasure.

Perhaps she could explore the marketplace, observe the bustling activities, and maybe even purchase something that catches her eye. Or she could find a quiet spot to read and let her mind wander through the stories she loved.

‘Wait, I didn’t bring a book along… Should I just go to a library?’

Adavire sighed, realizing that she needed to learn how to find joy in the little moments.

While she was struggling to find an answer to her question, she overheard voices coming from the church across the street. She was using warrior sense at all times to stay alert wherever she was so this conversation could be clearly heard by her.

“Why won't you let me through!? I have a sermon in an hour! The guests are already arriving at the front gates!” a middle-aged man with a balding head and body draped in a priest’s garb shouted at the two knights in his way.

“We received orders from the inquisitor in the city to not let you into the church now or ever again.” One of the knights replied.

“Inquisitor…? Didn’t one of them come by a few days ago?”

“It’s not just any inquisitor but Lady Sellanae. You best refer to her that way and not just as some inquisitor.”

“But… Why… Why would lady Sellanae say such a thing!”

‘Sellanae…’ there’s only one inquisitor with that name, ‘She’s one of the only three High Inquisitors of the Theocracy… What could she be doing here? Is she here to oversee the work at the temples? But if that’s the reason then why send someone who answers directly to the pope?’

The Theocracy has two temples in the empire sure but sending a high inquisitor to do inspections at the temple seemed a bit excessive since they had other important stuff to do.

“The fact that she’s here proves that I’m right! Why do all of you doubt me when someone of her standing acknowledges what I said? Her presence here indirectly confirms my suspicions! That is her acknowledgment! Are all of you too blind to see the truth?”

“Watch your tone, Priest. Accusing followers of Melis of summoning demons is a grave charge and will not be overlooked by His Grace Augustus. Please do not further tarnish the reputation you’ve built over the years. Either retract your words or be prepared to never set foot in a church again.”

The priest’s bitter expression made it look as if he chewed on a bug.

“Why are all of you so blinded by faith!? Do you truly think everyone is a faithful worshiper of Melis!?” he spread his arms, “There are those who wish to abuse that faith to spread their evil throughout the woooorld! If the Pope could just stand with me, I can do everything in my power to find these heretics and lock them up for life!”

“Silence!” the knight’s scream startled the children playing in the park. Her drew his sword, “Leave before I cut out your tongue that knows only how to spew blasphemy!”

“Kuh, you will regret this… The whole world will be overrun with demons in the next five years due to your stupidity!” the priest stomped away while muttering to himself bitterly.

It was true what he said. The fact that a High Inquisitor was in the empire meant that they believed what he said—that there are people trying to summon demons. If that was the case, what could be their motive? Do they just wish to bring destruction unto this world?

While Adavire wanted to believe the man, she could not exactly conclude anything without any evidence. There was less than a week left until the academy reopens so she would not be able to conduct her own investigation regardless. The good thing was that a High Inquisitor was here to investigate. Therefore, Adavire decided to leave the matter up to the professionals.

Perhaps the reason why the knights weren’t letting the man into the church was to avoid him fearmongering people without evidence. Until anything is found he is just another delusional person who will be ruled mentally unwell by the church executives and the temples.

Adavire looked over at Stella who was struggling to correct her stance. She tried putting the sword over her shoulder but she staggered backwards and gave up.

Adavire held back a sigh. Why would Arnold tell her to use longswords if she’s not experienced with them or have the necessary muscle strength for them?

Isn’t [Fire Lily] an ordinary sword that can be wielded with one hand? As a member of the Ayried House, she is doing the exact same thing as Hans—abandoning the norm their family had followed for generations. From what Adavire knew, [Fire Lily] shouldn’t be capable of transforming its shape to match the wielder’s tastes.

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“It’s fine if you can’t hold it correctly. Just come at me with the skills you’ve learned.”

“A-Are you sure? I won’t be able to control my aura if I don’t have the right grip on the sword…”

“It matters not. I will use my own aura if things get out of control.”

Adavire had two different energies that she uses for different reasons. Her aura is used to activate her weapon arts while her divine power is used for healing magic and divine skills.

Many people would’ve given up on mastering both and focusing on one alone. This was one of the reasons why many call her a genius.

She would be able to subdue Stella easily even at full power but she wanted to control her strength to not harm Stella too much.

Adavire was Stella’s senior by two years so she was naturally much stronger and skilled in combat than Stella. She had learned a lot from Roderick when it comes to defusing a situation that can only be calmed down with force. One method was knocking the opponent out but that was the last resort. Closing Stella’s aura channels by forcing her own aura inside her was the best method to avoid any serious injuries and damage to the training grounds.

Stella held the sword in a low stance with both hands, its tip inches away from the ground.

This stance had a lot of openings but if the person is skilled enough then they can bait their opponents from attacking and parrying their attacks at the right moment. From what Adavire heard, Stella wasn’t exactly skilled in that area. She only knew how to use brute force which is why she’ll never grow stronger.

Just as she finished that thought, Stella burst forward with incredible speed after releasing her red aura.

As expected, she went for a low-angle attack which anyone would’ve been able to predict.

Adavire responded by jumping back, the longsword narrowly missing her. Stella was thrown to the side from the power that she put in the sword being used against her.

“!”

Just when Adavire thought Stella was done, a tsunami of red aura burst out of her front body, its power reaching the clouds. The wind pressure from that alone sent Stella flying right at Adavire. She expertly twisted her body in mid-air swung the longsword with animalistic ferocity.

‘A skill that expels all her aura through her front body!? What kind of skill is that!’

Aura can’t be forced out of someone like that through normal means. Your aura channels would rupture from the pressure exerted from that alone. Another thing to note is that your body limits the amount of aura you can release per second. Which means that Stella had been gathering her aura outside her body for some time now. But how? Adavire would’ve been able to sense the aura using warrior sense.

Unless, could it be a passive skill…? Skills like that are extremely difficult to master… Every student of the academy only learns active skills, which require commands to execute. This is how it works for martial arts and martial skills as well.

Yet Stella is capable of using a skill that’s always active?

Adavire’s mind raced in that moment to find a way to deal with Stella’s attack. Simply blocking wouldn’t work.

“[Angel’s Hands]!” two arms shot out of Adavire’s back, each sparkling with a golden radiance.

The arms shot towards Stella but one’s hand was cut off cleanly but the other managed to get a hold of Stella and slam her onto the ground.

Adavire thought Stella had given up but her body suddenly turned into pure red aura and dissipated like torn shreds of paper.

‘I dind’t notice this before but…’ Adavire looked around, ‘Stella’s aura is floating through the air like a thick mist…’

It looked like blood had been sprayed in the air.

She suddenly felt someone appear behind her.

Another skill!?

She hurriedly blocked the attack and felt incredible power shoot up her arm.

Even if Adavire wasn’t using her aura, this kind of power was unexpected from someone so much younger than her.

How strong will Stella become if she actually masters her skills…?

Adavire was blown away and knocked against a nearby tree.

As expected, Stella had appeared behind her in an instant. She was standing there with her sword raised in a majestic pose.

Adavire slowly got up. She winced as the pain in her forearms.

‘Fighting red aura users without my own aura active is a bad idea.’

“[Mother’s Embrace]” a soothing golden light embraced Adavire’s arms and quickly took the pain away.

She looked over at Stella who was surprisingly not attacking anymore. Stella was wheezing while using her sword as a cane. The red aura in the air dissipated at that moment.

'Those skills... Don't tell me she's trying to fight like a blue aura user.'

Adavire didn't laugh or loudly proclaim it was foolish. She merely smiled. Watching her junior strive to overcome the limitations imposed by her birthright and aura type naturally made Adavire happy.

It was strange. She didn't expect to care this much about someone else. For so long, she had been focused on her own studies and training, isolating herself from others. Seeing someone so determined and passionate stirred something within her, a feeling she had rarely experienced. Perhaps it was admiration, or maybe a sense of kinship.

She remembered her own struggles, the countless hours spent honing her abilities, and the loneliness that often accompanied her journey. Watching her junior reminded her of those times, but it also filled her with hope. Hope that, despite their differences, they could support each other and grow stronger together.

Adavire's smile widened. She realized that this connection, this newfound concern for someone else's growth, was something she had been missing. It was a reminder that even in a life dedicated to mastering her skills, there was room for friendship and mutual respect.

For the first time, Adavire felt a spark of excitement at the prospect of not just teaching, but learning from her junior as well. She silently vowed to be there, to guide and support her, and to embrace this unexpected bond that had formed between them.

“Stella von Ayried.” Adavire stood over the panting Stella.

Stella squeezed out a “y-yes…?”

“Would you like to be my friend?”

◊◊

While she was a bit confused what triggered Adavire’s question, Stella still agreed. She even said she’s a little happy that she has a training partner.

Adavire told her to come over to her mansion whenever she feels like training or even hanging out. Pushed by Adavire, Stella could only nod along in agreement.

The two of them parted ways soon after.

She finally has a friend. After years of constant studying and honing her skills, she finally asked someone to be her friend.

Adavire put her hands on her face as she sat in the reception room in the Berthlaith Manor.

Her face felt warm. Was she blushing?

Just as she was about to head over to the mirror hanging on the wall, the door to the reception room opened.

Two people entered at that moment. Her sponsor, Duchess Isolde, draped in a fancy purple dress that contrasted her white hair, entered the reception room with a mysterious tall woman with short maroon hair who was in full armor.

Isolde opened her mouth just as Adavire got up and bowed, “It is nice to see you are doing well, Adavire.”

She approached Adavire and put one hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently with a smile before she gestured at the mysterious knight woman, “This is Her Highness Olivia’s personal knight Elna Hemlingdale. We just finished our discussions but she said that she wanted to come meet you personally for another matter.”

Adavire bowed to the knight, “I am honored to meet someone of your high standing who protects our nation, Lady Elna.”

Elna smiled, “The honor is mine. I am standing before the Ardark Academy’s most talented student. Just from one glance alone, I can tell you are exactly as the rumors describe you.”

“…Thank you for the kind words…”

Adavire glanced at Isolde who was pouring tea into three cups. Normally this would be unbecoming of a noble lady but Isolde had insisted on doing this very same thing many times in the past. In her own words “I’m bored and find that brewing tea or cleaning the mansion is a wonderful pastime”. As mentioned before, she has no businesses or official job. She was merely living on a fraction of an inheritance.

From what Adavire knew, Isolde had been investing her money for the last five years and had managed to amass a lot of funds from that alone. All the branch families ran over to the Berthlaith family’s side after her husband’s death so Isolde didn’t have any political backing whatsoever.

Despite this, she had managed to survive on her own and put her children through school with her sister-in-law's help.

“I will get straight to the point,” after all three of them sat down with a cup of tea in hand, Elna began speaking, “I need someone like you to help me with an unofficial investigation.”

“Unofficial investigation? What kind of investigation…?”

“The kind that we hope won’t lead to the worse-case scenario which could result from various factors. The point is that I need young and talented individuals to accompany me to another nation under the guise of being my students and I, their mentor. I should not be telling citizens this but the empire has a trainee program that allows knights of my position to enter other nations even during war. As you probably already know, nations tend to shut their gates and all other forms of entry when under attack from an enemy nation. The reason is obvious. During this time, it is imperative that a fledgling—you in this instance—to learn what war is and to decide if you are able to face it when it comes to your own nation.”

“Isn’t that dangerous!” Adavire shouted, “How could the founding fathers allow this!”

“I agree that it is dangerous and many innocent lives can be lost if our allies lose in the war… However, this allows us to conduct investigations to decide if we can really trust our allies or the reason for why the war occurred in the first place.”

“…Why me exactly…?”

Before she could comment any further on the subject, she decided to ask that first.

“You are amongst several talented boys and girls that I’ve scouted for my investigation. All of them are known as geniuses with high potential. I can use their popularity to persuade our allies to let us in to observe their conflicts. I can’t go through with the investigation if I don’t have enough volunteers. Nine out of twenty of them rejected my offer while the others jumped at the chance.”

“Why would they do something so dangerous? Is it all for money?”

“The emperor himself issued this order.”

Both Isolde and Adavire widened their eyes.

“In return for cooperating in our investigation, you shall be granted a title of Knighthood and a fortune that will be paid out for two years, one-hundred thousand gold every six months.”

“Why is the reward so high…” Isolde asked with a troubled expression.

“It’s speculated that the Holy King was killed. The Pope is the primary suspect in this case. If we find enough evidence that he is indeed a king assassin then the empire and the surrounding nations will invade the Theocracy.”

“Does the Holy King’s death have to do with the war?” Adavire asked.

“Yes. Well, there isn’t a full-scale war yet. So far there had only been a few big battles fought where neither side could breach the other’s frontlines to march to each other’s nations. Of course, things will be different if the Testaments and the Five High Blood tribes participate in this conflict. His Majesty has urged us to do our best to find concrete evidence before a full-scale war breaks out.”

“And if the conflict escalates to a war, then… The Holy Kingdom will get surrounded and we’ll be…”

Adavire knows that the demihumans outnumber the Holy Kingdom by three times.

“You need not worry.” Elna smiled gently, “An airship will be dispatched if that does happen.”

“Wouldn’t that be a sign that the empire is helping the Theocracy? We are supposed to be neutral to both sides.” Isolde said.

“Yes, it will be interpreted that way… But His Majesty said that he will arrange a conference with the Lion King and the Five High Blood tribes to explain the situation. We’d like to avoid that from happening which is why I need your answer soon, Miss Verith.”

“….” Adavire gulped down the tea and looked into the cup, “Is there anyone else in the academy that you’re taking with you?”

“I wanted to approach Arnold von Berkley but he is nowhere to be found. Since he does not have an official House or fortune of any kind, I thought he would jump at the chance. Besides him, we are thinking of approaching a girl by the name of Lauran, a first year.”

“A first year…? Why?”

“We’ve heard rumors that she is not only the most talented magician to have emerged since Freya York but is also capable of teleportation… which is a Seventh-Rank spell…” Elna smiled wryly as if she couldn’t believe it either, “If this is true then she can teleport us back to the empire.”

Adavire blinked.

‘There’s no way someone like that actually exists, right…?’

“In any case, I would love to hear your answer in the next few days. His Majesty wants us to depart within the week.”

“What? But my studies… And Stella…”

She wanted to teach Stella a lot of things before the academy reopens. Hell, Stella could even sleep over at her mansion and they can pull all-nighters to prepare Stella for her fifth-year classes.

“Stella?” Elna tilted her head at the name, “You can bring a friend along if you think you’ll be lonely but I suggest you think it through and speak with that person. Once it’s decided that she’ll join you, bring her to the palace knight quarters where I will be awaiting all of you to give a better explanation. Also, it goes without saying but try to keep what you tell others the bare minimum, okay? I am being honest with you because I know Madam Isolde will do her utmost to prevent this from leaking, which is why she’s here. Only tell your friend that we are going on a mentorship trip. His Majesty said he will handle speaking with the academy and other institutions that volunteers are a part of.”

Elna stood up and pulled out a small pendant that had the Imperial Order’s crest on it.

“Present this to the guards at the palace. If you are not up for the task at hand then please drop this off at any guard tower in the city.” Elna turned towards Isolde and bowed, “Thank you for your time today, Madam Isolde. I am glad Castacia is doing well.”

“Ah, you’re most welcome, Elna. You should come over for dinner in the future. I’m sure Castacia would want you here. The two of you didn’t exactly break up on good terms…”

“I appreciate the offer and will keep it mind. But I’ll give her some more space before pushing to fix things. Well then, I better be off.”

Elna left after bowing again.

“Dear me, it’s been three years since their falling out. When will those two ever make up. Haa…”

Ignoring Isolde, Adavire looked down at the pendant as the same sounds of battle went off inside her head.

Horses neighing.

A soldier’s war cry.

A trumpet.

The clash of blades.

Adavire standing amongst the piling corpses, her golden sword raised that struck fear in the enemies of her nation.

War.

All of those sounds vanished when she opened her eyes.

She noticed Isolde looking at her silently.

“Your habit of letting your mind drift places still hasn’t changed, has it?” she said with a wry smile.

“I’m sorry…”

“No need to apologize, my dear. Erm, regarding what Elna spoke of, I am against you going there but I will not hold you back if you decide to go. Someone who wishes to become a knight one day will go through these kinds of things and more so I’ll stand by your decision if you accept.”

Adavire could understand why Isolde was against it. She had plans for Adavire’s future and had invested in it for five years so having her go to a place where she could be killed at any time was something she could not allow.

Isolde spoke again: “Like Elna said, you don’t need to rush to accept. You have an entire week to make a decision.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m glad you’re standing by me even as I contemplate a decision that won’t be to your liking.”

Isolde chuckled softly, her expression revealing neither approval nor disapproval.

“I had the chefs prepare us lunch so why don’t we continue our conversation in the dining room?” Isolde stood up, “Ah but before that, I need to tell you something.”

“Yes?”

With a somewhat forced smile, Isolde spoke: “Due to some circumstances beyond my control, this House now belongs to the lord of Whitage City, Arnold von Berkley.”

“Eh?”