While the day had just begun, Umpeare was already sweating bullets in the cold weather inviting winter. He still held tightly onto Reina, who seemed disinterested in everything.

His mind was already in full panic mode. Had he failed his first mission as a resurrected hero? It was such a simple task as well, navigating to the academy, but Kaizer’s disappearance had put a wrench into the whole ordeal.

Luckily for the two of them, Solas noticed the two while on patrol with Kallen.

“You two, who are you and what is your business here?” asked the imposing hero

“W-well, uhh, I…”

Umpeare was unable to form any words as he believed he was being detained for being too suspicious. Perhaps they thought that he was a crossdresser who forcefully dragged a girl around.

“...I’m the anti-demon lords, Reina”

The hero was surprised to learn that Reina could speak but was thankful that she would clear up the confusion somehow.

“The anti-demon lord? What was that again…?”

“Don’t you remember when Blodelshein explained it to us? She’s the demon lord we converted” interjected Kallen

“Ah! Yes, that anti-demon lord. And who are you, miss?”

“I-I’m a hero too. My name is Umpeare” said Umpeare, realizing that these two were probably heroes as well

“Ah yes, the hero rescued from Faust. I see that you have a high Karma score as well. I’m Solas, the 8th hero. Nice to meet you”

“N-nice to meet you as well”

“I guess we’re introducing ourselves now. I’m Kallen, the 13th hero”

“S-same to you…”

“Anyways, it looks to me that you guys might be lost. Heading somewhere?” asked Kallen

“Yes, I was following Kaizer to the academy, but I lost her track…”

“I see. In that case, let me walk you guys to the academy”

“Thank you, you’re a lifesaver…!”

“Solas, I’m going to be helping these guys out for a bit”

“Hmph, make sure you finish that efficiently and continue patrolling right afterward!”

“Yes, yes, I got it”

Kallen and Solas temporarily bid farewell, and the 13th hero leads the way to the Royal Gladiatorial Academy.

“...I used to go this academy after the resurrection, though I became busy with patrolling”

“P-patrolling? Is it dangerous here in Cadra?”

“Well, I suppose we don’t do much during patrols. For me, it’s more about meeting the people of Avangarden, and learning from Solas”

“...W-what kind of things?”

“About her views of justice, karma and the Goddess. As well as her philosophy of strength and morals. I believe that she is a great hero, and I became a sort of disciple I guess. However, I am mostly drawn by the fact that she’s an archangel. There’s something about angels that I knew but then forgot about. Perhaps the demon lord took the memory from me or perhaps the resurrection was incomplete, but I’m trying to remember what I knew once in the past about angels”

“I see…”

“Maybe I’ll return to the academy someday and live the school life with you guys. I do like the peace of the classroom, but for now, I must seek the truth”

“That’s cool…”

“Anyways, it seems that we have arrived already,” announced Kallen “I hope to see you two around, hero and anti-demon lord”

“S-see you later!”

As Kallen quickly returned to find Solas to resume patrolling, Umpeare saw that Kaizer was waiting for them at the academy gates.

“You guys are so slow! I’ve been waiting here for ages!”

“You left too soon, Kaizer…”

“Come on, we’re about to be late!”

“Wait! Reina and I have to go to the main office first!”

“Whatever! Find your way then!”

Kaizer stormed off to her class, leaving the two to once again wander around the campus. Umpeare felt a small nudge on his skirt, Reina showing him that she found a map. The hero was afraid to tell her that he was terrible with maps, but thankfully, Reina knew how to read them and silently calculated the path while the hero followed.

…

Kaizer was waiting around in the class before the bell announcing the start of the day rang. While the others chattered and laughed, Kaizer’s surroundings were empty as if there was a forcefield repelling the other students. In reality, the distance was due to her classmates’ fear of Kaizer’s temper, believing her to be a delinquent.

The hero told herself that it didn’t matter. She didn’t need the acknowledgement of these weaklings. Kaizer only needed the acknowledgement of the heroes, mostly from Reginn and Blodelshein. However, even in those aspects, she couldn’t help but feel a distance between her and the other heroes. Reginn did not even bother to greet her when he returned yesterday and she didn’t see Blodelshein either. The complexity of human relationships frustrated her. Kaizer believed that perhaps she was far too weak to be on the radars of the heroes, which is why Reginn’s treatment of the weakest hero she’s ever seen, Umpeare, annoyed her so much.

The school bell soon rang and Eidgaon began his lesson.

“Now class, today is a… special day to say the least. We have three new students joining the class today”

Murmurs broke out like wildfire, which Eidgaon quickly extinguished.

“Now now, let’s all calm down. I also think it’s strange concentrating so many new students into a single class, but who knows, maybe our school counsellor’s been mind-controlled or something. Anyways, let’s give a warm welcome to you classmates” said the professor while inviting the three into the classroom

“Now, could you guys kindly introduce yourselves?”

“...I-I guess I’ll go first. My name is Umpeare, nice to meet you…”

“Hm… I feel like we’re too nervous here having met so many new people. How about a bit of an icebreaker? How about… naming your favourite movie?”

“M-movie?”

“Well, I suppose you could name anything if you can’t think of a movie”

“M-my favorite thing… F-friends? Or something like that…”

Umpeare was dying inside due to being the focus of an entire class, especially due to his infantile answer to the professor’s question. However, the class already loved Umpeare, and his answer was endearing, to say the least.

“Well, I suppose my favourite thing is also comradery! Great answer, Umpeare. Now, you can find your seat… right in front of the red-haired girl over there”

The hero nervously sat down in front of Kaizer. He could feel her vision boring a hole through her head, causing him to freeze up.

“Now, could you introduce yourself?” asked Eidgaon

“My name is Reina. Nice to meet you,” said Reina in a monotone voice

“Nice to meet you as well, Reina. Now, what’s your favorite movie, or thing?”

“Mh favourite thing? Hm… I suppose that would be my dad and my dragon”

“Y-you have a dragon?!”

“Yes, her name is Crimson”

Chatter began rousing in the class once again. Another strange girl had been added to the class.

“Woah, impressive. I’m not even sure if that’s legal, but whatever… You can find your seat… behind the red-haired girl - wow, that’s a lot of new neighbours, Kaizer!”

Reina sat behind Kaizer, who turned around to look at her. The anti-demon lord deflected the hero’s gaze, looking particularly nowhere to avoid eye contact. Kaizer knew that she was avoiding her on purpose to make her mad, and it was working.

“Now, last but not least, we have the third new student joining us. However, I need you guys to calm down and not overreact, or you guys all get a hundred push-ups each, got it?”

The class collectively agreed in a mixed tone, some reacting with excitement, some with disinterest. However, all that would change when the third student entered the class, and all eyes were focused on her.

As her golden hair glided through the air, her bright eyes sparkled with excitement, though her expression did not show it.

“My name is Liliya, it is my pleasure to make acquaintance”

“W-wait, the PRINCESS Liliya?” asked one of the students

“Yes, that is correct”

Eidgaon instantly sensed a roaring outbreak of conversations, so he resorted to suppression even before it began.

“Now now, you guys better shut up or hundred push-ups like I said. I am VERY good at keeping promises. In this class Liliya will just be another student, so respect her as such” said Eidgaon “So Liliya, what is your favourite thing?”

“...I’d have to say that my favourite thing… is the heroes of Avangarden”

“Well, they are just great. The mythical heroes of the past as well as our living legends. A shame that we don’t get to meet the hero too often though. I guess they have a lot of hero things to do. Anyhow, I suppose you can see where the last seat in the class is”

The only available spot was next to Kaizer. As the hero was sitting next to the window, she was now surrounded by new classmates on all sides.

The class continued as normal, though many students were distracted by the newcomers, especially Umpeare and Liliya. Unbeknownst to them, this was to be the seed that grew into massive fan clubs of both, which would result in a deadly war between the two, almost destroying the Royal Gladiatorial Academy. However, that is a story for another time.

The lesson for today was on duos, and how to effectively switch between offensive, defensive and supportive styles and to back up your fellow teammate. It was a careful art of battling as two people instead of one, and the exercise also helped students gain identities on what they excelled at.

For example, Orchestra and Poda-Bruss would be an example of the pinnacle of this style of battle. Poda-Bruss was completely focused on the defense while Orchestra focused on the offense. These simple roles allowed for great amounts of flexibility, such as adding another member who excelled at offence or defence. This just went to show that the duo were the beginning of any great teams.

After arriving at the Colosseum and changing into their armour, the class was told to partner up, and the results were as anyone could expect. Liliya was swarmed with students wanting to partner up with her while Kaizer was left alone. Umpeare was quite popular as well and Reina was treated as just another student, her popularity in balance as her strangeness and novelty cancelled each other out.

The princess had the choice to pick anyone she wanted in the class. Her eyes wandered through the crowd, and she found nothing remarkable until…

“You, where did you get that watch?” asked Liliya after cutting through the crowd

“...I can’t tell you” replied Reina

“Hm…”

Perhaps she was being irrational. The hero she met did tell her that there were only 3 candidates so far, but new candidates were always a possibility. Liliya would have to risk her secret to confirm this, but her guts told her that it was worth it.

“Look, I’m also a hero candidate. I received my watch from a hero, How about you?” whispered Liliya

“Heo candidates? Oh yeah… I suppose I am. Blodelshein gave this watch to me”

Liliya couldn’t help but frown at this revelation. She had just received another rival she had to beat to become the hero.

“Alright, then you shall be my partner for today” announced Liliya to everyone’s surprise

It would be wise to gauge one’s rivals. This would show her what the other hero candidate was like, and show how much she’d have to work.

Meanwhile, Umpeare approached Kaizer after seeing her all alone.

“...Do you want to be partners?”

“Leave me alone, I do not want your pity”

“...Well, you do have the responsibility of helping me around the school right? I can’t find any partners so… could you help me?”

“...Hmph, I suppose I do have to look out for the weaker heroes. Fine, I’ll partner up with you”

“Th-thank you, Kaizer”

“You’re welcome!”

After the pairs were established, two random pairs were assigned to battle each other for the rest of the period. While in real life, you’d at most fight the same opponent a few times, sparring with the same opponents over and over again stimulated the students to analyze carefully. The method helped teach perhaps the most important skill of analyzing the matchup.

As fate willed it, Liliya and Reina were to spar with Umpeare and Kaizer.

“Guys, make sure to not go too hard, this is just a sparring match…” reminded Umpeare while taking a simple spear from the weapons rack

“Sure, sure” replied Kaizer, equipping her greatsword

“Let’s see what you can do, fellow candidate,” said Liliya, readying her zweihander as well as her gloves

“...”

Reina simply ignited her hands in the fire, which impressed Liliya. While it was second nature for Reina as a demon-phoenix hybrid, it seemed like a high-level flame control magic for the human students.

With a blow of the whistle from Eidgaon, the spars began simultaneously.

“W-wait, shouldn’t we strategize first?” asked Umpeare

“In real life, you’ll have to make it up as you go most of the time, think of it as practice!”

And so, Kaizer began the offensive while Reina provided a small buff for her as a support. Liliya and Reina both went on the offensive, neither wanting to support the other.

Kaizer & Umpeare vs. Liliya & Reina

Lilya commenced the first offensive, going directly for the hero’s support. She knew from her studies that one should always attack the weaker supports first, lest they hinder the battle. However, Kaizer was able to intercept such an attack, feeling lighter than ever on her feet.

“Woah, I feel great! Keep doing whatever you’re doing, kid!”

The princess continued her slashes, but Kaizer was superior in the battle of technique and strength, overpowering Liliya slowly.

Suddenly a rushing sphere of flame sped past the princess, directly targeting Kaizer. The hero responded with by causing a gust of wind with the broad side of the greatsword, dispelling the spell.

“Hey! You almost hit me!”

“Well, I didn’t. If you don’t want to get hit, you should just dodge”

“Why you…!”

Liliya baffled her opponents by targeting Reina instead. While the candidate was distracted, Kaizer made the most of the opportunity by attacking the unaware princess and striking her on the back.

“You should never show your back to your opponents! You don’t even know that, your majesty?”

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Kh…!”

“Come on, stop fooling around,” said Reina

“You do something too! Is all you can do shooting fireballs?!”

“I can do other things, but not now”

Reina tugged on her choker, which was still as unbreakable as ever. The choker was useful for blending in with humans and living in society, but it also suppressed her natural strength as well as her special advantages. For now, flame control was her only combat option.

“Gah, forget about it! I’ll carry this match myself!”

Liliya once again tried to attack Umpeare to no avail, Kaizer blocking her path once again. However this time, Reina attacked Umpeare with a fireblast, Kaizer barely managing to block it in time.

“Gah, can’t you be any less useful?!”

“S-sorry, I thought we were going easy…”

“Come on, we’re heroes! Losing here would mean that the Goddess’s reputation would be tainted”

“Maybe you’re right… F-fine, I’ll try a little harder”

Persuaded by Kaizer’s logic, Umpeare cast multiple spells, lighting up the floor with magic circles. The quiet blue glow permeated through the ground and into the destructive hero, who was more fired up than ever.

“Now that’s more like it!”

While Kaizer was in glee, her support reminisced Reginn’s words. He was right, Umpeare had to learn to protect himself or else he could become a burden to the group. The hero pondered what he could do, as Kaizer battled her opponents in a 2 v 1.

The hero was tired of battling the wielder of zweihander and targeted the demon phoenix who had been bothering her for a while. Her ranged attacks were powerful enough to damage Kaizer through her defences, though Kaizer could simply dissolve the fireballs instead.

Reina had known this from the beginning, but this was all a part of her grand plan. She wished to test her current strength against a hero’s as Siege told her that she was going to be battling alongside them in the future.

In her defence, she mistakenly believed that she would battle against a single hero, but with Umpeare’s buffs, it was no different than sparring against two. Reina continued to dodge the attacks at a hair’s width, unable to block due to her lack of weapon. If only she lost her collar, she could use her talons to counter-attack…

On the other side of the battle, Liliya held her constant pressure against Umpeare, not letting him catch a breath. This was a battle of one-sided attrition, the hero defending until Kaizer defeated her opponent and returned, the candidate attempting to prevent that from happening.

Umpeare frantically searched his mind for a new idea, some way to use his powers to his advantage. In the past, no matter how many times he tried, the hero could never use his talent on himself. He wondered why that was the case, surely there was a reason why the talent did not work.

The hero remembered learning about his talents in detail from his friend. He was the royal mage, the greatest in the kingdom. Umpeare was fortunate enough to be joined by such a prestigious member, but even more so to be given personal lessons from him.

One of the lessons he was taught was the difference between talents and magic. While they may sometimes intercept, talents differed greatly from magic to the point where they seemed to be coming from different universes.

Magic, to be put simply, was the manipulation of mana, a unique type of particle with unlimited capacity found in the atmosphere and the soil. All of the universe was filled with mana, though they tended to gravitate to areas occupied by sentient creatures. Of course, there were some exceptions to this such as a magical cave touched by the divine, but most of the time, areas with high populations had higher concentrations of mana.

Which is what led to the discovery of mana manipulation, or magic. Like many other life forms, humans, elves and even some giants evolved to contain mana in their bodies naturally, absorbing small percentages in the atmosphere. With the mana in their body, the user could then wield it with their mind, both consciously and unconsciously. However, it had been theorized that one could manipulate mana outside of their body, though it had never been demonstrated before.

Of course, there were also the magical creatures, beings born of mana. They had much greater control over mana but also relied on it more for their survival. This could be an explanation of why magical creatures attacked settlements tremendously more than in the current times. Back then, mana was just beginning to gather in cities and towns, pulling the magical creatures with them. Nowadays, mana is spread to places outside of cities, whether that be ruins or artificially created mana centers.

Mana was the truth of the world, the force that permeated from outside of this world. It held infinite potential, yet the feeble mind could only harness a small fraction of it. If one could use the entirety of a single mana particle, it could theoretically generate infinite energy.

But if mana was the truth of the world, talents were the truth of the divine. Talents only emerged in sentient creatures after the arrival of divine creatures on Sol-Aegis, many concluding that they are the ones responsible. The fact that most heroes and demon lords tend to have a talent also supported this theory.

However, anyone can receive a talent, whether that be a peasant, magical creature, king, warrior or beggar. It is not part of the gene, but it is mostly driven by the body.

Unlike mana, the possibilities of talents were limited, but much more accessible to the user. They were all a sort of reality-bending ability, rewriting the story to the divine desire. They could be divided into four distinct categories, Physical, Magical, Technical and External.

As the name suggests, Physical modifies the properties of the body. A good example of this would be the talent of Reginn, ⌈ANTIMANA⌋, which allowed him to repel all mana, though there was an otherworldy aspect to his talent as if he was sourcing his power from another world. However, as per definition, his talent was Physical. Physical types were often extremely powerful, bringing many adventurers and warriors into the hall of eternal legends, it was one of the rarer types, with its main advantage being that it was usually a massive boost to the base stat and the fact that it was permanently active.

Magical-type talents on the other hand were a bit more tricky while being the most common. This class of talents granted the user a unique spell that was either unique or an advanced version of a high-class spell.

By the Royal Spells, Skills and Sciences Institute of Avangarden, also known as the R3S, spells were categorized from class A1 to class G9, G9 being the weakest. Only those of the highest echelons of the magical society could even learn about A1 spells, let alone successfully conjure them. Terraforming, Necromancy, Hydromancy, Pyromancy, Resurrection, Time Manipulation, Space Manipulation, Foresight and Space Travel were all part of the A-class spells. However, a special category was developed to include spells granted by talents. The EX class. Sacrosanct’s ⌈Nuclear Starburst⌋ could be ranked at EX. With the ability to disintegrate reality, the only possible counterplay was antimagic, an extremely rare phenomenon. Some didn’t even have any counterplay, such as Satie’s ⌈Wanderer's Arsenal⌋. The only way to beat her spell would be to defeat her in combat.

The mirror opposite of Magical type talents would be the Technical type talents. Instead of granting spells, this class of talent granted skills and abilities that purely used the body and mind. However, this class of talents tended to be weaker than Magical types, though many martial artists and warriors created legends long passed down generations thanks to such talents. The main advantage of a technical type was the fact that there were close to no drawbacks, unlike spells which cost mana. It is possible to imagine this as a more focused version of Physical class talents. While Physical talents changed the body to increase defence and offence, technical talents granted you special abilities such as Kallen’s instant kill talent, ⌈Death’s Door⌋.

Now, last but not least, the royal mage taught Umpeare about External-type talents. This was an additional class that could be added onto the main class as a subcategory, such as Physical-External, but many talents identify solely as External. These were exclusively for heroes and demon lords who were granted the talent by the God or the Goddess. Their talents were theorized to be rooted in subspaces, functions outside of the universe that helped life gain meaning and bring order to the chaos. While the nature of the subspaces was a mystery, the theory had strong support within the R3S. An example of this class would be Kaizer’s Talent, ⌈Dichotomisierung⌋, which was a Technical-External talent, allowing her to split any object perfectly in half. Solas’s talent, ⌈Karmic Retribution⌋ could be classified as Physical-External, as she was stronger against foes with lower karmic scores.

Umpeare began pondering which of these categories his talent fell in… It was most likely a Magical talent as it was a unique spell that used mana. However, his skills directly increased the stats of the allies, which meant that it could be an External talent as well…

From a magecraft point of view, it did not make much sense why he wouldn’t be able to cast the spell on himself. After all, if it was purely magical the enhancement spells would be no different from drugs or supplements. There was a mystery behind his talent, one which he would not solve today.

Thankfully, Kaizer was successful in defeating Reina with relative ease as the hero simply closed the gap on the ranged fighter, defeating her in her weak zone. Her winning strategy was incomplete and even Kaizer could find its flaws. While the candidate continued to resist with heat rivalling the sun, the effort proved futile in a matter of minutes.

Kaizer turned her attention to Liliya, who was still occupied with Umpeare. The hero could see Liliya’s weakness clearly - it was the way she wielded her blade. While she was physically able to lift the blade, when swinging it, it was as if the zweihander was lifting her. The gauntlet only provided strength and no stability.

Even one with low defence stats like Umpeare could simply dodge the attacks instead of challenging it, and then counterattack. The counterattacks themselves were easily taken care of with a block with the gauntlets, but their purpose was not to damage, but to stall. Umpeare could not let the flow of the battle turn against him and kept his opponent on guard.

The hero noticed that Kaizer was rapidly approaching, which made him feel uneasy.

“⌈Flash⌋!”

An explosion of light emitted from his left hand, reaching out toward the princess.

Now both Kaizer and Liliya were temporarily blinded, and Umpeare knew that he had to take action.

But he didn’t have any offensive spell or skill to use, and he did not want to accidentally hurt the princess with his spear either. This was but a sparring session and he did not trust himself to attack with the weapon.

He had to do something to put her on the ground, so he took the first course of action he conjured in his mind.

With a slow runup, Umpeare tackled Liliya, pushing her to the floor. However, the hero fell as well, losing balance from the momentum.

“O-ouch” winced Liliya

The hero dusted himself off before lifting himself off the rough sand. He quickly dusted the dirt away, then offered a helping hand to the candidate.

“A-are you okay?”

Liliya couldn’t believe she lost to such a novice. She could tell Umpeare couldn’t even wield the simplest weapon properly, yet she was outmaneuvered and outwitted. The princess wondered why her opponent wasn’t a candidate, but soon banished the thought. The heroes wouldn’t make a mistake.

This was simply another learning opportunity. Even with superior weapons, bloodline and knowledge, one could still be defeated by underestimating the opponent. She was afraid of hurting her classmate with the zweihander, but this would not happen again.

“...I’m fine” replied Liliya, accepting the hand

After cleaning herself, Eidgaon’s whistle rang throughout the colosseum, signalling the end of the lesson. The students made their way to the locker room. Everyone had an intense spar today and was covered with sand and dust. It’d be wise to wash off before the next class began.

Liliya, Kaizer, Reina and Umpeare stuck together while heading toward the changing rooms. Liliya gained interest in these three, not only was Reina another candidate, but the other two seemed to be special in their ways as well. If she were to be a hero, she would need to know about the other talents in the kingdom.

The students began to split off into two groups by gender when Liliya grabbed Umpeare by the shoulder, stopping him from entering the boys’ locker room.

“Where are you going?”

“Well, I’m a b-”

The hero quickly stopped himself. Right now, he was equipped with Blodelshein’s uniform, meaning that everyone must’ve thought that he was a girl. If it was found out that he was cross-dressing to the first day of school, his life would be over.

“I… S-sorry, I was just a bit absent-minded, I guess” recorrected Umpeare “I-I don’t think I’ll change my clothes”

“Huh? But you have the academy armour right now, you can’t head to class like that”

“I-I’ll just change in the bathroom”

“Come on, don’t be like that!” said Liliya while dragging Umpeare into the girls’ locker room

After entering the locker room, Umpeare made sure to close his eyes shut for the entire duration, barely managing not to trip.

Kaizer couldn’t help but laugh at the situation, though Reina and Liliya could not tell why.

After changing out of their armour, the students entered the showers for a quick wash. The hero made sure to be the last to enter the room.

“...So, where are you guys from?” asked Liliya amidst the mist of the showers

Each section was blockaded by walls on all sides and had lockable doors. It was a large area akin to a bathhouse, much to Umpeare’s surprise.

“My hometown? I’m not sure you’ve heard of it. It’s just a small town in the rural” replied Umpeare through the opaque screen

“Really? How did you get to Cadra?”

“Uh… I suppose I was just… chosen, I guess”

“...I suppose everyone here is. It’s especially difficult to enter the academy after the admission period is over. I’m surprised you don’t even know how to wield a spear”

“Hah, I guess…”

“...How about you candidate?”

“...Are you talking to me?” said Reina

“Sorry, it’s a bit difficult for me to remember names”

“It’s Reina”

“Where are you from, Reina?”

“Where am I from…? I’m not sure…”

“You don’t know where you’re from?”

“Hm. My dad doesn’t like to talk about it”

“Huh… Strange. I also knew another girl like that”

“...Who?”

“I think her name was Attila. Her family was also full of secrets from what I’ve heard. Too bad she’s stopped going to school”

“Where did she go?”

“Who knows, it’s a private matter. I heard her family died in an accident, so I understand a bit. I hope I can see her again”

“Hm… What kind of accident was it?”

“It was a fire, if I remember correctly. Which is strange, since we don’t have those too often in Cadra”

“Weird…”

“How about you, great-sword-girl?”

“Hah? What?”

“Where are you from”

“My home… is Avangarden. That’s all you need to know”

“Hm, I see,” said Liliya “By the way, do you guys want to have lunch with me?”

“Why are you getting so chummy with me even though we just met like three hours ago?!”

“Hm? Aren’t honoured to be a friend of the princess?”

“I don’t care about if you’re a royal! You’re too weak to be my friend!”

“Come on, Kaizer…” said Umpeare, trying to ease the tension

“Do you have some lunch to share?” asked Reina

“Uh… Yes, I do” replied Liliya

“I’ll come then. I forgot my lunch”

“I-I’ll come too” added Umpeare “Kaizer, you should join us”

“And why would I do that?!”

“I mean, it’s better than eating alone…”

“Are you implying that I usually eat alone?!”

“N-no, but… Please Kaizer?”

“...Fine, but just this once”

“Thank you, Kaizer…”

“Alright then, I suppose that’s settled. Meet me at the roof of the main academy building” announced Liliya before leaving the showers first

“I guess I’ll see you guys there”

Reina was the second to leave.

Soon after, the entire bathhouse was empty with only Kaizer and Umpeare remaining.

“...”

“...”

“So Kaizer, could you tell me a bit more about the heroes you met?”

“Huh?”

“I-I mean, you were here a lot earlier than me, so I thought I should ask you”

“Heh, I guess you’re right. I’m a bit of a senior in the heroes’ echelon! So what do you want to know about?”

Kaizer answered various questions about the heroes, sometimes with disdain and sometimes with pride.

“-and of course, the strongest heroes are the earliest heroes; Reginn, Solas and Blodelshein! Kallen is older than Blodelshein, but for some reason, he’s suuuper weak. I mean, I did lose to him once, but that was a slip! I’ve grown a lot since that, and also gained a superior body from Reginn!”

“Reginn gave you your body?!”

“Yeah well, I suppose you don’t know about this. My soul is usually stored in the greatsword I manifest - I can even transform into the greatsword myself!”

“T-transform?!”

“Well, I usually don’t, but mostly because no one is worthy of wielding me!”

“Back to the body… Reginn made your body?”

“Yup. Not sure how he did it. Something about the Goddess”

“I see… So is it like a puppet?”

“Hm. It’s more like a homunculus, a perfect recreation of the body - but better!”

“Hm…”

Perhaps puppetry or even summoning would be a good way to fight by himself. Since he could cast his talent on anything with a soul, a loyal puppet with a soul or even a summoned demon or an angel would be useful to have. Perhaps even Kaizer could hang around with him… However, that would be difficult due to the disdain she usually had for him. However, Kaizer seemed to warm up to Umpeare slowly but surely.

“You talk a lot about Reginn. I met him too and he was nice and all but… he had something off about him. Maybe it was his extreme loyalty to the Goddess or his sadistic nature, but he seemed different from all the other heroes…”

“That’s probably because he’s a World Beast!”

“World Beast?!”

“Yup. That’s why he’s so strong. It’d probably take like twenty demon lords to defeat him, which is why I wonder how he even died…”

“Well you sure do look up to him”

“Heh, I suppose you could say that. I mostly respect him for his strength though. I think he and I are similar, our philosophy and strength…”

“Your strength?”

“Yup, I’m pretty sure that he told me that I could become the strongest hero with some training!”

“Is that so…”

“I guess I also respect Blodelshein… But that’s about it”

“Blodelshein… Why? She seems to be one of the leaders of the group, but her body looks so frail…”

“She’s a lot like me too! She explained that our talents work in similar ways, though I don’t remember much. Huh, I’m like the mix between the strongest heroes, aren’t I?!”

“I-I guess so”

“I also wield a large weapon like Solas, Wow! I guess I am destined for greatness…”

“If you say so…”

The two quickly left the showers and headed to the next class after noticing that they were late. Umpeare still had much to learn about the new world and the new heroes, but he believed that he was working at a great pace.

…

Soon after, it was lunch already to the heroes’ surprise. Kaizer and Umpeare headed toward the rooftop together where Reina and Liliya were waiting for them. Reina was gobbling down the food like a starving dog, much to Liliya’s amusement. Now the four joined together for lunch, with much to talk about.

Umpeare noticed that a strange-looking carriage was atop the roof as well, parked behind the picnic set up by the princess.

“I-Is that a…”

“Hm? Oh yes, my limousine. I suppose it’s not out on the market yet, but Father had it equipped with a levitation engine. I suppose it counts as one of the world’s first levitating cars”

“It’s not magic?”

“If it was magic, it needed to be constantly controlled. Besides, the engine isn’t the same as a simple levitation charm. It can be activated, or deactivated and the output is precisely controlled. Also, it’s probably cheaper than having a dozen levitation charms to lift the car”

“Huh…”

Suddenly, the rooftop door slowly creaked open to reveal a tall man holding up a lunchbox, looking around awkwardly to find his daughter.

“Dad!” shouted Reina

“Sorry for forgetting your lunch Reina, I hope I’m not too late…”

Reina gave him a little hug before taking the lunch off of his hand. She then thought for a bit, then returned the lunch.

“...Nevermind, I’m already full”

“Already full? Don’t tell me…”

“Liliya had tons of food, it’s fine. I mean, it was a suspicious amount of food…”

“Liliya?”

Siege lifted his head to find the princess, who was intrigued by the stranger.

“T-the princess?!”

“Yes, indeed. That’s me”

“I’m sorry if my daughter bothered you…”

“Hey! I didn’t bother anybody!”

“It’s fine, Reina is a pleasure to be around” replied Liliya “But your face seems familiar… Could I ask for your name?”

“I uh… You can call me Joseph”

“Joseph? Who’s that?” asked Reina “Dad’s name isn’t Joseph, it’s Siege!”

The hero was shocked to hear Reina reveal his secret identity. Only a few in the entire kingdom knew of his true face including Gram, Reason and the king, Johaness. Perhaps the princess caught a glimpse of his face during one of his rare meetings with the king, but he never intended to announce his true identity like this.

“Siege? Like the hero, Siege?”

“M-my daughter tends to be extremely imaginative, we sometimes play hero and demon lords so-”

“Huh? But I thought Dad was a hero?”

Siege had no one to blame but himself, he should’ve thought of a new identity to present to Reina. It was just that, the Anti-Demon-Lord project was suddenly pushed onto him and he had no time to prepare. This last month was hectic due to the amount of extra work he had to do.

“Uh…”

Liliya could tell that something strange was going on…

“Reina’s father, are you or are you, not Siege, the 99th hero?” asked Liliya in a commanding tone

“I uh… I-”

Siege knew that it was no use to continue this charade. It was inevitable that Reina would expose his identity to her friends.

With a sigh, the hero finally gave up.

“Yes, I am the 99th hero”

“R-really?!”

“You got me, you got me good”

“T-then do you have your armour?!”

“...I suppose I could show this much to the princess”

Siege took off his ring before expanding it to its original form. The armour shone bright under the midday sun, even more, upgraded after its last battle against a demon lord.

“W-wow, so you are the real deal!!” shouted Liliya in excitement like a fan meeting her idol “Could I get an autograph?!“

“An autograph? I suppose you could…”

Liliya’s butler prepared a pen and paper for the hero to sign. Siege conducted his duty reluctantly before preparing to return home.

“Anyways, could I trust you guys to be quiet about this?”

“Of course!!” replied Liliya

“Yeah yeah,” said Kaizer

“U-uh, I suppose I will”

“See you later, dad!”

Siege put his ring on once more before heading downstairs. He couldn’t be seen flying away from the academy rooftop, but it still disappointed Liliya a bit.

However, her hands were still shaking after meeting her role model. Siege had been her greatest inspiration as the hero of the current era and she often dreamed of wearing the armour herself. She was sad that they couldn’t talk more, but the princess was sure their fates would cross again.

“W-wow, I can’t believe I just met the hero…”

“Hm? Why are you so surprised? I see him every day though?” asked Reina

“I mean, of course, you do… But wait, that means you’re the hero’s daughter right?”

“I guess so?”

“Now I see why you’re a hero candidate… You don’t look that much like the hero though…”

“I don’t look like my dad?”

“I-I suppose that may be an insensitive thing to say. I’m sure you got your looks from your mother”

“My mom? I don’t have one though”

“You never knew her?”

“Nope. Just me, my dad and my pet dragon. And I guess my dad’s friends too. None of them are my mom though”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“What are you sorry for?” asked Reina “Anyways, I’m gonna leave now”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m full so I’ll go do some training. I can’t lose so easily like last time!” said Reina while looking at Kaizer

“Heh, you’re free to try. You’ll never beat me though”

Reina ran off on her own to train. She knew that her strength was an important part of her, otherwise, she wouldn’t have been sent to the academy. After the sparring, she now had a concrete goal: to eliminate her weak zone and beat Kaizer.

“...I suppose I should get going as well. Do you guys have Ein-Chat?”

“Ein-Chat? What is that?” asked Umpeare

“It’s a computer app, you guys do have a computer, right…?”

“...If it’s important we should probably get one…”

“I guess a lot of people don’t have computers. They’re a bit expensive after all”

“Heh, do you think we’re poor or something?” said Kaizer while pulling out the black card given to her by Kaizer

“Wow, a black card. Then you guys should get a computer, they’re super useful!”

“I don’t think you should be flashing that around…”

“Anyhow, when you get a computer, you should add me on Ein-Chat. That way, we’ll keep in touch!”

“We definitely will!” said Umpeare

Lunchtime ended in a blink of an eye, the school bell ringing once again. The group packed their things and headed to their next classes after a short farewell.

Umpeare was sure that everything was going great. He’d make sure to ask the other heroes about the ‘computer’!