༺ Killing Two Birds With One Stone ༻
“…I won’t ask for the reason, so…”
Beatrix sighed, throwing such words into the dimly lit training ground.
“Just stop it already. It’s becoming way too difficult to cover for you now.”
“…”
Then, she looked at her friend of ten years with a worried expression.
Eleanor, her body covered in sweat, sprawled out in the middle of the training ground. This was, obviously, a familiar sight.
Whenever this woman’s mind was filled with something complicated, she always came here to train until she was drenched in sweat.
However…
“…What is the meaning of all this? Adjusting the budget will be a mess after all this…”
Rumors that Lady Tristan had recently rented both the gym and training room to subject herself to an almost abusive training had spread throughout the academy.
Beatrix sighed, looking around at the training ground that seemed like it had been hit by a storm.
Shortly after, Eleanor silently wiped her sweat and tossed aside the magic dumbbell she had been using for strength training.
It was an item with mana stones embedded on both sides, allowing the user to adjust the weight as desired.
When she looked in that direction without much thought, Beatrix read the number 750kg written there before turning her gaze to Eleanor in utter horror.
‘She lifted one of these with each of her arms and exercised with them?!’
“…How many sets did you do with that?”
“Only 300.”
“…”
The rumor was accurate. Way, waaay too accurate.
It was unbelievable that someone even thought about exercising with this thing, but to go this far? That wasn’t even training anymore.
That was just pure self-harm, nothing more, nothing less.
“…Why in the world are you doing this? You’ve been holing up here without meeting anyone! I know you always dedicate yourself to training, but this is the first time you’ve ever gone this far!”
“…”
Eleanor just wiped her sweat without a word.
The expression on her face made Beatrix furrow her brows.
This was an expression often shown by her.
Normally, she hid her inner thoughts obstinately, to the extent that one could see it as petty.
It was possible that she was taught from a young age that showing emotions was a sign of ‘weakness.’
Since that was the case, her behavior was easy to understand.
She had decided to erase such ‘weakness’ to the best she could.
As for why, she explained it with her own words.
“…I realized that my dream is far too big.”
“What?”
“Our household’s cursed bloodline has always brought forth tragedy.”
Eleanor’s gloomy voice spread throughout the dim training grounds.
“…That man has been doing so well until now, and it made me momentarily forget.”
“…What are you even talking about?”
“Next time… If I were to fail to protect him again… If he were to get hurt because of something related to me… And if… By any chance, he—”
‘Were to die…’
Several images flashed through her mind.
On their first meeting, he had turned into a total wreck right in front of her.
Their second meeting, he was practically half-dead because he was solving some problem somewhere.
And recently….
She almost lost him…
Right before her very eyes…
She was too powerless to do anything but stood there in place, watching helplessly.
The pain and helplessness that seemed to tear her soul apart still vividly lingered in her very nerves.
‘…The Prophet.’
Remembering the woman in the mask, Eleanor clenched her fists.
‘No.’
‘I can’t let that woman take him away from me.’
That was why she deemed that this level of training was nothing compared to the consequences that could come later.
She resolved herself to become even stronger, stronger than—
“…I understand how you feel, Eleanor.”
Beatrix barely suppressed another sigh as she looked towards Eleanor.
“But still, we have to deal with the urgent matters first. The Imperial Household has summoned you.”
“…”
Hearing that, Eleanor’s eyes widened as she abruptly stood up.
From the way she acted, it seemed like that was the first good news she had heard in a while.
“…Her Imperial Majesty summoned me?”
“Unfortunately, the Princess— No, she isn’t the Princess anymore now… Unfortunately, Her Imperial Majesty doesn’t seem to be in attendance.”
“…”
Eleanor’s expression crumpled once again.
Seeing this, Beatrix let out a bitter smile before continuing.
“It has been a while since you last saw her, hasn’t it?”
“…Because she has always been busy.”
“Well, she always checks on you regularly. It won’t be her if she doesn’t pay attention to her childhood best friend.”
“I am aware.”
Despite saying that, she seemed a little sulky.
Well, it was understandable.
If one had to name two people in the world she could open up to, other than Beatrix, the other person would be the Princess— No, Her Imperial Majesty the Empress herself.
Nevertheless, since she hadn’t seen her for several years, such a grumpy reaction from her wasn’t anything strange.
Beatrix chuckled before handing her a document.
“However, it seems like she will soon be staying in Elfante. Because of that, both you and Duke Tristan have to report to her.”
Beatrix wasn’t able to keep holding back her sigh as she continued speaking.
That wasn’t an easy topic to bring up, especially considering Eleanor’s attitude these days.
But, the response that she received was quite an unexpected one.
“…Good.”
“What?”
‘Did she really just say that?’
Hearing the question that her friend asked in bewilderment, Eleanor continued in a calm voice.
“There’s something I have to find out from that old man.”
“Something you have to find out? What is it?”
Beatrix asked again, but Eleanor just shut her mouth tightly instead of answering.
Her mind was racing through the words she had heard before.
Devil’s Fragment, Devil’s Vessel; She had heard such words from the Cursed Speech User she confronted before.
And…
-Even then, the Tristan Duchy should be quite the illustrious Vessel Household, so it’s a bit absurd that you can’t resist them at all. Did your mother not teach you how to use it?
At the very least, she had to ask the ‘related party’ about what that man meant.
Eleanor’s red eyes shone brightly in the darkness.
“…You’re thinking so deeply. What is it about?”
After class. When I was sitting on my desk, leaning my chin against my hands, Talion looked at me and asked.
“About the class we just had.”
The Empress’ visit to the Academy was imminent. Since I didn’t want to be put in her bad books, I had to attend classes diligently.
“Ah, come to think of it, you’ve been attending classes diligently lately. Are you studying well?”
Talion spoke, looking down at my book that was filled with notes.
“As expected of you, Senior Brother. You organize all this in such a short time? With this, I’m sure you’re going to get high grades in the written—”
“No, I gave up on my grades already.”
“…”
Talion looked back and forth between me and the notebook with an incredulous look.
“Then what is all this?”
“Notes that the Saintess organized for me.”
“…”
After hearing that I made someone who stood at the very pinnacle of the believers write my notes for me, and my declaration of giving up on my studies all together, Talion fell silent.
“…After going through the trouble of getting such a personage to do that for you? You still decided to give up?”
“There are just some things that can’t be done.”
He looked as if he was about to lose his mind as he wrapped his head in his hands. I was serious though.
To make up for all the credits I had missed so far, I’d have to get the perfect score on the written exam. Look, let’s be real here.
I had never thought of myself as stupid, but the thing was, the amount of studying I had to do thanks to the standards Elfante set for its students was no joke. There was no way I could score a perfect 100, even if I started to work my ass off.
Hell, I even received private tutoring from the Saintess, literally the most knowledgeable person on the continent, but even after that I could only barely keep up with the classes.
So it was already pretty much decided that I wouldn’t be able to meet the ‘qualifications’ to meet the Empress.
‘…The Empress, huh?’
Putting aside her title as the ‘Ruler of the Empire’, she was crucial for unlocking Eleanor’s Exclusive Quest ‘The Madness of the Household’ later on.
No matter how busy I was, I couldn’t afford to take her lightly.
“…Then, how do you plan to handle the Comprehensive Competency Evaluation? There is not much time left.”
“That one’s easy.”
Saying so, I slapped a copy of the document posted on the central bulletin board onto the desk.
Fundamentally, Elfante was an institution for nurturing talents related to combat. Achievements in such an area were rated the most highly.
It was evident in the scoring of this Comprehensive Competency Evaluation.
The highest portion of the scores was not ‘theoretical knowledge’ but ‘combat’, evaluated through Practical Exams.
For second-year students especially, scoring high in this section could significantly boost their overall grades.
I should be able to score at least average in the written exam, thanks to the tutoring from the Saintess. Which meant, if I were to do well here, there was a chance for me to turn the tables.
“I’ll beat the shit out of everyone there.”
“…Senior Brother, are you not technically a Battle Priest in name?”
“…”
“Usually, Battle Priests are students who are devoted to volunteer work or theological studies. So why are you thinking like students from the Knight or Magic Schools…?”
So what?
Beggars can’t be choosers, duh.
Besides, have I been doing things that resembled your typical Battle Priest to solve my problems? No.
“But isn’t the format of the Practical Exam always randomly determined?”
As I asked this to Talion, he stroked his chin and nodded.
“Though that is true, you can still somewhat predict it depending on who the professor in charge is. This time, Sir Conrad, the Dean of the Knight School, is in charge, so a mock siege is the most likely exam format.”
If it was a mock siege, then…
It would be a battle where a few seniors would hinder a large number of underclassmen from entering a specific area.
I’ve gone through the same thing a few times in the game.
“I saw it once during my freshman year. Iliya scored the highest then. If she were here, she would have been helpful.”
“…By the way, what is she doing these days?”
Kasa told me to leave her in her care before leaving, but she had yet to return to Elfante even though more than a few days had passed.
As for Riru, she had some work related to the nation, but it should be the time for her to come back yet, right? So, why wasn’t she here?
“I’m not sure… From what I heard, she applied for an extension of her stay. It seems it will take some time for her to return to Elfante.”
I frowned slightly upon hearing Talion’s words.
It would be nice if she returned soon. I could sort out various things related to the .
Chapter 4, ‘Crimson Night’, revolved around three key characters.
Iliya, the Master of the Holy Sword, Faenol, the Chapter Boss…
And…
“…”
I silently looked at the amulet on my arm.
[What?]
‘Forget it. There’s just something like that.’
I chuckled inwardly at Caliban’s voice and responded.
This person.
The ‘hidden card’ who would play a significant role in this chapter.
Despite him always acting like a slightly older neighbor who constantly teased me, this person was someone who had died by the hand of a Vessel who possessed all of her Fragments.
“…”
Well, anyway.
“A mock siege, huh…?”
Then what I had to do became clear.
I needed to find teammates.
Now that I was a second-year student, there was a high chance I would be assigned on the side of defense.
“The maximum team size is three, right?”
“Yes. I’m afraid I cannot help you this time, though. I’m grouped with my peers and assigned to offense for the siege…”
“Nah, it’s fine. I can’t always rely on you.”
It was still a shame, though. If it was Talion, I would have been able to rely on him to do his job.
Besides, finding teammates was a headache. To think I actually needed to do work in order to find some.
Yuria, due to her nature, was too risky for such a test and Eleanor was likely to violate school regulations if teamed up with me, so I couldn’t go with either of them.
Moreover…
System Log
[ Target ‘Eleanor’ is experiencing extreme powerlessness! ]
“…”
Her condition was not normal.
Unlike Yuria and the Saintess, she seemed to be completely avoiding any contact with me, making it hard for me to reach out to her, and…
It felt like it would take quite some time for her to get back to normal.
‘…And I’m already so busy as it is.’
I had too many things on my plate.
My top priority was Faenol’s request to woo her within a month. Because if I failed that… Let’s say that this was the most dangerous thing of them all.
Of course, considering her nature, just aimlessly throwing myself at her would not work, so I had left her alone for now.
But if I missed even one class, it was over for me. Right now, I had no choice but to focus on that.
On top of that, there was a Grand Assassin continuously stalking me as well.
She didn’t seem to have any intentions to attack me right now, but I still felt her watchful eyes on me.
“…”
Hm.
Hmmmmm.
I closed my eyes and pondered for a moment.
Oh well, it couldn’t be helped.
Since she kept on bothering me, I’d just make a rather radical decision.
I needed to appease Faenol, deal with the assassin on my tail, and perform well on the Practical Exam?
“Talion. I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes? What favor?”
“Go to the clearing in the mountain at the back. There should be a student from the Magic School with red hair. Her name is Faenol.”
I continued to speak as I stood up.
“Can you tell her that I want to see her?”
“Yes, that’s not too difficult but… Where are you going right now?”
“Finding my last teammate.”
I sighed and continued.
“You see, I know someone whose skills are unquestionably exceptional.”
So exceptional, in fact, that she was one of two kinds in the whole continent.
Since I had ‘prepped’ her enough that she was not planning to kill me right away, what I was about to do should somewhat work.
‘…I have to cuff both of them at the same time.’
This was what a real man should do.
Deal with everything all at once when something annoying comes up.
[…Bastard, have you turned into an actual lunatic now?]
“…”
[You’re too lazy to two-time, so you decided to just deal with them both at the same time?]
Fuck you I never said that.
Stop making shit up.
༺ Killing Two Birds With One Stone ༻
“…I won’t ask for the reason, so…”
Beatrix sighed, throwing such words into the dimly lit training ground.
“Just stop it already. It’s becoming way too difficult to cover for you now.”
“…”
Then, she looked at her friend of ten years with a worried expression.
Eleanor, her body covered in sweat, sprawled out in the middle of the training ground. This was, obviously, a familiar sight.
Whenever this woman’s mind was filled with something complicated, she always came here to train until she was drenched in sweat.
However…
“…What is the meaning of all this? Adjusting the budget will be a mess after all this…”
Rumors that Lady Tristan had recently rented both the gym and training room to subject herself to an almost abusive training had spread throughout the academy.
Beatrix sighed, looking around at the training ground that seemed like it had been hit by a storm.
Shortly after, Eleanor silently wiped her sweat and tossed aside the magic dumbbell she had been using for strength training.
It was an item with mana stones embedded on both sides, allowing the user to adjust the weight as desired.
When she looked in that direction without much thought, Beatrix read the number 750kg written there before turning her gaze to Eleanor in utter horror.
‘She lifted one of these with each of her arms and exercised with them?!’
“…How many sets did you do with that?”
“Only 300.”
“…”
The rumor was accurate. Way, waaay too accurate.
It was unbelievable that someone even thought about exercising with this thing, but to go this far? That wasn’t even training anymore.
That was just pure self-harm, nothing more, nothing less.
“…Why in the world are you doing this? You’ve been holing up here without meeting anyone! I know you always dedicate yourself to training, but this is the first time you’ve ever gone this far!”
“…”
Eleanor just wiped her sweat without a word.
The expression on her face made Beatrix furrow her brows.
This was an expression often shown by her.
Normally, she hid her inner thoughts obstinately, to the extent that one could see it as petty.
It was possible that she was taught from a young age that showing emotions was a sign of ‘weakness.’
Since that was the case, her behavior was easy to understand.
She had decided to erase such ‘weakness’ to the best she could.
As for why, she explained it with her own words.
“…I realized that my dream is far too big.”
“What?”
“Our household’s cursed bloodline has always brought forth tragedy.”
Eleanor’s gloomy voice spread throughout the dim training grounds.
“…That man has been doing so well until now, and it made me momentarily forget.”
“…What are you even talking about?”
“Next time… If I were to fail to protect him again… If he were to get hurt because of something related to me… And if… By any chance, he—”
‘Were to die…’
Several images flashed through her mind.
On their first meeting, he had turned into a total wreck right in front of her.
Their second meeting, he was practically half-dead because he was solving some problem somewhere.
And recently….
She almost lost him…
Right before her very eyes…
She was too powerless to do anything but stood there in place, watching helplessly.
The pain and helplessness that seemed to tear her soul apart still vividly lingered in her very nerves.
‘…The Prophet.’
Remembering the woman in the mask, Eleanor clenched her fists.
‘No.’
‘I can’t let that woman take him away from me.’
That was why she deemed that this level of training was nothing compared to the consequences that could come later.
She resolved herself to become even stronger, stronger than—
“…I understand how you feel, Eleanor.”
Beatrix barely suppressed another sigh as she looked towards Eleanor.
“But still, we have to deal with the urgent matters first. The Imperial Household has summoned you.”
“…”
Hearing that, Eleanor’s eyes widened as she abruptly stood up.
From the way she acted, it seemed like that was the first good news she had heard in a while.
“…Her Imperial Majesty summoned me?”
“Unfortunately, the Princess— No, she isn’t the Princess anymore now… Unfortunately, Her Imperial Majesty doesn’t seem to be in attendance.”
“…”
Eleanor’s expression crumpled once again.
Seeing this, Beatrix let out a bitter smile before continuing.
“It has been a while since you last saw her, hasn’t it?”
“…Because she has always been busy.”
“Well, she always checks on you regularly. It won’t be her if she doesn’t pay attention to her childhood best friend.”
“I am aware.”
Despite saying that, she seemed a little sulky.
Well, it was understandable.
If one had to name two people in the world she could open up to, other than Beatrix, the other person would be the Princess— No, Her Imperial Majesty the Empress herself.
Nevertheless, since she hadn’t seen her for several years, such a grumpy reaction from her wasn’t anything strange.
Beatrix chuckled before handing her a document.
“However, it seems like she will soon be staying in Elfante. Because of that, both you and Duke Tristan have to report to her.”
Beatrix wasn’t able to keep holding back her sigh as she continued speaking.
That wasn’t an easy topic to bring up, especially considering Eleanor’s attitude these days.
But, the response that she received was quite an unexpected one.
“…Good.”
“What?”
‘Did she really just say that?’
Hearing the question that her friend asked in bewilderment, Eleanor continued in a calm voice.
“There’s something I have to find out from that old man.”
“Something you have to find out? What is it?”
Beatrix asked again, but Eleanor just shut her mouth tightly instead of answering.
Her mind was racing through the words she had heard before.
Devil’s Fragment, Devil’s Vessel; She had heard such words from the Cursed Speech User she confronted before.
And…
-Even then, the Tristan Duchy should be quite the illustrious Vessel Household, so it’s a bit absurd that you can’t resist them at all. Did your mother not teach you how to use it?
At the very least, she had to ask the ‘related party’ about what that man meant.
Eleanor’s red eyes shone brightly in the darkness.
“…You’re thinking so deeply. What is it about?”
After class. When I was sitting on my desk, leaning my chin against my hands, Talion looked at me and asked.
“About the class we just had.”
The Empress’ visit to the Academy was imminent. Since I didn’t want to be put in her bad books, I had to attend classes diligently.
“Ah, come to think of it, you’ve been attending classes diligently lately. Are you studying well?”
Talion spoke, looking down at my book that was filled with notes.
“As expected of you, Senior Brother. You organize all this in such a short time? With this, I’m sure you’re going to get high grades in the written—”
“No, I gave up on my grades already.”
“…”
Talion looked back and forth between me and the notebook with an incredulous look.
“Then what is all this?”
“Notes that the Saintess organized for me.”
“…”
After hearing that I made someone who stood at the very pinnacle of the believers write my notes for me, and my declaration of giving up on my studies all together, Talion fell silent.
“…After going through the trouble of getting such a personage to do that for you? You still decided to give up?”
“There are just some things that can’t be done.”
He looked as if he was about to lose his mind as he wrapped his head in his hands. I was serious though.
To make up for all the credits I had missed so far, I’d have to get the perfect score on the written exam. Look, let’s be real here.
I had never thought of myself as stupid, but the thing was, the amount of studying I had to do thanks to the standards Elfante set for its students was no joke. There was no way I could score a perfect 100, even if I started to work my ass off.
Hell, I even received private tutoring from the Saintess, literally the most knowledgeable person on the continent, but even after that I could only barely keep up with the classes.
So it was already pretty much decided that I wouldn’t be able to meet the ‘qualifications’ to meet the Empress.
‘…The Empress, huh?’
Putting aside her title as the ‘Ruler of the Empire’, she was crucial for unlocking Eleanor’s Exclusive Quest ‘The Madness of the Household’ later on.
No matter how busy I was, I couldn’t afford to take her lightly.
“…Then, how do you plan to handle the Comprehensive Competency Evaluation? There is not much time left.”
“That one’s easy.”
Saying so, I slapped a copy of the document posted on the central bulletin board onto the desk.
Fundamentally, Elfante was an institution for nurturing talents related to combat. Achievements in such an area were rated the most highly.
It was evident in the scoring of this Comprehensive Competency Evaluation.
The highest portion of the scores was not ‘theoretical knowledge’ but ‘combat’, evaluated through Practical Exams.
For second-year students especially, scoring high in this section could significantly boost their overall grades.
I should be able to score at least average in the written exam, thanks to the tutoring from the Saintess. Which meant, if I were to do well here, there was a chance for me to turn the tables.
“I’ll beat the shit out of everyone there.”
“…Senior Brother, are you not technically a Battle Priest in name?”
“…”
“Usually, Battle Priests are students who are devoted to volunteer work or theological studies. So why are you thinking like students from the Knight or Magic Schools…?”
So what?
Beggars can’t be choosers, duh.
Besides, have I been doing things that resembled your typical Battle Priest to solve my problems? No.
“But isn’t the format of the Practical Exam always randomly determined?”
As I asked this to Talion, he stroked his chin and nodded.
“Though that is true, you can still somewhat predict it depending on who the professor in charge is. This time, Sir Conrad, the Dean of the Knight School, is in charge, so a mock siege is the most likely exam format.”
If it was a mock siege, then…
It would be a battle where a few seniors would hinder a large number of underclassmen from entering a specific area.
I’ve gone through the same thing a few times in the game.
“I saw it once during my freshman year. Iliya scored the highest then. If she were here, she would have been helpful.”
“…By the way, what is she doing these days?”
Kasa told me to leave her in her care before leaving, but she had yet to return to Elfante even though more than a few days had passed.
As for Riru, she had some work related to the nation, but it should be the time for her to come back yet, right? So, why wasn’t she here?
“I’m not sure… From what I heard, she applied for an extension of her stay. It seems it will take some time for her to return to Elfante.”
I frowned slightly upon hearing Talion’s words.
It would be nice if she returned soon. I could sort out various things related to the .
Chapter 4, ‘Crimson Night’, revolved around three key characters.
Iliya, the Master of the Holy Sword, Faenol, the Chapter Boss…
And…
“…”
I silently looked at the amulet on my arm.
[What?]
‘Forget it. There’s just something like that.’
I chuckled inwardly at Caliban’s voice and responded.
This person.
The ‘hidden card’ who would play a significant role in this chapter.
Despite him always acting like a slightly older neighbor who constantly teased me, this person was someone who had died by the hand of a Vessel who possessed all of her Fragments.
“…”
Well, anyway.
“A mock siege, huh…?”
Then what I had to do became clear.
I needed to find teammates.
Now that I was a second-year student, there was a high chance I would be assigned on the side of defense.
“The maximum team size is three, right?”
“Yes. I’m afraid I cannot help you this time, though. I’m grouped with my peers and assigned to offense for the siege…”
“Nah, it’s fine. I can’t always rely on you.”
It was still a shame, though. If it was Talion, I would have been able to rely on him to do his job.
Besides, finding teammates was a headache. To think I actually needed to do work in order to find some.
Yuria, due to her nature, was too risky for such a test and Eleanor was likely to violate school regulations if teamed up with me, so I couldn’t go with either of them.
Moreover…
System Log
[ Target ‘Eleanor’ is experiencing extreme powerlessness! ]
“…”
Her condition was not normal.
Unlike Yuria and the Saintess, she seemed to be completely avoiding any contact with me, making it hard for me to reach out to her, and…
It felt like it would take quite some time for her to get back to normal.
‘…And I’m already so busy as it is.’
I had too many things on my plate.
My top priority was Faenol’s request to woo her within a month. Because if I failed that… Let’s say that this was the most dangerous thing of them all.
Of course, considering her nature, just aimlessly throwing myself at her would not work, so I had left her alone for now.
But if I missed even one class, it was over for me. Right now, I had no choice but to focus on that.
On top of that, there was a Grand Assassin continuously stalking me as well.
She didn’t seem to have any intentions to attack me right now, but I still felt her watchful eyes on me.
“…”
Hm.
Hmmmmm.
I closed my eyes and pondered for a moment.
Oh well, it couldn’t be helped.
Since she kept on bothering me, I’d just make a rather radical decision.
I needed to appease Faenol, deal with the assassin on my tail, and perform well on the Practical Exam?
“Talion. I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes? What favor?”
“Go to the clearing in the mountain at the back. There should be a student from the Magic School with red hair. Her name is Faenol.”
I continued to speak as I stood up.
“Can you tell her that I want to see her?”
“Yes, that’s not too difficult but… Where are you going right now?”
“Finding my last teammate.”
I sighed and continued.
“You see, I know someone whose skills are unquestionably exceptional.”
So exceptional, in fact, that she was one of two kinds in the whole continent.
Since I had ‘prepped’ her enough that she was not planning to kill me right away, what I was about to do should somewhat work.
‘…I have to cuff both of them at the same time.’
This was what a real man should do.
Deal with everything all at once when something annoying comes up.
[…Bastard, have you turned into an actual lunatic now?]
“…”
[You’re too lazy to two-time, so you decided to just deal with them both at the same time?]
Fuck you I never said that.
Stop making shit up.
