Camilla Bliss’s mornings start early.
5 a.m.
As soon as she wakes up, she changes into her training uniform and heads to the training grounds.
A kind of ritual to embed the sword into herself from the haze of early morning consciousness.
Fighting off sleep, she swings her sword in whatever form comes to mind, filling in any mental gaps that might let stray thoughts in, even unconsciously.
Once the sun rises, she goes for a light run. Then back to her dorm to change out of her sweat-soaked training gear and shower.
She puts on her uniform, ties her hair back, and applies only the bare minimum. Like a bit of lotion and a few firm slaps to the cheeks to snap herself fully awake.
Breakfast is taken care of at the dorm cafeteria.
A quick meal lasting about 10 minutes, then she heads straight back to the training grounds.
From that point on, she practices techniques and sword forms that might be assessed in that day’s classes, or does full-speed sprints.
She doesn’t hold back even with her fully awakened mana, recording her physical stats for the day, checking how much she’s progressed each week, and determining her growth trajectory.
That is how she maintains her spot as the undisputed number one at Tane Academy.
The public face of Camilla Bliss.
Occasionally, a few people come to ask for help. Camilla always responds just enough to maintain her authority without losing it.
In class, she often plays the role of sparring partner for professors in the Knight Department, consistently earning their praise.
After enduring such high-pressure lessons, she stays behind briefly to study swordsmanship theory.
Then she helps the student council for a while before heading back to the dorm.
But the moment she arrives, she returns to the training grounds again.
By this time, her sparring sessions are mostly with Awen.
After that comes strength training using mana, followed by light cardio to cool down her body.
Back at the dorm, she takes a bath, reads swordsmanship critique journals published by a famous Imperial newspaper, and falls asleep.
This usually happens around midnight or 1 a.m.
And then—
5 a.m. again.
After barely four hours of sleep, she wakes up.
And so, the cycle of Camilla Bliss’s day repeats.
Day after day, without the slightest deviation.
A murderous schedule without even a moment of rest.
She does think it’s hard. But she simply endures it, as if that were only natural…. day after day.
What makes that possible is nothing special.
Guilt and self-loathing.
The desire to be acknowledged, and the desire to run away.
They are feelings she has carried with her for as long as she can remember.
Ever since she was adopted into the illustrious magical family—
The House of Bliss.
***
Camilla kept wiping away her tears, as if flustered by the fact that they wouldn’t stop no matter how many times she brushed them aside.
After a long while, she laughed. A fragile, desolate smile.
“I’m sorry, Adel. I’m sorry I didn’t realize when you came to see me. I’m sorry I didn’t notice when you collapsed… I’m sorry I misunderstood you. Adel….”
Her usual overbearing tone was nowhere to be found. She slowly reached out and stroked the horn growing from my forehead.
“I’m sorry that someone like me, an adopted child, is your sister. If I were really your sister, I would have noticed. I’m sorry I couldn’t.”
I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t even understand what she was talking about.
“I thought that you, the heir of the Bliss family… shouldn’t be seen getting close to someone adopted out of necessity. I thought you shouldn’t call someone like me your sister.”
“Someone like me has no magical aptitude at all. I’m not of the Bliss bloodline… I’m just an adopted child meant for a political marriage.”
“…I didn’t know you were magic disabled, Adel. I only found out recently. I’m really insensitive, aren’t I…?”
Tears spilled once more from her blue eyes. Still, somehow, she kept smiling.
“I’m grateful to uncle and aunt for raising me. It was a little hard when I realized I’d been adopted for the sake of the family, but I was fine. Still… feelings don’t work that way. Things weren’t the same as before.”
“So, Adel. Adel… you were the last family I had left.”
“You wouldn’t have known about things like that.”
“That’s why I tried. I wanted to be a good sister. Even if I didn’t have talent as a mage, if I could at least become a proper knight…”
Camilla lowered her head.
The warmth of her body as her cheek pressed against mine was chillingly cold.
Poison. The Headflower extract she had postponed with her trait was slowly eating away at her.
“…But now, it’s all gone wrong.”
“I wish I’d noticed just a little earlier. If only I’d realized a little sooner how much you were suffering, Adel… just a little…”
“Adel, back then in the infirmary, you called me ‘big sister’ without a second thought. Do you know how happy that made me?”
“…And do you know how sad I was when you went back to calling me Camilla?”
“…Even saying things like this is too late now. None of it will reach you anymore, will it?”
Her whisper.
“…It was hard, wasn’t it? Adel. My little brother.”
She takes up her sword.
“I’ll die with you. So don’t worry anymore…”
The sword slides in behind my back. She intends to kill herself by running it through both of us.
“……”
I can’t let that happen.
“…Thorn Hail. Object Manipulation.”
I summoned magical thorns and shaped them into a syringe. What I injected into it was an antidote I’d brought along, just in case.
I forcibly pulled her hand out along with the sword lodged in me, then stabbed the syringe into Camilla’s thigh.
“Ugh…?”
Her eyes flew open at the sudden movement.
In one swift motion, I pulled out “Pasa’s Recovery Potion” from inside my coat.
◆ You have consumed the special-grade antidote [Pasa’s Recovery Potion – Unique]!
The world, which had looked nothing but dark, rapidly brightened. Color returned to everything.
Among the signs of demonization, the first thing to change is the eyes, dyed pitch-black.
And when returning to being human, they are also the first to revert.
My eyes were turning back into human ones.
At that sight, Camilla froze and her hand stopped as if she couldn’t believe it. I pulled her into a tight embrace.
The antidote should be working, but her body was still cold.
“I heard your confession. Big sister.”
“…A-Adel? Adel…?”
“I’ll say this now, while I can. Adopted or not, Camilla is my sister. And I’m sorry. I didn’t notice either.”
“…Huh? Ah, uh, ah…?”
Was it disbelief that her brother was returning to her? Or relief that she didn’t have to kill him with her own hands?
Without understanding anything, she began to cry again, endlessly.
The heat of her tears was scorching hot.
***
◆ Status abnormality: [Demonization] has been lifted.
◆ ‘Unlimited Activation Standby’ for 23 spells has been removed.
◆ Durability has permanently decreased!
◆ Warning! Prepare for the aftereffects of the special-grade danger drug [Mirage Oasis]!!
◆ Warning! Prepare for the backlash of the ‘Curse of Blindness’!!
◆ Warning! Prepare for the backlash of the ‘Curse of Restraint’!!
◆ Due to excessive use of mana, temporary ‘Mana Hypersensitivity’ will occur!
◆ The trait [Shape Transformation] has evolved one step further. Additional forms can now be taken.
◆ Available transformation form: Rage Demon
The gym.
Camilla had fallen asleep just like that.
The toxicity of both the Headflower extract and demon’s blood was no joke.
The detoxification process was underway, but she would likely need several days of rest to fully recover.
My severed arm was reattached thanks to the timely evolution of my trait.
A clean cut, all thanks to my sister.
No, wait…. Camilla was the one who did the cutting, so maybe not?
“……”
Her words came back to me.
…Telling me not to call her sister, saying the Knight Department wasn’t the right place for me, even the way she kept looking around… all of it…
What a ridiculous situation.
If only she’d been honest from the start.
Thinking that, I looked down at her sleeping face and just chuckled.
Then again, I wasn’t honest either. What a completely useless struggle it all was.
Worried she might catch a cold, I simply held her close.
I knew I couldn’t stay like this forever.
I had to move but the aftereffects wracking my body left me completely paralyzed.
That’s when I heard someone’s footsteps.
Peach-colored hair came into view.
“……”
“………”
The figure that suddenly appeared crouched down and silently observed me.
“…Were you planning to kill me?”
“…No?”
“You thought about it.”
“Um… maybe? But how could I! You’re my precious meal mate!”
“…I see.”
“I was a little sad you haven’t been coming by lately, you know! I really put effort into it! The cooking!”
“Oh. Homemade lunch?”
“No? I worked really hard just to carry it over!”
“…Right.”
Sally, who had appeared, was grinning brightly.
I hesitated for a moment, then let out a sigh.
Sally White. A member of the organization White Vessel, which stands in direct opposition to demon worshippers.
They weren’t bad people by any means, but they were notorious for showing no mercy to demon worshippers, so I couldn’t help feeling a little intimidated.
That must’ve been why they kept an eye on me. It was also why I started avoiding meals with her.
“When did you find out?”
“Just now.”
“Ooh! Impressive!”
“Well, you’re the perfect human now. No trace of demon seed left. I’ve no idea how you did it, though!”
“Then I won’t be dying by your hand, I guess.”
“Unless you steal my side dishes….then I might kill you.”
“That’s unfortunate. Anyway, help me move Camilla.”
Sally glanced between Camilla and me, then shrugged her shoulders.
“You two look nice like that. You’ve grown, too.”
“Maybe it’s a side effect of demonization…”
Now that I thought about it, I had gotten taller.
At least now, if I went back to the third-year Knight Department, I wouldn’t get my head patted like a kid.
Despite her words, Sally hoisted Camilla onto her back.
If it was her, she’d take Camilla safely back to the dorm.
“Do I have to keep eating with you?”
“From now on, I’ll be eating with my sister.”
“Ah! So unfair~.”
Watching her disappearing back as she said that, I finally managed to get up.
My body feels like hell.
But emotionally, I felt like I was flying.
Riding that feeling, I somehow forced myself to stand.
‘Camilla and I are both alive, and it’s over. Which means something else probably isn’t over yet.
There’s still something I have to finish.
***
A little earlier, at the moment when Adel and Camilla met again—
“This is a repeated alert!! Mana Inversion Barrier has been activated!! All professors of the Magic Department, fall back!! All third-year Knight Department students!! Stand by!!”
Knight Department, Main Building.
The situation was quickly escalating.
The cause: a surge of powerful demonic energy erupting from deep within the building.
It was on a completely different level than the “Blackout Curtain” that had been activated before.
The entire building was now engulfed by this force.
A barrier that disrupted mana waves emitted outside the body.
Even high-ranking mages would lose most of their combat ability within it.
“Professor Grayton! Is it ready yet?!”
“……”
The powerful demonic energy that had suddenly erupted was growing stronger by the minute.
At this rate, the barrier could spread beyond the main building and engulf the entire academy.
They had to quickly identify the cause and put an end to it…
But with the mages who were supposed to provide firepower underperforming, rushing in was too dangerous.
“Have you still not analyzed the barrier?! Head Professor of the Magic Department!!”
“No. It’s finished.”
“Then hurry and tell us how to deal with it!! What kind of demonic power is it?!”
Professor Grayton stared at the veil shrouding the Knight Department’s main building.
“…Damn it.”
“What?! I can’t hear you over the rain! Stop mumbling and speak up!”
“This damn bastard!!! It’s the Rage Demon!!!”
“…Wh-What did you say?”
“You don’t know?! One of the ancient demons. That very power considered a harbinger of horrifying massacres! Also known as the Demon of Madness!”
The professor from the Knight Department, who had been pressing him, fell silent.
Even he who had spent his entire life with the sword had heard of that name: the Demon of Madness.
“Wh-Why is that in Tane…?!”
“Who knows. But demons no longer exist in this world. This is likely just the power of a powerful vessel. Someone of my level can still cast magic in there. But this isn’t a light matter. It means Tane has been attacked. And what we’re seeing may not be all there is!”
Tane, the most historically prestigious of the Empire’s three great academies.
This place was more than just an educational institution. It held a far deeper significance.
So this incident at the Knight Department’s main building… to exaggerate only slightly, was akin to an attack on the Empire’s future.
“Damn demon-worshipping bastards… even in the capital, they’re pulling this shit!”
“…Is there any solution?! What if we just charge in and push through…!”
“There will be student casualties. Especially with the Demon of Madness involved, charging in recklessly could leave them brain-dead. And that’s not all. Once the demonic power accumulates past a certain point and explodes…”
“Then what are we supposed to do!!”
Professor Grayton clenched his jaw.
Countless ideas flashed through his mind, weighed and dismissed one after another.
And at last, the conclusion he reached was this:
“…─Magic Department. All professors.”
If it hadn’t been Tane, where only the most distinguished professors gathered, this wouldn’t even be considered an option.
Vmmmmm─…
Soon, each individual’s mana wave began to resonate, merging into a massive current.
Having woven all those waves into one, Professor Grayton broke into a cold sweat as he made his declaration.
“Ten minutes. I’ll have it done within that time.”
But that promise was never fulfilled.
“Professor Grayton!”
Even after ten minutes had passed….and twenty in fact, there was still no sign of the barrier being lifted.
Then thirty minutes.
By that point, the barrier had begun expanding far too much.
“Damn it!! All Knight Department students, draw your swords!! We’re going in to destroy the core of the barrier! Enter in pairs! Follow standard knight corps support protocols!”
As the sound of swords being drawn filled the rain-drenched air—
Someone appeared, limping, slowly approaching through the downpour.
“Who goes there?!”
The sudden, unfamiliar presence put the entire Knight Department on alert.
But what emerged was a student in the uniform of the Magic Department.
A male student, his face clearly showing exhaustion he could no longer hide.
One of the third-years called out his name.
“Adel!! That’s Adel Bliss from the Magic Department! He’s not an enemy!”
And because that voice came from none other than Aaron Damir, the Knight Department lowered their guard.
Dragging his leg behind him, Adel slowly made his way to the edge of the barrier.
“You there! Are you a student from the Magic Department? It’s dangerous! You should return to the dorms—!”
That strange air about him delayed their attempts to stop him.
Adel slowly raised his arm.
“…Adel? Wait! We’re still analyzing the barrier structure! If you interfere now, everything we’ve done so far could go to waste—!!”
Despite the protests coming from both the Magic and Knight Departments, Adel paid them no mind.
Without hesitation, he placed his hand into the barrier, and in a voice sharp and clear, he muttered:
“I’ll be taking over command.”
Crackle—!!!
◆ [Total Magical Structure Analysis] activated.
Wuuuuuunnnng—!
Before Professor Grayton could say anything, the massive current was forcibly drawn into Adel.
Crackle…
◆ Analysis complete.
◆ Extra-dimensional Barrier – [Edge of Madness]
The same wave that had made even the head professor break into a cold sweat was now being controlled, almost as if alive, by the hands of a mere student.
“Wh-What?!”
“What in the world…?!”
“I will now deactivate the barrier.”
“…What? That’s impossible…!”
“It may get a little loud.”
A calm warning. And in the next instant—
Crack—!
Whoooooooosh—!!!
A grand explosion. The barrier shattered in the most dramatic way possible.
It took only ten seconds.
An astonishing event—
A barrier destroyed into countless pieces in just that brief amount of time.
“The core of the barrier is in the center of the third-floor hallway.”
And with those final words, Adel collapsed without even glancing back.
“……”
“……”
“……”
The so-called “magic-disabled” theory genius—
This was the moment Adel Bliss broke free of that stigma and revealed his true worth.
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