“Did it have to be me? You could’ve confided directly in the Emperor or reached out to other strong individuals you’re acquainted with. Even without someone like me… it still would have been possible.”
Of course, there’s no one quite like this man; he was practically a monster, but there were still plenty of others who could take my place.
Even if he had just reached out to other powerful figures he knows on different continents, I feel like the problem could’ve been resolved quickly.
“The situation wasn’t ideal. At the time, the Emperor was mentally exhausted after losing the Empress, and the others… they like to wander around so much that I couldn’t get in touch with any of them. And contacting strong individuals from other nations could have easily escalated into an international dispute. On top of that, due to certain constraints, I couldn’t take direct action that might influence their will.”
“I see…”
“And that’s when you appeared.”
A boy around his son’s age, who showed up alongside a longtime friend.
At first, he hadn’t paid me much attention.
But by chance, he witnessed the incredible talent hidden within my sword and the equally dark inner demon I carried.
My master once told me that, upon first seeing me, what he felt wasn’t joy or awe…but fear.
Still, thinking I might one day become his equal, he decided to take me in as his direct disciple.
I was just a child back then, but if I could overcome that dazzling talent and the inner demon that came with it, I’d be more than capable of wiping out the Heavenly God Church.
He said that when I appeared, a seed who could achieve the goal he himself could not, he had been truly overjoyed.
“Yes, that’s what I thought at the time… but now, I’m not so sure.”
“Huh?”
When I asked with confusion, Master looked at me with distant eyes and gave a bitter smile as he spoke.
“I am a hopeless man. I nearly used my own son as a sacrifice, having fallen into the devil’s temptation… and now, I’m doing the same thing by pushing someone else’s child toward certain death just because of their talent.”
“That’s—”
“I don’t regret teaching you. But… it pains me that you all have to bear the full weight of my failures and shortcomings.”
With those words, he looked around.
His awkwardly turning gaze stumbled and stopped in front of Pollo.
There had always been some distance between father and son, but now… it felt like that gap had grown even wider.
“I never imagined you’d be the one to get involved with the Heavenly God Church first. If this is fate, then so be it… but you don’t have to become the hero who stands against them.”
“He was already someone on par with me in strength several years ago. Who knows how much more powerful he’s become since then… And what kind of monsters serve under someone like that….it’s hard to even imagine.”
“You’ve already gotten deeply entangled with them, so you’ll meet them again someday… But you’ve done well so far. There’s no one who could blame you.”
“Because of my own mistakes, I carry the sin of turning a blind eye. But you don’t need to atone for that on my behalf. I know you’re a kind soul, even if you don’t show it outwardly, so I’m sure you won’t just stand by when it comes to them.”
“But no matter what anyone says, you’re still young and not yet strong enough. I just hope you don’t crumble under the weight of others’ expectations and pressure.”
***
A few days passed after the festival ended.
A lot happened during those few days, but the once-crowded academy was quickly returning to its usual orderly state.
Even the days filled with the bustle and scent of people all day long weren’t so bad, but this quieter academy felt the most like what the academy should be.
“Huh? Mars, there you are.”
“You came?”
I greeted Pollo with a smile as he visited me in the training room.
One thing had changed. I was once again immersed in training.
Maybe it was because of what Master told me the other day, but the idle laziness I used to love somehow felt uncomfortable now.
– The ultimate goal of the Heavenly God Church is likely… the resurrection of the Demon King.
– The Demon King? Isn’t that just some mythological figure?
– No. He really existed. There’s no physical proof of him, but many ancient texts offer evidence of his existence.
The king of the demons. The Demon King.
A mythical being said to have once defied the gods and was wiped out along with his race.
Though whispered about since ancient times, he’s now just seen as a boogeyman used to scare kids into behaving.
– After he approached me, I gathered my personal forces to investigate them after the incident. They’re so mysterious and skilled at hiding that I couldn’t uncover much.
– But didn’t your constraints prevent you from interfering with them?
– I only investigated them. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there? I was told not to interfere with their plans, not that I couldn’t investigate them.
– …Right.
Anyway, they serve a mythical being like the Demon King as if he were a religious figure of the highest authority, like the head of a cult.
And the one who supports that Demon King, effectively overseeing the organization’s operations, was known as the “Vice Leader”.
He was the same man who made that suspicious offer to Master.
– I don’t really know what their ultimate goal is in bringing the Demon King into the world. The most obvious guess would be something like world domination?
– That’s already plenty threatening.
– In any case, that’s the kind of man he is. Someone bold or mad enough to try recruiting an Aura Lord. Who knows what other twisted things he might try?
After warning me of the man’s danger, Master returned to the count’s mansion.
Looking back, my involvement with the Heavenly God Church really was a series of coincidences.
It started when I tried to help Pollo’s potential love interests, only to get caught up in one of the cult’s rituals. Then new connections formed, and I couldn’t just abandon them, so I stuck around out of a sense of duty.
Without realizing it, I had come to believe that I had to be the one to defeat them. But Master’s words made me stop and reflect again.
What if this talent of mine wasn’t just a bonus granted through transmigration, but something given for the purpose of destroying the Heavenly God Church…?
In that case… can I really allow myself to just settle down as I am now?
Do I truly not have to fight them? Could I just live the peaceful life I always wanted, like I originally planned?
As I sat in a daze, drowning in endless thoughts, I eventually felt the need to move my body just to clear my head, so I came out to train on my own.
“…By the way, aren’t you going back?”
“Nope. Not going.”
Damn girl.
In the end, Frezia flat-out refused to return to her own academy.
She said she preferred being with me, and no matter how persistently the Headmaster of Bellum Academy tried to drag her back, she didn’t budge.
In the end, she stayed at our academy under the label of an exchange student.
The problem was she had been following me around ever since, constantly demanding sparring matches like some duel-obsessed parrot, and I was practically dying from it every day.
Sure, she was strong, so it was definitely helping me improve. But mentally, it was exhausting.
“But seriously, are you really okay just staying here like this? I mean, the academy might be tolerating it, but don’t you think your parents would be worried that their daughter is suddenly holed up in another country?”
“It’s fine. I sent them a letter.”
According to Frezia, her father was an overprotective dad who couldn’t live without his daughter, so he would agree to anything she said.
She had only been able to attend the academy because her father, the Grand Duke of the North, had spent several sleepless nights agonizing over the decision before finally allowing it.
“I explained everything in detail in a letter, and I also acted cute for him so he’ll give me permission. Besides, since this is the Empire where Count Helios lives, it’s much safer than any other country.”
“That’s true.”
In fact, one of the reasons the Empire had managed to rise as a powerful nation over the years was due to the immense influence of my master’s name.
Even if he was currently in seclusion, no country in their right mind would pick a fight with a nation that had an Aura Lord standing guard.
Knock knock.
Just then, a knock came at the door of the training hall.
It was a shared space, so there was usually no reason to knock. Struck by curiosity, I looked over and saw a woman who seemed to be an academy staff member peek her head in.
“Um… is Mars Noctus here by any chance? I heard he came this way…”
“Ah, yes. What is it?”
They were looking for me?
I hadn’t had any official dealings with the administration, so there shouldn’t be any reason for them to summon me.
“Ah, so you are here.”
“Yes. What is this about?”
“Um… actually, it’s not that I have business with you, Mr. Mars. It’s just that Lady Frezia Auros—oh, there she is!”
“……?”
“Well, there were rumors that Lady Auros always follows you around. She received an urgent letter, but no one could find her, so I came looking for you instead!”
I’m not her guardian. Since when did it make sense to track me down just to find her?
“Ooh. A letter from my dad.”
Thanks to her, I was once again reminded of how I was treated within the academy. But completely ignoring my sense of defeat, this girl quickly tore open the letter from her father.
However, as Lady Frezia continued reading, her expression didn’t look particularly pleased.
“What does it say? Let me guess. He’s telling you to come back, right? Stop causing trouble at someone else’s academy?”
“Mhmm… Dad’s really mad… He wants me back in the North immediately.”
It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.
Honestly, with Frezia constantly following me around, the pressure from my fellow club members breathing down my neck had only gotten worse….maybe now it would ease up a bit?
“With Mars.”
“?”
Why the hell was my name in there?
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