Chapter 42

Released:

I lost track of how many times I swung the sword while waiting for my seniors to return.

I was so absorbed in imagining a field of scarecrows in front of me as I swung, that it wasn’t until I started feeling hungry that I finally stopped.

The first thing I checked after stopping was the status window.

[50 Million Swings]
[50,114,082 / 50,000,000]

Wait, what? The counter kept going even after I surpassed fifty million swings?

[You have acquired the title: ’50 Million Swings’!]

Titles: Proud Son, Village’s Best Handyman, Skilled Swordsman, Scarecrow Slayer, Scarecrow Crusher, Someone with a Large Mana Pool, Competent Magic User, Farming? Easy as Pie, Skilled Mediator, 50 Million Swings

The notification popped up, and the title was added to the list alongside the others, but strangely enough, the counter didn’t disappear; it kept climbing.

There’s only one explanation for this.

It must be a hidden title.

In “Simulation Ruin”, hidden achievements or titles could often be unlocked through quests.

Of course, the game wouldn’t directly inform you that you could earn a hidden title or achievement. It was always something like this: you’d mess up a quest by accident, repeat an action a few extra times, or stumble across some unusual condition that triggered it.

And usually, these hidden titles could only be obtained within the same day you fulfilled the requirements. If the day passed, the opportunity would be gone forever.

“Well then, let’s see if I can push this a bit further.”

I didn’t know exactly how much of a boost these titles were giving me, but I’d find out once I reached the next advancement and the stat window unlocked again.

Considering how titles seemed to play such a significant role in progression, it was clear they couldn’t be ignored.

Even in the game, the more titles you collected, the stronger you became. In a system without level-ups, titles were one of the few ways to grow more powerful. There was no reason to think it would be any different for me.

Whoosh, swish, slam!

This wasn’t the time to sit around pondering these things.

I wondered just how great a hidden title I might receive. There was only one thing to do. That is to spend the entire day swinging my sword again and again to meet the unknown criteria.

***

The seniors who had come looking for Theo to get his signature found themselves in an increasingly awkward situation.

It was because Theo continued to swing his sword without pause, training relentlessly. Even as time passed, he showed no signs of exhaustion. By now, the seniors had given up and simply sat down, watching him intently as if they were attending a swordsmanship class.

From the second year onward, swordsmanship classes introduced practical courses, and dedicated instructors would oversee them.

These instructors usually divided the class into three groups and assigned an instructor to each group. The lessons consisted of demonstrating proper techniques, showing the students the correct movements and muscle coordination, and then guiding them as they practiced with their own swords.

But watching Theo now felt like seeing something entirely beyond the scope of those instructors. His movements were so efficient, it seemed almost surreal.

Isn’t this far too efficient?

People were struck speechless by Theo’s ability to control every muscle with absolute precision.

This wasn’t the kind of thing you could simply copy by observing and imitating.

In fact, attempting to mimic it without proper understanding could easily result in severe muscle injuries, leaving one unable to hold a sword for a long time.

“Amazing…”

Amidst the onlookers hoping for a signature, Iris and Estelle had quietly appeared and settled into their own spots to watch Theo as well.

“Ah, the Crown Princess and the Saintess…”

“Shh! Hey, keep your voice down! If you end up disturbing the freshman, are you going to take responsibility for it?”

Theo who was immersed in his state of complete focus remained oblivious to the fact that the crowd around him had grown far larger than before. He didn’t even notice that Iris and Estelle had arrived. His attention was fixed solely on the space before him as he continued swinging his sword.

With every swing, there was no hesitation, no doubt in the motion of the blade.

There was only the simple act of cutting and slicing through whatever lay before him.

It felt so straightforward, so primal, and everyone watching had the same thought: if someone were foolish enough to stumble into Theo’s path right now, survival would be impossible.

“Excuse me, Your Highness, Your Holiness…!”

“Yes? What is it?”

“What’s the matter?”

Someone cautiously approached the two women and called out to them, but Iris and Estelle’s fiery gazes never wavered from Theo. Their eyes were locked intently on him.

“I’m not… I’m not some suspicious person. I just wanted to ask…has that freshman always been this strong?”

Although they were initially wary of the man who had approached them, their suspicion eased slightly when it became clear he was asking about Theo, not them.

“Yes, that’s correct. Sir Theo has always been different from the rest since the very beginning.”

“That’s right. He can even use magic, and since I taught him myself, I can vouch for it. From the start, everything about him was extraordinary.”

“Wait, you mean you taught him, Saintess?”

“Well, he’s far surpassed me now, though.”

A student surpassing their teacher in such a short period was practically unheard of.

But Theo was an exception.

It wasn’t just Estelle, his teacher in magic, or Duncan, his teacher in swordsmanship.

Compared to Theo now, both of them paled in comparison.

It wasn’t that their own skills, once vastly superior, had deteriorated.

Rather, Theo’s growth had been so quick and overwhelming that it had outpaced all expectations.

He didn’t seem to realize just how remarkable his own growth was, but if he were to take the academy’s practical exam now, there wasn’t a single person in the entire academy who could outperform Theo or achieve a better score than him.

Not just the first year, but all the people who were called top students in all grades and had already decided on a job would pale in comparison.

“Truly, Sir Theo is so incredible. It would be wonderful if he agreed to come with us to the Holy Empire.”

“That’s out of the question, isn’t it? Sir Theo is a citizen of the Ermunt Empire. I plan to bestow an incredibly high-ranking noble title upon him and his parents as well.”

“What use is a hollow noble title? If he chooses to come to the Holy Empire, I’ll personally provide his entire family with a comfortable home, wealth, fine clothing, and the best food until the day I die.”

Once again, the rivalry between Iris and Estelle flared up.

“Hah, such things are so obvious I didn’t even bother mentioning them. On top of that, if he ever wants to travel somewhere or has any dream he wishes to pursue, I’ll make it all possible. If he decides to continue farming, I’ll move his current fields with minimal disruption, recreate the same environment, and make sure he can work more comfortably.”

“Oh my, moving it like that would be quite costly, wouldn’t it? Iris, you can’t even use teleportation magic. Meanwhile, I could just swoop and done. Whatever the task, I’d have the advantage, wouldn’t I?”

Of course, neither of their eyes ever left Theo who was still practicing diligently, but the ceaseless flow of their bickering left those nearby rather astounded.

It was a shocking sight for anyone who had believed the Crown Princess and the Saintess to be on good terms with each other.

If it had been anything else, Estelle aside, Iris would have been cautious in the past, worried about rumors and reputation, and done her best to keep a low profile. But when it came to Theo, she couldn’t just let it go.

Of course, neither of them had ever actually asked Theo where he wanted to live, so ultimately, his decision would mark the end of this situation.

What if he doesn’t choose me…?!

Both of them shared the same anxious thought and resorted to nothing more than bickering between themselves.

They couldn’t bring it up to Theo because if he ended up choosing one of them outright, it might actually happen and neither of them knew how to handle the possibility of not being chosen.

Someday… there will be a day when Sir Theo chooses one of us, won’t there…?

That day would come eventually, a day when he picked only one of them.

And when that time came, neither was confident they could properly manage their feelings if they were the one left behind.

But still.

…That day will come, right…?

The funniest part was that the one at the center of it all hadn’t even given it a single thought, while the two of them were getting ahead of themselves.

“Haah…”

“Hoo…”

The two of them realized that their quarrel had become meaningless, and simply sighed in unison.

But regardless of everything else.

If Sir Theo ever falls in love, it absolutely has to be with one of us.

There’s no way we could stand by and watch him with another woman. If he ever says he doesn’t like either of us because we’re not enough, then we could just tell him to be with both of us instead… Wait, isn’t that a good idea? Honestly, doesn’t it make more sense for someone as amazing as Sir Theo to not settle for just one woman anyway?

Though her thoughts were drifting further away from reality, Estelle began to think that if neither of them could be chosen, it might be better for Theo to simply choose both of them. As the idea took hold, she hesitated over whether she should bring it up to Iris.

…If the two of us work together, maybe we really could end up with Sir Theo.

With that thought firmly in her mind, Estelle resolved to approach Iris about it soon and discuss the matter. For now, though, she simply looked at Theo with sparkling eyes as he diligently swung his sword in front of her.

***

TN: Turns out Theo is the peace treaty. lol

5 responses to “Chapter 42”

  1. RiamuP Avatar
    RiamuP

    Peace treaty lmao

  2. EstelleIsBestelle Avatar
    EstelleIsBestelle

    bro’s gonna be a dry husk in the epilogue

  3. JimmyJohns05 Avatar
    JimmyJohns05

    war prevention via polygamy

  4. RKADE 14 Avatar
    RKADE 14

    Theo, the peace treaty.

  5. I'm lazy dog Avatar
    I’m lazy dog

    it’s funny when MCs go into a game world and think they’re the MC who’s gonna be op they aren’t and have to actually train hard af, while if they are like our MC who don’t think of themselves as a MC and the weakest become OP the easiest.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *