NOVEL NEXT chapter 29 - Change
“Th-Thank you so much for today!”
After the spectacular dungeon expedition was finally over, Her Highness the Princess bowed her head deeply in thanks, even though her face was pale as a sheet.
Innocent and clueless like a young child, she seemed to have internalized the whole batshit ghoul attack incident as “I guess mock battles are just like this.” She hadn’t noticed in the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) slightest how bizarre the situation had actually been…
“Ah, from now on, I’ll be attending Yoram as a regular student!”
“Yes. Please do your best.”
“⋯⋯.”
At those words, the princess began to fidget.
Cautiously, she looked back and forth between Carlyle and Gray…
“⋯⋯Your Highness, is there something you wish to say?”
Unable to take it any longer, Carlyle nudged her side, and Princess Illia flinched in surprise and opened her mouth.
It was like a baby bird letting out a startled chirp.
“C-Could I… stop by sometimes?!”
“⋯⋯.”
“S-Sorry! I-I don’t know anyone at the academy, and I-I don’t know anything either!”
Ah.
“So, in short… you’re saying you want a friend?”
“Ah, uh⋯⋯”
⋯⋯The amount of hesitation just to make such a modest request…
It made it all too easy to guess what kind of life she must’ve led within the royal family.
Honestly, it was kind of heartbreaking.
“Yes. As much as you like. I’m Your Highness’s friend, after all.”
When Carlyle answered with a smile, Princess Illia once again bowed deeply, nearly violently.
“Th-Thank yo—”
⋯⋯She bit her tongue again.
Clutching her mouth with tears welling up in her eyes, she turned beet red and bowed her head once more.
Perhaps embarrassed by the way she looked, she quickly scurried down the corridor and disappeared into the distance⋯⋯
Watching her small, timid figure retreat, she really did seem like a little squirrel.
“How lucky you are, huh?”
At that moment, a frosty voice dropped from Gray.
“Being all sweet and slimy to a seven-year-old girl.”
“⋯⋯What in the world are you talking about, my lady?”
“Dinner. Bath. Bedding. Get it ready. I’m just going out for some air.”
With those words left behind, Gray also disappeared briskly down the corridor.
“⋯⋯Hmph.”
But Carlyle tilted his head.
Something about her seemed… subtly different than usual.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but it felt like there was just a bit more emotion than normal.
‘Is it because of this?’
He summoned the window in front of his eyes.
The rewards the system handed to Carlyle were, frankly, sometimes so cryptic even he wasn’t sure what the hell they were supposed to mean.
“⋯⋯.”
A new trait had appeared for Gray: ‘Interest.’
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
[⋯⋯Well, just what it says. She’s interested in you.]
“Didn’t she already have more than enough interest in me?”
Trust, Jealousy—those were already registered. Wasn’t that enough?
[Hmph. You can give trust to a pet, too. Like, ‘This loyal hound will never bite me.’ That kind of thing.]
“⋯⋯.”
[Interest just means she’s developed curiosity toward you as a person. Because she keeps having positive experiences whenever you’re around. It’s accumulated, that’s all.]
It’s a natural progression.
As the Holy Sword finished speaking, Carlyle scratched his head.
“So what you’re saying is… I got promoted from pet to human?”
[⋯⋯I never said that.]
You’re not denying the implication, though.
Carlyle let out a dry chuckle and slung the Holy Sword back over his shoulder.
Well, if that’s all it means, then good. Progress is progress, even if it’s vague or came with being treated like a pet.
On that note, the other reward written in the window was refreshingly straightforward.
‘New function added to Holy Sword…’
He had no idea what “form transformation” was supposed to mean, but whatever it was, a new function was a good thing.
Still, it was a bit odd that a reward window would bother lumping that together with an event involving the headmaster.
“Oh, Carlyle Belfast?”
Carlyle looked up at the voice calling out from down the hallway.
Speak of the devil—there was Sior Whiteburn walking toward him.
“You handled everything brilliantly. I was impressed. We’ll need to talk about it, so come by my office.”
“Ah, understood.”
“And bring that Holy Sword you’re carrying. We’ll be needing it.”
“Ah, yes.”
After hearing Carlyle’s reply, Sior strode off down the corridor and vanished.
“⋯⋯.”
[⋯⋯.]
“⋯⋯Holy Hero.”
The words came out naturally, too naturally.
“Did that guy just call it a Holy Sword?”
[⋯⋯He definitely did.]
What the fuck.
***
“It really is a Holy Sword.”
Carlyle sat frozen stiff on the couch while the headmaster fiddled with the sword containing Gray, turning it over in his hands.
“Seeing it up close, there’s no doubt. How did no one realize this until now?”
“⋯⋯.”
He was deeply uncomfortable.
Obviously, if people started asking why he had the Holy Sword—the very symbol of the Hero—it wasn’t like he had any clean answers to offer.
Sior, noticing his expression, chuckled and set the sword down on the table.
“Don’t worry. I won’t ask where you got it.”
“⋯⋯Sorry?”
Completely unexpected.
I mean, he saw someone walking around with a literal Holy Sword and he’s not going to ask?
“Have you ever seen what happens when someone unworthy holds a Holy Sword?”
At the sudden question, Carlyle blinked dumbly.
Sior gave a dry laugh and shook his head.
“Not something you see often. The ones holding them are always Heroes—people who never let their weapons out of their hands, and certainly not the kind to get disarmed easily. But the fact that you’re still alive while holding this proves your worth.”
“⋯⋯Ah.”
“Where you got it doesn’t matter to me. Honestly, I don’t even care.”
If there were multiple wielders of a Holy Sword, all the better.
Why question something that’s inherently a good thing?
Speaking in his relaxed tone, the headmaster stared down at the sword on the table with indifferent eyes.
“I’m sure you’ve got your circumstances, and I’ve got no hobby of digging through other people’s business.”
“⋯⋯.”
That unshakable detachment dripped from every word, making Carlyle blink.
No wonder Gray called him the strongest of the current generation.
Even faced with an object that’s supposed to be utterly unique on the continent, he didn’t bat an eye.
“And there’s something inside, isn’t there? I don’t know what it is, but…”
Carlyle flinched.
Did he sense Gray’s presence inside?
“Seems like it’s got a good relationship with you. I noticed it helping you out quite a bit.”
“⋯⋯Excuse me?”
“How do you think this stayed hidden as a Holy Sword until now?”
⋯⋯Because he worked hard to disguise it?
That was how Carlyle understood it, at least.
“Hmph. Even so, Gray should’ve noticed. She’s someone who’s actually wielded a Holy Sword. The bond between a Hero and their sword is much deeper than you think.”
“⋯⋯Sorry?”
“⋯⋯.”
“My guess is, whatever’s inside has been deliberately suppressing its presence all this time—so it wouldn’t cause trouble for you.”
“⋯⋯.”
“You’ve got a good friend. That’s definitely not an easy task. You didn’t know, did you?”
—Not at all.
‘⋯⋯Why didn’t you tell me?’
[⋯⋯.]
The Holy Sword stubbornly clamped its mouth shut.
Still, Carlyle could guess the reason.
‘Don’t tell me… You thought if I knew you were struggling, it’d just become a burden to me?’
[⋯⋯.]
Still silent.
But that silence was answer enough.
[⋯⋯Leave it be. It was necessary.]
It was necessary, sure.
But still—if it was that hard, couldn’t she have at least said something?
Carlyle looked quietly down at the sword.
“If I hadn’t been watching closely, I probably wouldn’t have noticed either.”
Maybe it was the scene where he killed the ghoul.
Steel from the stars tended to have heightened effects against things that defied natural law.
Ghouls, as beasts, were said to resurrect no matter how many times they were slain with a normal iron sword.
“To see one go down in a single blow… That piqued my interest.”
“⋯⋯.”
“And with that—here’s my proposal.”
Sior smiled broadly.
“Would you like me to teach you how to wield this thing?”
“⋯⋯Sorry?”
“You look interesting. As the head of an educational institution, I can’t ignore such a fascinating combination.”
A second Holy Sword, dropping from the sky out of nowhere.
And some unknown man wielding it.
“I’m curious to see how far you could go if we raised you properly.”
“⋯⋯.”
Carlyle ran quick mental calculations.
After so many regressions, there was one thing he’d learned for sure—never trust anyone easily.
Until he could determine this man’s true intent, it would be reckless to accept such an offer.
There didn’t seem to be any ill will, but caution was still—
“Oh, and first thing I’ll teach you is how to disguise the Holy Sword without putting a burden on what’s inside.”
“I accept.”
⋯⋯Instant answer.
[⋯⋯.]
‘⋯⋯’
Carlyle and the Holy Sword shared a brief moment of awkward silence in his head.
The kind of silence where both sides felt sheepish and neither wanted to be the first to speak.
Meanwhile, the headmaster smiled at his reply.
“Smart choice. You’ll need it.”
There was something about the way he said it—
“You’re the type who’s going to get dragged into all sorts of big things.”
⋯⋯The line had an ominous ring to it.
A few days later.
Carlyle found himself mulling over an old saying.
‘You should never ignore what life’s seniors tell you.’
Sior’s words had turned out to be dead-on accurate.
The proof arrived in the form of Cardinal Felix himself, who dropped by with a smile and said—
“Would you care to go on a little date with me, Mr. Carlyle?”
“⋯⋯.”
At least use a turn signal before pulling into my life, damn it.
***
[System Message]
▶ The event “Private Audience with the Cardinal” has begun.
▶ Successfully completing the event will unlock “Gray Cardinal” as a new entry in the [Instructor] list!