NOVPUB“Pathetic junior. How are things going lately?”
“Well, just the usual difficulties.”
Luca was not particularly surprised by the sudden visit from Kal.
He had been expecting this, especially since Lucy had left earlier this morning with the remark that things weren’t fun anymore.
Luca guessed that Lady Lucy had probably figured out, at least roughly, what he was preparing.
So, when Luca had spoken with Lucy earlier, he had seriously considered whether he should start acting on his plans immediately, even if it disrupted things. After all, if Lucy was coming to make a declaration of war, Luca would have no choice but to go along with it.
But, contrary to his concerns, Lucy had only scratched at his nerves and left without saying anything further.
Luca surmised that she had her suspicions, but wasn’t completely sure yet.
If Lucy knew everything, she wouldn’t have just walked away from someone like him, who was involved with the Evil God.
She, who was loved by the Gods, wouldn’t leave such things alone.
So, Luca decided to delay things for now. After all, there was only a week left until the planned event unfolded.
Even with her connections as a noble of the Arlen family, there was no way Lucy could deal with this in just one week.
Therefore, Luca decided to give her the time she needed.
The more effort she put in, the more beautiful the end result would be for his plan.
“Pathetic junior like you should be the one who has it tough, right?”
“Professor Kal, you have the Arlen family backing you, don’t you? As for me, being from a common background, I have nothing, so I must do whatever I’m told.”
“Haha. I have ears too, junior. With your backing, you’re not exactly a lightweight either.”
“Oh, I suppose I’ve been overacting a bit?”
In any case, the plan was already set in motion. Even if Professor Kal was monitoring me, there wasn’t much of an issue.
However, one thing that did bother me was the problem of how to get rid of Professor Kal on the day the plan was executed.
“Well, I haven’t lied terribly either.”
Over the past year, Luca had observed Kal and realized that his skills were far beyond that of a mere knight.
Even among the shining talents of the Arlen Knights, Kal was considered a rising star. Luca had seen firsthand why Kal was so highly regarded.
From Luca’s perspective, if Kal had joined another knight order, he would have likely already been entrusted with a high-ranking position.
It would be possible to defeat him using various methods, but that would cause significant losses in the process.
That wouldn’t do.
Everything I had to do had to be dedicated to leaving my mark in the stars.
I couldn’t afford to reach for some mediocre shining stone.
“A commoner like me could never do something remarkable with the power of the noble First Queen,” Luca muttered to himself, pondering his next move.
I needed to come up with a way to hand over my mediocre talents to someone else.
Elsewhere, in the Art Guild
“Isn’t it too obvious that you're tired of this, Frete? I don’t think I should be treated this way.”
“Huh? Did I do something wrong? I was just listening to Sword Saint’s story.”
“Do you seriously think you can deceive my senses and say something like that?”
“...I’m sorry, Sword Saint. I’ve been focused on something else lately.”
The Sword Saint, Uden, a former adventurer and the first of his kind in the continent, let out a light laugh and brushed his bangs aside.
“Are you talking about the accessories made by the Art Guild?”
“Do you know about them?”
“Of course. Those accessories are so famous that merchants with money are desperately trying to get their hands on them. How could I not know?”
Despite holding the title of Sword Saint, Uden had chosen to live as an adventurer rather than as an honorary noble of a kingdom. Lately, he had been wandering the world, expanding his knowledge.
Since Uden’s name was so well known, he usually traveled undercover, joining various merchant caravans as a guard, drifting along with the tides.
Given that he often interacted with merchants, it wasn’t surprising that Uden knew about the accessories.
“I’ve heard about them, but is there really that much demand?”
“Frete, you’ve been wandering around for so long, you should know. Merchants are obsessed with anything related to fortune.”
“Hmm. I suppose that's true.”
“It’s more than a tendency. If the accessory can bring good fortune, merchants would even eat orc dung if it was part of the deal.”
The accessories from the Art Guild were known to grant luck just by owning them, and their beauty made people smile just by looking at them. How could such a thing not be popular?
“...Sword Saint, please.”
Frete couldn’t help but speak up at the sight of the Sword Saint laughing.
This was why it was so hard to write poems about living Sword Saints. His usual actions and words were so rough that it was impossible to accurately convey what he said.
“Oh. Please don’t lecture me. What do you expect from someone who gave up a title just to avoid that sort of thing?”
“Sigh.”
Frete sighed, lowering his head in exasperation, then spoke up, wanting to move things along quickly.
“So, why did you come here, knowing I’d lecture you?”
“It’s because of the accessories I just mentioned.”
“You came all the way here for those accessories? Why?”
Frete couldn’t help but lift his head in surprise as Uden spoke.
The Uden Frete knew wasn’t someone who cared about such things.
Someone who never felt the need to adorn himself.
A person who would throw away a fine accessory if it annoyed him.
And now he was asking for an accessory?
“Lady Arlen's beauty is enough to touch even someone as blind as you, huh? How touching.”
“...What? What kind of nonsense are you talking?”
“You don’t have to deny it. It’s completely normal to be in awe of Lady Arlen’s beauty. Even the Goddess I serve feels the same way.”
“No. No, I really don’t care about accessories or beauty. If I really cared, I would’ve just grabbed some random guy by the collar and taken it. Why would I come all the way here?”
“...Are you really telling me you see no value in the beauty that shines through in the accessories?”
“So?”
“How can someone like this even exist?”
“Hey, Frete, are you really saying everything on your mind right now? You can’t even control your expression?”
At the sight of Frete, who rarely lost his composure, Uden was caught off guard, his voice faltering.
Realizing his rudeness, Frete cleared his throat and tried to calm himself before continuing.
“Then what’s the connection between the accessories and your purpose for being here?”
“The one depicted in the accessories is Lady Arlen, isn’t she?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then that means... you and...”
“Frete!” 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝖕𝖚𝖇.𝖈𝔬𝔪
Suddenly, the door burst open, and a priest from the Guild entered, breathing heavily as if rushing.
Upon seeing Uden, the priest quickly bowed his head.
“Apologies, Sword Saint! My deepest apologies!”
“It’s fine. I’m not some big deal.”
“However...”
“You’ve got something urgent, right? Just tell me.”
“...I apologize for the intrusion, but Lady Arlen has arrived at the guild.”
“Lady Arlen is here!?”
“Lady Arlen has come here!?”
I quickly made up my mind to meet the Sword Saint and immediately went to find Karia to ask about her whereabouts.
Despite Uden being the kind of person who wandered aimlessly, for someone of his status, it was only natural that information about where he was would circulate.
As I had expected, Karia immediately answered me about where Uden was.
“She’s at the Art Guild right now.”
“...What?”
That answer caught me completely off guard. Why would someone who had been living as an adventurer, always seeking dangerous places, be at the Art Guild? It wasn’t a place that someone like Uden would usually visit.
However, my confusion didn’t change the reality.
Uden was indeed at the Art Guild, and according to Karia, he was currently talking to Frete.
Damn it. I had to go back to that perverted place again?
The place where lunatics were always praying and crying, hoping for blessings?
<If you think about it, isn’t this a good thing? If you have ties with the Art Guild’s apostle, it will be easier to persuade them.>
‘...I know that. But put yourself in my shoes, Grandpa. I have to go to a place where people are bowing and crying, saying they received blessings! How could you handle that?’
<Well, there was something similar in my time.>
‘Something similar?’
<We were heroes in a bleak world.>
I heard Grandpa’s story of how they created festivals wherever they went, but I didn’t really sympathize with it.
‘So, did they beg to be stepped on, saying it was a blessing?’
<...Err.>
‘Did they spit for inspiration, begging for it?’
<Hmm.>
‘No, right?’
<...>
‘So please don’t pretend to sympathize. I really hate that place.’
<I’m sorry.>
After arguing with Grandpa and preparing myself, I used the teleportation skill and headed to the Art Guild.
When I entered the guild, nothing really surprised me. There were the familiar faces of people who looked at me with bright eyes, calling me the Goddess’s incarnation. Those who were prostrating themselves on the ground, praying, or crying when they met my gaze.
As I looked at the hellish scene with sincere contempt, I noticed someone running towards me from a distance.
Worn robes, leather armor commonly worn by adventurers, and a conspicuous sword that stood out among other equipment.
The person with these traits must surely be the Sword Saint. But why was he running toward me?
...Is he also a pervert?
Is he some crazy person with strange tastes like a fool or a perverted apostle!?
Is something changing him, turning him weird!?
As I felt confused by the image of the Sword Saint with wide-open eyes, he reached me.
With onyx-like eyes, staring at me silently, she suddenly dropped to her knees and raised her voice, veins appearing on her neck.
“Lady Arlen! Please, let me meet your father... No! Please, give me a chance to meet Lord Arlen! Please, I beg you!”
