Chapter 2: Hero of Light
After passing through the port gate, Christo took a path through the woods surrounding the hill.
As he passed through a thicket of green leaves, his field of vision opened up at once.
The first thing that caught his eye was the huge reddish-brown castle wall.
Surrounding it were fields of wheat, its tips waving in the air.
The wall was high.
It was several tens of meters high.
It was nothing compared to Söderholm's fortress.
Whereas the enclosure there was merely made of mud and oak timbers and was as good as a beast repellent, the wall surrounding the royal capital of Yggdrasil was like a gigantic rock wall.
If the walls had not been so beautifully and smoothly arched, as if they had been calculated out, one would have thought that there were precipitous cliffs of iron-rich land.
At the very top of the fortress, a passageway seems to have been built for soldiers to pass back and forth, and if he looked with his demon's eyesight, he can see small figures coming and going.
On the spires of the glossy red roofs, embroidered in white, red, and gold, the flag of the Kingdom of Yggdrasil fluttered in the wind.
The castle where the king governed the kingdom was visible further up the high walls
In the distance, as if floating in the blue sky, a number of spires soared above the city.
(This is the royal capital of Yggdrasil. The Holy Sword Academy is located at the northern end of that vast castle town.)
As Christo pauses to admire the majesty of the city walls, a group of people dressed in town clothes pass by, giving him curious glances. Some of them let out a small giggle, as if they thought Christo, who was standing there with his mouth open, was a visitor to the city.
"Um."
He moved his body toward an oak tree on the side of the road so as not to disturb passersby, and while he was looking toward the royal capital again, he suddenly heard a woman's voice from the pathway leading to the port.
He looked and saw a girl in a pink dress standing there, holding a white parasol.
"Yes?"
"Um, are you in some kind of trouble? You seemed to have been standing there for a long time."
Under the white parasol, he could see her red lips, blue eyes, and brown tips of her hair.
The incubus' sense of smell detected the young woman's sweat and a slight scent of estrus.
"No, it's not. I was just looking at it for a while, thinking it was a very big wall."
"Well, is this your first time in the royal city, by any chance?"
“Yes. I will be living here from today on. ――I have to go. Thank you.
When Christo said that and smiled, the brown-haired girl's cheeks flushed as she turned and walked back to the group of people who had been watching her from the shade of a tree on the other side of the street.
The group to which the girl had returned was all women around her age.
Even after the girl returned, they kept glancing in his direction.
"Hey, what did he say?"
“He said it was his first time here and he was looking at the city walls.”
"Well, that's cute. Is he a visitor?"
"He has black hair as shiny as a raven's wet feathers and eyes as black and mysterious as the night. ......His cheeks are slightly hollowed out, which I find sexy and lovely."
"I wonder if he could loosen that tie around his neck.? I'd like to see his collarbone."
(Collarbone, huh... Women here are advanced in many ways. Well, not as dumb as the country women of Söderholm territory... Or rather, can I get by without having to eat?)
Thinking about that, Christo loosened his necktie.
"Kyaa!" "Smooth collarbone! I want to lick it!"
Men and women of all races think the same thing.
But the women in the royal capital have less shame than the men of the countryside.
After giving a wink to the girls who were raising their voices, Christo finally left the place.
(I will remember their smell. If I get hungry, I'll eat one of them.)
× × ×
As he climbed down from the hill where the port is located and headed straight north, he saw a brown gate in the middle of a red cliff. The gate looks as if it were carved out of the wall in the shape of an oval, and steel was inlaid into the wall. The gate is open to the outside, perhaps to allow passersby to enter and exit.
Looking at it from a distance, it looks like a badger's den on a rocky outcrop.
A deep moat was dug in front of the gate, filled with clear water.
Between the gate and the bank, there was a rocky bridge that looked sturdy.
When attacked by the enemy, would they drop that rock bridge?
No, in the first place, to say that the royal capital of Yggdrasil Kingdom was attacked would not have happened without an all-out war with the dragons living on the iceberg in the north.
There is no need to design a fortress-like those in the north with an emphasis on practicality.
All that is needed is beauty that overwhelms the viewer.
(This rock bridge is quite large when you look at it up close, it looks to be 30 meters wide.)
Mixing in with the crowd, he walked along the bridge in front of the gate of the castle and looked around the area.
On the silver surface of the water under the big bridge, he could see the occasional tail fin several meters long poking out of the water.
The rocky piers were unaffected by the presence of such huge creatures in the water moat.
Although it must have been built a long time ago, there was no sign of deterioration.
It is an amazing feat of engineering.
Since holy arts does not have the power to do civil engineering, it is likely that earth magic was used.
Even though it is the technology of the demon race, it means that what is useful is also used by the light race.
The old-fashioned demon race is being driven out.
"Christopher Soderholm-kun. A freshman at the Holy Sword Academy... huh."
As he walked up to the brown gate, he was stopped by a soldier in red decorative armor.
When Christo showed him the application form for admission to Holy Sword Academy, the gatekeeper looked at him quizzically.
"All the new students at Holy Sword Academy should have entered the castle by now. I heard that there was a party to welcome the new students a few days ago."
"I was told this morning by Count Netzel that I will be a student at the Holy Sword Academy from this day forward. If you have a problem with that, please talk to him."
When Christo said so, the gatekeeper stroked his well-trimmed mustache.
"Hm, Netzel is the name of that northern frontier....... Söderholm...... Oh, I see. I thought I'd heard that name somewhere, but then I read it in the newspaper two days ago."
"Newspaper?"
"I'm sorry to hear about your troubles in your territory. Did your father and mother survive?"
"No... all of them died. Most of the stewards, knights, and other members of the household were dismissed by order of the count. Those who remained were taken into the service of the count.
"I see. So you're enrolling in Holy Sword Academy. It must be hard for you, but you must live with hope. We, the people of royal capital, are also in mourning after hearing the news of Lancelot-sama's death. He was a man of character. I feel as if I had lost an immediate family member. So I understand your feelings."
The gatekeeper pats him on the shoulder.
Christo had no idea what a newspaper was, but reading between the lines, he guessed that it was a means of communicating information to the masses.
(It seemed to be a highly reliable means of information transmission. This gatekeeper did not seem to have any doubts about the authenticity of the information. Is it state-run or private? If it is state-run, it would be easy to manipulate the public using "newspapers". I wish Söderholm had one. If we had a newspaper, I might have been able to save the old man.)
"Are you a freshman at Holy Sword Academy?"
While he was talking with the guard with the mustache, another guard called out to Christo from the side.
"Yes."
"I see. There is someone waiting for you over there."
The man pointed to a tall, silver-haired young man leaning against the brown gate. He seemed to have been watching Christo before he turned to look at him, and as soon as their eyes met, he gave a small wave of his hand and showed his white teeth.
He is a handsome young man with a fairly well-defined face.
He has eyes reminiscent of a wild wolf.
Very pale, almost as pale as the white shirt he's wearing.
His silver hair, which had a slight quirk to it, was tied up with a dark brown ribbon and looked like a horse's tail.
He had his chest wide open, exposing his muscles for all to see.
"Are you Christopher Soderholm?"
The young man in white approached slowly.
The sweet scent of men's cologne wafted past his nose.
"Yes. Excuse me, but have we met somewhere?"
"No, I don't think so. I'm Piercarlo D'Alessio. I'm a second-year student at Holy Sword Academy, and I'm the vice president of the student council. Nice to meet you."
The young man, who introduced himself as Piercarlo, held out his slightly bony right hand.
His fingers are quite long.
Christo took off his gloves and shook the pale man's hand.
His hand was as cold as ice.
"I'm Christopher Soderholm. Nice to meet you. ――Speaking of D'Alessio, is it the name of Count D'Alessio, who protects the southern frontier?"
"His legitimate son."
He said that and smiles, his ash-gray eyes softening.
He clacked his well-tailored leather shoes and turned his body toward the black carriage beyond the gate.
"Let me take you to the academy. It's a long walk from here to the north of royal capital."
"Are you sure? But..."
"Don't hold back. I've been waiting for you here because I'm personally interested in you. The four hundred year old incubus that appeared in the frontier. The hero who took its head."
“It was only five days ago, and yet it is a well-known fact in the capital."
"The days of traveling merchants spreading rumors from the frontier to the capital by word of mouth are over. ――Here's a week's worth of existing editions of the royal capital newspaper. It is published by my firm. Read it if you like."
Saying that, the white young man pulled out a bundle of paper like a magic trick.
Unable to ignore the kindness of the man who would become the next Count, Christo accepted it all.
"D'Alessio-san."
"Pierre is fine. That's what everyone calls me."
"Hey, Pierre!"
It was not Christo, of course, who suddenly called out to him.
It was a large man walking with big steps from behind the gates of the royal capital.
The big man had shining blond hair and light blue eyes.
Piercarlo D'Alessio ――Unlike Pierre, this one had his blond hair cut short.
From behind the big blond man, three women are trotting after him.
The women have red, black, and dull gray hair, respectively.
The red-haired woman has the largest breasts and wears a warm-colored dress and a parasol. She has the appearance of a kind older beauty.
The black-haired woman is a beastkin. Her cat ears stick out from the top of her head. She is the tallest and has a muscular body. She is dressed in revealing leather armor. She is more of a vicious warrior than a woman.
The last, a dull gray-haired woman, had her hair tied up at the ends of her head. She was as beautiful as the red woman, but her eyes were sharp and gave the impression of a bad character. Her breasts were the smallest of the three―― or rather, as precipitous as the walls of the royal capital. She is dressed in light armor for a swordsman.
(Suddenly, a lot of new ones appeared. I'm not very good at remembering the faces and names of the light races, but...)
"Pierre!"
"Hello, Setanta. It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"
“I don't give a damn about the weather! Is this the guy!? Christopher?"
"Yes, he is. ――Christo, let me introduce you. This is Setanta Lou, of the Hero Family. The ladies behind him are his wives. Except for the gray-haired Gwendolyn-san over there, they each bear Setanta's child.
"Wait, does he need that information? He doesn't need it, right? Are you being sarcastic towards me?"
The woman with dull gray hair interrupts, her peach-colored lips twitching.
(The Hero family. A descendant of the Hero Lou, who defeated the Demon King of Chaos a hundred years ago? It was because of the ancestors of this blond muscle man called Setanta that the decline of our demon race began.)
"Keep your mouth shut, Gwendolyn. It is disrespectful to D'Alessio-sama. Forgive me, D'Alessio-sama, for her rudeness."
"Tch."
"I don't mind, Patricia-san. Rather, since we are schoolmates, I'd rather you cut out the formalities while we are at the academy."
Pierre smiled at the red-haired woman.
The red-haired woman modestly lowered her head and pulled back behind the large blonde man.
“Hmm, are you Christopher? I heard you killed a demon."
The dark-haired beastkin woman steps up to Christo and glares at him from below.
She is brown-skinned.
Perhaps she was exercising until a while ago, the smell of sweat is strong.
Especially from her armpits, an indescribable smell wafted out.
"Aren't you just a good-looking little boy? Damn it, you look weak."
"Kat!"
"Patricia, I just gave my impressions of what I am seeing. There's nothing wrong with that."
Christo has no good feelings toward the Hero Family, but the other side seems to harbor not only ill feelings but hostility, or even murderous intent from the big blond man.
He glanced toward Pierre for help, but he was still just smiling and smirking.
Christo hesitated for a moment, then looked around at each of them in turn and...
"Gentlemen, it appears that we have started the conversation off on the wrong foot. There is nothing constructive to be gained by proceeding as we are. Let's just start all over here. ――I am Christopher, whom Pierre introduced to you earlier. The lady with the red hair over there is Patricia-san...... correct?"
"Eh, yes!"
The red-haired woman seemed to be thinking the same thing as Christo, and managed to make up for it with a smile.
"I'm Patricia. I'm from the Lowell family and Setanta's wife. Nice to meet you, Christo-san."
"Thank you for your courtesy. You have a child. It doesn't look like that."
"Fufu, I'll be sixteen this year. I'm probably younger than you, Christo-san."
"Oh. If you're sixteen, that means your child is..."
“Yes, that's right. I had my son three years ago. I just recently got back into shape."
"I see. Well, Setanta must be very lucky to have such a beautiful woman in his life."
"Don't you dare flirt with my woman!"
Suddenly, the big blond man intervenes, and a burly, knobby hand grabs Christo by the chest. As it was, the face of a well-dressed but ferocious man filled his field of vision.
"S-Setanta!"
"I don't like you, bastard! If I hit you once, are you going to stop moving that tongue!?"
(What's with this guy? Why is he being so hostile toward me? Have we met somewhere in the past? I don't remember any man like this. Is it the hero's intuition? ......No, it doesn't look that way from the look on this guy's face.)
He doesn't understand the man in front of him.
He doesn't understand.
But he can't afford to be beaten quietly in public.
The man is noble, on the other hand, Christo will not be able to retain his nobility in the near future.
If he didn't protect himself, no one will protect him.
(Should I play it off to the extent that he doesn't die? Let's give this rude person a month's early river cruise in the water moat.)
However, just before Christo could activate magic, he was suddenly restrained by Pierre.
"Setanta, you mustn't be violent."
“I know! I'm not gonna hit him. ......Hey, you, Christopher."
"What is it?"
“Why did you let Sensei die!?”
“Sensei? Die?"
"I'm talking about the hero Lancelot!"
The man's hand gripping his collar tightens even more.
When Christo looked over, the man's fingers had turned white from the excessive force he had put into them.
“I heard that you were on your way there to support teacher!”
“Yes. And I fought desperately with the knights of the Holy Tree Church. You may have already gotten the information from the newspapers, but not only Lancelot-sama was killed, but everyone except me."
"Why are you the only one who survived? You brought back the demon's head!? That's not normal, that's impossible! You, after Sensei slashed the demon with the holy sword, hid in a safe place and waited for the demon to die by the purifying power of the holy sword! Otherwise, there's no way you could have conveniently survived alone!"
(I see. As far as the public's assessment is concerned, the story this man is describing is valid.)
The hero Lancelot dies with his head crushed.
All the women in his retinue were also dead. One was stabbed to death with a rock spear.
The church forces that aided him were annihilated. The knights were all killed instantly by rock spears. Priest Yohn was pierced through the heart and died.
However, only Christo survived without a scratch.
On the contrary, he returned with the demon's head.
It is hard to believe that this happened.
"Sensei could have just taken a swing at the demon and run away, and he would not have died! But he didn't because it might attack neighboring villages indiscriminately! So, he said, if we came into close contact with a demon, we would fight it until we killed it! He was a noble man. But who the hell are you!? You took credit for Sensei's work, took the demon's head as if it were your own, and used the money to enroll in the Holy Sword Academy!? ......I will not allow it! I will never forgive you, even if the heavens forgive you!"
"Whether you forgive me or not seems to have nothing to do with my life."
"I will kill you!"
"Setanta, no!"
"......I know, Pat. I will kill him at the right time and the right place."
The big blonde man―― Setanta let go of Christo's shirt and reluctantly distanced himself from him with the look of a predator.
"Let's go, Pat, Kat, and Gwendolyn. We can't be late for the pseudo-holy sword seed lottery."
"...Yes." "Alright" "I should definitely get the seed of the holy sword. I'm the only one who hasn't received the pseudo-holy sword yet!"
"Tch, shut up, you guys."
The three wives and the offspring of the hero are leaving behind the gates of the royal capital.
As they left, only the red-haired Patricia gave Christo a look that seemed full of gratitude.
As soon as the stormy quartet left, the crowds that had gathered around hurriedly left in the direction of the castle or the port.
"Holy Sword Academy is a fun place, isn't it?"
Pierre gracefully pointed a glass of water at me.
There is something strange about this man named Piercarlo D'Alessio, as this is the first thing he says to him after the previous scene.
"Yes, that's right. Really."
"There is a reason why that man has such a temper. Well, don't worry about it and enjoy your student life. At least while you are at the academy, you won't get attacked. If he offered you a duel, just refuse."
"Wouldn't I be called a coward if I refused the duel?"
"Is that how it was in the frontier?"
“Is it different in the royal capital?”
Pierre shook his head when Christo asked back.
"But not at the cost of your life, you know?"
× × ×
After that, Christo then rode north from the south gate in Pierre's carriage.
In the carriage, Christo was not able to enjoy the outside scenery as much as he would have liked in the presence of Pierre.
Pierre seemed to be interested in Christo's hometown―― Söderholm territory.
He had grown up on the southern frontier, and the northern lands were only a fantasy world spun by traveling entertainers. Christo had been transferred by Baron Ixel to the local monastery of the Holy Tree Church, so the stories he could tell Pierre were mainly about life at the monastery.
They must have talked for an hour.
Suddenly, the carriage began to slow down, and eventually, the wheels stopped.
When he looked at Pierre, he said, "It seems that we had arrived.".
Christo put on his hat and coat, grabbed his suitcase, and got out of the carriage.
The air outside smelled of dust stirred up by people and carriages.
Christo was blinded by the strong sunlight, and then his eyesight slowly recovered.
In front of him stood a huge white building.
Yggdrasil Holy Sword Academy.
It is a place where the nobles of the kingdom go to study in order to make a name for themselves.
The building of the academy was in the shape of a "U", with a beautiful green and marble garden spread out in front of it. The carriage seemed to have stopped at the stairs in front of the main gate.
"You go up the stairs and keep going straight. Go into the building, talk to the receptionist, and go out to the back ground. That's where the pre-commencement entertainment will be."
"What's the entertainment?"
Christo asked him as if he were treating him like a friend, having gotten to know him in the carriage.
It was also his wish to have a normal conversation.
Pierre received a hat and a walking stick from the coachman.
"It's the pseudo-holy sword seed lottery."
"Pseudo-holy sword"
The pseudo-holy swords are replicas of the seven sacred swords used by Lou, the Hero Lou of Light, in the Great War a hundred years ago. Each of the holy swords has a special effect against the seven races classified as demons.
[The holy sword that cuts off temptation and slays devils.]
[The holy sword that extinguishes fire and slays dragons.]
[The holy sword that steals magic and slays fairies.]
[The holy sword that shatters ankles and slays giants.]
[The holy sword that withers intellect and turns fishmen back into a fish.]
[The holy sword that hinders breathing and slays dwarves.]
[The holy sword of the Sun.]
The original of [Holy Sword of the Sun] was taken by a certain demon duke.
Therefore, the vampire race, on whom the [Holy Sword of the Sun] has a special effect, is still alive and well.
The original holy sword randomly drops one blue seed.
When fed to a compatible maiden, the seed sprouts in her belly and produces a pseudo-holy sword. If the seed is not compatible, it is said to be excreted out of the body, so it is said to be safe to give it to a maiden whose bloodline is historically compatible with the seed, considering those who reuse the seed.
“All the nobles of high rank want the seed. But this year, the new student is the legitimate son of a noble hero family. They have declared since before the new term that they will get the seed of the holy sword, and they have publicly stated that if any other house stands for the lottery, they will challenge the representative of that house to a duel.”
“That’s amazing. But given the house's roots, is it any wonder they're desperate?"
Pierre smiled.
“There is only one candidate, Setanta Lou. Of course. If you run, you will have to duel him."
"Then the lottery."
"It's a farce. Everyone knows who will be chosen for the Holy Tree. But this is a sacred ritual, a formal procedure that must be followed."
"I see."
“I've got student council work to do, so I'll leave you to it. ――Is there anything you want to ask me now?”
Christo was about to answer, "No, thank you," when he suddenly remembered that he had something to ask this pale young man.
"Pierre, what do you think I have to do to become king?"
Pierre stopped walking up the stairs and turned around.
"You're asking something interesting. You mean, to become King of Yggdrasil?"
"No, it's something on a smaller scale. Well, a [count] for now."
“As a rule, only hereditary nobles are eligible for the title of count or above. If it is lower, I think you can make a country with land, people, and laws. Then, you can call yourself a pretender to the throne."
"Thank you, that's very helpful."
It must have seemed like an outlandish question, but Pierre did not change his expression, grabbed the brim of his hat, and said, "Well, then" and walked away.
Christo gave silver coins to the coachman behind him and slowly began to climb the marble steps.
× × ×
Just as Pierre said, Christo went out to the back grounds after speaking to the receptionist.
A large number of students had already gathered on the neatly mowed grass field.
At the far end of the field, there was a large platform on which the drawing of the lottery was about to take place.
(Are the names of the candidates in that box?)
Christo stood at the end of the line of students, pulling his suitcase, thinking this as if it were someone else's problem.
A bald-headed priest stuck his hand into the box with a blue holy tree, the symbol of the Holy Tree Church. He then pulled out a folded piece of paper that was supposed to contain only one sheet.
"Christopher Söderholm! The student chosen for the Holy Tree is Christopher Söderholm! The student whose name corresponds to this name, please come to the podium now!"
(――――?)
The ground was in an uproar as if a beehive had been poked.
――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――
[Magic and Holy Arts]
Magic is a mystery that was created in ancient times when God = natural phenomena contracted with beings and spirits, etc. Many of them are derived from nature, and the arts of manipulating earth, water, and wind are common. Since the contract was made by the gods and spirits of the land, each land has different magic, catalysts required for activation, and spells. When a magician wishes to exercise magic in a new land, he must first know the magic of that land. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, and some magic can be used anywhere.
Holy arts are the mysteries derived from the Blue Holy Tree. There are only six types in total. In the present day, once a year, people scatter the ashes of the tree produced by the Blue Holy Tree on the ground to pray for a bountiful harvest. The ashes of the tree assimilate with the earth and become a factor that denies the existence of the primeval gods. By eating crops made from the ashes of the tree, the light races gained the power to kill demons whose ancestors were spirits.
Tftc
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