Chapter 33 – If You Have the Merit, It Is Not Arrogance

“Seriously! Master! What did I say?!”

“That I heaped endless praise upon this Deus fellow! For a full two hours, no less!”

“N, no, not that!! The other thing, the other thing!!”

“The other thing? Ah, you mean my being forbidden from coming to the Cradle?”

Yes! That’s right! Exactly that! That!! How many times did I stress it!

Luciel beat her chest repeatedly, as if her heart would burst, and lamented.

Most would be remorseful at such a sight and start to fuss.

But the problem was. The swordsman before her was not most people.

“But how could I resist? My curiosity demands that I see things with my own eyes, to be truly satisfied.”

“Ugh!”

“And I was right to come! Did you see? I started with two swords, and it was still a standoff. What does that tell you! Ahahahaha!”

“This is not the time to laugh!”

Hmm. I’ve never seen Luciel Senior so expressive.

While appreciating the exchange from afar, distant commotion made me turn my head.

“There, there they are!”

Leading the charge were the instructors. Followed by the Cradle’s administrators.

Gender, age, status, and position within the Cradle. All were wholly unique.

Yet, if there was one thing they all shared in this very moment:

“Sabel-sunbae! aaargh! Seriously! Another one, huh?!”

“Why do you always do this! I’m going crazy, I swear!!”

“What are you here to break this time?!”

…Wasn’t he supposed to be the empire’s strongest ability user? Why is he being treated like this?

The image I had in my head was everyone bowing their heads and saying, ‘Sabel-nim has arrived.’

That question of Deus’s, however, was resolved before long.

“Hahaha! Aye, it pleases me greatly to be greeted with such enthusiasm.”

“Does this look like enthusiasm to you?!”

“Why of course! It’s a very…spirited greeting! Ahahahaha!”

“I’m going to die before my time because of you, sunbae.”

“Ye has never struck a junior! I am wronged! Ahahahaha!”

What is this. Is this an act? Or is he genuinely like this?

The others are practically begging him to stop.

To laugh so heartily in front of them like that, is it just mocking them?

“And what is this you’re wearing, coming into the Cradle! Take it off right now!”

“Hm? This, you mean? Hoo. How naive. One must always wear a dark hood when attempting to infiltrate—”

“That’s only at night! A dark hood in broad daylight? Why not just wear a sign that says, ‘I’m suspicious, please attack me.’ And why are you even ‘infiltrating’ the Cradle!”

“Oh, um… now that you mention it, you’re right. Hahaha! Ye made a mistake!”

Wait a moment. This feels familiar. This scent, it’s…

Unmatched in power. But everything else is… something. This is… that’s right. He’s a paper tiger!

“Let’s go, please. The Headmaster is waiting.”

“Ehh. All she’ll do is lecture me again.”

“Knowing that, you still sneak in and cause trouble?!”

“Trouble! What trouble! Ye is innocent!”

No. I mean, you shouldn’t be innocent about it. Seonsaeng-nim.

Luciel pinched the bridge of his nose, as did the instructors and custodians.

“Anyhow! Ye’s business is not yet concluded. There is more to be done!”

“Please, just go, don’t be stubborn. Seonsaeng-nim. I’m embarrassed enough already.”

“Ahem! How can a disciple be embarrassed of their teacher!”

“That’s exactly why I’m embarrassed…”

Of course. To wield dual swords, you need that level of craziness.

Bulgwang bulgeup. You cannot reach madness without being mad. That saying suddenly comes to mind.

“Goodness. Alright! Alright! You there, young man!”

“It’s Deus.”

“Yes! Deus! Wait here while Ye is away! Ye shall return soon!”

“…Here, you mean?”

Aye, here. Ah. Is that not acceptable?

At Sabel’s words, Deus could only chuckle in disbelief.

If that’s not an act, this is going to be quite tiring.

“Junior. Go wait in the lounge. I’ll send the teacher to you there.”

“Disciple. A person isn’t an object. What do you mean, ‘send’?”

“Teacher, please, just be quiet.”

Junior. Please, go to the lounge. I’m begging you. Otherwise, I can’t take the teacher with me.

At Luciel’s earnest plea, Deus was left with no choice but to nod.

…It felt like walking into a storm, but a very strange one at that.

Why, all of a sudden, was he reminded of that absurd movie he’d been tricked into seeing by a friend?

That movie’s name was also something about a storm. Sharknado, or something like that.

As asked, he headed to the lounge, opened the door, and stepped inside.

“Uuuh…”

“…?”

Seriously. Why is she dozing off here, too?

A shock of pink hair, immediately catching his eye. It was Yurisia.

“Yurisia.”

“Uuuh…”

“Yurisia?”

He gently (at least, gently by Deus’s standards) poked her on the sofa.

Her closed eyelids slowly began to rise.

“…Hgek?!”

Yurisia, startled, jolted upright, as if propelled from her seat.

Then, she frantically tousled her hair, covering her ears.

“De, Deus?!”

“Sorry. I didn’t want to wake you, but we might have a visitor soon…”

“Di-did you see?! Did you see it?!”

“…?”

See what? Oh, is she talking about her dozing off?

“I just saw you sleeping. Don’t worry. There was nothing weird, and I didn’t do anything weird either.”

“No. I mean… that… Ah, never mind. It’s a relief if you didn’t see it…”

Yurisia, muttering strangely, forced a yawn and straightened herself.

“Weren’t you going to go exercise at this time?”

“I was. But the headmaster called me to his office.”

“The headmaster’s office? Why, why?”

Did you do something terribly wrong?! Why were you summoned to the headmaster’s office?!

Her eyes were filled with worry. Deus waved his hands dismissively.

“It wasn’t anything like that. He asked me if I would consider joining the Expedition Team.”

“The Expedition Team? Re-really? That’s insane…! You’re just a freshman?!”

“I was surprised, too. Apparently, this is the earliest invitation to the Expedition Team in the Academy’s history.”

“So? What did you say? You’re going to join, right? Right?”

Why are you so worked up? I’m the one it concerns, and I’m completely calm.

“No. I said I wouldn’t.”

“aaah?! Why, why? Why won’t it go in?”

“Because it’s not what *I* want.”

Or, more accurately, because there’s nothing I can *do* there.

Yurisia, of course, couldn’t possibly know Deus’s innermost thoughts, and continued to press for an explanation.

“The expeditionary force is such a great opportunity! Don’t you think…you should reconsider?”

“My mind’s made up. The headmaster agreed, too.”

“Why, why…? All the upperclassmen seemed to want it so badly.”

Hmm. What to say? What could I say that would smoothly deflect this?

I certainly couldn’t explain about the oath. I needed some other reason.

“It’s just… it’s not the path *I* desire.”

“Your… path?”

“Actually, Yurisia. I haven’t told anyone this before, but… I’m telling *you* now.”

Ah, to hell with it. Let’s just throw something out there. It’s not entirely untrue, when you think about it.

Adopting a suitably serious expression, Deus continued.

“I want to end this long darkness… with *only* my own strength.”

“Uh, uhhh…?”

“So that no one around me has to meet a tragic end.”

The novel he had been reading, ＜The Gate Opens on the Mercenary Company’s First Day＞, had an extremely depressing atmosphere.

This stemmed from the fact that everyone except the protagonist could die at any moment.

Even well-developed characters would often meet a tragic end out of the blue.

Deus still remembered the moment when his most beloved character died.

It sounds a little ridiculous, but it had become a kind of trauma.

So much so that it influenced the wording of his second oath.

If I accept help, someone else might die. I’d rather brave it alone.

So that no one has to weep or be filled with regrets.

‘Except I got body-snatched into some random novel, so it’s all gotten a bit vague.’

Well. It’s not entirely useless, so I’ll let it slide.

Anyway.

“My own strength, my path… a little cringey, isn’t it? It’s all because of certain circums—”

“Not at all! Not at all! On the contrary, it’s admirable! I think it’s very, *very* admirable!”

“Uh, uh?”

“All alone. Taking everything on by yourself. I, I think that’s amazing, Deus!”

What? Did Yurisia have a bit of a romantic streak for that sort of thing, too?

It was a relief that her reaction wasn’t what he had feared. In fact, her words made him feel strangely good.

‘As I thought. As I thought…! I want to be like that person. Someone who can accomplish everything on their own, that’s who!’

She gazed at Deus, who was thanking her for understanding.

Today, just like yesterday, she would secretly dedicate herself to rigorous training.

Hoping that one day, she could confidently tell him that she was following in his footsteps.

Yurisia clenched her fists tighter than ever, filled with a renewed sense of determination.

*

Exactly one hour later.

“Alright. Let’s have a proper conversation now.”

Shavel, true to his word, appeared in the common room precisely one hour after he’d said he would.

How could he be so punctual?

To this question, Shavel, still hooded, replied as if it were obvious. “I was speaking with the Headmaster, and told him, ‘The rest will have to wait,’ and bolted.”

“…”

“The reason I came here wasn’t to be lectured!”

Suddenly, Luciel’s words to her mentor from earlier came to mind.

*If you don’t want to be lectured, don’t do things that warrant a lecture,* or so it went.

“Don’t you think I’m terribly unfortunate? To be lectured by my own student, and on top of that, by my juniors and my former homeroom teacher—no, should I call him Headmaster now? In any case, I’m being lectured by *him* too, you see!”

“Yes, yes. How very *un*fortunate you are.”

“Huh?”

“Fortunate.”

My apologies. My true feelings slipped out there.