Chapter 15: The Sword’s Burden

I grabbed Siwoo’s hand and walked quickly.

After the principal left with the VIPs, I noticed a few people who seemed eager to talk to me.

First, the four Hero Candidates.

There was the prince, who had been looking at me as if he was appraising my value since earlier; the frontier count’s daughter, smiling openly in a belligerent way; and the duchess’ daughter, watching me with her hand resting on her chin.

Leaving out the elf, who showed little interest, the other three would probably have approached me if I had hesitated even a little longer.

At the academy, students are supposed to be equal.

By the rules, we’re supposed to speak informally with one another…

But really, how could that be easy?

They’re not just any nobles—speaking informally to a prince, a duchess’ daughter, and a frontier count’s daughter?

I couldn’t handle that stress.

On the other hand, if I used formal speech, it felt like I would be the one losing ground.

Thankfully, the principal, who had winked at me earlier, had taken all the VIPs away.

The regular students stepped aside as I approached.

Most of their gazes were fixed on the Holy Sword I held in my hand.

Damn it, maybe I should’ve just stuck it back in the stone. But it was already too late for regrets.

After pushing through the students who parted to the sides—

Where should I go?

If I went to the dorms, I wouldn’t be able to talk to Siwoo properly.

The academy had separate buildings for the boys’ and girls’ dormitories.

Ugh, damn it.

For now, I dragged Siwoo toward a more secluded part of the academy.

“How did this happen?”

I asked once we reached the high outer wall that enclosed the academy grounds.

“I wasn’t supposed to be able to pull out the Holy Sword, right?”

In the original story, Rira was indeed a Hero.

Eventually, she obtained the Holy Sword, but not from the start.

In the main story, she started carrying it naturally at some point, but the actual scene where she pulls it out only appeared after clearing her 3-star awakening event.

There were no “awakening stones” or anything like that in this world, but still, by the original timeline, shouldn’t the story have needed to progress that far first?

“I-I’m sorry. Honestly, I don’t really know either.”

“No, but earlier you were smiling so brightly when you saw me pull it out. Like you believed it would happen.”

“That’s because I thought you were fully qualified for it—not because I knew the storyline.”

“You said you asked the Goddess directly—”

“Directly?”

I was about to say “Then ask again,” but I hurriedly shut my mouth.

Oh, right.

In my rush, I had forgotten that Chloe, Sasha, and Narya were all near Siwoo.

Apparently, they had followed along while I was dragging him.

“I mean, it’d be nice if we could ask,”

I said to Chloe, who tilted her head in confusion, and then I grabbed my head in frustration.

“Ow.”

Oh, right. I was still holding the sword in one hand.

As I tried to clutch my head, I accidentally smacked myself with the sword’s hilt.

Grimacing, I used the hand not holding the sword to cradle the throbbing spot.

“By the way, why did you run all the way here, nya? You pulled the Holy Sword, so doesn’t that make you a Hero now, nya?”

Sasha tilted her head curiously and asked.

“Uh…”

How was I supposed to explain this?

“I’m just a common adventurer from the countryside. I didn’t attend church religiously, I only donated small amounts every now and then, and I wasn’t even diligent about praying… so I don’t know why I became the Hero.”

So I came up with an excuse on the spot.

Though honestly, I had a rough idea why.

Siwoo, who remembered his past life and knew about this world—and me, too, who knew the kind of world this was.

When you thought about it, it wouldn’t have been strange for either of us to pull the Holy Sword.

Assuming this really was the world of a web novel.

But if that were the case, they could’ve at least warned me in advance that I’d be pulling the Holy Sword from the start.

Instead of lulling me into a false sense of security and pulling the rug out from under me.

However, Chloe, Sasha, and Narya just tilted their heads at my words.

“Um… Hero-nim…”

Candidate—no, not anymore. I was a full-fledged Hero now, with no way to deny it.

“Let me ask you seriously: In what world does a random adventurer save an entire village without asking for any real compensation?”

“I mean, I did get paid, though?”

“Two silver coins? And you even split that between you and Siwoo-nim, didn’t you?”

“Besides, they offered to pay me a separate daily wage too.”

“Hey!”

When I shouted at Siwoo, who was chiming in from the side, he immediately shut his mouth.

But he was still smiling brightly, which only annoyed me more.

He was already handsome, which was irritating enough sometimes.

“That’s what happened, nya?”

“Yes, and it was you, Hero-nim, who immediately recognized that I was a Saint Candidate, too.”

In truth, it was only because I already knew the future, but there was no way I could explain that now.

“And you’re still claiming you’re not a Hero after recognizing the next Saint at a glance, nya?”

Sasha looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

It wasn’t something I wanted to hear from a girl who would, when pickpocketing, end up stuffing even more money into people’s pockets than she stole.

As I opened my mouth, unable to refute her properly, Sasha spoke again, her expression turning thoughtful.

“I’ve never seen anyone hand over thirty silver coins to a beastkin they just met, nya.”

“Kuong.”

“If you were just a Hero Candidate, you could have easily crushed the other side without anyone complaining, nya. But you chose the peaceful way instead—very heroic, nya.”

“Kuong, kuong.”

Seeing the two of them nodding with identical expressions, hands on their chins, somehow made me really irritated.

“It’s impossible for us to fully understand the Goddess’s intentions, but at the very least, I believe you have the heart of a true Hero,” Chloe said gently.

“The principal mentioned earlier that he would send someone to find you, didn’t he? Maybe it’s time to go unpack at the dormitory? That way, it’ll be easier for him to locate you when the time comes.”

Seriously, aren’t you all accepting this way too easily?

It’s not like just anyone can become a Hero.

Still, even though I wanted to argue, nothing good came to mind. In the end, I decided to just give up.

“Don’t worry,” Siwoo said, smiling reassuringly.

“I’ll help you.”

“Oh my, oh my.”

As Siwoo placed a hand on my shoulder, Chloe covered her mouth with both hands in surprise.

I ran a hand down my face in exasperation.

It actually took longer than I thought for the principal to summon me again.

Just like my party members suggested, I went back to the stables, collected my belongings, moved into the dormitory, unpacked everything, placed the Holy Sword carefully on the desk, and sat blankly on my bed for a long while.

It was only then that a maid finally knocked on the door.

Normally, people working in a place like this would be the type to show professional indifference toward the students—that’s the cliché, anyway.

But I was already the person who pulled out the Holy Sword this morning.

When I entered the room, I was still holding the sword in one hand, so of course they stared.

There was no avoiding it.

As I walked along the corridor, sighing deeply, students who happened to see me looked startled.

I’d ended up becoming famous among the whole student body right at the start of the semester.

Still, I guess it was lucky I didn’t run into any other Hero Candidates on my way to the principal’s office.

“Ah, you’re here,” someone said as I arrived.

The principal’s office had a much more old-fashioned atmosphere than I expected.

Most of the Academy buildings were based around a white color scheme, but here, the floor was wooden, and the walls were made of wood too.

It felt more like an old library.

Not that it lacked elegance or anything, though.

“Thank you. Could you wait outside for a moment?”

When the principal spoke politely, the maid bowed and left me alone in the office.

Srrk, click.

The door closed softly, and after waiting a moment, the principal held out a hand, palm facing me.

“Wait. Let me say something important first.”

The principal’s lively gesture didn’t match someone supposedly well over 200 years old, and I was briefly left speechless.

Then, wearing a slightly more serious expression, the principal continued.

“First of all, now that you’ve become a Hero, there will be a constant stream of people asking to join your party.”

The moment I heard that, my stomach twisted again.

“Fortunately, it seems like you already have some party members, Lila. But keep in mind that you can always add more.”

“How many?” I asked.

“Hmm, there’s no strict limit. The original party—mine included—had six members.”

I knew that story; it was famous.

“As long as you don’t try to form an entire army, you probably won’t face much opposition. Haha, just kidding,” the principal said hurriedly, noticing my expression.

“But if one of the Hero Candidates, specifically Kara the elf, asks to join your party—”

“If she asks?” I prompted, wary.

Were they about to insist I take her in?

Well, it made sense.

The principal was an elf too, after all.

I’d heard that not many believed the Demon King would actually be resurrected.

If the request was made to benefit their race’s prosperity or political power, it would be understandable—

“Absolutely refuse.”

“…Huh?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s not worth adding her,” the principal said firmly.

But… weren’t they both elves?

And didn’t the principal even fight alongside the Hero 200 years ago, all the way to confronting the Demon King?

“Could you maybe explain that a little more specifically?” I asked, still confused.

“Of course. Elves are extremely arrogant.”

“Especially the younger ones these days.”

Suddenly, the principal’s supposed age of over 200 years felt a lot more believable.