Chapter 14: The Sword’s Choice

It was a magnificent sword.

Despite being deeply embedded in the rock, it did not budge an inch, and the blade was sharp.

Holy swords, as they’re called, are often adorned with intricate decorations, but this one had none of that.

It was, quite literally, a sword made solely for battle.

And I…

Shing.

I returned the sword to the rock.

“Wait a minute.”

Up until then, the principal had been watching me with a satisfied smile, but now she stepped forward in a flurry of confusion.

“Why are you putting it back?”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Principal?”

I said with a completely composed expression.

“When did I… Oh, you must have seen it wrong. How could a rural kid like me pull out a holy sword?”

|I laughed awkwardly and scratched my head, and the principal, who had been the only one not surprised by me pulling out the sword, now stared at me, mouth agape.

She placed her hand on her forehead as if feeling dizzy.

“…Would you like to try again?”

I stared at the sword firmly embedded in the rock for a while, then reluctantly placed my hand on the hilt again.

Drrrr.

“Ah, it’s not coming out after all.”

“Wait. Stop moving.”

The principal suddenly grabbed my hand with a serious look on her face.

As a result, my hand couldn’t let go of the sword and hovered in the air, the blade slightly pulled out.

Honestly, I was a bit scared.

“You moved just now, didn’t you? Right? The sword, which no one else could budge, moved when you touched it, didn’t it?”

“No? I didn’t move it at all.”

“Calm down for a moment. I understand how you’re feeling. You must be shocked from pulling the sword out so suddenly. But the more unexpected the situation, the more important it is to remain calm and think about the future.”

Well, in my case, all I see in the future is disaster.

Among the hero candidates, there are fakes.

People who were manipulated into this position either to seize imperial power or for some other agenda.

In such a situation, what if I actually turn out to be the real hero?

…There’s never been a time when there was only one hero, but now, the other “candidates” would have to prove they are the ones who truly deserve the title.

The prince, the princess, the duke’s daughter, the great warrior of the World Tree.

Would I be expected to compete with the power players of this empire?

Why not just wait until it’s clear who the fakes are and then choose?

…The sword must be broken.

Honestly, maybe if someone else pulled it out, they would have succeeded, too.”

“Lilaa, you’re the last in line.”

“Maybe the others loosened it up a bit, and I just happened to pull it out…”

The principal narrowed her eyes and looked at me before letting go of my hand.

I quickly released the sword, and clunk, it slid back into the rock exactly where it had been.

“Alright, then.”

The principal stepped back, and with a serene expression, she spoke in a tone that was almost identical to when the ceremony first started.

“Let’s do this then. First, one of the others who tried before should attempt to pull out the sword again, and if they fail, then Lila, you can try again. If it’s still pulled out, will you accept that you did it on your own?”

Hmm, I don’t really want to admit it, but I didn’t think I could just ignore it either.

“…Yeah, that sounds fair enough.”

In the end, I reluctantly agreed.

And of course, the previous four failed one by one.

At this point, I started wondering if they were just trying to tease me, but their attempts looked more desperate this time than before, so I couldn’t just dismiss them.

Especially the prince, whose face twisted with frustration, struggling for almost ten minutes.

The holy sword didn’t even make a sound.

And then, it was my turn again.

How many dots would it take to express this silence?

I turned my gaze towards Siwoo.

I wanted to consult with him right now, but it would be a bit difficult to do so here.

The principal had been staring at me the whole time.

…The other four hero candidates, the dignitaries who attended the opening ceremony, the saint candidates…

Everyone was watching me.

I felt like I was about to be pierced through.

What is the goddess thinking?

I wish she would at least say something like Siwoo, but there was no sign of that.

“There’s nothing to worry about.”

As I hesitated in front of the holy sword, the principal spoke softly this time.

“I’ll wait as long as you need.”

With those words, I couldn’t just ignore her.

Sigh.

I took a long breath and simply grabbed the sword.

Shing.

Once again, the holy sword was pulled out with such ease that it was almost absurd.

And then… silence.

I raised the sword high, but the people watching seemed to have no idea how to react.

Clap clap clap clap!

The first person to clap in the silence was—

A stranger.

…No, I had seen him before.

The baron of Floris, the man who danced happily when I became a hero candidate.

He was the baron of the territory where my hometown belonged.

When I set off, he was already heading towards the capital, and it seemed like it was to attend as a dignitary.

He must have been invited because a hero candidate from his territory had been selected.

While he was a solid baron with a strong territory and power, it seemed that being in the company of higher-ranked nobles was quite a treat for him.

I hadn’t noticed it when I went up to the stage earlier because I was so nervous.

And in response to his applause, the principal joined in—

One by one, the people around began clapping as well.

And then—

“Wow!”

“Hero!”

“Unbelievable, you pulled out the holy sword!”

I heard cheers coming from all over.

Looking around, it was mostly students in commoner clothing cheering.

The noble students mostly watched me with great interest.

The expressions of the other hero candidates were rather complicated.

The princess from Arnberre was leading the group in terms of her subtle expression.

“How did you…?”

…That’s probably what her expression meant.

The werewolf duke’s daughter, Cindy Blackwood, was smiling viciously.

She looked like she wanted to fight me right away.

If we fought, she’d be disappointed.

Thankfully, the elf, Kara, seemed to have no interest at all.

But the real issue was…

The prince’s gaze, which slowly scanned me from head to toe.

Although he tried to hide his emotions, I could easily detect the arrogance in his eyes.

The feelings I had when I saw the princess and the duke’s daughter were closer to “Oh, school life is going to get complicated,” but the sensation I got from the prince felt more like the “stepmother’s house” feeling.

Isn’t this the thing?

Where, thanks to the protagonist, the great heroine gets engaged to another man.

…Of course, I’m not the heroine, and I haven’t made any childhood marriage promises with Siwoo.

“I absolutely mustn’t get closer to him.”

If I end up fighting against the first two, it’s fine if I lose, but with the prince, the more I interact with him, the more things will spiral out of control.

“Excellent.”

The principal approached and spoke.

“No… I didn’t do anything.”

“You pulled the sword out.”

“But it wasn’t because I’m that good.”

“The goddess doesn’t give the power of a hero to just anyone. There must be some greater purpose behind it.”

“Hmm.”

What was that?

I think I just heard a snort.

It was probably the elf student.

The hero candidate is Kara.

The principal either didn’t hear it or chose to ignore it, but said nothing in response.

“By the way, have you already decided on your party members?”

“Uh…”

I turned to look at Siwoo.

He was smiling at me as if to say, “I knew you would do it!”

And right next to him was “I knew you would!” part 2.

It was Chloe, the saint candidate.

Sasha was so excited she was waving her hands, and Narya was giving Sasha a piggyback ride.

I thought for a moment and then answered.

“Yes.”

If I said no, I felt like all sorts of people would jump in and offer to be my party members, so I just went with it.

“That’s great.”

The principal followed my gaze to look at my party members, nodding his head with a smile.

“Then, please take a short break and rest. Since this is the first time in 200 years, we need to have a little discussion. You know where the dorm rooms are, right?”

I received the key during the opening ceremony.

“Yes, I know.”

“Alright then…”

“Um, excuse me…”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“This sword… what should I do with it?”

“Oh, that’s right.”

The principal smiled at my question.

“Unfortunately, the scabbard was lost during a battle 200 years ago. It didn’t have any special abilities, so we can make a new one. For now, you’ll have to use a standard scabbard from the academy.”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant.”

I shook my head.

“…Should I be carrying this around?”

“Of course, it’s yours now, Hero.”

Hearing the word “hero” again made my stomach churn.

“Then… If I were to lose such a valuable item…”

“Lost it?”

The principal laughed as though he had just heard some funny joke.

“Well, let’s see… that sword was stuck in this rock even though the hero didn’t come here to place it, right? It was like it was making a vow of celibacy, refusing to allow anyone to touch it. But then, the hero’s hand touched it.”

What a strange metaphor.

“If you ever need it, the holy sword will always return to your hand. You don’t have to worry too much.”

Ah.

Right, I suppose.

This person was part of the hero party 200 years ago too.

“So, don’t worry. If you’re really bothered, just leave it here. After all, no one else will be able to take it.”

I felt dizzy.

No matter how I thought about it, this was so far beyond what I deserved.

“Well then, please rest for now. When the meeting is over, we’ll send someone to you. Or we can come to find you.”

The principal spoke with a smile, as if he knew exactly what was going on inside my head.