Chapter 21: A Quiet Escape

That night, after the first class ended.

“Hmm…”

I was lying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling.

In fact, usually in a story like this, by the evening of the first day at the academy, the protagonist would go to the training grounds.

They’d try out their new weapon, discover some amazing feature of it, and get excited.

That’s the usual progression, right?

But I wasn’t planning on doing that.

If I went to the training grounds in this state, I would inevitably run into someone.

Whether it was Princess Arnburrow or Lady Blackwood, we’d end up crossing swords.

Was it really wise to go out at all?

Wouldn’t it be better to just stay holed up in my dorm room?

But, shaking off those thoughts, I got up from the bed.

I wasn’t planning to train or anything, but at least I needed to find a place where I could meet Siwoo alone.

If I sat in a cafe, one of the party members or someone passing by would talk to me.

I debated whether I should change clothes, but in the end, I decided to go out in my school uniform. It was likely that I wouldn’t stand out much in this.

By the time I stepped out, it had already gotten dark.

There was no curfew inside the academy, as long as you stayed within the academy grounds.

As long as you didn’t leave the campus, students were free to go wherever they liked at whatever time.

There was a curfew of sorts, but it wasn’t for the academy itself—just for the dorms.

Students could leave the academy grounds between 6 PM and 10 PM.

Usually, there wasn’t much reason to leave, but someone like me, from a commoner background, would sometimes need some extra money.

On weekends, students could leave starting at 9 AM.

Considering that all the students were required to live in the dorms, the rules were surprisingly lenient in some ways.

“Alright, then. Where should I go?”

I muttered to myself as I stepped out of the dorm and looked around.

There were certain places that students frequented around the academy.

Near the cafe Siwoo and I had visited, there were plenty of restaurants and shops.

It was a small shopping district where you could find almost everything you needed—clothes, academic supplies, and miscellaneous items.

Seeing the lights still on late at night, I figured that area would be bustling with students.

Sasha, Narya, and Chloe might be there too.

Chloe, in particular, had rushed off so quickly that she probably didn’t have a chance to bring everything she needed with her.

So, I deliberately chose to go in the opposite direction.

Since it was still before curfew, there would likely be people coming in and out of the exit.

That area was probably a no-go too.

“Ugh…”

I leaped over the surrounding grass that bordered the paved path.

I only need to stay inside the grounds, right?

People can’t always stick to the designated paths.

As I moved farther away from the streetlights, the atmosphere around me grew darker.

Still, I wasn’t particularly worried.

The academy was in the busiest area of the city, and of course, there weren’t any monsters roaming around.

There wasn’t a huge forest inside the academy grounds, and once you left the paved paths, there were mostly just grass fields.

Was there anywhere near the academy’s wall that two people could hide?

Maybe an abandoned warehouse or something?

“It’s really dark here…”

I paused for a moment, then stretched out my empty right hand.

The holy sword comes to me when I need it, right?

I closed my eyes and focused my mind… Well, it wasn’t anything particularly impressive.

I need the holy sword… I need it… I need it… Need it…

Suddenly, my right hand dropped straight down.

It’s real.

I hadn’t even wished for it desperately, but before I knew it, the holy sword was in my hand.

“Just as expected.”

During the bright daylight, I hadn’t noticed it, but the holy sword was faintly glowing.

In the bright sunlight, the glow had been nearly invisible, but in this darkness, it was distinctly visible.

I extended the tip of the holy sword forward.

As I brought it close to the ground, it was enough to light up the path.

This would work.

While there were ways to use divine power without the holy sword, that would be extremely bright even in the daytime.

Using it in the middle of the night would make me visible from far away.

I didn’t want to be seen wandering the streets at night alone, especially as a so-called “hero.”

“Alright then.”

I used the holy sword to light up the unpaved path and moved forward.

But there was something I hadn’t anticipated.

Since I was a student at the academy, and a hero candidate at that, there shouldn’t be any problem with me entering the academy grounds.

However, Lionheart Academy was a place with strict security.

There were princesses, young ladies from noble houses, and saint candidates cherished by the church… not to mention the scions of influential families that supported the empire, and even princes.

So, if a suspicious person were wandering around near the academy walls at night, it would definitely look odd.

“Hey, who’s there?!”

But the guards, who came running with loud voices, froze and stood around me in shock.

“Y-You, hero candidate!?”

“Oh, um…”

I froze as I looked around at the six knights surrounding me, the holy sword still gleaming in my hand.

Since I didn’t have a proper scabbard for the sword, there wasn’t a good place to put it, which made it impossible to express that I had no intention of attacking.

Throwing the holy sword to the ground also didn’t feel quite right.

But still, my position as the Hero seemed to carry more weight than I had originally thought.

The knights, despite their confused expressions, put their swords back into their scabbards.

The ones holding spears raised them above their heads.

They exchanged glances with each other, and one of them, who seemed to be in charge, handed his torch to another knight before stepping forward.

When he removed his helmet, I was surprised to see a youthful face.

He looked around the same age as Siwoo, though probably in his mid-20s, older than Siwoo.

“Hero Candidate, what brings you here…?”

I thought for a moment before asking directly, “Is it not allowed for me to be here?”

The knights exchanged glances once more.

“Well… There isn’t a rule saying students from the academy can’t come this far. But… I suppose no student has ever come this way before.”

“But even so, we can’t just let someone wander around here at this hour. After all, security is a priority at the academy, you know. Although…”

He glanced at the holy sword in my hand.

Though it might be possible to replicate the shape of this sword, recreating the divine light that radiated from it would be nearly impossible.

Even if one tried, it would take a high-level priest pouring blessings into the sword to create a similar glow.

Usually, such light wouldn’t emanate constantly either.

A magical light would feel completely different from this.

“Since you’re the Hero Candidate, we don’t have the right to ask you why you’re here.”

I paused for a moment, letting out a breath.

I didn’t want to make things more awkward by beating around the bush.

“Is there anywhere around here where no one will come by?”

“A place where no one will come by…?” he asked, confused.

“Just a small place where one or two people could fit. I just want to try something.”

The soldiers seemed to stir, perhaps thinking that the words coming from the Hero’s mouth didn’t match the usual expectations.

“I’m sure everyone recognizes my face by now,” I continued.

There might be a few women wearing earrings, but there weren’t many red-haired women like me, especially those with hair so short it almost looked like a boy’s.

Even if someone had seen me from a distance, they’d surely recognize me if I passed by.

Maybe I should just grow my hair out.

There are quite a few red-haired girls around, after all.

“I sometimes wish I had a place to catch my breath,” I added with a small shrug.

“But… then the dormitory…” he began, trailing off.

The knight seemed to have deduced my thoughts without me saying much.

What exactly he deduced, I wasn’t entirely sure.

“You must have a lot on your plate, Hero.”

“Is that right?” I answered with a wry smile, and a short laugh spread among the knights.

The knight who had stepped forward thought for a moment before speaking again.

“I can tell you where the place is, but it may not be as comfortable as you might expect.”

“So, there is such a place,” I said, a small relief washing over me.

“Yes, there is,” he confirmed. “But… once you see it, you might not find it to your liking.”

I nodded in understanding.

“Here it is.”

The knight raised his torch to shine some light on a building, pointing it out to me.

“It’s an old storage shed. Over time, as the surrounding buildings were repositioned and changed, this place became too distant and was left unused. It might be a little cramped to rest in, but…?” he added, his voice trailing off.

Looking at it from the outside, the building did indeed appear small—probably too small to fit even a single bed.

Someone with claustrophobia might panic inside.

“It looks nice,” I replied.

But to me, it was perfect.

After all, it was just enough space for two people, right?

I smiled at the thought, and the knights seemed unsure how to react.

“Well, I guess this kind of response still takes some getting used to,” I muttered to myself, but the knights remained quiet, perhaps still a bit flustered by my casual tone.