Chapter 25: Unseen Paths

“Hey, not bad, huh?”

The duel had just ended, and Lady Blackwood casually slung her arm over my shoulder as she spoke.

“You sure you didn’t learn swordsmanship somewhere? You’re just a commoner, right? It’s not like you’ve faced any big-name monsters or anything, but to be this good just from that… That’s impressive, seriously.”

“Uh? Oh… Uh-huh…”

I wanted to say something proper in return, but all I could manage was a dazed, stupid sound.

“Let’s get along, yeah? I mean, it’s not like the Demon King’s actually going to show up or anything.”

Pat pat.

She gave my shoulder a couple of light slaps and walked back to her seat.

The other wolf beastkin gathered there clapped for her.

I stared blankly in that direction, then slowly lowered my gaze to my hands.

“She’s right.”

The Sword Saint had approached me and spoke.

“House Blackwood guards the frontier of this nation. It’s only natural she grew up mastering not just swordsmanship, but all forms of combat. Even without the Demon King, the Empire has no shortage of enemies. So you learn. And there’s no need to become the best.”

It was a surprisingly kind sentiment for someone so stern.

“A Hero never fights alone, after all.”

Those words pierced my heart.

I remembered the headmaster, holding up the enchanted greave for me to see.

It wasn’t an ordinary greave—it extended all the way past the knee, covering the joint entirely.

That meant… he had no leg above the knee.

A hand missing a finger.

Arms covered in scars.

If I couldn’t become a perfect Hero, then it would be Siwoo who ended up wounded.

“You may return to your seat now.”

“Ah, yes.”

Only then did I finally respond, turning to walk back to my seat.

“That was amazing-nyan! You actually held your own against Blackwood—super impressive-nyan!”

“Ku-woong!”

Sasha and Narya shouted.

“Wonderful swordplay, Hero!”

I didn’t know if they really meant it or were just trying to cheer me up after seeing my face.
But my party’s cheers echoed warmly.

I gave a slightly awkward smile, raising one hand in reply, then sat down next to Siwoo.

“You did well, Lila.”

“…”

But I kept staring at my hands.

The skill I’d honed while leaning on Siwoo’s support powers…

Others might praise me for standing up to someone like Blackwood.

But I know—I still have a long way to go.

I wasn’t sure what criteria they were using to determine matchups, but the final duel of the day was between Hero Candidate Lady Rebecca Arnborough… and Siwoo.

It ended.

Siwoo wasn’t bad at swordsmanship—not at all.

During our time together as adventurers, he’d never once been a burden.

But even so, compared to a noble lady who’s trained in swordsmanship her whole life… that was different.

“Begin.”

The Sword Saint announced the start after the countdown ended, but for a while, the two just stared each other down.

“If you won’t come, then I will.”

With that, the noble lady—gripping her sword with both hands—lunged straight at Siwoo.

Clack!

Their wooden swords clashed.

Siwoo was pushed back hard.

He managed to block a few more of her follow-up strikes reasonably well, but eventually—

Thwack.

Her sword struck down hard on his sword, knocking it from his hands.

His sword hit the floor and skidded away.

“Hmm?”

The noble lady made a questioning sound.

At the same time—

“Match over,” declared the Sword Saint.

“Well fought,” he added.

But the noble lady wore a confused expression.

“Did something happen?” I asked Siwoo as he returned to his seat.

“Huh?”

Seeing my sudden question, Siwoo tilted his head.

“No, it’s just… her expression seemed a little strange.”

“Hmm. I don’t really know.”

Siwoo answered with a slightly awkward smile.

When I narrowed my eyes and stared at him, he quickly looked away.

So he was hiding something, again.

If it was personal, I didn’t want to pry too much.

Still, it left me with a strange, unsettled feeling.

And just like that, class for the day ended—leaving behind a faint, sticky sense of discomfort.

No one blamed me for anything.

The class had simply been about testing each other’s skills.

But the gloomy thought that clung to a corner of my mind wouldn’t go away so easily.

The first to notice my expression, of course, was the person who’d known me the longest—Siwoo.

“Well, how about we grab something sweet again today and cheer up a little?”

He gave my shoulder a pat as he spoke.

“I know I mooched off you last time, but guess what? Late last night, the Church finally sent in my support funds.

Turns out all the paperwork got messed up because I had to rush to the Academy too quickly.”

Chloe responded to Siwoo’s comment.

“Last time, Lord Dragon… I mean, Lord Lila paid, so I’ll pay today.”

That made me smile a little too.

“Still, we can’t just mooch off a cleric.”

“That’s right, nya! So I’ll pay today, nya!”

“Ku-eong!”

“Oh, Narya is paying too, nya?”

No, you two are actually the ones with the least money among us.

But saying that out loud would definitely hurt their feelings, so I just silently decided to pay myself.

“All right then, let’s head to the café—”

“Wait a second.”

Just as we were about to leave, someone called out to us urgently.

We turned to see Lady Arnburrow standing there.

Even though she had called out in a hurry, she hesitated a little when she saw our group.

“Why?”

Seeing that hesitant look on her face reminded me of the uneasy expression she had during class earlier, and I started to feel unsettled again.

“I, um… I wanted to speak with Siwoo for a moment…”

Normally, she was the type to be extremely confident even on her own, but now that she had to approach us as a group, she seemed a bit hesitant.

“Me?”

Siwoo asked, and she nodded again.

Our eyes silently turned to Siwoo.

“What do you want to do?”

I asked.

She was a key figure, born with a three-star status.

Getting close to her might be a good thing.

Even though she had a party, she was usually alone, so it could be easier to offer or get help.

But somehow…

“If it’s just for a short conversation.”

When Siwoo said that, her expression brightened a little, and seeing that made me feel a bit…

No, I don’t even know what I’m thinking anymore.

“Then I’ll be back soon. You all go on ahead. I’ll catch up.”

“Uh… okay…”

I answered a little absentmindedly, and Siwoo stared at me for a few seconds, then gave my arm a light tap before walking over to the lady.

Lady Arnburrow, who had been standing at a distance and watching us cautiously, took Siwoo and disappeared down the hallway.

“You’re not going to follow them, nya?”

As I blankly stared after the two of them, Sasha asked.

“Huh? Follow them?”

“Of course you should follow them.”

Chloe said, sounding frustrated.

“Your boyfriend just went off to talk alone with another girl!”

“What? First of all, setting aside the ‘boyfriend’ part, he said it was just a short conversation.”

My dazed mind snapped back into focus at those words.

“She’s beautiful, capable, and has high status too!”

“Chloe-nya!”

Seeing my expression crumple, Sasha gave Chloe a light smack on the arm.

“Ah—sorry…”

“Don’t worry too much, nya. Even a stranger could tell your connection with him is solid. Even the prince ran off in embarrassment, right?”

“But that doesn’t mean you can let your guard down either!”

“I get what you’re worried about, but if he asked to talk one-on-one, it’s probably something awkward for us to hear anyway.”

“Which is why you should listen!”

“I agree with that, nya.”

“Ku-eong.”

Seriously, what is wrong with these people?

“So you’re telling me you’re not at all curious about what they’re talking about? Honestly? Swear on the goddess?”

Don’t go throwing the goddess’s name around for this nonsense, cleric.

“You wear a gift from your childhood on your ear every day and still claim he’s not your boyfriend and you don’t care? That’s a ridiculous argument. Totally unconvincing.”

“I never said I was trying to convince anyone—”

“What if that noble lady confesses to Siwoo?”

Chloe said bluntly.

“How would you feel if the guy who used to sleep in the same room with you suddenly started dating another girl?”

The reason Siwoo and I shared a room was because someone else decided to assign it that way, and… well, it’s not like anything significant happened in there… is what I was going to say.

But at the same time, the thought of Siwoo getting a girlfriend made me feel strange.

Because… that would mean the Siwoo who was always by my side like it was the most natural thing in the world would now have someone more important than me, and would choose to be apart from me.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Even if I called out to him, he wouldn’t come to that storage room, and I’d just end up sitting there alone in that gloomy space.

“You’re not seriously saying you’d just be happy for him because he’s a good person and you’re just friends, right?”

“When you have feelings for someone close to you, that’s exactly when you have to be most mindful, nya.”

Their words moved something in me.

“I don’t think we’ll hear anything big even if we follow them… Ah, fine. Fine, okay.”

In the end, I nodded, unable to resist the three of them staring straight at me.

Yeah, it’s not like I really wanted to go, but… that’s why.

A saint with awkwardly high agility stats but no related skills.

And an agility-focused rogue who couldn’t fully specialize due to oddly high defense stats.

Still, these two seemed to have decent enough tracking ability, as they quickly found Lady Arnburrow and Siwoo, who had disappeared from sight.

The two of them were at the stair landing of the building.

It was the highest spot, leading up to the attic under the roof.

It was a space just a bit too cramped for people, so it seemed they had chosen it on purpose.

Their conversation didn’t seem to have started long ago.

Had Lady Arnburrow hesitated like she did when she called out to Siwoo?

“Earlier, during the sparring.”

Lady Arnburrow began.

“Why did you lose on purpose?”

“Huh?”

Siwoo looked confused by her question.

“The way you received my sword wasn’t from formal training, but it was impressive. I actually had trouble because of your irregular movements.”

“You still had strength to hold your sword. The way your blade flew from your hands when I struck—it was clearly unnatural.”

She took a breath.

…There must be a reason the Swordmaster paired me with you.

The Hero is the Hero.

He got in because he was a candidate.

“But you… you got in purely on merit, right? You could’ve joined the Hero’s party, but if you had, the Swordmaster wouldn’t have made you face me.”

“You’re misunderstanding something.”

Hearing Siwoo’s words, the Lady fell silent for a moment.

“I’m not at a level where I can judge someone’s skill at first glance. But your talent is—definitely greater than the Hero’s—”

“Stop. That’s enough.”

Yeah, I’ve heard enough.

As I quietly stood up from my spot below the landing where we were eavesdropping, Chloe and Sasha looked at me, startled.

We moved away from the staircase.

Maybe our footsteps had been heard a little.

The conversation between the Lady and Siwoo paused briefly.

Though of course, they wouldn’t know it was us.

It’s not like we’re the only ones who might be using the stairwell.

“Um, well, the thing is…”

Only after we got back into the hallway did Chloe finally open her mouth.

“Hm? What is it?”

“I didn’t really mean for it to go like—uh?”

Chloe looked flustered when she saw my face.

She must’ve thought I’d be on the verge of tears.

But after hearing their conversation, I actually felt… relieved.

“Lila-nya, are you okay, nya?”

“Well, it’s not like I ever thought I was a genius.”

Hearing my response, Sasha exchanged glances with Chloe.

Yeah.

That’s really what it comes down to.

I was never really planning to continue with this whole “Hero” thing anyway.

There are plenty of people out there with way more skill than me.

Even in the game, they said you could clear it without adding Rira to your party.

Rather than forcing a 1-star character to grow all the way to 6 stars, it’d be more reasonable to raise a 3-star to 5 stars instead.

“Let’s just go wait at the café.”

“…Ku-eong.”

While Sasha and Chloe were too speechless to respond, only Nariya let out a small noise, as if to comfort me.

***

[Interlude – Siwoo’s Perspective]

“Stop. That’s enough.”

At Siwoo’s words, Lady Arnburrow’s mouth clamped shut.

He heard the faint sound of someone walking below them.

Siwoo waited silently until the footsteps fade away, then finally spoke.

“I might look like I have more talent. But even if that’s true, the Hero is Lila. Don’t compare us like that.”

“So you’re saying you’re going to let that talent rot away?”

Lady Arnburrow sighed deeply.

“If my words caused any misunderstanding, I apologize. I wasn’t trying to compare you with the Hero.”

Despite Siwoo’s sharp gaze, she met his eyes squarely as she continued.

“From what I heard, the Hero who fought the Demon King 200 years ago wasn’t some unmatched genius or Swordmaster.

In fact, in terms of raw skill, their party members were better. Even now, the elves still say Xenia was more skilled than the Hero, and they take great pride in that.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I want to know how much you really think of the Hero. Even someone like me, who’s only just gotten involved, understands the Hero is the one holding the fate of the world in her hands. And you know it too, don’t you? Heroes only appear when the world is in crisis.”

Though she hesitated briefly, she didn’t stop speaking.

“The Hero’s mission is to unite humanity with her character, and eventually defeat the Demon King with the goddess’s power. Of course, the abilities of the people around the Hero—the party—are crucial too. When the time comes, I’ll step forward as well. But…”

Rebecca Arnburrow looked directly at Siwoo with clear, unwavering eyes.

“If someone right next to the Hero refuses to use their full potential, it becomes a serious problem. If you’re holding back just to avoid upsetting her—don’t. There’s nothing more devastating than finding out later that you were being pitied.”

This time, it was Siwoo who avoided her gaze.

It was the first time Lady Arnburrow had met Siwoo.

But the same was true for him—he had never met her before either.

Still, that didn’t mean Siwoo didn’t know about “Rebecca Arnburrow.”

He was already familiar with her character, and her growth story.

…Thinking about it made him feel a little unfairly judged.

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come off so forcefully.”

Rebecca wasn’t a child of the main wife, and was practically abandoned by her family.

Her older brother, feeling sorry for her, used to deliberately lose whenever they sparred.

He always praised her, saying she was a genius with the sword.

She probably only realized shortly before entering the academy that he had been letting her win all along.

Even after becoming a Hero candidate, the support from her family was minimal.

Her so-called “party members” were just knights from the family in name only—figureheads without any real power.

Pitiful.

Yes, she was a pitiful character.

But even so—

“I’ve gone through something similar—”

~ A similar situation ~

Born as a 3-star from the beginning, with the best skills all crammed in—

Yet in the 4-star story, all she does is realize her true ability—

And in the 5-star awakening story, all she does is defeat the family head—

For each and every star she earns, she gets seriously injured, faces death, has to fight with her life on the line, is criticized for it, and still always has to try to be good.

Even after dying and being revived by the miracle of a goddess, Covered in blood after fighting the Demon King with everything she had, only after finally winning and being freed from the title of “Hero,” does she manage to smile in peace.

And you say that’s similar to you and Lila?

You?

No, that didn’t feel quite right.

Just because someone else is suffering more doesn’t mean your own pain is less.

It was probably just that hearing something about Lyra’s future from someone else made him extra sensitive.

When Siwoo stood silently with no expression, the noble lady closed her mouth, reading his mood.

“…I’m sorry. I—”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Siwoo spoke to the lady.

“We just don’t know much about each other. That’s all.”

When Siwoo said that with a smile, the lady couldn’t bring herself to continue speaking.

“But I do understand what you meant.”

In some ways, it was similar to what Siwoo had been planning.

“I’ll seriously consider it.”

“…Okay.”

Only after a brief moment of awkward silence did Siwoo glance at the top of the Arnburrow lady’s head, then turn around.

What he saw was the number of stars.

Even in this world where things like stats or skill names weren’t visible, that at least could be seen.

And that meant that for Lilaa, who still only had one star, to grow, the story would have to unfold that way—at a minimum.

Siwoo really hated that.

Are you truly planning to go through with this?

A calm voice from far away asked.

It’s your choice, but destiny isn’t something you can defy so easily.

Even I, a goddess, can’t clearly see the future.

That’s why I summoned you, she had said before bringing him into this world.

But—because of that—it means Lyra could really die, doesn’t it?

Siwoo didn’t bother answering the voice echoing in his head.

He had already made up his mind long ago.