episode_0028

“Everyone, please calm down for now. We don’t even have confirmed facts yet, right?”

“I saw it!!! The royal bloodline… the royal bloodline continued!!”

“Wait, what!”

The woman who pushed aside Maria, who was trying to calm everyone down, and screamed was half, no, almost completely out of her mind. Maria suddenly found this situation too ridiculous. However, because the royal bloodline was important to her as well, she had no choice but to be with these ignorant people.

“So, let’s confirm first. I’ll check and we’ll gather again. Is everyone okay with that?”

“If it’s Yeong-ae…”

“Yeah, I’ve waited for over 10 years. Is waiting a bit longer a big deal? I’m trying to reclaim my Trifia!”

The whole crowd was insane in their own thoughts. Madness, cheers, wailing, and hatred.

***

“Hup!”

Erin used to visit the dormitory training ground to practice swordsmanship whenever she had time. She hadn’t systematically learned swordsmanship from a master, but she wasn’t the type to rely solely on strength either.

When she held a sword, she was always at a crossroads of contemplation. Her most confident and advantageous skill was using speed for ambushes and surprise attacks. Of course, she was also skilled in engaging in chaotic battles by plunging into the enemy, but there was always a snag in all those processes.

“Sword.”

So far, fighting with a greatsword had been somewhat effective, but there was no guarantee it would continue to be so in the future. No, it was clear that it wouldn’t. Just during the entrance exam, she had barely swung a sword the size of her body before being quickly subdued by Professor Rose.

“Should I change after all?”

Beside her was a short dagger she had bought from a weapons shop in the city two days ago. It fit perfectly in her petite hand.

Swish-

With a light flick, the front scarecrow was split in two. As she possessed a formidable strength even with a dagger comparable to a greatsword, the dilemma was real. She noticed the sword she had put down beside her. Old, worn. Another person’s name was engraved on the handle. A large sword.

“Hey kid, don’t touch adult stuff!”

“What? You want to learn swordsmanship? Arthur, you can’t even lift this!”

“Kid. No, my daughter. I’m going on a bigger adventure now. I’ll go ahead and pave the way, so come slowly. Why are you crying? Hey.”

“As you live a little longer, there will be things more precious than swords or adventures. Don’t miss them. I’ve missed too many already. Like this, only at the end did I discover something.”

“Don’t… die… please. Live.”

This sword was the only thing her father left behind. More precious to her than the sword he had spent his life on. It was like a symbol that she was more valuable than the sword. She couldn’t let it go.

“By the way, who was that person earlier?”

The strange person who claimed she was a princess and wanted to reestablish Trifia, her heart filled with anger upon hearing those words. If she were a princess, it was only allowed in the sense of being the daughter of the Mercenary King and Adventurer King, not some unheard-of princess of Trifia.

“Excuse me, is Erin here?”

“Yes..”

Approaching the voice of a female student calling her from the side, she saw someone looking for her outside. Although she thought it was strange since she had no one to look for, she decided to walk a bit to clear her mind.

“Hello, are you Erin?”

“Yes, but why?”

In front of her was a woman wearing a pink health gown with green eyes and white hair. Thinking about herself who had a completely opposite voluptuous figure and slender arms and legs that hadn’t grown in five years made her feel a bit melancholic.

“White hair, green eyes…”

“!”

Something felt strange, as if things were turning oddly. Just as I was about to step back, the aura emanating from the woman in front suddenly changed. From a benevolent nun-like atmosphere to a vengeful spirit.

“Yes, I was alive. I was alive!!”

“This! Let go!”

Although the atmosphere and demeanor of the woman from before were completely opposite, their actions seemed similar. Without further hesitation, she drew her sword, ready to fend off the charging woman with her greatsword.

“What!”

“To think I can erase the detestable bloodline of Triphia with my own hands… How delightful!”

With a smile on her lips, veins bursting in her eyes, the woman shed tears of crimson. While not confident in conversation, this situation couldn’t be resolved through mere words.

Thud!

Someone running from afar. Initially thought to be enemy reinforcements, upon closer inspection, it was Kidney. With a slightly relieved expression, she could wield her sword.

“Ma’am Manya..?”

“Triphiiiaaaa!!!”

Feeling uneasy, when I arrived at Erin’s dormitory, what I saw was Erin fiercely fighting and Health Teacher Manya.

“Tsk!”

“Let me uproot it with my own hands!”

Not knowing what was happening, but fearing that if left unchecked, as Manya threatened, Erin might be killed, I intervened in the fight. Despite being a health teacher, her opponent was an academy professor. This was no ordinary confrontation.

Ping-

Magic indiscriminately firing from all directions. Erin, with acrobatic movements, tried to dodge each one, but in the process, Manya gradually cornered her, trapping her.

“Teacher, please calm down for a moment…!”

“Aaah!! Again! Again trying to interfere with me!!”

Manya was so furious that she couldn’t even recognize me.

“The detestable Triphia blood, never. Never will I forgive!”

Clang-

Manya conjured ice magic, summoning dozens of ice spears in the air aimed at Erin and me.

“Erin, left!”

“Got it!”

We tried to block them each on one side, but against the relentless magic, we eventually found ourselves overwhelmed.

“This is insane! How much mana does she have!”

“That girl said if we wait a bit, she’ll call the professor.”

“I hope we arrive before we lose an arm or a leg.”

Manya had been hiding her skills well; she was more like a practical magic professor than a health teacher. Double casting was basic to her, and even with her phantom spear magic, she cast spells without faltering. Endless mana. She was among the top magic professors at the academy.

In a moment of distraction, a giant ice spear and surrounding fireballs reached us. Avoiding them would be possible, but it was obvious what would happen to Erin behind me if I did.

Thud!!

“Teacher Manya..?”

“Erin Sangdo! I brought the professor!”

“What’s going on..”

“Professor Bella!”

Suddenly, a red figure rushed in from outside, shattering the magic with a single punch. Then, looking puzzled, she turned towards me.

“What’s happening…?”

“We’re not sure either! She suddenly attacked Erin!”

“For now, since it seems communication is not possible, let’s subdue her first and then hear her out.”

The professor’s arrival in this situation was more than welcome, but whether they could subdue Manya in her current state remained uncertain.

“Don’t interfere, Ma!!!”

“Professor Manya, calm down.”

Bella quickly closed the distance, but a giant hand caught her, pushing her back.

“Our compatibility is terrible..!”

“I’ll help too.”

“Erin! Stay still! Manya is targeting you right now!”

“There are words you must hear, words you haven’t heard yet!”

She, who seemed emotionless as usual, seemed to be gradually igniting in her eyes as if someone had thrown a spark. As if she must hear something from Professor Marnya herself, I couldn’t possibly stop her rising.

“Hey, well said. Let’s knock that down and ask why.”

Brushing off the dirt and dust on her clothes, she raised her sword again. The tattered waterweed hanging from the scabbard looked worn out, but it illuminated Erin more brightly than ever before.

“You, stand there!”

“Trefiaaaa!!!”

The attention of Bella and the whispering Marnya shifted back to the resolute Erin. Erin, who had approached Marnya in an instant, fiercely attacked with the greatsword several times.

“Yeah, just like that time. Approaching swiftly, killing my family!! Without admitting guilt, are you planning to bury it to the end, Trefia!!!”

“Noisy, I’m not Trefian or whatever. I have no intention or desire to twist the sins of strangers.”

“Noisy! The daughter of Trefia, thinking of turning her heart now,”

“That’s right! I am Erin, the daughter of the Mercenary King and a man who loved adventure more than anyone else!!!”

As she said, Erin had never been a princess of Trefia. She was far from nobility. She was just a girl who was awkward at receiving love and even more awkward at giving it.

Erin’s tears touched the blade she held along her cheek. Light began to shine from the inscription on the sword.

‘My beloved daughter, Erin.’

The sword, as large as her body, split into two swords enveloped in light. In the place where the light disappeared, Erin stood holding twin swords. Her tear-filled, determined gaze seemed to steady her wavering heart.

“You, misjudged people.”