Skolhart (4)

1.

“Ugh……”

Having finished her class and returned to the dormitory, Yuriel collapsed onto her bed.

As forewarned at the start of the class, today’s lesson was twice as difficult as the previous one.

Just entering the water was exhausting, but entering Spirit Lake, which was mixed with a high concentration of Magical power, was like torture. More than half of the 30 students taking the class fainted in the middle due to Magical power overload.

“Still, I endured until the end.”

Yuriel grinned.

The last remaining students were five.

One each from the 3rd and 4th grades.

And three from the 1st grade endured until the end of the class.

She wanted to give up so many times.

Her body slowly became paralyzed, and she was overcome with anxiety that something might go wrong. She must have contemplated giving up dozens of times.

Each time, she looked at the person next to her.

Yohan.

Seeing him, who was behind her in every aspect, enduring with only his mental strength, she thought it would be shameful to give up.

She seemed to have endured out of competitiveness.

Was the class fruitful?

She didn’t know for sure, but it wasn’t entirely without results.

Her sense of Magical power became more sensitive.

She vaguely understood what External Magic Power was.

Even as she lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, she could feel the energy of Magical power brushing against her skin.

If she used this Magical power well, could she become like the Saintess?

She was resting, imagining herself becoming as strong as the Saintess someday, when—

-Knock knock

Someone knocked on the door.

Yuriel tilted her head.

“……Who is it?”

No one would come looking for her at this late hour. No, even if it wasn’t this late, no one would come to Yuriel’s room.

Could they have come to the wrong room?

Yuriel quietly held her breath.

She decided to open the door if they knocked once more.

-Knock knock

As if to say they hadn’t come to the wrong room, they knocked again.

“Lady Yuriel, are you inside?”

As soon as she heard the voice, she recognized who the protagonist of the knock was.

It was the voice of the dormitory maid.

Of course.

Repenting for having even a moment of expectation, Yuriel opened the door.

“……What’s the matter?”

Standing there was the head maid who managed the maids of the dormitory.

Not all academy students use the same dormitory.

Although they advocate for equality, there are differences in class.

Commoners live with commoners, and nobles live with nobles.

Even within the nobility, they are divided according to the name of the family.

The dormitory Yuriel was living in was the highest-ranked dormitory, Mars Manor.

“A letter has arrived for Lady Yuriel.”

The head maid handed Yuriel a letter.

It was sealed with red sealing wax in a luxurious envelope at first glance.

“Ah….”

Yuriel paused, checking the emblem on the wax seal.

A wolf with long fangs.

It was the emblem symbolizing the Skolhart Family.

This letter was sent from the family.

“I will be on my way then.”

“Ah… Yes, yes.”

She closed the door to her room.

Yuriel stood in front of the door, staring down at the letter.

Should she open it?

She asked herself the obvious.

Since it was sent from the family, she should read it.

But she didn’t really want to read it.

Usually, if a letter was sent from home, it would be normal to be excited before tearing it open, wondering what it might say, but Yuriel thought she wanted to throw the letter in the trash as it was.

It wouldn’t be a letter asking how she was doing or praising her for taking the top spot in the last midterm exam. Considering how she had been treated within the family so far, it was clear that it would be.

Surely they weren’t going to nitpick about her not getting first place in the entrance exam now, were they?

The possibility wasn’t zero.

Considering that she had met her older brother not long ago and heard an earful, it was possible.

“Hoo……”

Yuriel nervously opened the letter.

[Attend the Blood Offering Ceremony.]

There were no long words. It was just a businesslike letter stating that she should attend the Blood Offering Ceremony, which was held by the family once every five years.

Blood Offering Ceremony.

It was an event to confirm how dedicated those with Skolhart blood flowing through their veins were to the blood, where young Skolharts from both the direct and collateral lines gathered to prove their skills.

For reference, Yuriel had placed fifth out of ten in the last Blood Offering Ceremony she participated in.

An additional line was written below the letter.

[P.S. The winner of this Blood Offering Ceremony will be presented with the Dragon Jaeger.]

Yuriel’s eyes widened.

“D, Dragon Jaeger……?”

The sword that carves out the heart of a dragon, Dragon Jaeger.

It was the sword of Yuriel’s great-grandfather and family elder, Lyka van Skolhart.

Lyka van Skolhart was called the Dragon Slayer and was a great Knight who had subjugated nine dragons so far.

He was a master who had mastered all swordsmanship, on par with the Sword Saint, and they were so skilled that they relied on each other in battle on the battlefield.

Now he was old and couldn’t perform as well as he did in his prime, but even at over 100 years old, he went hunting Magical Beasts in the snowy mountains.

The fact that such a person was offering his sword as a reward had several meanings.

It showed that it was really time for him to retire and that it was time to welcome a new generation.

It seemed like a new generation had begun with the death of the Sword Saint, Adrean, and the rise of a new Sword Saint, but the figures of the past were still leading the way. Lyka van Skolhart was a prime example of this.

Also, handing over his sword was the same as appointing a new Dragon Slayer.

Anyone in the Skolhart Family wanted to continue that honorable name.

Yuriel was the same.

She had seen her great-grandfather’s achievements before she even held a sword, so she wanted to become like him.

But.

“……Can someone like me do it?”

She recalled the people who had participated in the last Blood Offering Ceremony.

First, three faces came to mind.

The faces of Yuriel’s siblings.

Two older brothers.

One older Unni.

They had the same father, but Yuriel had a different mother.

Yuriel was the child of a concubine.

She came from the womb of a new wife who was brought in after the main wife died of illness.

Her father told her other siblings to treat her the same, but her other siblings discriminated against her and bullied her. They treated her completely like a stranger because she had a different mother.

They always hung out and played only among themselves and ostracized Yuriel.

They also only trained among themselves.

Their influence was great in Yuriel becoming an outcast and having poor communication skills.

Her father knew that Yuriel was being bullied, but he left it alone.

It was because of the family’s characteristics.

They had to overcome any crisis on their own.

It was a way to survive in the harsh north.

Yuriel folded the letter.

Don’t expect anything.

After all, either her older brother or Unni would win this Blood Offering Ceremony as well.

The eldest son, Eric, was the top student in the 4th grade of the academy, the second son, Shane, was an adventurer and was active, and the eldest daughter, Beriel, had joined the family’s special forces, the Black Wolf, and was active.

Compared to them, Yuriel had nothing better.

So the result of the Blood Offering Ceremony was obvious. It was to the point where she wondered if it was even worth participating.

2.

“Saintess.”

Rael, who had his wallet stolen by the Saintess again today, called out to the Saintess, who was eating a strawberry shortcake with a happy face.

The Saintess, who had stuffed the cake into her mouth like a squirrel, looked at Rael.

“Hmm?”

“Please finish what’s in your mouth first.”

Rael slid a coffee towards the Saintess.

He had come to the cafe three times this week alone.

Recently, the Saintess had become addicted to sweets.

Considering how she trembled and liked it after tasting strawberry milk, it was a natural development.

But the biggest cause was that she was caught with the wine she had hidden in her closet not long ago. She was caught by a maid while cleaning the closet.

Of course, the news reached Rael’s ears, and Rael issued a ban on drinking to the Saintess.

It wasn’t bad to drink alcohol, but it was bad to drink it secretly.

It was very bad to steal alcohol from the warehouse in the basement of the temple.

Since the ban on drinking was issued, she had been coming to the cafe after finishing her work and making Rael open his wallet as if taking revenge.

The Saintess had a surprisingly easygoing side.

Until she revealed her true self, he had only thought of her as a kind and gentle person, but after she coolly revealed her true self, she had an old man-like appearance in many ways.

Especially.

‘Rael, do you know what a surprised dragon is? A d-yong.’

When she threw jokes like that, she felt more like an old man than a Saintess.

It was cute that she would be sad if he didn’t laugh, but he felt chills every time he heard jokes like that.

“Yes, speak.”

The Saintess said, soothing her tongue with coffee.

“I received a call from the Papal Authority during the day.”

“Were the Cardinals nagging again?”

“That too, but there’s more important news.”

“There’s that too.”

The Saintess laughed, “Hehe.”

Since she started teaching Basic Swordsmanship, she had been nagged by some Cardinals to protect the dignity of the Saintess. Even though she had received permission from the Pope.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand their feelings, but it was too stressful for her to do so.

And she usually maintained the appearance of the Saintess well.

She only let go of the appearance of the Saintess and was free when she was in class or with people she was comfortable with.

“So, what’s the news?”

“The Skolhart Family wants to see the Saintess once and has invited you to this Blood Offering Ceremony. The Skolhart Family is a Celestial God Church family that has been sponsoring the Holy Nation for a long time.”

Rael explained about the Skolhart Family.

It was already information she knew.

“Blood Offering Ceremony……”

She had heard of it.

She had heard it when she was on the battlefield.

‘Our family has something called the Blood Offering Ceremony, and this sword was received by winning at that time. It’s a treasured sword that has been passed down in the family for a long time.’

That was what he said when he saw Adrean’s sword with a chipped edge and laughed while explaining his sword when they bet on who would defeat more Demon Lord Army.

He bragged so much about the sword at that time.

He bragged so much from the side that she wanted to take the treasured sword and throw it away.

For reference, Adrean had won the bet by a difference of two.

“What are you going to do? Most of the Cardinals say they have to attend, but the Pope said he would respect the Saintess’s opinion. He said you’re not someone who would be forced to go anyway.”

He knew her well.

“Hmm……”

The Saintess poked the last remaining strawberry with a fork and thought.

The thought wasn’t long.

“I’ll go.”

She poked the strawberry, put it in her mouth, and answered.

She had thought that she wanted to see the Skolhart Family’s Blood Offering Ceremony at least once.

It was also influenced by Lyka bragging about it until her ears were calloused.

The Skolhart Family was a family that excelled in combat, so she wanted to see their competition.

And maybe she could meet that kid after a long time.