[Part 1: Remnant Academy Invasion Operation END]
[Part 2: Eternity’s Task, Lullaby’s Legend]
Despite defeating the boss, the situation was not flowing optimistically.
Since the battle mode was forcibly disabled, Alperion and Ciciela barely managed to escape the damage and save their lives, but Gestalt, the branch leader chased by the empire, had no choice but to flee the Holy City before Adella regained consciousness.
Why didn’t we get help from the Abyss? Well, it was obvious that they would just throw us under the bus.
The only good thing was that since the building was neatly blasted away, we could sleep in a slightly better accommodation than before.
Of course, the sleep we were going to get was going to be automatically skipped, so it wasn’t really going to feel like anything.
Unfailingly, a strange ceiling greeted me.
[Veixel: Ah, can you hear me well?]
“Yes, but I think it would be nice if you could speak a bit louder.”
[Veixel: Ah, oh. I raised it a bit more.]
[Daehagwonsaengsalryeo: For Act 2, the boss isn’t much, but the story is long, so you need to know exactly where to skip.]
[LG Chaos: For now, Manager will be in charge of the story part while I and Veixel will participate in the briefing during combat.]
“Alright. Then I’m counting on you.”
[Daehagwonsaengsalryeo: Got it! But where are we? This is the first time I’ve seen a respawn point after hundreds of games.]
“…”
[Daehagwonsaengsalryeo: Seriously, this is the first time I’ve seen it while playing the game!]
Ignoring him, who was already losing trust from the start, I scanned the room.
Just as I was trying to slowly get up, I suddenly felt a strong pressure on my leg. It was a tingling sensation as if the blood wasn’t circulating.
When I pulled back the blanket, I found a girl sleeping soundly with her legs over mine.
Grumble…
A new morning was rising, or maybe not, because the sun was already high in the sky.
I understood that I was loaded with fatigue, but with not much time left, I hurriedly shook Adella awake.
“Are you waking up?”
“Hmm… Huh? Oh, big sis! Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. How about you?”
“Yawn. I think I’m still too tired. I couldn’t get a wink of sleep!”
She stretched her arms like a cat, her white and slender arms stretching everywhere.
– Whoa
– Wow
– Thank goodness Adella-sensei is alive!
– The armpits are insane lol
– Lick lick lick lick lick lick
– Whoaaa
“You couldn’t sleep at all? Do you know what time it is? It’s already two in the afternoon.”
“It’s all your fault! I’ve never had such a rough sleeping experience…! Honestly, it was a bit scary, but still pleasant, so I’ll let it slide this time.”
“… What?”
– ?
– ?
– ?
– Huh?
– ??????
– Sleeping arrangements?
– Huh?
For a moment, I wondered if I heard her wrong and asked her back.
“Are you talking about sleep-talking?”
“Sleep-talking? Was that really sleep-talking…? Ah, it must have been sleep-talking, haha…? It feels like it, but also not…”
– What on earth happened at night…?
– Bad thoughts bad thoughts bad thoughts
– Adella, you little rascal! What did you do to our NoName?
– LOL this is a first
– Isn’t this all scripted?
– No no, it’s more lively without a script!
– So Adella is set as an eighteen-year-old adult for a reason?
– I see, you seem very interested in the teacher’s preferences.
In any case, I had no time to entertain nonsense.
After all, we were already 10 minutes into the game loading and this conversation.
“Let’s quickly pack a few things and leave.”
“Leave? Where to? Aren’t we heading to the Abyss Branch?”
“I’ll explain in detail as we go. But it would be good to get dressed first.”
Once we stepped outside, I could really feel how nice our inn had been.
Next to it were upscale residential areas and nobles strutting around in fancy everyday clothes.
“I actually slept at a place in District 3…! I should have slept more; it was such a waste!”
The place where I had borrowed a stay from Gestalt was surprisingly right in the middle of the capital.
The guards were rifling through the slums to recover the Laurel, so they had intentionally booked a room in this area, since darkness is closest to the light.
[Daehagwonsaengsalryeo: Of all places, District 3 is the worst. Where we need to go is to the southwest District 15. If you meet the retired Knight Captain there, you can get out of the city without hassle.]
Occasionally, the sound of military boots would send a chill down my spine, but thanks to walking calmly with Adella, we could pass unnoticed.
“What? The Abyss Branch was destroyed? Then what about Gestalt?!”
“Gestalt is fine. He’s a vampire, so he could slip out of the capital without much issue. What’s important now is how we get out of here.”
The capital of the Bahamut Empire is closed off.
The four city walls are firmly held by battalions of soldiers while dozens of them take turns standing guard even during the day.
Thus, our main objective was to escape the capital without triggering a quest and clearing Act 2.
After skillfully avoiding knights patrolling the capital, upon reaching District 15, we spotted a man in armor sleeping on the cold stone ground where sunlight didn’t touch.
Judging by the smell of alcohol, this man was completely drunk in broad daylight.
“Familiar face, huh?”
“Do you know him?”
I never forgot the face of someone I had seen once.
That forgetfulness could take my life in the future, so I always made sure to memorize names and faces.
[Retired Knight Captain – Alphonse Shipot]
He was the Knight Captain that Laura had lightly defeated at the very beginning when determining the ‘Infamy Difficulty’ in the Prologue.
I thought the empire had no future if they let someone this incompetent hold the position of Knight Captain, and it seemed I was right as he had been cut shortly after.
“You…!”
As we stood next to him, the man awoke with wide eyes and began to point at us.
“I… you…! Because of you…!”
He was approaching with a broken bottle in hand.
The look of rage in his eyes made him seem like someone who would commit any crime.
[Daehagwonsaengsalryeo: For now, it seems you can just knock him out lightly. Just don’t kill him!]
Following Dae-sal’s words, I accepted his approach and threw him to the ground.
“Ugh!”
“I know him. I fought him once in the capital before.”
“He doesn’t look like someone impressive at all.”
Adella whistled as she observed the scene.
Back then, it was Laura who fought and won, but now it seemed like I was the one taking credit for it as we had switched from duo to solo mode.
“What do you mean?! I am the Knight Captain of the Bahamut Empire…!”
He raised his stance as if to draw his sword from his waist, but unfortunately, there was nothing in his hand.
“I was the Knight Captain…”
His appearance was so shabby for someone claiming to be a Knight Captain that it was enough to become a laughingstock.
Alphonse Shipot, how did he ever rise to the position of Knight Captain?
Those who didn’t know his circumstances simply thought he got a position because of his father, a Swordmaster.
The reason Alphonse could join the Knights was indeed due to his father’s strong influence; this wasn’t entirely wrong.
The issue arose when the Bahamut Empire was competing with other major powers to expand colonial territories.
The empire, rich in resources but lacking foundational strength, especially revealed its weaknesses in military affairs.
However, the knights at the forefront always found themselves as sacrificial lambs to defend against barbarian attacks while the imperial high command buried their own losses under a larger military input and acquisition of colonies.
In such a situation, no knight would seek to become a Knight Captain.
Though the central knight group would elect their captain, the moment one is appointed, the fate was to head out to the front lines when war broke out.
On the other hand, those knights enjoying benefits in the capital did not wish to give up their positions.
Eventually, having the highest rank, Alphonse was predictably thrust into the role of Knight Captain.
“Here, I’ve brought the sword you wanted.”
However, the rumors of the Knight Captain losing a one-on-one duel to a mere child spread quickly through the capital, and once this reached the Emperor’s ears, the palace pressured him to resolve it before the Emperor grew angry, leading to Alphonse’s demotion.
Ultimately, they needed a new scapegoat.
To alleviate their anger, the knights who looked down on Alphonse for seemingly trying to give up his Captain position simply expelled him from the order entirely.
Taking away his beloved sword was just an added insult.
“Thank you, guys… I’m really grateful that you found it for me…”
[Daehagwonsaengsalryeo: Since Alphonse got back his Ashtrail Great Sword, he’ll direct you out of the Holy City. Just follow him.]
“Why are you struggling under your juniors if you’re supposed to be a Knight Captain? Besides, wasn’t your father a Swordmaster?”
Adella asked with an expression of disbelief.
“I’ve always been a commoner. When I was at the academy, Sir Shipot adopted me.”
“A commoner? Yet you could join the central knights? You must have had considerable talent with the sword!”
“No, I had no talent at all. I barely managed to avoid being expelled from the academy and I could never dream of joining the knights.”
“That doesn’t match up! You can’t enter the central knights if your skills aren’t recognized!”
“That was Sir Shipot forcibly getting me into the order. To be honest, I still don’t understand why he rated me so highly.”
Alphonse hung his head in despair.
He was the one most aware of his limitations.
After Sir Shipot passed away during the Heretic War, Alphonse found himself thrown into a thorny path.
The ‘Ashtrail Great Sword’ inherited from his father. He had asked Sir Shipot countless times.
What was it that he saw in him to highly evaluate him? But the answer was always the same.
[Work hard.]
In the end, after twenty years of relentless training and honing his swordsmanship, all he got in return was the humiliating result of forced retirement.
“I should have just pushed myself harder and gone to the magic department instead of the knight department back then…”
As if hearing something he shouldn’t have, Na-me perked up his ears and suddenly posed a question.
“Do you know any magic?”
“Magic… I loved magic as a kid. Isabella, I think… the name is starting to fade. My childhood friend Bella used to chatter away with her sweet voice, teaching me the magic she learned from the library whenever she got the chance. It was all thanks to that girl that I decided to come to the capital.”
“Then why did you apply to the knight department?”
“But Bella liked guys who wielded swords and wore armor. So, without knowing better, I focused solely on swordsmanship, and I laughed. Does that sound weird? In the end, it didn’t match my aptitude at all.”
With a deep sigh, Alphonse lamented his fate.
He trusted that after ten or twenty years of hard work, things would change. But his skills were still inferior to the new recruits in their late teens.
As we exited the winding forest path, it was a casual story, but the topic turned out to be quite somber.
When we reached a hill overlooking the capital’s walls far away, he planted his sword firmly on the ground.
Bending one knee and aligning the other arm horizontally with the ground in front of his chest.
Alphonse bowed his head slightly, expressing gratitude as politely as possible.
“The Ashtrail Great Sword was the only heirloom Sir Shipot left me. I can’t thank you enough for finding it for me…”
Adella, unfamiliar with such a situation, scratched her head.
“But, where are you planning to go now?”
“There’s no reason for me to stay in the capital any longer, so I’ll head back home. To where I’m supposed to be.”
“Is that so…? Hmm… I wish you good luck.”
As Alphonse turned to leave, Na-me pulled on his sleeve, turning his footsteps back.
“Is there something else?”
[Daehagwonsaengsalryeo: NoName? There’s no need to learn Alphonse’s swordsmanship here, right? It doesn’t match with teaching Adella either.]
At the moment of parting, when Alphonse was about to request a reward, he offered to teach his lifelong researched swordsmanship instead of money. It was something Na-me had seen in Tree Wiki.
“You know magic swordsmanship, right?”
Na-me focused on Alphonse’s arm. A person using a great sword usually has both arms with muscles developed at the same level.
However, Alphonse’s right arm was oddly thinner than his left arm. It was a common side effect of improperly using magic during swordsmanship.
“Magic swordsmanship? It’s just a trick made by a talentless knight trying to struggle.”
“Then could you show us even a short demonstration?”
“If that’s the case…”
Alphonse took hold of the Ashtrail Great Sword.
With a deep breath and concentration, he began to chant an incantation.
Then, two slender rings of light appeared around the great sword, beginning to rotate in different directions.
“This is a technique I naturally learned from using the sword for a long time; it helps me hit just a bit harder.”
With a shout, Alphonse brought the great sword down onto the ground.
Thud!
The stone floor chipped slightly. But that was about it.
He had put excessive force into his body, and the trajectory was not consistent. In fact, it was slightly off from the targeted spot.
“Ah, I missed again… Now, is that enough? I hope you can regain the Laurel.”
Alphonse put away his sword, unable to hide his disappointment.
Sure enough, that was an attack that would be marked as a failure for any swordsman.
“I’ve never seen someone with even less talent than me. If I had known this would be the result, I should have tried applying to the knights instead of the academy.”
Once Alphonse left, Adella spoke up as if she was deflated.
“Unique Magic…?”
But Na-me, unable to believe it, continued to watch Alphonse’s receding figure for a long time.
‘How could someone who struggles even to properly manage their own body have created a unique magic related to swords?’
Looking only at the shallow indentation in the ground made by his sword, it wasn’t impressive, but…
There was a clear mark in the ground from the blow he struck, which was a staggering thirty paces away.
“What a waste of talent. If only he had just put in a little more effort…”
Talent, indeed. That’s what is meant by calling something a waste of talent.
