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Seraphina and Briana were inspecting the underground armory, which had once been the central headquarters of the Slaves.

The armory was in shambles, with hardly a spot on the floor or walls left untouched. The most striking feature was a massive sword slash that had cleanly split the armory diagonally in half.

The skill of the knight who wielded the colossal mech must have been exceptional, as the slash was flawless, without a single jagged edge. It was clear that creating such a clean slash with a single strike of sword energy was no easy feat, even for the most skilled individuals.

Seraphina let out a hollow laugh as she examined the slash. It was already difficult to create such a mark with a colossal mech, but this enormous slash had been made by a single man, not a mech.

“Master, I can’t comprehend this with my understanding of martial principles. Could a 5th Grade Knight really leave such a mark?”

“Normally, it would be impossible.”

“Right… It should be impossible…”

Seraphina thought of the man who had left this mark—her disciple. He had already done many things that surprised her, and now he had managed to shock her once again.

On the night of the operation to exterminate the Slaves, she had hurriedly contacted Briana and led the knights to this underground armory upon hearing that the enemy possessed an old-model colossal mech.

On the way, Seraphina scolded herself. She had been overconfident, thinking she had accounted for all variables.

She had never imagined the Slaves would have a colossal mech. While she hadn’t underestimated them, she had assumed the probability of them possessing one was almost zero, given the size of their central headquarters.

But these cunning foes had prepared an old-model colossal mech in their headquarters. Taking advantage of its smaller size compared to modern mechs, they had prepared for any unforeseen circumstances.

In that brief moment on the way to the armory, Seraphina imagined the worst-case scenario. If the enemy broke through the encirclement and the mech caused a terrorist attack, the Empire’s prestige would plummet, and countless innocent citizens would inevitably die.

With these worries weighing on her, she arrived at the armory and was left speechless by the scene before her.

Gilbert stood upright, holding a sword in his left hand. The armory was split in two by a massive slash, and within it lay the bisected remains of the colossal mech.

She couldn’t believe her eyes.

But she quickly regained her composure, urgently instructing Gilbert to receive first aid before having him transported out.

Gilbert was standing on his feet but was unconscious, with no part of his body unscathed. He was drenched in blood, enough to soak his Academy cadet uniform, and it was a miracle he was still alive.

Had their haste been worth it?

Fortunately, his life wasn’t in danger. Though it was concerning that he hadn’t woken up yet, Seraphina had no doubt that Gilbert would soon recover.

Meanwhile, Briana looked at the slash with a different perspective.

This mark had been created by the ultimate technique of the Winter Sword—Winter Sky Cleave. Moreover, it was a perfect strike, with no wasted energy, showcasing masterful control of sword energy.

She had thought it was still too early for Gilbert to perfectly execute such a technique, but it seemed she had underestimated his skill. He had already reached a level of mastery.

“Gil, you’re truly one of a kind.”

Briana smiled faintly.

Her thoughts weren’t mistaken.

Seeing this near-perfect slash, Briana was certain she wasn’t wrong.

The only companion who could walk the Path of the Sword with her was Gilbert.

“Master, it would be best to keep it a secret that your disciple bisected a colossal mech.”

“I agree. Even if it was an old model, the fact that a 5th Grade Knight bisected a colossal mech would cause all sorts of trouble if it became known.”

“Right. Especially your siblings—they wouldn’t let it slide. That’s not something I want.”

Seraphina and Briana decided to keep this incident under wraps. If it became known that a 5th Grade Knight had bisected a colossal mech, countless individuals would try to recruit Gilbert.

Already, many nobles were trying to pull him into their factions, given the significant mark he was making in the Empire.

Neither Seraphina, who wanted to make Gilbert her own, nor Briana, who wanted him as her companion on the Path of the Sword, would be pleased with this. Unaware that the other posed the greatest threat to their goals, they quietly decided to cover up the incident.

***

Gilbert woke up, feeling as though his body was about to shatter from the pain.

As he tried to sit up, his vision spun, and a strong dizziness overwhelmed him, forcing him to abandon the idea.

Blinking his barely open eyes a few times, he surveyed his surroundings and realized from the white ceiling that he had been moved to a hospital.

“I guess I managed to pull it off.”

His last memory was of cleaving the winter sky in half.

Having unleashed the ultimate strike, he had thought he succeeded even as he lost consciousness. Seeing that he had been moved to a hospital confirmed it.

Blinking at the ceiling, he waited for the dizziness to subside before painfully sitting up.

His muscles ached all over, and the soreness wouldn’t fade.

Though he had awakened Regeneration, it was barely enough to handle the aftereffects of his Limit Break. Normally, such an act would result in permanent damage, so this level of pain was bearable.

Thanks to being healed with Sacred Power, the recovery period would be significantly shortened, but it would be wise to avoid overexertion for a while.

Gilbert leaned back against the bed and opened his mission log.

The Main Scenario, “Slave Traders,” was marked as complete.

While he was unconscious, Seraphina must have captured all the remaining Slaves. This meant that several events that could have erupted in the latter half of the Main Scenario had been nipped in the bud.

Sudden kidnappings of comrades or large-scale disappearances had all been averted, shifting to alternate timelines. This also allowed him to prevent future corruption of certain characters, though the full extent of the benefits was hard to gauge.

“Guess it’s time to rest for a while.”

Gilbert stretched and slid back down onto the bed.

He had been living too busily since his leave of absence. He vowed to do nothing but rest until the next Main Scenario.

Working hard was important, but proper rest was even more so.

-*Creak*

“You’re awake.”

“Huh?”

Gilbert slowly sat up as the hospital door opened and someone entered.

He raised an eyebrow slightly.

It was someone he knew very well.

“Your Holiness, the Saintess.”

The Saintess.

The second most powerful figure in the Divine Empire, next to the Pope, and a sacred being known as the Daughter of God.

A legendary figure from the ancient era when heroes and demon kings still existed, now standing before him.

While Saintesses were typically born through divine revelation, the current era was a peaceful world where the Demon King no longer existed.

Over a thousand years after the disappearance of heroes and demon kings, the position had long since become a symbol of tradition and symbolism for the Divine Empire. Most wars now were not for the survival of humanity but for human conflicts over interests.

In such a world, was there any reason for the Lord to send a revelation and select a Saintess?

Of course not.

The selection of a Saintess by the Lord had become a thing of history books.

However, to maintain tradition and symbolism, the Divine Empire had established strict selection criteria and began choosing Saintesses themselves.

They needed the title of “Child of the Lord” and used the Saintess as propaganda to that end.

Thus, the position of Saintess continued, and the Saintess now standing before Gilbert was no different.

An artificial Saintess, created through rigorous selection.

Saintess Veronica now stood before Gilbert.

“My, my. You recognize me? How delightful.”

Her smile was as radiant as a blooming flower, but Gilbert remained on guard.

He still remembered her from Tactical Combat.

“Oh? Why are you so tense, Lord Gilbert? Are you still unwell?”

“No, it’s not that. I’m just puzzled as to why the Saintess would appear in such a place.”

“Ah, so my presence here displeases you. I came at the earnest request of Her Majesty the Princess to heal you.”

“Is that so? I offer my thanks.”

Gilbert looked at the smiling Saintess with mixed feelings.

Encountering Veronica, whom he was supposed to meet only in the latter half of the game, was unexpected.

Even by real-world standards, her presence here was hard to understand.

Even if the Empire’s Princess had requested it, the Saintess wouldn’t normally move personally.

This was easy to understand considering the symbolic importance of the Saintess in the Divine Empire.

Thus, no one could force her to act. Unless a divine revelation came, her actions were entirely her own choice.

In other words, her coming here was likely her own decision, not due to someone’s request.

But who would believe that the Saintess had personally come to heal a mere 5th Grade Knight of the Empire?

Even Gilbert found it strange.

Searching through the original Gilbert’s memories, this was his first time meeting Saintess Veronica. There was no reason for the high and mighty Saintess of the Divine Empire to visit him.

“Perhaps you’re curious as to why I’m here, Lord Gilbert?”

“Frankly, yes. There was no need for Your Holiness to come personally to heal me. The Princess’s earnest request? That’s nonsense.”

While Seraphina had indeed requested a priest from the church in Byzantium, she hadn’t asked for the Saintess herself. With her political acumen, Seraphina would know the implications of summoning the Saintess directly.

“That’s true. I came here because I wanted to.”

Her constant smile made it harder to discern her thoughts.

Naturally adept at hiding her true intentions, she gave no hints.

“Let me be direct. Why did the Saintess of the Divine Empire come to see me?”

“Oh? The Saintess is merely a shepherd tending to the Lord’s flock. Does a shepherd need a reason to help those in need?”

“You don’t want to tell me.”

“I’ve already said it. I came here because I wanted to. You needed help, and I wanted to offer it. That’s all.”

Gilbert gave up trying to figure out Veronica’s motives. It seemed she had no intention of revealing her true thoughts to him.

“Well, now that I’ve seen you’re awake, I’ll take my leave. I hope we can have a more relaxed conversation next time.”

“Right. Next time, let’s talk properly.”

Veronica left the room, her smile unwavering.

Gilbert, who had been tense the entire time, finally let out a long sigh and relaxed.

He felt exhausted just from waking up.

 

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