“I don’t care if you regret your actions or not. All I want is to achieve my own goals, and I’ll keep working toward them,” I muttered. I wasn’t talking just to Dongahar—these words were also for me.
After that, I got dressed and decided to head to the dining hall for some breakfast, even though it was still pretty early. When I stepped out of the elevator and into the big training field, I was met with the sight of my master swinging his sword around.
“Good morning, master,” I said. “It’s really early. Did you not manage to get much rest last night, sleeping outside?”
“Oh, Luciel,” he said when he spotted me. “I did sleep. I’ve just never been the kind to sleep in. Plus, I like moving around at this time of the morning. Helps me clear my head.”
“I see. If you feel like it, could we have a sparring match?” I asked.
“Ooh, how rare for you to ask. We don’t have to limit ourselves to one match, y’know? I’d be more than happy to go a few rounds with you.”
“Thank you. I’m going to stretch, then. Please give me a minute.”
“Something happen?” he asked me.
“I just feel like moving my body to clear my head.”
“That so?”
“Yes.”
Brod looked like he wanted to add something, but he didn’t, and the two of us began sparring. Even as the others left the airship for breakfast, and Ketty and Kefin returned from the cells, and the knights arrived for their morning training, the two of us kept at it.
I’d lost to him when we had sparred in Merratoni—when I’d used the Thunder Dragon’s powers—but this time, it was just a battle of stats and techniques, and I was impressed by how well I was doing. I felt like if I were to use the power of the dragons in between attacking and defending, I could win the match. But I didn’t want to do that to Brod when he was already taking time out of his day to help me clear the annoying fog in my heart.
Then, Lionel said he wanted to join our match. Perhaps he’d sensed that I wasn’t feeling my best, or perhaps he just couldn’t hold back anymore and wanted to join in on the fun. Normally, I would’ve told him to take my spot, but I still felt like moving my body, so I had him team up with Brod and informed them I’d be using my magic from now on.
My little suggestion seemed to ignite their pride, as they launched into a relentless flurry of attacks. I had to focus every nerve in my body on fighting them, which allowed me to gradually empty my head. Then, the fog inside me finally lifted.
After that, I was sent rolling to the ground more times than I could count, but I managed to take both Brod and Lionel down a fair few times as well. It seemed that even I had made some progress since the last time. Still, they would have easily overpowered me if they hadn’t lost their levels. Our little practice session made me realize that I still had a long way to go. It helped me to envision my future self, one who had grown stronger, and motivated me to keep pushing myself to improve.
I dodged Lionel’s greatsword as he swung it at me, and seizing that opening, I fell backward to evade Brod’s sword, which was closing in on my chest, barely escaping it. I landed in a bridge position and fluidly rotated my body before kicking him in the back and sending him flying.
But before I had time to process what was going on, Lionel’s large shield came swinging at me with impressive speed. I couldn’t dodge it and took the hit head-on, which launched me backward and sent me rolling to the ground. But just as I stood up and grabbed my sword to resume the fight, a large shadow appeared on the field. Turning around, I was met with the sight of an enormous golem right behind me.
I whipped my head to Pola—the only one who could make golems randomly appear like this—and she pointed at her stomach with an annoyed look on her face. “I’m hungry,” she said.
I glanced up at the sky to check the position of the sun and finally realized how long Brod and I had been going at it.
“Oh, my bad. Should we head to the dining hall together?”
Pola put away her golem, and Brod and Lionel grudgingly tucked their swords back into their scabbards. I was about to leave the training field when I noticed some of the knights were staring at me.
“We’ve borrowed the training field for a bit. I’m very sorry if we got in the way of your training,” I said, thinking I should apologize just in case we had been bothering them.
The knights stared at me with bewildered expressions but didn’t say anything in response, so I left for the dining hall with my companions. At the time, I didn’t realize that this incident would drastically change the way the knights saw me.
Rosa wasn’t supervising the dining hall today, but the older ladies who worked there and the pope’s attendants were present. Judging by how the girls were crying while obeying the dining hall ladies’ orders, I surmised this must’ve been their punishment. While I didn’t care about the opinions of those who had participated in Dongahar’s scheme or plotted against the Church, I couldn’t shake the fear that those who were unwittingly complicit might hold a grudge against me.
“Luciel, stop worrying so much,” Brod said when he saw me looking at the pope’s attendants.
“Yes, master,” I replied. His words were enough to ease my anxiety.
After we were done with our meal, I took Nadia and Lydia and headed to the pope’s chambers. She was much calmer than yesterday and greeted us with a refined expression.
“Good morning, Your Holiness.”
“Good morning, Luciel.”
The previous day had been absolutely crazy, but the pope seemed much more cheerful than she ever had since we’d met.
“Thank you for everything you did yesterday. You seem to be in a good mood today,” I remarked.
“Indeed. Forêt Noire has advised me to maintain my dignity at all times. She said that if I dwell on the past, I might inadvertently jeopardize the future you have so diligently forged for us.”
Spotting Forêt Noire from the corner of my eye, I turned to her and noticed that her coat was black again, not white and sparkly like the previous day.
“Why did Forêt’s coat change color again?” I asked the pope.
Forêt Noire replied in her stead. “Don’t worry. I’ve just changed my appearance so that people won’t know I’m a spirit.”
“Why?”
“If people know what I am, they’ll try to worship me, and it’ll be annoying.”
Her words made me think of the dragonewts. People who worshipped spirits likely considered them supreme beings far greater than humans.
I nodded. “It’s better to avoid overwhelming people. But will you be all right in that form?”
“Now that I have recovered my spirit crystal, I’ll be fine. I can always activate my powers when needed, so I’ll be able to help you if you run into trouble.”
“That’s reassuring. But are you sure?”
“We’re partners, aren’t we? It’s only natural that I accompany you on your travels.”
I turned to the pope. “Your Holiness...”
“Forêt Noire wants to go with you, Luciel. As for me, I just want her to do as she wishes now that she has regained her powers,” the pope replied with a smile.
Her words made me wonder if she also wanted to do what she liked. At that moment, I set a new goal for myself: to make it so that one day, the pope could go outside without feeling like she was bothering anyone. It wouldn’t be possible right away, but I was determined to make it happen.
“I’m looking forward to our next trip,” Forêt said.
“Yeah, me too. Oh, I might need your help dealing with some wyverns. Do you think you’ll be able to fly without being scared?”
She chuckled. “What do you take me for? I’ll make quick work of those wyverns.”
Her nonchalant attitude reassured me.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Leave it to me.”
Forêt Noire hadn’t been able to speak before, but I was secretly happy to see that now that she could, she was exactly as I’d pictured her in my mind.
All right, now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on to what really brings me here today.
“Your Holiness, I’m actually here to report something important to you.”
“I am listening.”
“Dongahar regained consciousness during the night.”
“So he really did survive... Thank you, Luciel.”
“Don’t mention it. Anyway, I questioned him and had my companions lock him up in one of the underground cells when I was done.”
“I see. I am truly grateful for the trouble you took.”
“After listening to what he had to say, I’ve come to the conclusion that Blanche is an incredibly dangerous nation. It’s highly likely that they’ve completed their research on demonization.”
“Impossible...” Nadia whispered.