Chapter 2

“I will begin the profession-bestowal ceremony. Please lower your head. Now I shall convey which profession the gods have decided is for you. Until I say you may open your eyes, please close them and remain still.” “Right. Go ahead.” I felt Laviala watching over me from afar. Please say Spellsword! Please, please, please! My whole life depends on this! I guess the priest must’ve been listening to the voices of the gods—what followed was a long, long silence. Time stands still when no one’s talking…… ………… …………………… Although, um, isn’t this unusually long? “O gods… Wh-what could this be…?” the priest murmured to himself. Odd. Perhaps they’d opted for a particularly outrageous profession? In extremely rare instances, you could receive a sort of upgraded version of a profession, such as Grand Wizard or Great Sage. If that happened, your skill potential would be much greater, and naturally the likelihood of finding success would be, too. It wasn’t such a bad thing. “So it is no mistake… Please forgive me, O gods, for doubting your divine will…” The priest was in total shock. Here we go—my future begins now! “Please open your eyes.” I did as I was told and turned toward the priest. “So what’s my profession?” “Your profession…is Oda Nobunaga.” “Oda Nobunaga?” I’d certainly never heard of that before. I didn’t even have a clue what sort of work it would entail. “I’m sorry, but this ‘Oda Nobunaga,’ as you say—what sort of job is it?” “The gods did not explain any further… However, they were very clear that it is Oda Nobunaga—” “That’s absurd! How am I supposed to know how to pursue this profession if I don’t even know what it is?!” I was dumbfounded. I’d waited for this day for so long… All that effort put into becoming a Spellsword, only to be told “Oda Nobunaga”… “This is some kind of mistake! Please, ask the gods again!” “I cannot question what the gods have decreed—though I, too, was uncertain and had to confirm with them that this unheard-of profession is indeed correct. They indicated it is. The decision cannot be changed.” You must be joking… Do I have to live my life from here on out with this “Oda Nobunaga” profession? What language is that? Is it a word from some regional dialect? “In—in any case… Lord Alsrod, you have been graced with the profession Oda Nobunaga. If you live in accord with this blessing, doubtless you will have the promise of peace and success.” What a load of bullshit… Just what does “living in accord with Oda Nobunaga” even mean? “I could be mistaken, but you weren’t asked by my brother to spite me or anything like that, were you?” My brother was the lord of the domain; not even a priest could disobey him. Without the lord’s support, all the money required for religious rites and more would be gone. It wasn’t uncommon for temples to fully collude with their lords; sometimes the priest would actually be a member of their lord’s family. “Goodness, no! I simply passed on the words of the gods as they were spoken.” He clearly wasn’t lying. That didn’t change my situation, however… My dejection must have been written on my face, because when I returned to Laviala, the first words out of her mouth were “Oh no. Cheer up?” “I certainly won’t. I doubt I’ll even get out of bed for the next few days.” “Did you get some sort of awful profession? Something of no use even in battle, like Singer or Baker?” “At least then I’d know what I should be doing. My suitable profession was Oda Nobunaga…” I expected Laviala to simply be at a loss for words, but instead, she pulled me into a tight embrace. “L-Laviala…?” “Does this make you feel better…? I mean, they say humans feel at ease when hugged…” She was obviously very worried about me. “It must have been so hard for you…having worked so much for this day, only for this…” “Thanks, Laviala. I already feel better. Looks like I won’t need to stay in bed after all.” Grieving wouldn’t change anything for the better—I should at least stay positive. “Now I know what my job is, and that makes me an adult. I can’t just sit here and sulk like some little kid. I’ll lighten up.” “That’s wonderful, Lord Alsrod!” “Besides, Oda Nobunaga could always turn out to be some sort of incredibly powerful job.” All I could do was hope for a miracle.