The defeat of the Founder likely came as a surprise to Chaos, and their onslaught ceased soon after. As it turned out, their objective had indeed been the anchor of the academy’s barrier — the titan’s staff. While Sain and Cain were battling the Founder, Melia and Alicia rendezvoused with Marni, who was trying to fend off the Clan of Chaos. Together, the girls kept the would-be thieves at bay until the Founder fell, after which the clan retreated as well.
The next day, the academy put out an announcement saying it had been attacked by a new monster species, and all students and staff were to immediately begin taking part in the restoration effort.
“Oh gee— My back!”
Sain froze in the middle of lifting a particularly large chunk of debris. He then slowly bent his legs, placed the debris back on the ground, and gingerly nursed his lumbar region. The match with Cain had taken a serious toll on his body, and the fight against the Founder was worse. His decision to push himself and endure two intense battles back-to-back was now coming back to bite him. He was really in no shape to be doing construction work.
“Careful now, Master Sain. The elderly shouldn’t be doing too much heavy lifting.”
“...In case you’ve forgotten how time works, if I’m elderly, then you’re no spring chicken either.”
“Says you. Take that.”
She poked him in the back and he yelped.
“Yeeeow!”
She got him right where it hurts. His reaction amused her, and she poked him a few more times.
“Take that and that.”
“Ow! Ow! Ow!”
“Would the two of you quit playing around?” said an exasperated Alicia before she looked around and frowned. “Wait, where’s Marni?”
“Miss Grim? She’s taking a break over there,” he said, pointing with one hand while trying to fend off Melia’s digital assaults with the other.
Alicia glanced in the direction he indicated to find Marni sprawled under some trees, looking like she was about to pass out any second.
“...That girl needs to exercise more.”
Unlike the field exercises, during which they’d scheduled frequent breaks to pace themselves, they’d been working nonstop today since the morning, and it had all been manual labor. Therefore, she wasn’t particularly surprised that Marni had tapped out so quickly, but it was still a pitiful sight to behold.
“Sain.”
Hearing someone call his name, Sain turned to find Cain and Emilia approaching him.
“Hey. You’re, uh... on your feet.”
“Just barely. But work calls. And there’s a whole mountain of it already. I can’t afford to be out of commission.”
The student council was currently dealing with the task of post-battle expo clean up, which Cain was in charge of. The aftereffects of using the holy knight’s power undoubtedly still lingered, but he made no show of it. Through sheer force of will, he presented the familiar image of the steadfast student council president who continued to act as an exemplar of calm, sensible behavior for his peers. There was a tangible unease in the air as students walked through the ravaged school, and Cain’s unchanging attitude provided them with a calming sense of normalcy.
“Right. So, about the fact that you’ve become my attendant—”
“That’s exactly what I’m here to talk to you about. It’s true that I’m now your attendant. However, I’m also aware that the holy knight is far from omnipotent. Therefore... I will not be following your lead.” He looked Sain straight in the eyes and continued, “If we both face the same direction and walk the same way, we’ll simply fall for the same traps. To that end, you’re going to need an attendant who’s looking in a different direction.”
“But there’s only so much you can do against Chaos on your own—”
“Relax.” Cain showed him a reassuring smile. “I already have somebody to watch my back.”
Emilia, standing a few paces behind Cain, acknowledged this with a polite bow of her head.
Ah , thought Sain. So that’s who he means.
They made a good pair. A skilled lightkind or darkkind, even if they weren’t an attendant of the holy knight, would be a valuable ally. After all, Sain himself often relied on Marni’s help, and she wasn’t an attendant.
“I see. In that case, I guess you’re fine.”
That was apparently all Cain wanted to say, as he proceeded to turn around and walk away. Emilia followed him, taking a few quick steps forward to catch him when he swayed a little and risked stumbling. From there, she continued to walk wordlessly alongside him, keeping an arm on him to keep him from falling. Sain watched the pair with a smile. The bond between those two was strong — stronger than ever — and he had no doubt that whatever new challenges came their way, they’d overcome it together.
“Speaking of which, Master Sain, are you sure you should be standing on your own two feet?” asked Melia.
Her question wasn’t entirely facetious; the events of the previous day should have been equally exhausting for him.
“You bring up a good point. But actually... ever since I fought the Founder yesterday, I’ve been feeling great, and I haven’t the slightest clue why.”
The phenomenon had perplexed him this whole time. He certainly wasn’t back up to one hundred percent, but his stamina was clearly recovering more quickly than he was used to. Energy permeated his body in a way he’d never experienced before, and he felt like he had enough juice in him to go another round in the tournament.
“Goddess, something about my body doesn’t feel right, and it’s been like this since yesterday. Do you know what’s going on?”
The cause of the anomaly was clearly the battle against the Founder. Since he’d been using the power of the holy knight during the fight, he figured the goddess might know something.
“I think it’s because you’ve gotten stronger as the holy knight, Sain dear.”
“...What?”
He frowned. What she said made no sense to him.
“You probably never noticed, but when the holy knight makes an attendant, a bond is formed between the two of them. That bond allows both the holy knight and the attendant to share all sorts of powers, so when someone strong becomes your attendant, your powers grow as well.”
“O-Oh. Is that how it works?”
“Only a little bit, though. The effect is pretty weak. But I think because Cain Theresia has such an incredible amount of natural talent, the increase in power from making him your attendant is actually perceptible and you can feel it in your body.”
Sain nodded. Basically, by making Cain his attendant, he’d grown stronger as well.
“...Hm? Wait a minute.” A worrying thought occurred to him, and he broke out in a cold sweat. His voice started to tremble. “Y-You said I’ve gotten stronger as the holy knight, right? I-Is that going to... affect my ability to learn dark magic?”
The goddess beamed at him.
“It’ll be fine! You’re the holy knight, so everything will be A-OK!”
“Answer my question, damn it! Auuugh, whatever! I knew it! It’s going to affect it! It’s going to make things so much harder!”
“I guess this means you’re just not cut out to be the dark knight!”
“Gyaaaaaah! Why?! This is the worst!”
The stronger he grew as the holy knight, the further away he got from becoming the dark knight. That explained why he was feeling so good. Light magical energy was leaking out of him. Previously, the seals had been enough to keep it under control, but making Cain an attendant had supercharged his power, pushing it past the limit of their suppressive abilities.
“Now, now, let’s take a deep breath and calm down,” said Melia. “It’s not like you’re on a deadline, so just take your time to figure it out.”
“W-Well, sure, but...”
He sighed. He’d ended up further away from becoming the dark knight, but in exchange, he’d found a potential successor in Cain. That made it easier to stomach. Besides, it wasn’t like all his hard work had gone to waste. This was just another challenge he’d have to overcome. No matter how many times he stumbled, so long as he continued to pick himself up, he’d be fine. And if his strength ever failed him... he was fortunate enough to have a group of irreplaceable friends who would help him to his feet.
“Plus, I’ll always be here for you,” she added. “We’ll manage. Together.”
“...Fair enough. I’ll be counting on your help then, Maid.”
In response, she beamed.