“Master Sain, are you done?” Melia, who’d been waiting at the edge of the room, called to him.
“Yeah.”
The Goddess’s form vanished. She had never actually been there; her corporeal form existed up in the heavens. What he had seen was more like a projection of sorts. This projection allowed her to see what her holy knight was doing, and she could do so at will. This meant that, normally, she could peep on him whenever she wanted, and his privacy was at the mercy of her whims. He’d found this rather unacceptable and made the Goddess promise that she’d never pop in for a look without his permission. Currently, unless he consciously summoned her, she couldn’t send out a projection, and therefore had no idea what was happening around him. He was pretty sure that, had he not established this rule, she’d be even more overbearing right now. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate her care and concern, and he certainly enjoyed talking to her, but there was always a limit to these things. Too much, and it just became draining. He did allow for one exception to the rule, though — she could intervene without consent during emergencies involving the sudden appearance of Chaos.
“All right, Headmaster, I finished making the adjustments to the barrier that you requested.”
“Ah, much appreciated. You’ve been a great help.” The headmaster, who was standing beside Melia, nodded and stroked the silver strands of his prized beard before adding, “Sorry to make you do this on the day of the event.”
“I don’t mind. It’s something that had to be done.”
The battle expo was beginning today, and for three days hence, there would be a flood of outside guests into the school. In order to deal with this surge, the headmaster had asked Sain to modify the barrier in two ways. The first was to strengthen it against the unlikely scenario of forced entry. The second was to add a screening function to check if any visitors were in possession of anything suspicious. Thanks to the Goddess’s enthusiastic workmanship, it now excelled in both aspects. Soon, it would be put to good use. Vendor stalls were already going up in the school grounds, and most of their personnel would arrive in a few hours. Then, at ten in the morning, regular guests would be allowed in.
“I have to say, though, this staff is a piece of work. I remember being impressed when I saw it on the day of the entrance ceremony, but it’s still just as impressive. This thing soaks up the blessing of the goddess like a sponge. A normal staff would have shattered a long time ago.”
“My knowledge of it comes from the previous headmaster, who told me that it’s called the Titan’s Staff. Apparently, it’s a magical instrument created by people in ancient times to assist the gods.”
“Created by people... to assist the gods...”
Sain looked up at the towering staff in the middle of the room, his gaze pensive. There had been a time when people labored in support of the gods. They doubtlessly provided the gods with plenty: care, trust, even devotion... but never companionship. They could stand for the gods, but in the end, none could stand beside them.
“Speaking of which, Sir Knight, I believe you’re also participating in the tournament?”
“I sure am, and I’m so ready for this.”
“Is that so? Well, I’m looking forward to seeing you put on a good show, then.”
“You should, because I’m going to be the champion,” Sain declared with confidence.
Melia gave him a flat look before turning to the headmaster and whispering in her trademark not-very-quiet voice, “Don’t take him too seriously. He does this sometimes when it’s that time of the month.”
Sain scowled at her. Admittedly, the “going to be champion” part was a joke, but he certainly intended to try for it.
“Hohoho, very good. I’m glad to see that you’re enjoying yourselves, as well.” The headmaster chuckled as he regarded them. The twinkle in his eyes wasn’t just reverence for the holy knight, but also affection for two of his students. “And how go your dark magic studies?”
“Well, they’re... going, I guess, but the power of the holy knight in me definitely gets in the way. I mean, I knew it would, but it makes it so hard to control dark magic.”
“Even with the seals?”
“Yeah. These seals are only meant to nullify the portion of the power that leaks out of me. They can only handle so much.”
The headmaster pursed his lips. There was a limit to how much power the seals could cancel, and overusing them would be unwise. After all, they weren’t exactly cheap.
“Hm, you know, I’ve been thinking... This power of the holy knight in you... can you temporarily transfer it to someone else?”
“Transfer? What... do you mean?”
“I heard that when you induct an attendant into your service as the holy knight, you impart them with a portion of your power. In that case, can’t you use the same method to temporarily move all your power to an attendant—”
“No, I can’t.”
His answer was firm. In fact, Alicia had asked him about this before.
“The attendants are not as attuned to the blessing of the goddess as I am. If they take in too much power, it’ll overload their bodies.”
“I see... I apologize for my ignorance. The musings of an amateur like myself don’t hold much water, do they?”
“Don’t say that. What you suggested isn’t impossible, exactly.”
In his continual efforts to become the dark knight, Sain had explored a number of possibilities, one of which was the very method suggested by the headmaster. He’d already given the idea some thought.
“When it comes down to it, the holy knight is just a person who’s perfectly attuned to the blessing of the goddess. There have to be other people in the world who, even if they’re not quite my equal, possess an exceptional capacity to accept her power. If I ever run into someone like that, then it might be worth giving your idea a try.”
The headmaster nodded in comprehension.
“Don’t bet on it, though,” quipped Melia.
He lifted an eyebrow at her. She shrugged.
“Just saying. Hasn’t happened so far.”
She was right, of course. He let out a resigned sigh.
“Yeah... You’re right. I’ve never seen anyone like that.”
After all, Sain’s attunement to the goddess’s blessing was apparently the greatest ever recorded. It was why he was called the strongest holy knight in history. Even if there were people in the world who were more attuned than others, it was hard to imagine that they’d be a better fit than Sain. Melia and Alicia were both attendants of the holy knight, but neither of them was more attuned than the average person. That was why Sain had to control their power output when they tapped into the goddess’s power. Attendants, therefore, were definitely no silver bullet for his problems; they came with their own fair share of challenges. For example, if multiple attendants tried to use their blessing-infused abilities at the same time, he’d have to simultaneously control the flows of power into each of them.
“Ah, but I digress,” said the headmaster. “The battle expo will begin soon. Do try to get some rest before then, Sir Knight.”
“I think I will.”
He had matches lined up, and he wanted to be in optimal condition for them. Leaving the headmaster to lock up, he and Melia stepped outside.
At ten in the morning, the battle expo officially kicked off, and visitors swarmed into the school grounds. This event was arguably the origin of Jenifa’s fame, as it was what first put them on the map. From there, the academy continued to host the tournament annually and steadily gained prominence in the Kingdom of Loribania, eventually becoming the renowned institution they were now.
The battle expo consisted of a series of one-on-one duels between students. Competition was fierce, and the abilities on display frequently surpassed everyone’s expectations. Every aspect of the event trumpeted the academy’s philosophy of a thorough commitment to meritocracy. As a result, the spectators’ seats were filled not only by regular guests looking for a good show, but often military officers, knights, and garrison guards, as well.
At the same time, the battle expo was also a festival. This was evident from the tremendous number of roadside stalls that had already been erected in the school grounds.
“Wh-Whoa, this is...”
Sain gaped at the sea of vendors across the field.
“...Total chaos.”
“...It sure is.”
Overwhelmed by the avalanche of sensory stimuli, they walked for a while in incredulous silence. A great many stalls had set up metal plates, on which a dazzling variety of foods sizzled. The mouthwatering noise was frequently drowned out by the vendors’ employees, who tended to their goods at a leisurely pace while loudly bidding passersby to take a closer look. All sorts of sweet and fruity aromas vied for attention as they drifted through the air. It was almost a little too much to take in.
“...At least it’s chaos with a small c,” said Melia, the quip signaling that she’d recovered from the initial sensory shock.
“Yeah, the kind that doesn’t try to rip your throat out. I guess it’s sort of nice in comparison.”
Sain was no stranger to crowds. Back when holy knighting was still his day job, he’d walked through plenty of them. This, however, was different. It was more like... wading through. He was used to being surrounded by people and drawing attention, but they’d always kept a certain distance. These people didn’t care about him or his personal space. It was a little jarring at first to brush shoulders with so many people just getting from point A to point B.
“Oh, there they are. Hey, over here, you two!”
They heard Alicia’s voice over the din of the crowd. Soon, they were reunited with her and Marni, the latter having donned her gray hooded cloak to conceal her hair and features — likely out of concern about being seen by the outside guests.
“Where did you go? We were waiting for you outside your dorm,” said Alicia.
“Sorry, headmaster’s request. We had to go adjust the barrier around the school. There wasn’t enough time to go back to the dorm afterwards, so we just came directly to school to get some rest.”