Chapter 42

Enhancement

So.

Let’s run a quick check on the current status.

-Skill Info

◈ Weaver of Fate

【 Noel Astrea Simus 】

* Bond: Stage 6

◆ Heart of Pure White

◆ Qi Enhancement: Consecration

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【 Katya Heinkel Craven 】

* Obsession: Stage 2

◆ The First Vow

◆ Sanctified Body

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⎨ Lionel XIII ⎬

* Bond: Stage 1

◆ Unique Trait: Imperial Bloodline

⎨ Dunadan Uzal ⎬

* Bond: Stage 1

◆ Universal Ability: Mana Arts → The Savior’s Vow

⎨ Rania A‘Shan ⎬

* Bond: Stage 1

◆ Spiritual Resonance

⎨ Meyer Belford ⎬

* Bond: Stage 1

◆ Analysis

⎨ Abigail III ⎬

* Bond: Stage 2

* Can copy 2 skills.

⧾Arden Brimstone Lionel

* Malice: Stage 1

* Can mimic 1 skill.

※ Cannot build a 'bond relationship' with this target. Skill effects will be altered from the original!

……Now that it was all laid out like this, it really did feel like he’d scraped together quite a bit.

But the ones that stood out the most were still just two.

Two of the Pontiff’s skills. And one from the Prince. The most recently acquired ones.

‘Not bad.’

With that thought, Aiden immediately summoned another window.

-Quest Info

♠ Main Quest

◈ Act I, Imperial Capital Fracture

-Chapter 1, Ghost Knight Incident

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▶ Subjugation Battle (D-Day!)

◈ Fake Marriage

* You have been chosen as Lady Noel’s spouse. Maintain your contract with the partner until the end!

* A related incident will occur soon. (D-Day!)

Considering the upcoming rematch against the Warden of the Realm was right around the corner, this wasn’t a bad hand at all.

As soon as he opened his eyes and left this dreamlike Mental World, he’d be entering an event.

“So.”

Aiden shrugged as he asked the Meyer before him.

“What’s the most effective combination to beat a spirit?”

“……”

“I just want to check if I brought the right stuff.”

……Truthfully, once he was told, he planned to copy it exactly.

Kind of like copying off an answer sheet.

Then, after quietly listening, Meyer let out a sigh and spoke.

“……You know,”

“Yes?”

“Don’t you think you’re getting a little too used to dying?”

“……”

To be honest, even as they talked, his torso was still split in two.

“Well, dying just kind of gets easier over time.”

“You know,”

Meyer said with a resigned voice.

“Are you even aware of what you’re saying right now?”

“……?”

Had he said something strange?

Aiden tilted his head and replied.

“Isn’t that possible, though……?”

“It is strange.”

“……Sorry?”

“I’ve trained a lot of disciples, and distancing yourself from fear of fighting or death isn’t something that can be explained with just guts or willpower.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It feels like your entire personality is being altered at the core. Like you're being forcibly… ‘reconstructed,’ you could say. It’s not a natural phenomenon.”

After saying that, Meyer stared at Aiden for a while before letting out a long sigh.

“Well, let’s wait and see. You’re the first case I’ve seen like this. Might be worth observing and analyzing.”

Still, Meyer added with a sigh that at the very least, Aiden wouldn’t crumble no matter what situation he was thrown into.

“There’s such a thing as compatibility. Spirits are most vulnerable to holy power. So your priority should be maximizing holy output.”

“Aha.”

Nodding, Aiden scrolled through the Pontiff’s skill window.

‘……More dead weight than I thought.’

The Pontiff’s skill list could certainly be called a gold mine, but there were too many skills that were either too difficult to use or required prior learning.

Apparently, just ripping off the skills of a human who’d reached the pinnacle came with its own set of problems.

Still—

It didn’t take long to find one that matched Meyer’s request.

-System Message

▶ Copying [Holy Flame Enhancement: Detonation]!

-Skill Info

◆ Holy Flame Enhancement: Detonation

Doubles the output of holy power upon release, limited to a single use. Has a one-day cooldown.

This was optimal.

Simple, met Meyer’s requirements perfectly, and had no tricky usage restrictions.

No, rather, the fact that it doubled output instantly just by activating it—without any conditions—made it straight-up broken……

‘What happens if I combine this with Guardian’s Flame?’

Aiden already had methods to further enhance his holy output. If he threw in a skill like this on top, it was hard to even guess how high the output might spike.

“And second.”

Just as Aiden was caught in that pleasant speculation, Meyer’s voice dropped again.

“Shaping. Even if you’ve got a blade, you can’t exactly swing it with bare hands, right? It’s also important to decide what ‘form’ your supernatural power will take.”

……Ah.

He’d seen that before.

There was that time Katya had forged her holy power into a blade and fired it off, and also when Noel wrapped her qi around her sword and launched it as a slashing wave.

He had already copied several skills from Noel that created defensive barriers using qi.

What Meyer was talking about now was likely the ‘form’ in which such supernatural power would be solidified.

‘Perfect.’

Just so happened that he had a skill list from a master in that field right in front of him.

There were many titles used to describe the Prince, but the most representative among them was undoubtedly “unparalleled genius.”

Of course, Noel, who wielded the unprecedented ability known as pure white qi, was also called a genius, but the Prince had carved out his own reputation in a different way.

His fame came from “technique.”

Not from the output of his abilities, but in how he manipulated and utilized them.

-System Message

▶ Mimicking [Special Operation Technique: Spiral - Hollow Point]!

-Skill Info

◆ Special Operation Technique: Spiral - Hollow Point

Refines supernatural power into a finely segmented and complex spiral form. Allows attacks to pierce through defensive means and strike the opponent.

★ This is a highly difficult skill to operate. Prerequisite conditions are required.

★ The effect of [Skill: Analysis] satisfies the prerequisites.

★ This is a mimicked skill. It is weaker than the original!

……Originally, he wouldn’t have been able to use this skill, but thanks to Meyer, he apparently could now.

‘Owe this to the senior.’

Considering the level of talent the Prince had shown in the original work, Aiden copying this was practically like reaching for the stars.

The power might be weaker than the original, but the attached trait was extremely enticing.

‘Ignores defense, huh……’

There wasn’t a single fighter in the world who didn’t rely on some form of protection.

At any time, in any situation, this would be universally useful. For a skill he could acquire right now, nothing beat this.

‘……With this much.’

Soon, after thoroughly explaining to Meyer exactly what kind of “materials” he’d brought, Aiden broke into a wide smile.

“Honestly, if you can’t make what I asked with this, then, Senior, that’s on you being incompetent.”

“……”

“Do you admit it?”

“……”

Meyer exhaled through his nose and stared at the beaming Aiden with narrowed eyes.

“……You’re pretty pleased with yourself, huh.”

Despite his words, even Meyer couldn’t really argue with Aiden’s point.

From his perspective too, the ‘abilities’ Aiden had acquired were strong enough to justify this level of confidence.

Bringing back two top-tier “materials” of this caliber—if that still wasn’t enough to make what was needed, then the title Knight of Dawn would be in disgrace.

“But.”

Meyer tilted his head slightly as he looked at Aiden.

“I can make it, sure. But how exactly do you plan on handling it?”

The combination Aiden had requested was, if it could just hit the mark, a power close to something that would guarantee subjugating the enemy.

But as Meyer had pointed out earlier, landing the hit in the first place could very well be the problem.

“Last time I heard, there’s some way to pull it off, right? What exactly is that way?”

“……Well.”

Aiden scratched his head as he answered.

“In the end, the reason I can’t land the hit is just because there’s too much of a gap between my basic skill and the enemy’s, isn’t it?”

“That’s true.”

“Then I just need to close that gap.”

“……And how are you going to do that?”

“Somehow.”

“……”

“I’ve got a plan.”

Meyer sighed like he didn’t even want to talk anymore, but Aiden just shrugged.

No, he really did have a plan.

Not something he could easily explain to others and to be honest, it was the kind of plan people might mock him for calling a plan in the first place.

But that ridiculous plan—definitely worked.

‘I just need to prove one thing.’

He just needed to confirm whether the Warden’s spirit had really been summoned in a fully sane state.

There were very few beings with the power to manipulate spirits at the unit level.

But it wasn’t unheard of. There were those capable of such feats.

The main antagonists listed in the main scenario included such entities.

Surely, without doubt.

They were the ones lurking behind this incident.

‘I’ve even got a pretty good guess who one of their puppets is.’

So, all he had to do was squeeze the clue out of that guy properly.

But for now, more than that—

“Senior.”

“What.”

“Give me a piece of life advice.”

“What is it.”

“How do you calm down a fiancée who’s in a really anxious state?”

“……I’ve never been married, you know.”

“……”

“……Does almost getting there count?”

……The Pontiff too.

Why were so many great people lifelong bachelors?

▣

During the Harvest Festival, the Empire transformed into a land overflowing with music and alcohol wherever one looked.

Of course, even as the whole nation was swept up in this celebratory mood of drinking and dancing, the Imperial flags and symbols displayed across the country gave off a solemn air. A grandeur befitting the Empire’s greatest holiday.

In that sense—

Only here felt like a completely different world, heavy and gloomy.

“……”

Aiden cautiously glanced at Noel walking beside him.

She didn’t look good. Horribly so.

More than just a bad mood—her complexion was pale, as if she was suffering from PTSD.

Naturally, no one would feel great having to face a trial during a holiday, in front of a Prince and the Minister of Administration, but her condition looked even worse than that.

“-I apologize. It seems I’ve caused you some concern.”

When he asked about her condition, Noel, with her pale face, still managed to smile as she answered.

She explained the reason more willingly than he expected.

“The Mage Kingdom began its invasion during the Harvest Festival too.”

Festivals were always the time when people were most off guard. Especially near the end of a war. That side must have timed their assault with that in mind.

Which meant, naturally—

“……Today is also Teresa’s death anniversary.”

“……”

……Back then—

He’d once wondered why the Prince and the Minister of Administration had scheduled the event for today of all days.

With just that one sentence, everything now made sense.

Noel looked like she was barely holding herself together. If the spirit of the Warden actually showed up in her current state, there was a high chance she wouldn’t be able to do anything.

“Noel.”

Because of that—

There were things you needed to do in advance, to avoid getting swept up in someone else’s pace.

Standing before the courthouse entrance, Aiden firmly grabbed Noel’s shoulders and said,

“Look at me.”

“……Aiden?”

“Look straight at me.”

As Noel’s eyes met his, startled but focused, Aiden began to speak clearly and firmly.

“Do you believe Dame Teresa’s spirit attacked you out of resentment?”

“……”

“This is important, so please answer honestly.”

……It was a sensitive topic for her, no doubt, which was why he hadn’t asked directly until now.

But with the trial just moments away, they had to clear this up.

Whether she’d be angry or not didn’t matter.

“……”

Noel’s breathing turned uneven. Countless emotions flickered across her eyes.

Finally, her trembling voice broke the silence.

“It was my mistake.”

“……”

“Teresa took the fall for me. It was my poor judgment.”

“……”

“So, to save me, Teresa stayed behind on the battlefield alone—”

Aiden could almost see the scenes flashing behind Noel’s eyes.

Screams, infernos, blood, mountains of corpses, a sea of blood—

And then.

Just as those visions began to swallow her consciousness, Aiden gripped her shoulders again, pressing firmly.

“I don’t really care about the details.”

“……”

Rationality returned to Noel’s gaze.

……Probably because the bluntness caught her off guard.

“……Then why did you ask?”

“Because I think you’re halfway convinced the Warden died holding a grudge against you.”

“……”

“So let me ask you—do you really think Dame Teresa was the kind of person who’d do that?”

“……”

After a long moment of hesitation, Noel finally gave a heavy answer.

“……She wouldn’t.”

The Warden.

The protector of the people. A woman who had shone like the sun of the Empire.

Noel remembered her running through the streets, covered in dirt, playing with the children of the slums.

She remembered how she sacrificed herself, to the very end, for the citizens and subjects of the Empire.

—Before she was ever called the Lionhearted.

She remembered the older sister who, back when she was just a cowardly, slow, and tearful little girl, would always make her crooked pinwheels and hold her tightly in her arms.

—I’ll protect you, Noel.

—I’ll protect the country where I was born and raised too.

Someone like that—Noel couldn’t even imagine her pointing a blade at her.

‘……But.’

That doubt still lingered in a corner of her heart.

It was her own mistake that led to Teresa’s death.

She couldn’t be entirely certain that Teresa wouldn’t resent her for it—

“Then she wouldn’t.”

—And yet.

The man in front of her declared it as fact.

“If you say she wouldn’t, then she wouldn’t.”

“……”

To Noel, blinking blankly, Aiden said those words.

Whatever had happened in the past—on that evening, near the end of the war, on the same date as today—was none of Aiden’s business.

Who made what mistake on the battlefield, whose fault it was that things went wrong—sorting all that out wasn’t his job.

Maybe Noel really had made a mistake.

But.

“I believe in you, Noel.”

At the very least, this woman—

Among all the people Aiden had ever met, she was the one most bound by ‘morality.’

Even in dangerous situations, she always worried about the lives of civilians. She never hurt anyone first.

—And whenever Aiden got so much as a scratch, she’d make a huge fuss, yet when it came to matters she was responsible for, she was ready to lay down her life.

“So I trust the people you trust.”

Which meant—

He also trusted the person who had helped shape the person standing here now—Noel Astrea Simus.

He trusted her judgment that Teresa would never have done such a thing.

“The Warden wasn’t that kind of person.”

Yes. Dame Teresa Adelaide was never that kind of person.

—The very method he’d confidently claimed to Meyer as a way to ‘hold down’ the Warden was born from that conviction.

Still staring blankly at him, Noel watched as Aiden grinned and turned away.

“I’m going to prove it now.”

Ahead of them stood the courthouse, where the Prince and the Minister of Administration were waiting.

The smile at the corner of Aiden’s lips sharpened a bit.

Well. He wasn’t exactly used to smiling this way, but lately it felt like some of Katya had rubbed off on him.

“Let’s go.”

……Well.

A face like that suited the moment better anyway.

“To crush those bastards.”

It was time for revenge.