The fortress city of Lamoor. With a population of roughly fifty thousand, it was merely an ordinary, mid-sized city within the Holy Amelia Kingdom.
Yet Lamoor possessed a single, remarkably rare characteristic: whenever a turning point in history arrived, children blessed with extraordinary Gifts were invariably born here in great numbers.
Recently, an offensive launched by Ashmedia—one of the Four Great Demon Kings—had plunged the Amelia Kingdom into an unprecedented crisis. In response, Rosemary Loto Amelia, Saint and First Princess of the Amelia Kingdom, summoned both the Hero and the Sage in rapid succession. As if echoing that call, children bearing the Gifts of Sword Saint, Spear King, and Grand Mage all appeared here in Lamoor.
And today, my sparring partner was the boy who possessed that very Spear King Gift.
"Come on, come on, what's the matter?! You world-class incompetent bastard!"
I barely managed to ward off the thrusts of the wooden pole wielded by the handsome, brown-haired boy as he aimed for my head, chest, and stomach. Then again, calling it "warding off" was overly generous; he was casually flicking the pole with one hand, treating the match as child's play. Even so, simply dodging took everything I had.
"You've got it wrong, Roman! He's not 'world-class incompetent'—he's the absolute most incompetent person in the world!"
A jeer flew from Roman's companion, a handsome blonde boy, triggering a burst of mocking laughter from the other youths training in the dojo.
"There! Take this!"
Right on the heels of Roman's cheerful shout, the pole slammed squarely into my forehead, instantly shearing away my consciousness.
A pleasant breeze brushed against my cheek, accompanied by a throbbing ache in my forehead. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a beautiful blonde girl peering down at me with an intensely worried expression.
"Laila?"
Shifting my head to take in my surroundings, I realized I was resting in the shade of a tree at the edge of the sparring grounds. From the nearby dojo came the spirited shouts of ongoing sword matches.
"Kai, are you all right? It looked as though you took a direct blow to the face."
She held down her long, wavy blonde hair as it fluttered in the breeze.
She, Laila Helner, was the former fiancée of myself, Kai Heinemann. But following that divine revelation at the temple when we turned thirteen—which branded my Gift as [The Absolute Most Incompetent Person in the World]—the engagement had been promptly annulled.
"Yeah, I think I just got a bump."
My childhood friend leaned in closer to inspect my forehead. As the prominent swell of her chest pushed against her coordinated black attire and drew nearer, I felt my cheeks grow hot. Desperate to hide it, I hurriedly sat up and touched my right hand to my forehead; there was indeed a small swelling.
Ever since the Gift [The Absolute Most Incompetent Person in the World] manifested, my physical capabilities had plummeted dramatically. No matter how much I trained, my physical constitution refused to improve. At this point, I was frailer than an untrained woman or child. That was who I had become. If anything, walking away with just a bump was a stroke of good fortune.
Laila gently touched my forehead and let out a deep sigh. It seemed I had truly worried her.
"Kai, will you be leaving for the royal capital soon?"
"Yeah. It's gotten a little uncomfortable for me to stay here."
Perhaps out of pride in having consistently produced valuable Gift holders for the world, Lamoor was exceptionally harsh toward those with garbage Gifts like mine, even by the standards of the Gift-supremacist Amelia Kingdom. Being treated the way Roman had just treated me was an everyday occurrence. Complete strangers had hurled abuse at me, and some had even thrown stones.
Mother's strict order for me to join her in the royal capital had surely come because she couldn't bear to watch it any longer.
"Do you intend to seek employment in the royal capital, then?"
"Mother seems to want that, but I'm planning to look next door in Babel. You know, it's a neutral city, so even someone with a trash Gift like mine should be able to find work."
The neutral academic city—the World Mage Academy Babel. A massive academic hub home to numerous schools attended by the children of dignitaries from all over the world. Since races that naturally lacked Gifts came there to study as well, discrimination against trash Gift holders like me wouldn't be severe. I figured finding a job would actually be fairly straightforward.
"I see... Babel..."
Laila nodded, surprisingly nonchalant.
At first, she had fiercely opposed the idea of parting ways with Lena and me. Judging by her current reaction, though, she seemed to have finally sorted through her feelings.
"I'll write you letters."
"There is no need. Because—"
A gentle smile touched her lips as she started to say something, but she stopped herself and stood up instead.
"I must finish packing the luggage in my room, so I shall take my leave. Until next time, Kai."
"Y-Yeah. See you."
Tilting my head at the peculiar nuance in her farewell, I raised a hand and pushed myself to my feet as well.
Now then, I should go pay my final respects to Grandfather.
Just as the thought crossed my mind—
"Hey!"
Roman stepped into the space Laila had just vacated, his voice low and threatening.
"Hm? What is it?"
"I am the holder of the Spear King Gift!"
Well, that was sudden. Then again, that was typical of him.
"So it seems."
"You and Lady Laila are no longer engaged! Even if I am from a branch family, I'm still a member of the Heinemann family. I am the one with the right to spend my life with her. In fact, I'm the only one worthy!"
Roman and I were cousins. He had clearly harbored feelings for Laila for a long time, which was why he flared with such blatant rivalry toward me.
Roman's Gift was [Spear King]. It was no exaggeration to call him the future pillar of the nation's military might. Naturally, the government of the Amelia Kingdom had strongly insisted that he train in the royal capital alongside Lena and Keith.
However, Roman had adamantly refused, choosing instead to remain here in Lamoor. The Amelia government had initially pushed back, but upon realizing he would not bend, they ultimately granted permission on the condition that he continue his training under the Heinemann family without fail.
Roman had likely insisted on staying in Lamoor because Laila had turned down the government's scouting offer in favor of remaining here.
"That's for Laila to decide."
Shortly after our engagement was dissolved, Laila declared to the Helner family that she would choose her own partner. She had always opposed her family's antiquated customs, so in a way, it was entirely in character for her. Breaking off our engagement had probably served as the perfect excuse to put some distance between herself and her household.
"You're awfully confident, aren't you? Do you really believe Lady Laila would ever choose an incompetent weakling like you?"
"No, what I feel for her is fundamentally different from what you feel. You're worrying over nothing."
Laila and I grew up like brother and sister. If someone brought up marriage between us now, it would only leave both of us bewildered.
"What do you mean by—"
"Roman! Stop wasting your breath chatting with that inferior degenerate and get back here! The match isn't over!"
One of the assistant instructors—a massive, bald man with a cleft chin named Shiga—bellowed at Roman while casting a look of sheer contempt in my direction. Despite his attitude now, he had actually been quite kind to me before I received that title. People truly were quick to change.
"Instructor Shiga is right. Squandering our precious time on an incompetent failure who washed out of life is something only a fool would do, don't you think?"
Riku, the handsome blonde boy standing beside Instructor Shiga, smirked as he chimed in to coax Roman back.
"Dammit! I know! Don't you dare go near Lady Laila again!"
Clicking his tongue, Roman spat out that parting shot and jogged back toward the others.
Letting out a soft sigh, I made my way toward the main house where Grandfather was waiting.
"Thank you for everything you've done for me over the years."
I straightened my posture and bowed respectfully.
"Forgive me for putting you through so much turmoil," Grandfather replied, his tone laden with apology.
"For what?"
"For the dissolution of your engagement with Laila, and for practically driving you away from your home."
"Laila and I were like brother and sister anyway, and going to the royal capital or Babel has always been a dream of mine. So I'm not bitter about this at all."
I meant every word. Traveling to Babel, the mecca of hunters, and earning a hunter's license had been my secret ambition. Getting even a slight chance to pursue it genuinely made me happy. Besides, the broken engagement seemed to have given Laila the push she needed to forge her own path as well.
"You may return whenever you wish, you know."
"No, there's no place for me here anymore. I won't ever—"
"Enough! Just come back and show your face from time to time!"
Before I could finish, Grandfather shouted as though angered, then rose to his feet and stormed out of the room.
I suppose that made sense. Ever since I was young, Grandfather had looked after me as the family's next head. Even if I had turned out to be a hopeless, good-for-nothing failure, that didn't mean our familial bonds had simply vanished into thin air.
Filled with gratitude, I bowed my head deeply once more.