I had safely passed both the Knight Examination and the Mage Examination. After completing all the necessary paperwork, I received two license cards. While I was relieved to have achieved my goal, it had brought far too many causes for concern along with it.
For now, I would just have to keep my head down and live quietly.
"Guess I'll eat here again tonight."
When darkness fell, I decided to head back to the tavern I had visited before.
"Welcome! Table for one?"
"Yeah."
"Right this way, please!"
"Thanks."
More than anything, this place served incredible food. I wasn't much of a drinker, but the meals alone made it well worth returning.
I cut into the steak I ordered and shoved a thick slice into my mouth. The moment my teeth broke through the savory, seared crust, hot juices flooded my mouth from the tender meat. The balance of salt and aromatic herbs brought out the rich flavor, and a smile naturally spread across my face.
"Man, the steak here really is out of this world...!"
The old woman's home cooking was just as exquisite, but the capital's food was certainly nothing to scoff at either. If I could get meals this good on a regular basis, basing myself in the royal capital as an adventurer didn't sound bad at all.
"Excuse me, sir."
"Yes...? What is it?"
The voice belonged to the server with shoulder-length chestnut hair.
She had previously caught me making a complete fool of myself, grinning menacingly to myself in the middle of the room. Perhaps because of that, looking her in the eye felt subtly awkward.
From an outsider's perspective, I must have looked like a total weirdo...
"Are you a mage, sir?"
"Um..."
...What should I say?
I was both a swordsman and a mage. But that day, I had openly used magic in front of her. I should probably just pretend to be a pure mage here. Going forward, I really needed to watch how I carried myself.
"Well, yeah."
"I knew it! But you don't really seem to hold any hostility toward swordsmen, do you?"
"To be honest, I just came from the countryside, so I don't really know much about this feud between the staff and the sword."
"I see... So that's how it is. Does that mean you don't know the history behind it either?"
"Yeah."
"In that case, I should probably explain it to you, if only to return the favor for helping me out before. The royal capital can be pretty dangerous, after all."
With that, she took a glass of liquor from the tavern master and casually pulled up a chair right next to me. Um... aren't you on shift right now? The master didn't say a word, so I guess it was fine? Then again, there weren't many customers around.
"My name is Sara. What's yours?"
"I'm Leon."
"Leon-san, then. Thank you once again for what you did before."
Sara bowed her head politely.
"It really wasn't a big deal."
"No way! You were seriously amazing!"
"I just did what needed to be done."
"Hehe. That sounds pretty cool."
"Are you teasing me?"
"No, no! Not at all! Hehe."
Sara gave a faint smile and lowered her gaze slightly.
"Well then, shall I explain? The feud between the staff and the sword—its origins date all the way back to the founding of the Kingdom of Alstella."
Tilting her glass, she began to speak in a quiet, measured tone.
"Back before a nation even existed on this land, two heroes fought alongside the man who would become our first king. One was the Sword Saint, and the other was the Sage. Combining sword and sorcery, the two triumphed in countless battles. In modern times, they're remembered as the 'Twin Wings of the Founding.'"
"So they were on good terms back then?"
"Yes. The conflict only began after they both passed away."
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she continued.
"Having lost their common enemy, the disciples from both sides began arguing over who had contributed more to the kingdom. Nobility power struggles got tangled into the mess, and eventually, the swordsmen and mages split into two opposing factions."
"Which led to the current Knight Ducal House and Mage Ducal House."
"Exactly. To maintain balance, the royal family granted both houses equal status and authority. But rather than ending the conflict, it only permanently cemented the divide."
Knights and mages.
So the fact that their national licenses were completely separated was a lingering remnant of that history.
"Swordsmen call mages cowards, while mages look down on swordsmen as barbarians. After hundreds of years of this, no one even cares about the original reason anymore."
"Even though the founders were comrades who fought side by side."
"Yes. Quite ironic, isn't it?"
Sara offered a lonely smile and gently swirled the drink in her glass.
"The staff and the sword weren't enemies from the beginning."
"..."
The staff and the sword.
Two powers that once joined hands to build a nation together. Now, they did nothing but look down on each other, abhorring even the thought of associating.
Hearing her story brought the faces of the old man and the old woman to mind. Every time those two met, they bickered endlessly over whether swordsmanship or magic reigned supreme. Yet they never hated each other. If anything, they acknowledged and trusted each other's strength more than anyone else in the world.
Maybe their relationship was what the staff and the sword were truly meant to be.
"And that's the gist of it. Do you have any other questions?"
"I get the history now. But there is one thing I'm curious about."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Hypothetically speaking, what if someone managed to earn both national licenses—knight and mage? Just purely hypothetical, of course."
"Huh...? Well, a person like that couldn't possibly exist."
Right. As expected, nobody would believe it at face value. Judging by her reaction, I was probably safe for the moment.
"—If there were someone like that, what do you think would happen?"
"Let's see... Wouldn't the entire kingdom be turned upside down?"
"That much?"
"Of course! The knight faction and the mage faction would desperately try to drag that person into their own camp, and there's no way the royal family or the nobility would leave them alone either. A talent of that caliber hasn't appeared once in the kingdom's entire history."
She pondered the thought for a second before adding casually:
"At the very least, that person would have to kiss any hope of a peaceful life goodbye."
Gulp... I see.
—I must make sure no one ever finds out.
"Leon-san, could it be that you hold a national license?"
"...Yeah. I just got my mage license."
"In that case, are you going to join the Mage Order?"
"No, I'm planning to become an adventurer. Stuffy organizations don't really suit me."
"Huh...? An adventurer?"
Sara's eyes widened in surprise.
"Why the shock?"
"During the day, I work as a receptionist at the Adventurer Guild!"
"Oh. What a coincidence."
"Yeah! In that case, let me handle your registration tomorrow! Leave everything to me!"
"That'd be a huge help."
After finishing my meal, I settled the bill and stepped out into the night air.
"Leon-san!"
Sara called out from behind me.
"Yeah?"
"Please make sure to come back again! I've taken quite a liking to you!"
"Haha. I'll take that as standard customer service."
"No, really! I mean it! It's just so sad seeing people hate each other all the time. So please, stay the way you are, Leon-san."
"...Yeah. Understood."
Sara cast her eyes downward for a brief moment.
I couldn't quite grasp the deeper meaning behind her words.
"I'll be handling the front desk tomorrow, so leave your registration to me, okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
"Good night, then!"
"Good night."
Back at the inn, I lay down on the bed and turned over my plans for the future. First, become an adventurer. That was already set in stone.
For the time being, operating as a mage seemed like the safest bet—provided Leticia and the rest of the knight faction never caught wind of it.
On that front, wearing a deep robe to conceal my face wouldn't look out of place for a mage. It was the perfect disguise to hide my identity while working.
"Tomorrow, I'll pick up a robe and a knife."
Ideally, I wanted to carry the sword the old man gave me, but drawing a blade risked someone from the Knight Examination recognizing me. Since I had been thoroughly trained in handling a dagger as well, being forced into close-quarters combat inside a dungeon wouldn't be an issue.
For now, a staff and a knife. That would be my gear while keeping my identity under wraps.
"Still... who on earth were the old man and the old woman anyway...?"
The question slipped out into the empty room.
Now that I knew about the deep-seated rift between the staff and the sword, I finally understood just how abnormal their relationship had been.
A swordsman old man, and a mage old woman.
Without question, neither of them was an ordinary powerhouse. Coming to the royal capital had made me acutely aware of just how ridiculously strong they truly were. Why had two people like that married and chosen to live in complete obscurity in the middle of nowhere...?
"...Time to sleep."
No amount of thinking would give me the answer right now. My priority was establishing a solid foundation for my life as an adventurer. I closed my eyes and let myself drift quietly off to sleep.