"Yeah. I hold national licenses for both—as a knight and a mage."
The first to react to my words was Leticia.
"What...? But Leon, you're a knight, aren't you? You have that much skill with a sword, yet you can use magic too...?"
"That's right. I don't just wield a sword; I can use magic as well."
"No way..."
Leticia caught her breath, her eyes widening in sheer disbelief.
"...I knew it."
In contrast, Char seemed quietly convinced.
"Leon-san. Your extraordinary strength was born precisely because you have mastered both the sword and magic, wasn't it? At the end of our duel, you swung down with an empty right hand. That was not the movement of a mage. It was the motion of someone wielding a sword."
She looked straight at me.
"A sword in your right hand, a staff in your left. That is your true combat style. Am I wrong?"
"You're right."
Just as expected of Char.
She hadn't forgotten that split-second sense of discord, and from that alone, she had managed to investigate my identity and trace it all the way here. It seemed hiding my true colors from her had been impossible from the start.
"May I have a moment—?"
The woman standing behind Char stepped forward soundlessly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Leon-san. I am Ophelia Astrain. I serve as the commander of the Mage Order."
"...The Mage Order Commander, huh."
"Yes. I also hold the title of the contemporary Sage."
A Sage, just like the old woman.
At those words, my brow furrowed slightly.
"I heard about your battle during the exam from Char-san. It seems you rewrote a magic formula mid-combat while simultaneously controlling five fireballs."
"...Yeah."
"To be frank, I couldn't entirely believe it just from the report. But facing you like this, I understand."
She narrowed her eyes, studying me.
"A control over mana as clear and pure as a pristine stream. I know of no one else capable of manipulating such beautiful, singular mana."
Then, her smile deepened slightly.
"Leon-san. If you cast aside the sword and pour everything solely into magic—you will surely reach heights that not even the historical Sages could attain. There is no need to pursue two paths. With magic alone, you can stand at the distant pinnacle."
As I hesitated, wondering how I should counter her, a low, heavy voice cut in.
"—Just like a mage. That's quite the hasty recruitment."
Rattling his armor, the knight stepped forward. The pressure radiating from his massive frame felt as if a colossal blade were being thrust right at me.
"Dietrich Vanberg. Commander of the Knight Order, and the contemporary Sword Saint."
"...The Sword Saint."
"I don't care for beating around the bush like mages do. Leon—I want you in the Knight Order."
Ophelia, the commander of the Mage Order, narrowed her eyes.
"I believe I spoke to him first?"
"He's the one who decides. First or second makes no difference."
Dismissing her flatly, Dietrich turned his gaze back to me.
"I've heard the details of the exam battle from Leticia. You broke through her unique skill head-on. You're a genuine genius."
"...Thank you."
"Your swordsmanship isn't the only thing that's exceptional. You have the judgment to assess the situation and wield your own power correctly. For a knight, that is a quality even harder to come by than skill with a blade."
Maintaining his cold tone, he drove his point home.
"Throw away the staff. The only path where your talent will truly shine is the sword. Come to the Knight Order, Leon. Hone your blade under me. And eventually—come with the intention of taking the title of Sword Saint from me."
He didn't look like he was joking.
He genuinely expected me to reach that level one day.
Both of their arguments were fundamentally the same: cast one side aside and join ours. Neither of them harbored the slightest notion of knights and mages joining hands.
—Did the old man and the old woman live in a world like this all along?
Even while the coexistence of the staff and the sword was utterly denied, the two of them had still stood by each other. How much conflict had they carried, and what had they believed in as they walked through life?
"Fufu. As always, knights are so barbaric."
"And I find mages to be underhanded."
Ophelia's smile faded, and dense mana began to swirl around her. In response, Dietrich quietly rested his hand on the sword at his waist. Their mana clashed, and the taut atmosphere pricked at my skin.
"—Stop it."
A voice lower than I expected came out of my own mouth.
The next moment, I unleashed the mana I had been suppressing within me all at once. The vast power was honed without the slightest turbulence, cutting cleanly and precisely between the two of them.
Ophelia gripped her staff, and Dietrich reflexively tightened his hold on his sword hilt. Char and Leticia caught their breath.
"I didn't learn the sword and magic just to choose one over the other. Both have their own merits, and they can make up for what the other lacks."
What I wanted wasn't to decide which one was superior.
"The staff and the sword can coexist. I'm going to prove it."
"Are you saying you have no intention of choosing either?"
"Yeah. That's precisely why I need to understand both knights and mages. What each side thinks, and why they reject the other. I'll never reach an answer just by listening to one side."
Merely hearing both sides talk wasn't enough.
There were things that could only be understood by standing on the same battlefield and having each other's backs. I turned my gaze toward Char and Leticia.
"So, I have a favor to ask of you two."
"The two of us...?"
"What in the world are you...?"
"I want you to form a party with me."
Both of them stared at me with wide eyes.
"Me, with a knight...?"
"Me, with a mage...?"
The moment they looked at each other, their expressions turned visibly hostile. It was the exact reaction I had expected, but that was precisely why asking them was so meaningful.
"I want the three of us to find out firsthand whether the staff and the sword can truly support one another."
After declaring that, I looked straight at the two commanders.
"I want to form a party with Char and Leticia and take on high-difficulty missions together. I'd like your permission for that."
The first to speak was Dietrich.
"Hoh... So you intend to pursue coexistence to the bitter end."
"That's right. Of course, I understand that both sides have unyielding stances, and that there's a long history behind them. I don't think this is an issue that can be solved by simple logic alone. That's why I want to actually experience both sides."
I looked between the two commanders.
"If both factions want to recruit me, you can also use this as a chance to prove whether the staff or the sword suits me better."
I would get to understand the arguments of both sides—and they would gain the opportunity to scout me.
"It shouldn't be a bad deal for either of you."
This was the best compromise I could manage right now.
Now, how would they play this—?
I didn't want to believe their feud was so hopelessly tangled that reason couldn't reach them. But just in case, I circulated mana throughout my body without letting it show, bracing myself to draw my sword and staff at a moment's notice. In the worst-case scenario, I would have to take on all four of them.
Then, almost in perfect unison, the current Sword Saint and Sage spoke.
"Very well."
"Very well."
The strained air relaxed slightly.
"I will accept your proposal, Leon-san. We mages have no desire to make an enemy of you either. Char-san, I leave this to you."
"Yes. Leave it to me."
"I have no objections either. We just have to prove through these missions that being a knight is what truly suits you. Leticia, I'm counting on you."
"Huh...?! M-Me?!"
While Char answered calmly, Leticia let out a cry of pure shock.
"Fufu. Oh my, it seems the knight lacks confidence."
"Ngh...! That's not true at all! I'm going to properly teach Leon that the sword is what truly suits him!"
"A wasted effort. Leon-san's talent will only truly bloom through magic."
"Mngh...!"
"Ufufu..."
Their glares collided, invisible sparks already flying between them. Even though I was the one who suggested it, I couldn't help but wonder: was this party really going to be all right...?
Even so, with the staff and sword entrusted to me by the old man and the old woman, I would forge ahead toward a future where we could coexist.
The feud between the staff and the sword.
At the bottom of that deep darkness, what had the old man and the old woman seen back then? And what had they tried to entrust to me?
That was the answer I was about to find.