The second semester began, and as the season truly started shifting from summer into autumn—
A mock battle was arranged during swordsmanship class.
"Klaus, Leon! Step forward!"
Knight Klaus von Winterfeld and Hero Leon stepped forward. For most of the students, the matchup was a head-scratcher.
—Knight Klaus is one thing, but Leon the commoner? I mean, who even is he?
Leon had put up a brave fight against me before, but since everyone believed that was solely due to Saint Seraphina’s buffs, it was no wonder they’d forgotten him.
I could guess the intention behind this pairing.
No doubt this was the work of the Malicious Princess Eliana. She was trying to assess the current standing of the two losers I’d defeated.
For what purpose?
To evaluate their performance as pawns for the Demon King Subjugation.
Knight Klaus’s physique, which had already bulked up by the end of the summer training camp, had developed even further. He was likely still downing that secret medicine for muscle enhancement. It seemed the teachers had noticed the abnormality as well, but for now, he was apparently brushing off their questions by claiming he was simply redoubling his efforts in training.
In contrast, there was no noticeable change in Hero Leon’s physique.
However, his expression had grown sharper, the old naivety replaced by a grim resolve. Certainly, even from a distance, the flighty air he’d carried when we first met was gone.
"Begin!"
Leon and Klaus sprang into motion.
Klaus immediately activated Tria Petal—
While Leon fought by weaving magic and swordplay together, resulting in a fierce back-and-forth struggle.
...Leon had definitely grown stronger.
His strategy—interspersing spells while avoiding head-on clashes with a vanguard specialist like Knight Klaus—was the standard theory for a magic-swordsman.
However, no half-hearted magic or swordplay could stand against the weight of Klaus’s current charge.
Since they were using blunted training weapons for the mock battle, Klaus couldn't use his cursed weapon, the Black Sword Venom Edge. He wasn't at a hundred percent of his potential lethality, yet Leon’s ability to keep up was still impressive.
He must have undergone a hellish amount of training.
The audience began to cheer for the nameless commoner’s struggle.
"Do your best, Leon!"
"Go for it! Star of the Commoners!"
"Hey, hey, hey, Klaus! Are you really struggling this much!?"
Hero Leon had become strong.
But even so, he wasn't quite able to topple Knight Klaus, who had laid hands on forbidden drugs—
"Uooooooooh!"
Though he was intercepted time and time again, Klaus’s relentless charge finally found an opening.
—It was a matter of adaptation.
The same trick doesn't work forever.
"Guh!"
Flustered, Hero Leon abandoned his attempt to evade and tried to intercept with a slash—
Sensing the turning point, Klaus seized his momentary chance. He wrung out every ounce of his muscular strength and brought his sword down.
"Zuryahhhhhh!"
Leon’s sword was sent flying, clattering across the ground. Leon reflexively clutched his right arm, collapsing with a low groan.
"The match is settled! The winner, Klaus!"
A roar of cheers rose up, but it was quickly mingled with screams.
"Leon’s arm! Look at his right arm!"
Several students shouted while pointing.
Leon’s right arm was bent in a sickening, unnatural direction. The bone was clearly broken.
...Well, he’d taken a direct hit from a muscle-bound monster like Klaus. It wasn't surprising that he ended up like that.
"Leon, can you make it to the infirmary? Someone accompany—!"
"That is unnecessary. I will heal him."
A clear, resonant voice rang out.
When I looked back, a woman in priest vestments was standing at the entrance of the training ground. The moment they saw her, everyone remembered her name.
—Saint Seraphina.
She had left the school at the end of the summer training camp, but it seemed she had returned.
As Seraphina stepped up onto the arena, she bowed slightly to Hero Leon.
"It has been a long time, Leon-sama."
"It has... I’m sorry you had to see me looking so pathetic right away..."
"There is no problem. No problem at all."
With a beaming smile, Seraphina cast the spell Heavenly Light Healing on Leon.
As she began, Klaus stepped down from the arena as if he had lost all interest.
"—Hey, Klaus."
When I called out to him, Klaus turned a slimy look toward me.
"...What is it, Albert? Do you have business with me?"
"Those muscles—I’m not impressed. Stop trading your lifespan for power."
"Are you afraid? Of me getting stronger?"
A smile curled Klaus’s lips. It was a morbid, haunted expression, entirely unbefitting a man with such refined features.
"Right now, I still can’t beat you. I know that. Just wait. I’ll get stronger and stronger—and I will definitely defeat you...!"
Laughing "fufufu" to himself, Klaus walked away.
So he intends to keep doping...
Good grief, my warning had the opposite effect. It's a problem for me, since Klaus is a capable vanguard. If he burns out from overusing secret medicines, our total fighting force for the Demon King Subjugation will drop. I’d rather he set his sights on the Demon King than on me.
"—The initial treatment is finished."
Just as Seraphina said, Leon’s arm was perfectly restored, as if nothing had happened.
As expected of a Saint.
"He still requires a bit more care. Is it alright if we move to a quiet location?"
"I'll leave him to you."
With the teacher’s permission, Seraphina led Leon out of the training ground.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Seraphina led Leon through the school halls.
"Hey, Seraphina, do I really need more treatment? I feel completely fine."
"Yes, you are already healed. I told a tiny lie."
Seraphina stuck out her tongue like a child caught in a prank.
"I simply wanted to be alone with you as soon as possible, Leon-sama."
Looking at Seraphina’s smile, Leon felt his spirits lift. Even when he felt like a failure, having Seraphina there to believe in and encourage him was everything.
Finding an empty private training room, the two stepped inside.
The moment the door closed, Seraphina pulled Leon into a hug.
"Se-Seraphina...?"
"Is it no good?"
"...It’s not that. I just feel as though I’m not worthy of touching you."
"That is not true. To me, Leon-sama, you are the one and only, great Hero. I am doing this because I want to. Please, do not hesitate to hold me back. My body and soul are yours, after all."
Being told that much, he couldn’t remain still.
Leon timidly returned the embrace. Seraphina closed her eyes and exhaled a happy sigh.
"...Your chest has become a little broader, Leon-sama."
"I’ve been training. But... I couldn't win today."
He knew Knight Klaus was powerful. But he didn’t want to use that as an excuse.
"There is no problem. The true essence of a Hero’s power lies in the Saint’s buffs, after all."
Seraphina smiled, looking up at Leon with adoring eyes.
"The training for the enhanced buffs—it will be grueling, but we must persevere, won't we?"
He reflexively swallowed.
He was talking about the buffs that granted power beyond human limits at the cost of agonizing pain.
The sound of creaking bone and the sensation of seizing muscle... Leon remembered the feeling of his body coming apart. That training had consisted of days spent screaming his lungs out.
But it was for the sake of power.
To catch up to and overtake the peerless Albert, he couldn't rely on ordinary methods.
Complaining that it hurt too much was a luxury a Hero couldn't afford.
"...Of course, Seraphina. I'll work hard."
"That’s the spirit of a Hero, Leon-sama! Truly, you are the real Hero!"
Seraphina’s smile widened, and she squeezed him tighter.
"However, it is also against my wishes to see you suffer. Therefore, I have brought something useful from the Church."
Seraphina pulled away and reached into a small bag, producing a golden, shimmering bracelet.
"This is a Holy Relic known as the 'Bracelet of Saint Agatha'."
"A Holy Relic—?"
"If you wear this, it will significantly dull the pain of the buffs."
"Is that true!?"
That was a godsend. If such a convenient thing existed, he had wanted it much sooner. With this, he would no longer have to endure that soul-crushing agony.
"Yes. However, this is a Special Grade Holy Relic. Therefore, it carries a price."
"A price...?"
"The price for a Special Grade is the 'Loss of Humanity.' In the case of the Bracelet of Saint Agatha, the cost of immunity to pain is the total loss of your emotions."
"————!?"
As Leon’s face drained of color, Seraphina’s smile remained unwavering.
"But for a Hero like you, Leon-sama, that’s a small price to pay, isn’t it?"