Volume 4: Behind the Story

Chapter 1: The beginning of spring

At the end of a staircase built into a mountain, we came upon a huge flat area gouged out of the mountain face. Several statues of gods, each several tens of meters high, surrounded the paved stone square.

In ancient times, this place was a gathering place for the Elfen worshippers.

Countless people walked up and down the long staircase and wept when they saw the mystery of the statues of the gods.

The name of the place is Roses Caitas.

In the old language, it means "the place of audience with God”.

Roses Caitas wasn’t created by anyone, but was a mysterious place that existed there from the beginning.

Nowadays, many of the statues of the gods are broken and many are half destroyed.

The reason for this is the Demon King.

The Demon King unleashed his own entourage on the land and turned his fangs against the gods.

Since then, Roses Caitas has been inaccessible to even the most ardent believers.

Fearing that he would once again be targeted by the Demon King, Leomel sealed the entrance and exit with a special power.

Several hundred years later, there was a man and a woman in Roses Caitas.

In the face of an existence that can only be described as irrational, the two exchanged words as usual.

“Hey, Ren."

Licia spoke and looked up into Ren's face.

“Do you think I would have wanted to be at the festival in the imperial capital if it had come to this? If we had stayed over there, the only people we would have had to fight would have been people our own age who participated in the martial arts tournament, and we would be fighting in the finals right now.”

“No, I have no regrets.”

“I knew you’d say that Ren.”

“I would have liked to add the word 'back' to the end of the festival's name, though."

The two look at each other and laugh.

Who would have guessed that this is what goes on behind the scenes of a huge event taking place in the imperial capital?

Ren thought, self-mockingly, before he went on to perform a deadly fight behind the scenes.

“Maybe this is just like us.”

“Maybe so. It sure seems like us, trying to fight our way off the stage.”

“...... Now that you mention it, I still think you should evacuate."

“Idiot.”

Licia laughed at Ren's words and put more strength into her hand that held the white sword.

The hand that grips the famous sword that’s her symbol never trembles, and no fear can be seen in the way she looks up at Ren standing next to her and smiling.

She looked beyond the sandstorms dancing around her, seeing unreasonableness..

“Or is it that you’re unhappy with me standing next to you?"

Ren flashed his iron sword against the approaching sandstorm.

The strong wind that was one of the magic was dispersed by it, Licia took a step forward of Ren and turned around. Still dainty and with a beautiful smile on her face, she reached out her hand to Ren.

A wave of light generated from her fingertips enveloped Ren's body.

“How do you like it?" She tells him provocatively with her eyes without saying it out loud.

“Despite the situation, Licia-sama is the same as usual, isn't she?”

“Even if I were to die, it would be enough to have you next to me. It will only make me die a few decades earlier.”

“---- I see."

Ren took Licia's hand.

A strong flash of light enveloped both of them, and their bodies were filled with strength.

“Don't get mad at me if I get hurt."

“It’s verbose. You took the hand of a saint, so you must be prepared for it, too.”

Many of the statues of gods were weathered away or shattered at the hands of the demon king's entourage.

The tension there was unrelenting, but Licia was smiling by Ren's side.

"You can look forward to my sacred magic, which is stronger than it used to be. Maybe your magic sword will be a little sharper too.”

The two of them threw themselves into the battle against unreasonableness and swung their swords.

The death struggle that unfolds behind the story opens in this land surrounded by numerous statues of gods.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

It was about three months ago, in mid-April.

In recent years, the Imperial MilIitary Academy has attracted more attention from home and abroad than ever before.

The year before last, when the students entered the academy, they attracted attention because of the incident in the Baldor Mountains and the presence of Ulysses Ignat's daughter at that time.

In addition, last year, two legitimate sons of that Heroic noble families were admitted to the school, and two more were admitted this year.

No one but Ren knows yet that one of them is Vane, who is of the blood of the brave Ruin.

When the new students were gradually getting accustomed to the academy and some classes were beginning in earnest.

The two who happened to meet outside the school gates were the two most beautiful princesses of the twin peaks.

At the Imperial Military Academy, they are now the two people who attract the most attention from students of both sexes.

Licia, who will turn 14 in the summer, and Fiona, who will soon turn 16.

Licia's daintiness hasn’t only been further refined, but her height, which had been high before, has also grown, and her physique has become more feminine. The same is true of Fiona. Her beauty, which had been the center of attention from the moment she entered the school, had increased even further, but her unforgettable loveliness also attracted the eyes of the opposite sex.

They were two somewhat mysterious girls with a perfect balance of loveliness and beauty.

Although they belonged to different factions, they were ecstatic when they are seen exchanging words with each other with others wishing that their smiles would only be directed at them. They looked so sparkling in their uniforms that it was an irresistible desire.
The problem is, that wish will never come true, but that's beside the point: ----

“Licia-sama?"

Fiona asked Licia as she stepped into the school building.

She wondered why she couldn't see Ren, who was supposed to be with Licia all the time, and wondered if something was wrong.

"Is Ren off?"

“He said he would start in the afternoon if he could. I don't know why, but he decided after talking to my father in the morning. ----I don't know why."

“Hahaha.... if you say the same thing twice, then you didn’t approve of it, did you?”

In front of Fiona, whose even bitter smile was picturesque, Licia, whose lips were slightly pouted, was also picturesque.

The girls decided to go to the rooftop instead of each other's classrooms to have a little chat before class started.

On the way, Licia asked Fiona to stop by the staff room.

The reason for this was that she had something to discuss about Ren.

"I mean, it came out of the blue! We were going to go to school together, and suddenly Ren was called by my father ---- Ren came out of my father's office, and suddenly he said he would take the morning off!”

For the time being, they were going to go to the staff room before going to the rooftop because of that story.

At this academy, it is not necessary to notify the school of every time you take a leave of absence, but since the academy has just started and Ren was the valedictorian of the new students along with Licia, he thought it would be a good time to contact the school.

“It's weird....”

Fiona, who was listening to the conversation, thought suspiciously.

“The fact that he was absent from the academy without telling Licia-sama, and after talking to Viscount Clausel, means that something must have happened.”

“I know right? And then there's the Grand Clock Tower incident last summer."

“But Viscount Clausel didn't tell you either, did he?”

“Yes. My father only told me not to worry about it.”

The two suddenly saw a pair of men and women walking in the school building across the courtyard. They could faintly hear the voices of other students in the courtyard talking about the man and woman.

“Did you hear that? Those first-year students are doing well in the guild. I heard they already got Ⅾ rank the other day.』

“Ⅾ Rank? That's amazing! She’s a first-year student and she's already that strong!』

“She is the daughter of the Riohard family. The boy next to her may be as strong or stronger than her. That's why he's so active even though he just entered the school, I'm sure.』

The conversation among the girls quickly changed to Licia and Ren.

“Speaking of first-year students, isn't the saint of Clausel also a first-year student? I heard a rumor that the boy who was valedictorian of the freshmen class is also very impressive.』

“I've heard many times that Saint-sama is great, but I don't know about the boy.』

"Ah, my brother got into the special class, so I've heard about him.』

"Heh, so the final exam was held at the same place?』

“I don't know about the boy. But I heard that even if monsters appeared, the saint beat them most of the time. The boy didn't seem to use his sword very much, and even if he did, the monsters were too weak to tell how strong he is.”

“Heh…Then I wonder if the other children are stronger. But I think his grades are good if he served as a Valedictorian. The other day, I was in the middle of a conversation with a friend of mine who is a teacher at the school』

After overhearing this conversation, Fiona spoke to Licia.

“Didn’t Ren fight much?”

“He didn’t. He was looking around to make sure the other candidates didn't get hurt.”

Needless to say, Ren's memories of the Baldor Mountains are relevant and he was mainly in charge of support. He didn’t stand out in the final exam because of this. However, the examiners were watching Ren's behavior, and he did well.

『I heard that next year there will be other heroic nobles enrolling.』

“I’m looking forward to it. All of them will be here, except for the family that inherits the blood of Ruin the Brave.』

In this sense, Sarah and Vane are the ones who will be admired on the stage, and they are expected to shine even brighter in the future. Conversely, if we were to liken the work of Ren and Radius, they are heroic in the shadows.

The people of Clausel and the people of the village where Ren was born know of his exploits, but if it comes down to who can do more eye-catching work, Ren or the Descendants of the Seven Heroes, it’s clearly the Descendants of the Seven Heroes or Vane and his friends.

But Licia and Fiona didn’t seem bothered by this.

They are the ones whose lives were saved by Ren, and they are proud to know his strength better than anyone else. They were happy and proud to be one of the few who knew of his strength.

Eventually, they arrived in front of the staff room where Licia wanted to stop by, and only Licia entered. She told the homeroom teacher that Ren hadn’t come to the academy and that he had mentioned that he would like to come to school in the afternoon if he had time.

“Is it just Ashton?”

“Yes. He was talking to my father, so I think it’s work related. But he wouldn't give me any details.”

“I see...I understand the situation at least for the moment.”

The school is home to nobles and royalty from other countries, so there are many students who take time off without giving a reason.

The homeroom teacher was used to it and didn’t inquire further.

“Now, if you'll excuse me."

Just before Licia left the staff room, she overheard a conversation among the teachers.

“His Highness the Third Prince will come to school in the afternoon at the earliest, and if he can't make it, he will take a day off from the academy.”

“I understand. He is probably on official business.”

Licia muttered, "His Highness the Third Prince too...?" and left the staff room.

She mouthed the words "Let's go" and started walking toward the rooftop, looking thoughtful in front of Fiona, who was waiting outside the staff room.

Fiona asked.

“What's wrong?"

She asked why Licia was acting differently.

“I overheard in the staff room that His Highness the Third Prince is also absent.”

“It's very unusual for him to be absent on the same day as Ren-kun."

The two of them seemed almost convinced rather than thinking, and they let out a voice at the same time, "Maybe”....... It was on the last landing to the rooftop.

"Licia-sama.”

“Fiona-sama."

Their voices overlapped at the same time as they opened the rooftop door.

“I don't think it's just a coincidence that Ren-kun and His Highness the Third Prince are off on the same day!”

“Me neither. And I heard that my father had given him a job---- He must definitely be doing something behind my back!"

There were no other students on the roof, so both of them voiced their opinions in a louder voice.

It was obvious that the two of them were of the same opinion. That being said, thinking back to the Grand Clock Tower incident, it's hard to believe that their time off was irrelevant here.

They looked at each other and nodded to each other.

...... He also seemed to be doing something without telling them, they said.

The exact same words, uttered almost simultaneously.

It’s not as if there was a great deal of commotion around the two of them being able to come to the academy.

But they couldn't help but be curious.

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