I returned to Hwangdo.
This is the worst feeling ever.
“Seriously? Coming to Atlerina as soon as I get back?”
“Balen Rivelte disappeared at some point.”
“Then what happened to Natalia? She vanished without a trace too. And as for me—”
“Oh my, Saintess! I’ve heard the news. They say you played a major role in the war!”
“You are truly incredible! My father has been wanting to invite you over. What do you think? The honey from our family’s land is exceptionally sweet.”
“The jewelry crafted by the artisans of our house would suit you perfectly, Saintess. What do you think?”
Women who once followed Olivia but distanced themselves over the Lily incident were now trying to reestablish their connections.
‘What do they expect me to do?’
‘Why are women so noisy?’
Right now, I just want to relax.
“Wow, Olivia! You’re at peak popularity!”
“Shut your mouth.”
Syria giggled, completely oblivious to my mood.
“Uh… Who is that?”
“Isn’t that one of the Seven Stars?”
“And wasn’t that the one who recently went on an expedition with Ashtar?”
‘What? Who just arrived?’
“Oh, Olivia, look over there. It’s Natalia!”
At Syria’s words, I looked toward the front of the classroom.
There stood Natalia, who had disappeared from Ashtar’s territory without a word.
‘So that’s where she went?’
“I am Natalia, the Blazing Sword. Starting today, I will be your field instructor. I’ll also be taking over swordsmanship lessons for the professor who’s fallen ill.”
“Natalia? Seriously?”
‘Natalia came all the way here?’
“With the Four Heavenly Kings stepping up their attacks, there’s a lot you need to learn.”
“Ugh.”
‘She should’ve come sooner. Why now?’
“Due to recent events, the Empire is now in full-scale war with the Four Heavenly Kings. Because of this, your exams will be conducted through practical assessments.”
“All of them?”
A young noblewoman asked nervously.
“No, those who only signed up for general education subjects won’t need to participate. Forcing unwilling students into training and testing them wouldn’t be right, would it? Don’t you agree, Olivia?”
“Yes.”
I don’t mind this.
At the very least, it will make the students more aware and help them break away from the corruption of nobility.
“Olivia, come with me.”
“Huh?”
‘Why is she suddenly calling me?’
I still have to meet with the Emperor after this.
Today is just one hassle after another.
***
“Natalia, what’s your relationship with her?”
“Who knows? At the very least, Olivia and I haven’t had a long history together.”
‘Probably not, right?’
Even if Olivia herself thinks she has some kind of relationship with Natalia—
“No, you should already know. What I want to hear about is the Noah era.”
‘Ah. Back in the Noah days, I did have some connection to Natalia.’
“Why?”
“How could you ignore someone like me for some old sword-wielding hag?!”
I mean, sure, Natalia is a swordswoman, but—
‘Is she really that repulsive?’
Mages and swordfighters naturally tend to dislike each other.
It’s inevitable.
To mages, swordsmen seem like idiots who charge into battle and die in close combat.
To swordsmen, mages look like cowards who rely on spells instead of training their bodies.
Syria is no different.
Well, maybe she is, considering her physical abilities let her act as a battle mage.
Crunch.
‘If I don’t say something soon, I’m going to die.’
At some point, she had grabbed me by the collar and was choking me.
“Wait! Let go! You’re strangling me! I swear, I don’t know! We were just in the imperial military training together or complaining about the Hero Party behind their backs!”
“So that’s it.”
Syria finally let me go, then pointed accusingly at me.
“What do you mean, that’s it?”
“I never did anything to make Natalia fall for me.”
“What?!”
“Women fall for even the smallest things.”
“If it’s something that trivial, does that even count as love?”
“If that were true, Natalia would have been married long ago.”
“Wouldn’t she have already gotten married by now?”
‘If a Seven Star announced their engagement, people would be flocking to them.’
“Honestly, someone like Noah is frustrating, but women would still line up for him. I even had to stop some Tower mages from getting too close to him. And let’s be real, Noah, you’re saying you thought nothing of it, but for Natalia, there was probably something meaningful.”
‘Meaningful, my ass.’
Anyway, since the Blazing Sword called for me, I should go.
There’s a high chance—
She’s figured out my true identity.
Since she told me to follow, I did.
But Natalia just stared at me.
What?
She’s making me uncomfortable.
After watching me for a while, she backed me against the wall.
“I never imagined you’d end up as the lady of Ashtar.”
“Oh. So you figured it out.”
Yeah, she definitely knows.
“It would be stranger if I didn’t. Do you think I wouldn’t recognize you?”
Well, that’s—
Since she knows me well, I guess it makes sense.
‘But seriously, she caught on this fast?’
“So what? Are you going to take my head with that sword? Do you think I used forbidden magic to steal some foolish noble girl’s body?”
“We’ll see about that. But I have to say, you’ve become quite beautiful.”
Natalia lifted my chin and gave me a sultry look.
I do not like that gaze.
“Excuse me? Think about the age gap between you and Olivia. Also, wait—were you always into women?”
First Syria, now this woman.
“What is going on?”
“What do you mean? The person I loved just happened to become a woman.”
“Whatever. So, what now?”
‘Syria never said things like this when I was a guy.’
‘If I had heard this when I was still Noah, I would’ve bragged about it to the Hero.’
Thinking about it now, I got really sick of acting like some brooding mage all the time.
“At the very least, I need to hear how that body became yours. And the Demon King, too.”
Oh right, this is just like her.
In the end, I had to tell her everything I knew.
After listening intently, Natalia frowned.
“You defeated the Demon King… and nothing happened?”
“Exactly. Honestly, I don’t understand why the Holy Sword even exists.”
There are a few theories I can come up with.
‘Maybe I was supposed to be cursed for killing the Demon King but ended up dying along with them instead.’
That could be why.
But Natalia had a different thought.
“Remember what you said before? That Pector guy told you that you were supposed to be the Hero, but since you were from the Land of Ruin, you couldn’t be chosen.”
“What exactly are you trying to say?”
‘Does it even matter?’
“If what Pector said is true, and the power of the Holy Sword was meant for you—”
“That actually makes sense.”
Now that I think about it, yeah.
If it were just one or two records, I might dismiss it.
But countless records state that the Hero who wielded the Holy Sword was the one who killed the Demon King.
“But that’s not really a problem right now, is it?”
“It’s just something to think about. Either way, the Demon King’s death is a good thing.”
That’s that.
But there’s something else I need to say.
“Just so you know—”
“I’m not planning to spread it around. Who would benefit from that? Besides, Syria and Noelle already seem to know.”
“It was inevitable.”
Noelle is my younger sister, and Syria has a keen sense for these things.
“Let’s put the Demon King discussion aside.”
We’ve been sidetracked long enough.
“You. The whole training and field exercises—those are just an excuse, right?”
“Oh? You figured it out?”
“It’s as clear as day. You’re here because of me, aren’t you?”
‘No doubt about it. If a Seven Star is personally stepping in as an instructor, it means there’s something troublesome going on behind the scenes.’
“My lady of Ashtar, you really do know me too well,” I sighed.
***
“Why?”
“Marriage talks?”
That doesn’t make any sense.
That can’t be it.
We already took down one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Berna, and while Pector wasn’t killed, the Empire was informed that he had been defeated.
There’s no reason for the Empire to involve itself here.
“Don’t joke around.”
“You know about the anti-imperialists, right?”
Of course, I do.
“Oh, I know them. They’re the ones who think the Empire is too large and should be split up so each region can govern itself, right?”
The anti-imperialists.
They’re mostly composed of commoners who are dissatisfied with imperial society.
Naturally, those from impoverished or lower-class backgrounds have plenty of grievances.
They’re struggling, so they resent those who live well.
And since they live under the Empire’s rule, they turn to anti-imperialism.
“Right. Among them, there are even lunatics who want to revive the old Kingdom of Pastia and merge it with the Empire.”
“It’s best to leave nostalgia in the past. It’s always the people who don’t understand history who cling to it.”
The Kingdom of Pastia.
It was founded by the remnants of an ancient kingdom’s people, but its relationship with the Empire was limited to trade—there was no real alliance.
The Empire left them alone because further expansion would threaten surrounding nations, and because the Pastian royal family wasn’t of the Kart bloodline.
There was no reason to absorb a kingdom with no legitimate claim to the imperial lineage.
“Exactly. And the idea of breaking up the Empire is ridiculous. The only land directly controlled by the imperial family is Hwangdo and its immediate surroundings. The rest is governed by nobles.”
Sure, in terms of territory, the imperial holdings are small.
But even the lands ruled by imperial nobles have a larger population than Ashtar.
“From the very beginning, the Empire has been run by the royal family and the most prominent noble houses, leading to corruption. So, it’s understandable why some people would adopt anti-imperialist ideals.”
“But.”
Fifteen hundred years have passed.
Honestly, if it weren’t for magical civilization, there would have been peasant revolts or military uprisings long ago.
Many nobles rule lands comparable to entire small countries and enjoy their titles like kings.
There’s no shortage of corruption.
“If they simply understood the issue, they might complain, but they wouldn’t go as far as forming organized extremist groups.”
“Are there actual organizations?”
‘Have things escalated that much?’
“The Kart Restoration Organization.”
“They’re openly calling for the revival of Kart?”
That’s practically impossible.
The Kart royal family was wiped out.
The Kingdom of Pastia has no legitimate claim.
In response to my doubt, Natalia handed me a piece of cloth.
Written in ancient script were the words “Kart Restoration Group.”
“To be precise, they want to return to the time when the Kart Kingdom and other smaller states coexisted in a federated system.”
“In other words, they align with those who have been trying to break up the Empire all along.”
‘If the Kart Kingdom were restored, other regions of the Empire would declare independence.’
It would be a mutually beneficial situation for them.
“Exactly. These fools don’t even realize they’re living in a great nation. They think splitting it up won’t cause chaos.”
The Empire has lasted for 1,500 years.
‘Even if the restoration group managed to overthrow Hwangdo and fracture the Empire, how long would that last?’
In the end, a new unification war would break out, and the cycle would repeat.
“But they’re just a small-scale movement, aren’t they?”
If that’s the case, the local military should be able to handle it.
“There are rumors they’re working with demons and Pastia.”
“This is getting annoying.”
‘Demons and Pastia, huh?’
Pastia is one thing, but demons are heavily tied to the Demon King’s forces.
“Honestly, they’re small enough to ignore for now, but if they grow, it’ll be a real headache. Didn’t we just have a whole mess with the succubi in Hwangdo?”
“That’s true.”
“So, this time, I’ll handle Hwangdo. The other Seven Stars will take care of the Kart Restoration Organization and the New World Order.”
The New World Order—that’s the black magic cult, isn’t it?
So, they’re probably those bastards who think they can revive some god.
“Alright, alright. Got it. So, can I leave now?”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
As I tried to slip away, Natalia suddenly grabbed me.
“Huh?”
“After all that, shouldn’t you at least offer to help?”
‘Why me?’
‘Why should I help?’
Olivia is just a weak little girl.
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