The entrance ceremony of Wellton Academy, one week ago, Muthertz family training ground.
Erin, who had defeated all the family knights, knelt down without being able to overcome the final wall.
The final wall was her master, her father, and the current hero, Wilhelm Muthertz.
“Erin, right now, you are a sheep inside a fence.”
Although she was his only daughter, Wilhelm, her father, did not hesitate to show no mercy.
He quietly gave advice to his daughter, who was soon to depart for the academy.
“I’m sorry, Father. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say because of my inexperience. Please, awaken me.”
“Long ago, our ancestor defeated the Demon Lord and drove the demon race to the brink of annihilation. But the complete eradication of the demons failed, and after that, a long time passed. The demons, who succeeded in recovering, are now attempting to start a new war, led by a new Demon Lord.”
Wilhelm grabbed a practice sword by its reverse grip and struck it to the floor.
The marble floor was split like tofu as he gazed at the distant mountain range.
“Why is it that the demons, who could have rampaged long ago, are now moving so cautiously? The reason is simple. It’s because our Muthertz family, the descendants of the hero, is still standing strong. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“As long as we do not fall, the demons cannot run wild. Then, what is the most effective way to destroy our family?”
Wilhelm suddenly pulled the sword out of the ground and thrust it beneath Erin’s neck.
A lightning-fast strike.
The family knights didn’t even see it coming, and Erin barely registered it in time.
She couldn’t even attempt to block, let alone retaliate.
“The way to destroy the bloodline of a weak hero… is to kill it, cutting off the generations.”
Erin clenched her fists and trembled.
She finally understood what her father meant when he had called her a sheep inside the fence.
The young hero, the unparalleled talented swordswoman, the greatest genius mage, and so on.
Since she was young, many titles had followed her, but they were meaningless.
No matter how brilliant her talents were, without her father’s protection, she would have long been forgotten, a corpse buried in the ground.
Erin closed her eyes tightly, deeply feeling both her father’s greatness and her own shortcomings.
“If you leave the fence, many threats will likely come your way. Perhaps you may even lose your life in vain because of them.”
“So, what should I do?”
“If you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. The outside world is full of dangers, but it is also a place where opportunities unlike any other may arise.”
***
A moment ago, Wilhelm, who had been stern with his daughter, now put away his sword and smiled kindly.
“There is much knowledge outside that you cannot learn here, and you may find new possibilities that you don’t know about. Especially if you meet someone stronger than me, forget your pride and seek their guidance. You will become much stronger.”
“Even so, I find it hard to believe that anyone could be stronger than you, Father…”
At Erin’s words, filled with respect, Wilhelm’s lips curled slightly.
‘What father wouldn’t be happy hearing that their daughter thought of them as the strongest?’
Though he had always wished to be remembered as the greatest in the world, for the sake of his daughter’s future, he had to let her face reality.
“My father, and your grandfather, were always in the position of a learner. In fact, the masters I saw growing up were all strong. Even if I were to return to my prime, I couldn’t guarantee I could defeat them.”
“Is that really true?”
“Believe it or not, it’s all true.”
Erin’s eyes widened as she realized that there had been people stronger than her father, someone she had always believed to be the strongest.
Wilhelm gave a wry smile and lightly tapped her head.
“A hero is someone who is the bravest in the world, not necessarily the strongest. Don’t mistake that.”
“I understand.”
“Now that you understand, go ahead and walk your own path outside the fence.”
***
Wilhelm, wishing for his daughter’s future blessings, left the training ground.
As he pushed his daughter forward, his heart carried a small but significant worry.
‘She won’t bring back a man she wants to marry from the academy, will she?’
It was a common concern for fathers who cherished their daughters.
‘Father’s words were true.’
Until the morning of the entrance ceremony, Erin couldn’t easily believe Wilhelm’s words.
She had always thought that no one could be stronger than her father.
It was hard for Erin to accept the fact that a higher wall existed than the one she had never been able to overcome.
But Erin saw it with her own eyes.
A fragment of power that could be equal to, or even greater than, her father’s.
‘After experiencing Father’s true power, I thought I would never feel this kind of thrill again…’
Even the entrance ceremony had been like that.
While the new students were too dazed by the welcoming illusions created by the professors, Erin effortlessly swept away the monsters with just a wave of her hand, like leaves in the wind.
It was so easy that she even seriously considered quitting the entrance ceremony.
That is, until a strong opponent suddenly entered the scene.
Lycanthrope.
A wolf monster known for massacring knights, far superior to any regular monster.
Its hide could deflect swords, and its claws could cut through any armor.
Even Erin, with all her strength, couldn’t take it lightly.
As she instinctively realized it was no illusion, Erin thought that a victim might be about to emerge.
Her bad premonitions never missed, and the Lycanthrope attacked a female student.
At that moment, a flash of light shot toward the wolf from the rooftop of a building.
‘Control of speed and power, aiming, and multi-magic incantations… everything was perfect.’
It seemed that the person had intentionally reduced the force to ensure the female student wasn’t swept away.
Without a single mistake, they hit the wolf’s back of the head precisely.
The blade that pierced the Lycanthrope’s hide didn’t even leave a scratch.
Afterward, the person saved the girl and disappeared without a trace.
‘It must have been nothing special to them.’
Erin couldn’t hold back her growing smile and covered her mouth with her palm.
Despite the disappointment from the entrance ceremony, Erin was excited about the regular classes.
She was thrilled about the prospect of learning from the person who had taken down the Lycanthrope with a single strike.
‘If I learn under that person, I might be able to surpass Father.’
Erin had never even considered the possibility that they might not be an academy professor.
***
The day after the entrance ceremony commotion, I found myself in a troublesome situation.
Sigh.
Taking a deep breath, I turned around.
There, something in the shape of a person quickly hide behind a gravestone.
It must have thought it was perfectly hidden, but it was ridiculously sloppy.
‘You should hide the ears and tail too…’
The twitching fox ears and the fluffy fox tail were sticking out from behind the gravestone.
The culprit didn’t seem to notice, happily swishing her black tail.
It was Azuki, the younger twin of the fox sisters.
“Ha…”
In the original story, Azuki developed an interest in Luke, who had saved her.
Shy and introverted, she couldn’t bring herself to speak to him and instead followed him around, trailing behind.
Whenever Luke sensed her presence and looked back, Azuki would quickly hide behind a pillar.
Of course, her ears and tail would always be clearly visible.
The scene I was witnessing now was exactly like that.
The only difference was that the hiding place had changed from a pillar to a gravestone.
And the one Azuki was interested in was no longer Luke, but me.
‘I threw the shovel and ran away, yet she still found me.’
It was something I had expected.
It was impossible to hide my identity in front of Azuki’s abilities.
Azuki had the ability to see through everything.
A psychic ability that could extract countless pieces of information from objects.
Like a true fantasy, she could even read mana and figure out who its owner was.
With such a skill, the black forces in the story were often exposed by Azuki.
‘So I desperately saved her, but if she starts focusing on me, I’m in big trouble.’
Azuki was an essential ally to Luke.
Though shy, she played a crucial role at important moments.
‘If she started following me around, it would become a serious problem.’
‘I had to find a way to redirect Azuki’s interest, but I had no idea how.’
‘I also need to uncover the identity of the girl who’s been getting along with Luke.’
Unaware of my inner turmoil, my teachers were laughing and teasing each other.
“Oh my, how cute! That girl seems to have fallen head over heels for you!”
“Yesterday’s Tao looked cool even from afar. Imagine how much more impressive it was for the one who actually received his help! She must have fallen in love with him, of course!”
“Heroes are always followed by wealth and women. Since it’s your first time, I recommend you treat that girl with special care.”
“Yeah, my disciple. Don’t hesitate—marry her and ask her to have your children! If you keep hesitating, you’ll end up like that old sage lady, living alone for the rest of your life.”
“You bastard!”
“Hehe, kekek!”
Sherthia was strangling the swordmaster’s neck with high-pressure magic.
Of course, Itshin was laughing merrily, even with his neck being choked.
Proposing marriage to a girl he had just met and asking her to have children was a thought only a madman would have.
‘I like it.’
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