Priority Access to the Trial of the Holy Sword.
At those words, the other heroes’ eyes gleamed.
Even Goldensun, who had been openly disinterested, turned his head.
“Saintess, is that true?”
The Holy Sword.
One of the miracles bestowed upon the world by the Goddess— the sharpest blade in existence, imbued with the Goddess’s power.
A sword-shaped miracle that grants its wielder immense divine power, numerous blessings, and abilities beyond human limits.
It can even cut through what was once thought to be uncuttable.
Calling it the most precious treasure in the world would not be an exaggeration.
It was a weapon far more valuable than even the heroes in the war against the demons.
But such power came with restrictions.
Only a hero chosen by the Goddess, one who had also overcome the Trial of the Holy Sword, could wield this miracle.
In truth, a hero’s worth was determined not just by their limitless potential for growth under the Goddess’s blessing but by their chance of passing the Trial and becoming the sword’s owner.
The difference between a hero who obtained the Holy Sword and one who did not was as vast as the sky and the earth.
Once a hero passed the trial and became the sword’s wielder… no matter how hard the other heroes tried, they would never be able to close the gap.
And so…
“You’re saying you’ll let someone take the Trial of the Holy Sword first? Even if you’re the Saintess, is that really possible?”
Even taking the trial required procedures and qualifications.
After all, it wasn’t as if only one hero existed at a time.
In other words, there was only one Holy Sword, but multiple heroes.
Allowing just any hero to take the trial was impossible.
No hero would stand by and let another hero claim the chance first.
The history of heroes was as long as the conflict between the Goddess and the Demon Lord.
Heroes had been chosen countless times before, and many had challenged the Trial of the Holy Sword throughout history.
Because of that, the nature of the trial was well-documented.
There was no advantage in waiting— the sooner a hero could take the trial, the lower the risk of another hero seizing the sword first.
Thus, every hero sought to take the trial as soon as possible.
But since not just anyone could be allowed to take the trial, the decision of who was qualified was left to the Holy Nation, which determined eligibility through strict procedures.
And now, Ellen was proposing to bypass all of that— offering priority access to the trial without regard for those requirements.
It was truly shocking.
Even for the Saintess, was something like this possible?
“The overall management of the heroes has been entrusted to me. That includes determining eligibility and overseeing the procedures for the Trial of the Holy Sword. There’s nothing impossible about this.”
“Oh…?”
The heroes present narrowed their eyes, glancing at one another.
They were competitors at best, and now, Ellen had just poured fuel on their already burning rivalry.
If they could take the trial before anyone else, whatever “minor” tasks they were currently engaged in could be abandoned without hesitation.
“Saintess, but what about the heroes who aren’t here?”
Ludric, noticing something odd, raised a question.
After all, the heroes in this room weren’t the only ones.
Every generation, the Goddess selected seven heroes, each bearing the title and duty of a hero.
Here and now, Goldensun, Ludric, and Mark were present, along with Ain, who had gone missing.
But besides them, three more heroes existed.
The so-called “Twilight Hero,” who wandered alone without any known companions or whereabouts.
The “Ascetic Hero,” who lived a life of hardship, traveling with those who shared his beliefs.
And the “Berserker Hero,” who rampaged across the front lines, constantly engaging in battle.
‘Would it be fair to offer priority access to the trial only to those in this room while excluding the others?’
As if expecting the question, Ellen responded.
“I’ve already informed them. However… Twilight Hero Nesia has, as always, failed to respond to any messages. Ascetic Hero Afrina mentioned she would assist in searching for Ain but expressed no interest in the Trial of the Holy Sword. As for Berserker Hero Deimos… he simply said that finding people isn’t his concern and told me to handle it myself.”
“Well, wasn’t that expected? Those people never really care about worldly matters.”
Goldensun chuckled.
Even among heroes, those three were rarely seen.
Unlike the Twilight Hero, whose whereabouts were a complete mystery, or the Ascetic Hero, who at least respected others enough to occasionally attend summons, or even the Berserker Hero, who could be found on the battlefield— Twilight Hero Nesia had been seen only once.
The only time they had met him was when the Holy Nation had scoured the lands to find the heroes after the Goddess’s decree.
And after that, he vanished once more.
She made contact periodically, but it was unclear whether he even received the messages properly.
“In the end, this is going to be our fight. What do you think? Care to place a bet?”
“I have no intention of entertaining your vulgar games.”
Ludric said curtly as he stood up.
“Then, Saintess, I will begin the search.”
“Yes, please do your best.”
“Boring. Well then, I suppose I’ll go find that idiot too~”
Following them, Ludric’s party, Goldensun’s party, and Mark and his companions all rose and began to move.
***
Left alone, Ellen let out a deep sigh and slowly stood up.
Instead of following the direction the heroes and their parties had gone, she turned in the opposite direction, her gaze darkening.
‘…I don’t like this.’
She disliked everything about this situation.
The Pope, who seemed to secretly disapprove of her.
The pathetic excuse for a hero, Ain, who had gone missing and caused trouble.
And the worthless heroes who had just occupied this conference room.
It made her sick.
Though she bore the title of Saintess, she was far from saintly in nature.
She had worn the mask of a saint in front of others her entire life, but the recent series of events had done nothing but grate on her nerves.
Nothing about this sat well with her.
Naturally, all of her resentment was directed at the root cause of this mess.
‘…This is all because of that hero, Ain.’
As she thought this, she recalled the first time they had met.
— “I-It is an honor to meet you, Saintess.”
Thinking back, she hadn’t liked him from the very beginning.
A weak-willed, indecisive personality that made her doubt whether he was even capable of fighting demons.
A naive, meddlesome fool— a mere commoner who had no business acting so self-righteous.
Aside from being a hero and having an unreasonably handsome face, he had nothing.
— “If I have offended you, I apologize, Saintess.”
And yet, he was annoyingly perceptive, as if he could see through her.
She hated that too.
The Pope had repeatedly insisted that, because Ain had nothing, she needed to look after him.
But Ellen couldn’t understand why she had to take care of a hero who had nothing to offer her in return.
There was no benefit to it.
That was why she despised him.
Managing and supporting him brought her nothing— because Ain, as a hero, amounted to nothing.
Compared to the other heroes, his talent was lackluster.
His status was that of a mere commoner, with no powerful backing.
He had no real desire to fight demons, instead wasting time on pointless humanitarian efforts.
On top of that, he had the worst luck, constantly getting caught up in disasters and incidents.
And every time, it was Ellen who had to clean up his mess.
She couldn’t understand why the Goddess had chosen him as a hero.
The other three heroes were repulsive in their own ways, but at least they fulfilled their duties.
But Ain?
He failed even at his own role, unable to grasp his own insignificance.
— “Saintess, this may be overstepping, but… have you considered taking a moment to relax?”
— “…What do you mean, Hero Ain?”
— “I know this may sound disrespectful, but… from what I’ve seen, you seem rather… paranoid.”
— “…”
— “I apologize if I’ve offended you. But… I just wanted to say this. There’s nothing wrong with weighing profit and loss… but treating every person as nothing more than a transaction… it just feels… a little sad, as a person.”
— “…You’re saying you pity me?”
— “From my perspective, yes.”
……
— “I may be an uneducated commoner, unable to speak eloquently, but… even I can tell that the higher you rise, the fewer people you can open your heart to. That’s why I think… sometimes, it’s okay to let someone in.”
She had been dumbfounded when he said that, looking at her with genuine pity.
It was, as he himself admitted, an overstep.
‘Who was he to lecture her?’
‘Pity? He pitied her?’
If anything, she was the one who should be saying that to him.
She had barely contained the urge to snap at him, to tell him to focus on his own miserable situation.
He was infuriating.
So when he was abandoned by his own party, stripped of everything— she had felt a sense of satisfaction.
‘How did it feel to be discarded by the very people he had so foolishly opened his heart to?’
‘Could he still say such things to her now?’
She had nearly dropped her saintly facade just to mock him.
But…
He was still as infuriating as ever.
Even after running his mouth, he had disappeared, throwing everything into chaos.
And now, this was the result.
She had been reprimanded by the Pope.
Mocked and insulted by that trash, Goldensun.
Burdened with the aftermath of this entire mess.
She hated it.
Ellen hated Hero Ain.