Come to think of it, the Chairman had hinted at it from the beginning.
- Emma Novician, Gess Alep. My goal is to make you at least Platinum superhumans.
At first, he had said that his goal was to cultivate them into Platinum superhumans.
- Then you can become Grade 4 Knights by the end of the break, correct?
Later, he had even said that they needed to become Grade 4 Knights before winter break ended.
However, even Gess and Emma, whose relationship could hardly be called good, shared the same opinion about such words.
“That's impossible.”
It was impossible.
Platinum (white gold), a title that made one's entire body tremble merely upon hearing it, was a mark of glory bestowed only upon Grade 7 Knights.
Of course, being told to become Grade 4 Knights was just as absurd.
As aspiring knights, they had resolved that they would someday surpass the wall of Grade 3 and reach Grade 4, where one began to be called a true ‘knight (mounted warrior),’ or even go beyond that... but only a little more than two months of winter break remained.
It was sad enough that they had to remain at the Academy and train while everyone else returned to their family homes to rest. If the goal itself was ridiculous, there was no way they could believe it, no matter who the Chairman was.
“That's impossible....”
Gess, who placed infinite trust in the Chairman, and Emma, who harbored an emotion she herself could not name toward the Chairman, both thought that it was utterly impossible.
They definitely thought so.
Until they opened the door to Storage Room 2, hidden on Basement Level 3 of the Chairman's warehouse, which they had heard of only through rumors.
““……….””
When they opened the door to what appeared to be an ordinary warehouse, instead of a storage room filled with magical tools and relics, a colosseum-like training ground displayed its magnificent sight.
CLACK. BANG. CLACK.
Taking the place of the frozen Emma, Gess closed and opened the door. As he stared blankly at the colosseum that still had not vanished, he muttered,
“...Maybe it can be done?”
***
An ancient kingdom's training ground for nurturing warriors.
Its official name was <Ephevia of Glory>, and participants could receive rewards every time they cleared the training at each stage held within the colosseum.
Of course, none of this appeared in the original work. The original had simply hand-waved it with, “Medio grew stronger!” and hurried through it, quickly, quickly.
Therefore, I knew this information solely thanks to the Appraiser's Eye.
[ Sita Calyps ]
[ Traits / Appraiser’s Eye (Lv. 2), Possessor’s Composure, Curse of the Underachiever, Noble Bloodline ]
[ Notes / Currently admiring Trait - Appraiser’s Eye ]
[ Potential Traits / ∞ ]
I had thought the ability of Appraiser’s Eye, which I had enhanced using a Trait Enhancement Ticket, ended with unlocking Potential Traits. It did not.
When I used Appraiser’s Eye not on people as usual, but on objects....
[ Trait - Appraiser’s Eye Reveals Item Information. ]
[ Palakia ]
[ Traits / Berserk, Mind Control, Ego ]
[ Notes / Restricted by Trait - Possessor’s Composure ]
I could now check the status windows of objects as well.
I had been overlooking it because there had been so much going on recently, but thanks to that, I had learned how to use the training ground—no, <Ephevia of Glory>—so it was all to the good.
“So, if I understand what you have said correctly, the examination begins the moment we enter this dungeon, it stops if we receive a fatal injury, and rewards are given each time we clear a stage... Is that correct?”
“Correct.”
“The examination begins at Stage 1 by facing a Grade 3 superhuman, and at the highest stage, Grade 4 superhumans appear in a group. Is that also correct?”
“It is.”
I calmly nodded at Gess's question.
However, as though he could not understand my calmness, Gess jumped up and down as he shouted.
“Chairman! This is truly impossible!”
Gess was saying something very similar to Professor Giltier, so I looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked,
“Why is it impossible? You will not die, there are rewards for success, and since there are two of you, you should be able to cooperate.”
For reference, Medio used this training ground alone at the end of his first year.
There was a long, long behind-the-scenes story about exactly how he had gotten into the Chairman's warehouse, but one thing was certain: he had cleared the training ground perfectly in only three days.
If that was the case, I thought Emma, the future Traitor Lord, and Gess, who possessed quite useful Potential Traits, could do it as well. However, Gess's response was entirely different.
“Cooperation... Putting cooperation aside, our stamina is not infinite! Even if we do not die, reaching the point of critical injury means it will take time for our wounds to heal!”
Ah, so his concern had been the issue of injuries.
Only then did I realize Gess's concern. Smiling faintly, I gestured to Persona.
Seeing that, Persona removed the cloth piled over the prepared boxes. Pointing at those boxes again, I said,
“There are fifteen boxes of high-grade recovery potions and three boxes of holy water made by priests of the Church of the Sun. In addition, I plan to call Professor Kaput from the infirmary if a dangerous situation arises, so there is no need to worry about injuries.”
Gess seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment after seeing my smile, then opened his mouth with a stammer.
“E-even if the injuries are not a problem, mana....”
“First, there is the top-grade mana stone offered as the reward for the last examination. Since that examination was halted because of an accident, this mana stone will be distributed equally to both of you. I also plan to provide mana potions and elixirs while you continue the examination.”
“Th-then there could be a problem with weapon durability....”
“That is a useless question. Weapons have already been prepared in abundance at the Academy.”
“……….”
After several questions, I looked at the deflated Gess as though I could not understand him.
‘Why is he trying so hard to back out?’
To say it again, Medio had cleared this training ground in three days during his first year.
In contrast, Emma and Gess were second-years, and unlike Medio, they would proceed with every form of support I could provide.
There was no need for them to be this frightened, so I used Appraiser’s Eye on Gess and finally found the cause.
[ Trait - Appraiser’s Eye Reveals Target Information. ]
[ Gess Alep ]
[ Traits / Weak Against the Strong, Strong Against the Weak, Born Actor ]
[ Notes / Afraid of fighting the strong. ]
[ Potential Traits / Scene Stealer, Illusory Sword (phantom sword) ]
Hah.
Of all reasons, he was simply afraid of fighting the strong.
Remembering how he had asked me to write him a recommendation letter to a theater academy, I pressed a hand to my forehead.
‘This tangles up the plan....’
There was a way to force him into it, but if the one receiving complete support in elixirs, mana stones, and potions lacked motivation, would it be efficient?
Even if the results were inefficient, forcing the only student I could trust 100 percent in the current situation would bring more harm than benefit.
In the end, I had to hope that he would step forward on his own. I first turned to Emma and asked,
“Gess is one matter... Emma Novician, what about you?”
Perhaps because I had just encountered an unexpected reef, I felt somehow uneasy even about Emma's response.
Come to think of it, although she was the future Traitor Lord, now that I had intervened, history was already thoroughly warped, was it not?
If no special turning point occurred and Emma also refused to train, what should I do then....
“...I think it is a good idea.”
““!””
Gess and I turned to Emma at the same time.
More precisely, I did so with joy, and Gess with shock.
Perhaps unable to believe that Emma had said she would participate in the training, Gess forgot even their usual distant atmosphere and fired questions at her.
“No, hold on! You're going to do this?”
“Yes.”
“Are you crazy... no, it's suicidal! They might call it a ruin, but it's a dungeon! Even if you pass the examination by luck, Grade 4 Knights appear as a group at the end. How are you going to beat them?!”
“Then you don't have to participate.”
Emma's voice toward Gess could not have been colder.
So much so that I wondered whether she was joining the training solely to defeat Gess.
Perhaps Gess felt that as well, because he repeatedly tried to persuade Emma. In the end, however, one short sentence from Emma defeated him.
“Come to think of it, you're performing unrestricted campus service. The break isn't an exception, is it?”
Emma's voice was cold, but what was truly cold was not her voice, but the meaning contained in those words.
Having heard, ‘While I train and grow stronger, you can just clean up trash,’ Gess bowed his head deeply. When he raised it again, he had become the most fervent believer in training.
“Chairman, I recall that you said the name of this training ground was <Ephevia of Glory>. I too shall follow the example of that name and seek to seize glory in this training ground. If you would please permit my entry, I shall regard it as a glory (honor) I shall never know again in this life—URK!”
“You are too loud.”
Before he could finish speaking, Gess fell into the training ground beyond Storage Room 2.
I looked at Emma, who had boldly shoved away her fellow student, with startled eyes.
‘I didn't know she had this kind of personality....’
When I thought it over, I had never had a proper conversation with Emma.
I had left immediately during the duel incident, Emma had kept her mouth shut in the Special Department, and when I rescued her from the Lycanthrope, she had been unconscious.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that this was our first conversation. Moreover, Emma seemed to dislike me because of the incident at the Disciplinary Committee, so even if she participated in the training, there was a chance that she would not give a favorable answer.
‘Hmm, this is another problem in its own way.’
My relationship with Emma needed to be normalized soon.
Not simply because I feared the strength of the Traitor Lord who had appeared in the original work, but because she was a victim of the Chairman.
The victims who would have appeared in the future had vanished the moment I possessed this body, but trying somehow to take responsibility even for the victims from before... it was, in a way, a feeling that could be called meddlesome.
That was why the way Emma behaved after pushing Gess away was even more surprising.
“Um....”
‘Um?’
“Umm....”
‘??’
After mumbling incomprehensible words several times, Emma finally opened her mouth after about a minute.
Her eyes squeezed shut, both fists tightly clenched, she shouted,
“Th-thank you!”
Then, before I could catch her, she threw herself forward and disappeared beyond the training ground.
...Hah.
Staring blankly at that sight, I could only let out a hollow laugh.
<Ephevia of Glory> was not a prison that one could not leave once they entered it, and if I wanted, I could open the door and check inside at any time.
Therefore, I could catch Emma, who had fled, simply by opening the door in front of me... but I did not particularly want to do that.
Her answer just now had been satisfying.
‘My efforts weren't in vain.’
Even if it meant accepting that my body would be broken, it had been worth stepping in.
That fact was enough.
***
“Chairman, what do you intend to do with Professor Giltier?”
On the way out of the warehouse, I considered Persona's question for a moment.
Persona would visit Gess and Emma from time to time, check on their condition, and help them recover.
Professor Nia was Chancellor Pionia's subordinate, so unless it was truly necessary, she would be unable to approach <Ephevia of Glory>.
‘No matter how I think about it, there's nowhere to use him....’
Professor Giltier was a Grade 5 Knight.
His skill was not bad, but there were many professors with that level of skill.
The Academy was full of lackeys whose weaknesses the Chairman held. Was there any need to use him, when his reputation was poor to boot?
‘Should I cut him loose after all?’
I had recruited Giltier because the Special Department needed someone in charge of knights.
However, now that the students had entered <Ephevia of Glory>, that role was vacant. It might not be a bad idea to look for a professor who was somewhat more skilled and had a better reputation in the meantime.
Thinking that, I was about to order Persona to leave Professor Giltier alone when one fact suddenly came to mind, and I asked,
“Come to think of it, how did Giltier become a professor?”
“Are you asking about his skill?”
“I know the extent of Professor Giltier's skill. What I am asking is how he became a professor with that level of skill.”
Persona seemed to think for a moment before giving her answer.
“His mana capacity was below average, but he had a particular talent for swordsmanship. He was a commoner, yet he created swordsmanship that was not inferior even to the secret techniques of most knight families.”
As expected, my memories had not been mistaken.
Among Giltier's Traits, there was certainly Giltier Swordsmanship.
As far as I remembered, aside from Chancellor Pionia's Ratio Brawling Arts, the only martial art among the Academy's Traits named after its owner was Giltier Swordsmanship. Its level of completion could not be dismissed.
“What is Professor Giltier doing now?”
“Since it is break, he should be preparing lectures for the next semester. However, I received a report that the number of students has dropped significantly recently, so he has been shut up in his office.”
“Then contact him now.”
“What shall I tell him?”
“Tell him that a swordsmanship professor is needed. That would be best.”
Come to think of it, rather than building up swordsmanship from the ground up, it would be better to have teaching materials.
I wondered how useful Giltier's swordsmanship would be for Emma and Gess's swordsmanship.
‘Well, it's better than nothing.’
I filled in the one remaining blank in my mind.
『 Giltier - In Charge of Swordsmanship 』