CSWA 42

Chapter 42

Enhancement

Aiden decided to take stock of his current condition.

Skill Info

◈ Weaver of Fate

【 Noel Astria Seamus 】

Bond: Stage 6

◆ Pure White Heart

◆ Qi Enhancement: Consecration

…

【 Katya Heinkel Craven 】

Obsession: Stage 2

◆ First Vow

◆ Sacred Body

…

⎨ Lionel XIII ⎬

Bond: Stage 1

◆ Unique Trait: Imperial Bloodline

⎨ Dunadan U’Jal ⎬

Bond: Stage 1

◆ Universal Ability: Law Force → Savior’s Oath

⎨ Rania A’Shan ⎬

Bond: Stage 1

◆ Spiritual Resonance

⎨ Meyer Belford ⎬

Bond: Stage 1

◆ Analysis

⎨ Abigail III ⎬

Bond: Stage 2

Two skills can be copied.

⧾ Arden Brimstone Lionel

Malice: Stage 1

One skill can be imitated.

※ This target cannot form a ‘Bond’ with you. The copied skill’s effects will differ from the original!

Seeing everything laid out like this made Aiden realize just how many things he had picked up. Two stood out more than anything else: two skills from the Pontiff and one from the prince, all of them obtained very recently.

‘Not bad.’

With that thought, Aiden summoned another window.

Quest Info

♠ Main Quest

◈ Act One,

Chapter One,

…

▶ Subjugation Battle (D Day!)

◈ Fake Marriage

You have been selected as Sir Noel’s spouse. Maintain your contract with your partner until the end!

A related event will occur soon. (D Day!)

With his rematch against the Lord Protector looming right in front of him, this was a respectable haul. The moment he woke up and left the mental world of his dream, the event would probably begin immediately.

“So.”

Aiden shrugged and looked at Meyer in front of him.

“What did you say was the most effective combination for beating up a spirit?”

“…”

“I want to make sure I brought the right things.”

In truth, he planned to copy whatever Meyer told him. It felt a little like peeking at the answer sheet and filling in the test afterward. Meyer listened in silence for a moment before sighing.

“…You know.”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t you getting a little too used to dying?”

“…”

As it happened, Aiden’s torso was currently split in half even while they were having this conversation.

“I mean, after dying enough times, you kind of get used to it.”

“You know.”

Meyer spoke with a hollow voice.

“Do you actually understand what you’re saying?”

“…?”

Had he really said something that strange? Aiden tilted his head before answering.

“Isn’t that something that can happen…?”

“It is strange.”

“…What?”

“I’ve trained plenty of disciples. Losing your aversion to fighting and your fear of death isn’t something you can explain with grit or mental strength alone.”

“What are you talking about now?”

“It feels like the personality itself is changing at a fundamental level. Like you’re being forcibly… ‘remodeled,’ maybe. It isn’t natural.”

After saying that, Meyer stared sharply at Aiden for a long moment, then released a deep sigh.

“Let’s watch it for now. You’re the first case like this I’ve ever seen, so there’s some value in observing and analyzing you.”

He added that at least Aiden probably would not freeze up no matter what situation he faced, then sighed again.

“Abilities have affinities. Spiritual bodies are weakest against divine power, so your first priority is to maximize the output of your divine power.”

“Got it.”

Aiden nodded and scrolled down the Pontiff’s skill list.

‘There are more awkward ones than I expected.’

The Pontiff’s skill list was unquestionably a gold mine, but far too many of the skills were either extremely difficult to use or required him to learn something else before he could use them at all. Apparently copying the abilities of someone who had reached the pinnacle came with problems of its own.

Even so, he quickly found something that matched Meyer’s requirement.

– System Message

▶ Copying [Divine Enhancement: Detonation]!

Skill Info

◆ Divine Enhancement: Detonation

For one use, doubles the output of divine power being released. Cooldown: one day.

‘This is perfect.’

It was simple, matched Meyer’s requirements exactly, and had no prerequisite conditions for use. In fact, ignoring every other consideration, an ability that instantly doubled output the moment it was activated was outrageously powerful by itself.

‘What happens if I combine this with Guardian’s Flame?’

Aiden already had another method of increasing the output of his divine power. If he added this skill on top of that, he could not even guess how high the output would climb.

“Second.”

As Aiden happily imagined the possibilities, Meyer continued.

“Form shaping. Even if you have a blade, you can’t grab it by the edge and swing it around barehanded. You need to decide what ‘form’ you’re going to solidify your ability into.”

‘Ah.’

He had seen examples of that before. Katya had once sharpened divine power into blades and fired them, while Noel wrapped qi around her sword and launched it in the form of slashes. Aiden had also copied several skills from Noel that shaped qi into defensive barriers.

What Meyer meant was probably the same principle: giving a supernatural ability a stable ‘form.’

‘Perfect.’

He happened to have the skill list of someone exceptionally talented in that exact field. There were many words used to describe the prince, but ‘once in a generation genius’ was probably the most representative. Noel was also called a genius for wielding the historically unprecedented phenomenon of pure white qi, yet the prince had established a reputation of his own.

His genius was focused primarily on ‘technique,’ not the raw ‘output’ of his power but the way he controlled it.

– System Message

▶ Imitating [Special Operation Method: Spiral, Aperture]!

Skill Info

◆ Special Operation Method: Spiral, Aperture

Carves supernatural power into a finely divided and intricately layered spiral form. It can pierce defensive measures and strike the target beyond them.

★ This skill has an extremely high operation difficulty. Prerequisites are required.

★ The effect of [Skill: Analysis] satisfies those prerequisites.

★ This skill was copied through ‘Imitation.’ Its power is lower than the original!

Normally he would not have been able to use it, but thanks to Meyer, it seemed possible.

‘I should thank Senior.’

Considering the talent the prince had displayed in the original game, Aiden reproducing this technique on his own would have been like reaching for a star in the sky. The imitation was somewhat weaker than the original, but the attached trait was incredibly attractive.

‘Defense penetration…’

There was no one who entered combat without some kind of protective measure. It was a broadly useful trait that would help in almost any battle. Among the abilities he could obtain right now, it was difficult to imagine a better choice.

‘With this much…’

After carefully explaining to Meyer exactly what ‘materials’ he had brought back, Aiden broke into a smile.

“Honestly, if you can’t make what I asked for with this much, then you’re the incompetent one, Senior.”

“…”

“You agree?”

“…”

Meyer narrowed his eyes and snorted as he watched Aiden practically glow with pride.

“…You’re having way too much fun with this.”

Despite what he said, even Meyer did not seem able to find much fault with Aiden’s claim. From his perspective too, the ‘abilities’ Aiden had obtained were powerful enough to justify that confidence. If Aiden had brought back two top class ‘materials’ and the Knight of Dawn still could not create what he wanted from them, the title itself would have cause to weep.

“But.”

Meyer tilted his head and looked at him.

“Making it is fine, but how do you plan to actually hit the target with it?”

The combination Aiden had requested was close to an ability that would definitely suppress the opponent ‘if it landed.’ As Meyer had pointed out before, however, getting it to land at all was the real problem.

“You told me last time that you had some kind of method. What exactly are you planning?”

“Well…”

Aiden scratched his head before answering.

“In the end, the reason I can’t hit her is that there’s too big a gap between our fundamental skill levels, right?”

“Right?”

“So I just have to narrow that gap.”

“…And I’m asking how you plan to do that.”

“Somehow.”

“…”

“I have an idea.”

Meyer sighed as though he was done arguing, while Aiden merely shrugged. No, he really did have one. It was not something worth explaining to someone else, and if he described it out loud, Meyer might even ask whether he could honestly call that a plan.

Ridiculous or not, however, the plan would work.

‘I only need to prove one thing.’

He needed to determine whether the Lord Protector’s spirit had truly been summoned while still ‘completely sane.’ There were very few beings with the authority to manipulate something all the way down to the level of a soul.

But such beings did actually exist. There were enemies within the Main Scenario who were capable of exactly that. The culprits behind this incident were almost certainly lurking somewhere in the background.

‘I even have an idea who their pawn is.’

All he had to do was pull a proper clue from that person. For the moment, however, there was something else.

“Senior.”

“What?”

“Give me some advice as someone with more life experience.”

“About what?”

“If your fiancée is extremely anxious, how are you supposed to calm her down?”

“…I’ve never been married.”

“…”

“I mean… does getting close count?”

Between him and the Pontiff, why were so many extraordinary people single?

❦

During the Harvest Festival, the Empire transformed into a place overflowing with music and alcohol no matter where one looked. Even while the entire country was swept up in drinking, singing, and celebration, the imperial flags and symbols displayed everywhere lent the festivities an almost solemn grandeur. It was a dignity befitting the Empire’s greatest holiday.

That only made this place feel even more like another world, because the atmosphere here alone was gloomy.

“…”

Aiden carefully glanced at Noel walking beside him. She looked deeply unhappy, almost horribly so. It went beyond a simple bad mood. Her face was pale enough that she almost looked as though she were suffering from trauma.

Of course, nobody would be happy about spending a holiday facing the prince and the Minister of Administration in a hearing, but her condition looked worse than that alone could explain.

“I’m sorry. I seem to have worried you.”

When Aiden asked about it, Noel forced a smile despite her pale face. She was more willing than expected to explain the reason.

“The Mage Kingdom began its attack during the Harvest Festival too.”

Festivals were naturally when people lowered their guard the most. Since it had also been near the end of the war, the enemy had probably chosen the timing for exactly that reason. Which led naturally to the next fact.

“…Today is also the anniversary of Teresa’s death.”

“…”

Aiden remembered wondering before why the prince and the Minister of Administration had specifically scheduled the hearing for today. That single sentence seemed to explain everything. Noel was already struggling desperately to hold herself together. If the Lord Protector’s spirit truly appeared while she was in this state, there was a very real chance she would be unable to do anything at all.

“Sir Noel.”

That meant there was something he had to do in advance if he did not want them to be dragged along by the enemy’s pace. With the entrance to the courtroom visible ahead of them, Aiden firmly grabbed Noel by the shoulders.

“Look at me.”

“…Mr. Aiden?”

“Look straight at me.”

Noel’s startled eyes met his directly, and Aiden spoke one word at a time.

“Do you think Sir Teresa’s vengeful spirit attacked you because she still resents you?”

“…”

“This is important, so answer me.”

He had avoided asking her outright until now because it was undoubtedly a painful subject for her. But with the hearing right in front of them and Noel in this condition, he needed to settle it before they went inside. Whether she got angry at him or not.

“…”

Noel’s breathing grew rough. Countless emotions flashed through her eyes before her mouth finally opened and a trembling voice emerged.

“It was my mistake.”

“…”

“Teresa took the blame for it. For a judgment I made incorrectly.”

“…”

“So to save me, Teresa stayed behind on the battlefield alone, and…”

Scenes seemed to flash behind Noel’s eyes. Screams, raging fire, blood, mountains of corpses, seas of blood. Aiden saw her consciousness beginning to sink into those memories, so he gripped her shoulders firmly again.

“I’m not really interested in the details.”

“…”

Reason immediately returned to Noel’s eyes, probably because his answer was so absurd that it broke straight through the memory.

“…Then why did you ask?”

“Because you seem half convinced that the Lord Protector still blames you even after death because of what happened.”

“…”

“So let me ask you this. Do you think Sir Teresa was the kind of person who would do that?”

“…”

Noel agonized over the answer for a long time before finally speaking.

“…No. I don’t think she was.”

The Lord Protector had been the protector of the people, a woman who had shone like the sun of the Empire. Noel remembered Teresa running through the streets until she was covered in dirt, laughing alongside children from the slums. She remembered how Teresa sacrificed herself for the Empire’s subjects and citizens until the very end.

Before Noel was ever called Lionheart, when she had only been a cowardly, slow, crybaby little girl, she remembered the older sister who made her crooked little pinwheels and hugged her tight.

‘I’ll protect you, Noel.’

‘I’ll protect the country where I was born and raised too.’

Noel could not imagine a person like that ever turning a blade against her.

‘But…’

The doubt still remained in one corner of her heart. Teresa had died because of Noel’s mistake. Could she truly be certain that Teresa had never resented her for it?

“Then she didn’t.”

Aiden stated it as a fact.

“If you say she wasn’t, then she wasn’t.”

“…”

Aiden spoke to Noel as she blinked at him blankly. He did not care what exactly had happened on this same date in the past, on that evening near the end of the war. Determining who had made a mistake on the battlefield, whose actions had made the situation worse, and who was ultimately to blame was not his job. Maybe Noel really had made the wrong decision.

But there was one thing he could say.

“I trust you, Sir Noel.”

At the very least, Noel was the most tightly bound by ‘morality’ of anyone Aiden had ever met. Even when she herself was in danger, she always worried about civilian lives. She tried not to harm anyone first, and even while making an enormous fuss whenever Aiden suffered the slightest injury, she was willing to stake her own life to take responsibility for things she had caused.

“So I trust the people you trust too.”

Which meant he would also trust the person who had helped ‘create’ the Noel Astria Seamus standing here now. He trusted Teresa’s judgment when she decided that Noel would never become the kind of person who did such a thing.

“The Lord Protector wasn’t that kind of person.”

Sir Theresa Adelite would never have been that kind of person. That was also the foundation of the method Aiden had confidently told Meyer he would use to ‘hold down’ the Lord Protector.

He grinned at Noel, who was still staring at him blankly, then turned toward the courtroom.

“And I’m about to prove it.”

The prince and the Minister of Administration were waiting inside. The smile on Aiden’s lips sharpened slightly. He had never really known how to smile like this before, but lately he had the feeling some of Katya’s habits were rubbing off on him.

“Let’s go.”

At a moment like this, that kind of expression suited him better anyway.

“We’re going to crush those bastards.”

Now it was finally time for revenge.