Academy’s Barbarian

Damien slumped down with a sigh, and I looked down at him, stomping out the last bit of my cigarette before speaking to him again.

“What are you thinking about right now? I won’t get mad, so be honest.”

“Umm…”

“Spit it out, man.”

As I clicked my tongue and urged him, Damien reluctantly opened his mouth after a moment of hesitation.

“…I thought I wouldn’t get punched by you anymore, so I figured I could relax a bit.”

“Hmm… Is that all? How’s your body feeling?”

“My body…? Well, it feels like I’m drained, like I’m just collapsing… The warmth of the campfire suddenly feels so vivid…”

“Really? So you’re feeling some relief, huh?”

The relief of escaping immediate danger. Whether to call it an emotion or a sensation, I’m not sure, but Damien seemed to relax, thinking I had calmed down.

—

After brewing a cup of black tea for Damien, who kept rubbing his sore shoulder, I sipped my tea and explained the more detailed search plan to him.

I’d dragged him here half-forced, but now that we were seriously starting the search for the Holy Sword, I figured he needed to know the details.

“Where should I start… First, what we’re looking for is a sword.”

“A sword? Do we need another sword?”

Damien tilted his head in confusion.

With Durandal, three Red Scale Sabers, and even the one I lent to Ja-han, we already had five legendary swords. Why would we need another one?

“No, wasn’t Durandal the heirloom of your family, Hershel?”

“Since when did I say I was looking for the Median family’s heirloom?”

I chuckled in response.

Well, I did imply something like that. To avoid unnecessary attention.

The truth about Damien obtaining the Holy Sword would come out eventually, but for now, I wanted to keep it a secret.

Considering Carolus the Great’s legacy, which has lasted eight hundred years, the moment the Holy Sword’s identity is revealed, the whole world would go wild with interest. Including some unsavory characters.

…Of course, I’d have to tell Damien, the future wielder, what he was getting into.

“The sword I’m looking for isn’t the Median family’s heirloom. That’s already hanging on my hip, so there’s no need to search for it. The sword we need to find is called…”

“…What’s it called?”

“Juwaiyoz.”

“Juwaiyoz…?”

“Yeah, you’ve heard of it, right? The Holy Sword forged by Elpinel herself and bestowed upon Emperor Carolus the Great. We’re going to search every corner of this mountain range to find Juwaiyoz.”

Its true name is different, but that’s not something you need to know yet.

“Emperor Carolus’s Holy Sword…? I heard Elpinel took it back…”

“Of course that’s a lie. It’s not something that should be public knowledge.”

If the whereabouts of Juwaiyoz were known, all sorts of riffraff would swarm the Sky Mountain Range, hoping to turn their lives around.

Not just humans, but other races would covet it too.

That’s why Carolus and the Twelve Knights hid the truth and left behind the false legend that Elpinel had reclaimed it.

“Juwaiyoz is somewhere in the Sky Mountain Range. I don’t know the exact location, but it’s here, so it must be.”

I shrugged and recounted the story Rotholandus’s ghost had told me.

About how Carolus and the Twelve Knights tried to weaken this world by creating the Heavenly Barrier but failed due to interference from the Easterners, and how they lost the sword somewhere here during the battle…

…And how the apostles of the ancient gods, like Peirus, are scheming to destroy the Heavenly Barrier.

“—That’s how it happened.”

By the time the story ended, the tea in our cups was nearly gone.

“I see. So that’s what happened… Then, Hershel, are you…”

Damien nodded as if he understood everything, then looked straight at me and asked.

“Are you planning to kill Emperor Leopold and take over the Empire?”

I spat out the tea I was drinking all over Damien’s face. I swear it wasn’t on purpose.

Really.

—

After coughing for a while, I finally calmed down and glared at Damien, demanding to know why he’d come up with such a crazy idea.

“You said it’s the Emperor’s sword. If someone who’s about to become queen secretly takes such a sword, isn’t that preparing the groundwork for a rebellion?”

Damien asked as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“No, what do you take me for…?”

I’m trying to keep the search as secret as possible to avoid such rumors, and you think I’m plotting to stab Leopold in the back? I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at the injustice.

Common sense says I’m not some three-named thief who’d betray Leopold, who’s been nothing but cooperative.

Especially not for something as burdensome as the Imperial throne.

Only fools who know nothing would covet the Imperial throne. Those who’ve seen it up close would run from it.

The Imperial throne isn’t a symbol of wealth and power—it’s an inescapable prison.

Leopold’s lush blond hair turned thin and patchy in just a year. You think I’d want to sit in that seat?

Am I crazy? I’d be a bald Hershel within a year.

Leopold has to keep the throne for at least another seventy years.

After that, his kids can handle it. With Leopold and Adelaide’s traits, they’ll grow into capable emperors.

“I’m looking for the Holy Sword purely for its power. Not for some useless symbolism that’ll only cause trouble.”

“Hmm… If you say so, Hershel, then it must be true.”

Damien nodded, wiping the tea off his face.

“Besides, I’m not the one who’s going to wield it. Durandal is enough for me. The one who’ll wield Juwaiyoz is you, Damien.”

“Me…?”

“Yeah. That silver greatsword of yours isn’t bad, but the strongest knight of the Heaven’s Sword Order can’t just wield an ordinary silver sword, right?”

“You want me to wield Emperor Carolus’s sword…?”

Damien looked at me as if I were crazy.

“Yeah. Like I said, the world’s getting more dangerous.”

Thanks to my efforts, things might be peaceful for a while… but that won’t last long.

Once they replenish their forces, they’ll come after me with a vengeance.

“The cultists are desperate to break the Heavenly Barrier, monsters are getting stronger, even half-dragons are showing up, and the fairies are starting to openly target us.”

“Uh… right?”

“Yeah. In a world like this, don’t you think you need to get stronger if you want to live long? At least as strong as me. Or even surpass me.”

“……”

[Ha, what nonsense. This brat surpassing us? As if that’s possible.]

Before Damien could even respond, Hershel, who had been quietly listening, suddenly scoffed.

‘Well, we’ll see about that.’

At least in the original story, he does get stronger than me. It just takes a while.

[You can tell a dog from a wolf at a glance. It’s obvious.]

Of course, Hershel just laughed at my response.

Well, to her, it must sound ridiculous. The gap between me and Damien is that vast.

It’s not that Damien is incompetent. In fact, he’s growing much faster than in the original story.

The Damien from the original would’ve needed at least four more years to reach where he is now.

It’s just that Hershel and I are growing at an insane rate.

—

From what I remember, in the original story, Hershel appears as the main boss of an arc about 4-5 years from now, when the level cap is 80.

And right now, I’m probably at that level. Since my feats aren’t increasing anymore.

So, if I were to fight the original Hershel now, I’d win.

Our levels would be the same, but my total power would be nearly double hers, and I have Durandal, Winter Armor, Rune Engravings, and Rotholandus’s blessing.

In other words, I’ve surpassed what the original Hershel achieved in six years in just a year and a half.

…Which also means the Heavenly Barrier is breaking four times faster than in the original.

Anyway, if Damien works hard to close the gap while my growth has stalled, he might surpass me someday.

Honestly, I’d love for that to happen. The stronger he gets, the easier things will be for me.

The problem is…

“Umm… Hershel, surpassing you… seems impossible.”

Damien himself doesn’t even dream of surpassing me. His response wasn’t about trying harder but about it being impossible.

…That’s a problem.

“A man shouldn’t talk weak. You should boldly declare that you’ll surpass me.”

“No, but… honestly, it’s too much. I can’t even keep up with your pace.”

…This is serious.

Did I beat him up too much…?

I scratched my ear in frustration and sighed.

To grow stronger, you need a desperate motivation and strong belief.

Even if you’re determined to beat me, there’s no guarantee it’ll happen. But if you give up before even trying, you’ll never surpass me.

I can’t just leave it at that.

Then…

I guess I need to give him some motivation.

Yeah, that’s it.

“…Then how about this.”

After a moment of thought, I made the most classic motivational offer.

“If you manage to beat me in a serious sparring match, I’ll grant you one wish. Of course, as long as it’s something I can do.”

As they say, the best way to motivate someone is to offer a one-time wish. An old subordinate who used to tutor students before enlisting taught me that.

He claimed to have gotten countless students into prestigious universities with that method.

“Huh…?”

Sure enough, Damien seemed intrigued by the temptation of absolute power.

“Just once, but if it’s something I can do, any wish is fine. How about it? Tempting, isn’t it?”

I smirked, provoking Damien.

This kid’s wish is obvious, right? He probably wants to beat me up without holding back.

If promising that can make him stronger and make my life easier… then I don’t mind taking a few hits.

It’s a win-win for me.

[You crazy… woman…]

For some reason, Hershel looked absolutely horrified.

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