Clunk, clunk──
Inside the carriage to the Hero Department.
After handing over the artifacts to Alphs and Irene, I immediately headed to the Hero Department's training grounds.
I had intended to train, but the Knight Department's training grounds were bustling with many students.
There were Hero Department students seeking to recruit aides and students from other departments wanting to become aides to Hero Department students... it was like a bustling marketplace.
The types of artifacts I gave Alphs were a belt, a gambeson, and greaves.
Three kinds in total.
─Can, can I really accept something like this······?
These artifacts were part of a set called [Mercy of Renimid], a hero-grade set item.
Individually, they might not seem like much, but their set effects are activated when at least three parts are worn.
Set items reveal their true potential only when their set effects are activated.
Moreover, the set effects increase with each additional part worn.
Of course, even wearing three kinds creates significant set effects, ranking it high among hero-grade artifacts.
The set effects include enhancement of mental strength and improvement of both the effects and efficiency of divine buffs.
Particularly noteworthy is the increased efficiency and effectiveness of divine buffs.
In other words, the power of buffs increases while the consumption of divine power decreases.
There’s probably no one more suited than Alphs to make practical use of these artifacts.
What's important is the effect when wearing ‘three parts of the set’.
Even wearing only three parts yields impressive results, but the effects increase with each additional part.
The most crucial parts of a set artifact are the main and secondary weapons.
Regrettably, the sword and shield─the main and secondary weapons─belonging to the set given to Alphs were not in the Waldeurk family's treasury.
They were housed in the closely guarded armory of the [Order of Light].
The artifact given to Irene was a single piece: a wrist guard.
Irene's family, the prestigious knightly Aslan house, possesses several excellent primary weapon artifacts.
Naturally, Irene would bring one from there.
Therefore, I chose a wrist guard that complements her primary weapon, a longsword.
The wrist guard enhances hand speed and grip strength, and it includes a barrier function.
Although the barrier has a daily usage limit, it will be useful for Irene when exploiting the weaknesses of opponents who see her as a pure swordsman.
‘Good. The longer it takes for them to adapt to their artifacts, the better it is for me.’
Unlike me, who knows most of the proper uses and applications of the thousands of artifacts on the continent, other characters need time to adapt to their artifacts.
This will ensure that each of them can play their part when we head to the northern magical city.
Lost in these thoughts, the carriage soon arrived at the Hero Department station.
The thought of training soon made me feel instinctively excited.
Even though I'm well-versed in the usage and applications, I too need to get accustomed to the [Elemental Sword].
But a well-timed meal is also part of training.
I headed straight to the student cafeteria for dinner.
Meanwhile, in the Hero Department's student council room.
“Yum. Just as Claire said······ Yum. It's true that all students have been granted permission to use artifacts······ Yum.”
Saintess Isabella, considered more noble than a princess of a nation, was lounging in her chair, munching on a sandwich.
Though it seemed out of character for someone of her dignity, Claire, who had observed her for many years, found this scene quite familiar.
“It was a good decision to visit the church headquarters immediately after hearing the news. It would have been a wasted effort if the person responsible had not kept their word.”
Saying this, Claire glanced at the large desk in front of Isabella.
On the desk lay an array of artifacts - swords, shields, maces, staffs, bracelets, necklaces, and more.
All these artifacts were brought by Claire from the [Order of Light]'s armory.
As a guardian knight of the church, she had access to the armory.
Isabella nodded and said while gulping down her drink.
“Well, the senior professor isn’t one to speak idly. Gulp, gulp······. Anyway, thanks to Claire, I get to try all sorts of artifacts in my second year~
It’ll make maintaining my top rank in the year much easier.”
Watching Isabella down her drink in one go, Claire smiled slightly.
“The ban on students bringing artifacts is only until the second year. You would have been able to use them in a few months anyway.”
“But being able to use them earlier makes me happy. You know, Claire, training weapons are just not satisfying to use, right?”
“······Indeed.”
Claire softly nodded in agreement.
The saintess was oddly talented in sparring.
Since her childhood and even after enrolling in the academy, she never lost a single sparring match, even without using her divine power.
It was a strange phenomenon.
Without using divine power, the saintess's physical abilities were outstanding by normal standards but quite average compared to other Hero Department students.
Yet, she always won in sparring with her peculiar movements, surpassing her physical abilities.
Perhaps it was foresight?
The saintess had an exceptional ability to anticipate and counter her opponents’ movements.
Moreover, she was fearless.
Facing incoming pole weapons, where most would flinch, she never blinked once during her spars since childhood.
She dodged everything with her eyes.
The saintess smiled warmly at Claire, lost in thought.
She picked up a sword and shield from among the artifacts laid out on the desk.
“Huh? Aren't these two parts of [Mercy of Renimid]? A set artifact.”
“That’s correct, Saintess.”
“But why only the sword and shield? I thought the set consists of five parts in total. Where are the belt, gambeson, and greaves?”
Isabella’s question was valid.
[Mercy of Renimid], as its name suggests, is a property of the [Order of Light], which venerates Renimid as their chief deity.
After a moment of silence, Claire spoke up.
“···The belt, gambeson, and greaves were 'long-term loaned' to a family that played a significant role in the religious war that erupted in the past.”
It's been over 200 years since the religious war broke out.
'Long-term loan' is just a euphemism; it's practically a gift.
Isabella tilted her head in curiosity.
"Which family is it?"
“Well, it’s, uh······”
Claire hesitated to answer.
"Come on, who is it? Tell me!"
Isabella pressed for an answer, her curiosity piqued by this rare moment of intrigue.
Soon reading Claire's mind, Isabella discovered which family it was.
“······The Waldeurk family, Saintess.”
Claire answered exactly as Isabella had read in her thoughts.
“···I see.”
Was it coincidence or fate?
‘Waldeurk... that mysterious guy's family······.’
Since Theo was the only person whose mind she couldn't read, Isabella had been keeping a close watch on him.
She had received reports on Theo from Claire today as well.
The main content was about his visit to a potential aide in the Knight Department.
She also heard about his central role during the forced invasion incident, his joint interview with Rok, and the verbal clash with Oliver from Ataraxia.
Perhaps because she kept hearing about him, her wariness lightened and curiosity grew.
“But isn't it too much not to return them after 200 years? If you give them, it’s given. Calling it a 'long-term loan' is just playing with words. The people who made the agreement back then are long gone, so it's just the Waldeurk family cleaning their hands of it.”
“······That could be true.”
Agreeing with Isabella, Claire nodded.
“Right? Then Claire, just send a letter to the church headquarters. Right now.”
“What should it say?”
“Hmm, let me think······.”
After a moment of thought, Isabella continued.
“Ask if it's okay for us to directly reclaim the church's valuable property that has been forgotten for a long time. Write it in a way that pleases the old folks at the headquarters.
They seem to be getting touchy these days.”
Claire frowned and replied.
“······Please refrain from such crude language, Saintess. Understood, I’ll do as you say.”
“Yep~”
Isabella sank back into her plush chair.
A slight smile played on her usually expressionless lips.
Three days later, Friday, 6 PM.
The deadline for the first round of aide applications for first-year students in the Hero Department had passed.
No more aide applications could be submitted.
In other words, until the next submission deadline, I had to choose my aide from those who had already submitted their applications.
“Wow, there are so many. Maybe the most ever. Anyway, be careful not to drop them, student Theo.”
“Thank you, instructor.”
Theo left the administration office of the Hero Department with a stack of aide applications addressed to him.
‘That’s a lot.’
Judging by the thickness of the paper, at least 100 people seemed to have applied.
Well, let's see what we have here.
The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on fre(e)webno(v)el.𝒸𝑜𝘮