Part 1: Saintess Candidate Arc

5. The Daughter's Guidebook

Translated by: S3

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It was late at night, the day before Adam and Emma were scheduled to depart the royal capital.

The manor staff had already retired, and everyone was relaxing in their rooms, preparing for bed. Noah visited the guest room, wine bottle and glasses in hand. He knocked, and the door opened slightly as Adam peered out.

「Would you care for a drink?」

「Ah. That would be fine.」

「Good. Excuse me.」

When he entered the room, his Aunt Emma was enjoying tea and baked sweets.

「Oh, welcome, Noah.」

「Please excuse the intrusion, Aunt Emma.」

Lily was asleep in a separate room. Because she had been thoroughly indulging in the sightseeing of the royal capital for days on end, she had retired to her room immediately after dinner.

「There are some things I wanted to ask you before you both depart for the Eastern Fortress.」

「It’s about Lily, isn’t it? I was planning to explain things, since Noah-kun will be looking after her.」

Saying so, Emma handed him a thick letter.

「I didn’t think we’d have time to talk, so I summarized it in a letter. Of course, I’ll tell you everything now, too.」

It seemed they had both been thinking the same thing.

「We’ve told Lily to remain in the capital for now, but I’m certain she isn’t truly convinced. She’ll surely try to find a way to come to the Eastern Fortress where we are. But, that would be a bit of a problem.」

Noah poured wine into the glasses while listening to Adam and Emma speak.

Emma declined the wine, saying she preferred tea, and instead arranged the pickles and cheese they had purchased in the castle town earlier that day as wine snacks.

「I’d also like to know more about Lily’s light magic. Forgive me, but neither of you can use magic. Lily couldn’t either originally. I know there are methods to awaken it, but those are generally prohibited. Moreover, even if it awakens, there's no environment to learn magic. Since Lily passed the Saint Candidate exam with a high score, those around her are curious about her background.」

「I figured as much. No, we have no intention of hiding it. I’ll tell you everything.」

With that, Adam explained the situation to Noah for as long as time allowed.

In the Holy Aurum Kingdom, there were two types of people: those born with magic power and those without.

This extraordinary talent was said to originate from the Holy Aurum Kingdom’s first Holy King and Saint, who, according to historical records, respectively wielded Four Elemental Magic and Light Magic. Their prowess was overwhelming, and the Holy Aurum Kingdom was recorded as having flourished throughout their reign.

As time passed, many children were born with Four Elemental Magic among the nobles who formed the foundation of the kingdom. Since children with Light Magic were also occasionally born, the theory that magic is determined by blood inheritance had become widely accepted.

Of course, children of nobles were sometimes born without magic. However, since the next generation might still possess magic even if the parent did not, they were not subjected to overt discrimination or distinction.

Adam was born as the third son of a noble house, and Emma as the eldest daughter of a Count family, but neither was born with magic power.

Adam, the third son who could not inherit the house, joined the Knight Order as soon as he came of age. What awaited him was discrimination based on title and the presence or absence of magic, and he quickly realized that promotion was unlikely.

If class discrimination existed, there was no way that magic, which was related to blood inheritance, would not be a target of discrimination. While it was explicitly stated as taboo on the surface, the presence or absence of magic was distinguished everywhere. However, Adam himself thought it wasn't a problem as long as he could make a living, so he enjoyed his time as a carefree subordinate.

Emma, on the other hand, faced discrimination over the lack of magic in her search for a husband.

The marriage proposals she received were always for the second wife of a noble who already had an heir and had lost his first wife, or from a noble with some kind of complication. Even if the families' social statuses were balanced, she was passed over just for not having magic.

Fortunately, the Tinam Count family would be inherited by her younger brother, so there was no need for an adopted son-in-law. Emma quickly gave up on the noblewoman’s way of life. Furthermore, Emma's father prioritized her wishes, deciding it was better than letting her feel out of place in a distant family.

Emma took a clerical job at the castle through her father's connections and began to frequent the Knight Order for work. That’s where she met Adam. The two later married, and Emma followed Adam when he was transferred to the Western Fortress. A few years later, Lily was born.

「Lily started using Light Magic when she was seven. There was an incident at the Western Fortress.」

「—I see. So, there was an awakening during a critical situation. I'm glad Lily is safe.」

When magic awakens postnatally, it is activated when the person's life is in danger and they attempt to protect themselves. Cases of this were recorded in old documents, establishing it as a method, but such acts were prohibited in the modern era. The probability of losing one's life was extremely high. It was frequently used during the age of magic supremacism, resulting in the loss of many lives and a significant decrease in the noble population, which led to the enactment of a law prohibiting the postnatal awakening of magic.

「May I ask what kind of incident it was?」

「Yes. It’s an embarrassing story, but a mid-sized group of bandits had been living around the Western Fortress and were causing us trouble. One day, we confronted them as usual, but their movements were strange. They would wound us, then flee into the mountains, and attack again when we dropped our guard. Before we knew it, we were lured deep into the mountains. I sensed something was wrong and withdrew. I thought it was just my imagination since we didn’t suffer any severe casualties, but a little while after we returned, my comrades and I all collapsed.」

They realized then that a slow-acting poison had been applied to the weapons.

「I was so shocked by the events that my mind went blank. I had to make detoxification herbs and nurse the fallen soldiers. We were short-handed because we had deployed the reserve soldiers to guard against a bandit surprise attack. In the meantime, the poison circulated, and everyone's condition kept getting worse.」

Shouts and screams flew, and the Western Fortress descended into utter chaos with the groans of the sick.

Seven-year-old Lily was constantly with Emma at the time, but Emma had no spare capacity to pay attention to Lily.

「I think she was very scared. Adam was dying, everyone she knew was suffering, and I was losing my composure. She hadn't even seen a person die yet.」

A piercing scream went up, and a flash of light, as if lightning had struck at close range, bleached their vision white.

Everyone who was there agreed on this memory when looking back at the time.

「Lily's fear caused her Light Magic to awaken, and in an instant, she detoxified everyone and healed old wounds, but when we noticed, Lily was curled up in the corner of the room, holding her head. When I called out to her and shook her shoulder, she simply collapsed and remained unconscious.」

Miracles do not happen for free.

Adam and Emma felt their hearts stop when they realized what had happened to Lily.

「We thought she wouldn’t make it when she didn’t wake up for about ten days. But she woke up the next morning, completely fine, said she was hungry, and started eating.」

The first meal in ten days was rejected by her stomach, and she threw it all up.

They quickly made thin rice porridge and gradually transitioned her from liquid to solid food. Lily quickly recovered and returned to her life before the collapse in no time.

「Once she recovered and got better, she started helping out using her Light Magic. She learned magic from traveling visitors who stayed at the fort, and read books from the fortress, and somehow or another, she became able to use practical Light Magic. Children's capacity for learning is amazing; she constantly surprised us.」

「I see. So, that’s how Lily’s Light Magic awakened. This is not a reason to be reprimanded if we explain it to those around us. There are indeed records of awakenings due to accidents or the death of a close person. And I also understand why the magic Lily uses is irregular. If we could provide her with a place to study it systematically in the royal capital, I think it would be good for Lily’s future, but what are your thoughts?」

「What Noah is saying is correct. It would be difficult for Adam and me to guide Lily’s future.」

The two had already concluded that entrusting her to the Tinam family would be the best way for her to receive a good education.

「Somehow, we want you to keep her in the royal capital and ensure she receives an education. Can we ask this of you?」

「It seems both His Highness and Daniel-sama will be looking out for Lily, so the Tinam family will take responsibility for her.」

「That’s wonderful. Ah, don't tell her yourself, though. She'll want to go to the Eastern Fortress with us.」

「Understood. I'll speak with Lily after you two have left and she's had time to adjust to life in the royal capital.」

And so, Lily’s future path was decided without her knowledge.

「Also, perhaps because of the Light Magic, she has a tendency to be involved in strange occurrences. It’s written in the letter, so please be mindful of it.」

「I understand. Well, while she lives in the royal capital, there’s the Protective Barrier: Protect Wall, so I don't think there's anything to worry about.」

Noah tucked the letter into his breast pocket, and to wet his throat after continuous talking, he took a gulp of wine.

As the alcohol took effect and their spirits lifted, Adam and Noah became more talkative, and the conversation shifted to immediate political matters.

「I’ve actually been curious about this: the Western Fortress has had zero fatalities, zero injuries, and zero illnesses for about five years now. We received requests for troop increases every year, but since they weren't for a rotation, they weren't approved. We had a great deal of trouble sending new recruits over there.」

Noah brought up the discrepancy he had felt since becoming involved with the Western Fortress to Adam.

「There are constant small-scale surprise attacks from the Western Continent Nations, where small countries gather, correct? Is the lack of injuries Lily's doing?」

「Yes. Because Lily heals everything with her Light Magic. Thanks to her, my unit is now composed of formidable warriors after five years.」

They could return to duty the same day they were injured. For five years, not a single soldier at the Western Fortress was absent, and they were all tempered by real combat. Thanks to the lack of long-term absences due to injury, their bodies were constantly maintaining or improving their current state. Regardless of their original status, it was impossible for them not to become excellent soldiers.

「The Western Fortress is where dropouts who can't get promoted are sent. However, that was before they were transferred there. They've grown into quite good subordinates. They could put up a good fight against others now.」

「No. Based on the reports I’ve heard from the soldiers I recently sent over there, they would undoubtedly achieve a crushing victory. Both the royal capital and the Eastern Fortress only have those with no real combat experience. It wasn't a problem while the peace treaty was in effect, but it's different now.」

「I see. So the rookie and the veteran were reconnaissance soldiers from you, Noah-kun.」

「I can’t object to being seen that way. And because of that, soldiers from the Western Fortress are being moved. In their place, soldiers belonging to the royal capital and the Eastern Fortress will be transferred to the Western Fortress.」

This decision sobered Adam up.

「Hold on, now. It's not that bad. The royal capital and the Eastern Fortress are the prominent career paths, aren’t they?」

「Yes. They are only good-looking knights who fight in matches. If they were in a battlefield where anything goes, they would be the first to lose.」

「Well, I'll be. That’s a real waste.」

Even as he said this, Adam understood the meaning of Noah's words.

The results produced by those with practical experience, regardless of their origin, were completely different from those who had only studied for competitions.

「Adam-san. There is a private matter I’d like to discuss with you.」

「What is it?」

Noah’s cool smile betrayed no sign of drunkenness. The biting atmosphere reminded Adam of the tension of noble dealings, which he had long been away from.

「Would you be willing to achieve some merit at the Eastern Fortress? For the sake of the future.」

It was an opportunity that had finally come around for the diligently working Adam.

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