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Chapter 170

“It was a hasty decision on my end,” he said. “I shouldn’t have sent you there.”

The two of us, mere students, had annihilated a gang of bandits, wandered around a land cursed by a cursed sword, and had eventually retrieved the sword itself.

While Ellen and I informed him of everything that had gone on, we minimized the story about the mage, Rellia, since we had decided to keep Rellia’s abilities a secret. Although Ellen couldn’t understand Rellia, it seemed like in the end, Ellen had come through with a favorable impression of her.

The Temple did not know much about the situation at the Egxian base, or within the Dark Land as a whole. The higher-ups believed that everything would be fine since many adventurers had been dispatched there, but they hadn’t considered that the adventurers themselves could be a threat.

Most people who hadn’t been to Egxian would think that way. After all, while Ellen and I knew we had to be cautious of the adventurers, many things were unbelievable even when seen with our own eyes.

Had the Temple authorities known the reality of it, they would have never let us go there.

Still, they had done the best they could. They had initially intended to assign Mr. Effenhauser as our supervising teacher and to travel with us, but when we declined, they had even provided us with a Teleportation scroll to escape in case of emergency.

“And that’s the cursed sword that you mentioned?”

“Yes.”

I placed the sword, wrapped in a rag, on the table. I also warned Mr. Effenhauser not to touch it directly, just in case.

Mr. Effenhauser silently stared at the cursed sword.

“You’re telling me you weren’t affected by the curse?”

“Yes, I’ve had a few speculations as to why... Perhaps I have some... innate resistance to this sort of magic or curses.”

‘It’s too hard to explain. It is what it is.’

There was no other way to explain it. Attributes like these were powers that physical scanners couldn’t detect.

“Alright, I’ll request an analysis from the relevant department within the Temple. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they know it’s a very dangerous item. Of course, it belongs to you. If the Temple decides that it’s safe for you to use it, we won’t interfere with your possession of it.”

As long as it was deemed safe, the Temple would willingly allow me to use the cursed sword in any way I saw fit.

It was a sinister item, but it was clear that it possessed significant power.

“If you need psychological counseling, let me know.”

Since we had gone through a horrific experience, Mr. Effenhauser thought we might need counseling, but neither of us decided to receive psychological counseling.

Mr. Effenhauser was almost astounded to hear that Ellen had awakened her Mana Reinforcement ability on her own, since it was generally considered impossible.

Watching his shocked reactions to our accomplishments was rather amusing.

Of course, Ellen had to receive some follow-up treatment for her deteriorated physical condition, as the injuries were beyond the healing capabilities of ordinary priests.

The person who administered the treatment to her was a completely unexpected person.

“It’s like releasing a dragon in a narrow alley, Ellen.”

“... Pardon me?”

“Very well. Even if you stumble on your first step, what does it matter? The important thing is that you’ve taken that first step, so you can be considered to have started walking now.”

Ellen looked perplexed.

“Now... breathe in deeply... and exhale... Feel the energy of the universe...”

It was the person who I suspected was a yoga master, or maybe even a hypnotist.

It was no other than the mana management training instructor—the one who taught the class in which students seemed to fall asleep and wake up only to realize the class was over.

Apparently, there was no one on the entire continent who could match him in internal mana management and operation. In other words, he was a master among masters. Though he wasn’t necessarily a Swordmaster, he was some kind of master in his field.

A Master of Masters...

That basically made him a Grandmaster, then.

Anyway, the Grand Yoga Master guy performed something akin to energy healing on Ellen.

In the first place, the injuries caused by Mana Reinforcement were not injuries that anyone would normally sustain. In martial arts terms, it was akin to something like internal energy deviation. If you were not at a certain level, you wouldn’t even be able to sustain such injuries.

Naturally, therefore, finding someone capable of healing such an injury would be extremely difficult.

However, there was someone at the Temple who was the perfect person to be able to treat it. It dawned on me once again how impressive the Temple’s human resources were.

Ellen looked quite relieved after the treatment was done.

“What about Mana Reinforcement? Did he say anything about it?” I asked Ellen.

“He told me not to use it, and that it’s dangerous. He said I’ll be receiving one-on-one guidance on it once the semester begins.”

It seemed that the Grand Yoga Master teacher had decided to personally tutor Ellen on Mana Reinforcement, given this unprecedented situation. It was basically akin to instructing a child who was playing with a nuclear weapon on how to use it properly.

Anyway, the events in the Dark Land had finally come to a close.

We hadn’t been away from the Royal Class dormitory for that long, but it felt as though we were returning home after a very long time.

“...”

“...”

However, something about the atmosphere of the Temple dormitory felt unfamiliar to the both of us, and it wasn’t just because the place was almost deserted during the vacation.

We remained silent, quietly contemplating the sense of relief from having returned safely, and the something within us that had changed.

A mix of complex emotions surged within us, yet it was hard to identify exactly what they were. It was nearly impossible to describe them in a single word.

In the end, we didn’t even head to our rooms to rest. Instead, we just sat side by side in the lobby, staring blankly at the air.

It felt like we should have said something to wrap up the situation, so we sat together, but no words came out, as if we had forgotten what to say.

Then, I realized the truth...

Ellen and I were both simply utterly exhausted. We had faced overwhelming challenges without having a moment to truly rest, and now that everything was over, we were completely drained.

All the events in the Dark Land left us with horrific memories, so we didn’t feel the need to bring them up.

Although we had resolved them, the events themselves were gruesome and dreadful.

We needed to wrap things up and move on, but we didn’t even have the strength or the will to have the necessary conversation.

Even though we had managed to get through everything, we both had unerasable scars that left their imprints on our hearts. Verbalizing these feelings might only deepen the wounds.

Ellen silently leaned her head on my shoulder.

We stayed like that for a long while, saying nothing.

***

Even after returning from the Dark Land, it was only natural to continue our training.

It had been three days since we returned to the Temple, and vacation was still ongoing.

“Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

There were hardly any people left in the Royal Class. Except for me and Ellen, only Adelia remained.

We started doing morning exercises together, and by now, I could easily keep pace with Ellen. It wasn’t difficult to do so, especially with my supernatural power giving me a bit of assistance as well.

At the beginning of the year, I was frail and weak, but somehow, I had come this far. I guess all of this was a result of personal effort, my supernatural power, and cheats.

After finishing a long workout, we sat on a bench, drinking water to quench our thirst.

The silence dragged on.

Since returning from the Dark Land, we hadn’t talked much.

It wasn’t because it was awkward; we simply didn’t know what to say.

We hadn’t discussed anything about the Dark Land since our consultation with Mr. Effenhauser.

Ellen had been talkative while we were in the Dark Land since there was a lot to think about, discuss, and question.

Now that we were back at the Temple, though, her words had grown few and far between again.

It wasn’t that Ellen had returned to her usual self; it felt different from that.

We hadn’t mentioned any of the events from the Dark Land at all, as if it were a taboo, avoiding the topic altogether.

However, neither of us could possibly carry on a conversation without avoiding that topic.

Naturally, our minds were preoccupied with thoughts about them.

These thoughts were about killing others and almost being killed. Even though things had come to a conclusion, it was inevitable that they would haunt us like a trauma—the people we had killed, and the battles with the zombies.

It was true that I was having constant nightmares.

I lost sleep remembering the maggot-infested faces of zombies and the memories of slaughtering them.

Oddly enough, I didn’t have these nightmares while in the Dark Land. Now, though, in a safe place where I could finally process my thoughts, those memories surged to the fore, hitting me like an aftershock.

I tried not to think about it, yet despite the lack of any guilty feelings, the horrific images still flooded my mind.

That was why we avoided talking about the Dark Land, and as a result, why we hardly spoke at all.

Even though we had been together constantly since our return, except when we slept, we barely talked.

Our conversations were just limited to:

“Want to eat?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s exercise.”

“Sure.”

That was pretty much it.

However, it wasn’t just that we were talking less; there were also some other changes.

Ellen treated me a bit more casually than before.

She leaned on me occasionally, and even laid her head in my lap during a training session, claiming she was tired, before eventually dozing off.

It felt nice to be closer to her, but... It was a strange feeling, almost like we were a married couple who no longer communicated at all.

***

Although many things had happened, only two weeks had passed since the beginning of the vacation.

We had spent just over a week in the Dark Land, yet so many things happened that changed both Ellen and me forever.

Thinking it was about time that Eleris returned, I went to her shop and found her sitting there.

“Your Highness?”

“Yes?”

Eleris had shed her disguise as Rellia and returned to her true form.

“You’ve worked hard,” I told her. “I’m sorry for what you went through.”

“It’s fine, Your Highness. Although it wasn’t enjoyable... it was a meaningful experience,” Eleris said.

She smiled sadly. “That girl. She must be related to Ragan Artorius, right?”

I paused for a moment. “She’s his younger sister.”

“I see.”

The younger sister of Artorius, the one who killed the Demon King...

And the son of the Demon King who killed Artorius...

Eleris seemed conflicted about whether such a relationship should even exist.

“She seemed like a nice girl; upright, strong, and kind,” Eleris said as she quietly took my hand. “I sincerely hope that you and that girl do not end up in a tragic relationship, Your Highness.”

“Yeah.”

Even though she said that, Eleris had a look on her face that suggested that she was witnessing a story with an inevitable ending.

“Sarkegar... He must never, ever know about this.”

If Sarkegar found out, he would do everything in his power to harm Ellen. I wasn’t sure about Loyar, but she hadn’t caused Ellen any harm after I’d told her to leave her alone.

The relationship between Ellen and I, no matter how strong, was as fragile as glass, at risk of shattering with the revelation of a single truth.

“Make sure Loyar keeps her mouth shut.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“And deliver this to her as well.”

I placed the backpack I was carrying in front of Eleris. It contained the jewelry and valuables we had brought back from the Dark Land, as we intended to sell them through the Thieves’ Guild.

I didn’t know their exact value, but they had to be worth a significant amount. I had brought not only my share but Ellen’s as well, since I knew she wouldn’t be able to sell them on her own. Even if she could, she would find it bothersome.

Combining this with Eleris’s own share, we would be free of any financial issues for a while.

“While you’re at it, look for a place in a basement, or one that doesn’t get much sunlight. What’s the point of earning money if you don’t spend it?”

“I-Is that... really okay with you, Your Highness?” Eleris trembled with joy, clearly delighted by the mere thought.