-In some hidden place...
A man with a lion mask sat reviewing various reports while another person knelt before him, waiting.
"So... Subject R-136 has failed in his mission..." murmured the masked man, a little bored.
(Tsk, stupid things. At least we gained information with his sacrifice.)
"Now then... who is the saint of this generation? The Duke Lestia's daughter or the second princess?" the masked man asked eagerly.
That was the crux: to ascertain the identity of the saint, and if possible, incapacitate her.
"Well..."
When a saint is born, a certain special phenomenon occurs in which the chosen one is imbued with the divine power of the goddess. Thanks to this, peculiar characteristics appear in her body.
Among them are: golden hair like gold, a change in eye color to a beautiful sky blue, and, most importantly, a divine mark.
This mark can be anywhere on the saint's body, but usually, it is in a visible place. The star-shaped mark is the symbol that she was chosen by the goddess to represent her mandates.
But... wouldn't you have to undress the saint to find out?
It's not necessary, as there is another characteristic, although it can lead to certain confusions.
The aura.
When a saint is born, the amount of emitted aura is not to be taken lightly. In addition to taking on the characteristics of a light magic user, this aura is especially powerful in the first days after being chosen.
Why could it cause misunderstandings?
This is because this aura is very similar to the aura of the descendants of the goddess Celestia. So, any lack of control in the aura of these descendants can be mistakenly seen as the birth of the saint.
"We haven't confirmed yet which of the two is the saint, as all our infiltrated agents have mysteriously disappeared..." nervously replied the kneeling person.
(This is strange... Could they have noticed our existence?), thought the man wearing the lion mask.
Thanks to the blessing of the Supreme Being, it should be nearly impossible to recognize them, unless the kingdom's intelligence department moves, and it's unlikely that they will...
(We'll probably be mistaken for third-rate terrorists.)
"The Supreme Being also warned that the next hero will be born in this kingdom. What information do you have for me?" asked eagerly the man with the lion mask.
The hero.
A mortal born for success, the pinnacle of a species, not necessarily human, although it's unusual for them not to be human.
The last hero was a complete monster, capable of subjugating entire kingdoms, being loved by the commoners and feared by the nobles.
(It's said he even killed an original demon...)
Original demons, beings from the higher plane, horrendous and highly dangerous beings.
So... What would happen if one of them sneaks into the mortal plane? Well, that already happened centuries ago.
And what happened...
Aria burned in flames, there was no empire, kingdom, or tribe that was spared from it and the horrors that his mere presence unleashed.
(It's a shame his greatest achievement ended up killing him.)
The hero of that generation died shortly after, a victim of an extremely rare corrosion unleashed by that demon.
"These are the candidates our agents delivered to us," said the kneeling person, passing him the files that his subordinates compiled.
*Browse, *Flip page
*Browse, *Flip page
(Hmmm, so the Roman's son has talent...).
*Browse, *Flip page
(William Hastings... Theodore Lancaster... Sebastian de Beaumont..., where do these guys come from?)
*Browse, *Flip page
(Kylo... Stromcrest)
*Browse *Fli---
"Wait, this kid..."
The masked man stopped and fully opened the file, where a magically engraved image was placed.
A child with purple eyes and dark hair was seen there, all normal until you focus on his facial features which had a... familiar vibe.
"Take this one off the list of possible heroes, that bitch's son couldn't possibly be the hero," he ordered the kneeling person not to bother investigating this peculiar child.
"But sir... according to our spies, this kid seems to have good potential..."
"Believe me, there's a higher chance of me being the lost son of the god of love than that kid being the hero," reminiscing about the past, the masked man argued.
(Cursed Stromcrest, out of all the bitches barking for you, you chose the craziest one.)
Interestingly, the Stromcrests have a certain preference for some women; after all, Duke Stromcrest's main wife was the so-called bloody princess, Arabella Celestia.
"Anyway, get this kid out of here... and also send him an invitation when he's older. That bitch's son is sure to be someone exceptional if he joins this organization," exclaimed the man with the mask as he continued with his business.
*Browse, *Flip page
*Browse, *Flip page
*Browse, *Flip page
(???)
(Huh?, Did I... read that right?), the man with the mask couldn't help but wonder if what his eyes were seeing was correct.
"Adam Sherden... first male victim... of rape by... goblins?... What the hell is this?" with absurd thoughts, the man asked the kneeling person.
"Well... according to our spies, this kid has a lot of potential, though he has his flaws, including this, which was in his guild file."
(....)
"..."
"Ha... ha... ha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, 'He was raped for being too cute,' says his file HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
"HAHAHAHAHA *cough, *cough, HAHAHAHA," his laughter echoed throughout the dark room...
"Yes, that was my first reaction when I read it, hahaha," even the kneeling person began to laugh.
-After 15 minutes of laughing, the man with the lion mask felt so bad that he sent a small anonymous donation to that poor victim.
---
-But mom! You know that's impossible!
-It's not, if you use your cards, you'll surely manage to gather everything.
-Mom, I'm still a kid... and Adam too!
-Oh? Are you still kids? And here I thought you were making grandchildren... IN FRONT OF THE DAMN QUEEN!
-...
-DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY AND TIME YOU JUST SCREWED ME OVER?! THE STROMCRESTS, VALERIA, THE DAMN STROMCRESTS! DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOST JUST BECAUSE THEY BROKE THIS ENGAGEMENT?
-But mom...
-THERE ARE NO BUTS! YOU WILL GO SEARCH FOR YOUR SCHOLARSHIP MONEY AND YOUR LOVER'S YOURSELF! I thought you were very much an adult? Then it's time you owned up to your mess.
-Mother, please, reconsider. Do you know how much the registration costs?
-Hmmm... let me think... 1,000,000 gold coins, right? Well, congratulations, that's at least 10% OF WHAT YOU MADE ME LOSE! DAMN IT!... ha... ha... ha... And that's not even counting the weapons...
-... I understand, mother. At least listen, let's negotiate, let's make a deal...
-Oh? Has the little adult activated her neurons? Let's see, tell me, tell me, what nonsense are you going to come up with?
--
POV Valeria Steele:
I thought as I recalled the conversation I had with my mother. A summary? I have to come up with at least 1,000,000 gold coins. Do you know how much that is? No, wait, the question is:
Where the hell do you expect a couple of kids to get that awful amount of money from?!
(Calm down... calm down... you're with Adam, right? When he wakes up completely, that amount of money will be trivial).
Adam's skills along with my talent for metal magic are our only current cards, although they're insufficient...
(Adam is weaker than before too... does he have a trauma with goblins?)
It seemed strange to me that a man with the ability to kill a dragon with a single stroke of his sword would be afraid of some simple green bugs.
(He's also picked up a strange habit...)
I see him grabbing his rear end from time to time...
(No, let's not get distracted, the most important thing now is to get that money).
There are plenty of methods I can think of to obtain that sum before the enrollment in the continental academy.
The problem is that most of these methods require strength and reliable allies, something we obviously lack...
(In the worst case scenario, I'll have to commit atrocities...).
*Snores
*Snores.
I diverted my gaze to my beloved beside me, and my determination soared even higher...
(Let's not be pessimistic... I remember Lucianna said she was a novice adventurer before awakening... maybe...).
Currently, Adam and I are staying in an inn located in a border town near Steele County. If we head north and enter the Lestia duchy, maybe we could 'accidentally' bump into them...
(For the love of God, Lucianna, I hope you will be like me).
Praying to all the gods that Lucianna would be like me, I suggested to Adam to go to the Lestia duchy, although he was hesitant at first, I managed to convince him.
How?
I told him that there were no goblins in the northern part of the duchy.
--
Pov Kylo Stromcrest:
I felt disoriented as I looked around.
A spacious room, a medium-sized bed, and some unnecessary decorations...
(Is this my room in the castle?)
I don't remember how I got here...
(Let's see... I saved Elara and then...)
*Twinge!.
"Ow!" I let out a small grunt as I felt a twinge trying to remember.
"What..."
*Door opening
"Oh, you're awake already?"
Just as I was trying to remember, a mature beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes entered the room.
It was the queen, Luminia Celestia.