Chapter 10: Inauguration Ceremony
The sun rose and set countless times.
Shu continued his life of wandering through the forest, as usual, slaying the encountered rogue monsters. He had not shown any signs of evolving into a Spirit Elemental, but he didn't particularly mind. It was enough to sustain his life here.
(Hmm? Is this magical power Iris?)
Feeling a strong magical presence approaching, Shu materialized immediately. After a few tens of seconds, Iris Silverbullet appeared, pushing through the grass.
"I found you, Shu-san! It's been a month!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes, it is!"
Iris had grown taller and exuded an air of maturity. She wore loose-fitting clothing, perhaps to conceal her body lines. It could be described as a dress-like robe with a main color of navy. At first glance, she looked like a witch.
Indeed, it had been two years since Shu and Iris first met. However, Shu had no sense of time, so it was Iris's perspective.
"Aren't there things I can still learn from you? I haven't been taught that magic yet!"
"You mean 'Zankū Ryōiki Divider Line'? I don't intend to teach you that."
"Come on! It's okay to teach one secret technique to your cute disciple!"
"Who said you're a cute disciple? Besides, if you've mastered it up to the Seventh Tier, that should be sufficient."
Shu sighed and wore a troubled expression.
About two years ago, Shu had provided hints about magic, and since then, Iris started coming to the Eldera Forest every few days. Due to her inherent lack of direction, she often got lost, and Shu would find her and teach her about magic every time. After all, if Iris were to stumble upon the monster settlement deep in the Eldera Forest, it would cause trouble, so he quickly sent her back. It might be naive, but it also became an unexpected pastime for Shu.
Iris learned magic one after another and even mastered up to the Seventh Tier, known as advanced magic. It was an impressive achievement for someone who was once a dropout.
"First of all, the 'Slashing Void Area Divider Line' is designed in a way that only I can use it. Give up already."
"You won't know until you try!"
"Some things are just impossible."
"Please teach me!"
The 'Slashing Void Area Divider Line' is a razor-thin region of atomic scale that activates the magic 'Soul Absorption,' allowing the effective siphoning of magical power. If the magical power within the opponent's body is not removed, magic won't be successfully activated due to magical interference.
Since Iris is unable to perform magical power absorption, she cannot use the 'Slashing Void Area Divider Line.'
However, Iris was stubborn.
"I've made up my mind. I won't leave Shu-san until you teach me!"
"That's just plain annoying."
"Hehehe. Then teach me already!"
Is this kid really fifteen years old? Shu wondered.
Her mind is completely childlike.
There's no helping it.
With that in mind, Shu deployed the 'Slashing Void Area Divider Line' using a magic array. After two years of magical power control training, the effective range has expanded. The magic array extended to a radius of twenty meters centered around Shu.
"Listen, Iris."
"Yes."
"I have no intention of teaching you. If you want to use it, try stealing it."
With those words, Shu activated the 'Slashing Void Area Divider Line.' The disintegration magic activated within the razor-thin region, breaking apart molecular bonds one after another. The trees within the range of the magic array were torn apart in an instant, falling with a loud crash.
Since the target this time is inanimate, there is no need to combine it with magic.
Simply by thinly spreading the disintegration magic in all directions like a plate, it appears as if slashing attacks are running through space.
Iris's eyes sparkled.
"That's amazing! I have no idea what's happening."
"I figured as much."
Humans are not well-versed in the rules of magic arrays. It seems to be a drawback of classifying them based on the four elemental poles rather than their physical properties.
Simple magic arrays seem to be relatively manageable, but when it comes to complex arrays, they become unanalyzable.
"Please teach me the method."
"I'm saying I won't teach you. I developed this magic on my own. So there's nothing you can't do."
"That's impossible. Someone like me, a failure, can't do it!"
"No, didn't I say you graduated by skipping a grade after mastering up to the Seventh Staircase?"
"I repeated a year once, so it cancels out."
Iris is no longer a candidate mage but a B-rank mage, Iris Silver Bullet.
However, since she repeated a year and then skipped a grade, she became a mage at the same time as her classmates. She is said to belong to the church rather than the military as her career path.
That's why Shu was trying to distance himself from Iris.
Shu is a monster, and Iris is a member of the church.
They are fundamentally incompatible.
"Anyway, stop seeing me anymore. It would be better for both of us."
"Eh, why?"
"You're going to become a holy knight of the church, right? Then you shouldn't have time to bother with me."
"I haven't been assigned yet, so now is the chance to learn."
I knew it for two years, but Iris is stubborn. She won't give in, and she won't come back no matter how much time passes. I can't just take her to the monster settlement, so I decided to compromise a little.
"Fine. I'll come over there occasionally."
"Really?"
"Iris is going to join the church in Ildana, right?"
"Yes. I plan to work there in my hometown."
Ildana is a large city right next to the Eldera Forest. It's located within sight once you leave the forest. There are some fairly strong middle-class monsters, so the holy knights and the military here actively hunt monsters. Shu doesn't want to be hunted, so to keep the monster settlement a secret, he decided to go meet Iris on his own.
If he materializes, he looks just like a human, so there's no worry about being recognized as a monster.
(Besides, it's about time I gather information about humans. It's a good opportunity to enter the town.)
Over the past two years, Shu has received a certain amount of information from Iris.
In particular, the Cult of Demons, which regards monsters as a threat, requires caution.
"You can leave today. I'll come next time."
"Understood. Then please come five days from now! On that day, there will be a ceremony for the appointment of holy knights at the church. I'll be there too, so I want you to come and see."
"Got it, got it."
"I mean it! If you break the promise, I'll come barging in!"
Iris said and left.
After confirming that she had distanced herself using magic perception, Shu turned into a spirit form.
(Five days. I mustn't forget.)
Lately, I've been losing track of dates, so I might forget accidentally. And if I forget, it seems Iris will come barging in, which would be troublesome.
While thinking about such things, Shu returned to the village.
◆◆◆
Five days later, Shu arrived in Irdana. This city is known for its thriving medicinal herb processing industry, as the herbs collected from the Eldera Forest are an important resource. Even within the fertile lands of the Lamza Kingdom, this is the only area where a large number of medicinal herbs grow naturally, so the country invests a lot of money in it.
For example, by establishing a Magic Knight training institution in Irdana, they have been producing numerous Magic Knights capable of dealing with monsters. Additionally, they always kept a considerable donation to the Demon God Church, ensuring the presence of Holy Knights.
While the deeper parts of the Eldera Forest are a safe place for monsters, the shallower areas can be quite dangerous due to frequent patrols by Holy Knights.
However, Shu had nothing to do with that.
By manifesting in a physical form and taking on a human appearance, he could only be seen by humans.
"But it's completely festive, isn't it?"
Shu adjusted his attire to blend in with the common citizens. He wore a long dress that reached his ankles, tightened it with a belt, and put on a black coat on top. For elemental spirits like Eremental, clothes are also part of their spiritual form. He recently discovered that he could manipulate them quite freely.
Today is the day when a new rookie Magic Knight will be appointed.
Among the graduates of the candidate students, only the most outstanding individuals are allowed to become Holy Knights. In terms of ranks, they must be at least a B-rank Magic Knight. Moreover, they have the potential to reach the A-rank in the future. It's quite a narrow gate.
By the way, the talent of a Magic Knight is one in a hundred, and a B-rank Magic Knight is one in ten of that number. Also, not all B-rank Magic Knights become Holy Knights, so you can understand the difficulty involved.
"That's the Irdana Grand Cathedral where the appointment ceremony will take place."
The inauguration ceremony is about to take place, and quite a number of people have gathered. The grand cathedral is a towering structure several tens of meters high and serves as the symbol of Ildana, easily visible even from a distance. Although it seems easy to find without getting lost, the crowd is so large that it's hard to make progress.
Although it would be easy to move through the air using teleportation magic, it is unclear whether it is permissible to use magic in urban areas, so I refrain from doing so.
"It's getting really close to the time."
The inauguration ceremony begins when the sun reaches its zenith.
Feeling a nostalgic sense of time pressure after a long time, Shu heads towards the grand cathedral.
◆◆◆
The inauguration ceremony is not held inside the grand cathedral but in the square just before it. More precisely, the ritual of appointment by the Archbishop of the Demon God Religion was completed in the morning, and what is now taking place is a public presentation.
A large crowd has already gathered around the prepared stage, eagerly observing the new holy knights.
Five people stand on the stage.
Among the newcomers who graduated from the Magic Armored Academy, they were particularly outstanding. Of course, among the talented individuals, some also belong to the military, so these five are not the only exceptional ones. However, becoming a holy knight is a profession that can only be attained by exceptionally strong magic-wielders.
They are highly admired and popular among the people.
(Oh... I'm getting nervous.)
Among the five of them, Iris was nervous about her first major stage. She used to be a mediocre mage who even repeated a year, but now she's an elite holy knight. It's quite moving.
And Iris believes that it's all thanks to Shu.
("I wonder if Shu-san came to see me~")
Without moving her head, she scanned her surroundings with her eyes. It's hard to tell if Shu is among this many people.
And as Iris was searching for Shu, the sun rose directly overhead, and the inauguration ceremony began.
The performance by the orchestra enveloped the square, and the bishop who oversees the Ildana Grand Cathedral appeared.
The initiation ceremony was already over, and the new knights had been awarded their holy knight uniforms, so there was nothing for the rookies to do but stand. Therefore, Iris ignored the bishop's speech and continued searching for Shu's figure.
But even so, she couldn't find him, so Iris secretly used her magical sense.
Shu is a high-ranking Greater-class demon, so he possesses considerable magical power. Even with such a large crowd, his magical presence can be detected.
("Hmm, nope, not him.")
In Ildana, there are also mage knights with A-rank magical power. They're not easy to find at a glance. However, if she searched patiently, she sensed a significant magical reaction coming from a tree at the edge of the square.
When she directed her gaze there, she could see Shu's figure even from a distance.
It's not like black hair and black eyes are rare, but Iris could immediately recognize that it was Shu.
"You came to see me."
Muttering quietly so no one else could hear, Iris secretly smiled.
It felt as if her mentor was celebrating her new beginning.
That day, Iris Silverbullet became a holy knight.