Chapter 12
“The test results will be discussed in detail with Student Rozarin, and I’ll give you the report tomorrow morning.”
At the vice principal’s words, Jian simply replied, “Yes,” gave a slight bow, and left the room.
“I’ll be going too, then.”
“Yes, Student Chloe. Thank you for your hard work this late at night.”
Chloe also bowed politely to the vice principal and followed Jian out.
Now, only Rozarin and the vice principal remained.
“How is it? Does Student Jian have talent for magic?”
“Yes. He does.”
Rozarin still looked like she couldn’t believe it.
“So… he does have talent.”
The vice principal’s expression turned serious.
If Jian had magical talent, that meant he had to be admitted into the magic department.
And that was… not ideal.
“But it’s just an average level of talent, right?”
Jian had been in pain until the very end of the test.
That meant his mana pathways never fully adapted to the mana.
And if he couldn’t fully adapt, it usually meant his magic talent wasn’t that great.
“In that case, I could use my authority to refuse his admission to the magic department—”
“It’s big.”
Rozarin firmly cut her off.
“…Big? You mean his magical talent?”
“Yes. That new student has incredible talent.”
“But… Jian didn’t fully adapt to the mana, did he?”
“That’s because I kept increasing the mana I gave him. If I’d done it like usual—feeding a fixed amount—he would’ve fully adapted in under thirty seconds.”
Rozarin remembered Jian’s expression as he received her mana.
‘At first, I thought he was just some weirdo who liked pain…’
But Jian wasn’t a masochist.
‘He instinctively knew my mana would help him grow.’
By taking in more mana, he had been forcibly awakening his mana pathways.
“I never thought I’d say this, but in terms of talent alone, he might be greater than me.”
He had endured so much that in the end, she had gotten competitive and poured in her full strength.
There was even a healer standing by, and Jian had asked her to raise the intensity.
So she’d decided to knock him out completely.
Yet all Jian did was show a slightly pained expression.
That was when Rozarin was sure—
Jian’s magic talent surpassed her own.
“It’s really that much?”
“Yes. That much.”
“…I see.”
The vice principal’s eyes trembled in confusion.
The greatest sword genius of the age also had top-tier magical talent.
Should she be happy? Or worried?
She couldn’t decide.
“…I understand. Thank you. Go rest now before it gets any later.”
The vice principal rubbed her temple, looking troubled, and was about to leave the room when—
“By the way, about Jian Bellomata.”
Rozarin still had more to say.
“He really is a sword genius, right?”
The vice principal turned back to her.
“Yes. As unbelievable as it sounds, his swordsmanship talent is also beyond exceptional.”
It was hard to believe someone with that much magical talent could also be a once-in-a-generation sword genius.
But it was true.
“…If only those two talents had appeared in two different people.”
The vice principal sighed and finally left.
“…A sword genius, huh?”
Alone, Rozarin looked down at the hand that had held Jian’s.
“But for someone supposedly trained in swordsmanship, there were no signs at all of a knight’s training…”
Her head tilted in puzzlement.
On the way back to the dorms with Chloe, I chatted with her.
We talked about my sparring match earlier with Sir Lionel, and then about what had just happened.
Eventually, the topic shifted to the Bellomata family.
“The Bellomata family will soon be officially exterminated. It’s only natural. The real Bellomata family members died long ago, and the ones running it now were undead.”
If I were really Jian Bellomata, this would have devastated me.
But I wasn’t.
Whether my “family” was destroyed or dead—it didn’t matter to me.
“The King of Hessen even demanded that the last surviving Bellomata—Jian Bellomata—be executed.”
…Now that was a problem.
Hessen wasn’t a big country, but it was still a nation.
If they wanted me gone, it would cause serious trouble.
“That’s… inconvenient.”
“Don’t worry. The Zenas Church completely blocked the king’s demand.”
“The… Zenas Church?”
“Yes.”
The Zenas Church had stepped in to protect me?
“…Is joining the church the condition?”
No way they helped me out of kindness.
They probably wanted to use this as leverage to make me join.
And if I refused, they’d withdraw their protection.
“If that’s the case—”
“Oh, please. We’re not like that.”
Chloe quickly waved her hands, denying it.
“There are no conditions. We just couldn’t stand by and watch someone with such great talent be wasted.”
So they just helped me?
‘That corrupt bunch, doing something out of pure goodwill? Yeah, right.’
The Zenas Church was not the type to help without hidden motives.
They had to be plotting something.
“…Having no conditions almost makes it feel more suspicious.”
I answered casually.
“Don’t overthink it. We just did what we had to do.”
Chloe seemed sincere.
She didn’t know the church’s true nature yet.
“If you really feel guilty, why not just come to our morning prayer this weekend? That’s enough for me.”
“All right. I’ll come to the church this weekend.”
“Huh? Really? You’ll come?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
“I don’t go back on my word.”
“Great! I’ll remember that!”
She smiled brightly.
‘…Come to think of it, why is Chloe being so nice to me?’
In the game, she was famous for being cold and hard to approach—
the hardest person in the whole “Order” to befriend.
Yet here she was, showing open friendliness from the start.
‘Is it because my talent is way higher than in the game?’
Maybe the church had ordered her to get close to me.
But she didn’t seem like the type to take such orders.
‘Or… is it because she sensed the divine blessing on me when I killed the Death Knight?’
That actually made sense.
“I should go this way.”
Lost in thought, I hadn’t noticed we’d reached the point where our paths split.
“I had fun today. Get some rest, and see you next time!”
“Yes. See you.”
She waved with a big smile and headed toward the monastery.
The next morning, I had my final meeting with the vice principal and confirmed my placement.
Then I headed to my new classroom—Magic Department, Class A.
“…Jian?”
“What’s he doing here?”
As soon as I opened the door, all eyes turned to me.
“Is that Jian?”
“What’s going on? Is he here to see someone?”
Even if they’d never seen my face, everyone seemed to know the name “Jian.”
“Who are you looking for?”
A neatly dressed, handsome male student approached me.
‘Guys like this are usually the ones who stab you in the back later.’
I kept a neutral face.
“I’m not here to see anyone—”
That’s when—
“…Jian?”
A familiar voice came from behind me.
“Why are you here?”
It was Aris.
Her face was stiff, like she was shocked.
“…Don’t tell me you came to see me?” she whispered.
What?
“Not answering means it’s true… So Maratin was right…”
Her face hardened even more.
What on earth was she talking about?
“Jian. I understand your feelings. But I am a princess. Your wish can never—”
I was completely lost when the instructor walked in.
“You’re all too noisy in the morning.”
A sharp-eyed, well-groomed man in noble attire entered.
‘…Oh, great. Why is this guy the Class A instructor?’
His name was Colo—can’t remember his last name, not worth it.
His skills were fine, but his personality and morals were garbage.
“Any student not seated right now will get demerits.”
Over ten students were still standing, but instead of just telling us to sit, he threatened punishment.
Typical.
“…Hm.”
He scanned the room, then froze when he spotted Aris.
Clearly, he hadn’t expected royalty to be standing among the students.
“Ahem. I suppose giving demerits on the first day is too harsh. I’ll let it slide. Everyone, take your seats.”
Aris frowned.
She’d instantly seen through him and was disgusted.
“What are you waiting for? Do you want demerits?”
“N-no, sir!”
The students hurried to sit.
Aris and I moved slowly.
“Jian. Why are you in this classroom?”
On the way to a seat, she blocked my path.
“This is the magic department. The swordsmanship department is on the other side.”
“I know.”
“…You know?”
“Yes. I came here on purpose.”
“What—”
Before she could finish, Colo spoke up.
“Aris… student. Jian Bellomata is in the magic department.”
“…Jian… is in magic?”
She looked at me like I’d just said the most absurd thing.
“He asked for it himself. Apparently he has talent not only in swordsmanship but also in magic. Said he wanted to study magic here.”
Colo smirked, as if the idea was ridiculous.
“When I heard that, I thought—Jian must be underestimating magic.”
The other students’ eyes turned hostile.
They’d dedicated their lives to magic, so someone like me “switching over” probably looked insulting.
“I’ve never underestimated magic.”
“Then why choose magic?”
His tone turned openly condescending—
except when he spoke to the princess.
“As you just said, I have magical talent. So I want to learn it here.”
“Heh.”
Colo scoffed.
“That’s exactly the kind of thing said by someone who underestimates magic.”
His smile vanished, and he stared at me for about ten seconds—
then relaxed and smirked again.
“Well, fine. We’ll see today whether you really have magic talent or not.”
He looked like he was already imagining me failing.
“Looking forward to it… ‘sword genius’ Jian, who claims to also be a magic prodigy.”
