I'll Smash Everything with Passive Skills-Chapter 77: 0. Sword Master of the Academy (2)

"So, you still don't plan on speaking?"

"...."

Veris asked, with Yunafint pinned in front of him.

A priest of the Holy Kingdom... No, it was ridiculous to even call her a priest now.

It was Veris who decided to deal with this girl, who had colluded with the Demon Cult.

To put it nicely, it was detention; to put it harshly, it was imprisonment.

The pure white mana that Veris boasted had drained this girl of her power.

As long as he did not permit it, the holy mana she prided herself on could not be used.

"Looks like you have no intention of speaking."

Veris sank deeply into the sofa with a relaxed expression. He took a sip of tea, and the sight was so peaceful that Yunafint gritted her teeth.

"There are things that might be better left unknown."

After a long silence, it was Yunafint's voice that murmured, as if squeezed out.

Veris raised his upper body from the sofa.

Better left unknown?

That was an incredibly naive statement.

"Nonsense. Do you think the countless missing persons cases occurring on the continent are just a coincidence with the Demon Cult involved?"

"That's a valuable loss."

"Ha."

Veris let out a small sigh.

Even when trying to have a conversation, they couldn't seem to engage in a proper dialogue.

"The Demon Cult. The Twelve Seats under the one who pretends to be their leader. And the countless apostles."

Veris's voice accurately skimmed over the organization of the cult. Though his tone was flat, for some reason, Yunafint found it terrifying.

"The relationship between the Holy Kingdom and the Demon Cult, the fact that the priest of the Church of Light is called an apostle of the Demon Order." Veris's cold gaze flew towards Yunafint.

He possessed an undeniable power that could not be resisted. His gaze alone had the ability to make one's knees tremble.

"I guess I'll have to turn the Holy Kingdom upside down."

"...!"

Yunafint trembled violently, as if she couldn't believe that a mere academy student would say such a thing.

It was something that could easily be dismissed as ridiculous. However... for some reason, Yunafint felt that this man before her would truly go through with it.

"Before that, it would be more enjoyable if someone were to come to save you."

"...No one will come to save me."

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see, 'apostle.'"

"...."

With those words, Veris stood up from his seat.

Recently, the atmosphere at the academy had become more relaxed.

It was due to the commotion caused by the Demon Cult following the incident of Professor Theon's occupation, but surprisingly, thanks to the royal family's full support, there was no major chaos.

Among that, it was inevitable for the royal guard to be stationed at the academy.

The dean, worried that his influence would weaken, insisted it was a clear overreach, but no one paid him any mind.

"Anyway, information will leak out regardless of your will. Do you remember the person who was tied up with you?"

Yunafint lowered her head.

As Veris had said, there was one # Nоvеlight # more person who survived in the square located between those alleyways, besides her.

A person from the Cult, tightly bound by faith. But how long he would remain silent was uncertain.

*

"Lord Sword Saint."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, but... the letter was returned."

"Returned?"

The middle-aged man jumped up from his seat.

The luxurious-looking chair that had supported him was thrown far away, but no one dared to scold him.

"Returned? Could it be that the address was written incorrectly?"

"That's not possible."

The aide pulled out the letter from his pocket and handed it to the Sword Saint.

The wax seal of the Hindenstaufen Duke's family had not even been broken.

"Well, you wouldn't make a mistake with the address."

The middle-aged man, the Sword Saint, nodded after casually checking the outside of the letter.

It was incomprehensible. He already knew that the academy student had considerable strength.

However... he was the Sword Saint.

Typically, anyone studying at the academy would not ignore a letter from the empire's absolute master.

"I guess I'll have to prepare to leave for a while."

"Pardon?"

"Don't make a fuss. I'm going to see my daughter, who hasn't even shown her face at home during the vacation."

At the Sword Saint's words, the aide stared blankly at the letter in his hand.

It was obvious to anyone that receiving a returned letter and wanting to see the person's face was a blatant act.

"Y-yes. Lady Delia stayed at the academy during the summer vacation, right?"

"Yeah. How can a daughter not even show her face to her father and mother? Even if I'm expecting her grades."

The aide nodded with a somewhat reluctant expression at the Sword Saint's eloquent words.

As someone who closely assisted the Sword Saint, he was well aware of the Sword Saint's daughter.

Delia von Hindenstaufen.

The daughter of a great imperial duke, specialized in close combat as a 'Battle Mage' since childhood.

It was said that despite her outstanding talent, Lady Delia had entered B-Class.

The reason was simple. During the entrance exam, she had fainted in shock upon seeing a skeleton that appeared from the darkness.

'What could she be doing right now?'

Sometimes, Lady Delia showed a side of herself that seemed oblivious to the world.

But the man knew. He knew that her heart was warm and that she made those around her comfortable.

'I'm worried she might not recognize someone great and look down on them.'

As he thought this, the man couldn't help but chuckle.

It seemed entirely plausible for someone like her, who was the epitome of nobility.

*

"Um... Delia?"

"Uh, yes! Princess Maria."

"There's no need to be so stiff..."

After finishing an important event, Princess Maria Theresa sought out her friend, Lady Delia.

She had achieved remarkable results in the midterm evaluations. Of course, compared to transfer student Beatrice, or Maria, who had hidden her strength and released her mode, or Veris, it was somewhat lacking...

"Ah, no! I'm comfortable like this!"

...It didn't look comfortable at all to anyone.

Maria let out a deep sigh.

Delia von Hindenstaufen. She was someone who had been close to Maria, but upon seeing Maria's true self, she had frozen up and showed no signs of thawing.

"Why are you so scared of Maria? Did you do something to her, Maria?"

Creak.

At the voice of the man leisurely drinking tea, Delia's neck stiffly turned.

Like a hinge that hadn't been oiled, her head eventually settled on one man.

'Oh no!'

Delia recalled the time she had met him at the academy's carriage stop just before the entrance exam.

Yes. At that time, she had simply assessed him, who was looking around while wearing a robe.

A country bumpkin.

Someone who was oblivious to the ways of the world.

Put weight on your actions.

Wham!

As she recalled her embarrassing past self, her face naturally flushed red.

She glanced at the people sitting next to Maria.

Veris.

Princess Maria.

Transfer student Beatrice.

Swordsmanship genius Gunther.

Spirit Sword Arwen.

Saintess Cecilia.

All of them were incredibly impressive individuals.

In comparison, she was...

A first-year student who had entered B-Class and had just now gotten lucky enough to have a chance to advance to A-Class.

'What a coincidence.'

It was purely by chance that Delia found herself facing that terrifying group.

After discovering that her friend Maria, who she had been closest to, was actually the hidden imperial princess...

Delia had tried to avoid Maria as much as possible.

She felt guilty for having spoken casually to her all this time.

But whether it was coincidence or fate.

She had ended up facing them in a café in this vast commercial district.

"I feel like I've seen you somewhere."

"Gulp."

At Gunther's ambiguous voice, an incongruous sound escaped Delia's mouth.

"We're both academy students, so you must have seen me passing by."

"Is that so?"

At first glance, Delia certainly gave off the impression of being a child from a high-ranking family. But why was she acting so timid?

Veris, who didn't care at all about the weight of the names his companions carried.

"I think I've heard the name Delia before."

"...!"

While the group was chatting, a girl sitting next to Veris, fanning herself, spoke with a subtle expression.

She was a girl Delia knew very well.

A transfer student from the academy, a promising mage from the Tower of Magic, Beatrice.

Her enchanting eyes were drawing curves. Delia was taken aback, not expecting her to know her name, and kept her mouth shut.

"Lady Delia. You're from the famous Hindenstaufen Duke's family, aren't you?"

"How do you know that?"

"How could I not do a little research for Lord Veris at an academy I'll be attending in the future?"

"Uh, how..."

Delia was surprised to find that Beatrice even knew her family name.

This was an academy where all the children of the empire's nobility gathered to study.

Being the daughter of a duke was certainly impressive, but it meant that one couldn't flaunt their status here.

Thus, it was unlikely that anyone at the academy would know all the students' family backgrounds...

"And she is the daughter of the famous Sword Saint."

"Oh."

Everyone turned their curious gazes toward Beatrice, who was revealing facts they didn't know.

Naturally, Delia, who was receiving all those gazes alone, could only blush deeply.

To her, her father was a mountain.

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Always noble and living a life of honor, she had been too embarrassed to show her grades to him, so she had stayed at the academy during the vacation to focus on training.

"The Sword Saint, huh."

A momentary curiosity flickered across Veris's face.

The Sword Demon he had met before had a foolish fighting style that belied his reputation.

So what about this Sword Saint?