“You’ve done well these past three months. Also, congratulations on your promotion to Warmaiden.”

  “Thank you. But our training was nothing but the basics.”

  “Those were the basics of the Slyzer?style swordsmanship. You trained your body to death alongside it. I can say with confidence—no one else in the Order has trained harder. Even among the Second?Tier Arms?Bearers, there aren’t many shrine maidens who could beat you.”

  Having attained the first rank in the Slyzer?style swordsmanship, I was officially permitted to accompany the subjugation squad, thanks to Brine?san’s recommendation.

  It was shortly after the squad had been newly formed, just as summer passed its peak and the first cool winds of early autumn began to blow.

  Perhaps it was partly due to my training being recognized, but more likely, it was because forming a squad without me—the symbolic shrine maiden—would have raised too many questions.

  Yet during the two weeks I spent in town on patrol duty, we encountered Ragebeasts five times, and I didn’t swing my sword even once.

  Surrounded by those called members of the Eizerg Subjugation Squad, I merely watched their backs.

  “Subjugation squad? That was nothing more than a personal escort!”

  The moment I returned to the Order, I headed straight for the training grounds and unleashed my frustration on Brine?san.

  He accepted my complaints with a quiet nod, then said:

  “You’re right. It was an escort. The Zero Squad’s purpose isn’t to defeat Eizerg. A bishop who once approached me about joining the squad said as much. In other words, it’s a symbol—to show that the Order and the kingdom have the will to fight Eizerg.”

  —A symbol. What a frustrating word.

  “Even so, that was far too blatant.”

  “Right now, you’re still far beneath Eizerg. That’s why I’m training you.”

  He, too, is someone being used by the Order, unaware that I’m a fraud.

  He’s trying to draw out Lipti’s power—power that shouldn’t exist within me.

  “But at this rate, I’ll never be able to defeat Eizerg. I can’t gain real combat experience if all I do is train.”

  In front of others, I must always appear positive. I must stand tall, full of confidence.

  Only during training can I let these thoughts slip out.

  “Alright then. Starting today, we’ll move on to the second stage of training. Of course, we’ll keep up the basics too.”

  “What does the second stage involve?”

  “You’re not even surprised? We’re adding more on top of that brutal basic training, you know.”

  “I haven’t even caught up to you yet. Compared to the pain of knowing I lack the strength, the intensity of training doesn’t matter. Let’s begin—right now!”

  I saw a change in his eyes as he looked at me.

  “What is it?”

  “No… I just thought—you really might become the kind of hero you wish to be.”

  “Become a hero… You’re one of the few people who truly understands the kind of hero I want to be.”

  “Huh?”

  “Even if the people of this country see me as a hero, I haven’t accomplished anything yet.

  Only when I defeat Eizerg and restore peace—and feel that it was truly by my own strength—will I have taken my first step as a hero.”

  “That’s just the first step? Then what does that make your current state?”

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  “Let’s see… I suppose I’m still earning the money to buy the shoes I’ll need to walk toward that ideal.”

  With that exchange, my frustration began to fade.

  “Then let me help you earn the money for those shoes. But the job’s tough. I once risked my life to earn mine—and still couldn’t reach what I wanted. If you’re not serious, you’ll never afford them. So be ready.”

  “If I could buy them just by being serious, they’d be too cheap. The road to peace is steep and hard. If I wear them out before I reach the end, I’ll be in trouble.”

  We were talking about shoes.

  Shoes to take the first step.

  Shoes to walk the path toward becoming a hero.

  That was my guidepost.

  I reaffirmed my purpose and set my sights on a clear goal.

  “Let’s begin. The second stage of training.”

  “Yes. I’m ready.”

  “A Ragebeast has appeared.”

  The town we reached by rushing the carriage already bore the claw marks of the beast.

  “The lord was attacked but managed to evacuate. However, many members of the vigilante corps have been injured. The Ragebeast is currently rampaging near the food storage area.”

  “Alright. Yuna and Andira, go with Amsaria to the lord’s manor and assist with relief efforts. The rest of you, subdue the Ragebeast.”

  At Sierra?san’s command, the Zero Subjugation Squad sprang into action.

  I was escorted by two guards toward the lord’s manor.

  Sierra?san’s orders were meant to keep me away from the front lines.

  She likely wanted to avoid letting me fight at all costs.

  But her plan backfired.

  The three of us encountered a different Ragebeast.

  What appeared before us was a fangbeast?type, classified as small.

  Its supple frame was the size of an adult human, and it slithered across the ground in a serpentine motion, rapidly closing the distance.

  Even three against one—any lapse in focus could be fatal.

  “Amsaria, just like in training. Don’t forget.”

  “…Yes.”

  “Just like in training” meant: don’t move forward, and don’t act outside the prescribed steps.

  My defeat would weaken people’s hearts.

  My death might steal their hope and close off the future.

  I understood that.

  But at this rate, I’d never gain real combat experience.

  “Andira, take the front!”

  Assigned to the vanguard, she stood nearly one hundred eighty centimeters tall, with a solid build.

  Among shrine maidens, who were often agile and focused on Arcane Arts, she was unusual—heavily armored and carrying a shield.

  “Yaaahhh!”

  The moment Andira?san, the Zero Squad’s shield bearer, clashed with the Ragebeast—

  something flashed across the edge of my vision and struck both her and the beast, sending them flying.

  It was… a black threat.

  It was… a red killing intent.

  Nothing like a Ragebeast.

  Cloaked in silence, creeping from the shadows,

  wrapped in an overwhelming aura that could crush everything,

  its malice rejected all living things.

  “Ei… zerg…”

  The Ruinbeast Eizerg, resurrected from an ancient age,

  shook even the fighting spirit of Yuna?san, a Brave Bearer,

  rendering her unable to move.

  Two breaths passed in frozen time.

  What shattered it was a girl’s scream.

  The Ragebeast Andira?san had tackled was rising again behind the broken wall of a house.

  It bared its fangs at the girl, who stood frozen in fear.

  “Dan Linia Stingle.”

  The thrusting Arcane Skill I unleashed pierced the beast’s neck.

  I quickly scooped the girl into my arms.

  —It’s gone.

  I shifted my gaze slightly.

  Against the backdrop of the setting sun behind the mountains,

  Eizerg had sunk its fangs into Yuna?san’s left shoulder.

  The blood dripping at her feet ticked away the seconds to death,

  sending chills across my skin.

  My breath was shallow from tension.

  My heartbeat pounded in my ears.

  Andira?san lay nearby, gravely wounded.

  With the trembling girl in my arms, I couldn’t fight—

  I couldn’t even run.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off Eizerg’s every move.

  If I moved, I’d die.

  If I didn’t move, I’d still die.

  The sheer pressure of the situation gripped my insides like a vice.

  “Run…” Yuna?san rasped.

  Eizerg dropped her to the ground.

  The beast turned—and its eyes met mine.

  From its gaze alone, I felt a surge of negative fury I couldn’t comprehend.

  On the verge of blacking out from the tension,

  something brushed against the edge of my awareness—

  a ripple across the web of vigilance I had cast with every sense.

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