Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was indeed the greatest holy mountain of the Empire, Aucedes.

On that massive mountain, only a single facility was situated.

The Holy Academy of the Empire atop a sheer cliff, Acherandir.

Its admission ceremony was closer to an annual festival held at the imperial level rather than a mere event to accept students.

Unless there were circumstances preventing it.

There was no reason not to show off one’s power in a place where the eyes of the public were focused.

—Look over there…… It’s the crest of the Behna family.

—That noble family from the east, right? I heard they made quite a bit of money through trade.

The only school gate leading inside was already crowded to the brim with crowds waiting to go through the admission procedures and onlookers gathered to watch them.

Yet, even among such a stellar lineup of figures, there were bound to be those who drew particular attention.

—Look at that! It’s the crest directly under the Pope’s office!

—A four-horse carriage of the Holy See…… Heavens.

The Holy See was a massive faction led by the Pope, who was elected from among the nobles holding the position of archbishop.

Because they knew their own power and symbolism well, they were notorious for being stingy even about granting their crest.

Furthermore, since they had directly provided a four-horse carriage, it was bound to attract attention.

And those well-informed about the continent’s news could easily deduce the identity of the freshman riding inside.

—She must be the Saintess Candidate from the Ricardo Kingdom.

—But why didn’t the Holy Palace escort her?

—Shh. Let’s talk about that later.

The Saint and Saintess, who could be called the successors of the Holy Emperor.

It was an anomaly for such a Saintess Candidate to ride in a carriage from the Holy See rather than one from the Holy Palace.

Those who did not know the details were quite curious about the reasons, but no one dared to speak of it easily.

—……No, wait a minute!

However, the true anomaly that shocked even those who had not been surprised by Zion’s appearance was something else.

—What!

—The Holy Palace, the crest of the Holy Palace?

—And it’s an eight-horse carriage! An eight-horse carriage!

In such public places, the number of horses pulling a carriage represented the difference in status with each animal.

The difference between a four-horse carriage and an eight-horse carriage was immense.

—Did they say a Saint Candidate is also entering this time?

—No…… in the first place, there are already three Saints! What on earth is that……?

—Even the escorting holy knights are at a squad level!

The onlookers gathered to watch the admission ceremony buzzed.

The somewhat awkward combination of the Holy See’s four-horse carriage and the Saintess Candidate had already passed by.

If so, who on earth was riding in the Holy Palace’s eight-horse carriage accompanied by the escorts of so many holy knights?

The front of the school gate burned with shock and excitement more than ever before.

Meanwhile, an onlooker who was lost in thought while blankly watching the incomprehensible situation stroked his beard and marveled.

“Just what kind of big shot is it that the Holy Palace, which didn’t even look after the Saintess Candidate, would directly……”

***

And inside the eight-horse carriage that had instantly focused everyone’s attention.

“……The admission ceremony is quite noisy.”

Roan Darc, a high-ranking priest, and the commander of the holy knights sat facing each other.

When they first met, Roan had been too flustered to recognize them properly, but the two were figures of high status in the Empire.

Vice-Cardinal Eren Sicrito of the Holy Palace and Commander Tospa Bekeren of the Holy Emperor Knights.

To put it in South Korean terms, they were equivalent to a vice-minister and a general-grade officer, respectively.

“Hahaha! Isn’t that natural? It’s special treatment for the descendant of the Darc family! His Holiness the Holy Emperor permitted it as well.”

“You are indeed correct, Lord Bekeren. Hahaha!”

The two were laughing comfortably, completely unaware of Roan’s burning heart.

Roan secretly glared at them.

Because to him, this carriage felt like it was running toward the fiery pits of hell on its own.

‘For now, it seems like black magic and False Divinity are indeed a hidden combination, but…….’

He had crossed one big mountain, but the phrase ‘out of the frying pan, into the fire’ suited the situation perfectly.

The two high-ranking clergymen only showed surprise even when Roan used black mana a few times as a test; they didn’t seem to suspect anything.

And that meant.

‘If I enter like this, I’m guaranteed to be a star.’

As far as Roan remembered, it had been a whopping 125 years since an incoming student had awakened holy power without baptism.

It wouldn’t even be enough if he tried to avoid catching people’s eyes by any means, but at this rate, it was clear he would attract even more attention than Zion.

Zion had arrived in a four-horse carriage from the Holy See while being a Saintess Candidate.

With just those two things, she would get on the bad side of many students and suffer all kinds of hardships until graduation.

Yet, because he was a descendant of the Darc family, he had brought an eight-horse carriage and even holy knights, as if he were some hidden child of the Holy Emperor.

And on top of that, he could use holy power?

The aftermath was as clear as day.

Besides, even the order of entry was coincidental.

‘Directly behind Zion of all orders.’

For Roan, who had hoped to live quietly since he couldn’t avoid admission anyway, it was truly the worst possible start.

Even if his identity was not revealed right away, once he entered, rumors would spread in an instant.

‘At this rate, isn’t the Holy Palace encouraging school bullying?’

While Roan was harboring such thoughts, the carriage arrived at the school gate.

A holy knight belonging to the academy saluted and approached the carriage.

“Thank you for visiting Acherandir. Could you inform us of the purpose of your visit and the identities of the passengers?”

Naturally, he did not speak to the inside of the carriage.

He asked the driver steering the carriage.

However, Sicrito and Bekeren suddenly exchanged glances.

‘I hope they just stay quiet, please.’

Roan sensed a bad omen.

That prediction soon became reality.

Click—

“Well, look who it is!”

“Heup! Commander Bekeren!”

Bekeren had suddenly jumped down from the carriage and started to greet the holy knight familiarly.

“I have come to attend as a guest of the Holy Palace alongside Vice-Cardinal Sicrito.”

“Yes, understood! Hey, what are you doing! Open the path immediately!”

In truth, the Holy Palace’s crest alone was enough for entry.

Furthermore, their statuses were such that a common holy knight could hardly dare to face them.

As the holy knight frantically gestured, the path opened faster than ever.

However, Bekeren’s business did not end there.

“Ah, and there is one more person.”

“W-Who are you referring to……?”

“None other than Lord Roan Darc, who will be entering this term!”

At Bekeren’s boisterously ringing voice, Roan squeezed his eyes shut.

It wasn’t as if he were telling a boot camp instructor to take good care of his son…….

“Thanks to him, the two of us also got to ‘hitch a ride’ in this fine carriage!”

“You mean Lord Roan Darc? Yes…… I have confirmed it.”

The holy knight took the list from the soldier beside him and nodded.

Then, he glanced at the carriage with eyes tinged with fear.

It seemed better to just write ‘Congratulations! Admission of Roan Darc!’ on the outside of the carriage.

—Did you hear that? Roan Darc? Where was the Darc family from again?

—Tsk, you fool! It’s the Darc family of the four major families! Have you lost your mind?

—By the way, to actually bring a freshman in the Holy Palace’s eight-horse carriage……

Meanwhile, Sicrito, who remained in the carriage, nodded satisfyingly and kept winking at Roan.

Although he didn’t say it directly, it was clearly meant to ask, ‘How is it? With this, you won’t have any trouble adapting, right?’

‘I hope he gets an eye disease.’

Roan secretly turned his gaze away with a disrespectful thought.

***

Around the time when the entry of the new students was almost finishing.

Sip—

Sicrito was sipping tea alone in the headmaster’s office of Acherandir.

With an extremely cautious attitude.

“Well, does the tea taste good?”

“Yes, Your Holiness Headmaster!”

Your Holiness.

It was a title of respect that was quite awkward to attach to a headmaster.

“What ‘Your Holiness’, just call me Headmaster.”

“But how could I……”

However, Sicrito, whose honorific was dismissed, seemed to find it even more difficult.

“Tsk, must be nice. I don’t know how many thousands of years it has been since I last drank tea.”

“I am sorry……”

That was because the grumbling headmaster, Harden Pearl Quilior, was a spirit body emitting a faint holy power from his entire being.

In other words, he was a Holy Spirit.

Although his appearance was that of a boy not much different from the freshmen waiting in the hall right now, the elegance radiating from him was incomparable to humans.

And was it only his elegance?

The status Harden had built up by himself was also the history of the Holy Empire itself.

He was the first Saint and the first Holy Emperor, who became a Holy Spirit after death and laid the foundation of Acherandir with a single miracle.

Having also received the love of all subjects next to the Lord God Hiloa.

Even the Holy See or the Holy Palace could not dare to compare with his presence.

Before Harden they were merely a newborn lamb.

“Enough of that. By the way, I heard you came with a new student this time?”

“Yes, by the special order of His Holiness the current Holy Emperor, I accompanied the Young Master of the Darc family.”

“The Darc family. Those stiff fellas. I heard some bad news not long ago, but a survivor still remained.”

“……It was fifteen years ago, though. Yes, fortunately one remains. By the way, please do not be surprised, Headmaster.”

To Harden, who was stroking his chin in thought, Sicrito opened up in a subtle voice.

The headmaster looked at him with an indifferent gaze.

“Young Master Darc awakened holy power even before admission.”

Sicrito looked as if he was moved thinking about it again, but.

“So what?”

The headmaster seemed to have no emotion at all.

“Pardon?”

“Holy power is originally awakened by oneself. In my days, there was no such thing as baptism.”

“…….”

“And here I wondered what it was.”

The headmaster muttered bluntly as if he had lost interest, waving his hand.

‘Just what era is this man talking about…….’

Sicrito looked at Harden with an absurd expression.

Of course, that might have been the case when he was alive, but thousands of years had passed since then.

Awakening holy power on one’s own was clearly an amazing talent.

“Still, is Darc indeed Darc? How many decades has it been? Since someone who awakened holy power before admission appeared.”

“Yes, it’s been 125 years. It is a miracle of Lord Hiloa.”

“……It has already been that long? Miraculously, the Empire hasn’t fallen.”

“How can you say such a thing……”

Sicrito smiled warmly, even though he thought it was a bit much coming from the first Holy Emperor.

It seemed this Holy Spirit headmaster was indeed quite surprised as well.

“Interpret it as you wish. Fine, you may leave now. I also have various things to prepare before the ceremony.”

“Yes, Headmaster. Please guide the Young Master well.”

Sicrito stood up and said, bowing politely.

Harden waved his hand back and forth again as if even replying was bothersome, replacing a greeting.

Kreeak— tak—

When the door of the headmaster’s office closed and Harden was left alone.

He stiffened his expression slightly and muttered.

“By the way, it seems a black mage has entered…… It isn’t Professor Belek, so did they dare to come to recapture the mad lich on the day of the admission ceremony?”

***

—Freshmen, quickly line up here!—

—If you are late, it is only your loss, hurry!—

In the auditorium where the admission ceremony was held, Saint Igzael Hall, professors, holy knights, and current students were controlling the freshmen.

Although equal education without discrimination of status was conducted at Acherandir, that was strictly a story for after they adapted to the academy.

For now, the atmosphere of Acherandir’s admission ceremony was.

—Ahem, which family might you belong to, Senior, speaking like that?—

—Servant, why can’t we bring our servants inside?—

—You, which class of the Holy Knights are you? My father…….—

It was common for chaos to break out because of the children of a few noble families.

Of course, most of the students followed instructions normally.

Not to mention those of commoner origin, even noble families who had heard of Acherandir’s academic style beforehand had urged their children to exercise restraint.

However, as always, a single muddy fish was enough to muddy the waters.

‘Those kinds of guys always ended up bullying Zion more later.’

Leaving behind Sicrito and Bekeren, who were like thorns in his side, Roan finally mingled among the students with a light heart.

Although Bekeren had made a scene at the gate, Roan’s face had not been exposed.

Thanks to that, he was now observing the surroundings with some interest.

At that moment, a student with long purple hair caught Roan’s eye.

“Rafia Kedan?”

Rafia, a freshman, was looking around when she suddenly heard her name and turned to look at Roan in surprise.

And she was surprised once more upon seeing Roan’s gloomy face.

“Hieek! Who are you?”

“……I mistook you for someone else.”

Roan slightly avoided her gaze and naturally left the spot.

As far away from her as possible.

“Wait, no. I am Rafia Kedan, but who are you……”

She could be heard muttering behind him, but fortunately, she couldn’t follow due to the thick crowd.

‘I need to be careful.’

Roan swallowed a sigh of relief upon confirming that.

It would be a disaster if he caught people’s eyes by recognizing a stranger for no reason.

Rafia Kedan was a playable character he had played in the early stage of God & Devil.

Since the character’s goal was to graduate from Acherandir with grades above average and enter a holy knight order above regional hub level, she was also considered a beginner character.

To a veteran player, she was a character with whom one could enjoy academy life the best without any pressure.

‘Of course, she could rise to the position of a major knight commander if certain triggers were met, though.’

And Roan had a record of satisfying her hidden conditions to see the true ending.

He had called out her name out of gladness without thinking, but he hadn’t expected her to hear it.

Besides her, several playable characters and many NPCs caught his eye.

Only after seeing the familiar faces did Roan truly realize that he had entered God & Devil.

‘To think I’ve really come to this place…….’

The background illustration of Acherandir was beautiful enough to be used as visual material even in content unrelated to God & Devil.

The giant white buildings, and the natural scenery surrounding the site.

From the perspective of someone who played the game, it was a place he wanted to visit even in his dreams.

“…….”

But only up to that point.

Roan looked at the holy knights solemnly surrounding the hall.

‘To think I really have to survive here…….’

From Roan’s perspective, Acherandir was merely a beautiful death zone.

He pledged once again.

Although the start was a bit bad, he would live really quietly from now on.

He would graduate keeping exactly to the middle, without doing anything too well or too poorly.

Because if he could just quietly escape Acherandir, fleeing the Empire would be possible somehow.

Transcendent black magic talent?

Who cares.

Living was the priority for now.

At that moment.

Jeobeok— jeobeok—

A group of holy knights began to ascend the platform.

Kwang——!

When the commander-like knight among them slammed the end of his scabbard hard against the floor.

—……

In an instant, the interior of Exael Hall fell silent.

“The Headmaster will enter shortly.”

—Oh, the Holy Spirit!—

—What an honor……!—

Exclamations burst out here and there.

More than a few people began to sob.

‘Harden Pearl Quilior.’

Even Roan felt his heart waver to some extent at his appearance.

‘If anyone notices my black magic, the headmaster is the most likely candidate.’

Although for a slightly different reason than others.

Considering he had deceived those two, who were the vice-cardinal and the commander of the Holy Knights, Roan’s ‘False Divinity’ seemed to hide his energy better than expected.

However, Harden’s level was distantly different from theirs.

Truly a myth that would be second to none in the world-building, a living…… well, not living, but anyway, a myth.

Holiness itself, evoking miracles by existence alone.

Roan could not help but bear in mind the possibility of his identity being exposed.

Or perhaps, he had already been caught…….

“The Headmaster is entering!”

Dung— dudung— duuuung—

Beginning with the ensemble of brilliant instruments and the choir’s chorus, a radiant light starting from the end of the platform explosively covered Exael Hall.

—Oh, Holy Spirit!—

—Uaaaaah!—

Although they couldn’t even open their eyes properly in the bright light, people were deeply moved.

It was what happened every time Harden appeared in the admission ceremony event.

Those who saw it thought it was a sign representing the holiness of the Holy Spirit, but Roan knew the truth hidden behind it.

‘Actually, he is just throwing a tantrum out of annoyance.’

Of course, Harden was basically surrounded by a holy effect.

However, that light was strictly within the range he could adjust himself.

Although he had the appearance of a boy, his inside was a stubborn old man itself.

Maybe even now, he was thinking, ‘These fussy bastards……’ in his mind.

No, it was certain.

Indeed, the headmaster’s thoughts differed in many ways from the current Empire.

‘It is also the reason why I am staying still for now.’

If Harden had a similar disposition to other current clergymen, Roan would have escaped even if it meant secretly hitting Sicrito and Bekeren on the back of their heads.

He would become an extreme wanted criminal, but it was better than facing Harden.

In any case, the holy light filling the wide hall was more than enough to create faith where there was none.

Roan was a user who enjoyed God & Devil more diligently than anyone.

Right now, he was planning to temporarily put aside other complex thoughts and enjoy that world that had become reality…….

“Freshmen who have come here to enter Acherandir this year, I sincerely welcome you. Likewise, I express my gratitude to the guests who have taken the steps to celebrate this event.”

Although it was a world inside a game, the headmaster’s congratulatory speech was not much different from Earth’s.

The differences were that the headmaster spoke informally, and people closed their eyes and focused with reverent hearts as if listening to a prayer.

In fact, over there, a scribe was frantically writing down his words.

“Over the next four years, the freshmen, under the excellent professors and exemplary seniors of Acherandir……”

Roan also continued to pay attention, though not to that extreme extent.

‘Huh?’

Then, Roan frowned slightly.

Even though he couldn’t open his eyes properly due to the headmaster’s light, he squinted a bit more.

‘I feel like our eyes met…… Is it an illusion?’

It was somehow bothersome, but he soon shrugged it off.

Because there was one more notable event next to the speech.

“Now, before the baptism ceremony, there will be the oath of the freshman representative.”

‘It has begun.’

Roan focused with interested eyes.

The freshman representative’s oath.

It was the exclusive event of ‘Saintess Candidate Zion’ and the starting point where the story got on track in earnest.

Since he had failed so many times, he had seen it many times, and he also felt it clearly.

‘How many damn bastards accumulate hostility stats just from taking the oath. If not for this event, the playthrough would have been much easier.’

The reason Zion suffered so much at the Holy Academy was nothing else.

Bullying by surrounding students full of envy and jealousy!

Since there were many children of influential families within the Empire, they did not look kindly upon Zion, who was from outside the Empire and had even claimed the spot of freshman representative.

‘Although I have my own problems, I should help her a little if I can before escaping.’

Still, she was a character he had raised with affection right up until possession, so he could at least do that much.

“Then…… this year’s freshman representative will be……”

Roan looked for Zion, who would be somewhere around here, with a slightly pitiful heart.

……Although she wasn’t easily visible due to Harden’s light.

And, after pausing for a moment, Harden called out the freshman representative.

“Roan Darc. Come up to the platform.”

“?”

Roan Darc, not Zion Beatrice.

‘Who did he say?’

Roan momentarily tilted his head.

The freshman representative’s oath was clearly Zion’s exclusive event, but…….

“Roan Darc?”

However, at the name that did not change even when heard again, he closed his eyes that were naturally growing moist for a moment.