Chapter 91: Chapter 91

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: The Olfram Sanctuary

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As mentioned before, the world consists of an empire and five kingdoms.

Curiously, the Empire and the five kingdoms share borders, all centered around a single point.

At the heart of these borders,

stands a stone statue of a figure symbolizing the World Alliance.

The Great Hero who once brought an end to the seemingly endless World War:

Olfram.

Beside the Great Hero Olfram stood five companions who followed him.

They hailed from different nations.

Thus, after the war, they dispersed to their respective countries and established academies dedicated to peace.

These are the academies, named after the Six Heroes, founded in each nation.

However, Olfram's nation was the first to fall during the war.

The reason was that Olfram's nation had been the central country, bordering all nations worldwide.

To honor the Great Hero Olfram, the world designated the central land, formerly his nation, as a sanctuary.

Thus, Olfram's Sanctuary was built.

That is the venue for this meeting.

To commemorate his heroic deeds, peace is maintained within Olfram's Sanctuary, no matter what.

This is a universally accepted principle across the Empire and the five great kingdoms.

Should anyone violate it, they would be making an enemy of the entire world.

Furthermore, they would lose all social standing and justification.

Therefore, it was the perfect venue for a meeting of academy members, who would one day become key figures in the world.

'Anyway, the international individual competition will also be held here.'

The international individual competition, held every three years.

For this, my companions and I sought out Olfram's Sanctuary.

"Welcome, Student Council members of Jerion. We have been expecting you."

As we disembarked from the carriage, an elderly gentleman and several waiting maids greeted us.

Even the Emperor of the Empire visits Olfram's Sanctuary with proper reverence for the Great Hero Olfram.

As such, they were highly skilled in attending to distinguished guests.

"Lady Iris Highsirion, Lady Sharin Sazaris, Lady Isabel Luna, and Lady Hanon Irei. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Monolige, and I will be your guide."

"It's a pleasure, Monolige. We look forward to your assistance."

Iris replied, exuding the grace befitting a princess.

Those who work at Olfram's Sanctuary are individuals who have forsaken their family names and sacrificed themselves to honor the Great Hero.

Therefore, even royalty is expected to show them courtesy and respect.

"Indeed, the pleasure is all mine, and I look forward to assisting you."

Monolige smiled at Iris's demeanor and began to guide us.

Of course, Isabel and I, meanwhile, were staring intently at Iris's back.

Iris was so full of grace that one wouldn't have guessed she had just been engaged in a petty staring contest with Isabel.

"I had no idea Lady Iris's personality was like that."

As Isabel said, Iris usually doesn't reveal her true personality.

She only ever shows her most powerful, dignified, and confident self, befitting a princess.

It was rare for her to display personal desires as she had just now.

However, Iris had changed a lot recently.

Her restrained true nature unexpectedly surfaced quite often.

Just like in the carriage today.

Iris practically never showed possessiveness towards anyone.

"That's thanks to you, then."

Isabel's gaze settled on me.

When Iris revealed her true personality, it was often in front of me.

"She sleeps well, so she must be in a good mood."

In fact, Iris's hobby these days was sleeping.

She tried to catch even a little sleep whenever she had a moment.

Of course, she still couldn't sleep properly unless I was right beside her.

"Exactly, and that's thanks to you."

Well, that's true.

When I couldn't deny it, Isabel followed behind Iris, her face looking slightly miffed for some reason.

"Hanon."

Just then, Sharin bumped her head against my back.

"I think I know one thing about Hanon's future."

"What is it?"

"You'll probably get stabbed."

I pulled Sharin's cheeks, punishing her.

Don't say things like that, even as a joke.

"Mmmph."

While Sharin covered her reddened cheeks with both hands, I followed the two of them.

Inside the meeting hall built within Olfram's Sanctuary, a floor of pure white marble stretched out.

The meeting hall was visibly luxurious at a glance.

Rather than feeling ostentatious, it evoked a sense of purity and serenity.

'That must mean the architects put an enormous amount of thought into building it.'

It was said to have been built by the era's greatest architects, putting their heads together.

Naturally, the building was nothing short of astonishing.

We walked along a path designed with meticulous attention even to natural light, and soon, a large plaza appeared.

There stood a round table.

Six chairs, symbolizing the Empire and the five kingdoms, were visible, along with white dove decorations symbolizing the harmony of peace.

Behind it, dozens of chairs were arranged around the round table.

These were for the representatives of each nation to sit at the center, and for the others to sit around them.

'Honestly, this is a place that's hard to see even in the game.'

The international individual competition only takes place once every three years.

It's a place you can only reach by not only raising your affection with Iris to a considerably high level by the 4th act (second semester of your second year) but also by clearing various related items and hidden quests before then.

So, it wasn't a place one could easily visit just by wanting to.

"There are people who've arrived already."

Isabel said, surveying the area around the round table.

It was customary for the representatives of each nation to sit simultaneously at the round table only when all nations had arrived.

Thus, while no one was seated at the round table yet, people were already seated in the surrounding chairs.

They were all children our age.

Students from academies other than Jerion Academy.

Students from the five kingdoms.

Their eyes collectively turned towards us, the newcomers.

"It's Jerion Academy."

"Oh, then that must be..."

"I'd heard rumors, but her appearance truly is magnificent."

The one who garnered the most attention was Iris.

Iris, the Third Imperial Princess representing the Empire, whose formidable skills had made her famous even abroad.

It was only natural that she received such attention.

"Then, the one behind her..."

"They say she's an awakened magician of the Mirinae."

"She's the daughter of the Master of the Blue Magic Tower."

Next to receive attention was Sharin.

Being the daughter of the Master of the Blue Magic Tower, a magical genius, and an Awakened Mirinae user, she couldn't help but be famous.

However, Sharin, famous or not, merely let out a lazy yawn.

She was consistently indifferent to others' opinions.

"That one over there..."

"She has the complete opposite aura from Lady Iris."

"She's like the sun."

Thirdly, Isabel drew attention.

Isabel possessed an appearance completely opposite to Iris's.

If Iris was the dark night, Isabel was the bright day.

As befitting a main heroine, her outstanding looks meant she didn't lose out even compared to Iris.

Rather, their contrasting auras made them stand out even more.

'Is it my turn now?'

"And behind them..."

"Who is that?"

"I've never seen her before."

"Her hair and eye color are the same as the Third Imperial Princess's."

"Is she from the Ducal House of Robliaje?"

I relaxed the tension in my back.

'Just as I thought.'

I also had a decent appearance, but I couldn't compare to the heroines.

Though they might pay closer attention due to my hair and eye color being the same as Iris's...

...most probably hadn't even heard my name.

"Still, she's cute."

"She's small, a first-year?"

"Possible."

'Damn it, who said that last part?'

Goosebumps suddenly spread across my skin.

If I ever find out who said that, I'll definitely defeat them for the sake of world peace.

In any case, we entered, attracting attention in various ways.

As Iris led the way and we took our seats, the murmuring died down.

In the meantime, I quickly scanned the room.

One kingdom had yet to arrive.

My intention was to use this opportunity to identify the key figures from the other academies.

'Normally, there isn't much interaction with students from other academies.'

But this was a world where Lucas, the protagonist, was gone.

What was lacking had to be compensated for elsewhere.

My eyes swiftly swept over the students.

These were the students who had come as representatives, acting as presidents and vice-presidents of their respective academies.

As expected, many of them were extraordinary individuals.

But among them, there were three figures I needed to pay closest attention to.

The Kingdom of Illusion, Panisys.

The Son of Shadows.

Vice-President, Solvas Umbra.

He was conversing with those next to him, wearing a very relaxed expression.

At a glance, he seemed very sociable.

It was evident he was skilled at handling people.

The Holy Kingdom, Lium.

The Noble Saintess.

President, Saintess Acrede Narea.

The dignified Saintess remained quietly silent.

However, knowing her true circumstances, I couldn't help but feel she would suffer, one way or another.

Seeing it in reality, I was once again amazed at how she managed to hide it.

The Sky Kingdom, Pharazon.

The Sole Prince.

President, Ergo Pharazon.

His face was etched with both arrogance and confidence.

The arrogance of always believing himself to be the best was unwavering.

They were powerful figures, like stars of the current generation, whose names were widely known even abroad.

Iris and Sharin were grouped together as part of these Six Stars.

'And from there...'

Lucas would have become active, leading to the group being revised to the Seven Stars, but that was a story that could no longer come to pass.

However, there was a more important figure to me than these three.

One of the Six Stars who had yet to appear.

'Soon, then.'

The poorest of the five kingdoms, a nation currently on the path to ruin due to a succession of failed policies.

The Ruined Kingdom, Preliz.

There, the person I was waiting for resided.

*Footsteps.*

At that moment, footsteps echoed through the hall.

Everyone's gaze naturally followed the sound, drawn towards that direction.

The moment my gaze also followed the footsteps,

four figures were walking in.

The Ruined Kingdom, Preliz.

A nation that had endlessly fallen due to an incompetent king.

These were the students of Ordo Academy, established there.

The person leading the group was hunched over, looking rather pathetic.

It was as if they wanted to flee immediately, fearing the public's gaze, but were forced to lead due to their status.

Behind him, two of the three looked very grim.

Their eyes showed clear displeasure with being there.

"Hmph."

"What a pathetic sight."

The children gathered here were still young.

Perhaps because of this, there were quite a few who, drunk on their own abilities, looked down on others.

Sure enough, there were those who scoffed at them.

However, there was only one among them.

One who brought to mind blue flames.

No one could mock her.

With her vibrant blue bob-cut hair and blue eyes,

and her perfectly straight posture,

she alone shone brilliantly in this place.

'I've been waiting.'

The one possessing power most similar to Lucas's extinguished flame of fighting spirit.

Unyielding Blue Flame.

Eve.

From the game, *Magic Palace Slayer* series, side story.

The protagonist of *The Rise of the Blue Flame* arc.