Chapter 16.5 - Heroes of the Holy Alliance

Lucas couldn’t hide his excitement. He was practically bouncing as he was walking down the garden alley and towards the main cathedral building, to the place where they all appeared in after being summoned to this world. Finally, after over a month of effort, he finally proved to Tserkit that he’s ready. The Hero could now use and control his magic and had a few Skills at his disposal which he could utilise in battle just fine. It was rough, the constant training was nothing like what Edward ever put him through, but it paid off. Lucas couldn’t help but feel that his old teacher could have probably accomplished all this in a week if only he understood how magic and Skills work, even if he didn’t have any himself, but he was nonetheless happy to finally be able to put this whole thing behind him and start looking towards the future.
Today, however, was a historical day for him. Today he will finally meet with his first party. He was told it’s composed of accomplished adventurers, although not anyone from the top of the league. Supposingly, this should help Lucas get used to the party faster and help him learn not to rely on his allies too much. Finally, after a month of being locked up in this damn church, he had a chance at exploring the world outside.
It wasn’t much, though, but it was something. A couple successful quests later, some display of loyalty or other and he should earn the right to travel freely around the lands of the Holy Alliance. With that, he could finally move out towards the Frontier and meet up with Edward. He had a lot to talk about with his friend and he really wanted to do it soon.
For now, though, he had to meet that new party. He was really interested in who’s going to join him as, until now, he was kept completely in the dark about it. He really hoped there’s going to be someone with decent outside connections who can help him learn more about the world, namely about this Holy Alliance and anything regarding his other fellow Heroes.
Lucas entered the cathedral through the set of two massive doors. He was here plenty of times already and yet each time the size of the place, its marble-white walls and colourful stained glass windows found him absolutely astonished with them. He walked down the red carpet towards the altar at the end. Alleya was already waiting for him, together with three people he didn’t recognise. They all had very distinct looks to them, though. The first person was a tall guy with black, surprisingly sharp hair and beard, making the profile of his face almost look triangular. He was wearing a large black hat with a red feather in it, an eye-patch on his right eye, a leather vest over a white shirt and some sturdy pants and shoes. The second person was a girl with rather petite posture and a staff almost twice her size. She was leaning on it, almost as if she was too weak to stand by herself. She was dressed in a lot of green, even her hair and eyes were in the shade of emerald, but otherwise, her clothes looked fairly mundane. They were definitely not a battle-ready set of armour, that’s for sure. The staff itself looked like two intertwined wooden vines, coiled around each other. There were some small leaves sticking out by the end, where the two vines separated. The third person, also a young girl, looked very much average however you looked at her, with pretty normal posture, short, blonde hair and brown eyes. She was wearing the church robe, a similarly revealing one like Alleya’s but she at least had something under it, and was carrying a book and a rosary on her belt. In her case, at least, Lucas could spot what looked like a hardened linen shirt under her robe. He also noticed the hilt of a dagger peeking out from behind her back.
As he approached, all three of them looked towards Lucas. The first guy looked intrigued and seemed to be judging the Hero, the green girl looked somewhat scared of him, while the church girl remained completely indifferent to him. She was probably used to seeing Lucas around, even though he couldn’t remember seeing her anywhere. Then again, she did look very unassuming, and Lucas wasn’t particularly interested in any of them church girls, so he might have just missed her. Alleya, meanwhile, stepped forward and motioned at Lucas, turning and speaking to the gathered.
-Dear adventurers, let me introduce to you Sir Lucas, the Hero representing the Holy Alliance. Sir Lucas, those here are the adventurers I told you about earlier: Dartnan, Bella and Chris.
-It’s a pleasure to meet you all.
Lucas nodded his head in a simple bow. Alleya was constantly reminding him he shouldn’t be too humble with others given his status but he couldn’t just accept it and had to show at least some basic courtesy.
Dartnan raised an eyebrow and he pinched the end of his spiky beard. He seemed rather intrigued with the Hero.
-Interesting. I was expecting someone older than you. Well met indeed.
Bella seemed to try to hide behind her staff but realising it doesn’t cover her at all, she peeked out from behind it and shily tried to greet him too:
-H-h-hel-llo, S-sir H-h-hero.
Chris, on the other hand, wasn’t betraying any emotion whatsoever. She almost looked soulless, her voice completely flat and monotonous:
-Greetings, Sir Lucas. May the Seventh Pantheon always watch over you.
-So, what do you think, Sir Lucas?
The Hero glanced back at Alleya, unsure how to respond to her. On one hand, all three of them looked exceptionally eccentric. Somehow, Lucas was expecting his first party to be a lot more mundane, so he wasn’t prepared to meet quite such characters. On another, despite their appearances, Lucas could tell all of them were competent in their fields. Dartnan was confident, almost smug, and he wouldn’t be recommended here if he didn’t have skills to back it up. From Bella, once he concentrated a little, he could feel a large amount of mana, to the point that even Alleya paled in comparison to her. And Chris… well, she was a member of this church, so she’s either a capable healer or a decent battle-mage, or simply sent out as a sentry to keep an eye on him. Those were definitely people Lucas could entrust his back to in the battle… whether those were people he could actually trust was yet to be seen, though.
-They look like a merry bunch. I’m looking forward to working with you all.
Saying that, the Holy Hero bowed his head slightly. What followed was a few hours long discussion about party handling, giving out responsibilities, payments, leadership and field lessons. The entire time, Lucas kept blaming games for simplifying such matters. Usually, all it takes is to add a person to the party and there, done. Reality was much more difficult than that, though, and he was now learning it the hard way. For a moment Lucas wondered if running a fencing school was a similar amount of effort for Edward. If so, he felt bad to never really lend a hand to him with it.
Meanwhile…

…Kira pulled out his spear from the carcass of a dead, massive, bug-like monster. He didn’t know what it was that he just killed, nor did he care. The only thing that mattered to him was that it was dead and it was the fifth he killed in this battle. He looked around, seeing that his personal slaves managed to kill off the remaining monsters. Everyone was covered in blue and green blood the monsters were spewing with each cut. Seeing that the danger was now gone, he relaxed a little and sat down, leaning on his spear. He was angry that he didn’t have a heavier polearm with him. This spear, while masterfully crafted and clearly an expensive gift from the kingdom that took him in, was too light for him. With a sigh, he directed his gaze once again to his party.
-See if there’s anything worth salvaging from those damn bugs. If so, gather it.
The four slave girls all replied with a monotonous “Yes, Master Hero!” in unison and scattered around, checking the carcasses. Kira let out a sigh, enjoying the view of his slaves doing his bidding. This helped him feel even more powerful. Still, he couldn’t wait until he’s back in the castle. The four girls accompanying him all wore regular battle-clothing, not the fantasy type bikinis popular in pop-culture of his world that he expected to find. While less to look at, he preferred them all alive, so he had to deal with that. The slaves in the castle, however, all wore fairly revealing clothing. He truly felt blessed he had been chosen to come to this world, and this country in particular.
For a moment his thoughts drifted to his mentor. Kira could tell that Edward would not approve of this. His teacher seemed to be this painfully upright and moral guy. The young Hero could never understand that but it has never been an issue in the fencing school. Now, however, he clearly remembers his words, to not get lost in the power this world is granting them. But it was so convenient, and it felt so right to use it. No matter, all he had to do was grow stronger and beat the old guy fair and square. After that, no matter if Edward agreed or not with him, he would leave the young Hero alone. And since his mentor didn’t have any magic or Skills, there was a good chance of an easy victory. Still, the old man was not to be underestimated, so Kira needed to continue getting stronger and stronger.
He glanced back at his slaves, seeing them still work on the corpses. He was getting bored of just sitting around, and while he enjoyed fighting and gaining glory, he was also starting to feel the fatigue hit in, and he couldn’t let that show to anyone. Because of that, he wanted to get away from here ASAP, before any more of those monsters could show up.
-Are you not done with this yet!? Hurry it up!

…Lana walked down a corridor of a huge, marble building. The golden decorations were everywhere, showcasing the splendor and prestige of this place. It was the Academy, the best school for nobility to attend in the entire realm. The noble party ruling this country decided that the Hero first needs to get her qualifications up to be at least on part with them. The national emergency situation, however, required her to attend a sped-up version of the courses. This proved to be quite a burden for her, but being the proper lady she always was, she had found ways to endure and even prospect in this new environment. Even now, when she was just walking down the aisle, heading to her classroom for another lecture, this time about the history of one particular noble household she didn’t particularly care about, she could feel the gazes on her. Everyone kept staring, in awe, love-struck or jealous to the bone. Be it the male students, the other female students or even the lecturers, they were all always drawn to her and her beauty. That allowed her to make many useful connections and taught her how to use her charms to get what she wanted. There was one issue with it, however. Namely, it was difficult to make friends. Among all those faces and admirers, there were only two people she could consider being anywhere close to. And, as expected, they were both waiting for her further ahead, before the classroom.
-Finally! What took you so long? The lecture is about to begin!
The first to spot her was a boy just one year younger than her. He was tall, with jet-black, unkempt hair. He almost always kept one hand in his pocket and a grin on his face. His whole demeanor would change, however, if anything was to piss him off or proved to be a danger. His most interesting quality was, however, the fact that he was the only person in the entire academy to have cat ears and tail. Unnaturally, they were snow-white, with only the tips having a dark tone. Lana knew he faced a lot of discrimination and she was the first one who really lent him a hand in need. Now he was basically following her around the Academy, protecting her, but always trying to hide it and not show too much affection. Just like a real cat.
The other person simply waved at her. It was a petite girl, with medium, brown hair and a cheerful but a little awkward expression. She came from the same noble household that took in Lana, and being around the same age, the two women hit it off pretty quickly. The only time when the two weren’t together at the Academy was when Lana had extracurricular classes to attend to.
-Ah, Pertion, Deanna. I’m coming, I’m coming.
Seeing them, she sped up a little. Just before they went into the lecture room, Lana stopped for a moment. She wondered if her fellow Heroes also managed to settle in and live relatively normal lives, if they managed to find friends like she did, or if she’s the only one that got blessed in this weird world.

…Ikaze was sitting on a flat rock. He was uncomfortable but that was also part of his training. On his journey to become a real samurai, he decided he has to overcome his childish nature and mature up. Meditating in an environment not suitable for it was his way of doing this. As such, he didn’t mind the hard rock he was sitting on, the rain that was pouring down or the shouts of his caretaker to urge him to come back and continue his regular training.
The truth of the matter is, he was skipping on magic training. The young samurai-wannabe knew the way of the sword all too well, in his own mind, at least, but the intricacies of magic eluded him. He was hoping that becoming a more responsible adult will allow him to attune with the nature of magic more and allow him to use spells properly because of it, failing to realise that skipping on training sessions was the irresponsible thing to do.
After a couple of minutes, he decided that he couldn't stand this rain and discomfort anymore and gave in. He hated magical training, his instructor always treated him like a complete moron, which didn't help in educating him and only made both of them angry at each other. Still, none of the alternatives seemed to work, at least after the one try Ikaze gave them.
-Training under Edward was easier. He would never blame a student for failing to learn something. He would blame himself for failing to teach them effectively. Isn’t that how the educational system should be!? Ugh…
With his head down, he walked back inside the manor house, immediately being scolded for skipping on training and wandering around in the rain. His caretaker immediately called a housewife to help him out of his wet clothing, dry him and swap for some clean garbs. After that, Ikaze heard another lecture about how he’s showing disrespect to the people who took him in and how he should be more mindful of his manners. Nearly two hours later, the magical training finally began, with the Hero failing to cast a single spell and his instructor calling him names whenever he failed the cast.

…Sethana was sitting at a table in her room. Her surroundings were covered in books, scrolls and various pieces of paper with more and less frantic scripting on them. Engulfed in her research, she didn’t notice the passage of time, or the fact that someone was knocking at her door. Finally, that someone got tired and decided to kick the door in, causing the young Hero to jump up with a squeak. That someone turned out to be the king who took her in, filling the entire door frame with his muscular body. He was clearly angry but when he looked down on the girl, his expression softened. He spoke with a voice much calmer than he likely wanted to speak with:
-Sethana! You were supposed to be down at the hall an hour ago!
-Ah! I-is it this late already? I’m s-sorry, I…
-Just, get ready and come down. I swear, if only you paid attention to your duties as much as you do to your research…
The king said the last words as he was already on the stairs leading down from the tower. He continued to complain as he walked down but his voice wasn’t reaching the chamber. Sethana quickly piled up all the scrolls and books she had on her desk in neat stacks and grabbed her gear. There wasn’t much, just a black cloak, a wooden staff with a luminescent red crystal at the top and a leather bag with a bunch of scrolls, blank papers and a supply of ink and quills. Despite her mana pool increasing rather rapidly, Sethana wasn’t too proficient with using it and could only cast some basic spells. She found out, however, that she can embed much more powerful spells onto scrolls and runestones and activate those later by pouring enough of her mana into them. She was still looking for ways to store mana in them from the beginning but so far all her ideas only hit dead ends. She wasn’t about to give up, however, as any progress she made researching magic could be bringing her a step closer to understanding the schemes behind the Hero summoning ritual and, perhaps, finding a way to reverse it, to send them all back home. If only she didn’t have to deal with those adventuring quests her king keeps sending her on. She’s only a burden on them and they only very rarely yield any study materials. She’s much better off just asking adventurers directly at the guild for that but, alas, her king won’t have it. She was a Hero, after all, and had her devine duty as well, however much she disliked it.
Just before leaving, she stopped for a moment, thinking back to all the other students that came with her to this world. She was curious if they already mastered their magical skills or not. She was also concerned about her teacher. Without magic, he was surely to face many challenges. But she knew he would persevere and wouldn’t give up on finding a way for them to go back. She was more curious about what discoveries he had already made, though. With his unique approach, he was bound to discover something interesting. If only they could meet up and discuss it…
Sethana shook her head, bringing herself back from the embarrassing, in her opinion, thoughts and quickly left the tower to meet up with her party.

…Lidia entered her chamber, or the first division of it she had purposely built in her room. She dropped her bag, disrobed and cleaned up from the washtub. Only after she dried up did she enter the actual room, finding a clean shirt and throwing it on. She then immediately sat down at the desk, opened her journal and started writing in it.
The weird arrangement in her room was set up as a precaution and a sanitary necessity. She was living in a country plagued with diseases and various illnesses, so to make sure she limits her own exposure to them, she tried everything to make sure her room remains a clean, safe space.
-Magic can heal wounds but can’t even bring a common fever down… this is so bothersome…
Lidia mumbled to herself as she continued noting down everything that transpired this day. She visited a total of five patients today, all living in close proximity, who experienced similar symptoms. High fever, rash, excessive sweating and difficulties with breathing were fairly common in this poor country that only really had desert sand and coal and iron mines within its borders. However those patients all exhibited black marks around their neck and shoulders, something she had yet to see happen. It was also dissimilar to anything she had seen back in her world, too. For now she simply collected observation data and was planning on cross-referencing them with medical books taken from the royal library, or whatever was left of it when she arrived here. If she won’t be able to find anything, she’ll have to start experimenting on the patients to try to find some cure for them, as well as the cause of the problem. It wasn’t the first situation like this that she had handled but, until now, everything she cured was a disease she was familiar with from her time working at a hospital, just with slight differences. It could be the case here too and she simply didn’t notice the connections yet but, for now, she was out of ideas.
She was lucky with her healing magic, however. While cast directly onto the patient it could only increase tissue recovery, when applied to salves and potions it would significantly increase their potency and, in some cases, even bring more effects to life. Experimenting with different ingredients, she was able to create a few completely new medicines. The issue was in getting said ingredients, however. Given the economic state of the country, importing large quantities of plant materials was difficult and the desert climate made it additionally difficult to cultivate anything, resulting in very limited stocks. And it didn’t seem like the situation could improve anytime soon, sadly.
She wasn’t about to give up, though, even if she had to turn sand, iron and coal into healing items themselves. She was given the power to heal people and she intended to use it to its fullest potential. Still, for now she had a potential new pandemic disease to take care of while making sure she doesn’t fall ill herself.
Finishing the entries into her journal, Lidia decided she’s feeling too tired to do anything right now. She barely slept the past couple days and she knew that if she doesn’t recuperate now, she’s risking falling seriously ill herself. Because of it, she simply went directly to the bed, falling asleep immediately, despite it still being fairly bright outside.

…Shin was sitting on a rock, drawing something with a stick in the dirt. He did it mainly to collect his thoughts as he was trying to troubleshoot new problems with his design. To anyone from the Hero’s world, this drawing was unmistakably a musket, or a similar old-school rifle. To anyone from this world, however…
-You used a stick to draw a stick? You sure are a weird one!
Shin let out a sigh and looked up at the laughing bulky man standing in front of him. From just one glance it was enough to tell he was a musclehead through and through and there was no point trying to discuss anything with him. Shin decided to still give it a try, however.
-It’s a weapon. A powerful one. But you wouldn’t understand how it works. I can make it if only I had some saltpetre or some other explosive powder.
-Still dreaming about it, are you?
-Leave him alone already. Let the kid dream a little.
-I’m not dreaming!
Shin angrily threw the stick he was holding onto the ground and stood up, turning to a mature, dark haired lady behind him. She was sitting on a rock on which she first placed a small blanket, so as to not dirty her dress. Shin didn’t know her too well, only that she was some noble lady and was assigned to him as both his overseer and magical support but he had yet to witness her help with anything. All the combat fell down on him and the brute besides him. And, among everything, there was one thing he and the warrior agreed on: they both disliked that woman. Still, Shin was quickly forced to avert his gaze away from her, finding it drawn to her voluptuous figure, only emphasised by the tight dress and sizable cleavage. The woman giggled softly, seemingly finding the Hero’s reaction amusing, or perhaps even adorable.
-E-either way, I can create something awesome as long as I can find the materials! And someone to help with the handiwork…
Shin added the second comment with a much quieter voice, aware that he lacked the necessary craftsmanship skills to properly bring his inventions to life. He tried on a couple occasions already and was, as a result, banned from the royal workshops and assigned more duties like engaging in patrols.
He walked off a little distance and let out a heavy sigh, his thoughts going back to his design. If only he could have someone skilled in craftsmanship, like some fantasy dwarves, he will likely have no trouble finishing the design. Well, he’s bound to meet someone like that eventually in his line of work, right? There had to be some skilled and innovative minds in this world too, after all.

…Stach was walking down the road that ran through a small run-down village. His party just completed a request here and the leader, an old soldier assigned as the Hero’s main caretaker, was out collecting the reward. However, seeing the state the people here lived in, Stach really didn’t think taking any money from them was a good idea. He understood that common knowledge and morality of this world is different from what he personally believed to be right but it didn’t make it any easier to accept it. He believed that, as a hero of those lands, as well as a good person in general, he should be offering his help for free to those that need it. Instead, it felt like his party was just exploiting the weak, poor people.
He kicked a small rock and stared at it as it happily bounced around, unaware of the pain and misery the world around it was experiencing. Oh, if Stach could only just ignore it all, forget his own moral compass and just focus on the short-term goal, it would all be so easy. But he wasn’t this type of a kid. He also remembered the words of his mentor, reminding him and the other students to not be drawn in by the power they were given. It was his own interpretation but he believed that what Edward really meant was to not be discouraged by all the nasty experiences they were sure to have and instead focus on who they were and wanted to be and continue on the path they seem to be right. And yet, here he was, serving as a vanguard for an old soldier party earning money off people who cannot even defend themselves against them.
Thinking about his mentor, Stach was worried what Edward might think about him seeing him like this. The kid knew his teacher was an understanding person but he also knew Edward wasn’t exactly open about his thoughts. He was good at masking his anger or dissatisfaction if it wasn’t directly related to training. Stach was afraid that even if he was to hear encouragement from his mentor, there would be an underlying tone he wouldn’t be able to detect; that Edward would, in fact, be extremely dissatisfied with him and would leave him behind because of it.
Stach shook his head. His mentor wasn’t like that, he would never leave his student behind, even if he was extremely angry at them. That was one thing he was certain of. Still, the young Hero should do something about his current situation. While still underage in his original world, here he was already an adult, so he should take things into his own two hands, no matter how capable or not they are.
He looked up and noticed a couple of villagers staring at him curiously, but also with caution, if not fear. Among them was a cute looking girl, around his age. The moment their eyes met, however, the girl quickly turned and walked away, leaving the young man stumped as to what may have caused that reaction. What happened next, though, gave him a solid clue…
-Get up, kiddo. We’re leaving.
Stach turned towards the party leader. He was smiling from ear to ear and was holding a hefty pouch of money. There was definitely more in there than originally agreed on. Seeing the young Hero, the old soldier stopped, raising an eyebrow.
-What? Ah, don’t give me that look. The request was tougher than they led us to believe and we lost a lot more supplies. It’s just compensation. If you don’t like it, you’re free to join the church folk and cook dinners for beggars.
The soldier laughed and turned, motioning the kid to follow him, before walking away back where he came from. Stach stared daggers at the back of his companion for some time but, knowing painfully well there wasn’t anything he could currently do, he just sighed and followed suit. He really was a disgrace to his title, and to his mentor.