I Obtained Sword God Level Talent

56 – 056. Fan VS Fan(1)

Knight of the Holy Grail?

*Swish.*

Ariel and I turned our gazes at the same time. Chun Hwayoung, catching both of our stares, only blinked her eyes, seemingly clueless.

“What, what’s the matter? Is a person from the Eastern Continent not allowed to admire the Knight of the Holy Grail?!”

No, it’s not that.

It’s just that… she was definitely misunderstanding something, and with her ears reddened, Chun Hwayoung yelled out. Naturally feeling a bit deflated, I shook my head and said,

“Is the Knight of the Holy Grail such an attractive person? You don’t even know what he looks like or what his name is.”

“Hmph! It doesn’t matter. Does there need to be a reason for a person to like someone? That’s right. I’m his fan!”

“Ho-oh.”

Her line was a testament to her study of the Western Continent’s slang.

A fan, huh. I didn’t realize that, in my own ignorance, I’d gained a fan in the Eastern Continent.

“It’s a fan meet.”

“Yes……? What does that mean?”

Chun Hwayoung stared blankly at me with a confused expression.

Where to even begin to explain this?

To say, “I myself am the Knight of the Holy Grail you like” felt somehow embarrassing.

“The Knight of the Holy Grail… he’s not as great as you might think.”

“How dare you! Just because I’m weaker than you, you can’t break my conviction!”

“……”

Now that I think about it, she’s not a fan, she’s a fanatic!

“Um, I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

Did Ariel, who had been quietly observing the conversation, also sense something was off?

Ariel spoke subtly, with a serious face. Naturally, Chun Hwa-young’s gaze, full of resentment, turned towards her.

“What are you talking about?”

Her voice was laced with thorns. A bit sharp, like she’d spit out curses if you pushed her just a little further.

“That, the person sitting in front of you… is the Holy Grail Knight.”

Had Ariel already noticed the storm of emotions Chun Hwa-young was about to go through?

Ariel spoke the truth with an exceedingly gentle tone.

“……Neehee?”

Unlike with me, did Ariel not have any hostility towards her?

Chun Hwa-young immediately asked back, her voice cracking badly. She even bit her tongue during that short reply, seeming incredibly flustered.

“Wh, what… what on earth are you talking about…?”

As if she couldn’t understand, Chun Hwa-young looked back and forth between me and Ariel. It was as if she was asking for an explanation. Her lost and bewildered gaze even looked pathetic.

“The Holy Grail Knight, huh.”

“……Uh, u-uh?”

“If the person you’re talking about is the one recently called ＜Black Sword＞.”

*Crack!*

Chun Hwa-young’s mouth dropped open so wide you could see her uvula. She froze.

It was as if she had anticipated what I would say next. She just made noises like, ‘Ack, uhh!’

“I… am that person.”

“KYYYaaahhh!!!”

Whoa.

An abrupt shriek filled the room.

The top mind of the Hwasan Sect… Chun Hwa-young, who had a concept even more ‘noble lady’ than any other female character.

*Whoosh!*

She let out a monster-like shriek and pulled the blanket over her head.

After watching the scene silently for a while, my and Ariel’s gazes met in the air.

“I, I think she might need a little time…”

Ariel smiled awkwardly and approached.

“Does she really need time? She’s the one doing the whole show by herself.”

“N, no… still, Frey, could you leave for a little while?”

Ariel’s pitiful gaze landed on the lump on the bed. Seeing that it reacted to our voices now and then, it wasn’t like the unconsciousness at the restaurant.

“Playing dead.”

A twitch.

“Looks like it’s in a peak-level denial mode.”

A twitch!

“Still got a long way to go, that one.”

“H-How can you be sure?”

“……What?”

“Y-You might not even be a Grail Knight!”

*Screeeech*, Cheon Hwa-young, buried under the blanket, let out a shrill shriek.

“What’s this? Denial of reality?”

“Aish, really! Frey. Just move aside for a moment. I’ll talk to her!”

“Fine. Seems like it’s hard to have a conversation with me.”

“Alright, alright! Hurry!”

*Squeak-*!

*Thud*!

Pushed out by Ariel, I clicked my tongue lowly.

“Tsk tsk.”

It wasn’t that hard to understand the reaction Cheon Hwa-young was showing now.

Suddenly spouting nonsense like “I admire you,” “the reason why a person likes another,” “I’m a fan of that person,” and then finding out that the person was right in front of you…

‘Ugh, that’s horrific.’

Even imagining it was tough. Maybe the word ‘death by embarrassment’ perfectly fit this current situation.

“Leon, Mary. It’s time to wash up. It’s almost bedtime.”

“Yay!”

“Yes!”

Coming down to the first floor, I told the two little ones to get ready for bed.

And then, I slipped out the mansion door. Soon, the dark, dark night sky filled my view.

*Swoosh*.

Leaning against the wall, I slowly scanned the street. Now that it was truly evening, there were very few people on the central district streets.

“Whether this is good luck or not.”

I chuckled, a low sound, and muttered to myself.

What are the odds that a ‘governance’ trait holder I randomly bumped into… would be from the Eastern Continent, the daughter of the Martial Arts Alliance leader?

And what’s the probability that that character is a fan of the ‘Holy Grail Knight’?

‘…Is this also, a sign from the heavens? Or just luck?’

Thinking that, I tilted my head back again. The glittering night sky poured into my eyes. Surely, the great beings in that sky are looking down upon the earth.

“Never mind. A god who struggles to intervene in the mortal realm without a medium, what good is that.”

With a soft chuckle, I slipped off the wall. Some time had passed; I figured Cheon Hwa-young might have come to her senses by now.

But then.

“Sir Frey—!”

“…Your Highness?”

At the edge of the central district’s street, where darkness was slowly settling, a man was running toward me, desperately calling my name.

Crown Prince Friedrich. He, who usually rides a carriage within the imperial city, why was he appearing breathless, on foot, like this?

“What is it?”

Something extraordinary must have happened. I rushed to meet him and asked for the details.

“Hah! Hah! A, a big thing has happened! The western border, there’s been a problem there!”

“A problem? I need an explanation.”

“Yes, yes! W-well, it would be better if we move away from here for now.”

The Crown Prince gestured to his surroundings. Indeed, some passersby, who hadn’t expected the Crown Prince to appear in this area, were giving us puzzled looks.

“Understood.”

I immediately led the Crown Prince into the mansion.

Cheon Hwa-young was already in the second-floor guest room, having a fit, but judging by the situation, things felt incredibly urgent. There was no time to worry about that.

“Hoo, hoo!”

I led the Crown Prince into the reception room and asked a servant to bring some cold water.

The servants were just as surprised by the sudden visit from the Crown Prince, and they quickly returned with two glasses of cold water.

“A big problem has occurred. Sir Frey, do you remember how the Magic Tower dispatched a team to investigate the western border?”

“Yes. Indeed, the large-scale investigation delayed the schedule by a week.”

“Yes, that’s right. But something happened to that Magic Tower investigation team!”

The Crown Prince, after gulping down his water and wiping his mouth, shouted.

“Something happened?”

“Don’t be alarmed. The Magic Tower dispatched a total of ten mages. Seven of them were 5th circle and three were 6th circle. They were not a force to be trifled with by anyone.”

“No way.”

“……Yes.”

The Crown Prince, his face ashen, nodded.

“All of them. All ten mages, their lives snuffed out the very night they arrived at the western border.”

What the fuck.

Goosebumps erupted on my arms for no reason. The sensation of my hair standing on end was definitely not a figment of my imagination.

‘That means it’s not some ordinary b*stard.’

I didn’t even have a clue what was going on at the western border garrison.

No. In the first place, I hadn’t even considered the possibility of a big event like this before entering the ＜Main Stream＞.

‘If ten mages died without resistance… then something pretty damn powerful has descended.’

It wouldn’t be a ‘Demon King’ class calamity, a scourge on humanity. Those b*stards obliterate tens or hundreds of thousands of lives the instant they appear.

Tap-tap.

I was in the midst of that deep contemplation when Ariel came out of the guest room and entered the reception room. It seemed her talk with Cheon Hwa-yeong was over…

‘Huh?’

But unexpectedly, Ariel wasn’t the only one coming down from the second floor.

“……”

Cheon Hwa-yeong, the rising star of the Hwasan Sect and the precious gem of the Martial Alliance Leader ＜Sword of Amethyst＞, appeared alongside her, face and neck flushed crimson red.

“Oh? Your Highness the Crown Prince is here?”

“Ah! Saintess. My apologies for the late hour.”

*Bows*

The Crown Prince rose from his seat and bowed to Ariel.

Seriously, this guy is something else. You’d think a highborn young master like him would have a stiff neck, but the Crown Prince was the polar opposite, extremely courteous.

Anyway.

“Oh, no, it’s alright. You must have come for something important, right?”

“Indeed. Your insight is remarkable.”

At Ariel’s question, the Crown Prince nodded heavily. Then, his gaze shifted to the woman standing behind Ariel, practically hiding.

“By the way, who is that…”

*Snap!*

“……Huh?!”

“……Hah!”

……What are you two doing?

The moment their eyes met, a subtle, taut, silent battle unfolded. The spark that flashed between them was definitely no illusion.

Well, how to put it… it wasn’t some tender ‘infatuation’. More like… the tense standoff between a cat and a dog in front of a can of treats?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Friedrich, Crown Prince of the great Empire. I have known Sir Frey quite some time now, and this very mansion is also something I acquired for him.”

C-Crown Prince?

Cheon Hwa-young murmured, her face stiff. A Holy Grail Knight, a Saintess, and now a Crown Prince. Naturally, a woman from the Eastern Continent would be taken aback.

“O-Oh, nice to meet you? I’m from the Eastern Continent. My father is the leader of the Martial Alliance, and I’m a direct disciple training at the Hwasan Sect. Oh, and by the way, I’m the number one fan of the great Holy Grail Knight.”

She seemed to have regained some composure. Cheon Hwa-young casually declared herself a ‘fan’ right in front of me.

But then.

“Bullshit.”

The Crown Prince stated, full of confidence.

“W-What did you say?!”

“The number one fan, I’m sorry, but that would be me.”

*Chzzzzzt!*

A tense current crackled between the two of them.