In a lavishly decorated room, famous paintings, masterpieces anyone on the continent would recognize, hung from the walls. The chandelier on the ceiling sparkled with warm, brilliant light. The place looked like a suite in a luxury hotel, yet it held one peculiar feature. There was no door. No matter where anyone looked, they would not even find a hint of a door—no seams, no doorknob, not even a window.

At the center of the room sat a round table with three empty chairs arranged neatly around it. Light glowed from one of the chairs. Then, a hologram took shape above it, forming a translucent, floating face. It was a face anyone on the continent would instantly recognize. The face belonged to the second-ranked hero—the Holy Empire’s ruler and its greatest hero, Pope Marianne.

Wearing her usual serene smile, Marianne looked leisurely around the empty room. “Hmm. Are the others not here yet?”

Another chair lit up, its glow forming the hologram of an elderly man with a gentle, weathered face. It was the third-ranked hero, the Thunder God, Lionel Ryu.

Marianne dipped her head politely toward him. “It’s been a while, Headmaster Ryu.”

“Sorry for the delay,” Lionel replied.

Her lips curved into a benevolent smile. “Ohoho. I arrived only moments ago myself.”

“Thank you for accommodating our academy cadets during their field trip.”

Marianne shrugged playfully. “Oh my! It’s only natural to invest in the heroes who will one day lead this continent.”

Lionel responded with an awkward grin, “Speaking of which, I heard one of our cadets caused some trouble.”

“Ah, that. There’s no need for concern. After the investigation, we found that no damage was done to the Saintess’ tomb.”

“My apologies for the trouble.”

“Ohoho. It’s quite alright.”

The two continued chatting casually.

A few moments later, Lionel frowned slightly and looked at the last empty chair. “But still... She’s late again.”

“Ohoho. Isn’t that always the case?”

Lionel let out a quiet sigh. “Hmph.”

At that moment, the final chair emitted a brilliant light.

“Speak of the tiger[1], and she appears.”

A languid voice drifted through the room. “A tiger, huh.”

Despite how relaxed and almost lazy the voice sounded, it carried enough authority and presence to make anyone feel as though they ought to kneel on instinct.

Then, the figure of a woman appeared in the chair, lounging back as though she had just woken up from a nap. Her platinum-blonde hair shimmered under the lights. Moreover, even though it was the middle of the day, she wore a thin, silky nightdress, so sheer it could have been mistaken for sleepwear. It was an appearance one would expect from an aristocrat with far too much time on her hands, yet the overpowering charisma she emitted could make such thoughts vanish immediately.

This woman was the first-ranked hero, the Empress, Camellia Padsha. She was the reigning Empress of the Empire and the strongest among all heroes.

“Are you really comparing me to a mere beast?” Camellia asked.

“A mere beast, you say? Do you not know that the tiger is revered as a sacred creature in the Republic?” Lionel replied.

With eyes half-lidded, as though sleep might claim her at any moment, Camellia glanced at Lionel. “I am aware. However, in my presence, all living things in this world are mere creatures.”

Lionel shook his head, exasperated. “You never change.”

Camellia shifted her attention to Marianne. “So, how did the exam go?”

“It was remarkable.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

At Marianne’s touch, a device projected a video over the table. The video showed a handsome blond young man fiercely wielding his sword against the Seven Stars Knights.

Recognizing the face, Camellia calmly said, “A child of the Helios family.”

She gave a small nod and watched Yuren swing his sword. Then she yawned.

“My! Are you not impressed? A cadet who hasn’t even graduated is treating the Seven Stars Knights like children,” Marianne asked.

Camellia watched the video with narrowed eyes. “I’ve long heard of Yuren Helios’ exceptional talent. However, he certainly has improved.”

“Oh? That’s quite the compliment coming from you.”

“Ohoho! I do not withhold praise simply, even if I stand above all living things.”

Marianne said, “Strange. Given your expression, I thought you were dissatisfied.”

Camellia shrugged. “He has improved, yes, but he is still a fledgling.”

She skimmed through the footage. “Still, among this year’s cadets, there are a few gems.”

The video showed Iris, Camilla, Berald, Sophia, and Laneige in action.

Suddenly, Camellia’s eyes, which were dull with drowsiness, sharpened. “Hmm? Pause it.”

“What is it?”

The frozen frame showed a cadet with deep gray hair. He swung a sword wrapped in ash-colored flames, effortlessly subduing an attacking Seven Stars Knight.

Marianne recognized the cadet. “Ah, that cadet...”

“You know him?” Camellia asked.

“He caused a bit of a disturbance during the field trip.”

“A disturbance?”

“Nothing serious, though.”

Marianne briefly explained the incident involving the unauthorized intrusion into the tomb.

Camellia straightened in her chair, her gaze drilling into the paused image. “Is that something worth making a fuss over?”

Lionel tilted his head. “While Dale indeed subdued a Seven Stars Knight, didn’t Yuren do the same?”

In fact, Yuren had shown much more impressive skill. Dale had taken down only a single knight, but Yuren had held his ground against nearly ten at once without being pushed back.

Camellia asked, “Doesn’t it strike you as odd?”

“What exactly is supposed to be odd?”

Camellia slowly raised her hand and pointed at the spot where the knight had been flung after taking a hit from Dale’s sword. “The broken wall.”

The section of the wall he crashed into was cracked, clearly broken.

Lionel frowned, genuinely confused. “And what issue is that supposed to pose?”

For an ordinary person, cracking a wall that thick would be nearly impossible, but for a hero, it was nothing special. If anything, the extent of the damage was surprisingly minor given the level of combat. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Marianne’s eyes widened as realization struck her. “Ah.”

Her voice trembled slightly. “H-how?”

Puzzled, Lionel asked, “Marianne, what are you getting worked up for?”

Clicking her tongue, Camellia gave him a look of mild disappointment. “Hmph. You still haven’t grasped it? That ruin is protected by an extremely powerful barrier.”

The examination site was connected to Grace’s tomb, serving as a passageway of sorts. If the ruin collapsed, the tomb beneath it would be damaged. For that reason, an enormous protective barrier enveloped the entire ruin.

Yet, a Seven Stars Knight’s body had struck the wall hard enough to crack it. That could only mean one thing.

Camellia continued in a low, heavy voice, “In other words, he broke through the protective barrier covering the entire ruin.”

“That shouldn’t even be possible.”

Among the three nations, the Holy Empire excelled in support-type magic, and their barrier techniques were unmatched. More importantly, it wasn’t just any protective barrier.

Belatedly realizing, Lionel said, “A mere cadet broke Marianne’s barrier?”

Marianne, the second-ranked hero, had deployed that protective barrier using a massive number of divine relics.

Marianne nodded stiffly, her expression hard. “This is... something we’ll need to investigate further.”

Camellia’s eyes glimmered with interest as she looked at Dale in the footage. “Hm. You said this cadet’s name was Dale Han?”

“That’s right.”

Crossing her flawless, snow-white legs, Camellia folded her arms. “He intrigues me.”

She glanced at Lionel with her usual languid tone. “Lionel. Send me the information you have on that cadet.”

“It’s strictly forbidden to disclose a cadet’s personal data to external parties,” Lionel said.

“Do not concern yourself. My words are law.”

Lionel let out a long sigh at her completely shameless demand.

Camellia continued, “In any case, whether you give it to me or not, I’ll acquire that information soon enough. There’s no need to make things unnecessarily bothersome, is there?”

She wasn’t wrong. If Camellia wanted Dale’s information, she would obtain it by any means necessary. That was how the Empress, the first-ranked hero, operated. Therefore, exhaling deeply, Lionel transmitted Dale’s file to her.

“Ohoho. How sensible of you,” Camellia muttered.

She stroked the golden bracelet on her wrist, and a hologram popped up with Dale’s file displayed in full.

She scrolled through the document. “Now, let’s see here. Hmm?”

Her brows knit tightly. “Bottom rank? He’s at the bottom rank?”

She turned to Lionel with a look that practically asked if this was some kind of joke.

He merely smirked faintly and nodded. “The information is accurate.”

“If you intend to mock me, you had best be prepared for the consequences.”

“Mock you? I know your personality far too well to try something that stupid.”

“So, you’re saying the information is correct?”

Lionel replied, “Indeed. For reference, Dale is currently suspended and has been sent to the disciplinary committee for causing yet another incident.”

Camellia let out a short, incredulous laugh. “He possesses enough strength to shatter Marianne’s protective barrier, yet he’s been hiding his abilities?”

Her eyes gleamed sharply. “This one... could be quite useful.”

“Useful?” Lionel asked.

“With all those traitors crawling into Valhalla City lately, things have been troublesome, haven’t they?” Camellia said.

Lionel’s expression hardened.

Camellia spoke in her unhurried, soothing tone, “I believe he’s the perfect candidate.”

Someone with tremendous combat potential, yet almost entirely unknown to the public. Few individuals could be as ideal for use as a “hunting dog,” people trained to be vicious enough to tear out traitors’ throats.

Camellia looked at Lionel, a deep smile curling her lips. “What do you think?”

1. This is a proverb in Korea, which basically means the same as “Speak of the Devil”. ☜