Chapter Coincidence and Inevitability (2).

.Episode 23. Coincidence and Inevitability (2).

As I blinked, Yulia continued speaking without taking her eyes off the back of my right hand.

“This isn’t the first time you tried to create a ‘Symbol,’ is it? Even yesterday, during the fight with the Ozen Serpent, you tried to form a symbol on your right hand to control your holy power.”

What is this woman talking about?

That I tried to make a symbol back then? That’s news to me.

“You couldn’t have known the principle behind it… You probably tried to form it instinctively. You seem quite talented at handling holy power.”

I don’t know the first thing about handling holy power, you crazy woman.

What exactly made you come to that conclusion?

…Wait, hold on. My right hand?

Only then did her words start to make sense.

Could she have noticed that holy power had been concentrated on the back of my right hand since the battle with the Ozen Serpent?

And now she thinks I instinctively created a Symbol?

A chill ran down my spine.

What kind of freakish insight is that…?

“To try and instinctively form a Symbol the moment you awaken holy power… You’re humbler than you look. If it weren’t for me, no one would’ve noticed.”

Yulia gave a small smile, but then her expression soured and she placed her hands on her hips.

“Still, I’m a little disappointed. I know you were asked to keep secrets, but hiding something from the person trying to teach you? That’s just mean.”

“……”

Looks like… I seriously underestimated the current Yulia.

I didn’t expect her to pinpoint the holy power condensed in my body so quickly. Damn it.

…Anyway, calm down for now.

She still seems to think the thing on my hand is a Symbol.

It’s probably best to play along for the time being.

“…Yeah. I didn’t expect you to catch on so fast.”

“I can sense holy power more easily than others. You could say it’s… a natural gift?”

Damn talented freak.

I scrambled to come up with a plausible excuse.

“Sorry for lying. It’s just… it was my first time making one, so I wasn’t sure if it was done right. I thought I’d practice more before showing it.”

“Fufu, you’ve got a surprisingly timid side. Still, could you show me once?”

“Um, maybe it’s better if I show you later…”

“It’s good to learn how to conceal the Symbol too.”

“……?”

That caught my attention.

“There’s a spell for that?”

“Not really a spell—more like a technique. If you’ve created the Symbol properly, I wanted to teach you how to hide it too. Sometimes you’ll need to suppress the light it emits.”

Now that’s a different story…

The Symbol looks very similar to a stigmata.

I even mistook it for one myself, briefly.

The key difference between Symbols and stigmata… is that Symbols vary in design, while stigmata always take the form of a cross.

If I’m right, Yulia probably uses the same technique to hide the stigmata engraved on the back of her hand.

Learning to hide a stigmata is essential for me, at least for now.

And considering how eager she is to see my Symbol, refusing would only make things weirder.

*Sigh*… I’ve got no choice but to gamble a little here.

Not like I don’t have a backup plan.

“…Here.”

After weighing the pros and cons, I removed the leather glove on my right hand and held it out to her.

The stigmata engraved there glowed faintly.

“Incredible. You really did create a Symbol…”

Yulia covered her mouth in astonishment—though only for a moment.

“…Huh?”

Her eyes widened and she leaned in so close she nearly pressed her face to my hand.

“Th-this Symbol design… it’s a cross?”

“Yeah? So what?”

“Well, Symbols are all supposed to be different, but… wait a minute?”

Seeing her wave both hands in flustered confusion gave me some relief.

Even someone with a stigmata like Yulia isn’t sure whether what’s on my hand is one.

Still… I can’t entirely rule out the chance she’s acting.

“…May I ask you something?”

Yulia’s flustered tone suddenly turned serious.

Didn’t seem like she was about to make small talk.

“Ask away.”

“Then as a member of the Holy Order, I have something I’d like to ask you.”

I answered casually, but my nerves were on edge.

It’s a precaution. If she realizes this is a stigmata… then like it or not, I’ll have to curse her.

There’s a curse that can erase a person’s memory, after all.

At this range, I could probably wipe about a minute of memory with a surprise attack.

Cursing Yulia specifically makes it even more complicated, though.

Ugh…

I focused calmly, gathering my magic as I waited for her next words.

“Brother Damon, would you consider joining the Holy Order?”

“…Huh?”

I stared at her, mouth agape.

—

**Later that night, Sancternim Academy, Girls’ Dormitory**

Sancternim usually assigned individual rooms, but right now, Yulia and Viollet were sitting face-to-face in Viollet’s room.

Yulia had rushed over after parting with Damon at the training grounds.

“Hahaha… Sister? You’re getting better at talking nonsense?”

“Do you really think I’d joke about something like this?”

“…You’re serious?”

Yulia told Viollet everything that had happened with Damon.

“Him instantly forming a Symbol? I could buy that. You made one right after hearing about it too, didn’t you?”

It wasn’t unusual for someone with a talent for refining holy power to also excel at holy magic.

But—

“The Symbol’s design… it was exactly like a stigmata? A cross? That’s possible?”

“I was shocked too.”

Symbols vary from person to person.

So even if two looked similar, it’d usually be brushed off as coincidence.

But if someone’s Symbol resembled a stigmata?

You couldn’t help but be concerned.

“You didn’t… actually pass your stigmata on to him, did you?”

“Of course not.”

Yulia showed Viollet the back of her hand.

A faint golden light glimmered from the cross-shaped symbol etched there.

It was unmistakably a stigmata inherited from the Holy Empire.

“If it wasn’t transferred… then I guess it really is just coincidence…”

“Right…”

The two women reached a conclusion.

Damon’s Symbol just *happened* to look like a stigmata.

As unsettling a coincidence as that might be.

“Still, if he could form one right away, isn’t it fair to offer him a place in the Holy Order?”

“I already did.”

Yulia gave a dry smile.

“He rejected it immediately.”

Viollet narrowed her eyes.

“You didn’t say anything weird to him, did you?”

“I didn’t even get a word in. The moment I asked, he said no. Like, within a second.”

“Can’t tell if he’s principled or just proud.”

Joining the Holy Order meant official recognition by the Holy Empire.

“Seriously, what does he plan to do?”

“Huh?”

“I heard a rumor he defended dark magic in the cafeteria. Everyone’s talking about it—students, teachers, everyone.”

“It spread *that* fast?”

“Yeah. If he’d at least accepted the Holy Order’s offer, things might’ve looked better.”

Even if he wasn’t from the Holy Empire, he should’ve seen how members of the Holy Order were treated at the academy.

Yulia frowned and rested her chin on her hand.

“I felt kind of indebted to him after the rift, so I wanted to get along, but… why’s he so damn difficult?”

To the Holy Empire, dark magic is a forbidden art.

Anyone who uses holy power is expected to reject it.

Whether he likes it or not, life at the academy just got a lot harder.

“Seriously, what was he doing before he got here?”

“I’d love to know too.”

The two women slumped back in their chairs, exhaling heavily.

—

“Ugh… join the Holy Order, my ass.”

I shuddered, recalling Yulia’s proposal.

Me? A dark mage? In the Holy Order?

Getting caught would mean torture. I’ll pass.

She probably thinks I’m talented with holy power… but I know it’s all thanks to the stigmata.

It’s uncomfortable to be mistaken for a prodigy when I know the truth.

‘Still, it’s a relief she doesn’t suspect it’s a stigmata.’

The fact she offered me a place in the Holy Order means she doesn’t believe the mark on my hand is one.

Can’t blame her—who would think someone had *two* stigmata?

Either way, I learned how to control holy power thanks to Yulia.

Picked up a neat technique too.

*Vrrm!*

As I focused on the back of my hand, a soft golden glow seeped from the stigmata.

“Let’s see…”

Yulia had shown me how to hide the Symbol.

The method was surprisingly simple.

Just infuse the pattern with mana.

*Fzzzt.*

The blue glow of mana mingled with the gold of holy power.

> *‘Symbols stabilize when in contact with mana. If you’re not actively using holy power, this will suppress their glow.’*

Recalling Yulia’s words, I channeled mana along the pattern.

The more I filled it, the more the golden light faded.

When it was done, the stigmata vanished completely from the back of my hand.

“Ohh…”

As I’d hoped, the technique to hide Symbols worked just as well on stigmata.

“If only it had been more complicated…”

I ruffled my hair in frustration.

Hiding a stigmata was *this* easy?

Though I can’t handle it properly yet, at least now the glow won’t spill out when I’m not using holy power.

Thanks, Yulia.

*Swoooosh…*

A wind blew through the branches.

Under a dark sky, surrounded by trees and moonlit grass—

I was inside the artificial rift, the same grassland field I entered with Viollet yesterday.

It was late, the sun gone, the full moon and stars faintly illuminating the landscape.

‘It was around here…’

I cut down goblins as I headed toward my destination.

The closer I got, the stronger the stench of rot.

“Found it.”

At last, I stood before the corpse of the Ozen Serpent I had slain.