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Chapter 12
― There was one more person who used to be my sister, but that person…
― That person?
― …left.
― Left?
― What do you mean by left…?
― She left the house.
― Became a nun? Got married?
― No, not becoming a nun—ran away from home.
― …Ran away?
― Yeah, ran away.
― Ran away? Why on earth?
― Well, I’m not exactly sure, but from what I heard…
“Right, I think so too. That house is suffocating, like you can’t even breathe. That’s why I ran away too.”
Her words, said almost like a complaint, and the content of what she said confirmed that my assumption was correct.
‘She left to find freedom.’
Rena’s sister, unable to endure Titan’s stifling atmosphere, ran away and erased herself from the family registry.
That must have been Gina.
“Then what about me…?”
“I’m not planning to take you to Titan, so don’t worry.”
Gina waved her hands, saying she didn’t want to go home either, and only then could I let out a genuine sigh of relief.
‘At least, it’s handled for now.’
I avoided being dragged to Titan for the moment, but the real problem lay ahead.
This time, Gina had left Titan on her own, so it worked out, but if it were another Titan-born person and their Giant Potential Trait was discovered, things wouldn’t be so easy.
“Consider yourself lucky. If it were anyone else, they’d probably break your arms and legs just to drag you to the family.”
Gina’s words were no exaggeration.
Even judging by Rena’s personality, she was a lone wolf who rarely listened to others.
“So what should we do?”
“What do you mean, ‘what to do’?”
“How can I avoid being dragged to Titan?”
A way to avoid being taken by Titan.
Gina thought for a moment, then came up with an answer.
“Simply put, you should avoid meeting anyone from Titan. If you do, just stay away.”
“That’s obvious.”
It’s obvious, but also difficult to uphold.
Only direct descendants with Titan Body Traits can detect Giant Potential, so the chance of being caught is very low, but it’s not zero.
If I never go outside and stay only inside the Main Temple, it wouldn’t matter, but I can’t avoid going outside altogether.
Especially for someone like me, preparing to prevent the apocalypse requires external activity.
So I need another method.
“It’s not impossible.”
“There’s a way?”
“About two ways.”
Fortunately, Gina seemed to have been joking before, and now she presented a real solution.
“One is to strengthen the Giant Potential trait.”
The first method: Trait Enhancement.
“If you enhance the trait and change its nature, it’ll be harder for a Titan person to notice the Giant Potential trait immediately.”
By enhancing the trait, it wouldn’t remain a pure Giant Potential trait, so a Titan-born person might not recognize it. But there was a big problem.
“To enhance a trait, you need two more traits of the same type, right?”
Trait enhancement requires three traits of the same level and type.
Giant Potential is a top-tier body trait.
In other words, you’d need two more top-tier body traits to enhance the Giant Potential trait.
“Top-tier traits aren’t exactly common.”
In my previous life, only two of my companions had top-tier body traits.
One of them was Rena, who had the Titan Body trait.
“Exactly. I said it, but honestly, it might be impossible.”
Gina said she hadn’t seen anyone in the Titan family enhance their Giant Potential trait either, and then suggested the second method.
“The other method is promotion.”
“Promotion?”
“Yeah, promotion. No matter how reckless Titan is, they probably can’t just drag someone away if they’re a 1st-rank Paladin.”
Even though Titan is a transcendent family, they adhere to the value of justice, so there’s a limit.
Although the Order is weaker than Titan, they can’t just take a 1st-rank Paladin at will.
“1st-rank…”
It’s a relatively reliable solution, but the issue remains.
‘In my previous life, it took about ten years?’
It took 10 years to go from 2nd to 1st rank, or 12 years starting from 3rd rank.
‘I could probably shorten it this time.’
Of course, 12 years was in the previous life; this time it wouldn’t take that long.
My current goal was to reach 2nd rank faster than before anyway.
“Then I guess I need to get promoted to 2nd rank first.”
“Of course. To become 1st rank, you need to reach 2nd first.”
“Could you help me get promoted to 2nd rank as quickly as possible?”
“Hmm, so you want to enter District 2?”
Gina seemed to understand my intention, hesitated briefly, then replied.
“Alright, I can at least write a recommendation.”
“No.”
As soon as we returned to Underlake after the mission, Gina personally submitted the recommendation to the Order priest, but he firmly refused.
“A 3rd-rank Paladin who hasn’t even passed a month since graduation wants to enter District 2? Do you think that’s reasonable?”
“Hmm… indeed…”
Both Gina and I had nothing to say about that.
A rookie Paladin entering District 2 in less than a month was unprecedented.
“But she’s really capable. It’d be a waste to keep her in District 1.”
Gina tried to appeal my usefulness again, but the priest remained firm.
“Get a recommendation from at least one more 2nd-rank Paladin.”
He suggested a compromise: get another recommendation and then they’d allow entry to District 2. Gina pouted but accepted.
“Then let’s see who we can ask for another recommendation.”
Outside the mission room, I asked Gina with a puzzled expression:
“You’re really helping me?”
“What?”
“To get the recommendation and District 2 entry.”
Gina had already fulfilled her role by writing a recommendation. Yet she was trying to persuade the priest and now even help get another recommendation.
When I asked why, she gave a look as if I asked something trivial.
“Consider it an apology for pointing a knife at your neck.”
“…If it’s that, then sure.”
“Now, who should we ask?”
Gina began thinking, and I tried to recall 2nd-rank Paladins from Underlake Temple.
‘First, not an instructor.’
But no one else came to mind. Apart from Gina, I didn’t know any other 2nd-rank Paladins.
The only 2nd-rank Paladin I knew was an instructor, but due to their position, they couldn’t write a recommendation.
“Hmm, maybe I should take a District 1 mission first?”
I thought I should start with a District 1 mission to build rapport with other 2nd-rank Paladins, but Gina shook her head.
“No need.”
“Huh?”
“What matters is proving your skill, right?”
Gina waved her hand and called someone.
“Hey, Heron!”
‘Heron Caliber?’
The person Gina called was Heron Caliber.
Heron, Gina’s peer, was a 2nd-rank Paladin from the Caliber family, one of the sacred noble houses supporting the Order.
“Hmm?”
Heron, passing by the mission room, heard Gina and approached.
“Busy now?”
“Hmm.”
Heron shook his head, and Gina said, pointing at me:
“Do you remember who this is?”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t remember? The one who destroyed the steel scarecrow yesterday at the training ground, like me in the past.”
“Hmm!”
“Today’s her first mission, and she accompanied me as my trainee. She’s quite capable, so I want her in a District 2 mission. But I need another recommendation. If you think she’s good after sparring, could you write one?”
“Hmm…”
Heron looked me over carefully, said nothing, and turned away.
‘…A refusal?’
I assumed he refused, but Gina started walking after him, and I followed.
We arrived at the training ground.
Heron silently took up his training sword and entered the sparring area.
“What are you doing? You’re coming up too.”
Gina nudged me, and I finally climbed into the sparring arena.
“Please take care of me.”
“Hmm.”
Heron said nothing on the way or while preparing for the spar.
‘I heard he was quiet… but not this quiet.’
‘Anyway, he’s a Caliber Paladin…’
The Caliber family, one of the sacred noble houses supporting the Pantheon Kingdom and the Order, is also one of the world’s top 100 noble houses.
They are the originators of Holy Swordsmanship and one of the few prestigious sword-fighting families.
Heron Caliber is a direct descendant.
Though the youngest grandson of the current head, he won’t hold an important position in the future, but…
‘…his skill is unquestionable.’
Underlake Temple has no 1st-rank Paladins yet, but in a few years, they will have two: Heron Caliber and Gina Harper.
So Heron’s skill is on par with Gina, who is from the Titan family.
‘I never got a chance to see it in my previous life, but now I will.’
The legendary training sword techniques of the Caliber family, the origin of the basic Holy Sword techniques taught by the Order.
A chance to experience their fame I missed in my past life.
“Remember: no mana, no killing. If ready… begin!”
Excited, Gina signaled, and I charged at Heron. He charged at me too.
‘A thrust.’
Using the force of his charge, Heron aimed a powerful thrust.
I focused on the tip of his sword and lowered mine slightly.
Just before impact, as Heron thrust, I lifted my sword from bottom to top, deflecting his attack.
Then, lowering my body to strike his torso, Heron stepped back and raised both hands.
“I lost.”
