Chapter 35: Heavenly Saint, Vasily Valvaroi 6

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“…H–hey, I’m fine. This much… it’s nothing…”

Vasily could say nothing to the boy who answered like that.

Finn Debyura.

A boy not recorded in the journal. A boy who merely had the potential to obstruct Aria’s path in the future, and possibly become an enemy. Vasily had thought it might be interesting to raise him in recognition of the nerve it took to say he wanted to be like Aria but Finn did not possess the aptitude to endure training of the same intensity as Aria.

Even the techniques Vasily possessed were not something one could master overnight. When she considered how to raise him, she realized there was only one option.

Increase his physical durability and specialize him in close combat. Techniques could be learned later, but what had to be prioritized above all else was sheer toughness. The monsters of this world could be called humanity’s natural enemies.

According to Johan’s journal, they were “〔as unreasonable as those sadistic eroge worlds of old〕.” Vasily could not help but think, what the hell is an old sadistic eroge, but she abandoned the thought, assuming it was probably nothing good. Even now, there were many terms within the granted <Knowledge> that remained beyond her understanding. There was no point in dwelling on it.

In any case, there were limits to how strong an ordinary person could become just by dreaming of it.

…Is there such a thing as “levels,” or not? I’ve never been able to verify it, but since no one has ever stood equal to me even now, it’s safe to assume there aren’t.

Therefore… Finn Debyura could not become a hero like Aria. He could not even activate the Holy Sword to begin with, so there was no way he could become one. If simply becoming strong were enough to be a hero, Vasily would have gladly taken up the Holy Sword herself.

He could not become special. Knowing that, Vasily felt it was wrong to teach and guide him as though he could stand beside Aria, so she chose first to reason with him.

『You cannot stand beside her.』

『No matter how hard you try, you will never catch up to Aria.』

『Even if you vomit blood, even if you suffer so badly it feels like you’re dying, you still won’t reach her.』

“Even so,” Finn said.

Why? How? Could it be that this, too, was based on impure feelings, just as <Knowledge> described? Vasily no longer knew. So she tested him. To make him understand what awaited him, to show him that things would get far worse than this, and that even then, he would still never catch up to Aria.

She broke his arm. She broke the arm of a child, a boy. The arm of a boy who had committed no crime, who lived a healthy life influenced by the world Vasily herself had made prosperous.

『Give up now.』

『There is no meaning in it for you.』

Even if you become an enemy in the future, Aria with the Holy Sword would cut you down in a single strike.

“If I keep doing this… Can I become like that?”

Finn said this with tears in his eyes, without even holding his broken arm.

“…You can’t. No matter how hard you try, no matter how much pain you endure…”

“Why?”

“That’s just… The kind of world this is…”

“But I still want to do it.”

Faced with those eyes looking straight at her, Vasily fell silent. She did not know what to say. In this world, only long-lived races or a chosen handful could grow strong. The saints and sword saints recorded in <Knowledge>, and everyone else was nothing more than the weak, mercilessly trampled by the strong.

Even if one did everything they could, that fate likely would not change.

“Is it… not allowed?”

But Vasily could not say no. Because she herself was the one most desperately resisting the world. She could not call someone’s resolve meaningless.

“…Why do you want to do this so badly?”

“…Because I don’t want to make Aria sad. Th–that’s what I want.”

“…Is that because you possess <Original Work Knowledge>?”

“…? Ori… what…?”

“—No, never mind. Forget it. I understand your resolve.”

As she said this, Vasily healed the injured arm. She had asked without thinking, but Finn did not seem to possess that kind of knowledge. Johan had said that if someone were a reincarnator, they would not be able to remain unfazed by such a question.

In short, this boy named Finn Debyura did not feel anger, hatred, or fear toward the childhood friend who had nearly killed him. Instead, out of pure feeling, he simply did not want to make her sad, and wanted to become strong like her. Even with his arm broken, he did not utter a single complaint. More than that, he even said that failing to become strong would not be a reason to stop trying.

This child is worth betting on. He may be the only one who can save Aria’s heart.

That day, Finn Debyura officially became Vasily’s disciple. He started accepting all the hardships that awaited him from then on.

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Aria recovered. Through repeated interaction with Finn, she regained her former cheerfulness. This brought deep relief to both her parents and Vasily. Her parents understood that Aria carried an important mission, and they trusted Vasily as well. They did not reproach her, but what they truly thought inside was too frightening to ask.

More than anything, it meant that the worst possible form of original-story collapse had been avoided. If the most important protagonist’s spirit had broken here, what would happen next? The world would be destroyed. Humanity would be toyed with by monsters, forced to live in hiding in a hellish present age. If she had been the one to determine such a future, Vasily would no longer have remained sane.

The world she had built with her own hands would perish. It was terrifying. Terrifying, empty, and unbearably frustrating. Since things had returned to their original form, she could not help but feel relieved.

However, even after Aria returned to normal, Finn could not continue training together with her. He could not keep up academically, and his physical durability was insufficient. Considering he had originally been nothing more than a villager, that was only natural and more than anything, there was not enough time. Even just to catch up to Aria as she was now would take years, and if Aria were given that same time, she would grow even further.

To avoid placing unnecessary strain on Aria, Vasily decided to train Finn deep in the mountains, using magic to block out sound. No matter how resolved one was, pain was still pain. Finn, who had said nothing when his arm was broken, screamed and rolled his eyes when his broken limbs were savagely attacked. Vasily, who was not doing this because she wanted to, also suffered and felt anguish, but she reminded herself that the one enduring it was suffering the most, and steeled her heart.

“GYAAAAAAAAGH!!!”

“AGAAAAAHH!!? GUEEEEH!!”

“UGGH!!? GUEEHH!!”

There was not the slightest mercy in her attacks. It was training using only a body honed without magic, and because of that, the sensation of crushing flesh and bone lingered all the more. It was a revolting feeling. Beating and kicking a one-sided, helpless child, and having to insist that it was training, that it was discipline. Even if she healed him, the pain did not disappear. How deeply must his heart have been wounded?

The screams were filled with pure agony. Vasily’s heart was not numb enough to ignore them. Because of her long life, it also took time for her heart to change. If it were only her own impending death, perhaps she could endure it but knowing this was not strictly necessary made it all the more painful.

How much meaning was there in this act? Even if there was none, it was Finn who decided to do it. When the world ended, would she deny the three thousand years she had lived?

As she repeated these questions to herself, the training piled up, and Finn gradually grew. Even after Aria’s issue was resolved, Vasily’s heart did not settle. In the end, the heaviest burden on her was the lack of collaborators.

Avoiding her own death. Only Astrogonoff, who had lost his ego, and Johan, long dead, knew that goal. There were no other <Reincarnators>, no one with whom she could share the responsibility, so everything bore down on Vasily alone. But that, too, could not be helped. <Knowledge> was that potent a poison. 

If she had been inhuman, she would have chosen to avoid fate by any means necessary, even cruel ones. If she were the type to say she would live even if the world were destroyed, she would not have suffered like this. Vasily had learned more than just knowledge from Johan. Because she possessed a kind heart as a person, her days of suffering continued.

And then, after half a year passed with Finn never uttering a single word of complaint, another accident occurred. Aria saw the two of them training. She entered the barrier that should have been in place as though it were nothing, and saw Finn being beaten down. She saw Vasily continue attacking without hesitation. She saw Finn rise again and again, limbs crushed and body drenched in blood.

As a result, Aria once again took to her bed. It was hardly surprising. Anyone who could remain sane after witnessing such a scene would be strange. In that sense, Finn’s mental fortitude was beyond abnormal. But this time, Vasily was not particularly worried.

Because Finn was there. Finn would surely be able to heal Aria’s heart. Having come to trust Finn completely over the past half year, Vasily simply left it to him. If it failed, she would think about it then.

Aria, chosen by the world but with the heart of a village girl. Finn, not chosen by the world but with a strong heart. She thought it was a good pairing. That night, on the day she arranged a rest day and brought them together…

Aria kept glancing at Finn, but whenever he noticed, she hurriedly looked away. Like a maiden… no, she was a maiden but the way she acted like a girl who had just fallen in love was endearing to watch.

At that point, Vasily began to think.

Aria is just an ordinary girl.

She was not mentally exceptional, just a village girl burdened with the destiny of a hero. As she faced many walls, she continued to grow. At times she broke down, took to her bed, and shut herself away but she had a friend who could rouse her when that happened. Perhaps that was the best change of all.

Having Finn here is a miracle.

It was hard to believe that this boy was originally meant to play a role as an enemy. What could have happened to twist him so badly? There was no way to know, but at the very least, as long as Vasily was involved, she would not let him become twisted like that. The more she thought that this straightforward, earnest boy must not be warped, the more fond of Finn Vasily became.

When Aria had struck someone, Vasily had agonized over what to do but in the end, everything resolved cleanly. All because Finn was there.

“Um… Fi–Finn, do you want to eat this?”

“Oh. Yeah, I’ll eat it. I’ll give you this instead.”

“Th–thank you so much!!”

“…You’re exaggerating.”

How heartwarming… To think I’d feel this way.

That she, who had despaired over fate and been crushed by it, could look upon the hero who had all but sealed her own destruction with such feelings. Watching the two of them, she began to think that maybe it would be fine even if she died.

Three thousand years was not light. Yet if nothing had changed, perhaps it could only be called fate. Johan had regretted his life, but his face in death had been peaceful. Was it because he had been able to entrust everything? Because he felt his life had meaning? Vasily had no way of knowing Johan’s heart. But what she had built over these three thousand years had not been meaningless.

…If I go over there, will I see you again? When that happens, I’d really like to ask you.

『Why were you able to sleep so peacefully?』

If she were to die after suffering, she did not want to believe she would continue suffering even after death. If that were the case, there would be no salvation at all. Even a little would be fine. If death was inevitable, then at least… At least after dying… She wanted to sleep peacefully.

That was what she thought.

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