The Tale of Gerald Vader, the Heretic Knight’s Rampage Through Another World
“So this day has finally come…”
I looked up at the main gate of the Royal Capital Knight Academy and murmured softly.
The enormous gate, standing over ten meters tall, stood wide open. Boys and girls my age were being swallowed up one after another as they entered through it.
“Wow… this is quite an impressive gate, isn’t it? I’ve never seen a structure like this even in the provincial capitals.”
Right beside me, Twina in her uniform stared up at the enormous gate, eyes and mouth wide open just like mine.
It’s true the royal capital has many large buildings, but this gate is exceptionally massive.
After all, it’s constructed with a building perched atop the gate itself.
It’s almost like a station building from another world, isn’t it?
Well, compared to an actual station building, it only shares that solemn, imposing presence.
“Yeah, yeah, that makes sense. After all, five hundred years ago, the mage from the hero’s party who repelled the Demon God’s army back then commanded a giant golem to.. Huh?”
Just as I turned to share this tidbit with Twina, her figure vanished without a trace.
Could her ‘Expose’ magic have worn off!? I panicked for a second, but then her voice came from ahead.
“Gerald, Gerald! Come see this quickly! This castle gate… it’s actually a tunnel leading deep inside!”
Looking ahead, Twina was already deep inside the gate, waving her arms excitedly in the middle of it.
“I can see that.”
With a wry smile, he waved back casually.
She was being giggled at by the surrounding new students for her over-the-top excitement, but she didn’t seem to notice.
Haha, she’s totally a country bumpkin.
But well, I understood her amazement.
This main gate wasn’t just a gate.
To put it plainly, a tunnel-like passageway runs beneath a massive structure, leading deep into the academy grounds.
It’s about fifty meters long.
Of course, not all the walls surrounding the academy are this thick, but even so, you can tell this main gate serves as a formidable fortress.
If memory serves, the building above this gate was one of the administrative wings housing the student council and faculty offices.
It’s been over fifteen years, so my memory is hazy, but I’m pretty sure that’s right.
Well, that aside.
I can’t afford to be overwhelmed by the castle gate.
Today is the day of the crucial class placement exam.
Depending on the results, my fate could start heading toward a death end once more.
I must avoid standing out, yet not fail… I must achieve moderate grades and lead a moderately safe life…!
Just as I resolved this and started walking, it happened.
“Whoa… amazing! This is just a gate, right…? Royal Capital Knight Academy, how huge is this place?!”
A loud voice, clearly overwhelmed by the sheer size of the academy gate, came from a spot a little ways away from me.
And I stopped in my tracks.
I couldn’t help but stop.
That slightly timid yet determined voice, and above all, that line…
I felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu and glanced to my side.
A blond boy was gazing up at the gate with sparkling eyes.
“No way, no way! If you let yourself get intimidated here, you’ll never become a proper knight. Pull yourself together, Klaus!”
For a moment, he looked dazed, but snapping back to himself, he slapped his cheeks twice.
And then, our eyes met.
“……………….”
“…………Ah.”
The blond boy stared at me for a second, then quickly looked flustered.
“S-sorry!! I just happened to look at you…!”
He approached me, bowing repeatedly in apology.
Apparently, he mistook me for a noble or something.
“No, don’t worry about it. Seeing this enormous gate, it’s no wonder you’re overwhelmed.”
“Y-Yeah, you’re right! Ah, my name is Klaus Crowley. I’m from the Marquisate of Avent.”
Saying that, Klaus extended his right hand.
For a moment, I hesitated whether to take it…
“…Gerald Vader. Knight of the Horace Marquisate.”
In the end, I shook his hand.
Klaus’s palm felt rough and calloused, an odd contrast to his boyish face.
…Right. Of course.
Being a commoner turned knight-in-training with a crappy blessing, he probably had no choice but to swing his sword with sheer determination.
Well, I suppose I have similar hands myself…
“You’re taking the exam today, aren’t you, Gerald?”
After the handshake ended.
Klaus asked, sounding a bit hesitant.
“Yeah, of course. But I think everyone here today is.”
“Ah, right! Sorry, I guess I asked something weird. Guess I’m still nervous after all.”
At my perfectly reasonable point, Klaus laughed awkwardly, “Ahaha.”
But he quickly changed his expression, staring at me intently with an envious gaze.
“…But you’re amazing.”
“Huh? What about?”
Getting praised out of the blue made me snap back curtly. Couldn’t be helped.
Not that there was any malice or ill intent in Klaus’s gaze.
It was purely one of respect.
“The class placement exam starting now is a brutal selection battle, right? Your future depends entirely on these results. That’s why everyone’s terrified. Me included, of course. But you alone stand there as solid as the academy gates themselves.”
“Maybe I’m just some spoiled brat with no sense of crisis.”
“Hah! Not at all! You don’t need to be modest. Even I can tell you’ve put in considerable training, Gerald.”
Klaus continued.
“Even though we’ve been within each other’s range for a while now, I can’t see a single opening in your defense. And while your eyes are on me, you’re clearly keeping your wits about you, scanning the surroundings… Or rather, you’ve already channeled your magic throughout your body, haven’t you? That’s proof your mind is already focused on the exam. Constant readiness. Gerald, you do that effortlessly. I’ve never seen anyone like you before.”
“…You really get me.”
I was surprised.
Setting aside the talk about openings, it’s true I’m keeping a close watch on my surroundings and using magic to fortify my body.
After all, the exam has already begun.
For example, that girl loitering near the gate looks like a freshman at first glance, but she’s probably an ‘examiner’.
Of course, she’s not a teacher, but likely a student of the academy… probably a student council member drafted for the exam.
This class placement exam isn’t just about written tests and practical skills; they’re also checking our behavior and speech right here near the main gate.
So, I should at least make an effort to show I’m taking the exam seriously.
If someone like me, just an ordinary guy, looks too relaxed here, I could seriously end up in the lowest class. No joke.
Just then.
“Gerald, you’re still hanging around here?”
A displeased voice came from right beside me.
I looked over to see Twina glaring at me, her cheeks slightly puffed out.
Apparently, she’d come back because I hadn’t caught up no matter how long she waited.
Well, I knew that.
I was just about to head over.
“Oh, sorry, you had company. Well, I’ll be off then! Good luck with the exam, both of us!”
“Oh… uh-huh.”
Klaus seemed to read the room too.
He glanced at Twina, gave her a slight bow, and in a flash, was running off through the gate.
“Is that guy your friend? He seemed pretty familiar with you.”
Twina stared at Klaus’s retreating back with a puzzled look.
“…No. Just met him here for the first time.”
I told Twina that.
Yes, first meeting.
—For Klaus Crowley, the protagonist of Blaze of Glory, this world was a place of “first meetings.”
“…Anyway, let’s go. We have one hour left until the exam.”
I muttered that and passed through the gate alongside Twina.
I really hope they don’t stick to all tropes on this kind of story.