The Tale of Gerald Vader, the Heretic Knight’s Rampage Through Another World
As winter drew to a close, the day of my enrollment at the Knight Academy drew ever nearer.
Before I knew it, only one week remained of my life in the provincial capital.
Amidst this,
while diligently studying and training at my family’s villa in the capital, I realized there was something I needed to settle before enrollment.
Namely, the handling of the ‘Cursed Jewel’ obtained by defeating the ‘Blasphemous Raum’.
“…………”
Taking a break from studying, I lay back on my bed in my room, staring at the crimson-black jewel I held between my fingers.
Spring sunlight streaming through the window illuminated the depths of the small jewel.
Within, a force that was neither magic nor miasma writhed like mist.
This was a fragment of the power had bestowed upon humans, the very root of demonic power.
The ‘Curse Jewel’ of ‘Raum the Blasphemer’—its nature was ‘Alteration of Phenomena’… I think.
By channeling a certain amount of magic into this thing, the power hidden within it resonates, allowing one to gain that power.
That’s the kind of item it is.
Incidentally, the story’s protagonist gained the power of ‘Attribute Imbuement’ itself.
Using magic (and several materials) as a catalyst, one can imbue their sword with attributes like fire or cold, or status ailments like poison or paralysis.
Plus, while the attribute is active, resistance to that specific element also increases significantly.
That ‘skill’ is added on top of the standard protective power.
But I couldn’t decide how to handle this thing.
Frankly speaking, shouldn’t this kind of crucial item be used by the story’s protagonist? That’s what I’m thinking.
After all, this ‘Blaze of Glory’ is his story.
Therefore, the protagonist should save the world as the protagonist, and for that purpose, he should be the one to wield this kind of crucial item and power.
Or rather, if he doesn’t get stronger, the world is in serious trouble.
Therefore, after enrolling in the academy, I plan to live quietly like a pill bug under a rock, waiting for the right moment to pass this ‘Curse Jewel’ to him.
That said, if you ask whether this jewel’s power is absolutely essential to defeat the Demon God, it’s not necessarily so.
Because that bastard has resistance to all elements, like many final bosses, and is immune to status ailments too.
Of course, some of his minions, the demonic tribes, have elemental weaknesses, so it’s not entirely useless… but the jewels you get from defeating other demons are often more useful.
Frankly, even if I used the ‘Curse Jewel’, it’s unclear if I’d gain power equal to the protagonist’s.
Or rather, I don’t even know if a mere mob like me could use it at all.
So I scoured the archives at my family home and casually asked the owner of the magic item shop about this sort of item.
But in the end, I learned nothing.
Come to think of it, that’s only natural.
In the world I currently inhabit, none of the ‘Primordial Eight Pillars’—the closest retainers—have been destroyed yet, save for the ‘Blasphemous Raum’ I defeated.
Naturally, no one knows what would happen if someone used the ‘Curse Jewel’ obtained from defeating one of them.
Ultimately, I—possessing the game knowledge of Blaze of Glory—am the person in this world who knows the most about the ‘Cursed Jewel’.
What the hell, I’m the foremost expert on the jewel…
So, anyway,
“Haa… What should I do?”
…I was muttering to myself while staring at the ceiling.
“Hehe… Looks like you’re really struggling, huh!?”
“Gah!?”
Suddenly, something plopped right between me and the jewel.
Of course, I knew exactly who that ‘something’ was without needing to say it.
A perfectly sculpted face, close enough to feel her breath.
Silky silver hair cascading down onto my face.
Emerald eyes fixed intently on me.
There couldn’t possibly be two girls in this world who got this uncomfortably close to someone like me.
“…Twina. Don’t scare me like that.”
“Scared? You’re the one who should be scared for spacing out like that. …Yotto.”
Twina pulled her head out from between my arms and sat down on the edge of the bed.
“I thought I’d take a break too.”
“Oh, you must be tired.”
It seemed her studies had also reached a pause.
I sat up and took a seat beside her.
Across the bed, by the window, I could see another desk brought from a different room, placed next to mine.
On it lay an open magic textbook.
I knew she’d already finished the beginner’s section, but she was already halfway through the intermediate level?
The advanced textbook covered material taught in the Knight Academy’s magic courses, so if she’d gotten this far, she probably wouldn’t have any trouble even after enrollment.
At first, I wondered how things would turn out, but I guess that’s just how gods work.
“That’s… the jewel that demon dropped when we knocked it over the other day, right?”
Twina peered at the dark red gem I was rolling in my palm and said that.
“Yeah. I’ve been wondering what to do with this thing.”
“What to do…? Huh, you haven’t drawn out its power yet?”
“Yeah, yeah… Hm?”
I nodded at her words… and then noticed something off.
“Wait a minute. How do you know about that?”
“Why? Because your ancestors brought it back as spoils of war. Of course, it’s different from that other cursed gem belonging to the Demon lord.”
“My ancestors… during the ancient invasion?”
Come to think of it, I recall seeing something about spoils of war in a history book I found in my family’s library…
But there should have been no mention of the ‘Cursed Gem’.
There were plenty of accounts like, “Got tons of gold and silver treasure!”…
But come to think of it, the ‘Cursed Jewel’ is dangerous depending on how you use it, and it’s unnecessary in a world after the demon god was repelled.
At least, people back then probably never imagined the demon god would attack again. Maybe they deliberately left it out of the history books.
Besides, leaving written records about bringing back such a potentially dangerous item could lead to liability issues if something went wrong later.
It’s reasonable to assume that kind of cunning reasoning led to its omission.
Either way, this is news to me.
“Yeah, yeah. Brings back memories.”
Twina nodded and plucked the jewel from my palm.
“Back then, I believe… I granted the power of lightning strikes? The ‘Great Sword of Thunderstorms’ I bestowed upon Alissa was crafted with inspiration from that very power.”
“Is that so?”
That was news to me.
Since that great sword was her exclusive equipment, it didn’t even have flavor text in the game.
So, I never knew or cared about its origins.
I just assumed it was what Alissa specifically requested, but apparently there was an original version separate from that.
Come to think of it, there’s no way that muscle-brained big sis would have made a specific request like, ‘Give me a greatsword that summons thunder and storms.’
No matter how you look at it, her request was probably something vague like, ‘I want a sword with overwhelming power that just mows down everything around it!’
…Looks like I’ve stumbled upon some unexpected backstory here.
But this makes it clear.
This jewel probably isn’t just for the protagonist—it’s likely usable by me too.
Twina held the jewel up to the light again and murmured.
“Hmm… I knew that demon was a formidable foe, but… even so, it’s an ominous power.”
“You can sense it?”
“Of course I can. I am a god, after all. …Now then, you should try using it soon.”
With that, she returned the jewel to my hand.
“Are you sure? It’s an ominous power, right?”
“The nature of the power, yes. But power is just power—it has no inherent good or evil. If you use it, it becomes your power.”
“…I see. That’s true.”
If I use it, it becomes my power… huh.
She might be right, Twina.
Honestly, you can never have too much power.
If I can gain the jewel’s power, why not?
Especially if it’s not that important to you, the story’s protagonist.
…No, forget that excuse.
This world might exist for the story’s protagonist, but my life is still my own.
So I’ll use the jewel’s power to grow stronger. I want to be stronger.
If I don’t get stronger, I might not survive in this world, and I might not be able to protect anyone.
I hate that version of myself.
So I nodded.
“Alright. I’ll use it.”
Loved it.
I really hope he changes his “i can’t interfere with the plot mentality”.