On a public wooden bench located in a clearing with a large, well-cut lawn and few trees, a red-haired young girl with striking blue eyes and a standard white knight's coat was sitting slumped over with a liquor bottle in hand. A large, sheathed two-handed sword with an ivory and gold sheath lay in her lap as she lethargically looked at the hard, sandy ground.
She had expected to escape the presence of others, but she could tell someone kept walking around the park as if searching for someone. They had paced around her multiple times, seemingly confused. She was irritated by their relentless pacing and wanted to tell them to leave, but she knew in her heart that what was bothering her wasn't that person — it was her own feeling of helplessness.
After another 20 minutes in silence, the person came around again. Seeing the bench and her on it, they called out as if resigned.
"Do you mind if I sit here?"
"Of course not. Sit."
She moved over, giving the person room to sit. Forcing her head up, she took in the sight of the figure who had approached. It was a young boy — it was hard to tell his age, as his face was childlike — but he had dirty blonde hair and hazel green eyes that looked at her, scanning her as if questioning some sort of familiarity. She couldn't recall meeting this boy before, but he didn't seem to recognize her either.
Thinking this, she decided to confide in a stranger.
The boy, now sitting down as if tired, stared at the sky as if contemplating something. Deciding to make conversation, she blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. Grabbing her liquor bottle and holding it up for him to see, she loudly stated:
"You know, I can't get drunk. With my protection of poison resistance, it mitigates any type of chemical or food in my body, canceling out the effects — even if I want to get drunk."
The boy, hearing this, gave a soft smile.
"You're pretty lucky. I heard that it's very rare to get a useful divine protection. And as a knight, that makes the ability you got even more useful. Besides, liquor tastes horrible — why not drink some juice instead?"
Hearing the blunt honesty from this boy made her feel more relaxed, more willing to talk openly.
"You don't drink for the taste," she replied. "You drink to feel good… and forget."
The boy's expression changed. He was very perceptive and could immediately tell that something was off.
"So… what are you trying to forget?"
Her breath caught. Should she confide in this stranger?
"Well… I failed to protect someone I had sworn to serve. I was too late."
Her eyes started to water as she remembered the girl's small, light body in her arms.
"So how did this happen? Were your combat skills lacking? Or were you just absent? You don't seem weak."
The boy's blunt comments hit deep.
"I was dealing with a disturbance outside the mansion, but I was too slow to return… and I failed my lady."
"Is it only you protecting your lady? Because if not, then you shouldn't blame yourself. You are only one person, and people make mistakes."
She felt her own anger rise — not at him, but at herself.
"You don't understand. I should be able to save everyone. The strong need to protect the weak — without excuses."
The boy, listening to her comment, had his face morph into one of anger. He grabbed her by the shoulders, attempting to shake her — only shaking himself in a rocking motion due to her unshakable firmness, showing how large the strength difference was between them — but he didn't seem to care. His tone was now aggressive, as if venting his frustration more to himself than to her.
"Listen. I know someone who thinks like you. He is a naive fool. He believed that because he had a special ability, he was responsible for everyone — putting all of the burden on himself, making himself crushed under his own expectations, blaming himself whenever something went wrong. Don't be stupid. As you said, you were already dealing with something. I don't care how strong you are — you can't be in two places at once. So stop blaming yourself for something you had no control over. You did the best you could, right?"
The atmosphere had noticeably changed into something darker.
Yet she found this attempted scolding refreshing. Most people only looked at her with respect and fear — never as a human. This eternally left her feeling distanced from others.
That was until Felt appeared — someone unruly, with no manners, who treated her as a human being… even if she called her names.
Slowly and gently removing his hands from her shoulders — careful not to crush them with her monstrous strength (a very realistic possibility) — she noted that without her level of control, she would have accidentally killed in the thousands by now. Feeling and noticing his soft, delicate hands without calluses, she immediately thought of the boy as a noble.
Looking at his clothes now — which she personally found a bit distasteful, not that they were hideous, just that they didn't seem to work for his style specifically — she could immediately estimate the price.
"It doesn't change the fact that I failed. I am no longer worthy to have the title of knight If I can't protect the one I serve, that is my duty."
Hearing this, the boy turned his head and scoffed, irritated.
"Titles… almost everyone in this country has a title they don't deserve. And those who believe they do are either confident or cunning opportunists with misplaced arrogance."
Hearing this slander — which could easily be directed at her fellow knights — she felt offended on her friends' behalf.
"I believe you've taken it too far."
Noticing her expression of displeasure, the boy quickly tried to clarify what he meant.
"I wasn't talking about the knights — although there might be some like that — I was talking about the nobles. Just today, one of them ordered a mercenary to kill a pedestrian… over interrupting him."
Hearing this, her blood boiled. Those disgusting human filth… they did whatever they wanted as if there were no consequences. If it wasn't for those nobles and wisemen, then she wouldn't have to be restrained — forced to be a dog at their command.
When she was little, recognizing her strength, the government forced her to join the Royal Knights. She was even so strong that they made a law preventing her specifically from ever leaving the country. If she were to leave, all of the other nations would declare war on Lugunica. She wasn't forced physically — no one could — but they told her that if she ever dissented or showed disloyalty, then her family would be killed.
How low could you get… to resort to such a despicable act?
Even though she had fallen out with her family, she still didn't want them to die. She wasn't that cruel — even if they mistreated and ignored her. If someone died, even inadvertently, because of her… what would be left of her?
"Listen. I can already tell you deserve to be a knight. As far as I can tell, being a knight isn't about strength — it's about kindness and helping others. Being able to protect those who are weaker than you is truly knightly. Loyalty as well. The fact that you are even hung up on this problem shows your true nature as someone who cares for others. The ones who doubt what they've been given are the people who deserve it most, in my opinion… because they'll strive to live up to it."
For the first time in her life, Reinhard van Astrea — the strongest Sword Saint in history — felt a true connection to someone she had met just today. He didn't know who she was. He took his time to try and help her, gave her advice, but what was so different was that it was sincere.
With her Divine Protection that enhanced her instincts, she could easily understand falsehoods and the mental state of those she interacted with. The other knights who had talked to her had ulterior motives — not trying to understand her, just trying to force her out of her slump to get her back into duty again, thinking of her as a tool. All of their words were hollow. All of their consolation was shallow. While on the inside, they distained her feelings of inadequacy and just wanted her to shut up and do what she was told.
Looking at this boy, she could feel her heart skip a beat. Could he be… her friend? Someone who spoke to her honestly… who didn't treat her like a tool.
"What's your name?"
He paused as if thinking, before sounding out the syllables as if he were speaking them for the first time.
"My name is Toyota Crimson… What is your name, noble knight?"
His voice seemed to shift into amusement as he smirked at her.
She didn't feel offended — she was also amused.
"My name is Reinhard van Astrea. I come from a lineage of previous Sword Saints. Nice to meet you, Sir Crimson."
Hearing this, Toyota froze, his face zoning out. Noticing this, Reinhard was internally scolding herself — she might have just lost her new friend. After all, the rumors about her painted her as a monster.
Looking up at her, pupils visibly shaking, his voice was unsteady as he asked:
"You wouldn't happen to have a twin brother, would you?"
Tilting her head, she was a bit confused but answered calmly.
"I have no siblings. I am an only child."
Internally, Toyota's mind was spinning. There was some understanding now of why people gave him weird looks when he referred to the Sword Saint as a he, and how others kept saying her and she. But that wasn't what was important.
What was, was that the plot of the story is different.
Reinhard is a girl. Which means… the one she failed to protect is Felt.
While this wasn't too big of a change — Reinhard being a girl should be fine, since it shouldn't affect the plot much — what was huge was Felt, a royal candidate, being assassinated. The whole plot would change.
When Rom finds out, he'll definitely try to get revenge. The slums won't be reformed under Felt's leadership. Everything past Arc 5 will be distorted.
He didn't know why, but from intuition — when Reinhard got depressed, the world would be in more danger than any Archbishop possibly could cause.
If there was any good news from this revelation, it would be that Reinhard would be more free to act on the information he gives her.
But what other changes to the story are going on?
If it was just one Gender bent character, it should be fine.
But any more unknown changes…
And the world could be doomed.
Looking back on it, earlier he should have immediately noticed the color of her hair and been able to connect the dots. She looked very similar to her grandmother, Teresia, and with her red hair — that seemed to symbolize the Sword Saint lineage — it should've been obvious. But in his defense, hair color in this world was messed up. He had already seen ridiculous colors that could only exist in anime, and the annoying thing was that all of them were natural, not dyed.
He was kind of jealous that his hair was so basic. He wanted a unique hair color.
Reinhard, noticing his shaky pupils, forced her gaze away and pulled out what looked to be a large badge with a shield-like pattern, gently caressing the edges of it as if it were precious.
"I take it you've already heard the rumors about me," she said in a sad tone.
Hearing this, Toyota forced himself to be positive and decided to try his best to cheer her up. Grinning, he shook his head to dispel all thoughts.
"You're actually the person I've wanted to meet for a while. It's just… I didn't expect it to be you."
Hearing this, her face seemed to heat up, but her tone remained calm.
"You wanted to meet me?"
"Of course. I want to make you the greatest knight — not just the strongest."
His sincerity hit her hard. She could feel something inside her shatter — a dense wall that she had only opened up once before, for one person. But she had failed them. She wouldn't do so again.
(Host has received a gift from Od Laguna in return for helping its favorite child. You have received the Divine Protection of Dragon's Favor.
Processing... altering... enhancing...
The Divine Protection of Dragon's Favor has been changed into a new skill: Dragon Monarch.
Skill details below.)
WHAT?!
Od Laguna — the god of this world — gave him a gift because he simply cheered her up?
She really is the author's favorite.
NEW – Dragon Monarch: All draconic beings feel fealty, loyalty, and reverence towards you, and will unconditionally never harm you purposely.
Reading this ability, he got goosebumps. If he could now command Volcanica, the Divine Dragon and founder of this kingdom, he would already be one of the top 10 strongest in the verse.
Reinhard, noticing the fluctuation, also felt something. She could feel something enter Toyota. Then he froze, looking up at something — his eyes fluctuating, moving side to side as if reading something in the air.
She knew that, like her, he had just received a Divine Protection.
But what was strange was that — also like her — it seemed to be granted, not awakened young or given at birth, but given in real time.
That's when the insignia in her hand glowed — brighter than she had ever seen it glow, as if light itself were directed at this boy.
It couldn't be.
He was a male. This insignia was only supposed to work for one person.
Yet it clearly was aiming at this boy.
The prophecy stated that there would be five dragon priestesses… but since one had died, did that mean Volcanica — the Divine Dragon himself — had found a substitute?
The first male royal candidate had just been chosen.
And based on the amount of light shining from the insignia…
It was clear this candidate was favored by Volcanica above all.
Her expression changed to absolute seriousness.
"Is Crimson your family name? And how old are you?"
"No." Toyota was confused by the light and her complete change in demeanor. "I made up a name for myself recently… and I don't know my exact age. I know I'm between 14 and 18 years old."
"Wait—you mean you aren't a noble?"
He frowned. "What made you think that?"
She looked briefly at his clothes and hands.
"I need you to come with me. And I can't allow you to refuse."
She firmly grabbed his wrist. At her sudden change in demeanor, Toyota found himself starting to panic, trying to get her off of him. Seeing his resistance, she felt grief about what she was about to do.
"I apologize… but this is for your own good."
She used her anti-magic Divine Protection to suck out all of the mana in his body.
But to her surprise, he didn't immediately pass out.
Instead, he writhed in pain, spasming.
Toyota could already tell that he couldn't cast a spell.
"Stop—! It hurts—please, stop!"
Tears were streaming down his eyes.
She had committed a grave sin.
She had caused pain… to a candidate.
It should have been instant.
But she realized—she was still draining mana.
It was because his mana regeneration was massive.
He kept regenerating at the same rate she was pulling it out, causing a feeling as if his body was being torn apart.
Realizing this, she let go of his wrist and—with a swift, soft hand to the back of his neck—he was knocked unconscious.
(AN: For the first time, my late release wasn't my fault the power at my house went out, so I had no Wi-Fi to post, because of my grave sin, I've made this chapter extra long, so enjoy. I'm planning on posting a pic of MC later.
I've set an official release schedule: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Although when I get bored, I add extra.
Bonus chapters will drop on Saturdays if my demands are met. 🔫
Trade deal:
You give me 70 power stones, and I give you a bonus chapter.
Sounds fair, right?)