The Hero King, Reincarnate to Master the Art of War (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 3

Chapter III: Inglis, Age 6

Inglis was now six years old.

She gazed out the window of the living room before the family set out to depart. Rain filled the skies above the mountain pass not far away. It was not a natural rain. It glimmered with the colors of the rainbow.

This was a Prism Flow, said to give rise to magicite beasts. When bathed in it, beasts of nature transformed into magicite beasts and attacked humans. Humans seemed to be immune, but there was still plenty of work to be done getting livestock and the like under shelter. If every rose had its thorn, what must a thing of such beauty as a multicolor rain conceal? As beautiful a sight as it was, it was to be abhorred by the average human.

But to a decidedly non-average human like Inglis, it sent her heart racing in excitement. She needed a magicite beast that would put up a fight, one that she could test her limits against. Sparring with Rafael and her father was nice enough, but the best training was against a foe actually trying to kill you. Magicite beasts showed no mercy; they were the ideal opponent. Rain more! Rain on the town! I need better practice! she hoped.

Although Inglis was excited, her mother was in a melancholy mood. “What an unlucky omen. And today was supposed to be your baptism...”

Today, she and Rani would receive their Runes. A Rune was necessary to control an Artifact, which was necessary to fight magicite beasts. For anyone other than Inglis, anyway.

A blade of normal steel couldn’t harm them. Inglis had tried a few months before when a Prism Flow had fallen upon the town. She’d also confirmed that the aether-based techniques of a divine knight worked perfectly fine.

Inglis aside, Artifacts were needed to carve out an existence in lands where a Prism Flow fell, and thus Runes were vital. Runes were separated into lower, middle, upper, and special classes. The stronger it was, the stronger the Artifact it could control.

Rafael’s special Rune was a one-in-ten-thousand occurrence. The strongest magicite beasts, fearsome enough to obliterate a kingdom, could only be taken on with Artifacts of that class. That had decided his purpose—he would prepare for an existential threat to the nation. Inglis could understand why her aunt was so insistent on his safety.

“A Rune...” Inglis mumbled to herself as she stared off into the distance. A divine knight didn’t really need one, but...

In fact, as soon as someone got a special one like Rafael did, they immediately became the focus of the people’s hopes. That much was easy to understand, just looking at Rafael. With that came the responsibility of fulfilling those hopes. That was the path Hero-King Inglis had already trod.

Inglis Eucus, on the other hand, wanted to live to master the blade. Every duty foisted upon her would be one more thing weighing her down. One more annoyance to deal with. That was what she was most afraid of. Anything but a special-class Rune!

“Now, Inglis...” Serena hugged her tightly.

“Mother? What’s wrong?”

“This isn’t the right thing to say just before your baptism, but...I really hope you don’t get a special Rune. Those... I feel like those doom you to live and die for others. If that happened, you’d be taken away from me.”

“What a coincidence, Mother. I was just thinking I’d like anything but that.”

“Really? I know you’re really interested in the knights, so I thought maybe you’d want that kind of power...”

“I mean, I am, but I don’t want anything that’s going to dictate how I live my life.”

“Really? Then we agree! Anything but a special Rune! Remember to keep that in mind. I’m sure God will hear your prayers if you do.”

“Understood. I promise.”

“That’s a good girl. Now, let’s get going!”

Led by her mother, Inglis set off for the castle and her baptism.

◆◇◆

Luke greeted Inglis and Serena as they arrived at the castle. Beside him were Rafinha, who would also be baptized that day, and her family—that is, the ducal family.

That was how important baptism and receiving a Rune were, or so Rafael explained. He was fourteen now. Soon, he would leave Ymir for training at the knights’ academy in the royal capital. He was grateful he was able to make it to Rafinha’s and Inglis’s baptisms before he left.

“Don’t be nervous, Rani. I hope you get a good Rune. You too, Chris. I don’t think I need to worry about you, though. You’re sure to get at least an upper class! Maybe even a special class like me! I can’t wait to see!”

The idea was significantly less exciting to Inglis than it was to him, but she still politely nodded. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful.”

“Ha ha ha. Always jumping to conclusions, aren’t you, Rafael?” Luke gently chided.

Rafinha’s father, Duke Bilford, chimed in. “He’s right, Rafael. She may be good with a sword, but talent with a blade and qualification for a Rune are two different things, even if they go together a lot.”

“Ah ha ha. So you and Captain Luke aren’t worried either. I see you both smiling,” Rafael said.

“Well, it would definitely come as a surprise,” Luke admitted.

“He’s right.” The duke chuckled. “Though I’d certainly be proud if Ymir were to produce another great knight.”

“My own Rune is middle class. It would be nice to see my daughter surpass me.”

The baptism ceremony began with a cheerful, optimistic mood. An old man who must have been a priest took his place at the altar, mumbled a short invocation, and then invited Rafinha up beside him.

On the altar was a boxlike object made of some strange stone with a hole in the side, presumably leading to a hollow interior. This was, apparently, called the baptismal tabernacle, which granted Runes.

“Now, Rafinha, if you could place your hand inside.”

“Y-Yes...” Nervously, Rafinha reached her hand into the tabernacle. As she did, it glowed and began to hum in resonance. “Oh, something’s happening! Ah ha ha ha, it tickles! Don’t worry, Chris! It’s not scary!”

“Rafinha, you need to be quiet during your baptism,” Aunt Irina scolded.

After a short time, the light faded, and the tabernacle fell silent.

“It is done. Rafinha, show us your hand.”

“Yes...”

Rafinha pulled her right hand back from the baptismal tabernacle, and presented the back of her hand to the crowd. From it, the shape of a bow in pure white gleamed dimly.

The priestly old man raised his voice. “The Bow of Light! Congratulations, Rafinha! It’s an upper-class Rune!”

“Huh?! Wow! Yay! Look, everyone!” Rafinha happily showed off her new Rune. The shape of the ward indicated what sort of Artifact it could control. The white gleam was proof of its class.

The ducal family members were all delighted.

“Rafinha! Congratulations! I’m so proud of you.”

“Rani! That’s amazing! Great job! Remember to get plenty of archery practice!”

“Hahaha! Excellent, Rafinha! With you having an upper-class Rune, I can feel secure in Ymir’s future!”

Luke nodded approvingly. “Rafael with a special-class one, and then Rafinha’s being upper class! A pair like that will make wonderful leaders!”

“Yes, it’s wonderful!” Serena did as well.

“Congrats, Rani. I know you’ll make a great knight,” Rafael said.

“Yeah! And this way I can still be together with you and Chris when we all grow up!” Rafinha had latched onto the idea that Rafael and Inglis were destined for greatness. She had said she wanted to be a knight to stay with her family.

“That’s right,” Inglis chimed in reassuringly. Well, Rafael was probably locked into that path, but Inglis had no attachment to the idea of knighthood. Fighting plenty of magicite beasts would be fine, but the more fame a knight acquired, the further they were pushed back from the front line to the sand table. In her past life, she’d gone along with that process, and somehow as she’d risen to the occasion, she’d also risen to the throne. That wasn’t a regret, of course. She was proud that she’d managed to never let those around her down, but she also didn’t want to go down that path again.

Thus becoming a knight would be fine, but if there was any indication she was going to rise in the ranks, she’d have to have plans to quit and become a mercenary or a merchant like Rambach. Her title didn’t matter—what mattered was being in the thick of combat. That’s what she wanted to do with her life.

“And next is Inglis. Step forward, please,” the priest said.

“Yes, father.”

It was her turn. Inglis stepped toward the baptismal tabernacle and, after composing herself, thrust her hand inside. As it had with Rafinha, the baptismal tabernacle glowed and began to hum in resonance.

It had begun to do its work. And touching it, she understood what that work was. So this is made to crystallize the flow of mana into a Rune? Most of the people of this new age lacked the sense that would let them manipulate mana and control magic, but that wasn’t because mana was gone altogether. It was because the techniques for its use had been forgotten.

The Runes, which the baptismal tabernacle inscribed, were an automatic flow of mana. If one were to grip the hilt of an Artifact, mana would flow from the hilt into it.

Using mana was, in itself, casting magic. Because the people of this age lacked the knowledge of spells, it was plausible that the inscription of a Rune was a stopgap. But if that’s right... Inglis began to ponder the implications. As she did, the light faded from the tabernacle.

“It is done. Inglis, show us your hand.”

“Of course...” Inglis pulled her hand free and looked at its backside.

There was no Rune. It was the same delicate hand she was used to.

That made sense. A divine knight was half-human, half-god, clad in the divine will. Aether, not mana, swirled around a divine knight’s body. There was no way a device designed to inscribe mere mana could affect them. That tabernacle was more likely to catch fire if it tried hard enough. There was no mana in a divine knight for it to even work with. At least it hadn’t tried to inscribe a special Rune.

“Nothing happened.” Inglis, relieved, held up her hand.

“Wha...?!”

The men of the family all sprang to their feet.

“Impossible! My Inglis, one of the Runeless? I can’t believe it!” Luke gasped.

That was what those whose mana was too weak to be inscribed as a Rune were called. In Inglis’s case the causes were the opposite, with the overflowing power of a divine knight simply shrugging off any attempt to inscribe a Rune. But even if the causes were different, the results were the same. Wasn’t it ironic?

“That’s right! I can’t believe Chris, of all people, would be Runeless! Something must have gone wrong!” Rafael chimed in.

“Is the baptismal tabernacle working properly? Check it!” the duke ordered.

Unwilling to accept what had just happened, they crowded around the old priest.

“Erm... It just worked on Rafinha, didn’t it?” the priest said.

“It could have broken after that, could it not? Anyway, let her try it again,” Duke Bilford ordered.

“Very well, then. Inglis, if you would.”

She figured she may as well keep trying until her family came to terms with it.

She tried four or five more times. The fathers of the two girls, so puffed-up as the day began, were well and truly deflated. She felt a bit sorry for letting them down.

“I can’t believe it,” Luke said. “Without a Rune, she can never be a knight. Squire’s as far as she’ll get... She’ll never take over as captain...”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, father.”

Luke shook his head fervently. “No! You didn’t— I didn’t mean that! Don’t worry about it, Inglis!”

He must have been worried his concerns had hurt her. Being sure to correct himself was, she supposed, the sign of a good father. Though letting it slip to begin with was also the sign of a hasty man. Better to not let out a peep to begin with, she thought.

“There’s plenty I can do even without a Rune,” she said. “And I plan on achieving those things. If Rani will become a great knight, she’ll need a squire by her side. I don’t need an Artifact Sword to be her shield.” Inglis smiled, an expression of true relief.

With no Rune, she’d never have to worry about rising above squire. This wasn’t a setback; it was an advantage. No expectation to give orders meant no reason to leave the front line to issue them. And never having to leave the front line to climb the ranks was a great opportunity to focus on mastering the blade.

However, her family around her mistook her relief for a wholehearted effort to move along from bearing the weight of her disappointment.

Luke and Duke Bilford nodded gravely.

“I see. You’re right...”

“Take good care of my Rafinha, Inglis.”

Her mother and aunt could say nothing, only watch with tears in their eyes.

“Chris! Chris, you really are an amazing person!” A tear ran down Rafael’s cheek as he hugged Inglis. He was deeply moved.

“Chris, I’m so happy. This means we can stay together forever.” Only Rafinha could manage an encouraging smile.

And thus the day of Chris’s baptism ended, even if it didn’t end happily.

A few days later, Rafael left for the capital and the knights’ academy.