"…Won't you take me in? I wish to serve by your side, my lady."
At those words, Gladia sensed a flicker of surprise from Aiolette.
Well, fair enough. If a woman you'd just met—a deeply suspicious one, at that—suddenly declared she wanted to serve you, anyone would be thrown off.
But this wasn't a reckless gamble.
*Either way, I have to get to the Academy.*
The moment she'd realized this was the world of *Saintess & Hero*, it was the only conclusion that had surfaced in her mind.
The main storyline of *Saintess & Hero* followed the Saintess as she searched for the Hero at the Academy and set out to defeat the Demon King.
Naturally, most of the Hidden Pieces she knew about were sleeping somewhere inside that story.
*If anywhere has clues about the World's Trial, it's there.*
More than anything—why she'd fallen into this world, and how she could get back to her own.
The answers to those questions were most likely buried at the heart of the story as well.
The problem was how to get in.
Stellar Academy—the cradle of geniuses, where the empire's finest minds gathered.
By the setting's own rules, it wasn't the kind of place you could simply walk up to and sit an entrance exam. The golden admission letter arrived without warning, delivered only to chosen prodigies who had passed the Academy's own privately constructed criteria. A sanctuary of the continent, something like a continental-edition Hogw—ts.
The odds of a blind beggar from a back alley receiving that invitation were essentially zero.
The same was true in the game.
In Custom Mode, if you started at a point before enrollment and failed to obtain the admission letter within the allotted time, it was a straight bad ending.
A notoriously brutal start, even among veteran players.
Now that the game had become reality, what kind of ruin awaited her if she failed to enroll was anyone's guess—but there was no reason to court that risk.
*Then the only option is… to go all-in on Aiolette stock…!*
There was a well-known orthodox route, famous even among veterans.
Attach yourself to a core character whose enrollment was guaranteed.
Do that, and the probability of getting in skyrocketed.
And Aiolette Drnaris was one of those core characters—one who would, without fail, enter the Academy.
From where Gladia currently stood, there was no better blue-chip asset than this.
One more thing on top of that.
Aiolette, as she was right now, was in no position to refuse her offer.
*Because by rights, you should have awakened your magic yesterday.*
The assassination attempt from the night before was an event that had been referenced in the game.
The scene where Aiolette, cornered to the edge of a cliff at the end of the succession struggle, finally awakened.
But Gladia's interference had bent the flow.
Aiolette had not awakened her mana, and she remained in a precarious state—still exposed to threats on her life.
What she desperately needed, right now, was a reliable force to protect her.
In a situation where even members of her own household might have turned against her, Gladia—nameless, with no connections, but with undeniable ability—would look like a very attractive lifeline.
*She brought me here and even had me treated. That's basically a given. She's probably thinking something like, "I'll sell her a favor and then win her over."*
Gladia smiled inwardly.
Before she'd ended up here, she had been the kind of person who'd retried countless times just to take down Aiolette, the hidden boss.
She was a woman now, but still.
Anyway.
Reading Aiolette was like reading an open book.
*All right. Time to grease the tongue.*
***
Aiolette Drnaris, sixteen years old—the youngest daughter of the Drnaris Ducal House.
She was currently drowning in a kind of bewilderment she had never experienced in her life.
Was it because her own siblings had sent assassins to kill her?
No.
Was it because a girl she'd never seen before had cut those assassins down like swatting insects?
That had surprised her too, but no—that wasn't it either.
The reason Aiolette was flustered was…
"My lady. The moment I heard your voice in that back alley yesterday, I thought an angel had descended."
*Th-this girl…?*
Aiolette's eyebrow twitched.
"That dignity of yours—unbroken even before assassins… I was genuinely in awe. I have never met anyone like you."
Aiolette folded her arms with a show of indifference.
"…Hmph. At least you have eyes."
It was the moment her wariness softened, just a fraction.
"The daughter of the Drnaris house, a family renowned for its magic. A great mage who will one day bring glory to the empire."
"……"
"Though my own eyes are blind, I can still sense your talent, my lady."
Aiolette's lips twitched at the corners.
She had spent her entire life being treated as a failure.
And now, for the first time, someone was offering her praise with absolute conviction.
She was clearly a suspicious character.
Rationally speaking, keeping her close was the wrong call.
And yet, strangely…
The girl's words kept tickling at her pride.
"Hm… hmm."
The tips of her ears began to flush red.
"Your voice is as clear and bright as jade beads rolling across a silver tray, and the aura you radiate is so magnificent it could blanket the entire empire and still have room to spare! If I could only be permitted to serve someone like you, I would gladly let my humble life become the cloth that sweeps the flower-strewn path before you!"
With every word the girl spoke, Aiolette's head grew hotter and hotter, until her thoughts refused to string together properly.
"S-stop that…"
"Even the edge of the blade that cut down those assassins yesterday was graced by your blessing, my lady. In the moment I struck down those contemptible wretches who dared to threaten you, I finally understood. I was born to be the sword that protects you."
"I—I get it, so stop!"
Aiolette snapped.
But it was already too late.
The corners of her mouth had curled all the way up.
"You can't see, but you do have good taste. Yes, I suppose someone of Drnaris blood is a bit… dazzling."
Aiolette cleared her throat for no particular reason and lifted her chin.
"If you want to serve me that badly… I won't turn you away."
"Oh…! I will carve this grace into my very bones—thank you! My light, my sun, Lady Aiolette!"
"Ahahahaha! Know that it is an honor, and serve me with your whole heart!!"
***
*Easy.*
Beneath Gladia's dazzling flattery, she could sense Aiolette's shoulders practically floating up to the ceiling.
Aiolette, at this age, was starving for praise.
And against this particular kind of goodwill, she had absolutely no resistance.
As a hidden boss, Aiolette was the strongest.
But when it came to personal relationships…
*She's a pushover. Guess that started when she was young.*
In the game, Aiolette had always been one of the easier characters to win over.
She had zero tolerance for compliments—a little flattery was all it took to build her affection quickly.
And yet, for all that, her mental fortitude was fragile and she carried deep-seated distrust of people, so if you didn't manage her consistently, she'd spiral into a wreck and blow up the whole party.
That was the true nature of Aiolette Drnaris.
She wasn't stupid—but for anyone she'd decided wasn't an enemy, she became far too easy to handle.
Right now, from Gladia's perspective, that was nothing but a relief.
*As long as she doesn't see me as a threat, she's simple enough.*
If Aiolette had marked her as an enemy, piling on compliments would have only made her more guarded.
Regardless—full acquisition of Aiolette stock: complete.
"Come to think of it—what's your name?"
Aiolette, who had been laughing in a fit of self-satisfaction for some time, asked as though the thought had just occurred to her.
At the question, Gladia paused to think. She did have a name from her original world, of course. But the body she was in now was a game character's body.
Using her old name felt strangely off—like wearing clothes that didn't fit.
*It's a new life starting from scratch anyway. Might as well swap out the name too.*
She bowed her head once more, affecting a look of quiet pathos.
"I was a lowly beggar who wandered without parents or a name. I was fated to be called nothing more than a pebble on the road, and to disappear just the same."
"…You don't have a name?"
For just a moment, something like sympathy passed through Aiolette's voice.
Gladia, of course, did not let that opening go to waste.
"But meeting you yesterday, my lady, I was reborn. My past holds no meaning anymore. So please—call me whatever you wish. The name you give me will become my new life."
Those words seemed to send Aiolette into quiet thought; she fell silent.
*I've handed her the authority to name me. Now Aiolette will think of me as something that belongs to her.*
Everything was calculated to raise Aiolette's trust.
Besides, she'd always been careless about naming things in the game anyway—it didn't matter if Aiolette chose for her.
"Hmm… all right. If you put it that way, I'll make a special exception and give you a name. You're going to be a handmaid of Aiolette Drnaris, after all—I can't just slap anything on you."
The heels of her shoes struck the floor in a steady rhythm. Aiolette paced the room, murmuring to herself.
"You're blind—and yet you carry a blade sharper than anyone else's…"
After a long moment of deliberation, the sound of Aiolette's footsteps stopped directly in front of her.
"Gladia. From today, your name is Gladia."
"…Gladia?"
"That's right. The most loyal and sharpest blade of Aiolette Drnaris herself. Gladia. Well? Do you like it?"
The name itself wasn't bad. Derived from *Gladius*, perhaps?
More than the name, what mattered was the fact that Aiolette had chosen it herself. From now on, every time she looked at Gladia, she would recall the name she'd given her—and feel both responsibility and attachment.
"It is a name far beyond what I deserve, my lady. From today, my name is Gladia."
"Hehe, good! I very much approve of that attitude, Gladia."
Aiolette, apparently satisfied, gave her shoulder a light pat. The touch was far warmer than before.
Feeling it, Gladia let a smile of her own settle across her face.
Full acquisition of Aiolette stock: complete. All that remained now was to ride this young lady's coattails and sprint with everything she had toward the goal called the Academy.
*For that, first things first… I'll need to train Aiolette up a bit while getting used to the Sword Saint and the World's Trial.*
If Aiolette failed to enroll in the Academy, Gladia's stock would be as good as delisted. But she wasn't worried. She was a professional. No one in the world knew Aiolette's potential better than she did.
The plan for how to develop Aiolette was already taking shape in her mind, piece by piece.
She listened to Aiolette chattering away with gleeful excitement, and smiled—again and again.
The princess-maker—no, the Aiolette-maker. Starting now.