Chương 11: Debut Ceremony (2)

There was one more person whose stats I needed to see: Princess Claire Cassandra. At this point in time, the sole princess of Averula rarely made public appearances. It wasn't just her; the entire Cassandra royal family strictly limited their exposure to the outside world. Only the highest-ranking nobles ever had the chance to behold the royalty in person. If I recalled correctly, last time, Claire didn't show her face until she was officially chosen as a Hero.

Just as I was thinking that, someone announced in a booming voice:"Her Highness the Princess has arrived!" Every eye turned toward the side entrance, the one the royal family typically used to enter the Cathedral. Two royal guards led the way to clear a path, followed by the Princess in a white gown, with a veil completely concealing both her hair and her face. Her entire form radiated the golden light of the Chosen. Accompanying her were two supporting priestesses, also heavily veiled.

The crowd buzzed with excitement upon realizing there was a Hero candidate within the royal bloodline. This was unprecedented.

"The Princess...?"

"I heard rumors she possesses formidable wind magic. I never expected her to be chosen as well."

"But being a Hero is perilous. Will the King and Queen truly allow it?"

"The will of the gods still reigns supreme, after all..." I ignored the idle chatter buzzing in my ears, my focus entirely locked on the information panel of the girl who was now the center of the world's attention. Name Rachel Hustler Race Human Health 114/170 Mana 40/300 Strength 218 Intelligence 230 Reputation 0 Rank 4/28 Skill Silent Move (Lv. 28) Swordsmanship (Lv. 9) Dagger Mastery (Lv. 40) Martial Arts (Lv. 17) A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Archery (Lv. 25) Well, the stats were undeniably impressive. Wait. Something felt off. The Princess's name wasn't Rachel, and the royal family's surname certainly wasn't Hustler. Even the skill names were completely different from the ones the Princess had used before. Had I misread someone else's information? But the rank… there was no mistaking that. I looked down and rubbed my eyes.

When I glanced up again, the status board had shifted. Name Claire Cassandra Race Human Health 68/90 Mana 40/85 Strength 65 Intelligence 116 Reputation 165 Rank / Skill Air Manipulation (Lv. 9) Swordsmanship (Lv. 3) Archery (Lv. 5) This time, the name was correct. But the stats were completely different. While I wouldn't call them terrible, they were a far cry from the data I had just seen. And... why had the ranking disappeared?

It took me a moment of frantic confusion to realize that I was no longer looking directly at the "Princess" walking in the center; my line of sight had been obstructed by one of the priestesses walking beside her. Wait. that means the person in the middle radiating the golden aura isn't the Princess, but someone named Rachel Hustler? And the person carrying the Princess's name is actually the priestess at her side? A cold shiver crept down to my very marrow as I tried to piece the logic together.

The Princess wouldn't show her face until the day of the Investiture. That meant no one could verify whether the person appearing as a Hero candidate before then was actually her or not. I thought back to the woman named Claire I had known. That girl was intensely ambitious, possessing a massive yet fragile ego. Throughout our journey, she had constantly, both subtly and overtly, brought up the King's favoritism toward her younger brother, the Prince.

To her, being chosen as a Hero was proof that she wasn't inferior to her brother in the slightest. She believed the King would have no choice but to reconsider the succession if she successfully defeated the Demon King and garnered enough public acclaim. Jealousy can drive people to do many things. I never imagined that someone born into royalty would be so consumed by it that they'd shamelessly steal another person's destiny.

I brought my hand up to cover my mouth, struggling to hide the smirk tugging at the corners of my lips. Claire had been my biggest concern when it came to knocking someone out of the top five, given her unshakable status and royal backing. But now that this massive obstacle turned out to be nothing more than a seat-stealing fraud, things were going to be a whole lot simpler. Once the final candidate arrived, the official Debut Ceremony commenced.

The presiding Pope, Paul Franco, made his entrance into the center of the Cathedral, standing before a colossal statue of the Goddess Halunar cradling what appeared to be a moon. The crowd fell silent out of respect for this figure, who was revered second only to the King himself. Paul Franco droned on through a long string of tedious rituals; it took over half an hour just to get through the opening remarks.

Afterward, he called each Hero Candidate to the dais by name, chanted an incantation over his scepter, and gave each of them a light tap on the head. With each tap, the light radiating from the candidates converged into the gem atop the scepter before shooting toward the moon held by the Goddess statue. As of today, they would no longer be forced to glow like lanterns wherever they went. Once the rite concluded, the Pope made his proclamation:"O Hero Candidates!

Your selection signals that the seal on the Demon King has begun to wane. In the coming days, demonic beasts will assault our kingdom while awaiting their master's full recovery and resurrection. Fight to protect our realm and prove that Goddess Halunar's choice was no mistake. Then, one year from now, on the day of the Investiture, the Goddess shall officially appoint the five most worthy Heroes for the Great Crusade."

Starting tomorrow, the candidates would be required to remain in the capital under the Church's arrangements. Whenever monster attacks occurred, they would be deployed to battle. This was the designated way to sharpen their abilities before the crusade, and more importantly, to build the public's faith in their future Heroes. Finishing his speech, he cried out:"May the Goddess bless us all!" The crowd thundered back the prayer in unison. With that, the celebratory banquet began.