On this day, the senior mages of the Raya Lucaria Academy publicly announced that the Tarnished challenges would be temporarily suspended.
If Kaito failed in challenging Rennala, the challenges would resume. But if Kaito succeeded, they would stop forever.
From then on, no Tarnished would ever have the chance to obtain the Great Rune from Rennala!
This news immediately caused an uproar among all the Tarnished still in the spectator stands.
They found it hard to believe, and just as hard to accept.
Kaito's success also represented their complete failure.
Kaito would go further and further down the path to becoming the Elden Lord, while what about them?
They were still stuck in place!
Human hearts can be seen through, yet they are also the hardest to fathom.
And humans are prone to envy.
When everyone is a player, all Tarnished, on the same starting line, everyone is friends.
If you fall behind, they won't say anything to your face, at most they'll talk behind your back.
If they're in a good mood, they might even help you, because that's their 'kindness', their 'pity' towards you. They like seeing you lagging behind them.
But if you become stronger than them,
then they will envy you, be jealous of you, speak maliciously about you behind your back, and slander you.
In games, if you're just a little stronger than them, it's nothing. But if you're far stronger, accomplishing things they can't, then you must be cheating!
Even if you prove you aren't cheating, they'll have countless reasons and excuses to say you are. Even knowing full well you aren't, they'll still stubbornly insist you're cheating.
They just want to slander you in front of others!
It's the same in real life.
If you're rich, friends, relatives—especially relatives—will constantly borrow money from you whenever something comes up, or ask for your help, like arranging a high-paying, easy job for their son, etc.
If you agree, they'll say thank you, but that's it, and they'll become increasingly demanding.
If you refuse, they'll call you heartless and ungrateful, using all sorts of emotional blackmail. If you still refuse, they'll start constantly slandering you behind your back to your other relatives, talking bad about you.
In other words, they just can't stand seeing you do well!
This was Kaito's situation now.
He had earned the right to challenge Rennala, the chance to obtain a Great Rune.
And it was another one, not the first!
And what about them?
They had spent so much money, challenged so many times, trained so hard for so long, only to end up with nothing!
Few could just laugh it off, thinking they hadn't worked hard enough and needed to try harder.
Most were envious, jealous, and furious!
Soon after, news of Kaito successfully clearing the Raya Lucaria Academy challenge spread rapidly among Tarnished circles.
The first to hear were those at the Roundtable Hold.
All the Tarnished there learned of this, and even many of the 'Deathbed Companions' found out just how powerful Kaito was.
Fia, using a puppet as her ears, also learned of the events outside.
She couldn't leave this place, nor was she allowed to.
Her identity was special; once other Tarnished targeted her, she would find it hard to break free.
So she always stayed here. Fortunately, this building was very large, very comfortable to live in, with no lack of food or drink. Kaito came every few days, completely satisfying her, even making her question her existence.
She had begun to wonder if she, as a 'Deathbed Companion', was too weak.
Other Deathbed Companions could handle several Tarnished in a single day, even a dozen, but she couldn't even handle Kaito alone...
Upon hearing news of Kaito, she blushed like a young girl, getting excited and stirred up.
For her, Kaito was someone she admired.
Kaito's success naturally stirred her girlish feelings.
Was there anything more exciting than hearing that the person you liked and admired was becoming stronger?
However, Fia quickly frowned.
She had heard bad news: some Tarnished outside were starting to badmouth Kaito.
For example, they claimed Kaito must have made some under-the-table deal with someone. Taking advantage of Rennala's current lack of fighting spirit, anyone could challenge her and win.
They said all he needed was to cooperate with the Raya Lucaria Academy's higher-ups. Defeating Rennala would force her to completely give up her position as headmaster, giving the deputy headmaster a chance to take over.
There were other similar rumors as well.
Anyway, they simply refused to believe that Kaito could single-handedly defeat Grafted Godrick, insisting there must be something shady behind it.
They even felt they were just there to fill the numbers, that Kaito was just going through the motions.
Hearing this, Fia gradually became angry.
Did she not know what kind of person Kaito was?
Although Kaito had never shown his true combat strength in front of her, she firmly believed in his words and believed he was a true strongman.
How could she be happy seeing the person she admired and liked being maliciously slandered like this?
But she couldn't leave this room.
Kaito had told her he had found her with difficulty, snatched her from the sights of other Tarnished, and brought her to this safe place.
Therefore, she couldn't leave.
But not being able to leave meant she couldn't go out to speak for Kaito, to clear his name.
For a moment, Fia felt some pain. Even though the insults weren't directed at her, she still cried aggrievedly.
She thought, 'If only Lord Kaito would come back soon, then he could prove his strength in the arena at the Roundtable Hold.'
For now, Fia was still at a young girl's age, easily influenced by her emotions.
It would likely take a long time for her to become the Fia from the game.
And that was a path Kaito didn't like.
He would rather Fia stay as she was now than become the 'big sister' figure from the game.
...
"Hmm? Strange, is someone missing me?"
Under the hospitality of all the mages at the Raya Lucaria Academy, Kaito was lodged in the most luxurious standalone villa.
To call it a villa was an understatement; it was more like a manor with a castle.
Never mind housing just him; the various large and small rooms alone totaled over thirty, and there was even a basement!
"Well, never mind."
Thinking it over, he figured one of the esteemed ladies must be missing him.