[Vol. 7] Chapter 246: Power of Correction
After listening to Carinvega go on and on for a while, the priestess finally seemed to snap out of it. Her silvery-blue eyes, full of curiosity, focused for the first time on the new arrivals, and she looked at them thoughtfully.
"The Sword Saint's six disciples… so that means Miss Yir is the one people call the greatest sword genius of the Austre Empire in the past hundred years, the [Flying Flower Sword], right? I’ve heard a lot about you."
Even though that title carried quite the reputation, the young girl didn’t act any different from other girls her age. Being called that name in front of everyone made her flustered, and she quickly lowered her head, blushing a little.
"W-What do you mean 'greatest sword genius in a hundred years'? That’s just people talking nonsense… My father and my five senior brothers and sisters are all way stronger than me. But yeah, my sword title is ‘Flying Flower.’ Miss Violet, you’re a senior, so please just call me by my name."
“...Senior?”
“Hey, hey, hey… Excuse me, but what exactly makes you think I’m a senior? DO I LOOK THAT OLD TO YOU?”
Violet narrowed her eyes dangerously as she complained about something she clearly didn’t expect. Yir blinked in confusion, staring at the priestess’s small frame, which gave off a holy, otherworldly aura. She looked her up and down, muttering in uncertainty.
“Hmm… You do look really young. You seem around the same age as me... But my father clearly said Miss Violet was a highly respected master, possibly several hundred or even a thousand years old, and told us to treat you with the manners we’d show an elder…”
A few bulging veins suddenly appeared on Violet’s smooth, pale forehead.
Why did she suddenly want to punch that so-called Sword Saint...?
“Ahem, ahem!”
Noticing the atmosphere was getting awkward and strange, Carinvega hurriedly cleared her throat and gently patted Yir on the shoulder, trying her best with just her eyes to silently beg the girl to please stop talking already.
“Um... Miss Yir, these others must be your fellow disciples from the sect, right? Could you introduce them to us?”
Thanks to Carinvega’s efforts, the innocent and straightforward younger disciple quickly got distracted and nodded like she just remembered something.
“Oh! That’s right, I forgot Your Highness hasn’t met them before. Let me introduce everyone! This is Brother Elva, my father’s second disciple. At the sect, he’s the one in charge right after our eldest brother. People call him the [Gale Wind Sword]! Among all of us who came, he and Sister Kiri are the strongest. And, and…”
The friendly and talkative girl went on to introduce each of the people with her. From her descriptions, it was clear that the Swift Wind Sword Saint was taking this situation very seriously. Though he didn’t come himself, he sent three of his six legendary disciples here, along with several elite students. Even among the many powerful people gathered in Sainz, this team was incredibly strong.
But what Violet really cared about wasn’t the people themselves. It was why they showed up.
That [Flying Flower Sword], Miss Yir, had just said they came because Carinvega had secretly sent a letter to the Swift Wind sect not long ago, asking for help in a subtle way. That’s why the Swift Wind Sword Saint sent his disciples to Sainz to assist.
The Swift Wind Sword Saint is highly respected in the Austre Empire, and there are many branch sects throughout the empire. But the main sect, where the Sword Saint himself usually stays, is located in a very remote area, over a thousand kilometers away from the academy city. Even for top fighters like Yir and her team, traveling day and night would still take them several days to arrive.
And if you add the time it takes for the letter to reach them, plus the time they need to prepare and gather people, that means Carinvega’s letter must have been sent at least a month ago, probably at the very beginning of the World Academy Joint Exchange Conference.
But the first match of the tournament took place deep inside the [Morst Underground Labyrinth] and lasted an entire week. So she couldn’t have written the letter during that time. That means she must have sent it even earlier.
In other words, before even arriving in Sainz, Carinvega already knew what was going to happen.
But that’s clearly impossible.
So most likely, that letter really was just a normal friendly letter. Or maybe, because she knew she’d soon meet one of the Sword Saint’s disciples in Sainz, she wrote a polite note to say hello in advance… and that was the full extent of her "intent."
Which means, it was actually the Sword Saint who overthought things. He must have misunderstood the wording of the letter and believed Carinvega was secretly asking for help, which is why he sent his students here.
This, most likely, is what Carinvega herself thinks about the situation. And because Violet knows her abilities and personality very well, she could now confidently guess all of this.
A coincidence. Just a lucky coincidence. On the surface, this seems like the only reasonable explanation for something so unlikely. Outsiders who don’t know the details would naturally think Carinvega predicted everything and had made careful plans ahead of time.
But Violet, she had a vague feeling that this "coincidence" had a third layer hidden beneath it.
Was it really just a coincidence?
Why did Yir and the others not show up earlier or later, but instead appear exactly at the critical moment when Violet, without warning or reason, suddenly decided to back off… right as Carinvega was about to be captured by Gladys? Why did they crash through the wall like heroes from the sky at that exact second?
In truth, if a coincidence feels too perfect, too unbelievable, then maybe it’s not really a coincidence at all, but something inevitable.
Put another way, if Violet hadn’t stepped back earlier, and instead chose to keep fighting and defeat Gladys herself…
Would the Sword Saint really misunderstand what was written in that letter?
Did these disciples of the Swift Wind style really decide to head to Sainz on their own, and then just happen to show up at this exact moment?
These kinds of thoughts might sound strange. If someone said this out loud, most people would probably think, "Is this person paranoid or something?" But the priestess wasn’t thinking this way without reason.
Before, Violet had come up with several theories about Carinvega’s special ability, the thing people call her “Good Luck.” For example, one of the simplest guesses was that she just had incredibly good fortune. Like, she could randomly buy a lottery ticket and win the jackpot, or always get the best possible cards when playing poker, or easily get top rewards in any game of chance…
But after carefully watching her, Violet quickly ruled that out.
Because Carinvega’s "luck" isn’t something that’s always active. In most cases, she doesn’t seem especially lucky at all, just normal. If her luck were always that strong, anyone around her would notice, and people would’ve started calling her something like [Empire’s Lucky Star], not just the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus].
To be more accurate, her lucky coincidences only seem to happen at specific moments. These moments are usually hard to notice, but they happen at key turning points, points where things could go either way, and where the results would directly affect her future. And strangely, even when luck isn't the only way to get a good outcome, something always shifts in her favor.
If we try to explain it using the game example Carinvega herself mentioned, [Starlight Concerto], then it’s like this: No matter what choice the player makes at a turning point in the story, the result will always turn out to benefit her. The game will treat her choice as the “main path,” and rewrite the story behind the scenes to make it fit.
Still sounds confusing? Okay, here’s a simpler version:
Imagine a video game with tons of possible storylines. For the small daily events, it doesn’t matter what the player chooses, they can pick anything.
But when it comes to choices that affect the main story, the game secretly “fixes” things behind the scenes, so even if the player makes the “wrong” choice, the game will still steer them back to the correct path, preventing them from getting a bad ending.
Of course, comparing real life to a game isn’t really accurate. But Violet, who had been quietly watching Carinvega this whole time, had just seen something clearly.
At the exact moment when Gladys was about to grab Carinvega, there was a sudden, unnatural shift in that invisible “field” that always surrounds the princess, a force that constantly moves with her, gently spreading outward.
That moment of distortion was extremely fast, and the field returned to normal right after. But in that instant, the force had clearly extended far beyond just the hotel… past the academy city… and maybe even across the entire world.
And then, right at the last second…
Carinvega Frederick’s “luck” arrived.