GameDev Reincarnated into His Own Creation

Vol 2 - Chapter 20.2: Inheritance

Two figures flanked the carriage door: a woman in pristine white robes with her hood drawn up, and a guard whose armor displayed the distinctive insignia of a Crusader rank. Both stood at attention, their presence commanding respect from passing students.

"Is that...?" Celia whispered, stopping beside him.

The carriage door swung open, and the crowd of departing students grew completely still. Even the instructors paused, watching with undisguised interest.

Then she emerged—a familiar figure Vel hadn't seen in years. Landre.

But not as he remembered her. She moved with an ethereal grace, each step deliberate yet flowing like water. Her golden hair caught the sunlight, seeming to glow from within. The white and gold robes of a full Saint draped elegantly around her form.

Most striking was her face—the same features he knew so well, yet transformed. Her expression radiated a serene warmth that seemed to touch everyone in her presence. The light of Shizka herself emanated from her very being.

Whispers erupted among the students.

"That's her—the Saint from the western provinces!"

"I heard she passed the Trial of Light without preparation..."

"They say the Goddess herself appeared during her consecration..."

"The purest soul to serve the Church in centuries..."

Landre's eyes scanned the crowd until they found Vel. For a moment, he saw the briefest flicker of his sister's usual excitement, quickly tempered as she composed herself. She walked toward him with measured steps, conscious of the many eyes watching her every movement.

"Brother," Landre said, her voice carrying the musical quality of practiced reverence yet still unmistakably belonging to the sister he knew.

Vel felt the weight of dozens of stares suddenly shift to him. The murmurs grew louder around them.

"Brother? Wait, he's Novalance? THE Novalance?" someone whispered too loudly.

"Saint Landre's brother is here at the Academy?"

"How can someone with unstable attunement be related to her?"

Landre's serene smile never faltered as the whispers swirled. "I am pleased the Light guided me to find you here, Velarian. Shizka's blessing upon your endeavors at this hallowed institution."

The formal, measured cadence of her words was so different from the sister who once teased him about fishing. Yet beneath the carefully chosen words, Vel could still hear traces of her genuine joy.

Landre surveyed the crowd of watching students, her serene gaze taking in the many curious faces surrounding them.

"Shall we speak somewhere more private?" she asked, then gestured gracefully toward the waiting carriage.

Before turning, she looked past Vel to where Celia stood frozen in surprise. Landre offered her a gentle nod of recognition, a silent acknowledgment of their shared past in Elnor. Celia managed a clumsy half-bow in response.

Landre turned, her robes flowing like liquid light as she walked toward the carriage. Vel followed, acutely aware of how every step he took was being scrutinized by the crowd. The whispers grew more intense.

"Did you see that? The Saint came just to see him!"

Vel glanced back to see Tomas and Mira staring at him with wide eyes and dropped jaws.