Can Someone (Anyone!) Please Turn Off the Auto-Skill Setting?! - Chapter 16
II.
Becoming a hero was the greatest honor a person could achieve, and young Aaron was immensely proud of his grandfather, who was a hero.
“I want to become a respected hero like you, Grandpa!”
His eyes sparkled with hope, and his grandfather smiled warmly, gifting him his most cherished sword.
With the sword in hand, Aaron dedicated himself to becoming a hero, training rigorously in swordsmanship. Fortunately, he was talented.
“As expected from the hero’s bloodline.”
His teachers, without exception, praised him as a genius. It seemed like a matter of time before Aaron would surpass his grandfather.
However, when Aaron turned 13, a significant problem arose. It wasn’t due to illness or a change in his dreams—it was something external, a future issue.
While accompanying his father to the temple, Aaron encountered a prophet who told him this:
“In three years, you will join the Holy Order and become a knight.”
So far, so good. The Holy Order was the most prestigious and powerful knightage in Verus. Aaron’s grandfather had once served there as well. Aaron had always intended to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps, so hearing that he would become a paladin was joyful news.
But the prophet’s next words were the problem.
“However, you will not become the next hero.”
Aaron had worked tirelessly toward becoming a hero. To be told, without even attempting it, that he wouldn’t succeed filled him with despair.
“Still, as a knight, you can become a great paladin.”
Aaron’s father, noticing his son’s disappointment, comforted him by placing a hand on his shoulder.
But the prophet, who had been rolling his eyes in thought, shook his head.
“No, you will be dishonorably discharged from the Holy Order due to… a woman.”
A woman? Aaron, who hadn’t even reached puberty, was utterly confused.
“When you see her face, you will experience uncontrollable emotions, and your vow of chastity to God will become meaningless.”
Young Aaron didn’t fully understand what the prophet meant, but the gravity of the situation overwhelmed him. His voice trembled as he asked,
“How can I avoid this fate?”
“You must avoid the woman who controls your destiny. Once you see her face, you won’t be able to escape from her grip.”
Aaron had heard the phrase ‘falling so hard you can’t escape’, but he had never heard ‘you can’t escape unless you fall’. When he asked if the prophet had misspoken, the prophet offered no further explanation—not even about who the woman might be.
“Run from her. If you don’t, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say you’ll lose everything you have.”
That was all the prophet would say.
But how was Aaron supposed to interpret this advice? Half of humanity was female. It would be nearly impossible to avoid meeting women for his entire life.
Aaron sought advice from those around him: his most respected grandfather, his parents, his swordsmanship teacher, his history teacher, his math teacher, and even his astronomy teacher. Many people joined in brainstorming a solution.
Thankfully, they eventually came up with a good idea—or at least, Aaron thought it was a good one.
“This should help me avoid my fate.”
Relieved, Aaron threw himself back into his training with renewed focus. Thanks to his diligence, he joined the Holy Order exactly three years later, just as the prophet had predicted.
“There are female knights in the order. Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Aaron’s mother asked, worried.
“Don’t worry.”
Aaron answered with a smile, though it was directed more at the bell pepper in front of him than his mother.
‘There’s an old saying: Treat women as if they were stones. I’ll just follow that.’
It was impossible to live without ever encountering women. No matter how hard he tried to avoid them, one accidental encounter could be disastrous. That’s when his history teacher suggested a clever idea: why not cast a spell to make women look like stones from the start?
Aaron agreed and sought out a mage to cast the spell on him. From that point on, every woman—even his mother—appeared to him as a bell pepper.
Why not stones? Because Aaron hated bell peppers. Even as a child, just the sight of them made him frown.
The history teacher’s idea worked perfectly. Whenever a woman approached, Aaron’s heart remained completely unaffected, as if a bell pepper was walking toward him.
“Sir Knight!”
Whenever Aaron walked the streets, both men and women frequently teased him, often in jest, sometimes with ill intent, as they sought to challenge the paladin’s vow of chastity.
