NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 58
A stillness descended upon the examination room. The Lady Virgin Saint continued to smile as she gazed at me, and I could do nothing but stammer incoherently, unable to form any words.
This was incomprehensible. Despite the slight chill I felt around me, her smile remained as warm as ever, yet cold sweat trickled down my back.
My mouth, attempting to utter “Uh, uh,” failed to produce any coherent response.
This was because I couldn’t grasp the intent behind her question. Are Celin and Ceria quarreling over me, and does she ask if I find it acceptable?
Naturally, it wasn’t acceptable. I couldn’t even understand the reason for asking such a thing in the first place.
Still, there was an ominous sense that I should answer carefully. While I hesitated, the Lady Virgin Saint, who had been silently staring at me, let out a soft laugh.
“Puh-hehe… Ahahaha!”
Then, unable to contain herself, she burst into boisterous laughter, much like a dam cracking and a flood rushing out. Her eyes even shimmered with faint tears from how delighted she seemed.
After a while, the Lady Virgin Saint stopped laughing, tapping her desk, and turned to look at me, still bewildered. She emitted a faint echo of her laughter once more.
With the laughter finally subsiding, the Lady Virgin Saint smiled gently into my eyes and spoke. Her gaze was captivating.
“N-no, it was just… heheh… a joke, Brother I-an. You seemed so flustered.”
“W-was it?”
Though I didn’t understand what kind of joke it was, I was simply relieved that it had been a joke. I quietly sighed with relief.
Seeing my reaction, the Lady Virgin Saint chuckled a bit more, then her warm gaze softened as she spoke.
“Sister Ceria worries about you, Brother I-an. She seemed very troubled.”
I finally understood why. The Lady Virgin Saint likely cared enough about the situation to offer some lighthearted comfort to ease my feelings.
Although honestly, it was less enjoyable and more anxiety-inducing. However, since my mood had lightened somewhat, I accepted it as such.
Even so, I doubted that someone of the Lady Virgin Saint’s stature would request a private meeting merely to ease my feelings. If anything, she was currently attending to public duties in her capacity as a healer during business hours.
Clearly, there must have been a legitimate reason.
Before I could inquire, the Lady Virgin Saint moved straight to her main point.
“As you know, the use of live blades within the Academy is prohibited, at least when used against people. However, upon examining Sister Ceria’s wound, it seemed likely to be a cut from a bladed weapon.”
“W-was it severe?”
Although I had already examined it multiple times, nothing could match a professional’s opinion, so I carefully asked, worried about whether Ceria had been hurt too much.
But the Lady Virgin Saint only shook her head with a bitter smile. I exhaled in relief again.
“It’s a shallow wound. If it hadn’t been from combat against a person, it could have been healed within a few minutes.”
“What are your thoughts, Lady?”
Her pale pink eyes stared fixedly at me, a look that seemed to be asking for more details. I pressed on, slightly anxious.
“Will there be a disciplinary committee meeting?”
“Mmm…”
With an air of uncertainty, the Lady Virgin Saint trailed off. I looked at her even more earnestly, growing more tense.
After a period of silence, the Lady Virgin Saint glanced at my expression and smiled knowingly.
“The involved party herself doesn’t seem to want punishment, and it was an accidental incident without major injury. If I can explain well, a disciplinary committee might not convene…”
Upon hearing this, my thoughts became even more complex. How could I save Celin?
Should I cling to her legs? A clichéd line ran through my mind.
“Please save our poor Celin; since her childhood, she lost her father because of the upper nobility…”
Other such arguments came to mind, but luckily, none of them escaped my lips.
The Lady Virgin Saint noticed my desperate look before smiling again.
“Don’t worry, Brother I-an. It’s not as if someone’s misfortune warrants the deity’s grace to be insufficient.”
I was relieved. My face brightened immediately, and she appeared slightly smug.
Her hand rested on her chest.
Her ample bosom, noticeable as ever. What was surprising was her hand resting there. Could it support a drink?
I found myself lost in idle thoughts as the problem was resolved, but the Lady Virgin Saint seemed unaware.
She merely smirked slightly, then continued speaking.
“Of course, I do cut you some slack because of the rapport between you and me.”
“Between you and me?”
With a puzzled look, I tilted my head, at which she grinned faintly and explained further.
“Yes, ‘between us.’ Now, that concludes what I have to say. I wish you a peaceful day, Emmanuel.”
And that was that. I was practically pushed out of the seat. Although still disoriented, there was nothing I could do. The Lady Virgin Saint was busy with official duties, and there was no justification for taking up more of her time.
Before I left, she added one more comment.
“Come to think of it, Brother I-an.”
Just as I opened the door, her gaze turned back toward her smiling face.
“Perhaps the joke I made earlier wasn’t entirely a joke after all.”
Though the meaning of her words eluded me…
I was absolutely certain of one thing.
That moment, the Lady Virgin Saint’s appearance was more enigmatic than ever.
It happened as I was leaving the examination room.
As I stepped out, both Ceria and Reto had already departed. Ceria had waited for me, but I vaguely remembered urging her to go back.
Reto, well, he was someone who would have left anyway, claiming it was too troublesome to wait, so I didn’t expect him to stick around.
Deciding I might grab a whisky and relax back at the dorm, someone suddenly approached me and slapped an arm over my shoulders.
I almost instinctively flinched.
Recently, I had become more sensitive, subconsciously picking up most movements around me. But this person approached without alerting my heightened awareness.
Instinctively, my hand moved toward my waist. Warrior’s training.
But almost immediately, I recognized who it was.
A slim face, androgynous appearance with green-tinted hair tied back in a ponytail. Despite his lean, seemingly frail physique, this wasn’t someone to underestimate.
This man was the second seat of the Swordsmanship Department’s third year, and his skills far surpassed even Ceria’s. He was a true swordmaster of the Holy Kingdom, known as Yulen.
With bright azure eyes, he flashed a playful grin.
“Hey, I-an. It’s been a long time, huh?”
“…Yulen? Didn’t you say you were headed to the sacred capital?”
Indeed. The reason I hadn’t anticipated seeing him was because he had gone to Rune, the capital of the Holy Kingdom, quite some time ago.
He was aiding a bishop with some important mission or another.
I hadn’t seen him since the start of the semester, which had left me, knowingly or not, slightly melancholic.
While second-year female students from a lesser noble background had been building a network centered around Celin, Yulen, a third-year student from the Swordsmanship Department, was one who bridged all social classes among the males.
He was praised by many for his lively and social nature, as well as his sincerity. Moreover, as someone from the Holy Kingdom, he maintained a generally disciplined lifestyle.
His only flaw was that when it came to swords, he became a bit too zealous, but even that was accepted as a virtue in an academy that trained skilled warriors.
And now, he was back.
Feeling half-happy, half-perplexed, I could only ask why he was here.
With a slight smirk, Yulen pulled out a red gem from his coat.
It was a gem with a bewitching bloody hue. My eyes, filled with curiosity, turned toward Yulen. In response, Yulen beamed with a grin.
“Of course, all business is complete. This is it. It’s called ‘Blood Crystal,’ a precious artifact capable of temporarily enhancing divine power and performing miracles.”
“You spent months holed up in the sacred capital just for this?”
“Cluck cluck, you, an Imperial native, wouldn’t know. Do you have any idea how valuable this small gem is? It could be worth more than the sale of a whole city.”
At this revelation, my eyes widened in shock. A city’s worth? It was the first time I had encountered an object of such value.
As I glanced at the small crimson gem, someone’s name flashed through my mind.
Emma. If she had access to an artifact like this, surely she could be healed. It would definitely be possible with an item worth an entire city.
My urgent gaze shifted back to Yulen. However, Yulen, who had his arm draped around me, stepped back and slipped the Blood Crystal back into his pocket.
A rueful smile appeared on his lips.
“I’ve heard about your friend, Ian… but this? It’s forbidden without the Holy Kingdom’s authorization.”
“That makes sense…”
Acknowledging this inevitability, I exhaled deeply.
It was only natural. I had momentarily lost sight of the reality before me in the presence of such promise.
Yulen observed my now disheartened demeanor for a moment, then patted my shoulder consolingly. Then, a thought struck him, and he asked curiously.
“By the way, Ian, I’ve heard a lot of rumors about your axe skills?”
“…Is that so?”
I responded indifferently. Though I felt dispirited, the glint in Yulen’s eyes betrayed his excitement.
“You know me too well. Just dying to find out, aren’t you? You’ve come a long way since I’ve been gone. How?”
“Win? Ha! Barely managed a draw against Delphine, and she didn’t even have a scratch while my hand bled.”
“Still, come on…”
Yulen pressed me with curiosity sparkling in his gaze.
“Can you show me just once, your axe skills?”
I sighed deeply. With an apathetic look, I glanced at Yulen.
“Start chopping in the temple… na!”
Of course, it was a trick.
As Yulen came closer, my hand had instinctively moved toward my waist. It swiftly performed its duty.
A gleaming silver line—only a blade could create such sharp traces in the air.
It was clear that the flying axe aimed at Yulen was intended as a sudden strike, and Yulen had anticipated this.
As if expected, the result was no surprise.
With a metallic clang, sparks flew through the air. Yulen’s slender blade, drawn almost imperceptibly from his waist, deflected my axe just in time.
Then, it coiled around my axe’s handle, driving the whole into the ground.
Metal scraped against marble as sparks scattered. Though I didn’t lose my grip on the axe, I almost fell forward as the axe was pinned to the ground.
Not only the axe and sword, but also our positions, were exchanged in quick rotation.
Seeing me in an awkward, leaned-over posture, Yulen let out an exclamation and stroked his jaw.
“Wow, impressive! I might have been in trouble if I hadn’t known you were capable of that.”
“…Crazy bastard.”
I could only mutter this in admiration.
His skill was extraordinary, as always. I drew the axe first, but Yulen’s sword followed mine, pinning the axe to the ground in mere moments. He was truly in a different league.
If Delphine and I were to fight outright, the results would undoubtedly be even worse.
Would the Hunting Festival go well? I was already overwhelmed by despair.
But Yulen seemed pleased. He scrutinized my slumped posture from every angle, and then nodded as if confirming something.
“The harmony of heart, technique, and body—your technique particularly excels, but your heart and body are lagging behind.”
“What? What do you mean?”
I was already familiar with the theory of heart, technique, and body.
To master martial arts, you must train in three domains: the heart, technique, and the body.
Training the heart affects mental imagery, technique training molds a skilled warrior, and body training provides the vessel.
Hence, the theory of heart, technique, and body. Without meeting these three requirements, one cannot become a great warrior. According to Yulen, my technique alone excelled far ahead of the others.
Yulen didn’t elaborate further and only left behind these words:
“You have the feeling of having secluded yourself deep in the mountains for practice? But no matter how much you’ve focused on that, it shouldn’t be this imbalanced… Oh! Let’s say a time of battle would level you out.”
“…But then the technique would falter, right?”
“Maybe you had a great teacher, who knows… Either way, it seems impossible.”
With that, Yulen patted my shoulder again—this time as a farewell.
“Don’t stress too much. While in the long term, adjustments might be needed, focusing on what you do well now is fine.”
“Something you do well,”—these words struck me.
Arthur had said it to me before, hadn’t he?
“Go your own way,” perhaps?
Mulling over this thought, Yulen observed me, then smiled warmly as if I had achieved some revelation from his advice.
Waving gently, Yulen took his leave, saying,
“So, I’m heading out. My sister is waiting… By the way, Ian, watch out for that sister of mine.”
My distracted gaze shifted toward Yulen.
“…She’s lately shown a lot of interest in you, you know.”
The “sister” Yulen referred to could only be one person.
The orphan Yulen regarded as family and grew up with in an orphanage like siblings.
“The Virgin Saint,”—her interest in me was being mentioned.
Why?
Before I could formulate the question, Yulen vanished like the wind, as he had arrived.
As someone formally serving as the Virgin Saint’s bodyguard, he was likely going to see her.
This brought about yet another worry, but also offered a glimpse of a solution.
I wasn’t like Reto, who was eloquent, or Celine, who was well-connected, or Ceria, who had a strong backing.
Still, despite all that, what I “did well.”
Yes, that was all it was.
*
The night was dark, with the moon casting only a shy, clouded glow.
I noticed her hair, a shadow of the night sky’s dark hue. Her muted amber eyes gazed at me blankly, and her alabaster skin stood out starkly against them.
Celine Haster, my childhood friend, stood there in front of me.
“…Celine.”
Slowly reflecting the moonlight, a sword was unsheathed from my waist.
The scabbard hit the ground with a “thud”—a clear sign, meaning I wouldn’t sheathe my blade until the duel was decided. It marked the start of the confrontation.
We were amidst a secluded forest clearing where no one would disturb us. A faint smile appeared upon my face.
“Let’s have a match.”
This was the only thing I did well.
A swordsman, after all, speaks through his blade. And in my case, through an axe as well.