Swordsmanship Genius Sees the Future

Chapter 34 - First Class Competition 

The frog nimbly snatched the dried fish I threw.

Thump.

Ribbit.

Thump.

Ribbit.

It croaked once in response to each piece of food, as if reciprocating.

It usually barely moves, but it reacts quickly to food.

It's a little amusing.

Come to think of it, didn't he say not to give it more than ten pieces of food?

I think I've already thrown about twenty...

Oh well.

Seeing it eat so well, I wondered.

Would it taste good if a human ate it?

"...Ptui!"

No, it wouldn't.

The fishy smell was too strong to swallow.

I threw the last half-eaten piece of dried fish to the frog.

"Guess humans can't eat it. But you, frog."

Ribbit.

"Yeah, you. Frog. It's summer now, so it doesn't matter, but what will you do when winter comes and it gets cold? Won't you freeze to death?"

There was no answer.

The frog just stared up at me with its dull, black eyes.

Well... it'll work out somehow, right?

"Alright. Be a good frog. I'm going to the academy. Your owner will come too later."

The walk to school takes about an hour if I hurry.

I pass through the mountain trail connected to the dorm's front yard, go past the deserted outskirts of the shopping district, climb the outer wall, and keep walking until I reach the academy's main gate.

Some students even climb over the wall.

Most get caught by the patrolling academy knights and are lectured.

Of course, I can't even get lectured.

The wall is incredibly high.

So high that it's impossible to climb over it without aura.

Anyway, after passing through the main gate and arriving at the academy's main building, I was about to walk down the corridor leading to the classrooms when...

"Ray!"

I ran into someone head-on.

Big, blue eyes.

Long, wavy, abundant golden hair.

And an unforgettable bright smile.

"...Gloria?"

"Ray! It really is Ray!"

The girl ran to me in one breath and immediately hugged me.

"It's been a long time. I heard what happened. It must have been hard for you, right? I'm sorry. I should have come sooner, but I was so busy at the start of the semester too."

The girl released the hug and faced me.

I instinctively shook my head.

"No, I was busy too."

"I only recently heard the news. That you enrolled in the academy... We finally meet here. My sword master."

"What master? I'm in Class B. You're in Class A, right?"

"What does the class matter? To me, you're my master. And you always will be."

The girl smiled broadly and bowed as if to a true master.

I, for the first time in a long time, tilted my body in the Sword King family style and accepted the greeting.

That's right.

It happened last summer.

We played master and disciple and exchanged swords like this.

Gloria Rostfall.

The young lady of the Rostfall family, one of the Eight Great Main Families of the Sword King family.

And probably my first love.

I remember being deeply immersed in those clear, lake-like eyes.

Now, surprisingly, they weren't as clear as before.

Is it because I've changed?

No.

I could see tiny ruptured capillaries in Gloria's eyes.

Was academy life that difficult for her?

I heard the competition in Class A was really fierce.

Or was she worried about me?

-Wow! Ray! Amazing!

-Your swordsmanship is truly incredible, isn't it? It's cool!

-As expected, the Granvelle family is different. You seem to be better than our master. It'd be better to learn swordsmanship from you.

-Wow... so this is what it was like.

-This was what it was like. I didn't know.

-Thank you, Master!

-Let's definitely meet again at the academy.

"Definitely," okay?

It's a promise?

But I had completely forgotten.

I wasn't here to keep my promise with Gloria.

It was simply because enrolling in the academy connected me to a future that led to revenge.

"That... I'm sorry. I mean... Actually, being busy was just an excuse."

Gloria started to say something, then choked up and bowed her head.

"I didn't know what to say when I saw your face... I was scared. About the Granvelle Village incident. I couldn't believe they were no longer in this world. Master of the Granvelle family and Sister Lily too... They were all so kind to me. And you too... Sniff, how hard must it be for you? I really can't imagine how much you must be suffering..."

Tears welled up in her large eyes.

Suddenly, I remembered that beautiful season around this time last year.

At that time, I was truly desperate too.

Now, surprisingly, I no longer feel that way.

"I'll come visit often from now on. Tell me if there's anything I can do to help. I'll do everything in my power..."

"It's okay. It's okay now."

I shook my head, saying it was fine.

But Gloria's face darkened further.

"Ray, what should I do about this? You really... Where are you living now? Are you eating on time? Your face is half its usual size. You should eat more delicious things..."

"Gloria?"

"Uh, huh?"

"Are you competing tomorrow?"

It seemed better to change the subject now.

Gloria asked back, her face on the verge of tears.

"Tomorrow? Ah... The inter-class competition? What about you?"

"I'm competing."

"As expected, I knew it."

Gloria swallowed her tears and smiled.

"I knew you'd definitely be a representative. Probably for the swordsmanship event, right? Actually, I'm competing too. As the Class A representative... Oops, it's already time..."

Ding... Ding... Ding...

The bell announcing the start of lectures rang.

Gloria hugged me tightly one more time, then backed away.

"Well, I have to go! I'll come find you again next time! Let's talk a lot then! Do well in your lectures! Goodbye, Ray! See you next time!"

I smiled and waved.

Gloria's retreating figure gradually blurred and disappeared.

That brilliant season I left behind last summer.

Only a year had passed, but it felt so distant, as if it hadn't been real.

Today, there were only lectures in the morning.

Everyone would be happy, but I was an exception.

Not because I'm a crazy study bug, but simply because I couldn't get a free lunch at the academy cafeteria.

Free food is important.

Normally, I would return to the dorm weakly and gnaw on pickled potatoes.

Or I would go to a back-alley restaurant with Phil and eat a cheap lunch.

But today, the situation was a little different.

"Well, I've only heard about the Golden Garden, I've never actually been there to eat. But it's been famous lately. But I also heard that when you actually go there, they only serve bread and the food is sparse?"

Phil asked.

Froggy, who was treating us to lunch, shook his head vehemently, refuting him.

"No, no, no. It's definitely worth the money. It's delicious. I've tasted it. You'll like it too if you try it."

"Hmm... Really? Will it be more delicious than our restaurant?"

"You guys run a restaurant too? The Digi Orphanage? Or the Lucavre family?"

"Would the Lucavre family do something like run a restaurant?"

Phil snorted and cursed.

"Those beggar-like guys are all about appearances. Idiots. They say it lowers their dignity, so they don't do any work that makes money, do they? They only give me a pittance as a subsidy. If this is the case, they might as well just do business and earn money."

"Then who runs the restaurant?"

"My mom, no, my sister who graduated a while ago runs it. Near the orphanage."

"Then aren't we just unnecessarily supporting another shop? Should we go there now? The restaurant your sister runs?"

"No. It's fine."

Phil stuck out his chin and shook his head.

"I eat there all the time, you know. I wanted to go to the Golden Garden once too... It's famous these days, isn't it? But it's not my place to say, since I'm getting a free meal, but if you have money to go there, why don't you pay back Ray the money you borrowed? You're not trying to subtract the meal cost from the borrowed money, are you?"

"No. That's that, and this is this."

Froggy shook his head and smiled.

"I'm buying this because I'm grateful. We all dug the puddle, didn't we?"

"You said you'd give us separate daily wages for that?"

"I'm giving separate daily wages and buying a separate meal. And I'll fight hard in the class competition tomorrow too. Hehe! I need to eat quickly and go to Ray's dorm. Finally, after school, my frog will be there!"

Froggy seemed happy, jumping up and down.

I silently followed the two, looking around the unfamiliar street.

27th Shopping Street. If you walk quite a distance along the eastern boulevard centered around the academy, a side road appears further up. It's smaller in scale than the shopping district located on the main boulevard. The city is so big that there are far more places I haven't been to than places I have.

By the way, how do these friends know about and go to restaurants located in such remote corners of this vast city? Rumors? Where do they hear these rumors, anyway?

Hmm...

I don't know. Anyway, I'm looking forward to it since they say it's delicious. I hope some of Tiber's accumulated resentment can be alleviated. The red orb following me also seems to be moving more lightly than usual.

The Golden Garden we arrived at, despite its grand name, was a dilapidated, run-down restaurant.

"Originally, someone else ran it, but they closed it a few years ago. A new owner took it over and has been operating it this year."

Froggy, who entered first, quickly secured a table. The inside of the shop was already bustling with customers. "See? Even though it's late for lunch, there are a lot of people. Good thing there's a table. Over here! Three lunch specials, please!"

He ordered the food skillfully, as if he had been there several times. I noticed the number '40' on the wall.

"The special is 40 sil?"

"Lunch is 20. Dinner is 40 sil. It's not super cheap, right? But it's worth the money. It's delicious."

It was true. The food at the Golden Garden was delicious. So much so that Tiber inside me shed tears of emotion.

-Delicious!

That doesn't mean all the food was like that. The sour pie that came out in the middle wasn't good. The fruit wasn't cooked down enough, so it was watery and the crust was soggy. The fish pie baked in dough was also disappointing. My head ached from how much aromatic herbs they used to hide the fishy smell.

But that wasn't the important thing.

Bread.

The bread alone was delicious. From the start to the end of the meal, various freshly baked breads kept coming out. And they kept providing jam made from various berries and butter. The taste of tearing apart steaming bread with my hands and spreading various things on it and eating it...

It was beautifully delicious. It was delicious when made, delicious when eaten, and delicious even after swallowing. It was even delicious to breathe after swallowing. Strictly speaking, it was just bread with something spread on it. But why was it so delicious?

And they gave you more bread if you asked for it. Continuously.

-Ah.

-Grr.

-If only I had lived to come here...

It was high praise. Tiber inside me was touched. Phil, sitting next to me, also shook his head in admiration.

"Wow... This is true skill. What kind of bread taste... My mom wouldn't even be able to imitate it. I never knew well-made bread could be this amazing."

"Right? It's delicious here, isn't it?"

Froggy smiled broadly and spread a lot of butter on a new piece of bread.

I also spread jam and butter on my remaining half piece of bread and took a big bite.

Munch, munch...

"Ray, you really eat well, don't you? You look skinny on the outside, but where does all that food go?"

Well, I don't know either.

I shook my head at Froggy and silently picked up the next piece of bread. Right now, it felt like my stomach was infinite, and I could keep eating.

But for a while now, the expression of the waiter bringing the bread, jam, and butter had been unusual. Unfortunately, it might be good to stop soon...

Then I felt a vibration.

Vwoom!

It was the presence of the orb.

I could see the red orb stirring far away beyond the window.

-Here.

-That thing.

-Poisonous.

-It's still here.

It was a form of communication closer to preferences. This time, it took a little more time to understand.

So...

The orb is floating near a large building. Inside that building is the same potent poison.

Hundred Year Poison.

The very same Hundred Year Poison that was in the dorm basement is also hidden inside that building.

Really?

How deeply rooted is the Poison King Cult in this city?

"..."

I thoroughly chewed the bread I was eating, then asked Froggy: "Froggy? I have a question."

"Frog is fine too. Ribbit ribbit."

"...What's that big auditorium-like building next to the restaurant?"

"Huh? That?" Froggy mumbled, eating his half-eaten long bread, and pointed out the window. "That's a herb drying factory."

"Huh?"

"It's a herb drying factory used by the Rutin Merchant Guild. The Rutin Merchant Guild deals with a large quantity of herbs, you see. They're like our family's rival, so I sometimes heard stories about them... They suddenly grew big about 10 years ago."

"They were originally a small guild?"

"Huh? No, it just appeared out of nowhere. Came from another region, they said?"

Froggy tilted his head, then shrugged.

"I don't know the details either. Anyway, it's a factory that dries or processes dried herbs. When you pass by the area during work, the smell is intense."

"Herb smell?"

"Yeah. Like the smell of brewing herbs."

I see. I need to remember that well. Did they say to hide a tree in a forest? There would be no better place to hide poison than a factory that processes herbs. After all, medicine and poison are just a hair's breadth apart.

So, in other words...

A night out. It's time for the unidentified poisoned person who roams the back alleys to act again. The rumors lately make me a bit uneasy, but it's unthinkable to just let go of such a big target.

Hundred Year Poison. Such dangerous goods must be dealt with quickly. And coincidentally, the Poison King Cult spies guarding it.

The thought makes me excited... more like, it's an important task that must be done. Tomorrow is the inter-class competition, so that's a bit much. Perhaps the night after tomorrow would be suitable?