1. The First Letter (58)

Silence fell in the treatment room. The saintess was still gazing at me with a smile, and I didn’t say anything, just pursed my lips.

It was unknown. The surroundings felt a bit chilly, and the saintess’ smile was as warm as always, but cold sweat broke out on my back.

Father, father, my mouth couldn’t bring out a proper answer.

Because I couldn’t understand the intent of the question. Celine and Seria are fighting over me. Do you like it?

Of course it wasn’t good. I didn’t even know why I was asking such a question in the first place.

Even so, there was a certain sense of crisis that I had to answer well. It was when I was hesitating like that.

A small smile escaped from the mouth of the saintess who was staring at me without saying anything.

“Puff… Ahaha!”

And starting with the sound of laughter, the saintess burst into laughter as if she could not stand it any longer. It was as if the dam cracked and the water poured out all at once. The joy was so great that the saintess even had light tears in her eyes.

The saintess, who had been knocking on the desk for a while and burst out laughing, let out a reverberation of laughter as she looked at me with bewildered eyes.

The saintess, who finally stopped laughing, smiled slightly and said to me. It was an enchanting eye.

“No, kidding… Whoops, I was kidding, Brother Ian. You are bewildered.”

“Is that so?”

I don’t know what kind of joke it was, but I was glad it was a joke anyway. I secretly swept my chest.

Seeing me doing that, the saintess giggled and even burst into laughter, then looked at me with warm eyes.

“Sister Ceria was worried about Brother Ian. You look very uncomfortable.”

That’s right, now I feel like I understand a little bit. It seemed that the saintess was bothered by that remark and purposely threw a joke to lighten my mood.

To be honest, it seemed like an appropriate joke to say that I was nervous rather than happy, but I decided to do it because I felt much better anyway.

However, no matter how much it was, a person like a saintess would not have asked for a private meeting to comfort me. It may not have been a private position, but she was currently undergoing medical treatment and public affairs.

Of course, it was clear that there must be a good reason.

Before I could ask this question, the saintess immediately got to the point.

“As you know, the use of real swords is prohibited within the academy. At least that’s how it is with people. However, when I looked at Sister Seria’s wounds, they seemed to have been stabbed by a knife.”

“That, was it deep?”

I’ve already checked it several times, but it couldn’t be as accurate as the expert’s opinion, so I asked cautiously. I wondered if Seria was seriously injured.

However, the saintess only shook her head with a wry smile. I let out a sigh of relief once again.

“It is a shallow wound. If it weren’t for the injuries caused by human combat, it would have been treated for a few minutes and then it would have been over?”

“What do you think, saintess?”

Light pink eyes stared at me. It was a look that demanded an explanation. I spoke in a slightly urgent voice.

“Will there be a disciplinary committee?”

“I do not know… … .”

As if perplexed, the saintess blurted out her words. I looked at the saintess with earnest eyes, even more worn out.

The saintess, who had been silent for a while, glanced at me and smiled meaningfully.

“It seems that the person involved does not want to be punished, and the degree of injury in an accidental incident is not great. If I’m right, I don’t think the disciplinary committee will be held… … .”

As soon as I heard that, my head was confused. How can I save Celine?

Shall we grab hold of the saintess’ legs and hang? Common lines passed through my mind.

Please save our poor Celine, since she actually lost her father to high-ranking nobles when she was a child… … .

Other than that, blah blah, I thought of those words, but fortunately those words never came out of my mouth.

It was because the saintess looked at my sorrowful eyes before that and burst out laughing again.

When my bewildered eyes turned to her, the saintess giggled.

“Don’t worry, Brother Ian. I don’t know if it’s someone who can’t forgive, but the grace of the heavenly god Arus is not enough to watch someone’s misfortune.”

It was fortunate. When my complexion suddenly brightened, the saintess became a little proud. Her hand was placed over her chest.

Every time I looked at it, it was a breast full of volume. It was a surprise that the hand went up. Maybe I can hold a cup too.

As soon as my worries were resolved, I was thinking uneasy thoughts, but the saintess did not seem to even notice my gaze.

She just spoke to me with a slight wink in one eye.

“Of course, since I’m with Brother Ian, there are things I look out for.”

“… … Between the saintess and me?”

When I tilted my head with an expression of incomprehensibility, the saintess giggled as if that was all right. In her light pink eyes, I was filled with it before I knew it.

“Yes, ‘between us’… So, that’s all I have to say. Please have a peaceful day, Emmanuel.”

I got up from my seat like that. I felt bewildered, but I couldn’t help it. The saintess was busy with her official duties, and there was no justification for taking that time away from me.

But before I left, the saintess added one last word.

“Come to think of it, Brother Ian.”

Right before I opened the door, my eyes turned to my back. There, the saintess with a benevolent smile was still seated there.

“The joke I threw at the beginning… Maybe it’s not just a joke.”

What that meant, I didn’t know.

Still, I was sure of one thing.

Saying so, the saintess’ appearance was more alluring than ever.

It was about the time I left the clinic.

**

When I left the clinic, Seria and Leto had already left. Seria tried to stay and wait for me, but she remembered me forcibly pushing her back.

Leto, well, even if I told him to wait, he would leave because it was annoying, so I didn’t even expect it.

I was thinking about going back to the dormitory and having a glass of whiskey and going to sleep.

Someone suddenly came up to me and put on my shoulder. I was startled and almost ran away.

My recently heightened senses used to pick up most of the movements around me, even if I wasn’t aware of it. But now, the person who approached me cheated and approached even my senses.

My hand instinctively went to her waist. It was the prosecutor’s instinct. But soon, I was able to realize the identity of the man who put the shoulder strap on me.

Thin face, neutral appearance. The jade-colored hair was in a ponytail. The skinny body looked fragile, but don’t be fooled.

This guy was the second-in-command of the 3rd year of the Swordsmanship Faculty, a master of swords that even Seria could not match with that skill alone.

Yuren of the Seongguk, he had a mischievous smile with his blue eyes shining.

“Hey, Ian. How long has this been?”

“… … Yuren? Didn’t you say you were going to Chengdu?”

Yes. The reason I didn’t expect his presence was because it had been a long time since he left for Seongdo Run, the capital of the Holy Kingdom.

I heard that you are helping a bishop with an important task.

It was a car that I felt lonely without knowing it because I couldn’t see it from the beginning of the semester.

If the girls from lower aristocrats who belonged to the second year of the swordsmanship department were building networks around Celine, Yuren of the third year swordsmanship department was a person who was connected among men regardless of their social status.

There were many people who appreciated his cheerful and sociable personality as well as his frankness. Also, since he is from a holy country, he is basically a man with an upright life.

If only the sword was involved, the taste was slightly bitter, but that was enough to be accepted as a virtue in the academy that trains talented people.

That’s when he came back. I couldn’t help but ask him with half delight and half embarrassment.

Yuren smiled slightly at my words and took out a red bead from his bosom.

It was a bead with an alluring blood color. My eyes turned to Yuren with doubt. Then Yuren grinned and smiled.

“Obviously, I’m done with my work, and that’s it. It’s called ‘Blood Spirit’, and it’s a precious sacrifice. It can temporarily strengthen your divine power and cause miracles.”

“How many months did you stay stuck in the castle town just to make one?”

“Tsk tsk, you wouldn’t know because you’re from the Empire. How much is this little marble worth? Even selling one castle can be difficult.”

My eyes widened at Yuren’s explanation. What is the price of one last name? It was the first time in my life that I had seen anything of that level of value.

My eyes trembled as I looked at the small bloody beads. In an instant, someone’s name passed through my mind.

Emma, wouldn’t she be able to heal if there was an offering like this? No, it was absolutely possible. It was a sacrifice worth a castle.

My eyes urgently turned to Yuren. However, Yuren, who was putting his arm around me, suddenly backed away and poured blood into his bosom.

A bitter smile crept across his lips.

“I heard about your friend, Ian… Still, this doesn’t work. It is something that can only be used with permission from the Holy Land.”

“I guess… … .”

As if I knew that, I let out a deep sigh. It was natural. Seeing the possibilities in front of my eyes, I was just blinded for a moment.

Yuren, who had been watching me with a bitter look for a while, who had become sullen again, patted me on the shoulder as if to comfort me. Then, as if he had suddenly remembered, he asked me.

“Come to think of it, Ian, I hear rumors about your hand ax skills are very popular?”

“… … okay?”

I asked in such a nonchalant voice. He still looked down, but on the other hand, Yuren had a distinct expression in his eyes.

The expression that he would die of curiosity, I knew it would be like that if it was Yuren. He came up to me and started poking me with his fingers.

“Hey, hey. What did you do to become so skilled in my absence? Delphine-senpai, I don’t have the confidence to win either… … .”

“It was a bitch to win, it was a draw with an unarmed man. Also, the opponent didn’t have a single wound, and my hand was pierced.”

“Still.”

Yuren said to me as if begging. His eyes were sparkling with interest.

“Can’t you just show me one more time? That hatchet skill.”

I let out a deep sigh. And with eyes that showed no interest, he glanced at Yuren. My mouth slowly opened with a shy expression.

“There is something to do with sword fighting in the temple… what!”

Of course, it was a trick.

From the moment Yuren approached me, the hand that had been instinctively directed to my waist immediately moved to complete its role.

A silvery straight line, a sharp trajectory that only a knife could draw, was drawn in the air.

It was clear that the sharp ax blade was aiming at Yuren. It was a surprise attack for that purpose, and Yuren was also hoping for it.

However, the result was as expected.

With a bang, sparks flew in the air. Before I knew it, the thin sword pulled from Yuren’s waist caught up with my hatchet, which was rising vertically like a snake.

Then, it rotated around the handle of the hatchet as if it were wrapped around it, and it fell straight to the ground.

Metal hit marble and sparks flew. I didn’t miss the hatchet, but as soon as it hit the ground, I almost fell over.

Not only the hatchet and the sword, but Yuren and I were also swapped like that.

Seeing me in a sloppy posture with my upper body bent down, Yuren exclaimed and stroked my chin.

“Hey, is that great? If I hadn’t known, I would have been beaten.”

“… … madman.”

Instead of exclamations, I had no choice but to mutter those words.

It was a ghostly skill no matter how you look at it. I was the first to pull out the hatchet, but before I knew it, Yuren’s sword caught up with my hatchet and even slammed it into the ground.

In other words, it was an opponent of a different level. If Delphine-senpai and I were to fight head-on, the outcome would be even worse than this.

Huntsman, is it okay? I was already feeling gloomy.

However, as if Yuren was doing well, he observed my prone posture. And he shook his head, as if he had figured out something.

“Among the mind and body, qi is uniquely excellent, but the heart and body cannot keep up with it.”

“… … ? What are you talking about.”

If it was the mind body theory, I was already familiar with it.

Martial arts required three disciplines. mind, skill, and body.

The training of the mind affects imagery, the training of skills makes a skilled warrior, and the training of the body forms the vessel.

So this is the mind body theory. If you don’t meet all three, you can’t be a good drone. But now, Yu Ren told me that only his skills were exceptionally good.

Yuren couldn’t even tell the details. I just left the following words:

“I mean, it feels like you’ve been training in the mountains somewhere? No, no matter how hard it is, the core and body can’t be this far behind… okay! I can just roll all day on a battlefield somewhere.”

“…Then you wouldn’t be able to get your energy right?”

“Maybe he had a good teacher, well… either way would be impossible.”

Then Yuren tapped me on the shoulder again. Now it was a sign of farewell.

“Don’t worry too much. In the long run, you’ll have to correct it, but for now, it’s not too bad to just focus on what you’re good at.”

‘Doing well’, I suddenly thought of that word.

It’s something I’m good at, after all, Leto told me too.

Maybe it was ‘do what you do’?

Seeing me lost in thought, Yuren didn’t know what he was thinking, but he looked at me with a happy look. It was a face that made me wonder if I had attained enlightenment after listening to his advice.

He walked away shaking his hand as if he would not interfere.

“Then I’m off, my sister is waiting… Come to think of it, you, sister, be careful.”

My eyes, lost in thought for a moment, turned to Yuren. He was wearing a mischievous smile, just like when he put his arm around me.

“…because my sister has a lot of interest in you these days.”

There was only one person whom Yuren called ‘Sister’.

As an orphan, the only person he trusts and follows like family is the only one who grew up with him like a brother and sister in an orphanage.

‘Saint’, it meant that she was interested in me.

why the hell

Before he could even say that question, Yuren disappeared like the wind, just like when he appeared.

Since he was officially serving as the saintess’ escort, he must have gone to see the saintess.

That’s how another worry arose, and another worry seemed to be resolved.

I wasn’t as eloquent as Leto, I didn’t have a wide network like Celine, and I didn’t have a solid background like Seria.

However, even so, I am ‘good at’.

Yeah, that was all.

**

It was a dark night, a time when even the moonlight cast a faint light behind the clouds.

Her hair, resembling the color of the night sky, caught my eye at first glance. And the tawny eyes staring blankly at me, and the immaculate skin that stands out even more in contrast.

Celine Haster, my childhood friend was facing me.

“……Celine.”

Slowly reflecting the moonlight, the sword was drawn from the scabbard at my waist.

With a bang, the scabbard was thrown to the ground. It meant that he would not reap the sword until the match was won. signal for the start of the duel.

In a clearing in the forest where no one would visit, I smiled faintly.

“Let’s open a plate.”

It was the only thing I was good at.

It was a law that the swordsman had to speak only with the sword. If I had to use myself as an example, including the hatchet.

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