Ch.104104. Vacation (3)

“The Third Opening.”

While continuing my days of training, Holy Sword suddenly said this. I exhaled with a panting breath and put down my aura for a moment. Holy Sword stood across from me with a composed face, looking at me. Red eyes like rubies. A perfect form that never seemed human no matter when I looked at her. Holy Sword stuck her true form into the ground and gently crossed her arms.

“Are you talking about the third stage opening?”

Holy Sword nodded. She leaned her arm on the sword stuck in the ground, then suddenly snapped her fingers again. A small table and two chairs rose up before my eyes. I don’t know what kind of place this is. The more these things happen, the more curious I become about who she really is.

“Let’s sit for a moment. We can talk while resting.”

Holy Sword walked over, swinging her sword casually. I sat down across from Holy Sword with a dazed feeling. Holy Sword looked at me sitting down with a smile. Though I hadn’t faced Holy Sword’s personified form in the mental world many times, she always wore that kind of smile when looking at me. Subtle, gentle, and warm.

“You know what the sixth calamity is, don’t you, Ilroy?”

“…If you’re talking about the comet.”

Well, it’s the comet, but there are also tens of thousands of monsters that gather to flee after detecting the comet’s presence. I need to block them, break through, and then… shatter the comet.

“The comet is a different entity. Different from the fog too. Cutting it down might not be impossible with your current strength, but…”

Holy Sword tapped the table.

“You’ll certainly lose your life after defeating it. Or become incapacitated.”

Holy Sword said it nonchalantly. I briefly recalled the original story. The process of Aryen defeating the comet. Breaking through the monsters and literally cutting down the falling comet. It was one of my favorite scenes. It was the moment when the world finally fully acknowledged Aryen.

“Then I need to get stronger. Are you saying that with your next opening, I can defeat the comet safely?”

Holy Sword shrugged, maintaining that meaningful smile.

“That depends on how you handle it, doesn’t it? Even I can’t give you a definite answer, Ilroy. You shouldn’t just believe in me; you need to have confidence in yourself.”

Holy Sword spoke as if admonishing me. I slightly furrowed my brow and rested my chin on my hand. The way she spoke so vaguely was like dealing with a sage hidden deep in the mountains. Confidence. I exhaled softly.

“What about the third stage opening? Are there separate conditions like this stage?”

“In the end, I’m the one who determines the conditions, Ilroy. When I feel you’re ready to accept the third stage, I’ll grant you the third opening.”

Holy Sword suddenly handed me the sword. I gripped the hilt and looked at Holy Sword.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s time yet. Though you’ve grown much more than expected.”

Holy Sword had interlocked her fingers and rested her chin on them. Then she narrowed her eyes prettily and gave me a smile. I tilted my head curiously at her seemingly relaxed appearance.

“Keep working hard. Your capacity is not lacking at all right now. For now, just focus on filling that capacity with something. The third stage opening is a matter for later.”

Holy Sword said with a somewhat melancholic smile.

“For now, that includes landing a hit on that woman. I can’t say you’ll win. As you grow, that woman grows too. It will take quite a long time for you to surpass her.”

Holy Sword always referred to the Queen as “that woman.” Somehow, her expression seemed to pout whenever she mentioned her. Yet her high regard for the Queen was rather cute.

“What are you looking at, Ilroy? Just listen properly.”

Holy Sword puffed her cheeks, giving me a needless scolding.

“Right now, you’d lose ten out of ten fights. When you can reliably win one out of ten fights, let’s talk again.”

Holy Sword stood up, and I awkwardly rose with her. She snapped her fingers again, and the table and chairs disappeared like a mirage.

“To do that, you need to work hard here first.”

Another sword, identical to her true form, appeared in Holy Sword’s hand.

“Now, this time it’s dual wielding, Ilroy. Come at me again. Dual wielding means handling two swords. Naturally, it requires much more effort than handling one sword.”

I sighed as I watched Holy Sword take her stance.

“The facts you’re deliberately hiding from me.”

Holy Sword raised her eyebrows after hearing my words.

“When will I be able to know them?”

“…There are things you’re better off not knowing. There are things I’d like to keep secret from you forever. But there are also things you’ll eventually need to know.”

Holy Sword didn’t avoid my question. But she didn’t give me a clear answer either. As always, she just smiled bitterly with a somewhat pensive expression. Whenever I saw that expression, I felt anxious. That’s why I always brought it up first and then changed the subject.

“Don’t make that face. When you do, I wish you would just get angry instead.”

Before I knew it, Holy Sword had approached me. Her pale hand rested on my cheek. What are those eyes, I wanted to ask countless times. I couldn’t fathom the weight, the depth of emotion in her eyes as she looked up at me. I carefully placed my hand over the back of hers. Holy Sword’s hand trembled slightly, then her thumb began to stroke my cheek.

“Let’s really begin now. I won’t indulge you anymore.”

Holy Sword turned her slightly reddened face away and spoke calmly. I wonder who was being indulged. I frowned and stomped my foot. Thud, thud. The ground in the mental world lacks reality. A sensation that could be stone, soil, or wood, I couldn’t tell. I wasn’t connected to the ground. I used that sense of disconnection as momentum and charged forward.

“The first strike is always advantageous. But many fail to capitalize on it.”

Holy Sword received my charge as if it were a feather. Her voice reached my ears.

“Because they fail to succeed at it.”

Thump. And with just one movement, Holy Sword sent me flying backward. She didn’t stop there. I couldn’t catch Holy Sword’s movement as she instantly caught up to me in mid-air.

“Don’t dwell on mistakes during battle. Just think about how to survive.”

Holy Sword’s strike fell like judgment upon my crossed dual swords. I tumbled to the ground with a short groan. This was no time to flinch from the impact. I twisted my feet and got up. I sensed danger from behind. Too late to turn. I moved forward.

“Not bad.”

Holy Sword reappeared in front of me with that assessment. I’ve only dodged once so far. I raised my sword while catching my breath. Just blocking once made my arms shake. The problem is, that wasn’t even half of Holy Sword’s full strength.

“…Should I aim to fight you on equal terms?”

“When that time comes, defeating the Queen will be a very easy task.”

Holy Sword nagged as if telling me to focus on the immediate goal. She doesn’t think about me rolling on the ground. I stretched my foot forward, thinking about competing somewhat equally with that sword, and someday surpassing it. I must not stop advancing. That was the greatest lesson I learned while wielding a sword.

My aura extended forward. Holy Sword easily blocked it. I tried to maintain the deadlock by pressing my sword against hers, but Holy Sword never let the situation flow as I wanted.

“It was a reckless attempt, but here you can be as reckless as you want.”

Holy Sword spoke as if reading my mind. I looked at Holy Sword, who deflected all my attempts with a twisted smile. Before I knew it, I had put both swords down, and Holy Sword was holding her sword to my neck.

“This attempt wasn’t bad. Try using it next time you spar with that woman.”

My morale is really dropping. I looked at Holy Sword’s face, grinning as if I still had a long way to go. A voice and young face that didn’t match her speech at all. Someday I’ll defeat her and pinch those white cheeks.

“Good work today, Ilroy.”

Holy Sword ruffled my hair as I dropped my sword and fell. My vision blurred as I let out a hollow laugh. Holy Sword stepped back slightly from me and waved.

==

I lower my sword. There were no habits in the Queen’s movements. Just as her heart guided, as her body had learned, as her opponent moved. Free movements that seemed to have no limits. A signal not to try to read but to move according to the situation.

“Every time I cross swords with you, I realize…”

The Queen pushed off my sword with her foot. Even that kick was elegant enough to feel dignified.

“Your growth rate is strange. Your movements are clearly those of someone who has achieved a certain level of learning and growth, but every time I fight you, I feel something new. Like an endless canvas.”

Each fight lasted longer. The Queen’s movements were at a level that couldn’t be adapted to or understood, but I had grown stronger. Every night, I was fighting against an opponent that no human could adapt to or understand.

“How fascinating.”

And then, the Queen’s sword underwent a change. I widened my eyes in surprise at that change. The Queen glanced at my surprised face and smiled.

“‘Besides myself,’ this is the first time I’ve met someone with such qualities.”

Yes, the Queen is a genius. A person with the potential to become the strongest swordmaster in this world. It would be strange if she didn’t grow. The Queen began to push me back. As if she had never fallen behind in growth, she instantly switched to quick strikes and started pressuring me.

“I’ve found an unexpected pleasure.”

The Queen’s sword came against mine. Was she a bit excited? Her eyes were sparkling more than ever before. A situation I had imagined countless times in my head. I released the sword in my left hand. A look of confusion settled in the Queen’s sparkling eyes.

“This is…”

The sword flows. It was a mistake to think one could only fight with two swords. The balance collapses. The initiative wavers. With my freed hand, I grabbed the Queen’s hand and pulled her in. Another light settled in her confused eyes. I supported the Queen as she was about to fall forward off-balance. The practice sword in the Queen’s hand clattered to the ground.

“I won.”

I still had a sword in my hand. The Queen had no sword in hers. With my left hand, I was supporting the Queen, and my right hand was aimed at her side. Our faces were close. There was no time to think of impropriety. The thought that I had finally won dominated my mind.

“…Indeed.”

The Queen instantly tripped my leg and knocked me backward. I let out a hollow laugh as I looked at the Queen’s smile as she mounted me. The Queen pointed her index finger at my chest with a strange smile. There was a very faint blush on her face.

“You won this time.”

The Queen said in a voice feigning composure and stared at me. The raised finger changed to a palm. The Queen slightly lowered her waist toward me.

“This is enjoyable, Ilroy. It’s a feeling I haven’t experienced for a very long time. I’ll be spending a lot of time with you in the training ground for a while.”

I could only hope the Queen wouldn’t notice my Adam’s apple bobbing as I swallowed dryly. The Queen looked at my expression and laughed softly.

“Well, before that, I think I need to ask you for a favor.”

“A favor… you say?”

The Queen nodded.

“There’s a place monitoring the location of the sixth calamity right now.”

“…You mean the Magic Tower.”

“You know exactly. Indeed, should I call you a hero?”

The Queen moved a little closer. Her hair, tied back, was slightly falling to the side.

“When the new semester at the Magic Tower begins, I’d like you to stay at the Magic Tower for a while and share countermeasures for the sixth calamity with the mages.”

The Queen smiled and looked straight into my eyes.

“Well, since it would be odd to just stay there, you’ll also work as a teaching assistant.”