Ch.161161 – The Lonely Eastern Swordsman

<161 – The Lonely Eastern Swordsman>

The lonely eastern swordsman, Sing.

Only silence and stillness accompany his path.

Slash!

When birds chirp, his sword flashes, and their lifeless bodies fall with severed beaks and wings.

Buzz-buzz!

A cicada that woke too early due to abnormal weather is silenced by a dagger that pierces its head with lightning speed.

Thud, thud-thud

A swordsman who creates only silence and stillness, leaving behind countless corpses of small animals and insects wherever he goes.

Classmates who witnessed his madness would close their mouths or turn away at the mere sight of Sing, fearing that eye contact or their chatter might disturb him.

After all, he had even killed another participant during the entrance exam—why would he spare his classmates!

‘There he is?’

I set out to find Sing, whom everyone fears.

Finding Sing isn’t difficult.

Wherever students who normally love to chat are fleeing in terror or keeping their mouths tightly shut, that’s where Sing will be!

“Everyone run away-! The door to the third-year seniors’ lab has opened!! If you don’t hurry, you might be captured as test subjects!!!”

“Aaaah!! I don’t want to become a guinea pig!”

“If you’re caught, you’ll become a clinical test subject! Everyone flee!!”

Not here.

“H-hey, freshman. You shouldn’t go there right now.”

“Why not?”

“During curse practice class, a student got angry at a rude professor and cast a ‘be kind’ curse on him, and now the professor is showing his kindness by offering everyone jobs in his lab.”

Not here either.

“Everyone run awayyy! A crazy swordsman is on a rampage!!”

“Be careful in the garden. They say a suspicious swordsman is cutting down anything that disturbs him, regardless of whether it’s animal or plant!”

“We just came out for a picnic… and a beetle with severed wings fell into our lunchbox… waaah!”

There he is!

When I went to the garden where the ominous rumors were spreading, the ground was covered with insects with severed wings.

A natural disaster in human form.

‘No wonder he has no friends when he goes around doing that every day!’

While I felt sorry for him, I also understood.

Because I know Sing’s character story.

Each time you raise a character’s affection, you get one opportunity to learn about their past.

Naturally, I already know most of the main characters’ affection stories.

Why Sing is possessed by a ghost, why he hates loud noises, why he chooses solitude.

Empathy and understanding.

If I handle these two things well, perhaps peaceful communication with Sing would be possible.

“Hello, Sing!”

“Noisy. Disappear, kid.”

“……”

I already expected that he wouldn’t return my greeting.

A character with good performance but major flaws.

Sing is the quintessential representative of this type of character.

[Miss Oknodie. Your friend still has some final self-restraint left despite being possessed by a ghost. He didn’t cut you down without question.]

Professor Destroyer’s voice came through the short-range magic communication device in my ear.

But the professor is completely mistaken.

‘Sing’s habit of cutting things indiscriminately isn’t particularly because he’s possessed by a ghost!’

Even before being possessed by a ghost, Sing was someone who frequently cut things.

But he has his reasons.

It’s not because he’s a pleasure killer who trembles with withdrawal symptoms if he doesn’t kill something.

“Sing. You know what? I know who that person is!”

“!!”

“It’s your younger sister, right?”

“You know Lin?”

“She’s Sing’s precious person, isn’t she?”

Sing’s younger sister Lin.

A sister who was already deceased at the game’s starting point.

Lin was mute.

She was mistreated by her family for being mute.

And outside the family, there were endless dirty requests for arranged marriages, offering some benefits in exchange for giving away a daughter with a defect.

Sing didn’t want his sister to hear those filthy voices.

But still, she was family.

Still, she was a member of the same clan.

As a genius swordsman, he devoted himself to the responsibilities, duties, and roles given to him by his family.

Without realizing it was a scheme to separate him from his sister.

After enduring and enduring, the conclusion he reached was a bad ending.

His sister died, and he was left alone.

The man who once wielded his sword to fulfill obligations forced upon him by others now wielded it to fulfill duties he had taken upon himself.

He cuts down anything that disturbs the silence and stillness.

He slices anything that interferes with contemplation and silence.

For his sister who couldn’t even scream once.

To engrave her pain onto others.

The vengeful spirit who needed power for revenge came to the Western world’s finest educational institution.

[Your understanding of character <Sing> has increased.]

━━━

Sing’s Understanding

Lonely Man (Understanding 20) – He takes silence as his companion and enjoys solitude in stillness.

Born Swordsman (Understanding 40) – Natural talent made him an outstanding swordsman. Even though he didn’t want it.

Precious Sister (Understanding 60) – Once, he had a reason to live in this world.

Vengeful Spirit (Understanding 80) – There are people he must kill.

━━━

[Character <Sing>’s understanding has exceeded 20.]

[You receive 1st special reward <Precursor to Sing’s Murderous Impulse>.]

[The rate of increase for character <Sing>’s affection has increased.]

[Warning!]

[This character has extremely high hostility toward everyone in this world.]

[Instead of affection increasing, hostility decreases.]

[Character <Sing>’s understanding has exceeded 40.]

[You receive 2nd special reward <A Measure of Self-Control>.]

[Character <Sing>’s understanding has exceeded 60.]

[3rd special reward <Affection Brake> detected.]

[Character <Sing> does not have affection for anyone in this world.]

[When certain conditions are met, Sing’s affection will rise above neutral (0).]

[Character <Sing>’s understanding has exceeded 80.]

[You receive 4th special reward <Companion in Vengeance>.]

[When character <Sing> leaves the academy to embark on his journey of revenge, instead of disappearing silently, he will ask if you want to join his revenge.]

This was the reason Sing walked the path of a killer.

* *

“Ugh. Don’t say such mean things! I’m Papa’s precious daughter too!”

“Must you experience pain before backing down?”

“Is it because of the pretty sister next to you?”

Whether she didn’t hear the command to disappear,

Or had no intention of listening,

The ill-mannered little one didn’t listen.

This was the second time he had someone who wouldn’t listen following him around.

Drip.

His first troublemaker.

He felt the gaze looking up at him from beside him.

Someone who just stares at him with inscrutable eyes, like before.

The owner of a gaze heavier than ten thousand words.

Someone he had once let go due to his own powerlessness.

A connection he thought he would never encounter again.

His half-sister, two years younger, born of a different mother.

The child who had died and been revived by the power of ghosts.

And now.

The Dark Princess Oknodie, said to be the strongest in Evil Force among the first-years, had come looking for him.

‘If it were any other student, I would have cut them down without hesitation.’

If she noticed something strange about his sister who follows him and reported it to a professor, this being who resembles his sister from his memories, even if a false form, would be eliminated.

But what about Dark Princess Oknodie?

She might be different.

Doesn’t she herself have a terrible reputation that could classify her as an enemy of all?

Despite showing rough behavior due to a moment of anxiety, some vague expectation prevented him from swinging his sword.

“Sing. You know what? I know who that person is!”

“!!”

“It’s your younger sister, right?”

The sword in his heart stood on edge.

Guardian Visitation Week.

No one could predict that someone younger than himself would visit.

This was truly knowledge.

About Lin’s identity.

“You know Lin?”

“She’s Sing’s precious person, isn’t she?”

“…”

That was also true.

Sing cherished Lin.

Beyond the normal relationship of a brother caring for his sister.

They regarded each other as the only ones they could rely on in this world, becoming each other’s reason to live.

There was a time when he cherished her more than anything in the world.

Those were happy days.

Days when only he was happy.

He didn’t hear the screams contained in his sister’s silence.

He was listening to too many unnecessary noises.

Empty fame.

Futile desires.

Responsibilities to bear.

Only after losing her did he realize.

What kind of situation his sister Lin was in.

“…How do you know that?”

“Ah. W-well… somehow?”

“Does this Foundation have ears in the Eastern Empire as well?”

The secret was exposed.

She had noticed his purpose.

Normally, he would have cut her down without hesitation.

After all, the situation clearly suggested she might be an agent sent by his “enemy.”

Cut before being cut.

Don’t be swayed by useless thoughts.

That was the principle he had set for himself.

But this time, his hand wouldn’t move.

This child is different.

He instinctively felt it.

Someone belonging to a darkness even greater than his enemy lurking in the Eastern Empire couldn’t possibly be a mere agent of the Empire’s darkness.

“What do you want?”

“I’ll help you! In return, please help me later!”

“How do you intend to help me, us?”

The tiny giant sneezed achoo, wrinkled her nose, and answered.

“I’ll make it easier to keep your sister!”

“…Keep?”

“Like trapping her in a ring or something?”

…Trap Lin? In a ring?

“Oh, don’t worry! We can also put a leash on her and chain her up so she can’t come out on her own!”

“…”

For the first time, Sing doubted his instincts.

Whether it had truly been the right decision not to cut this child down.

Whether he should have followed the slight anxiety that a more powerful enemy might have appeared, rather than the vague expectation that she might help with his revenge.