Ch.19Practical Evaluation (1)

The long written exam was finally over.

Seti and I returned to our reserved lodging. We’ll be staying here for a few days until the first round results are announced.

The Rheinland main house is close by, so going back home wouldn’t be an issue, but Seti adamantly refused. She wanted to spend more time with her sister Rustila since they hadn’t seen each other in a while.

“Wow.”

I let out an admiring sigh as I looked at the well-landscaped scenery outside.

The celestial sphere had already rotated halfway, sprinkling the evening glow across the sky. It was a scene beautiful enough to be from a movie.

This is space.

This is romance.

I can’t let the outer gods destroy such a beautiful world.

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity laughs.]

When I turned around, Seti was unpacking her luggage.

She collapsed onto her bed with a thud, as if diving into it.

“Ugh, I’m tired…”

Seti and I had agreed to share a room.

Originally, we had reserved two separate rooms, but my sister changed it to a single room with two beds, saying we needed to save money.

Seti made a gesture of drawing a line in the space between the beds.

“Got it? This is the border. Don’t cross it.”

“I won’t.”

Seti still seems displeased with me.

Sonia, who was standing nearby, spoke up.

“Don’t worry, miss. I’ll be watching the young master’s every move. If he tries anything suspicious, I’ll stop him immediately, so please sleep soundly.”

“That’s reassuring.”

Seti yawned repeatedly, seeming quite tired. I turned off the lights as soon as she lay down and left the room.

“Turn the lights back on, you bastard!”

I turned them back on and left again.

“Look at that temper, you brat.”

It was 8 PM.

Still too early to go to sleep.

Before my possession, I always ate dinner around this time.

When I went down to the cafeteria on the first floor, I saw a strikingly beautiful girl having a late dinner.

Blonde hair and blue eyes. It was Rustila.

After sending Sonia to the kiosk, I cautiously approached her.

Rustila, who had been eating soup like a child, looked up.

“You…”

“Hi. How did the exam go?”

“…Fine. Not bad.”

She continued eating silently. Rustila had a taciturn personality, making it difficult to start a conversation with her.

My gaze reached past Rustila’s shoulder. There was an android guarding and monitoring her. I greeted him lightly as well.

“Please don’t approach the young lady.”

His face seemed somewhat familiar.

“You’re that guy from before, aren’t you?”

“I’m Zermel.”

One of the unfortunate five androids who had been threatened by me when Rustila visited our house.

Zermel displayed his discomfort without filtering, quite unlike a robot. He seemed displeased with Rustila and me being together. Rustila herself didn’t seem to mind, though.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do that kind of thing again.”

“That statement is difficult to trust.”

“I suppose so.”

I’m Eidel, already notorious as a troublemaker. Unless it’s a very special situation, I need to behave properly. Otherwise, my already rock-bottom reputation will plummet even further.

So I declared:

“I’m planning to change my image after getting into Stellarium.”

Zermel countered unexpectedly:

“Living cleanly in the future doesn’t wash away the past.”

“I know.”

Though it wasn’t even my doing.

“…You’re right.”

Rustila, who had been cutting her steak, nodded slightly. She supported what Zermel had said.

“If you’ve done something wrong, you should apologize anyway. Even if it wasn’t something you intended to do. Because the person who was hurt doesn’t know what the perpetrator was thinking. People can’t understand each other until they speak up.”

Rustila looked at me with warm eyes. It was as if the mild Mediterranean Sea was captured in her pupils.

Just then, I remembered what I had agreed upon with Sonia.

Keeping that in mind, I spoke:

“For reasons I don’t understand… I sometimes have episodes like the one from before. Even though it can’t be helped, I’d like to take this opportunity to say this.”

I looked steadily at Zermel and addressed him respectfully.

“I’m sorry about that time.”

I bowed my head, ending with a promise to be more careful next time.

Zermel was silent for a while before speaking.

“You’re an interesting person. Apologizing to an android like me.”

“Whether it’s an artificial neural network or neurons, they all operate on similar structures, so why discriminate between humans and machines?”

“The one you should apologize to is not me, but Lady Rustila.”

I offered the same apology to Rustila. I said I was sorry for causing a disturbance back then. Though I remembered having said something similar before, I formally bowed my head in front of Zermel.

“Yeah, it’s okay.”

Rustila accepted with a brief response.

She was smiling faintly.

Just then, Sonia brought the food. She placed a thick rib steak in front of me.

“It’s quite expensive. I thought it would be perfect for you after taking the written exam.”

“Ah, thank you.”

I picked up the fork as politely as I could.

I tried to cut the steak in an elegant manner, but it wasn’t easy. No matter how much I tried to put on airs, my skill was just above the average physics major’s level.

Seeing me like this, Rustila chuckled.

“Want me to help?”

“…Sonia.”

“This is embarrassing. Young master, please handle it yourself.”

“……”

Having barely eaten lunch, I was quite hungry. I wanted to just stuff the whole thing in my mouth and chew. But that wouldn’t look good.

Finally, I nodded as a compromise.

“Here, watch.”

Rustila took out a spare knife. Her grip showed expertise from the start. She quickly cut along the grain, dividing the meat into bite-sized pieces.

“Wow.”

“You shouldn’t just cut where you see. You need to pay attention to the tendon positions. Some parts cut better along the grain than others, so finding those spots is important.”

“You’re amazing.”

At the same time, I was dying of embarrassment.

***

As soon as day broke, Seti and I headed to a nearby field.

Rustila and her android attendants joined us.

“Coming all this way… What if a passing robber harms Lady Rustila, what would we…”

“Don’t worry. If that happens, Sonia here will handle it.”

Zermel and his tin friends still seemed concerned about Rustila’s safety. However, they had no choice but to bring their master outside due to Sonia’s bold assurance.

Sonia added, addressing Zermel who was wetting his lips:

“The second test inevitably requires physical activity. Particularly, they evaluate how you handle a Plasma Sword. You need to train and get a feel for it even before the written exam results are announced.”

“That may be true, but still, the head of the family said it’s dangerous…”

“Everyone faces risks once they’re out in the world. Rustila’s parents seem to be overprotecting their daughter.”

Well said, Sonia.

I lightly swung the wooden sword I had brought from home. Perhaps my body had stiffened again during that month, as I couldn’t get a good feel for it.

In contrast, Seti drew a clean trajectory as soon as she gripped the sword.

“You really can’t handle a sword.”

Seti approached, mocking me.

“I learned it in a crash course.”

I retorted.

“No talent blooms without effort. Even if I had a natural talent for swordsmanship, it’s natural that I’m not good at it since I haven’t practiced much. I’m prepared to take a penalty in the practical test.”

“Just say you’ve been lazy all this time.”

Seti shrugged. I laughed in disbelief.

I have neither interest nor talent in swordsmanship. My specialty lies in research. I pride myself on thinking about physics more than others and pondering gravitons longer than anyone else.

And because of that, I haven’t paid much attention to other fields. Everyone has the same amount of time. Because one cannot use it evenly across various fields, the term ‘specialist’ was born.

Everyone has different qualities and talents, and we help each other to live.

At the same time, each of these individuals came together to create civilization.

That’s how it was in the past, and that’s how it will be in the future.

I do what others cannot. I entrust to others what I cannot do. Thus, we depend on each other and defeat the outer gods.

[— The God of Wisdom and Curiosity shows positive curiosity towards your thoughts.]

[— You have received a donation of 200 pron!]

By now, Seti had turned her head to look outside the grass field. There, Rustila was swinging a wooden sword with a smiling face.

A sound like tearing through the air.

The precision felt in each movement.

Like a taekwondo master performing a poomsae, she continued her sword strikes without a hint of disorder. It seemed like entering the range of that sword path would mean instant death.

“Sister Rustila looks happy.”

“She does.”

“I heard that until the practical content was announced, her parents wouldn’t let her hold a sword. And Rustila loves sword training more than anything in the world.”

“Strange parents.”

“…Tsk, you can’t say things like that.”

I scratched my head. Indeed, even ordinary statements sounded like insults when spoken through Eidel’s mouth.

But still.

But still…

“This feels a bit unfair.”

“I understand what you mean. Still, you need to be careful for a while. Sigh. I’m minding my own business, but why did you have to…”

Seti frowned, scratching the back of her head vigorously.

Anyway, we can’t just stand here talking.

I swung the wooden sword a few times and called out:

“Anyone want to spar with me?”

At that moment, Rustila turned towards us with sparkling eyes.

“Me, me…!”

Seti exclaimed in horror:

“Hey, do you have a death wish?”

“Why?”

“You don’t know this, but her sword strikes really hurt. One hit and your bones might shatter.”

“We can just adjust and be careful with each other. Or wear protective gear.”

“That’s the problem—she can’t!”

Hearing Seti’s words, I briefly recalled the novel’s content.

I’m not sure if it’s accurate since it’s an epic with over 1,800 episodes, but I think there was a description that Rustila sometimes undergoes a complete personality change when she holds a sword.

“There’s a reason I don’t cross swords with Sister Rustila. Both you and I don’t have genetically strong bones. One wrong move and we could die with a groan.”

“…Aren’t you exaggerating too much?”

“If you don’t believe me, go ahead and try a round with her.”

Seti pushed me forward almost forcefully. I sighed repeatedly and looked back. Seti had an indifferent expression, and Sonia was clicking her tongue.

Come to think of it, I got beaten badly when I sparred with Sonia.

Yet I was fine.

More precisely, I recovered quickly.

I survived a month of being hit by a robot with greater strength than humans, so would I really collapse from the sword of a sixteen-year-old girl?

That’s absurd.

Even if that were to happen, it would just mean I deserve to fail the practical test.

Rustila, seemingly excited, was adjusting her blade. A perfect ready stance without a single opening. Facing her, I also warmed up lightly and took my stance.

“I, I’m so nervous.”

“Why?”

“It’s been so long since I’ve sparred with someone else…”

“……”

“Well then… shall we begin?”

Oh well.

…Surely, I won’t die, right?

Just as I thought that, a flash of light surged before my eyes.