Ch.29Sword Saint – 1

After hearing more details, I realized that the Sword Saint wasn’t coming to the academy solely as a special instructor to teach Brunhild.

It was also to quell the anxiety that had been spreading through whispers since the dungeon demonization incident.

Although Rosaria had been staying at the academy under various pretexts, she was still just a candidate for sainthood rather than an official saint, which made her slightly insufficient to completely alleviate the unease.

The Sword Saint was the perfect piece to fill that gap.

“The fact that she’s coming here is top secret among top secrets. Since they’ll be introducing her in front of all the students next Monday, you absolutely have to keep it confidential until then, okay?”

Brunhild earnestly implored us not to let rumors about the Sword Saint spread.

“But it’s okay for us to meet her? Even though it needs to be kept secret until Monday?”

Priscilla, Aria, and I had received Brunhild’s request to spare some time on Saturday, and we had rented an entire private training hall. A rather luxurious one at that.

For the record, I paid the rental fee. It wasn’t much anyway.

By my standards, of course.

“You guys are fine. I kind of used your and Aria’s names to convince the Sword Saint.”

“You used Aria’s and my names?”

It was an utterly absurd statement. When I questioned her, Brunhild nodded.

“Remember how Professor Jake said he had nothing to teach us about swordsmanship? So I asked her to take a look at you two while teaching me. She was really intrigued when I told her that a first-year at Bellium Academy was told by a professor that he had nothing to teach them. Basically, I used you two to bring her here… Ah, she’s here.”

Brunhild stood up with a welcoming expression. I also rose from my seat and looked in the direction she was facing. In the distance, a woman was walking toward us with measured steps.

Her brown hair, which reached down to her ankles, was tightly tied in a ponytail near the back of her head, and her sky-blue eyes were serene without the slightest tremor.

However, only her left eye was open. On the right side, a long scar ran from just below her eyebrow down to near her lips, and perhaps because of this scar, her right eye was completely closed.

Her clothing resembled a yukata overall. It only resembled one rather than actually being one. And underneath, she would be wearing the uniform that symbolized her position.

But despite being called the Sword Saint, there was no sword visible anywhere.

That made sense. From her loose clothing to the fact that she was empty-handed, everything was to hide her trauma.

“Sword Saint!”

Brunhild waved her hand cheerfully. The Sword Saint seemed about to return the greeting with a warm smile, but then she hesitated, lowered her half-raised hand, and her face hardened.

Her single sky-blue eye began to glare in our direction.

“Um… Sword Saint?”

At first, Brunhild looked uncertain, thinking it might be some kind of joke, but when she felt the genuine killing intent, she seemed to realize something was wrong and looked confused.

“……!!!!!!”

Suddenly, an extremely viscous and chilling killing intent poured out.

Brunhild gasped and staggered, while Aria trembled violently, hugging herself as she collapsed to the floor. Priscilla clenched her fists and bit her lip tightly, trying to endure somehow.

I forced strength into my legs to support my body. It was such intense killing intent that I couldn’t even remember the stories Priscilla had told me about the past. The claim that she was the strongest human even without a sword was clearly no exaggeration.

“……”

Suddenly, I thought of Yongwon.

I seriously debated whether I should draw it or not. I wanted to pull out my sword right then. It felt like my neck would be severed immediately if I didn’t.

The distance between us narrowed further. The killing intent intensified accordingly. Brunhild was barely supporting herself with her holy sword, and Aria was half-unconscious.

A trickle of blood was flowing from Priscilla’s lips.

The image of Yongwon at my waist began to appear more clearly. Dozens of thoughts raced through my mind in that short time. The anxiety that my head could fly off at any moment consumed my entire body.

As Yongwon became more distinct, the killing intent grew even fiercer. Now I could feel the sensation of the Sword Saint’s hands cutting me to pieces several times per second.

—Kuung.

One final step was taken. I instinctively knew it was the last one. I gritted my teeth. This is death. I must counter. Otherwise—

“Fortunately, you haven’t been consumed by your karma.”

“……”

The Sword Saint smiled warmly. The killing intent that had filled the surroundings vanished in the blink of an eye. It happened right after I had resigned myself to death and given up on manifesting Yongwon.

I supported Priscilla, who was about to collapse with blood flowing from her torn lips. She was also drenched in sweat. Seeing her bleeding lips, the Sword Saint looked apologetic.

“Oh dear, oh dear. That wasn’t my intention. I’m sorry. Take this, at least.”

The Sword Saint pulled a glass vial with sloshing red liquid from her sleeve and tossed it. I caught it reflexively.

“It’s a potion made by diluting elixir at a ratio of 1:10. It’s far more effective than even most high-grade potions.”

“……”

If that was true, even diluted tenfold, it was too precious to use on a mere torn lip.

But that wasn’t my concern. If she gave it to use, we should use it. Without lowering my guard, I verified the potion’s authenticity, and only after confirming it was real did I apply it to Priscilla’s lips.

Fresh skin immediately grew over the torn wound. I wiped away the blood streaks on her chin and neck with my sleeve. The Sword Saint watched me and gave a bitter smile.

“Um… Sword Saint, what was that just now…?”

“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Rachel? ‘Sword Saint’ this, ‘Sword Saint’ that. It sounds so pretentious.”

The Sword Saint lightly scolded Brunhild, who was struggling to address her, then moved to Aria’s side and gently stroked her back.

“I apologize for doing this so suddenly. But it was necessary because of that student.”

“…Because of Mira? Why her?”

Brunhild looked puzzled. Not just Brunhild, but Priscilla, Aria, and finally me, the person in question, all shared the same expression.

“I can’t tell you here. It might cause trouble for that student.”

“……”

“Shall we talk privately? Aren’t you curious why I said such things, why I did what I did?”

Of course I was curious. I exchanged glances with Priscilla and then stood up without lowering my guard. After helping Priscilla back onto the sofa, I followed the Sword Saint.

The Sword Saint stopped only after turning a corner and moving far enough that the other three were out of sight. Then, with a face full of concern, she began to speak.

“I saw the ‘karma’ contained in your soul. You’ve killed so many. Both humans and monsters, indiscriminately.”

“……”

Since I had a rough idea of what this “karma” might be, I chose to remain silent.

“How old are you this year?”

“Eighteen.”

“I can hardly imagine what kind of life one must have led to take so many lives at your age—even I, who was called the Sword Saint, cannot begin to fathom. How could a child have more karma accumulated in their soul than I do?”

Well, that’s because the number of humans and monsters I killed in my first world overwhelmingly exceeds the number the Sword Saint has killed. It can’t be helped.

“First, I should apologize. Because I sensed the karma filling your soul, I had no choice but to test you. If there had been even the slightest possibility that you could be consumed by that karma, I would have had to kill you beforehand. Before your soul became corrupted and you turned into a murderous ghost.”

Murderous ghost, huh. I never worried about such things in my first world. It seems in this world, there’s a concept that killing many people drives you insane.

“Leona talks about you quite a lot, and I wouldn’t want her to have to kill a friend with her own hands. Even if it means earning her resentment…”

As she spoke, her eyes were brimming with affection for Brunhild.

“So, what did you conclude?”

“You can rest easy for now. Don’t worry. If there had been even the slightest chance of you turning into a murderous ghost, you would have drawn your weapon immediately in that situation. But you endured until the end, didn’t you?”

The Sword Saint smiled brightly. It was hard to believe she was approaching fifty. According to what I’d heard, her appearance had stopped aging around 23, when she transcended human limits.

“You said you were eighteen?”

“Yes.”

“I can hardly believe it. Are you carrying some ancient dungeon’s curse? How at that age…”

I chose silence again. It was a question too awkward to answer carelessly. It’s simply for the same reason I can use abilities from my first world here.

It’s engraved in my soul. Both my abilities and my past.

“This is something that would be troublesome if told to the other children, right? That’s why I called you aside to speak privately. Was I being presumptuous?”

“Not at all. I appreciate your consideration.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

The Sword Saint smiled warmly and gestured for us to return. I obediently followed.

“Oh, and I should make amends for greeting you with killing intent right off the bat. When I come to the academy later, come find me sometime. I’ll give you something very nice.”

With a wink, the Sword Saint resumed walking. I wonder what kind of amazing item she’s planning to give me to make up for her actions.

We returned to where the three were waiting. They had all somewhat recovered. Even Aria, who had been in the worst condition, looked fine except for her slightly reddened eyes.

“What did you two talk about?”

“About why I had to act that way. Ask this child if I can tell you the details.”

All three pairs of eyes turned to me simultaneously. I nodded.

“She had her reasons. I’ll tell you when it’s just us.”

While Brunhild grumbled quietly, asking why I couldn’t tell them now, I tapped my palm under the table at an angle visible only to Priscilla sitting next to me.

Recognizing my signal, Priscilla blinked imperceptibly to indicate she understood. Meanwhile, the Sword Saint told the others, just as she had told me, to come find her sometime later.

“So, is this the child who Jake said he had nothing to teach?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“…I can see why.”

The Sword Saint looked at me with an ambiguous expression. She seemed to have some misunderstanding about how I had built my current skills.

“I understand. Well then, shall we take a look at your skills? Come, Leona. You’re first. You postponed it last time, saying we should do it when your friends were present, right?”

The Sword Saint, holding a small teaspoon that had been placed next to her teacup, calmly walked to the center of the training hall. Seeing this, Brunhild made a face of disgust.

“When are you going to use a real sword?”

“You can’t even beat a toothpick or a twig, yet you want me to draw a real sword? If you feel wronged, improve your skills until I feel threatened.”

Brunhild grumbled as she faced the Sword Saint with her holy sword.

Despite her words, I knew the real reason why the Sword Saint wouldn’t use a real sword. Or more accurately, why she couldn’t.

Because after being defeated when she challenged the Demon King, she developed a severe trauma associated with her sword.