Ch.41Chapter 41: Interlude

I hoped that everyone here would focus on their own tasks and greet Shizu’s affectionate advances with indifference, but…

-….

-….

-….

Somehow, the gazes directed at Shizu’s personal space were not subsiding with time; rather, their number and intensity were only increasing.

‘This is dangerous.’

The weight of the silent stares directed at Shizu and me was far more effective than any passionate outburst would have been.

Judging by the atmosphere, I realized that lingering here would only be a nuisance to my peers and juniors who were diligently training to become better versions of themselves.

I took swift action to resolve the situation.

First, I managed to detach Shizu, who still showed no intention of letting go of my arm.

“Heeng.”

Seemingly disappointed at being separated from me, Shizu made a sulky sound and tried to cling to me again.

*Tap*

I raised my right hand and gently placed it on her head to block her movement.

“This is inconsiderate to others.”

“…I understand.”

Hearing my polite words, Shizu finally accepted them and maintained an appropriate distance from me.

Soon after, I felt the silent stares directed at us gradually fading.

While the relief from that pressure was welcome, I was amazed that a simple arm-linking could quiet down this special training ground that should have been filled with energy and fighting spirit.

‘If you’re upset, you should also… No, that’s not right.’

Anyway, it’s time to leave.

Sensing the decrease in attention, I unhesitatingly headed toward the exit.

Having successfully completed my intended training, there was no need to disrupt the concentration of those dedicated to improving themselves.

As I headed toward the exit, Shizu followed behind me with small steps, not linking arms like before but still close.

“Cal.”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s have dinner together.”

At Shizu’s suggestion, I glanced toward the window and noticed the reddish glow of sunset spreading across the glass.

Time had passed so quickly.

I should probably fill my stomach before the revenge match.

After finishing my thought, I nodded to Shizu and said:

“Sure. It’s on me.”

Not that treating her was anything special.

It would just be the standard dinner prepared for Cradle students—mostly adolescents in their growth phase—with well-balanced nutrition and taste, but nothing particularly outstanding.

It seemed like an insufficient reward for someone who had put aside her own training to spend time with me for a whole week, but…

“Thank you…”

When I saw how happy she was just from my offer to buy her dinner…

“It’s nothing.”

I responded with a voice feigning nonchalance, acting as if it were no big deal.

‘I’m just doing what I should have been doing all along…’

I swallowed this truth that I could never reveal to others.

As we walked slowly through the training ground, the sunset glow coming through the windows conveniently masked my face, which had turned red with embarrassment and guilt.

#

*Creeak*

I was finally able to escape the training ground, leaving countless stares behind.

I was about to let out a sigh of relief after breaking through that heavy silence, but…

“Sigh…”

From somewhere, I heard a sigh with a different tone than the one I was about to release, which stopped me from sighing myself.

Curious about who was sighing so deeply, I turned my head in the direction of the sound.

“The letter… Still no reply…”

There stood Excel with a vacant expression, standing listlessly.

‘I wondered where he was, and here he is.’

Normally, if he had seen Shizu and me getting along in the training ground just now, he would have approached us with mischievous teasing remarks.

He didn’t look well at all.

Despite our hasty exit from the training ground, which should have made our presence obvious, he seemed completely absorbed in his own thoughts, as if Shizu and I didn’t exist.

“Why? Usually, I’d get a reply the day after sending a letter…”

‘He’s still like that.’

His fidgeting and rambling not only revealed a rare side of him but also indicated that something was seriously wrong.

I had expected that even in this state, he would pull himself together in a day or two, but he seemed to be withering like a plant with each passing day.

I had intended to ask him what was wrong during this training period, but never got the chance.

I was busy with my own training, and he would disappear from the training ground as soon as my session ended. Now that we had finally crossed paths, I was about to ask him the reason, but…

“Sister… Why?”

Hearing his voice filled with loneliness and regret as he called out to someone, I realized I didn’t need to ask.

The words “letter” and “sister” made it clear who was causing his anxiety.

That person is…

“Sister Iriana!”

He already said it.

Iriana Ranos, my biological sister who is three years older than me.

Unlike me with my “broken vessel” handicap, she was a genius who had shown her talent in both literary and martial arts from an early age.

Currently, she serves in the Imperial Knights, the empire’s specialized monster subjugation unit, and is known as the Sword of Ranos—the designated next head of our family.

Originally, before my regression, the firstborn son (that would be me) left home out of an inferiority complex, abandoning the family and everything else, leaving no one but my sister to succeed as the family head.

Of course, even if I hadn’t left home, the result wouldn’t have been much different.

Now that I’ve regressed, the outcome could be entirely different depending on my efforts.

‘I must work hard.’

I really need to work hard.

Not to gain the family head position that I couldn’t obtain before my regression.

But to prevent the future of despair and tragedy, to escape from a powerless life crushed by inferiority complexes, and to continuously strive to protect those around me.

Not just Shizu, who looks at me with sparkling eyes from close by, but all the people who cherished me.

Of course, that includes my family, including my sister.

“The frontier… Could something have happened at the frontier?”

While I was organizing my thoughts and reaffirming in my heart the people I needed to protect, Excel’s worries had evolved into delusions.

I wasn’t the only one who found Excel’s behavior absurd.

“Would that happen when Sister Iriana is with the Imperial Knights?”

Shizu, who had been quietly standing beside me listening to Excel’s runaway delusions, voiced a brief question.

“Of course not.”

I gave her a concise answer.

As Shizu said, nothing dangerous would happen at the empire’s borders at this point in time.

Minor disturbances, perhaps.

Even at this point in time, my sister, who receives the favor of the Blood Demon who turned her back on the Five Bloody Stars, and whose martial prowess allows her to stand toe-to-toe with demons, is only slightly inferior to the great heroes from a thousand years ago.

Even if ordinary monsters formed not just groups but armies, they wouldn’t be able to scratch my sister, so who is worrying about whom?

‘Come to think of it.’

Suddenly, thinking about my sister, something crossed my mind.

It was a brief speculation about whether I could receive praise that my skills were comparable to my sister’s if I successfully completed today’s revenge match, but…

“Hehe. I thought so.”

When I saw Shizu smiling brightly and gradually trying to close the distance between us after hearing my answer…

‘Shizu will become much stronger than my sister in the future.’

I realized this simple truth and concluded that instead of useless thoughts, I should focus on successfully completing the upcoming revenge match.

Anyway, despite Excel’s restlessness, if my memory serves me correctly, my sister should be at the peak of her career as an imperial knight right now.

She’s probably busy making a name for herself by successfully subjugating monster armies that, while not large in scale, frequently rise up at the border between the empire and the demon realm, leaving her no time to reply to letters from someone like him.

Ah, maybe she wouldn’t reply even if she had time.

I remember my sister’s sharp words to Excel: “Skinny weaklings aren’t my type. If you want to propose to me, build your body first.”

This greatly influenced his approach to training—despite his usual frivolity, he’s more serious than anyone when it comes to self-discipline.

“Sigh…”

The same lament I had heard earlier escaped from him again.

Thinking that trying to talk to him in this state would likely backfire…

“He’ll be fine on his own eventually. Let’s just go eat.”

I quickly concluded and took Shizu’s hand, heading toward the dining hall.

“U-um!”

Though Shizu seemed surprised that I took her hand—after all, I hadn’t allowed her to link arms—she showed no signs of resistance.

#

And so, at the dining hall we arrived at…

We sat facing each other for dinner.

The meals at Cradle hadn’t changed much in taste since before my regression, but…

“I’m so happy that I get to eat with Cal more often these days.”

Perhaps it was the bright smile on her face—a smile I rarely saw before my regression—that acted as a special seasoning.

Or maybe it was the bittersweet memory of how I often ate alone during this time before my regression.

I’m not sure of the reason, but one thing was certain.

Though the menu was no different from the breakfast I had eaten alone earlier today, dinner tasted unusually delicious.

“Let’s eat together whenever we’re here from now on.”

I expressed my small desire to spend more time with her without hiding it.

“I’ll wake up early in the morning too!”

Seeing her happy smile as she even offered to give up her beloved morning sleep at my request, I felt that today had been a day of many gains.

#

After finishing our enjoyable dinner and parting ways with Shizu at the dining hall…

I savored the sunset as I walked through the corridor, eventually reaching the door to my room.

Usually, seeing this door would give me a sense of fulfillment for having spent a productive day, but…

‘It begins.’

The door before my eyes now signaled the start of another long day.

“Hoo…”

After taking a deep breath to calm my racing heart at the mere thought of what was to come…

*Click*

I gently turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door to enter, and what greeted me was…

*Woong-!! Woowoong-!!!*

The dragon sword, which I had secured to prevent it from being drawn from its scabbard in case of emergency, was making intense sounds as if welcoming(?) me.

“Your greetings get more intense by the day.”

After being defeated by a last-minute reversal when victory was within reach in the space drawn by the sword, and subsequently being expelled from that space…

To prevent the misfortune of being dragged back there unprepared and toyed with by what seemed to be the ruling evil dragon, I had installed a special locking device on the sword and scabbard to prevent the sword from being drawn.

The memory of being transported to that mysterious fog-filled space as soon as the sword was drawn and placed in my hand was what prompted this measure.

Since then, the sword had been making sounds at random times, trying to leap into my hand as if it had its own consciousness, but…

‘It was a bit noisy, but…’

Because I didn’t draw the sword, I was able to avoid the misfortune of being enveloped in an unknown flash of light and dragged to that fog-filled place.

It didn’t torment me all day, but judging by how it would fly to me and try to drag me there whenever I showed the slightest sign of fatigue from hard training…

*Woong-! Woowoong-!*

Without these measures, I would certainly have been worn to the bone day and night during the week of training.

*Drip*

Cold sweat formed on my forehead and ran down my left cheek just thinking about it, but…

‘That ends now.’

Having gained the confidence not to lose to it again, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead with my left hand and beckoned to the resonating dragon sword with my right.

It was a provocative gesture, inviting it to come.

“Call me underhanded if you want. This ends now.”

All that remained was to face the entity dwelling within the sword and establish my dominance.

As the sword handle slowly flew toward me, displaying intense excitement(?), I grasped it with my right hand.

*Thwack*

I swung my left hand roughly, destroying the locking device attached to the scabbard.

*Crack crack crack*

Even though I hadn’t applied much force and had merely swung my left hand lightly at the locking device, it broke apart noisily, making me feel pleased at the evident results of my training.

But to truly acknowledge the results of my training, I couldn’t be satisfied with just this.

“Well then.”

I extended my left hand and slowly drew the dragon sword from its scabbard with the broken locking device.

*Shing*

As the black blade of the dragon sword revealed itself with a clear metallic sound, a vivid light that didn’t match its original color burst forth from it, and…

“Still thick. So thick.”

Fog that suddenly filled my vision greeted me.

The density was unchanged, so thick that I could barely see my own body, but unlike the first day, I was about to feel relieved that the fog no longer made my body feel heavy when…

-Come.

The voice of this place’s master, which still grated on my nerves, quickly replaced my relief with tension due to the aura emanating from it.

I instinctively turned my head toward the source of the voice.

“…Red light again.”

There, piercing through the reddish fog, its presence was revealed.

It was a bright and vivid red that reminded me of blood, ominously bright as if trying to lure me there.

-Yes. This way.

As if confirming that my gaze had fallen on the red light, the fierce voice immediately lured me toward the light.

“Alright, I’m coming, so don’t turn off the light this time.”

I muttered quietly as I slowly walked toward the red light.

Whether this would be a minor revenge match or a great battle for survival against an evil dragon that would go down in history…

Everything would depend on the identity of the being shrouded in that red light.