Ch.76Alicon (1)

After I finished the initiation ceremony by knocking out the new knight with a left hook punch…

“WOOOOOOOOOOAH!!!”

‘Whew, that was close. I almost caused a serious incident.’

While the audience—knights, squires, and even servants—who had been watching from all sides erupted in cheers, I was trying to calm my startled heart despite maintaining an outwardly dignified appearance.

Because if I had made a mistake, there was a high possibility that the “Sword Demon” factor would have moved on its own and caused an accident, as it had done several times before.

Even though I’ve learned how to imbue my sword with the principle of “Slash,” making it somewhat easier to control and less sensitive than before, this factor called “Sword Demon” still tends to… especially when there’s an opportunity to cut down an enemy, it activates on its own.

And my cutting through that aura-wrapped sword just now was ultimately close to a miracle resulting from this factor running wild on its own.

It’s a bit embarrassing, but with my current skill level, it’s impossible to penetrate a metal sword strongly wrapped in aura head-on, let alone perform such a feat with this twisted twig.

‘…I hope no one noticed.’

In other words, what appeared to be me deflecting the enemy’s attack with this twig was merely a deception. In reality, I had hidden a dagger in my sleeve and overlapped the extended slash with the twig.

…Of course, I still had to draw upon the power of the “Sword Demon” to prevent the twig from breaking in the aftermath, and in the process, the factor went wild more than necessary.

-Crack!

Anyway, after breaking the twig I had been using as a weapon substitute for appearances and casually tossing it aside, the female knight who had been (seemingly) one-sidedly toyed with by me approached to speak.

“Sir Alzar. I, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“…Yes. This might be impertinent, but… when you fought me, you didn’t use aura to strengthen your body… did you?”

“Ah.”

When the female knight finally finished her question despite her nervousness, I realized what kind of misunderstanding my earlier display might have caused.

“Ogre’s Brute Strength” and “Troll’s Brute Strength.” The result of these two factors combined with “Strong Body” is none other than overwhelming strength capable of crushing even humans, and when aura is added, it becomes powerful enough to make me temporarily neglect technique.

Therefore, I had momentarily tried to deactivate the unconscious strengthening by aura, and in fact, considering the situation at the time, I could still exert knight-level strength even without it.

But… how would this have appeared to her?

She now believes that I can exert knight-level strength even without aura (which is true), and this situation is close to something I absolutely did not want.

Because in this world, when someone possesses mysterious strength, the easiest suspicion to fall under is that of being a cultist.

…Strictly speaking, the fact that I myself fall under that criterion of being a cultist is what makes me hesitate in my current response.

Therefore, my choice was ultimately to navigate this situation with improvisation.

“Um… what is your name?”

“Leana Fantrienne, Sir Alzar.”

“Yes, Lady Fantrienne. What you observed is correct. Just now, I indeed did not use aura to strengthen my body.”

“T-then how…!”

‘Hmm? …Ah. Is it desire?’

At this point, I realized that her reaction was more about a desire for strength rather than suspecting me of being a cultist, but it’s not like I could immediately teach her how to increase her strength.

Moreover, the type of person who pursues such power… is precisely the kind of person who could easily fall into corruption.

If I misspeak even slightly, she might become fixated on the wrong path and end up walking a road she shouldn’t.

Therefore, after a brief but intense deliberation, I formulated my response to her question…

“Lady Leana Fantrienne. What do you think the essence of martial arts is?”

“…Pardon?”

In other words, I decided to answer with vague, grandiose words that seemed profound.

My action was merely deflecting the question by asking another in return, but when someone like me, who had displayed (seemingly) transcendent power and skill, poses such a question, it changes the dynamic.

“…The essence of martial arts. I’m sorry, I don’t know.”

Thus, rather than questioning my counter-question, the female knight seriously contemplated before speaking…

“If you don’t know that, there’s no point in discussing it. Start from there, and someday your path will surely open.”

By pushing my brain—which functions relatively better compared to my previous life—to its limits, I managed to come up with something that sounded impressive despite lacking substance.

…Of course, since this actually does help in elevating one’s state, I didn’t feel particularly burdened saying it.

“…Thank you, Sir Alzar. Thanks to you, I feel like I understand something.”

In any case, perhaps she was quite pleased with the conclusion I had crafted through my mental gymnastics.

As Lady Fantrienne expressed her gratitude for my words, Sir Gafrang, the instigator of this affair, finally made his appearance.

“Well done, Sir Alzar.”

“This was nothing. But… that one needs to be kept in check so she doesn’t go astray.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. She craves power but has no purpose for it. If left alone, she’ll act without knowing her limits and eventually reach for things she shouldn’t touch.”

“Indeed…”

Someone who has served in the knighthood for at least twenty years wouldn’t be ignorant of such a simple principle.

※ ※ ※

And so, after completing this long-awaited initiation ceremony, time flowed much faster than I had anticipated.

During this time, I not only engaged in various minor activities but also took the opportunity to impart teachings to my squire Pierre, whom I had left in the care of Instructor Leon.

After spending several days like this, we finally encountered the reason why we had spent so much time waiting.

Namely, the unicorn horn that Father had promised to give me as a gift.

The unicorns of this world are mid-level magical beasts of the equine family that simultaneously possess properties of fairy-type creatures. Their appearance is exactly what one would imagine when thinking of unicorns.

Their entire body is covered in fur and hide of perfect, beautiful pure white without even the slightest contamination, and their mane shines like solid gold.

In addition, in the center of their forehead stands the single horn that gives unicorns their name—this pearl-colored shining horn was precisely what Father was about to present to me in a box.

The unicorn’s horn and all the components extracted from it are called “Alicorn,” and this horn and its contained substances are famous for various magical effects.

Purification of liquids, detoxification, disease healing, restoration of loss, recovery from damage, and so on…

In reality, alicorn is considered superior even to mediocre elixirs.

So as I held the box containing the alicorn, grinning with delight…

“Camille, I have a question.”

“Yes, please ask.”

“That horn… what do you plan to use it for?”

Perhaps because it seemed strange that I specifically wanted something typically used for healing purposes, Father cautiously asked this question, to which I could answer more decisively than I had expected.

“I plan to use it when making my weapon.”

“…A weapon?”

Although Father reacted as if he’d heard nonsense, strictly speaking, a unicorn horn isn’t a bad material for crafting weapons.

Unicorns are classified as mid-level magical beasts not only because of their healing abilities but also because they possess combat capabilities, using their horn like a sword.

As a result, their horns possess not only durability but also sensitivity to magical power, so it’s not actually a bad material for weapons, which is why Father didn’t particularly object.

While alicorn is exceptionally valuable as a medicinal ingredient, weapons like unicorn horn rapiers do exist.

“Camille, considering this alicorn as a reward, may I ask one favor of you on your way back?”

And Father made a separate request to me, who was planning to return with this unicorn horn.

“Father, after giving me such a gift, how could I possibly refuse? I will certainly comply.”

“…Thank you, Camille.”

I couldn’t, as a human being, refuse the request that came with the gift from my lord father, who could have simply ordered me if he wished.