Chapter 116: To Von Grund’s Territory (1)

The katana in my hand felt heavy, a sensation I hadn’t experienced since childhood.

Feeling this way again as an adult brought a touch of nostalgia, almost as if I’d returned to my younger days.

After my fight with Bondage Master, realizing my physical weaknesses, I’d brainstormed various training methods. Eventually, I settled on the straightforward approach of increasing my katana’s weight.

Wolffang typically weighed only 1-2kg, but by applying its abilities, I’d increased its mass without changing its length. Now it was so heavy that it couldn’t be lifted without energy manipulation.

The weight was incredible, enough to make me wonder if the floor might cave in. But wielding such a heavy katana made me feel stronger with each draw and sheath.

“Huff…!!”

As I repeated drawing and sheathing, feeling out of breath during training for the first time in ages, Jessica spoke up beside me, her expression indifferent.

“…What’s the point of that?”

“What do you mean?”

“That training method. If you’re trying to build strength by increasing weight, wouldn’t it be more efficient to just do push-ups or squats with weights?”

“No, this is the most efficient way.”

Baldo is the most effective training method, scientifically proven. Even in Japan’s historical text, the Kojiki, there are records of samurai honing their bodies through Baldo techniques.

“Where does this endless faith in Baldo come from…?”

“From this burning heart, of course.”

Just mentioning Baldo made the corners of my mouth turn up involuntarily.

Though I’d never been intimate with a woman, the sensation of cutting through a person’s body with Baldo techniques couldn’t be much different from the pleasure of sex.

“Speaking of chests, Jessica…”

“I didn’t say anything about that.”

“Anyway, remember that reward I mentioned? I’ve decided what I want.”

“Urk…!”

At first, I’d considered asking her to let me have her, but taking a virgin’s purity, even if I’d saved her life, didn’t seem right.

Asking to touch her chest wasn’t much better – while not as extreme as sex, it still wasn’t something to do with a virgin.

After much deliberation, I decided to go back to basics.

Basics – what I’d wanted Jessica to do when I first met her. That was to learn Baldo techniques.

“Jessica, learn Baldo from me.”

“…What did you say?”

My initial plan had been to teach Jessica, a noble’s daughter, Baldo techniques to spread their fame.

Recently, I’d been a bit lax due to fights with the possessed, but I hadn’t given up.

Teaching Baldo to Jessica, descendant of the hammer’s possessed, would also be a victory over the primitive Jessica who’d fled to hell to escape it.

“Baldo…”

Jessica savored the lovely name for a moment, then suddenly frowned. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it again.

Finally, she let out a deep sigh that seemed to convey both anger and resignation, then glared at me and said:

“…Fine. I don’t like it, but a promise is a promise. But about the katana…”

“I don’t usually lend it to others, but I’ll make an exception for you.”

I tried to hand Shadowstrike, still in its scabbard, to Jessica, but my hand kept tensing up, refusing to let go.

For a swordsman, a katana is like their life. It was only natural to hesitate in entrusting that life to someone else.

“H-Hey, loosen your grip a bit!! Agh!”

As I wouldn’t let go of Shadowstrike, Jessica kept pulling. When I suddenly released it, she tumbled backwards, clutching Shadowstrike with both hands.

[The disabled sword suits the female noble quite well.]

“W-What did you say?!”

Outraged by those words, Jessica glared at Wolffang. I flicked Wolffang’s hilt.

“I told you not to use the term ‘disabled sword’!!”

[Nngh… But it’s true…]

“That’s no excuse!!”

As I raised my fist again, Wolffang whimpered and lowered its hilt.

Jessica, who’d been watching this exchange with a look of disbelief, asked me as I lowered my fist:

“Wait a minute! Why aren’t you scolding it for calling me a ‘female noble’?”

“Well, you’re not male, are you?”

“That’s not the point!!”

“What’s not the point? More importantly, how long are you going to lie there? Get up already.”

Saying this, I extended my hand to Jessica, who’d fallen on her backside. Though she grumbled in displeasure, she took my offered hand.

“Geez… Whose fault is this anyway…”

After helping Jessica up, I securely fastened Shadowstrike to her belt.

As I attached Shadowstrike, my fingers accidentally brushed Jessica’s leg. Despite her rigorous training, it was still soft enough that I could easily poke a finger into it.

Curious if it would really sink in, I gave it a firm poke, feeling the softness of her flesh.

“Hey! What do you think you’re touching?!”

“Hm? Oh, sorry. I’m not used to this belt, so I was a bit clumsy. Must’ve touched you by accident.”

“……”

When I admitted it straightforwardly without panicking or making excuses, Jessica couldn’t say anything more.

Surprisingly, these kinds of accidents could often be smoothed over by maintaining a calm and confident attitude.

Of course, if your face gave you away, staying calm wouldn’t help – you’d either have to deny everything or use Baldo to eliminate the problem’s source.

“Now I’m going to teach you Baldo. Any questions before we start?”

“Even if you ask… I’ve watched you do it so much, I could probably do it without being taught.”

I gestured for her to try, and Jessica smirked as she began to draw Shadowstrike. However, the sword stopped halfway, getting stuck with a ‘thunk’.

“Huh? W-Why is it…?”

Flustered, Jessica tried to draw the sword again, but even though she managed to unsheathe it, her slow movements could hardly be called Baldo.

“You swung too fast. And when drawing, don’t just use your arm. Use your waist to maximize centrifugal force and friction.”

“I get the centrifugal force, but what’s this about friction…?”

“Hmm… It’s complicated to explain in words. Let’s start by correcting your posture.”

I moved close to Jessica, who was averting her gaze in frustration, and placed my hand over hers on Shadowstrike’s hilt.

From the moment our bodies touched, Jessica fell silent. Even from behind, I could tell her face had turned red.

“First, from this position, you need to step forward with your right foot… Jessica? Are you listening?”

“Huh? Y-Yes, I’m listening!”

Though flustered, she stepped forward with her right foot, but her stance was still far from ideal.

I had no choice but to touch her leg to correct her posture, causing her leg to twitch.

I went on to adjust her waist and shoulder positions. The result was a Baldo stance so perfect I wanted to preserve it as a decoration for my home.

“Ah…! It’s amazing!! I want to preserve this pose and display it in the mansion!!”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment? Haah… Anyway, do I just draw like this now?”

“Yes, use your waist strength to draw in one motion towards your opponent. Here, I’ll help you through to the end.”

I pressed against Jessica again, placing my hand over hers on the hilt. Together with the trembling Jessica, I performed a Baldo towards the air.

Whoosh! The sound of air being cut was followed by a reasonably well-executed Baldo.

“Whew…!”

After the successful draw, I stepped away from Jessica. Excited by her first successful attempt, she exhaled heavily.

“Hehe…!! Now do you understand the excellence of Baldo?”

I expected her to nod and say something like “Every day was a dream before knowing Baldo,” but reality was different.

Having calmed down somewhat, Jessica wore a somewhat disgruntled expression. She looked at Shadowstrike and me alternately with empty eyes and said:

“…Isn’t it rather inefficient to repeat this process every time you attack?”

“I admit the preparation stance takes time, but each strike has the power of a finishing move, so it’s worth the risk.”

“It doesn’t seem more powerful than the hammer I used to use…”

“What are you saying? You’ve seen me using Baldo techniques all this time. Do you still doubt their power?”

“That’s because you’re strong, not because the Baldo itself is powerful.”

She was right, and I had no logical argument to counter her.

To correct her misguided thinking, I’d have to make her repeat the Baldo countless times, not just once, to uproot her rotten ideas.

“I was planning to end it with one try today, but from what you’re saying, it looks like you’ll need at least a thousand attempts to come to your senses.”

“A th-thousand?! What nonsense are you spouting?! It’s already getting dark, there’s no way we can do a thousand…”

“There’s nothing you can’t do with effort!! Quickly, take your stance…!”

Just as I was about to shout at her to take her stance, a refined female voice interrupted, coming from the magical device on the ceiling along with a bell sound.

[First-year Knight Department student Jessica von Grund. Please come to the headmaster’s office immediately. I repeat. First-year Knight Department student Jessica von Grund. Please come to the headmaster’s office…]

Was there still something to investigate regarding the recent kidnapping incident?

Confused, I turned to look at Jessica, who was also staring at the ceiling speaker puzzledly.

“What’s this about? Did you do something wrong, Jessica?”

“As if. That’s more your style than mine. Anyway, the headmaster’s calling, so I’ll be going now. What a shame I couldn’t learn more about sword drawing~.”

Jessica said this sarcastically and hurried out of the training room, possibly afraid I might try to stop her.

I wondered why Marina had called for Jessica. It seemed too urgent to be additional investigation into the previous day’s kidnapping incident.

‘…Something’s up.’

The repeated emphasis on urgently coming to the headmaster’s office bothered me. I returned Shadowstrike, which Jessica had left on the floor, to my waist and set off towards the headmaster’s office.

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