Chapter 144: Grave of Swords (3)

“Did you perhaps lose to Elaine?”

At this simple question, Marina couldn’t answer readily. She just wrung her hands and stared into the distance.

Even without a verbal response, her expression, flushed with shame, and her averted gaze told me everything I needed to know.

“Well, you win some, you lose some in life.”

“I-I didn’t lose… I had to control my output because of the surroundings, and being indoors where I couldn’t use my magic efficiently put me at a disadvantage. If it had been outdoors and my opponent wasn’t a student, I certainly would have…”

Watching Marina engage in mental gymnastics, claiming she would’ve won if they’d fought outdoors against a non-student, I couldn’t help but turn away, feeling a mix of pity and secondhand embarrassment.

The ugliness of losing to a student and then refusing to admit it… Is this what it means to be a wizard? It certainly suited an inferior profession that couldn’t learn the Baldo technique.

“So how exactly did you lose? I’m quite curious…”

“……”

From Marina’s account, it was clear that the indoor setting did put her at a disadvantage, but on the flip side, the limited space to dodge was also unfavorable for Elaine.

If Marina had employed a strategy to gradually wear down Elaine’s stamina instead of trying to take her down in one hit, the outcome might have been different.

Of course, Marina also had stamina issues, but everything is relative. There were plenty of ways she could have approached it, like using a cold magic spell to cover the entire area and slow her opponent down.

“Headmaster, you lack not just stamina, but also practical combat experience.”

In contrast, Elaine, despite her young age, had been directly trained by the Sword Saint and gained ample real-world experience over the past year.

No matter how great an Archwizard Marina might be, without significant combat experience, it was natural for her to lose in such a limited environment.

‘Even the original protagonist wasn’t this strong at this point… Elaine must be special.’

I wasn’t sure of the exact cause, but it seemed the Sword Saint’s family had become even stronger than in the original story.

There was a possibility that their skills had been further honed through encounters with possessed individuals active in the kingdom, given their status as the strongest in the realm, but nothing was certain yet.

“Anyway, losing is just part of life, so don’t worry too much about it. Even though Elaine is nearly 10 years younger than you, Headmaster, if being older made you stronger, why would anyone bother training instead of just killing time at home?”

“Are you trying to comfort me now? Or are you roundaboutly insulting me for being old?”

I’d definitely started with the intention of comforting her, but somehow it had morphed into an insult along the way.

Not even being able to offer proper comfort – was this the limitation of choosing the path of science over liberal arts?

“That wasn’t my intention, but it kind of turned out that way as I was speaking…”

“Haah… Well, Ian’s rudeness isn’t anything new, so let’s leave it at that. If that’s all, you may go now.”

“Yes, then…”

As I left the room with Marina’s permission, I ran into Jessica who was suspiciously close to the door, as if she’d been eavesdropping.

“What’s this? Were you listening in, thinking I might be having an affair with the Headmaster?”

“…Isn’t it stranger to think that someone who boldly declares they’ll cheat right in front of me would behave when I’m not around?”

How on earth had my credibility fallen this low…

It’s not like I’m the only noble practicing polygamy, for crying out loud.

“So what are we doing now? Are we leaving right away?”

“Well, we don’t have anything else to do… and we’ve got the Headmaster’s permission, so let’s head out.”

“Um… I think I’ll stay home this time. It doesn’t seem like there’d be much for me to do there anyway.”

“Alright then. What about you, Jessica?”

“…Of course I’m coming along. I need to keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t do anything weird there.”

And so, with Hori opting to stay behind, our party for the Sword’s Grave was set: me, Jessica, and Elaine.

Before departing for the Sword’s Grave, we briefly separated to gather necessary supplies like food. During this time, Wolffang, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up.

[Master, are we going to that grave thing now?]

“Yeah, we’re leaving today.”

Peculiarly, Wolffang tended to keep quiet when others were around, and wouldn’t explain why when asked.

It didn’t seem like shyness, so perhaps Wolffang had a side to it that I wasn’t aware of.

“Why? Feeling sad about parting with Shadowstrike?”

[As if!! I’m overjoyed to be rid of that defective sword!! Now I’m your only sword, Master!!]

“What?!”

No matter how bad their relationship was, how could it laugh and rejoice at the death of a comrade they’d been with all this time?

I immediately punched the sword hilt, but Wolffang kept laughing even as it whimpered.

“How can you say that about a dead comrade?!”

[I never considered that defective thing a comrade! In fact, I’ve always hated that you used it instead of me during practice!!]

“I used you both alternately because you kept complaining during practice.”

[That’s not enough!! It’s humiliating to be second to a sword that can’t even be used properly!!]

“What do you mean it can’t be used properly!! Do you know how good it feels to perform Baldo with a reverse-edged sword?! Plus, it’s great for duels because you don’t have to worry about killing your opponent!!”

[If a sword can’t kill the opponent, isn’t it just defective?!]

No matter how much I tried to explain that each sword had its own purpose, Wolffang refused to listen, acting as if it didn’t want to hear it.

This was probably an issue Wolffang would never understand, or rather, never try to understand.

The root of the conflict wasn’t a rational problem, but simple jealousy. Before approaching it logically, I needed to address the emotional aspect first.

‘I wonder when it’ll ever grow up and stop acting like this…’

Then again, in terms of actual age, Wolffang wasn’t even a year old yet.

It hadn’t even reached its childhood, let alone adolescence. With more time and education, it would surely change its mind.

We had a long journey ahead, so after purchasing preserved food and tools for making fire, we returned to the mansion. A carriage was already waiting in a corner of the garden, fully loaded with luggage.

‘…Guess we just need to load these then.’

After loading the purchased preserved food and tools into the carriage’s luggage compartment, I climbed aboard. My travel companions all turned to look at me at once.

Elaine, as always, with her unreadable thoughts, and Jessica, with her fierce gaze directed at me.

Seeing those two, I suddenly understood why Hori had opted out of this trip.

‘Ah, I should’ve just said I’d go alone…’

——

There’s a saying that when a woman harbors a grudge, frost falls even in midsummer.

Whenever I heard proverbs about women’s grudges or determination, I used to think they were somewhat exaggerated.

But now, witnessing a woman’s grudge up close, I realized the words left by our ancestors weren’t exaggerations at all.

The journey itself was comfortable.

Although the atmosphere inside the carriage was so gloomy it could make a funeral feel like a party, we had no difficulties reaching the Sword’s Grave.

The Sword’s Grave wasn’t just a place for swordsmen with broken, long-used weapons, but also a constant pilgrimage site for swordsmen, much like Pierre’s grave.

With skilled swordsmen frequently passing through, trying to rob here would be nothing short of suicide.

Moreover, we were traveling in a luxurious carriage that practically screamed “Nobles here!” So unlike last time, we weren’t troubled by bandits.

But that didn’t mean my mind was at peace.

No, rather than sitting quietly in the carriage, I might have felt more at ease frantically swinging my sword at a band of thieves.

“……”

“……”

There were no vulgar curses exchanged, nor fists thrown at each other.

One just glared while the other simply ignored as if nothing was happening.

Yet this behavior alone was enough to make the atmosphere inside the carriage unbearable.

The tense atmosphere, coupled with the intense heat, strangled me during the weeks-long journey to the Sword’s Grave.

It seemed like I’d never get used to this awful atmosphere, but humans are adaptable creatures. After a few weeks in this environment, I started to adjust.

“Jessica, can I touch your breasts?”

“What nonsense are you spouting out of nowhere!!”

As I got used to it, I even started finding amusement in teasing Jessica, who kept glaring at Elaine as if her eyes didn’t hurt.

After several weeks of driving the carriage, we finally arrived at the Sword’s Grave, hailed as the holy land for all swordsmen.

The first thing I noticed was the scent of flowers.

The floral fragrance was so strong it could be sensed even inside the carriage. When I opened the window, I saw an enormous sword so large I almost mistook it for a huge building rather than a sword.

Centered around that sword, stuck into what looked more like a bald mountain than a hill, were fully bloomed flowers alongside swords and spears stuck into the ground like tombstones. The scene truly lived up to its name as the Sword’s Grave.

“Wow…”

Jessica, who had poked her head out the window, let out an exclamation as she gazed at the scenery outside, seemingly forgetting her previous hostility.

Well, after spending so long engaged in a tense standoff inside the carriage, even I would be awestruck by such a spectacle.

After enjoying the view of the Sword’s Grave for a while, we suddenly noticed a procession that had been hidden by the forest earlier, and our jaws dropped.

Was that line… Was that entire line made up of swordsmen trying to reach the Sword’s Grave?

Seeing the long, seemingly endless queue, I felt an urge to just plow through them all with the carriage rather than wait in that line.

‘Damn, how can there be so many people with broken swords…’

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