episode_0025

-Beatrix, the truth is, the method doesn’t matter.

That’s what Blair taught me.

-What’s important is surviving. If you win, that’s it. Nothing else is necessary.

After Theo’s death and my awakening, Blair thoroughly taught me how to use a sword. There was no noble sword of a knight that I had hoped for in the fantasy world. What she taught was a survival technique that was slimy and cowardly.

Fake moves, throwing sand, exposing weaknesses to provoke, sudden kicks, pinching, biting, scratching, and so on… She taught everything that could be done to win. Applying that was the way to win. If you can’t win, losing means death.

It’s useless once you’re dead.

So Blair taught me everything she could so that I could survive somehow. The process was harsh, but I endured silently because I knew her sincerity.

-If you could do all this, then why!! Why couldn’t you protect the prince that day-

I’m sorry… Beatrice! What kind of blasphemy did I… Was I momentarily insane? Oh, ohh..!

Blair occasionally unleashed the anger that had been hidden deep in her heart when her emotions intensified. It’s a despicable instinct of humans to find someone to blame in order to forget their sadness. She was a knight, but also a mother who had lost her child. Unbearable pain sows the seed of irrational resentment.

‘If Her Highness the Princess had awakened even a minute earlier?’

‘If Her Highness the Princess hadn’t lost her magic in the midst of succession?’

The monster called “if” is devouring her. She knows that her thoughts are not right. Knowing this, her agony grew larger. Someday time will resolve it, but still… at least I deeply empathize with her.

If only… if only I had regained my senses even a little sooner…

If you had read the original properly, if there was a story about Beatrice’s true identity in the unread part, then you would have known what was going to happen!

Blair’s resentment towards me is only a small part of her loyalty, trust, and attachment to me, but inside me, I only resent myself.

I cannot forgive myself.

No matter what pain or hardship, I deserve it.

“Professor, shouldn’t we stop this? It seems to be getting too intense for an exercise…”

“It has been intense enough since Chloe started wielding the sword.”

As if one student was pleading with Professor Smith as if they were genuinely concerned. It seemed like leaving things as they were would cause significant harm to one side. Well, that’s not entirely wrong.

“Don’t worry too much. If it gets ‘really’ dangerous, I’ll jump in.”

The professor spoke loudly so that the surrounding students could hear. “So that both Cloe and I can hear, and so we can fight without worry.”

There was no need for further words between Cloe and me. Our conversation would be solely with swords.

I walked toward Cloe.

Cloe was holding her wooden sword toward me, correcting its position with both hands. She looked poised to attack or defend at any moment.

Meanwhile, I casually shifted my steps, holding my wooden sword in my right hand, pointing it toward the ground. I looked like a delinquent walking with a baseball bat.

It seemed she had no intention of using her sword to strike or thrust. All that remained was close combat. Considering her personality, I might soon see the form known as the dance of the sword.

“Doesn’t it seem like Cloe is being pushed back?”

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you see her swordplay just now?”

“No, but it looks like Cloe is retreating and Beatrice is pursuing her, doesn’t it?”

“Does that make sense?”

By the time the spectators’ admiration could be heard, Cloe had reached the front. She swung her sword without hesitation.

*Swish*

I didn’t expect to be hit.

Cloe easily parried the attack.

Her calm face was now shining with fierce eyes. She seemed inexplicably pleased. She soon pushed away my sword and thrust hers into me.

I narrowly avoided being stabbed in the left chest. But she didn’t stop. She spun her body and deflected the missed attack.

It was an unbelievably fast attack.

The sword that had aimed for my left chest was now targeting my right rib.

“Tsk…!”

I corrected the pushed-back sword and held it vertically parallel to my body to protect my right rib.

*Thud*

Once again, the sound of wood clashing against wood rang out.

Even though I blocked, the impact through the sword I held in my hand was tremendous. Cloe was also a swordsman like Blair. Graceful appearance, but not so graceful swordsmanship.

He preferred a direct and brutal attack over a fluent one.

Even though she blocked the attacks, Cloe’s movements did not stop. It was as if her path had been predetermined, drawing the most efficient trajectory for her sword without any hesitation, making it difficult to block.

She’s strong indeed.

But… still not as much as Blair!

The seamless attacks continued.

Amidst all those attacks, there was not a single opportunity to swing the sword towards her. She only delivered fatal attacks that I couldn’t counter with my sword unless I blocked her from attacking me.

Yes, I can’t find an opening with the sword. Not with the sword.

Swish-

In a very brief moment when our swords crossed, I pushed Cloe away and aimed for her face using our height difference. Thanks to her swift movements, I hit her shoulder instead of her face. But it was enough. Enough to disrupt her balance.

Claudia, who was staggering from an unexpected blow, tried to wield her sword, but she soon looked bewildered. It was because I was too close.

I stuck as close to her as possible, preventing her from swinging the sword. Her steps faltered. She tried to widen the distance by moving her feet quickly. But I was faster. I reached out my hand holding the sword to her. I thrust the handle into her.

Crack-

I aimed for her head, but instinctively, I couldn’t reach it because of her arms wrapped around her head. Instead, her arm made a sound as if it would break. I must not let her widen the distance again. Now is the chance.

I grabbed her uniform with my other hand and lifted my knee toward her stomach with all my strength.

Crack-!

Claudia, who seemed absolutely unyielding, groaned and fell back. It pained me to see her in so much pain, but I cannot retreat. I must finish this now.

He thrust his sword toward Chloe, clutching his stomach. This should be the end!

At that moment, Chloe’s eyes flashed. Intense determination showed between her pupils.

“Huh..?”

She lowered her body and kicked my ankle. It was unclear whether her previous appearance of being incapacitated was fake or if she had regained consciousness for a brief moment.

One thing was certain: her counterattack, which came the moment I thought I had the upper hand, was fatally effective.

Due to the force Chloe exerted in disrupting my balance, I couldn’t help but fall. In an instant, she climbed over my fallen waist. Without hesitation, she firmly grasped the sword with both hands, preparing to thrust it into me.

“You… crazy woman…!”

If she thrust it in like this, even though it’s just a sword, it would be fatal…! I could only tightly shut my eyes. Instinct and fear took over. Imagining the pain to come was too terrifying. Damn it!!!

Grrr-

“Ha-!”

Chloe was about to strike with her wooden sword when, without realizing it, I used the power of the Emperor. Mana enveloped the entire area under my control, including Chloe.

She seemed startled by the unfamiliar sensation and let out a brief scream. She had clearly moved her body, but it felt strangely still. I had stopped her. Chloe recognized this for a brief moment.

“Stop. The sparring is over.”

Professor Smith was suddenly close by, holding back Chloe’s striking wooden sword with his hand. Perhaps, even if I hadn’t stopped Chloe, the professor’s intervention would have prevented a tragedy. But I was too rushed to consider such things and ended up using my true power.

Fortunately, it seemed that no one had noticed. It had all happened in such a brief moment.

“If we had waited any longer, we wouldn’t have been able to call it a sparring match. You both did well. We’ll discuss the sparring in the next class. Today’s lesson ends here.”

As Professor Smith’s words fell, the quiet training ground became noisy. The students who had been watching us left the training ground, chattering and expressing their opinions.

“Did you see that? It’s insane… That kind of fighting in a, a training ground…?”

“It’s terrible. How can they fight so savagely like that?”

“But still… Isn’t it amazing how he pushed back Cloe like that?”

“Was it a mistake to join the student council? Is this really a second-class match?”

“By the way, did you see Cloe’s swordsmanship? I didn’t see anything after the second attack.”

Various comments continued. Even though we hadn’t fought for the purpose of being watched, I was concerned about their opinions. Wanting to impress others is instinctual. To some students, it seems like I made an impression.

“Sigh… I’m really sorry, Cloe. I was too rough, wasn’t I?”

“…”

Cloe looked at me with eyes like a deer. Did she feel very disappointed in me…?

Well, I did kick her stomach like a lady… I’m trash.

“Be-Beatrice… you…”

“…Hm?”

She extended her finger towards me, pointing at something. Her finger was right in front of my nose.

“Your eyes, were they originally turquoise…?”

Ah.

She was pointing at my eyes.

In my haste, I had used the power of the royal family, and before I knew it, even my irises were dyed turquoise.

The eyes of the Green Emperor.

A symbol of the royal family.

I blinked at hiding it again…

*

At the same time, Imperial Academy Museum.

Somewhere deep within the museum, a secretive space not open to the public.

The Academy Museum was filled with all sorts of treasures and artifacts carrying historical significance, as it had been the last stronghold of humanity during the Great War era, so many things had gathered here.

Some needed to be preserved, but were too dangerous to be exposed to the outside world. That’s why such sealed-off measures were taken deep within the museum.

Right now, there are people who have found this secretive space.

“How was it? What are your actual impressions?”

In the middle of the space, a man in charge of guidance spoke in front of the sphere. He was one of the staff members managing this place.

“Fi-finally… Th-this is really Eligos’s horn, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Do you think it’s just stored in the museum’s basement for no reason?”

The guided man was looking at the horn inside the sphere with joy, almost as if he were about to drool.

“Ah… I can feel it… It’s, it’s definitely real! Eligos’s h-horn!”

“Hehe… Since your wish has been fulfilled, shall we settle the remaining payment?”

The staff member greedily rubbed his hands together and said. He readily agreed when the rich young master offered to pay a large sum to see Eligos’s horn. Occasionally, there were people so engrossed in relics like this, oblivious to the ways of the world and lost in myths. Thanks to them, museum staff could make a tidy “extra income.”

Today, he thought it would be just another ordinary transaction.

“Ah… the re-remaining payment.”

“Yes~ As you know, it’s not a common opportunity to see Eligos’s horn directly. I request as much as I mentioned earlier, just like the gold.”

“I-I will do it.”

An employee never refuses when it comes to necessity. Without such bribery, the job becomes unbearable.

The stuttering aristocrat indeed offered a price without any hesitation. The employee smiled and took out a pocket where he had kept the gold. On days like this, one must loosen the reins at the black market. Before long, a nasal song emerged.

Snap!

His nasal song didn’t last long. His throat was cut by something sharp, and he couldn’t even scream, his eyes wide open as he breathed his last. It didn’t take long for the employee’s head to separate from his body and fall to the ground. It was a futile end.

Thud-

The man who seemed to be an aristocrat passed by the fallen employee and approached the entity emitting a gloomy aura. He gazed at the horn contained within.

“Haah… The, the intruder has disappeared.”

His eyes were suddenly shining red.

Slowly, he reached out towards the statue…

*

The news of what happened at the museum didn’t come out until evening.

The discovery of the body of a staff member and the disappearance of artifacts spread in no time. A murder within the academy was not something easily encountered.

The academy professors called for an emergency meeting.

Perhaps because there could still be a culprit within the academy, they were concerned about the safety of the students. After the meeting, some professors visited the student council. It was to devise measures together to protect the students from this dreadful news.

In the student council room, Beatrice remembered. The episode from the novel. Carl Mainer’s first mission.

“The vanished horn of Eligos.”

It was the official first mission given to the secret agent Carl Mainer.

An opportunity that the possessed Beatrice had been waiting for.