episode_0033

I chose my words as carefully as possible.

“…Well, um. That’s a first. Never heard that assessment before.”

“No, it’s, it’s. I’m sorry, I’m not good at expressing myself, I didn’t know what to say…”

Leah mumbled in a shrinking voice.

“It’s alright. So, am I to understand that my swordsmanship is so outstanding that it looks sensual?”

“No. It’s not that.”

Leah shook her hand firmly.

What you say is how you say it, I guess.

“This swordsmanship, you created it yourself, right?”

“Yes, I did. Can you even tell that?”

“What did you name it?”

“I didn’t bother giving it a name. I don’t intend to spread it around.”

“Aww, that’s a shame…”

I was surprised again.

Even though she’s a hero, she can tell if I’m the originator just by seeing my swordsmanship.

But the really surprising thing was something else.

“Are there any shortcomings?”

“Hmm, it depends on who the target is, I think.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Well, this swordsmanship was created for someone other than yourself, right? Not even for many people, just for one person.”

“…Huh?”

“And a woman at that. Am I right?”

A slight chill ran down my spine.

“How did you know that?”

“It’s not that difficult. You’re good, but only to a certain extent compared to the students. Not quite at the level of a knight, yet the mastery of swordsmanship you showed is strangely outstanding. That’s how I knew you were the originator.”

“That it’s for someone else…?”

“The striking points of the sword are generally slightly lower. It wouldn’t be a problem, but I wondered why you made it like that, and I got a feeling from the fact that there are few movements that put in force and the slashes are extremely simplified. You’re the originator, but you didn’t tailor it to yourself, you worked hard on strength training, but you didn’t try to take advantage of those strengths… Isn’t that strange? When I looked at it that way, the result became clear.”

No… you’re the strange one.

Armeria too, and Leah too.

The hero’s blood is way too thick. If a real hero entered the academy, that’s exactly what it would be like.

As I was adjusting my perception of the Paltis family, Leah squatted down again, clutching her cheeks.

“So, so. It’s kind of lewd, isn’t it? Swordsmanship created only for one person. I’ve never seen such a romantic love letter even in novels. It’s so passionate…”

“…It’s not just for one person.”

“Hehe, I know you’re lying. It’s obvious that every form was made precisely for one person? Who’s the target?”

Leah smiled slyly, looking convinced.

I can’t win.

I vowed never to make the mistake of showing my sword in front of a Paltis heiress again, sighed, and surrendered.

“I created it for my master, Lady Phyrnea.”

Leah’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth.

“Oh, wow… really? This is totally forbidden love…!”

“Let me make it clear that I didn’t create it with that in mind. I just created it so that my mistress, who is a mage, can use magic during combat using a sword.”

Even though Phyrnea ended up becoming a god of magic, rendering it useless.

“You created a swordsmanship solely out of loyalty? Hmm, I don’t think so…”

“You seem to really like romance stories.”

“I like them a lot. I’ve read over 1,000 romance novels.”

Leah got up and drew her sword.

And from that perfect stance-

I felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.

She was no longer the simple heiress who was talking about romance stories and blushing. It felt like I was facing a battle-hardened veteran who was crazy about killing.

Leah was still grinning and pointing the sword at me.

“I’ll give you a reward for telling me a sweet story. To be honest, the level of perfection is really high, it’s surprising, but it’s a little lacking in practicality because you only put in good things.”

“…Are you sure?”

To be taught beyond showing the sword and being pointed out the problems.

Judging from the insight she showed just now, Leah is the answer itself when it comes to swordsmanship.

It’s too good for me.

“Yes, this is all I can do anyway.”

“…I don’t want to be an unashamed person, so let me be honest. Just from having a brief conversation with you, I felt the level of Leah’s swordsmanship. All the swordsmen in the academy, and even the world, would pay a fortune for your advice. I feel guilty for receiving teachings just for being a brief conversation partner.”

“Hmm… is that so? Swords are nothing special to me anyway…”

“…”

Leah stroked her chin as if she didn’t care at all.

It’s not bluffing or pretense.

She really thinks that swords are nothing special.

…The descendant of the hero, that is.

“Oh, then how about this as an exchange condition?”

“What is it?”

“Bring me one romance story from other students each time we meet.”

“Yes?”

“I want to hear what kind of love people my age have experienced. Whether it’s similar to the novels or not…”

It was a strange sight.

Her right hand, not moving at all as if time had stopped, and her body twisting in embarrassment.

Her mind is a fresh heiress who loves love stories, but her body is a complete hero.

Wouldn’t the word irony exist for something like this?

“It’s still too advantageous for me…”

“But I want to hear it? I can’t ask because everyone avoids me.”

I thought about it for a moment-

…After all, it would be a shame to refuse this.

“That’s too good of an offer to refuse. I’ll learn from you.”

“You made the right choice. You’ll like it!”

Looking at Leah, who was smiling brightly without realizing what she was saying she would give, I was sure of one thing.

The head of the Paltis family.

It must have been really hard, enough to make you want to die.

***

“Lady Lariel, I’ve brought what you ordered.”

“Ohoho, thank you! I’m sure she’ll like this!”

The back lot of the academy.

Lariel smiled luxuriously, receiving something from a masked maid.

Thirty-eight diamonds, so luxuriously polished that you could buy a small village even if you took just one.

It’s not just simply embedded. The best jewelers in the capital meticulously polished it, a pendant that could be said to be the epitome of beauty.

Lariel herself really cherished it, so she kept it in her mansion and hardly wore it.

It’s that beautiful of a pendant.

‘So it would suit her perfectly!’

Lariel smiled as she thought of her new lord.

It was a first.

Intelligence, skill, and appearance… It was the first time she had met someone who was respectable as a heiress and as a human being.

Even though it was only one night, it was enough time to decide on someone she wanted to follow for the rest of her life.

She swallowed hard, forcing a smile as she thought of Phyrnea.

She’ll be happy, right? Maybe she’ll put me by her side as her closest aide in order to commend me.

“Hehehe~ lala~”

Lariel, walking as if she was flying, returned to the dormitory and approached the widest room on the top floor, knocking on the door.

“Lady Phyrnea~ It’s Lariel. May I come in?”

Then-

-Click

“…?”

The door opened without her touching it.

…What? Lariel tilted her head for a moment, but soon spun her flower field head.

‘She opened it from inside!’

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that…”

Lariel twisted her body and opened the door.

But Phyrnea wasn’t beyond.

She was sitting at her desk, writing something.

How did she open the door, Lariel tilted her head-

“Uh…?”

She felt a strange atmosphere.

Phyrnea, but not Phyrnea.

The atmosphere was completely different. Above all… her eyes weren’t the same as usual.

Cold, icy eyes that didn’t feel alive at all.

She looked up at her.

A look of indifference, as if looking at a pebble on the street, rather than looking at a person.

“…”

“Lady Phyrnea…?”

Lariel stepped back, even feeling a bit of fear.

Then Phyrnea slowly raised her hand.

A certain ring placed on the desk floated into the air, fitting perfectly on her index finger.

“…Hoo.”

Phyrnea, who had been closing her eyes for a moment and caressing the ring she had put on, returned.

To that Phyrnea that Lariel had vowed allegiance to.

Phyrnea spoke as if nothing had happened.

“Lariel, what’s wrong?”

“…Ah, that, that’s.”

Lariel couldn’t speak for a moment.

Lariel, who was thinking about what she had just seen for a moment.

She couldn’t think of an answer even if she thought about it, so she decided to just forget it.

“Lady Phyrnea! It’s a pendant that I really cherish, but I brought it because I thought it would suit Lady Heiress perfectly!”

“Huh? Oh, it’s okay. I have no intention of wearing any other pendant. You wear it.”

“Kyaung?!”

***

The next day.

“Birdeum, are you okay, right?”

I lied to Phyrnea, who was looking at me with worried eyes, breaking my duty as a butler.

“Of course. There’s no problem at all.”

In fact, it felt like my whole body was going to break.

However, it’s definitely not Phyrnea’s fault.

…It’s Leah’s fault.

[Now, you have to rotate your waist 360 degrees from here, can you do it?]

[I can’t. The human body is designed to die if it is rotated that way.]

[You don’t die? Well, I’ll try to do it with force… Uh? Don’t resist! Iyap!… Uh, errat.]

[…]

[It, it’s not my fault, it’s because you’re resisting for no reason… Ah, because you’re resisting… Then let’s just turn it 180 degrees for now. This should be fine.]

[Hey, wait, right now-]

After that, she helped manage the training ground, saying she would take responsibility…

My whole body was already wrecked.

I couldn’t say anything more. This is because Leah’s instruction was of great help.

I realized that the swordsmanship I created had much more room for improvement than I thought.

If I succeed in optimizing it with Leah’s help, it will become incomparably stronger than it is now.

But still, my whole body was wrecked.

“But you still look tired… How about taking a rest?”

“That’s what I can’t do.”

I frowned sternly.

Today, Phyrnea is taking an advanced swordsmanship lecture.

If it’s just up to here, there’s no problem-

The professor is a crazy bastard.

“A 3-man cell of magic space practical training? It’s an idea that can’t be done with a sane mind.”

The professor just ties three students he’s seeing for the first time and throws them into a magic space, and evaluates them by watching the process of achieving certain conditions.

It’s definitely not something to do in the first lecture.

I had to stick right next to Phyrnea.

“First of all, he says that he’s judging the level of the students. He said that he can’t see it properly unless it’s practical?”

“There’s no need to do that. There are many other good ways. No matter how safe it is to be guaranteed in the magic space, I can’t send Lady there alone.”

“Uh, uh?”

Phyrnea fiddled with her fingers and avoided her gaze.

“Anyway, the group assignment is done by mixing marbles.”

“Hmm…”

After thinking about it for a moment, I asked for a favor.

“Please manipulate the results a bit.”

Phyrnea should be able to do it well enough.