196 – Behind-the-scenes work (12)
Perhaps thanks to the sword master’s letter, Sion went along more obediently than expected. If the content hidden in her letter was related to the ball, she had to take Zion and buy him the attire needed for the ball with a huge amount of gold coins. Even if that wasn’t the case, it was easier to decipher the contents if Zion was there.
Shion sat diagonally across from me, resting her chin on her head and looking out her window.
Tuktuk.
Then, Stitch, who looked incontinent because he had been torn to pieces, knocked on the carriage window on my side. It was Silverine’s.
I quickly snatched it before Zion could see the distorted heart engraved on the stitching.
Soon, belatedly, Zion showed interest.
“What is it?”
“Letter.”
“From whom?”
Do you think it came from your teacher? Unfortunately, this was sent by my teacher.
“From my teacher.”
I opened the letter carefully.
Sylverin left a message saying that it would be a good option to not attend the ball if she was not confident, and to write down the names of the candidates and send them who she thought would be her ball partner. Other than that, nothing else was said.
“It seems like you exchange letters with your teacher so often.”
She seemed oddly envious.
“It’s just an occasional message.”
“Is your teacher also a sword master?”
“No.”
“I thought so.”
“….”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Because it didn’t seem like I learned how to use a sword properly.”
“What’s different about learning under a sword master?”
Shion answered half-heartedly, as if it was a stupid question.
“It’s different.”
“How different is Sword Master?”
Shion suddenly turned her head and looked at me for a moment with her shocked eyes.
For something that comes from the mouth of a guy who holds a spot at one of the most prestigious academies on the continent… Those were ignorant words.
“What do you want to hear?”
“Because I have never faced it in person. “It may be something normal to you, but ordinary people don’t know.”
Zion thought quietly and eventually agreed to what I said and answered my question.
“Even if the two of us attack him, we won’t be able to beat him.”
“Can’t you explain it more realistically?”
“… “Then you probably know about the Royal Guard.”
I shook my head.
“It’s the Imperial Guard directly under the imperial family. “We select only the best trainees with stricter standards than Eternia, and only those who endure the most rigorous training can become Royal Guards.”
“Hmm.”
“I hate to admit it, but Master said that there are many people with greater talents than me. Even at that level, most people fail the rigorous training and either die or fail.”
It’s actually hard to believe that it is full of people worse than Sion, one of the most powerful people in Eternia. Could it be that the teacher exaggerated the story in order to break down Shion’s pride?
“….”
“There is no armed group in the Empire that can compete with the Royal Guard. As a direct executor of the imperial family, I complete the work ordered no matter what. Ask the kids from the empire. “If you even mention the name of the Royal Guard, your face turns red.”
“What do you mainly do?”
“It’s simple. Punish traitors. Of course, not on an individual basis, but on a family basis. “No matter how prestigious the house is, there is not a single one that could withstand against 20 or so royal guards.”
“Hmm.”
“There is a rumor that the cost of training ten people is more than the taxes earned by one city. The level of force was so overwhelming that even the imperial family that trained them was afraid of them. “Sometimes they committed more cruel acts than the emperor ordered, and there was actually quite a bit of unsavory history that went beyond the control of the imperial family.”
“What does that have to do with the Sword Master?”
Are you saying that the Royal Guard is comparable to the Sword Master?
“There was only one case where such a Royal Guard directly clashed with the Sword Master.”
“….”
“Fifty years ago, a sword master named Laurent Blanc went to the imperial palace of the empire and had an audience with the emperor. “He had several significant achievements, but he had been away from the front for a long time, and although he maintained the title of Sword Master, he was thought to be barely able to occupy the last place among the ten.”
“So?”
“Laurent Blanc heard that the princess of a small country with whom he was close had been taken prisoner by the empire, so he went to rescue her.”
“Did you listen to the Sword Master’s request?”
“No. The emperor used Laurent Blanc as a cleaner to clean up the empire’s troubles in exchange for the liberation of prisoners. So he took full advantage of him and sent the Royal Guard to destroy him after he had completed all his missions. “No matter how much sword masters I have, I thought I wouldn’t be able to deal with the empire’s best elite alone.”
“So what happened?”
“When Laurent Blanc realized that peaceful methods were not working, he killed the royal guard who came to assassinate him. “He was cut to death with a rusty sword that was nothing special.”
“After that, they stormed into the imperial palace, took out all the remaining royal guards, and killed them by tearing their limbs apart. And he proudly entered the prison on his own two feet, rescued the prisoner, and left.”
“….”
“It wasn’t just the weak members of the Royal Guard. There were quite a few legends that are still talked about today. Pianis with the twin swords, Noah with the lightsaber, and even Varunia, who killed the great monster of Norton Island… They all died so gruesomely that it felt like nothing. The Sword Master is like that. “Unless you have the same level of skill, you can kill anyone in this world if you want, and conversely, you can protect your loved ones from any threat.”
He left a big impression even just by hearing his story briefly.
“… “It’s a great anecdote, but shouldn’t it have been widely spread already?”
“It is a shameful history in the empire, so of course it is not well known. I also heard it directly from my teacher. Well, I heard that there are still records of Laurent Blanc in San Crotis, so if you have any doubts, look for them yourself.”
Today, San Crotis, a region famous for its apple pies, was part of the empire. Laurent Blanc saved the princess, but she didn’t seem to care about her country being ruined.
“Is that prosecutor still alive?”
“No. “He died of old age.”
Shion looked out the window again and muttered to himself.
“I heard that among the graduates of Eternia is Laurent Blanc’s last disciple….”
“Who is it?”
“…… Kaedwen. “I hope to stop by Eternia again sometime.”
Shion makes a bitter expression. I wonder if he’s disappointed that he can’t compete in person.
With those words, she closed her mouth.
Kaedwen. It was a name I felt like I had vaguely heard of it somewhere. Even if I racked my brain, I couldn’t remember exactly where I heard it.
***
“Thirty gold coins… ?”
I asked the herbalist in front of me.
Shion was not willing to pay her money and she scolded me for being suspicious.
“The smell is real. Well, thirty gold coins is cheap.”
Shion didn’t seem to think anything of it.
She had to spend half the gold coins she received from the Sword Master to buy shade candle powder. It wasn’t my money to begin with, but I couldn’t help but be sensitive because it was taking out an amount that could have been used for three or four months’ worth of living expenses.
Shion said as she finished her purchase and came out of the store.
“All you have to do is soak the letter in water mixed with an appropriate dye and shade vinegar powder for about a day. “I’ve helped you with everything, so please tell me the news about Master.”
Then, I stretched myself until my clothes rolled up and my belly button was visible.
She didn’t really want to look, but there was a hole in the side of her training uniform big enough for her thumb to fit into.
When I took a quick peek, the only clothes I saw were training uniforms. I’m sure you won’t be wearing something like this to the prom either.
I had a lot of money left over… It was sad to see, so it was right to take action. In this case, it was clear that she would come out without paying any attention to her outfit.
When Zion tried to walk somewhere alone, I immediately followed him and caught him.
“Not yet.”
“… What?”
“There is another place to go with me.”
These were custom clothing stores lined up in the center of Rigbed.
***
An evening when the sun has almost set. After finishing my day with Zion, I returned to the Eternia campus. After dragging her to the clothing store and barely coaxing her to measure her body, Zion returned and entered the dormitory as if running away. Following Shion’s advice, I headed to the art department’s greenhouse to get her dye.
Someone stayed there until late at night.
Because the walls and ceiling were all made of glass, the light coming from the greenhouse could be seen from afar.
It was obvious that he was drawing because it wasn’t time for class.
I approached the greenhouse and checked who was inside. There, Xenia, with her left foot bandaged, was left working alone.
When I opened the door and entered, she sensed my presence and turned her head.
“What is it, newbie?”
“Are you working until this hour?”
“Yeah, I’m just in a bad mood.”
I took a chair and sat down next to her.
Xenia’s paintings were full of unrecognizable shapes. It was as if the canvas was filled with only sketches.
“What are you drawing?”
“It’s an expression of my complicated feelings. “What do you think? Can you feel my worries?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why can’t I feel it? People who have a lot of worries will relate to my paintings.”
“I have a lot to worry about… “No matter how much I look at the picture, I can’t really understand it.”
“That’s enough. Then, express it with your mouth. “What are you worried about, newbie?”
I’m worried. There is one. But it was such a sensitive issue that I wondered if it was okay to talk about it.
“At the prom….”
After a brief pause, Xenia urged.
“What? “Keep talking.”
“That… “Can I choose two?”
Xenia’s hand stops drawing. Then she said with a straight face.
“Newbie.”
“Yes.”
“Are you trash?”
“….”
“It’s funny. Being my prom partner isn’t enough… “Do you want to go over to Hayley?”
“… ?”
“Do you really want to get cut? Uh?”
“….”
“It’s just a joke, newbie.”
“It was a little creepy.”
“Well, there are two more than that… Since the prom is divided into two parts, there is nothing that cannot be done. No matter how large the banquet hall is, it is impossible for all the students to dance at once. “
“First of all, it is possible in theory.”
“Okay. Although it is morally problematic. If your partner sees that, he or she will be very hurt. “It’s especially true if it’s your first prom.”
“Could you explain in a little more detail?”
“Well, I accepted the application, imagining more than just a dancing partner, but the other person chose me just to have fun for a while and then change… “It must be a big shock.”
“I see.”
“Actually, there were always kids who secretly danced with other girls every year.”
“How would you feel if your senior partner did that?”
“I will be very upset, but since my partner is popular, I have to accept it to some extent. Treat me like a top priority… “I can accept it to a certain extent as long as I don’t pick on my best friends.”
“….”
The priority is not to get caught, and even if you get caught, is there room for extenuating circumstances if you show friendliness to the other person?
I felt really ugly thinking these thoughts, but I couldn’t help it. Cecil was about to cut off their relationship if she had to, and Luna was about to close her heart that she had barely opened. There was only one way out: this dirty backstage operation.
“Thank you for the advice, senior. Of course, I didn’t mean that I would dance with two people.”
Xenia said in her playful tone.
“That’s right. “I will watch.”
This time, there was intelligence that it was a masked ball… It might have been easier than I thought.
Then first… Which of the two should I call first?