234 – Claridium
Kalios asks.
“Can you feel anything?”
“My pressure feels lighter than before.”
I was stunned by the feeling as if I was holding a different sword.
“On the other hand, I feel more pressure than before.”
When I measured the duration of the Dark Sword, it had increased significantly. I was able to maintain it for almost 15 minutes.
During that time, even though I had been practicing my body diligently, my Dark Sword’s stamina only increased minimally. After learning Kalios’ training method, it almost doubled.
I finally realized that controlling the Dark Sword depends on the mind, not the body.
“Once you become more familiar with the Dark Sword, you will learn how to further condense the power of the Dark Sword.”
“What do you mean by condensing?”
“It means to forcefully unleash a more powerful blow.”
In common terms, it was a finishing move. In Priscilla’s case, it would be an ice storm, and in the case of this sword of light, it would be a sword wave.
Kalios’ training did not end there.
“The ability to sense murderous intent takes precedence over all swordsmanship. Whether you are dealing with a demon or a human, it will give you an advantage. For now, you will only be able to identify the presence of bloodlust, but as your senses become more refined, you will be able to read your opponent’s movements.”
Although his explanation made it sound like an invincible technique, he added that there were limitations to it. For example, he said that those who kill humans like it’s nothing can kill people without emitting any murderous intent because killing is extremely familiar to them.
The sense of murderous intent was more useful when dealing with demons than with humans.
Kalios occasionally threw a self-sharpened javelin at me to test me.
“Your reaction is good. You’ve definitely grown.”
There was progress. However, since I could only feel a faint sense of discomfort when Kalios unleashed all of his murderous intent, it was far from being useful in practice.
“How far have you progressed in the Trial of the Zeldan Heart?”
“I’ve completed up to the second stage.”
“Is there anyone in the Empire your age who has reached the second stage faster than you?”
“…Should I care?”
“That guy possesses one of the Four Great Dark Swords. Now, you should care.”
“…”
“Don’t you want to surpass that guy?”
“Isn’t that your ambition, Professor?”
“I’m telling you for your own good.”
I slightly opened my squinted eyes as I stopped meditating and glanced at Kalios. His eyes were full of ambition and greed.
“You want me to surpass him.”
“No, I want you to kick that idiot’s butt.”
“Then why don’t you do it yourself?”
“Can an adult interfere in a children’s fight?”
“Aren’t you trying to use me in an adult fight?”
Kalios paused for a moment to catch his breath.
“No, this is related to your friend, Azelis. And someday, it will be your business.”
My mind, which had found stability through meditation, became clouded again. What does he mean that it’s related to Trisha?
“What is it?”
“You’ll find out naturally once Azelis has awakened his ability. There’s no point in knowing now; the only thing that will happen is that your empty head will be filled with something else.”
“…….”
“Don’t worry too much about it. Just think of it as preventing Azelis from biting his tongue and dying.”
Kalios is right. I’m already dizzy enough. If I hear a few more words here, I’ll be thinking about it for the next week.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Make him realize the will to live. The third test of Jerdanhart is related to that.”
“Didn’t you say it would take a few years?”
“But you did it, didn’t you?”
“…….”
“And what’s your next schedule?”
“I have a Claridium study tour.”
Kalios stroked his beard in displeasure.
“Will it take forever to get there?”
“I heard it takes a little over a week by carriage.”
“Can’t you borrow a ship?”
“There’s no way with the art department’s budget.”
“Hmm…”
Kalios stroked his beard with a troubled expression, looking into the distance.
“Should I cancel it?”
“No, go hang out with people and clear your head some more. Instead… Let’s see. You’ll have to give up your final evaluation.”
“Yes?”
“What’s the point of getting good grades? There’s a place I need you to go with me. This place is too peaceful. It’s a beautiful place where everyone laughs and chats, isn’t it? It’s the worst place to understand demons, the struggle for survival, and the will to live.”
“…….”
A sinister smile spread across Kalios’ lips.
“To get stronger, you have to go to hell.”
***
The day before leaving for Claridium, the art club members gathered in the greenhouse for a final inspection.
The art club’s faculty advisor, Georgia, carried the luggage and said the following:
“If you have any good work from the magic or alchemy departments, bring them with you. You might get a good evaluation at Claridium, or if it’s good enough, you might be able to sell it at auction and make a lot of money.”
The club members murmured for a while, intrigued by the possibility of making a lot of money. One student raised his hand and asked a question.
“Can I sell other things?”
“If you have any artifacts or loot you want to sell, you can bring them with you. That’s where they’ll give you the highest price.”
That’s an interesting story.
Let’s see. Was there anything I could sell? A mask, an iron bracelet, Priscilla, a seedling sword, and… a magic defense artifact. I can’t sell any of them.
Will they also handle crafts I’ve made?
As I was racking my brain, I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.
I had a precious potion. It was the ‘Love Potion’ I received as a reward for first place in the circulatory system evaluation.
I don’t have anything to use it for, so I might as well go and put it up for auction.
“I’ll only escort you to the Leaguebed Wharf. Once you’re on the ship, Hayley will be in charge, so listen to her. Don’t cause any trouble. We’re going to check your belongings today, and if we find any alcohol, we’ll confiscate it all. Do you know what the waves catch first? They catch drunk sailors first. If you fall like that, they won’t be able to find your body. Got it?”
“Yes,” the club members reply in bright voices, sounding like a choir.
“If you ever hear singing on a foggy day, cover your ears. You know? Sometimes, sirens bare their breasts and use their singing to bewitch handsome men. I’m worried sick about our handsome art club boys.”
One of the female members says.
“The sirens will just pass us by.”
Then, the school girls burst out laughing.
Georgia shook her head as if she had goosebumps.
“Oh, you vixens. Don’t fight for no reason. When we get to Claridium, a graduated senior will guide us, so listen to what they say. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll give you each an emergency stitch, so if anything urgent happens, send it to me. Don’t put the stitch marker down anywhere. Keep it with you at all times.”
“Yes.”
One of the club members walks around and distributes stitches one by one.
“Alright. Everyone must arrive at the Leaguebed pier by tomorrow morning without fail. Dismissed.”
Professor Georgia finished her speech and left.
While everyone was leaving in droves, Hailey grabbed me.
“Newbie, stay for a bit.”
“…”
I waited for the other members to leave, and then she said.
“You’re strong, so help me move the luggage. And while we’re at it, let’s go to Leaguebed to check it out.”
“Senior, but isn’t it a ship? I thought we were going by carriage?”
“I don’t know either. They say an anonymous tycoon from the Empire sponsored us and provided a speedboat.”
“…Who is it?”
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“They wouldn’t tell us? Professor Georgia hinted that she’s a really amazing person.”
“If it’s the Empire, isn’t it just another sponsorship for you, Senior?”
“I doubt it too, but they didn’t say they sponsored me by name…”
“Let’s just go.”
Hailey and I went outside the greenhouse. Then, I stopped walking for a moment when I saw something suspicious near the gardener.
“Senior, wait a minute.”
“Huh? What is it?”
Something was slightly protruding behind the garden fence along the path. To be exact, it was a blonde crown. It was so familiar….
“Can I go check it out for a second?”
“Yeah, go ahead.”
I carefully approached the gardener and looked down. And I made eye contact with Luna, who was hiding and crouching.
Luna’s eyes shook greatly.
We fixed our gazes on each other like that, and there was an awkward silence for a few seconds.
“Luna?”
When I called her name, she lowered her head, fiddled with the dirt, and pretended not to know me.
“There was a mu, mushroom here….”
“Luna.”
When I reached out my hand, she accepted that she couldn’t avoid it and grabbed my hand.
She was embarrassed, so she covered her face with her other hand. Then, she got up and climbed over the garden fence.
“Luna. Why are you hiding here?”
Her face is so small that her expression is almost hidden by her hand. I stretched my neck slightly to look at her face from the side. Her cheeks were flushed red, and her eyes were tightly shut.
As if she was aware of my gaze, Luna half-turned away from me.
“Mushroom…I was looking for it.”
“Why have you been avoiding me lately?”
“Demian…he has a lover now…I can’t bother you when you’re having a good time.”
It seemed that another new rumor had spread somewhere. That I had a lover.
“Who said that?”
Luna struggled to continue speaking.
“I know you went on a date…at the mansion together…together…I know you spent the night together.”
From the perspective of someone who doesn’t know the inside story, it would be easy to misunderstand. I slowly refuted her words so that she wouldn’t feel attacked.
“Trisha did the same thing, and so did you, Luna. What happened then?”
“My underwear…”
“There was nothing that fit, so I borrowed the teacher’s. That’s all.”
“And…”
“And?”
“You promised…not to neglect me…”
“I did.”
“…”
Isn’t this the first time Luna has expressed her frustration? I’ve only seen her silently accepting things so far, so I’m rather glad to see this side of her.
That’s right, she should demand her presence to be acknowledged and express her anger.
“I’m going to Claridium, is there any souvenir you’d like me to bring back?”
“…”
I could roughly sense her feelings from her actions and the atmosphere. Luna was expressing her frustration through her silence.
“I’ll buy one for all my friends, but if you don’t tell me, you won’t get one.”
“…A galleon.”
“What?”
“A galleon ship.”
What is that? It’s the first time I’ve heard of it. I almost asked if it was expensive without realizing it.
“Okay. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll get it for you even if I have to grab the market by the scruff of its neck.”
“…Okay.”
“Take care of yourself while I’m gone.”
The hand covering her face slowly lowered. Luna glanced at my face and then looked down again.
“…Have fun with Demian too.”
I turned to join up with Hayley after finishing the conversation. Then, I suddenly thought of something I hadn’t asked her, so I turned back to Luna and said.
“Luna, the white crow…are you the one handling it?”
“…”
For some reason, she fell silent again.
“No, you’re not?”
“Where did you see it?”
“While I was out recently.”
“…My spirit was destroyed once during the Special Force Competition and is still recovering.”
“…”
It felt a little strange that she was dodging the question, even though she was the one who had sent me. Also, wasn’t Luna the only one who could handle spirits?
I should just assume she was lying.
“Okay.”
Luna, whose frustration had dissipated, gave me a timid wave.
I turned back to Hailey, who had been watching me with her arms crossed.
Hailey said.
“You’re quite the player.”
“Why do you say that?”
“There’s a saying in the Empire. Once you fall for a blonde, you can never go back.”
“…I see.”
***
I rode Hailey’s carriage towards Rigbed. The body and the wheels of the carriage were both golden, so the gazes of the passersby in the street were focused on us.
We parked the carriage in the square and walked around the market near the pier.
They said it would take a little less than three days to get to Claridium by boat. So Hailey decided to get some snacks under the pretense of emergency rations and some books to read on the way.
“Try this.”
Hailey tore a piece of jerky and shoved it into my mouth without asking.
“They dry this beef and apply Turnberry sauce every eight hours? It’s really expensive because it’s so nutritious, but it’s to die for.”
“…It’s good.”
Hailey chewed on the jerky and said to the merchant.
“How much for a box?”
“Twenty silver coins.”
“It used to be fifteen. That’s too expensive. Can you give me a discount?”
Hailey haggled skillfully, which was unexpected for a young lady who had grown up in luxury.
We bought jerky, dried fish, cheese, wine, and a few books that would have gotten us in trouble for obscenity if we had been caught with them in Eternia, and then we moved to the pier.
There, our luggage, which we had sent ahead, and a peculiar sailboat were waiting.
My eyes were drawn to the sailboat with its pure white and sleek hull.
“What is that…?”
“The Golden Swallow. It’s a large, high-speed ship made by the Empire’s master sorcerers. It’s equipped with a magic propulsion system, and it’s much stronger and faster than a wooden ship.”
It really was made of a material that looked like marble, not wood. The hull was sleek and flexible, like a swallow, as its name suggested. It was hard to imagine how much effort it must have taken to carve it. It felt like I was looking at a giant stone sculpture.
The mast and pennant with the Empire’s emblem engraved on them fluttered proudly in the wind. The Empire really is something.
I was momentarily lost in admiration. I wasn’t the only one. Passersby on the pier had already stopped to watch.
“They say that if the Golden Swallow and a reef collide, the reef will sink. I wonder if I should try ramming it.”
“…Why did they give us something like this?”
“That’s what I’m wondering. Why? I mean, you couldn’t rent this thing even if you paid them a fortune. I want to know too. I feel like I should go pray or something.”
“…”
The image of an old man stroking his white beard popped into my head, but no way, right?
“We don’t have time to be standing around here.”
“There’s nothing for me to do, sunbae.”
I came here to help move the luggage, but the crew members were already carrying the art club’s luggage to the deck.
“That’s not it, Jasha. Come here.”
Hailey went up to the deck, opened Zhenia’s luggage, and took out some clothes, including underwear, to make some space. Then she shoved some contraband novels and alcohol inside.
So that was the real purpose.
“Did you tell Zhenia-sunbae?”
“No! But there’s nowhere else to store it, and Zhenia would like it, right?”
“…”
These sunbaes. Their way of thinking is really different.
After she finished moving all the smuggled items, she handed me a piece of parchment.
“Newbie, check this list against the luggage that came up and see if anything’s missing.”
I checked the luggage that the crew members were carrying one by one, as Hailey had instructed.
And soon enough, I found something strange.
“Pavel-sunbae’s luggage isn’t here.”
“Oh, she can’t come.”
“Why not?”
Hailey sighed deeply and said,
“I don’t know. A few days ago, after class, Professor Candella took Pavel away, and she hasn’t been seen since. When I asked Professor Georgia, she said she wouldn’t be coming for a while.”
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