159 – 32. Exchange Meeting
Sasaki Ito is a prosecutor.
It was not only the job he was born with, but also his mindset because he was born into an old swordsmanship family.
Although it has a long history, it was a dojo that was collapsing without a single student.
A strict father who wants to keep tradition.
Then, as if it were a God-given opportunity, two siblings were born as prosecutors.
And……
“…I have just one question.”
“Ask.”
“Are you serious?”
“Of course, I am sincere.”
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Indeed.
Sasaki Ito, who heard Namgoong Min’s confirmation, nodded his head.
The Sasaki siblings’ base established on the outskirts of Romance Academy.
It was originally a place that Sasaki Ito used alone, but thanks to Namgoong Min’s fortune, after reconciling with her younger sister Kaede Sasaki, her siblings are staying together.
I lived without any shortcomings thanks to being revered as a swordsman representing Japan.
Sasaki Ito avoided luxury and tried to live as frugally as possible.
Nevertheless, no money was spared on the training ground.
He took a look at the training ground, which was made of high-quality wood and decorated with all kinds of artifacts.
Soon, he stood up from his sitting posture and grabbed his wooden sword.
“Then stand up and grab your sword.”
“I understand.”
“You are my and Kaede’s benefactor, but… If you really want to learn the sword, you have no choice but to do it harshly.”
“I am prepared.”
“…If you wish.”
Sasaki Ito is a person united by strong pride. The title of Japan’s best prospect and the time he worked tirelessly created such a personality.
But you can’t help but be polite to Namgoong Min at all times. Because he was the benefactor who helped her reconcile with her precious and always worried sister.
That’s why Sasaki Ito was extremely sincere.
“First of all, take it…!!”
“Ugh!?”
Bah!
Sasaki Ito’s wooden sword wielded with only one hand collides with Namgoong Min’s wooden sword.
He was one-handed, and Namgoong Min was two-handed, but the results were stark.
The wooden sword was immediately thrown away, and Namgoong Min’s hands were shaking from pain and shock.
‘Black…… ‘It’s a tough road.’
It is a combat profession, and even Sasaki Ito, who was born as a swordsman, found sword training difficult.
Fortunately, he was overflowing with talent among , So he was able to grow without losing confidence during training.
Didn’t his younger sister leave home at the age of 15 because she couldn’t feel the burden and pressure of the family?
For this reason, Sasaki Ito clearly drew a line.
‘If you really want to learn the sword, this is a bit too much.’
It will hurt. Because I really swung with all my might.
If he had hit his hand, the bones in his hand would have been broken, and if he had hit his back, the force would have been enough to break it.
No matter how much you hit with a wooden sword, it wouldn’t be surprising if the impact caused a bruise or minor fracture to your hand.
Especially if the opponent is a , The weakest job holder.
He was infinitely sincere toward the sword, and loathed those who tried to enter the sword with a humble attitude.
I was considerate because the other person was Namgoong Min, who had admirable leadership and charisma.
‘A fortune teller is someone who speaks, not someone who swings a sword.’
So, we must realize reality in the most polite way possible──
“Huh, it hurts quite a bit?”
“…Are you okay?”
“No way. My hands are shaking and I feel like one of my fingers is broken. I want to scream right now.”
“Then why…?”
“Isn’t it a process of learning something?”
I don’t know about Sasaki Ito.
When Namgoong Min learned how to speak and how to cheat, it was so harsh that it was almost like torture.
Because he endured all kinds of violence and abuse under that pseudo-fortune teller, but endured until the end.
Even when she learned the sword, she had the perception that it was natural for it to be that difficult.
Namgoong Min calmed his trembling hands, brought a new wooden sword in place of the broken one, and aimed his sword with a smile.
My body was shaking as if I was being honest with the pain.
Like brainwashing, the ‘smile’ engraved deep in my head was gentle and without the slightest agitation.
“Next, please.”
“…I guess my thoughts were short.”
Okay, who is the person in front of me?
Second place for entrance exam.
3Rd place in survival test.
The first Student at the Romance Academy.
De facto leader of a special occupation class.
And he is a fortune teller with the speaking skills and charisma to move people’s hearts.
Of course, I couldn’t have come to learn the sword with a light heart.
hahahahaha!
Sasaki Ito laughed at his own foolishness for a moment.
Soon he stopped laughing and looked serious.
“Then, I will go.”
“Please give me as much as I can…!”
Bwaaagh!!!
*
“…You’re so amazing.”
“Kaede.”
“I know you’re sincere, but did you have to beat up your benefactor to this extent?”
“…It’s education.”
“I’m sure it’s a hard-working education. Namgoong Min, are you okay?”
“hahahaha…It’s okay.”
He answered with a smile, but he didn’t look okay at all.
I later heard that Namgoong Min and her brother were training, so I brought bandages, towels, and water.
Both hands were a mess with bruises all over the place, sweat was pouring down, and looking at the way he was lying on the floor, it looked like his legs and arms were fractured.
‘Well, I know you’ve been training like this too.’
He is a beginner who first picked up a sword, much less a combat professional.
Kaede Sasaki glanced at her extremely honest brother and took out a bandage-shaped artifact.
“If you wrap this, it will heal quickly.”
“Thank you. But it’s interesting, Mr. Liu, you didn’t have an artifact like this either.”
“Actually, it is not a good product. Since it is an item that forcibly draws on the natural healing ability of the job holder… Side effects appear in other areas.”
“What if there are side effects?”
“Hmm… If you wrap it around your hands, arms, and legs, it draws vitality from other parts, so what about hair loss, erectile dysfunction, and anemia?”
“…I guess I’ll just have to use it this time.”
Namgoong Min, who had a complex expression on his face as he looked at the bandages wrapped around her body, wiped his sweat on a towel.
It would be painful and dizzy.
Kaede sighed as she looked at the fortuneteller with an unwavering smile.
“Oppa.”
“Uh, hmm?”
“Go out for a moment.”
“What?……Okay.”
Sasaki Ito went out of the training ground, looking strangely sullen at Kaede’s gesture, and closed the door.
Only after confirming that her brother had clearly moved away did Kaede look back at her Namgoong Min.
“That…….”
“Mr. Sasaki?”
“That… That’s it.”
I have to ask…… To do.
The only person I can consult with is this trustworthy fortune teller, so I should take this opportunity to ask.
I didn’t have the courage to talk alone.
‘Should I have left my brother behind?’
No, then he would have acted in an extreme manner.
Her love for her family fell, but after she reconciled with her brother, Sasaki Ito became overprotective of her.
After hesitating for a moment, Kaede gritted her teeth to see if she had made up her mind.
“Well, I have something to discuss!”
“Are you saying you are dating Hwang Jin-woo?”
“Yes? Oh, no! That’s not it!”
Well, what is it? How did you know that?
After acting as a gangster in the first semester and getting involved with Namgoong Min, she started a relationship with Hwang Jinwoo, who was selected as a scholarship student, and eventually became lovers during vacation.
I was thinking that her brother would try to kill Hwang Jin-woo if he found out, so I kept my relationship as secret as possible.
Surely they got caught?
“Well, uh, how did you know…”
“What is my job?”
“Ah, ah…To the dots….”
Well, I understand the point.
Speaking of Namgoong Min, it was natural that she didn’t know anything.
It was a sentiment shared not only by her but also by most of her first graders who knew a fortune teller named Namgoong Min.
In particular, her trust in Namgoong Min was sky high, especially among the martial arts students who said they had acquired one of her artifacts thanks to Namgoong Min.
No, anyway.
“I’m worried about that too, but what I need to discuss is…”
“Kite Blackwood.”
“……Yes.”
Kite Blackwood.
A friend who went together with Sasaki Kaede and Hwang Jin-woo and became close friends.
The man who was at least kind-spoken is no longer there.
Because I was expelled from school.
“I don’t know the details, but… I heard that he went to Europe during vacation and was expelled for doing something bad.”
“…That’s roughly correct.”
“Neither Jinwoo nor I know much about Europe. But as a friend who has been close to him for half a year, I want to know the truth!”
“……I see.”
At first, she suspected that something unfair had happened.
Even when I asked the instructors, they couldn’t tell me more details, but the only answer I got was that it was clearly Kite Blackwood’s fault.
That’s why I wanted to hear from Namgoong Min.
To the fortune teller who has the widest reach and seems to know everything, as far as she knows.
“But how would I know what happened to Kite Blackwood?”
“…Because he is a brave fortune teller…”
“hahahaha, this is true.”
The fortune teller laughed for a moment as if he was troubled by Kaede’s recklessness.
Soon she opened her mouth.
Kite Blackwood and…… Whiterose family, Arthur family.
And about Lane Arthur’s work.
The whole story was more than Kaede had imagined.
“…This is the truth.”
“……….”
“Mr. Sasaki?”
“Why are you doing all this to me?”
It is a foolish question.
A half-baked question asking why she was answering when she asked it herself.
But the truth that Namgoong Min told was so fatal that he thoughtlessly said such a thing.
Even Kaeda Sasaki, who was ignorant of politics and diplomacy, could understand.
If all these facts are spread, the whole of Europe could be shaken.
“…Currently, Kite Blackwood and a few Whiterose family elders have been sacrificed to cover up the matter, but if this spreads to public opinion, the matter will become much bigger.”
“……….”
“The only people who know details about this matter are me, Arthur, Whiterose, and Mr. Liu. Oh, and now Mr. Sasaki has been added as well.”
“…Why are you doing this to me…”
“You came looking for me.”
“……………….”
“Kite Blackwood, I don’t know what happened… But the customer who came to see the fortune teller like me was curious, so I’m just telling you the truth.”
Sasaki Kaede felt like she would be crushed by the weight of the truth.
I had no intention of telling anyone or recording the truth I learned today.
She just had a secret that she had to keep until her death.
Her personality was like that.
And.
Facing Namgoong Min, who told me the truth.
“…Nam Goong Min, actually.”
“Kite Blackwood must have left something behind.”
“Uh, how…?”
“It’s a dot.”
“…Yes, there was a letter left behind.”
Sigh.
Kaede took out her pure white letter from her arms and, after a moment of contemplation, handed her letter to Namgoong Min.
“Later, give it to someone trustworthy and not from the Arthur family…”
“A trustworthy person, other than Arthur.”
“I don’t know the contents. But…”
If you think about it now.
Kite, who gave me this letter, looked like she was prepared for something.
Is it because she knew that whether she succeeds or fails, she will no longer be able to meet Hwang Jin-woo?
At that time, she received the letter without knowing the English text.
If Kaede knows someone who is trustworthy and is not from the Arthur family.
‘Jinwoo and…… ‘Only Namgoong Min.’
Perhaps Kite was thinking that her letter would be delivered to Jinwoo.
I don’t know why she bothered to deliver it through her, but I think she expected Jinwoo to have received her letter in the end.
But Kaede didn’t want to give Jinwoo the letter.
To be precise, I have decided now.
‘I was planning to get counseling from Namgoong Min and give it to Jinwoo.’
Now that we know the truth about Kite Blackwood.
It was clear that if I gave this letter to Jinwoo, I would be caught up in that dangerous truth.
In the end, there was only one option left.
“…I will gratefully accept it.”
“Yes…!”
Okay, let’s just forget about it and live our lives.
Kite was definitely a good friend, but she couldn’t keep reminiscing about him.
I did everything I could for him, and now that I know the truth, I’m satisfied.
‘Jinwoo still misses Kite, but…….’
I am his girlfriend, so it will be resolved if we spend more memories together.
With Jinwoo──
“……………….”
The fortuneteller was looking at Kaede, who was somehow coming to her senses.
After reading the letter, I quietly put it in my arms.
Slowly, the wound was getting worse.
*
And.
The day of the exchange meeting dawned.