Chapter 22: First Week Weekend (2)

I couldn’t believe Yuria didn’t feel the effects of the Lumigan Grass root tea, which I had noticed almost immediately.

That’s kind of shocking, isn’t it? With her talent as a magic swordsman, she must have a trait at least one level above my [Versatile].

Was I mistaken?

“What are you doing?”

“Huh? Oh. Just lost in thought. What’s up?”

“Here’s the canteen. I drank it all.”

“That was specially prepared for you, so finish it all. It’s a gift.”

“Oh.”

Yuria stared at the canteen in her hand for a moment before hugging it close to her chest and bowing her head to me.

“Thank you.”

“No need for thanks between us. Just keep training hard like you are now. When you’re done, give it back to me.”

“Are you going to brew it for me every day?”

“Of course. It’s good for you, isn’t it? Well, to you, it might just taste like plain water.”

“Actually, it wasn’t plain at all. It was really delicious.”

“Too late. It’s not supposed to be delicious.”

I chuckled and looked at Yuria, and she met my gaze with a smile.

“By the way.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m really going to work hard.”

Of course you should.

That way, my image improves, and I can make up for my lacking merit points with rewards.

And later, you’ll become my ally and provide great help.

You absolutely have to work hard.

This is all an investment for that moment.

It wasn’t long after that when Yuria, who had been swinging her sword, started pausing mid-motion and tilting her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“My body feels weird.”

“How so?”

“It’s sensitive. My eyes feel as clear as if I just woke up. Is it because of this water?”

There you go.

There’s no way you wouldn’t feel it.

“Hey, looks like the effects are finally kicking in. Wanna drink some more?”

At my words, Yuria eagerly lifted the canteen and took a sip.

Then, she suddenly glanced at me.

Her lips parted slightly, and she let out a soft exclamation.

“…Mmm. Delicious.”

At that, I burst into a wide grin.

* * *

Given the nature of the training hall, a lot of people gathered here, so you could run into all sorts of faces.

First, Ivan.

He was fiercely swinging his sword on one side, and next to him was a familiar face, Gwyn Gaiard.

So that guy made it back safely after all.

In contrast, Reinz was nowhere to be seen around the Academy.

I heard he’d returned, though.

Is he holed up in the dorms?

Well, after everything he must have gone through at the Central Knights’ headquarters, he probably needs time to think. I hope it leads him down a bad path, though.

Their mentor was Asuka Raymond.

A face I can’t stand, but I have to admit his swordsmanship skills are undeniable.

He’s more than capable of raising their levels.

Come to think of it, isn’t it around this time?

The period when Gwyn starts feeling a strong sense of rivalry toward Ivan.

That’s when it happened.

“Huff! Huff! Senioooor!”

A blonde cadet came running from a distance and stopped in front of Asuka.

Seeing her, Asuka’s eyes widened.

“What? Rachel? Why are you here? I told you to rest today.”

“Hehe. But if I rest today, I’ll fall even further behind the others.”

“Sigh. You’re such a stubborn one. Rest is part of training. How many times has this big brother told you?”

For a moment, I doubted my ears.

Big brother? Big bro?

“Ugh. Cringe-worthy ‘big brother’ vibes.”

Rachel tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled brightly.

And Asuka, looking at her, grinned like the sweetest guy in the world.

Seeing those two faces made me feel sick, so I turned my head away completely.

They’re a perfect match.

Two deceitful snakes, inside and out.

Come to think of it, I remembered Yuria saying Rachel was one of the few classmates she was close to.

I should tell her sometime.

To keep her distance from that girl and not get too close.

She’s the kind of person who brings nothing but trouble and harm.

“Speaking of rivals…”

A rival is a great motivator and an excellent catalyst for growth.

Just as Gwyn is conscious of Ivan, Ivan is probably aware of Gwyn deep down.

Having met a worthy opponent, Ivan will steadily grow stronger.

That’s a red flag for me, naturally.

“Where’s my rival?”

I’m not sure about a rival, but one character who stands as my polar opposite comes to mind.

Karina Zain.

The youngest daughter of the Zain Duke, famous as the great mage of evil-slaying.

As a thief, the faction I need to avoid most is her family.

So, the real threat isn’t Karina herself but the household she belongs to.

Her father, Duke Zain, goes without saying, and her older brother is the leader of the evil-slaying unit, the type to blast magic first and ask questions later if you’re a villain.

“Oh, not yet, I guess.”

In any case, the Zain family, who stand at the forefront of the magic corps judging evil, is my absolute worst matchup.

So, I should avoid running into her as much as possible.

—Or so I vowed.

But the world never goes as planned.

There, in the distance, Karina was entering the training hall with her group of followers.

There’s no point in making eye contact, so I started to turn away.

“?”

They were heading straight toward where Yuria was.

“…What? Are they close?”

As far as I know, they aren’t.

The two have no connection, and given Karina’s personality—she thinks she’s the center of the world—Yuria, with her radiant appearance, would naturally be an eyesore to her.

Looks carry a lot of weight among girls, after all.

“But why are they swarming over there?”

I watched quietly, and the atmosphere was definitely not friendly.

What should I do?

Karina’s a problem, but I realized that since we’d inevitably cross paths in first-year lectures, I might as well deal with it now.

So, I headed toward Yuria.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

Instantly, over ten pairs of eyes shot toward me, piercing my face.

Among them, Karina’s gaze was particularly sharp, as if she could kill with a look alone.

Of course, I was unfazed.

Even professors couldn’t get through my thick skin.

This wouldn’t even leave a scratch.

Brushing it off lightly, I asked again.

“What’s going on, you guys?”

Karina scanned me up and down and smirked.

“Nothing at all?”

“Didn’t seem like nothing. Weren’t you just insulting Yuria? I heard everything on my way here.”

“…Trying to play the protector, huh? How pathetic.”

“What? What did you just say?”

“Huh? What? Did I say something, Senior Gerard?”

I was so dumbfounded that I stared at Karina blankly for a moment.

I definitely heard it.

That Yuria was “mine.”

But I couldn’t say that.

Not only was it nonsense, but there were too many listening ears around.

The wording itself could spark a nasty misunderstanding.

“You…”

“Oh! By the way, I heard you finally became the Herbology assistant? Congrats!”

As if sensing the growing attention around us, Karina suddenly flashed a bright smile and started acting coy, waving her arms.

Watching her, a question popped into my head.

Out of all the ‘Heroes of Frey’ characters, why did I have to like this crazy girl? What a two-faced brat.

“Well, I’ll be counting on you in the next lecture! Yuria, you hang in there too!”

I shook my head as I watched them leave.

Man, it’s like a storm just blew through.

If there’s a downside to the training hall, it’s that since cadets from all years come here, you end up seeing faces you’d rather avoid.

“What did she say?”

“Nothing. She didn’t say much.”

No, why do you keep saying it’s nothing?

What about the vicious insults I overheard on my way here?

“But, Senior.”

“Yeah, what?”

“I’m really going to work hard.”

Yuria, still staring in the direction Karina had gone, spoke with determination again.

But this time, her words sounded different.

‘I’m definitely going to crush her later.’

I glanced down and saw her hand gripping the sword hilt, pale and bloodless.

You’re really pissed, aren’t you?

“…Yeah. Work hard.”

So, Yuria’s got a rival now, huh?

No, wait.

That’s not a rival.

It’s more like an enemy.

Having something to aim for is better than nothing, so maybe this is a positive thing?

In terms of motivation, coming to the training hall now and then might not be a bad idea.

“So, you’ve got to help me a lot, Senior.”

“Of course.”

“Promise.”

“I got it.”

“So, we’ll meet every day, right?”

“?”

How did the conversation end up here?

“No, we’re already meeting a lot.”

“We need to do more. Spar with me every day, give me feedback every day. You have to watch me grow day by day.”

Yuria’s sparkling, glass-like eyes suddenly felt intimidating.

And so, after several incidents.

By the time I finished giving Yuria feedback on her swordsmanship, it was already late afternoon.

We were munching on cold toast we’d packed in the morning, flipping through a booklet.

This booklet was called the ‘Vision List.’

It was a kind of guidebook that concisely listed the names, origins, and descriptions of the countless Visions stored in the Vault.

All cadets had one to prepare for their ‘Vision Selection.’

Based on this, cadets predicted and designed their Vision Trees and trained accordingly.

Of course, I had one too.

…Somewhere.

It seemed the past Gerard had lost his, as I couldn’t find it.

Well, since I had most of the important Visions memorized, I didn’t bother looking for it.

I’d already jotted down my Vision Tree in a notebook after possessing this body.

Anyway.

Right now, we were poring over the Vision List together, discussing what Yuria’s first Vision selection should be.

In other words, career counseling.

The first Vision selection for a first-year is a critical ritual, as it sets the foundation for the direction of their Vision Tree.

I spoke up, quite seriously.

“You’ve learned two swordsmanship styles so far, right?”

“Yes. Traditional Swordsmanship and the first half of Royal Swordsmanship.

Traditional Swordsmanship is so basic it barely counts as swordsmanship.

In reality, the only Vision Yuria currently has is the first half of Royal Swordsmanship.

Of course, she can use magic too, but I didn’t bring it up.

Until she mentions it herself, I’m not going to say a word about magic—not even the ‘m’ sound.

For now, let’s just assume she knows it’s a form of physical enhancement.

“What’s good? When I consulted with my advisor, they recommended the second half of Royal Swordsmanship.”

“That’s the standard choice.”

Royal Swordsmanship.

Its full name, ‘Frey Royal Swordsmanship,’ is the main swordsmanship of Aidan Frey, the great hero who sealed the great demon a thousand years ago.

Its perfection goes without saying.

With flawless balance in offense and defense, stability, and the profound subtlety woven into it, it has been passed down through the ages and forms the foundation of all swordsmanship existing in the Empire today—a style universally recognized as exceptional.

Royal Swordsmanship is divided into a total of 26 forms: 12 forms in the first half, 12 in the second half, and 2 final forms.

The first 12 forms can be learned at soldier training camps or general swordsmanship schools for a fee.

Not only soldiers but also mercenaries, nobles, and wealthy individuals learn it for self-defense.

The second half, however, is treated differently.

The second half involves directly controlling aura, a so-called advanced swordsmanship that only aura users can master.

In particular, more than half of the second half’s 12 forms require an aura sword to unleash their full power.

As such, it’s only permitted to be taught at knight schools and Frey Academy.

Because of this, cadets from families with their own Vision swordsmanship learn their family’s techniques, while talented commoners with no notable background, like Yuria, typically master Royal Swordsmanship as their main style.

For a commoner like Yuria to learn Royal Swordsmanship is nothing short of the ‘royal path.’

“Hmm.”

But I hesitated.

The second half of Royal Swordsmanship.

It’s certainly a great style, but…

Since I’m planning to raise Yuria as a magic swordsman, I can’t help but consider magic as well.

When factoring that in, Royal Swordsmanship is not the standard choice—it’s the one to avoid at all costs.

After all, Royal Swordsmanship is a heavy sword style based on two-handed swords.

It’s a style that requires extreme control of the entire body—legs, waist, chest, arms—to unleash its full power, relying heavily on physical strength.

It’s obviously the worst match for someone who also uses magic.

The best match would be the ever-changing illusion sword.

A swift sword style is decent too, but a soft, flowing sword style should be avoided, as it increases the reliance on magic.

Even the magic swordsman Sigaro didn’t escape this rule, mastering the illusion sword [Yuda Sword] as his main style.

The Yuda Sword is the swordsmanship of Yuda, a wandering swordsman who made a name for himself on the continent a hundred years ago.

Yuda fought in hundreds of duels, losing only once—and that loss led to his death.

Yuda Sword.

Not bad, right?

After flipping through the booklet a few times, I easily found the description of the Yuda Sword.

“How about this?”

“Yuda Sword?”

“Yeah. I think it’d suit you well.”

“In what way?”

I explained the reasons.

Naturally, I left out anything about magic.

I stuck to the unembellished facts.

“For one, you’re a girl. Royal Swordsmanship is a heavy sword style, so it’s better suited for guys.”

“No. I don’t think that way. It’s a matter of effort. If you work yourself to death, a girl can reach the same heights. There are already plenty of outstanding female knights active in the field.”

She’s not wrong.

Female knights who use heavy swords?

They exist, of course.

But have you ever thought about why they can’t progress beyond a certain level?

Why, throughout history, not a single female knight has become a master of Royal Swordsmanship?

I asked her that directly.

“Hmm.”

She had no response.

But she didn’t want to admit it either, her lips tightly pressed together.

Stubborn as ever.

“Yuria. Man or woman, this is a practical issue. It’s a reality, a limitation that women have to accept. But women also have strengths that far surpass men’s.”

“What’s that?”

“Speed, derived from physical flexibility.”

In truth, the Yuda Sword was a decoy.

I had a real suggestion in mind.

I flipped to the next page and pointed to a specific swordsmanship.

“So, what I’m saying is, instead of the Yuda Sword, this one would suit you…”

But then, I saw a Vision listed in the corner of the booklet and couldn’t finish my sentence.

My eyes were glued to it, unable to look away.

“Senior?”

“Huh? Oh. Sorry.”

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

“It’s nothing. Anyway, the Vision I recommend is High-Speed Swordsmanship. As the name suggests, it pursues extreme speed, and the level of the swordsmanship itself varies depending on the swordsman wielding it. Since it’s a type of swift sword…”

My mouth kept moving, but my eyes were still fixed on that Vision in the corner of the booklet.

The Vision’s name was,

[Dagger Shift]

And it was a Vision I hadn’t even seen back when I was obsessed with ‘Heroes of Frey.’

Well, even I don’t know every single Vision in the Vault, so it’s natural I wouldn’t know obscure ones.

But according to the description, [Dagger Shift] was classified as ‘swordsmanship.’

Swordsmanship.

It’s definitely swordsmanship.

So why do I keep reading it as ‘mid-level thievery’?

The Shadow’s Vision Tomes, which were lost ten years ago.

Could this [Dagger Shift] be one of those Visions?

And could it hold clues to other Visions, perhaps even mid-level thievery?

The moment I thought that, my heart started pounding like crazy.

Because the name [Dagger Shift] was glowing in gold.

[Gaius’s Insight] was telling me.

My guess was correct.

…Looks like I need to move up my plans for the Vault.

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