Nothing More Than a Cat
Long before it became a named blade, the Saber Tiger had crossed weapons with many foes.
Monsters fought endlessly for territory and survival, and through those countless battles the Saber Tiger had honed its saber fangs into razor-sharp swords.
An unbreakable will that would not yield to any strong enemy.
Saber fangs that could cut through anything.
Everything was the product of effort. The results of striving for survival were brilliant. No monster could threaten the Saber Tiger.
Mid-tier monsters were no match at all, and even high-tier monsters found their tough hides and shells cleaved as easily as tofu when they met those named blades.
The Saber Tiger feared nothing.
Unless it was a top-tier monster that even other monsters avoided, nothing could harm it.
Nothing existed that its named blades could not cut.
Clang—!
And now, there was an opponent its named blades could not cut.
Those blades that had cleaved so many things struggled against a single small human.
The only blow it had landed was the initial ambush.
The way she slipped and dodged like an eel only stoked the Saber Tiger's rage.
The Saber Tiger leapt high and retreated.
Its head, frenzied by some creature's cry, gradually cooled, and it began to assess the situation with cold clarity.
White breath streamed from the Saber Tiger's mouth.
The breath slightly obscured its vision. Through it, white hair was visible. The sharp sword she held could not compare to its own saber fangs, yet somehow it would not be cut.
She is my equal.
The Saber Tiger growled low. It pulled its lips up viciously, baring its sharp teeth further. But the enemy showed not a shred of fear, walking slowly forward.
Crunch, crunch — both of them trampled the snow and frozen weeds underfoot.
Their heavy footsteps made the atmosphere itself feel weighty. The Saber Tiger's eyes never left its enemy.
They stared each other down.
"Hoo..."
A breath was heard.
The Saber Tiger crouched slightly back. Leg muscles bulged as its claws scraped the ground. Then it kicked off and leapt forward.
The hunter standing before it, Alice, exhaled a pure white sigh. She tightened her grip on her blade and raised it to her temple. The edge pointed skyward, its tip aimed at the Saber Tiger.
There was no wavering.
Flying Swallow.
Alice moved as agilely as a swallow in flight. She swept along the ground and twisted her body sideways. At the same time, the blade she swung like a swallow's wing scraped the Saber Tiger's hide.
She did not miss.
Having lost its target, the Saber Tiger immediately raised its arm and swept sideways.
Afterimage Slash.
The claws grazed past Alice's head. An attack that almost touched but didn't sharpened her mind.
Alice drew the blade back to her hip.
In the extreme situation, perceived time stretched endlessly slow.
She could see the Saber Tiger's next move.
Whatever it did, she had stacked multiple responses in her mind.
Walking the tightrope on the border between life and death, every sense in her body was being honed further.
Alice and the Saber Tiger's bodies crossed.
Shraaaak!!
The Saber Tiger's hide split open.
The saber-toothed tiger retreated, scattering warm blood across the earth.
Pain was always nearby, and always agonizing.
That was no different for monsters or humans.
Alice suppressed her breathing that threatened to grow ragged as she watched the faltering Saber Tiger.
"Hoo."
Breathing clean and steady, unhurried.
Managing stamina was always the best policy. Especially here. One mistake that left you collapsed, and it was over.
Flash—.
Just then, the essence set in the socket flashed with light.
White hair rippled in the sword wind. Alice immediately sheathed her sword and channeled the essence's power.
Dark crimson power rose like smoke between the scabbard and the guard.
At the ominous aura, the Saber Tiger snarled and charged.
Left, right, left again. The creature moved nimbly, switching positions, then leapt in an instant and thrust its massive saber fangs forward.
Fierce Tiger Blade Charge.
Propulsive force and cutting power combined in the saber-toothed tiger's body, seeking to bisect the enemy before it.
In that moment Alice's eyes gleamed.
Now.
The blade was drawn from its scabbard.
Her forearm muscles exploded with power.
Adding the full twist of her waist, she traced a perfect trajectory.
A clean horizontal cut with no excess.
A technique of pure offense combining a hunter's full power with a monster's strength.
True Iai Slash.
The essence's power condensed on the blade connected an elegant line through the empty air as if it were a canvas.
The line spread across the Saber Tiger's body and beyond, remaining as a long horizontal mark as if drawn by a brush.
The impact created by a single line seemed to split the world in half.
The essence's power erupted. The change came belatedly.
Crack—!
A straight wound appeared on the trunk of a tree that had entered the range of the Iai Slash.
Shraak—.
The Saber Tiger's gaping mouth was torn horizontally.
Hide and flesh split, and blood burst out roughly.
Crunch—!
The claws it had thrust forward while jumping shattered.
Claw fragments scattered and fell to the ground.
Crack—!
And a crack appeared in the named blade the Saber Tiger had been so proud of.
The destructive power created by perfect form and force distribution was incomparable to when she had been lying flat on the ground.
The Saber Tiger's unprotected attack also played a part. It took all the damage with its body rather than dodging. The counter that landed dead-on collapsed the Saber Tiger's body.
Its eyes rolled back.
Alice saw the flying Saber Tiger and dodged sideways.
————!!!!
The Saber Tiger screamed and rolled across the ground.
Alice shook her sword once and loosened her stiff forearm.
No matter how named a blade might be, its value was determined by its owner.
The name of a named blade was far too grand for something that could not even reach its target.
Alice looked at the Saber Tiger and smiled faintly.
A body staggering in its thrashing. Drooling in pain, breath rising. The Saber Tiger that had survived until now was certainly a strong monster, but to Alice it was nothing more than a mere cat.
Already having fun.
New materials, new experiences.
The named blade before her eyes, the Saber Tiger, was nothing more and nothing less than walking materials to Alice.
The fallen soldiers and Evan were recovering their bodies at the Lacrima infirmary.
Gero's expression as he greeted them was not particularly good, but he could not criticize the wounded. He merely swallowed his curses inwardly.
Gero looked at Evan lying weakly on the sickbed.
Then he sat in a chair before him and sighed.
"Evan, what on earth is this about?"
Evan could say nothing and only bit his lip hard.
"You won't answer?"
"...We encountered a Saber Tiger."
"Yes, a Saber Tiger. Wasn't that the one you took down last time?"
Gero furrowed his brow.
"What exactly was the problem?"
"That was... not an ordinary Saber Tiger."
Evan clenched his hand.
The terror of that moment, the powerlessness he had felt then.
It was not the kind of creature they usually caught while on patrol.
"Did you not see the broken longsword?"
"I did."
"It is not ordinary. That thing... was stronger than the ones I knew."
Gero nodded.
But that was not a proper reason.
"In the end, was this not a problem born of your haste?"
"......"
"If you had just looked a little more carefully, you would have known."
Evan could say nothing. Because Gero's words were right.
No matter how much General Gero had pressed them, one should not be hasty against monsters.
Moreover, altitude sickness symptoms had even appeared at the end. If the Saber Tiger had not suddenly gone somewhere, they all would have died right there.
In the end, everything was because of his own inadequacy.
Clench—.
Evan clenched his fist. He gripped the blanket tightly and bit his lip as if resentful.
Everything was because of this inadequacy. He had thought he was improving a little after overcoming the previous defeat.
Instead, he had been blinded by that defeat and seen nothing.
"Ugh..."
Groans of pain rose among the soldiers.
To Evan, those sounds seemed exactly like resentment directed at him.
Gero glared at Evan and sighed.
"Fine, enough."
At the voice that seemed to have given up, Evan clenched his teeth hard.
He had already fallen out of the general's favor.
Gero stood. He left without looking at Evan.
"It was my fault for expecting anything in the first place."
Gero's words struck deep into Evan's chest.
Evan simply lowered his eyes and could say nothing.
Even without speaking, it was clear. His heart could not blame anyone else and found the cause in himself.
Whatever the situation, he should have held his posture firm without yielding.
Evan bit his lip hard.
Blood flowed from the lip he chewed and chewed.
Hot tears came down with it.
The soldiers glanced at Evan but did not say a word.
Because the reason they had been so injured was clear.
Evan thought even his crying was pathetic, but he had no confidence he could stop the tears, so he pulled the blanket up over his face.
Only then, seeing nothing, did his heart ease a little.
The day the soldiers returned.
Alice still had not come back.
No word.
Adelaide touched her lips lightly as she gazed at the distant plateau.
Someone might have risen from the white sky beyond the horizon, but still there was no word.
What if she had met with disaster like the soldiers and could not return?
She wanted to believe that would not happen, but having seen the soldiers' catastrophe with her own eyes, she could not help but be concerned.
If Alice returned safely, General Gero's defeat was as good as decided, but if Alice did not return...
That would be a painful blunder.
Adelaide sighed.
Then someone approached the princess and spoke.
"Your Highness, are you waiting again today?"
"Ah, yes."
He was her attendant, Adetos.
A royal attendant who had come to this land following the princess.
His characteristic was always being silent and quiet, like a shadow.
"It is cold outside. Please wait indoors."
"Hmm, I will stay a little longer."
Adelaide shook her head.
"I will watch a little more."
What if Alice was injured and returned with Pina supporting her?
Or if Pina was injured. Or if one of them did not return at all.
Adelaide could not kill the anxious feelings rising up. They rose blue like breath, seeming about to vanish, then rising again.
I teased Gero, but... what if my hunters come to harm?
Adelaide pursed her lips.
She twisted her hair around her finger, stamped her feet, waiting for Alice to come soon, but still Alice did not return.
Ding—.
A bell rang.
It was the meal bell ringing at the outpost, announcing it was time to eat.
But Adelaide still did not move.
The attendant whispered quietly from behind.
"...Your Highness, it is nearly time for lunch."
"You startled me."
Adelaide seemed to have completely forgotten about the attendant.
The attendant looked at Adelaide with slightly furrowed brows.
"......"
Embarrassed, Adelaide mumbled.
"Ahem, yes, I will wait just a little more."
The attendant's eyes went wide with surprise at Adelaide's words.
For a princess who loved eating so much to give up a meal...
Hiding his shock, the attendant slowly stepped back again and shut his mouth tight.
Suddenly Adelaide asked the attendant.
"So what is lunch today?"
"Chervona meat with a salad of berries, herbs, and vegetables."
"Is that so? Quite a decent meal."
"If you go late, the portions will be reduced."
"...Shall we go soon? I think I have waited enough."
It was the moment Adelaide was about to turn her back.
Beyond the horizon, someone's figure rose up.
Adelaide, who had glanced past, blinked and turned her head again.
She wondered if she had seen a hallucination at the end of her longing.
But it was not a hallucination. It was real.
Alice, who had returned after spending a full day, was leaving footprints in the snowfield with her white hair fluttering up there.
Beside her was Pina carrying a bundle.
The supply bundle was thick, filled with something.
More than anything, Alice's hands were covered in blood.
Adelaide's worried heart swelled.
Surely she isn't injured?
Adelaide could not wait for Alice approaching from afar and ran out.
Adelaide, who had been running freely, gradually slowed.
Eventually she stood still in the middle and looked at Alice with a smiling face.
The gait of someone walking blandly with the same expression as always was answering her.
Alice was returning after finishing a hunt.
Adelaide smiled small.
"...My hunters, well met. I was deeply worried. Truly."
"Sorry."
Alice, standing before Adelaide, said.
"I was late because I ate breakfast."
"Alice-nim said she wanted to eat meat, so—ah!"
Alice grabbed the shoulder of Pina who was adding on.
The blood on her hand had already dried and did not smear.
"Pina agreed too, right?"
"Th-that's right~!"
Pina smiled brightly and affirmed.
Adelaide snorted a laugh looking at the two of them.
Really, nothing had happened. She felt foolish for worrying.
"Well then, can you eat lunch? Lunch is chervona meat with a salad of berries, herbs, and vegetables. Come, let us go raise a toast."
"Alcohol is a bit..."
"How about milk instead of alcohol?"
"I like milk."
Milk, is it.
Adelaide grasped Alice's preference.
Then she turned her gaze to the bundle Pina held.
"So, what monster did you hunt and bring back?"
"Were we late? The royal army?"
"The soldiers failed and returned. They were wounded."
Adelaide lowered her head.
Then looking at the ground, she wore a bitter smile.
"...A powerful Saber Tiger appeared. It seems it is still beyond the royal army's strength."
Alice's head snapped up at Adelaide's words.
Adelaide continued.
"Should I entrust it to you hunters again this time?"
Alice looked at Adelaide with eyes wide like a startled rabbit.
"Uh..."
"Why, is something the matter?"
"No, just..."
Alice hesitated.
Did I catch that one?
When I looked, it had a few minor wounds.
Finishing her thought, Alice said quietly.
"I think I already got that one."