Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Training
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Carnivella stretched. After nearly a month of just waiting around, she was finally setting off. Her first stop was Marie's house.
"Oh my, Lucy. Leaving already?"
"That's how it turned out. Please take good care of our daughter."
The child born between Lainen and her was a girl. She had named her Raiji. After naming her, she considered changing it because it was similar to Lainen's name, but she decided to leave it as is, thinking it was the least she could do for a child who couldn't grow up with her birth parents.
"I don't know exactly how long I'll be gone, but I probably won't be back for about a year."
"I don't know what season it'll be then, but have a safe trip. The baby will be waiting for you."
"She doesn't even know I'm her real mother. It's fine."
She smiled brightly. Marie knew well that smile carried a sense of longing and pathos. So she placed her finger in the sleeping child's tiny hand. The soft, warm sensation brought a smile to her face.
"Then I'll be off."
"Yes, safe travels."
Then she headed to the branch with her luggage. Shunkarin and Reshinka were already there. She looked at them in bewilderment.
"What brings you here...?"
"I thought someone from the organization should at least say goodbye before you go."
"Have a safe trip."
"Yes, I will."
The carriage carrying her raced through the forest and finally arrived. It was a deep, dense forest where no one seemed likely to set foot. This place had been discovered by Aremai a few years ago and turned into a training ground after clearing the land.
*It's just like the military.*
The atmosphere was strict, and the schedule was grueling. She stood quietly and watched what they were doing.
"Have you come to endure harsh training, my recruits!"
An unfamiliar man introduced himself as the head instructor and began his booming speech. She tensed at the immense presence emanating from him.
"Training to become official Aremai members begins now. You must endure it no matter what. If you can't get through this, you'll die."
He meant it. You could die during training, get killed by wild beasts, or die in tests. And if you deserted, you'd be discovered immediately and put to death. She could sense quite a few presences besides the instructors.
*I have no intention of deserting, but I still need to be careful.*
While she was lost in thought, the explanation continued. The training lasted about a year. The higher your rank, the sooner you'd be deployed into action.
[Aini, it would be best to graduate early. That way, your training period shortens, and you can get assigned to missions sooner. Then you can become a true S-rank, not just nominally.]
She recalled the advice Reshinka had given her before she left. Since her goal was early graduation—meaning first place—she had no intention of slacking off.
"Since it's the first day, we'll keep it simple with a long-distance run, then head to the barracks."
And so the long run began. She stretched her long limbs and sprinted fiercely. She came in first. Those behind her could only watch her in stunned silence.
*To keep first place from now on, I'll need to pace myself properly.*
With a calm expression, she headed to the mess hall. The head instructor, who had been quietly observing her movements, thought differently. He had assumed she was just a nepotism case, but she had her own skills.
And what was with that subtly disciplined gait? It was almost like a knight's.
*They said she's Lukamin Takirai's sister. Can she actually handle herself?*
As he had such simple thoughts, he wondered what Lukamin would think if he knew his sister had become an assassin. Feeling like they had received a promising new recruit, the man looked forward to her future performances.
* * *
The training continued. And during that time, she never once lost first place. She didn't fall behind in any field and pushed through everything with a tenacious mindset. As a result, her fellow trainees began treating her like some inhuman entity.
*This much isn't hard.*
As time passed, the training intensity increased, but she didn't tire. She had a burning desire to return no matter what. And this was no different from the intensity of the training she'd endured when learning the sword from Lukamin.
Unlike when she served him, Lukamin had never compromised on swordsmanship. He was a strict teacher and never went easy on her just because she was his retainer. He had pushed her to the very limits of her endurance.
That's why it had been tough back then, but now that experience was the foundation allowing her to survive this hellish training.
*It's been a while since I thought of you.*
Lukamin, whom she had tried hard to forget, came to mind. The freezing winter when he died had passed, and now it was summer, where even slight movement brought sweat. Half a year had already flown by. For the first time in a while, she truly felt his absence.
Lukamin, her teacher and father figure, was no longer in this world. Perhaps the reason she couldn't let go of the name Lucia was because of his lingering influence. She gazed at the sky, wondering where Lukamin might be.
But the intense sunlight blinded her, and she saw nothing. After resting like that for a while, the declaration that training was over rang out. She brushed off the dust and stood.
*Lukamin.*
Whether alive or dead, Lukamin remained her pillar of support. But at the same time, she had no face to show him. She had struggled desperately to survive, leading her here. Yet enduring this hellish training had dulled her knightly spirit considerably.
Of course, she had never wanted to become a knight in the first place. She had only learned swordsmanship to prepare for situations where Lukamin wouldn't be with her. But surprisingly, it suited her well, and she enjoyed moving her body.
And Lukamin, true to orthodox knighthood, had taught her swordsmanship as a knight. Perhaps that's why, at some point, she began walking like a knight, swinging her sword like one, wielding upright and just techniques.
*But an assassin can't do it that way...*
Assassination meant killing people by any means necessary. Being honest would just lead to an early grave.
So, without realizing it, she was shedding her knightly spirit. She wouldn't have the face to meet Lukamin like this. Bitter at the shameful reality she couldn't change, she felt a sour taste in her mouth.
*I'm sorry. I'm not worthy to be your disciple.*
The only thing she could say was a sorry excuse. That she had no choice. And that guilt intensified as the training neared its end.
As practical training began, using poison in spars was allowed. To graduate early, she often won with cowardly methods. Numerous trainees died in the process.
*Horrible.*
There was no stopping it even as people died. Assassins had to complete their contracts by any method and erase their emotions to become true masters.
Aremai wasn't an organization built on justice anyway. It operated on the principle that as long as you accomplished your task by any means, it was fine. That's why using such methods to win was often seen as a measure of strength.
*Now it's my turn.*
Carnivella stood and adjusted her sword. She drank the antidote from her pocket. Since she couldn't predict what dirty tricks her opponent might use, it was best to prepare for anything. The bitter taste slid down her throat.
Cheers erupted from the trainees. Her spars were one of the few spectacles in this hellish training. A man approached her and said,
"I hope I can beat you today."
"I hope you do."
There was always one guy who challenged her to spars. He was always second in training rankings because of her (rankings were based on daily training performance and updated once a day based on results). You could choose your sparring partner, and this guy kept picking her.
Refusing didn't work. He desperately tried to spar with her no matter what. So she didn't refuse. Instead, she won with overwhelming skill difference. And so, he lost to her every day.
"If I win today, never challenge me again."
"Deal."
Instead of her main weapon, the longsword, she gripped a dagger. Assassins mainly used daggers, and showing overwhelming superiority with it would make him never bother her again.
"Match begin!"
As soon as the spar started, she suddenly sheathed the dagger, pulled a water bomb from her pocket, and threw it. The torches lighting the arena went out all at once, plunging them into darkness. But assassins were specialized in the dark.
She listened for her opponent's breathing in the darkness, drew the dagger again, and lunged forward.
Clang!
Their swords clashed. The opponent panicked. The momentum was hers from the start.
"...Cowardly move."
"Assassins are cowards by nature."
As the opponent shook off her sword with force, she kicked his solar plexus with her foot. As he staggered back, she threw the other daggers from her pocket. It restricted the movements of her charging opponent.
Both were accustomed to darkness, but a split-second difference decided the fight. She swept his legs out from under him in an instant while he flinched from the sudden dagger barrage, mounted him, and pointed her blade at his throat.
"I surrender!"
At that moment, the torches relit, illuminating the arena. The other trainees cheered wildly at her overwhelming skill. She pocketed her weapons.
"Cowardly!"
"I told you, assassins are cowards."
"Then this doesn't count!"
Unable to accept his defeat, the opponent raged. He hadn't even shown his skills before getting caught in her pace and losing overwhelmingly without displaying anything. But she replied coldly.
"No, you already accepted my proposal, and the match is decided. Don't bother me anymore. If you keep it up, I don't know what I'll do."
She was as unpredictable as her words. She seemed utterly unmotivated in everything, yet during training, no one was more passionate, and she always surpassed him in scores. Her strength was beyond his reach.
"I won't touch you again."
"Keep that promise."
Without looking back, she left the place. The cheers continued, but she stared ahead expressionlessly.
A few days later, it was time for the early graduates to leave. As first place, she had to give the representative oath in front of the trainees.
"Early graduates present, are you ready to devote your loyalty to our organization and serve the leader until death?"
"Yes!"
"No matter the situation, do you have the confidence not to betray Aremai?"
"Yes!"
She had more confidence in betraying Aremai than anyone there, but she answered loudly.
"Number one early graduate Aini, commence representative oath!"
"Commence!"
After the graduation ceremony ended, she took the carriage provided by Aremai and returned to her original base. As she got off in front of the branch, Shunkarin and several executives were there to greet her.
"I heard you graduated first. Congratulations."
"Congratulations."
"Now you'll be working with me."
Everyone welcomed her, but Reshinka especially showed anticipation for the woman who would now work with her. It would be absurd not to expect great things from someone with such overwhelmingly excellent scores.
But she paid little attention to their pleasantries. She asked dryly,
"What is my first mission?"