Practical Evaluation (1)
The written exam, which had dragged on endlessly, was finally over. Seti and I returned to the lodging we had reserved. We planned to stay here for a few days until the first-round results came out.
The Rheinland main house was close by, so returning home wouldn’t have been an issue, but Seti had stubbornly refused. She wanted to spend as much time as possible with Rustilla, whom she hadn’t seen in a while.
“Whoa.”
I let out an admiring sigh as I took in the beautifully landscaped view outside.
The celestial sphere had already turned halfway, scattering an evening glow across the sky. It was a scene as beautiful as something from a movie.
This is space.
This is romance.
I couldn’t let the Outer Deities destroy such a beautiful world.
When I turned around, Seti was unpacking. She flopped onto her bed like she was diving into it.
“Haaah, I’m exhausted…”
Seti and I had decided to share a room. We had originally booked two separate rooms, but my little sister had changed it to a single room with two beds, insisting we save money.
Seti drew an imaginary line in the space between the beds.
“Got it? This is the border. Don’t cross it.”
“I won’t.”
Seti still seemed displeased with me.
Sonia, who had been standing nearby, spoke up.
“Do not worry, young lady. This Sonia will keep a close watch on the young master’s every move. Should he attempt anything untoward, she will intervene immediately. Please rest easy.”
“That’s reassuring.”
Seti yawned repeatedly, clearly tired. The moment she lay down, I turned off the lights and stepped out.
“Turn the lights back on, you bastard!”
I turned them back on and left again.
“That girl’s got quite the temper.”
It was 8 p.m. Still too early to sleep. Before my possession, I had always eaten dinner around this time.
When I went down to the first floor where the cafeteria was, a strikingly beautiful girl with golden hair and blue eyes was eating a late dinner. It was Rustilla.
I sent Sonia to the kiosk and approached her carefully.
Rustilla, who had been eating soup like a child, looked up.
“You are…”
“Hey. How did the exam go?”
“…Fine. It was okay.”
She continued eating in silence. Rustilla was quiet by nature, so starting a conversation wasn’t easy.
My gaze drifted past her shoulder to the android guarding and monitoring her. I gave him a light greeting as well.
“Please do not approach the young lady.”
His face looked oddly familiar.
“You’re that guy from last time, right?”
“I am Jermel.”
He was one of the five unfortunate androids who had been threatened when Rustilla visited our house.
Jermel displayed an uncomfortable expression that was very un-robot-like. He clearly disliked seeing Rustilla and me together, even though Rustilla herself remained indifferent.
“You don’t have to worry. I won’t do anything like that again.”
“That is difficult to believe.”
“Fair enough.”
After all, Eidel’s reputation as a scoundrel was already well established. Unless something extraordinary happened, I had to behave properly. Otherwise, my already rock-bottom reputation would plummet even further.
So I declared,
“Once I get into Stellarium, I’m planning an image change.”
Jermel countered with a sharp remark.
“Buying a clean future does not wash away the past.”
“I know.”
Even though those weren’t my actions.
“…You’re right.”
Rustilla, who had been cutting her steak, gave a slight nod. She backed up Jermel’s words.
“If you’ve done something wrong, you should apologize anyway. Even if it wasn’t intentional. Because the victim doesn’t know what the perpetrator was thinking. People can’t understand each other until they speak.”
Rustilla looked at me with warm eyes. It was as if the gentle Mediterranean Sea was reflected in her pupils.
At that moment, I remembered my promise to match words with Sonia.
Keeping that in mind, I spoke.
“I don’t know why, but… I sometimes have outbursts like last time. It can’t be helped, but I wanted to say this here.”
I looked steadily at Jermel and spoke to him with respect.
“I’m sorry about that time.”
I bowed my head, adding that I would be more careful from now on.
Jermel was silent for a while before speaking.
“You’re an interesting person. Apologizing to an android like me.”
“Whether it’s an artificial neural network or neurons, they all operate on the same structure. Why discriminate between people and machines?”
“The one you should apologize to isn’t me, but Lady Rustilla.”
I offered the same apology to Rustilla as well. I told her I was sorry for causing a scene back then. I had said something similar before, but this time I formally bowed my head in front of Jermel.
“Yeah, it’s fine.”
Rustilla accepted it with a short reply.
She was smiling faintly.
Just then, Sonia arrived with the food. She placed a thick rib steak in front of me.
“It was quite expensive. I thought it would be perfect after the written exam.”
“Ah, thanks.”
I picked up my fork as gracefully as possible.
I tried to cut the steak in an elegant manner, but it wasn’t easy. No matter how much I tried to put on airs, my skill level only slightly exceeded the average physics student.
Rustilla chuckled at the sight.
“Want me to help?”
“…Sonia.”
“It would be humiliating. Please handle it yourself, young master.”
“……”
I hadn’t eaten much for lunch either, so my stomach was growling. Part of me wanted to shove the whole thing in my mouth, but that would look undignified.
In the end, I compromised and nodded.
“Here, watch.”
Rustilla took out an extra knife. Her grip alone showed she was an expert. In an instant, she sliced the meat along the grain into bite-sized pieces.
“Whoa.”
“You can’t just cut wherever you see. You have to pay attention to the tendons. Some parts cut easily along the grain, others don’t. Finding the right spots is what matters.”
“You’re amazing.”
At the same time, I wanted to die of embarrassment.
As soon as morning came, Seti and I headed to a nearby training ground. Rustilla and the androids attending her came along as well.
“Coming all the way out here… If some passing bandit were to harm Lady Rustilla, what would we…”
“Do not worry. In that case, this Sonia will handle it.”
Jermel and the other tin cans still seemed concerned about Rustilla’s safety. But after Sonia’s bold declaration, they had no choice but to bring their master outside.
Sonia added, licking her lips as she looked at Jermel,
“The second exam will inevitably require physical exertion. In particular, they’ll evaluate how well you handle a plasma sword. You should train and get a feel for it before the written exam results are announced.”
“That may be true, but the head of the household said it was dangerous…”
“Once you’re out in the world, everyone faces danger. Lady Rustilla’s parents are overly protective of their daughter.”
Well said, Sonia.
I swung the wooden sword we had brought from the family lightly. My body must have stiffened again during that month; I couldn’t get a proper feel for it.
In contrast, the moment Seti grabbed her sword, she traced a clean arc.
“You really can’t hold a sword.”
Seti approached and sneered.
“I learned it as an attribute.”
I replied.
“There’s no talent in this world that blooms without effort. Even if I had talent for handling a sword, it’s only natural I can’t do it well since I haven’t practiced much. I’m prepared to take a penalty in the practical exam for that.”
“Just say you’ve been lazy until now.”
Seti shrugged. I laughed in disbelief.
I had no interest or talent in swordsmanship. My specialty lay in research. I prided myself on thinking more about physics than others and pondering gravitons longer than anyone.
And because of that, I hadn’t paid much attention to other fields. Everyone’s time was equal. Since it couldn’t be evenly distributed across multiple areas, the word “expert” was born.
Everyone lived helping one another with their different qualities and talents.
At the same time, each of those individuals came together to build civilization.
That was how it had been in the past, and it would be the same in the future.
I would do what others couldn’t. I would leave what I couldn’t do to others. That way, we would rely on one another and defeat the Outer Deities.
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Before long, Seti turned her head to look outside the grassy field. There, Rustilla was swinging her wooden sword with a smiling face.
A sound like tearing through the air.
Discipline in every single movement.
She continued her strikes without the slightest deviation, like a taekwondo master performing a form. Anyone who entered the range of that sword path would surely lose their life.
“Rustilla looks happy.”
“Yeah.”
“I heard her parents didn’t allow her to hold a sword until the practical exam content was announced. Sword training is what she loves most in the world.”
“Strange parents.”
“…Tsk, don’t say that.”
I scratched my head. Even when I spoke normally, borrowing Eidel’s mouth made it feel like an insult.
Still.
Still…
“This is a bit unfair, though.”
“I get what you mean. But you still need to be careful for a while. Ha, damn. I was just standing there, and you had to go and…”
Seti frowned, scratching the back of her head vigorously.
Anyway, we couldn’t just stand around talking.
I swung the wooden sword a few times and shouted,
“Anyone want to spar with me?”
At that moment, Rustilla’s eyes sparkled as she turned toward us.
“Me, me…!”
Seti cried out in alarm.
“Hey, do you have a death wish?”
“Why?”
“You don’t know, but that sister’s sword really hurts. One hit and your bones will shatter.”
“We can just control our strength. Or wear protective gear.”
“That’s exactly why it won’t work!”
Listening to Seti, I recalled the novel’s content. It was a massive epic spanning over 1,800 chapters, so I wasn’t entirely sure, but I vaguely remembered descriptions of Rustilla transforming completely when she held a sword.
“There’s a reason I don’t cross swords with Rustilla. Same for you and me—our bones aren’t genetically that sturdy. One wrong move and you’ll be screaming in pain or worse.”
“…Aren’t you exaggerating too much?”
“If you don’t believe me, go try a round with her.”
Seti forcibly pushed me from behind. I sighed repeatedly as I looked back. Seti wore an indifferent expression, while Sonia clicked her tongue.
Come to think of it, I had been beaten to a pulp when I sparred with Sonia.
Yet I had been fine.
More precisely, my recovery had been fast.
I had survived an entire month of sword strikes from a robot stronger than a human, so how could I fall to the sword of a mere sixteen-year-old girl?
That was absurd.
Even if it happened, it would just mean I deserved a failing grade in the practical exam.
Rustilla, seemingly excited, was adjusting her sword blade. Her stance was flawless, with no openings. Facing her, I loosened up lightly and took my position.
“I-I’m really nervous.”
“Why?”
“It’s been so long since I’ve sparred with someone else…”
“……”
“Then… shall we start?”
Well.
…She wouldn’t actually kill me, right?
The moment I thought that, a flash of light rushed toward me.