Chapter 38: The Wager 4
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 38: The Wager 4
In the quiet hours before dawn, when the world was still draped in shadow, she would swing her sword alone in the training grounds.
That had been Johanna Freya’s morning routine for as long as she could remember.
Or rather, it had been until recently.
Lately, Johanna’s routine had shifted. Instead of focusing on her own blade, she found herself secretly watching someone else undergo a grueling, solitary training session.
To catch even a glimpse of him, Johanna—who already woke up hours earlier than most—had begun rising even earlier than usual.
I wonder if he’ll beat me there again today.
Yesterday, Johanna had arrived at the training grounds well before her usual time just to see when Loki actually started, only to find him already mid-run, his breath misting in the cold air.
She was used to heading out when the atmosphere was still biting and frigid, but since she was leaving even earlier now, she threw a light coat over her shoulders before making her way out.
However, as she approached the grounds, she noticed something strange: silence.
Usually, the rhythmic, heavy thud of Loki’s footsteps would reach her ears long before the training site came into view.
Is he not here?
If Loki wasn't there... she would just have to swing her sword alone.
She had always practiced by herself before she started watching him, yet for some reason, the thought now felt strangely disappointing. Her pace, which had been light and expectant, slowed.
I actually had something to say to him, too.
Johanna hadn't been in the cafeteria the previous day when Loki challenged Rophri to a duel. She had only found out that Loki had staked his very presence at the Academy on the match after a member of the Disciplinary Committee informed her.
By the time she had hurried to the Special Class, the school day was over and the room was empty. Since they weren't connected via communication devices, she had no way to reach him.
"Sigh..."
Johanna let out a long, heavy sigh as she stepped onto the training grounds. She didn't even quite understand why she felt so deflated.
"...Oh?"
Contrary to her fears, Loki was there.
Usually, Loki trained in one of two ways: either running endless laps around the perimeter, or using his Innate Magic to create doppelgangers to meticulously correct his posture.
But right now, Loki was doing neither.
He was sitting dead center in the middle of the training grounds, deep in meditation.
Even though he was meditating while wearing that ridiculous Clown’s Mask, he didn't look the least bit silly. In fact, he looked...
Just like Father.
The head of the Freya family, the man hailed as the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman. Her father.
When she was young, she used to watch from the sidelines every time her father took up his blade. To witness the techniques of the Empire’s Greatest Swordsman from such a close distance was an incredible blessing—one that any other swordsman in the world would have killed for.
Her father would often stop in the middle of his practice to meditate. As a child, she hadn't understood the purpose, so she had asked him why he was just sitting there doing nothing.
"Meditation may look unnecessary and easy, but it is both vital and difficult, Johanna. Meditation is the moment when a swordsman lays down the steel in his hand to inspect his inner self. It is the time spent sharpening the sword of the mind."
She hadn't understood those words back then. To her young eyes, it just looked like he was taking a break.
It wasn't until she entered the Academy that she realized how difficult true meditation actually was. More accurately, she realized it after watching other students attempt it.
They sat with their eyes closed just like her father, but it was nothing like his state of being. She couldn't quite put the difference into words, but she knew that what they were doing wasn't meditation—it was just resting while sitting up.
She had tried to meditate on her own after that, but she could never quite grasp what it meant to "sharpen the sword of the mind."
Yet Loki, sitting there in the center of the dirt clearing, overlapped perfectly with the image of her father.
She had been content to watch him from the shadows until now, but this time, curiosity got the better of her.
* * *
"How do you do it?"
A voice drifted toward me while I was centering my breathing and regulating my emotions.
Startled, I snapped my eyes open, only to be even more surprised by the sight in front of me. Johanna was standing right there.
"Senior Johanna!"
Since I was sitting on the ground, Johanna crouched down to meet my eyes.
"How do you do it?" she repeated.
I blinked, bewildered by the sudden question. "I'm sorry, how do I do what?"
"Meditation."
Was what I was doing actually considered meditation? I asked myself, but I didn't really have a grand answer.
"Is what I'm doing really meditation?"
When I threw the question back at her, Johanna opened her mouth as if to explain, but then closed it again, seemingly struggling to find the right words. Then, she shifted the subject to something entirely unexpected.
"You're not running today?"
Today?
"Wait... were you watching me train yesterday, too?"
Johanna nodded silently.
"Ugh, that's embarrassing."
I honestly thought no one was around because I trained so early and finished before the other students even stirred. My training wasn't exactly "cool" or flashy, so I felt a bit self-conscious knowing I had an audience.
"It was impressive."
Johanna reached out and gave my head a few light, rhythmic pats, as if she were praising a puppy for a job well done. It was a bit patronizing, but it didn't feel bad, so I just let her. To be honest, it actually felt quite nice.
"I heard you challenged someone to a duel with your expulsion on the line?" Johanna asked, her hand still resting on my head.
I didn't move to pull away. "That's just how things turned out."
In truth, it had been my plan from the start. The only thing that had changed was the timeline; the duel was happening much sooner than I had anticipated. Even if that Vermin hadn't picked a fight, I would have found a way to get him expelled eventually.
"Is there a reason you're going that far?"
The reason I was going to such lengths to ruin that Vermin...
"Of course there's a reason."
"And what is it?"
I put my index finger to the lips of my mask. I couldn't see my own face, but I imagined my expression was grim. The mask was a blessing at times like this; it hid the darkness in my eyes.
"That's a secret."
How could I possibly tell her the truth?
That in the future, she would die because of that Vermin's incompetence and cowardice. That I had spent ten years of my life trying to prevent that exact outcome. That even after dedicating a decade to the cause, I still hadn't been able to save her. That even though it was just a "game" back then, I had grieved for her with everything I had.
I couldn't say a word of it.
Of course, the Vermin wouldn't be the one to kill Johanna directly—he didn't have a fraction of the skill required for that. But the fact that his actions led to her death remained unchanged. To prevent that future, I had to either kill him or kick him out of the Academy.
"Then why aren't you running today?"
I felt like she might get sulky if I gave her the "secret" line again, so I decided to offer a small hint.
"Because stamina isn't the most important thing right now."
The reason I was meditating instead of running or practicing my Innate Magic was simple. While my physical endurance was lacking, emotional control was the priority.
Back in the cafeteria, my original personality—the one I usually keep buried deep inside—had started to slip out. If that side of me took over during the duel, I might actually end up killing that Vermin.
Not that I cared whether he lived or died, but I still had a lot of work to do at the Academy, and a murder charge would complicate things.
"If you lose, I'll help you become a knight of the Freya family."
To avoid any misunderstanding like the last time she had asked if he wanted to "join her family," Johanna clarified that it would be a formal position within the house.
By the way, Johanna still hadn't taken her hand off my head. In fact, she was now gently stroking my hair.
"I'm not going to lose, so there's zero chance of me becoming a knight for your family."
Come to think of it, Johanna was offering a knighthood, Yerika wanted me as her personal jester, and the Emperor himself had said he would take me in. These were positions that others would spend their entire lives striving for... and I was being offered them on a silver platter if I just failed and got expelled.
If the other students knew, they'd probably tear me apart out of pure jealousy.
When I told her there was no chance of me becoming her knight, Johanna’s expression soured. Even so, she didn't pull her hand away. Instead, the pressure of her stroking my hair became a bit firmer, almost insistent.
"Senior, your coat is pretty."
"......Ah."
I said it to lighten the mood, but Johanna seemed to remember something and reached into her coat pocket. The hand that wasn't in her pocket was still busy petting my head.
"Take this."
After rummaging for a moment, Johanna pulled out a communication device and handed it to me.
"What is this?"
"A communication device."
I had asked to understand the intent behind the gift, but Johanna seemed to think I literally didn't recognize the technology. I suppose it made sense; not many commoners would have ever seen a high-end communication device.
"I'll be going now."
After thrusting the device into my hand, Johanna hurried away, her face tinged with a slight flush.
"Sen—Senior!"
I called out to her quickly because I had something to tell her. But whether she didn't hear me or was intentionally ignoring me, Johanna didn't stop. She practically bolted out of the training grounds.
"I already have a communication device..."
My words, now lacking an audience, echoed uselessly through the empty grounds.
I pulled the communication device I had received from Yerika out of my Pocket Dimension. And so, I stood there in the morning light—with Yerika’s device in my left hand and Johanna’s in my right.