The Sword Saint's Delusion Circuit
Duke Ilaya Cruel, the Sword Saint whose delusion circuit ran rampant through the Cruel family, had been sighing more often these days. It was all because he had misjudged Edga Fix's true value and carelessly let slip that he would take the boy in as nothing more than a male consort for his daughter.
'That young man possesses value far beyond a mere count's house…'
At first, Ilaya had seen him as nothing more than a remarkably talented commoner. Martial prowess, eloquence, situational judgment, political acumen, and worldly wisdom—he was a hexagonal prodigy who compensated for his humble birth with sheer ability in every category. That was why Ilaya had planned to bring him into the family as Enya's male consort. With the boy's talents and wisdom supporting her, the Cruel house would undoubtedly rise as the empire's undisputed strongest power.
'No. That boy has the power to move the entire empire.'
But Ed was on another level entirely. He possessed such staggering potential that he could establish an entirely new noble house. The latest proof was the invitation from the dwarves. That stubborn, grudge-holding, narrow-minded race had shown interest in Ed even amid the cold war and sent him an invitation to their exclusive festival, the Iron Hammer Exhibition.
'He has the united kingdoms moving at his whim. All because of one person.'
It was an astonishing feat. The diplomatic relations and foreign policy between nations could shift because of a single individual.
'A whole new market is forming around him, too.'
Moreover, the creation of that incredible invention called Graham's Northern Wind had birthed an entirely new industry. To supply the device across the empire, mass production systems were being established, and the empire's forges—which had been mired in recession—were suddenly bustling with activity. In other words, the boy's creation was generating jobs and circulating the economy.
“How foolish I was. It seems the Grand Mage and Her Highness didn't take him in for nothing.”
As expected of the Grand Mage and the imperial family. Ilaya let out a sigh of admiration for the keen eyes that had recognized the boy's talent so early. He had always prided himself on his ability to read people and grasp the flow of the times, rivaling any strategist, yet now he saw it had all been nothing but arrogance.
“I wonder if our daughter is doing well…”
Given the situation, the Sword Saint had no choice but to rely on his daughter. As both the head of the Cruel family and a Sword Saint, it would be beneath his dignity to call the boy back and suddenly change his tune. The only remaining option was for Enya, who already held feelings for him, to win his heart and naturally invite him into their home. Only then could Ilaya naturally apologize for the past and propose that the boy become not a consort, but a proper son-in-law.
'For that to happen, she must be selected for this dwarf delegation no matter what…'
The dwarf delegation. An incredible opportunity for young men and women to spend a full seven days together in a foreign land! No matter how politically seasoned Ed was, he was still a teenager at heart. Where the spark of his affection might fly was anyone's guess until it happened.
'I'm sure the other houses have already given their own instructions…'
Any family head with half a brain would have ordered their daughters to secure a spot in the delegation, win Edga Fix's heart, and leave a strong impression in this diplomatic matter involving the imperial family. The absurdly high competition—with nearly the entire student body participating—was proof enough that such orders had been issued. They would have commanded the same even if they had sons, ordering them to build a friendly relationship with Ed.
'Enya… you must be selected.'
The number of rivals was growing. With the boy's value skyrocketing, Enya absolutely had to ride that upward momentum.
“If it's our Enya… she will definitely be chosen.”
Ilaya allowed himself a faint smile of satisfaction. He had given his daughter a special tip for this selection process. If she had trained it well, she would surely pass the dwarf delegation test!
'If our Enya is chosen for this delegation…'
The moment he imagined his daughter being selected, a full-blown delusion took shape in Ilaya's mind. After the expedition ended, she would come to him with news that she and the boy had begun seeing each other. He would then invite them both, express his full support for their relationship, and build goodwill by showing his approachable side even to a commoner. After that, he would simply need to keep the pests trying to interfere in check…
'Father-in-law.'
“Kuhahahahahahaha!!”
He would become the boy's father-in-law. He would take an unprecedented genius—the likes of which had never been seen in imperial history—as his son-in-law. If that happened, the other grand dukes would beat the ground in envy and regret.
“Just wait, son-in-law Ed. If you join our family, there will be so much I can do for you…”
What had begun as regret spiraled outward into pure fantasy. In his mind, he was already picturing himself and Ed, both drunk, arms around each other's shoulders as they danced. With his refined manners and nobility, the boy would surely become not only a fine son-in-law but a good friend as well.
“You’re eliminated.”
Enya’s pupils dilated dramatically. Her heart plummeted, and her entire body froze on the spot like a statue that had met Medusa’s gaze. It was because Ed’s casually spoken words had just pierced straight through her eardrums.
“Hoo—ha. Hoo—ha.”
But she couldn’t freeze up here. Enya took deep breaths, forcing her thundering heart to calm down. The person Ed had declared eliminated was candidate number 97. Not her—number 98.
“Number 98, please enter.”
The moment her number was called, however, the tension she had barely suppressed began creeping back up. And when she stepped into the examination room and saw the face of Ed—the boy she secretly loved—her heart, which she had just calmed, began racing like a runaway locomotive.
Her heart was pounding so hard she could actually feel her face flushing in real time.
“Candidate number 98, please introduce yourself.”
So when it was time for her self-introduction, Enya couldn’t deliver the lines she had practiced so diligently. Instead, she spouted something so incoherent it was like a narration glitching from severe buffering—completely unreadable and devoid of context.
“I-I-I’m… the o-only daughter… of the Cruel family… E-Enya…”
It felt like her brain had broken down. She kept vomiting out meaningless words without even knowing what she was saying. Why was she so nervous? Her feelings for Ed had grown far too large, and the distractions were devouring her thoughts. Even now, just looking at his face, she was having useless thoughts like He’s so handsome, it’s wonderful.
“……”
After her self-introduction ended, the expressions of Her Highness the Princess and the Grand Mage had turned icy. Even Ed was looking at her with pity in his eyes. The world began to spin.
N-No, this can’t happen… At this rate, I’ll fail.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. This wasn’t who she was. Normally, as the greatest beauty and swordsmanship genius of the Cruel territory, she stood in a position of constant admiration. Confidence was her default state. She always spoke directly, her eyes clear with conviction. Boys her age could only look up at her and nervously try to strike up conversation.
Yet here I am… like this.
But the moment she truly fell for someone, she had broken down completely. Every night she indulged in improper fantasies of holding his hand and sharing kisses, then hugged her pillow to soothe her longing like some pathetic creature.
I’m no different from those pathetic girls I used to look down on…
She had become exactly like those delusional girls who fell into one-sided crushes on the princes in stories. Instead of honing themselves, they only indulged in fantasies.
Now I’ve become…
Now she was no different from them. While reality kept slipping further away, her mind was still unfolding fantasies of a future with him. Even now, his lips filled her vision, overlapping with the image of herself passionately kissing him.
“S-So… the reason I applied was… um, various… introductions? That is, the empire’s…”
It was hopeless. Desire had completely swallowed reason. The intense craving to possess Ed kept generating bizarre delusions that scrambled her thoughts. Her once-clear, sharp eyes were now hazy and spinning. Her confident face had turned bright red and was melting into a daze.
Even Enya was not immune to becoming a complete loser in front of the person she liked.
I’m… going to fail…
Elena and the princess’s expressions were frigid. Ed was scratching his head with a skeptical look. Yet at this point, where passing seemed increasingly impossible, Enya’s delusions only ran even more wildly out of control.
I-It’s fine… Even if I fail here, I-I’m… the closest to Ed…
Her basis for this was that she was Ed’s closest friend. Besides, the delegation was only a week long, and the chances of anything major happening in a week were low. It might actually be a better strategy to be the first one to comfort him after the long, exhausting journey. Her family had developed advanced therapeutic massage techniques for relieving physical fatigue. If she used those to ease Ed’s body, she could earn far more favor than some silly delegation ever could.
And if their bodies touched during the process and he felt the same desires she did, perhaps those indecent fantasies could become reality.
I should hurry back to the dormitory…
She wanted to end this ruined interview quickly and return to the dormitory to continue her delusions. She would rub her body all over her pillow and imagine scenarios starting with a “lucky pervert moment during therapeutic massage” that led to all sorts of indecent acts.
Y-Yeah…! While Ed is away… using the pillow from his room would feel even better…
She had even progressed to the dark fantasy of sneaking into his dormitory while he was gone and hugging his pillow. It was right then that Elena asked the final question.
“…Please explain why you must be selected.”
Why she must be selected? There was no such reason anymore. Since the interview was already ruined, she should just hurry back to the dormitory, hug a pillow, and soothe this sense of loss…
—The will of humanity. The human will that seeks order.
But suddenly, something Ed had once said pierced through her mind. Using that voice as a catalyst, the conversation they had shared began resurfacing. It was a casual exchange that had taken place in his laboratory some time ago.
—Ed, what are all these records?
—Hm?
—These densely written notes organized by date. What kind of records are they?
The countless records floating on the screen. In her memory, she had asked about the ones covered in X marks. Then Ed, who had approached her side at some point, gave a small chuckle and answered.
—Ah, these. They’re records of experimental results.
—…Experimental results?
…But they’re all failures?
—Yeah. They all failed. It’s a rather difficult subject.
His answer had been unexpected. The boy who always seemed to succeed had calmly spoken about his failures. How hard must it have been to hide so many failures? She had felt sorry for him.
—…It must have been really tough. Recording all this seems painful.
—Hm… Not really? It’s only natural.
Once again, his answer was beyond her expectations. Failure was surely something one would want to forget quickly—an unpleasant memory—yet he treated it as something completely natural.
Enya had asked him why.
—Natural? To write down your failures?
—Yeah. Engineering is a science, after all. You have to accept failure and record it to increase the probability of success. Even if it failed, it’s valuable data.
Valuable data even in failure. The moment she heard that answer, Enya felt she could somewhat understand why Ed was such an extraordinary person. He didn’t treat failure as a dark part of his history. He fully accepted it, recorded it accurately, and used it as fertilizer for future success.
—That’s amazing. I found it so hard to accept my own failures.
In contrast, she had denied reality. Because she had always been praised as a swordsmanship genius, she couldn’t easily accept the wall called Battoujutsu when she first encountered it.
—…Well, I get angry too when the expected result doesn’t appear. But if you distort or erase the results because of that, it becomes difficult to measure the correct values. Interpreting things however you like and forcing the numbers to fit isn’t science. That’s why truthfulness is more important than anything in what I do.
The value Ed considered most important was truthfulness—accurately measuring and recording phenomena to use as nourishment for the next attempt.
What am I doing right now?
But in the present, she had completely forgotten that realization and was running away from reality. The moment she thought the interview was ruined, she had fallen into dark desires of indulging in romantic fantasies with Ed and secretly sneaking into his dormitory.
Let’s stop turning away from the truth.
Enya began to see the reality before her clearly. She had shown a pathetic side until now, and if things continued like this, the distance between them would only grow wider. That was an undeniable fact. So now, instead of thinking about what she wanted, she began thinking about what she needed to do.
Becoming the person Ed needed. Before anything else, she needed to become someone she wouldn’t be ashamed to stand beside.
“The reason I must be selected for this position…”
With a clear mind, Enya began to speak. Her previously hazy, spinning eyes regained their sharp focus. Her bright red, melting face returned to a resolute expression. The heat that had been concentrated in her chest and lower body spread evenly throughout her entire being as she began to explain why she was necessary.
The corners of Ed’s mouth, which had been stiff the entire time, slowly rose.
The team had gained one more member. Enya Cruel. Although her self-introduction and reason for applying had been a complete mess, she had succeeded in persuasively explaining why she was absolutely necessary for the delegation. She was undoubtedly someone who would bring definite benefits if brought along.
She was impressive.
The truth is, I had been planning to fail her. Her Highness and Elena, who had been watching her with stiff expressions the entire time, probably felt the same. But Enya managed to completely reverse the chilled atmosphere. She pulled out a massive block of marble and began to demonstrate the sword dance she had prepared.
Swish.
The reversal began the moment she gripped her sword. The blade pointed toward the ground as silence lingered for a long moment. Then Enya took a breath, opened her closed eyes, and began to move. It looked like a dance. Soft, fluid motions—one of the Cruel family’s signature forms. It was Enya’s innate talent itself. Its beauty was enough to take one’s breath away.
The imaginary opponent was evenly matched with Enya. They exchanged sword strikes as if dancing. It was like a great white serpent trying to coil around her while a white tiger dodged nimbly, looking for an opening to attack. This too was one of the Cruel family’s advanced sword techniques. The precise body movements added depth to the martial art.
Slash!
Finally, the victor was decided. The white serpent that had tried to constrict the white tiger’s torso was torn to shreds. That serpent had been the marble Enya had cut. The moment she performed her sword dance, the white marble had transformed into a giant white serpent. Her sword dance had been so mesmerizing it created such an illusion.
Whish, whish, whish, whish.
Enya then spun her sword with practiced ease. As if flicking off an opponent’s blood, the blade spun several times through the air at high speed. In that state, she sheathed it. The sword slid smoothly back into its scabbard like flowing water.
Rumble…
At the same time, the marble Enya had cut began to crumble. But the peeled marble took the shape of a dwarf. Iron Hammer. It depicted Gretun Dagreon, the progenitor of the Dwarf Kingdom and the god of blacksmiths, standing with his Iron Hammer raised. It perfectly captured his living majesty.
“……”
We were frozen in place. This was the talent Enya had abandoned in her obsession with Battoujutsu. No wonder Ilaya had wailed at her to give up that damn sword-drawing technique.
“…You pass.”
But I already knew. Enya’s Battoujutsu would one day reach this same realm. When that time came, just like today when everyone had been captivated by her sword dance, they would all realize the beauty of a single strike that poured everything into it.