The Fruits of Effort (1)
It was a peaceful afternoon. Iselina gazed out the window, elegantly tilting her teacup. Despite her hectic duties as the head of a trading company, the view beyond the glass brought a satisfied smile to her lips.
Iselina asked in a gentle voice, “How are they doing, the two of them?”
“Both are growing steadily.” The reply came from Melissa, seated across from her. Melissa, too, quietly watched the scene outside. “Lady Selena needs no mention, of course, but Lord Ruines is also making daily progress toward discovering his own sword. I believe the family head has little cause for worry.”
“That’s a relief. Still… Rui, that boy…”
Iselina’s gaze settled on a certain youth. The days when he had swung his sword in constant agony felt like only yesterday, yet now he carried himself with genuine vitality. It was a heartening sight. Even the girl beside him seemed noticeably brighter.
Which was precisely why Iselina worried all the more.
“Do you think Ruines can truly become a knight?”
“That will depend on Lord Ruines himself, but I do not believe it is impossible.”
“Regardless of gender?”
“Correct.”
Iselina swallowed the words then I’m glad along with a sip of warm tea. Ruines’s heartbreaking dedication was a sight painful even for her to witness—both as the head of House Ribein and simply as a woman.
“That person must surely…”
“……”
Iselina smiled bitterly and raised her teacup once more, slowly savoring the old memories that rose to the surface.
Quite some time had passed since then. Selena and I had entered our teenage years. We had both begun learning the sword in earnest. I’d lost count of how many wooden practice swords we’d shattered during our sparring matches.
Crack!
Ah. There went another one.
“Rui. Focus.”
“I am focusing, but…”
If focus alone could bridge the gap, I would have done it long ago. The overwhelming difference between Selena and me—no, even if I could close it by a handspan…! That was roughly the gap that had claimed yet another innocent wooden sword today.
The scene looked no different from our childhood, and the realization drew a bitter smile from me. Still, I could clearly feel that I had grown just as much as Selena in my own way.
“Selena’s simply too strong.”
“It’s the proof of effort.”
“……”
And on top of that, she possessed the wings of talent. No wonder. Selena seemed to have taken the former royal knight Melissa as her nourishment; in terms of pure skill, she was like a flower bud on the verge of blooming. She had mastered not only the fundamental swordsmanship taught to all royal knights, but—thanks to the trading company’s wealth—had thoroughly absorbed countless manuals and texts as well.
Yet even that wasn’t enough for Selena. Through her mentor Melissa, she had perfectly grasped how to imbue her blade with spirit—in other words, how to wield aura.
“You’re really not going to learn this properly?”
“Huh? Oh, uh…”
Shing! Selena wrapped her wooden sword in aura. A thin, membrane-like layer coiled around the blade. She gave it a few sharp swings, slicing falling leaves into clean halves.
“Huu.” A small sigh escaped her. Even for Selena, using aura seemed to carry considerable strain.
“Stop being so stubborn. Why don’t you learn a little from me or Lady Melissa already?”
“…I’m already learning plenty.”
“Hmm.”
Selena stared straight into my eyes. Then she let out a sigh and spoke with a touch of bitterness.
“You’ve mastered swordsmanship better than I have, yet…”
I flinched. After all, ever since coming to the mansion I had practically lived with sword manuals in my hands. I had also received plenty of guidance through sparring with both Selena and Melissa.
But aura—or mana, rather—could not be used without receiving the goddess’s gift. The blessing known as talent.
“Well, I suppose no one can do everything.”
“Don’t give up.”
“Yeah.”
To become a true knight, sensing mana and wielding aura were essential. No matter how sharp one’s Gigaam might be, what good was it in the face of an aura that could split stone?
So I trotted over and called out.
“Master Hilde!”
“Hm?”
Hilde had spent quite a long time in the forest. Even she seemed to have grown tired of sleeping outdoors, so she had pitched a small tent. It was surprisingly well-made, fitting for a former knight-captain. For meals she hunted game, gathered fruit and mushrooms, or fished whenever she had the chance.
“……”
“What’s with that look? So pitiful.”
“I’ll bring you a lunchbox next time.”
“Oh. As expected of my disciple. Your skills improve by the day, so I can rest easy.”
Only at moments like this did she call me her disciple instead of “kid.” I let out a small laugh and continued.
“But I’m only a half-pint who can’t use mana.”
“Even a half-pint can become a knight. What comes after is what matters.”
“…Is that so.”
“Mana, aura—those are nothing but cards in a deck. Kid, you already hold your own cards, don’t you?”
“Hmm.”
I thought it over carefully. I hadn’t missed a single day of physical training, so my stamina was solid. Thanks to Hilde’s brutally harsh training regimen, my Gigaam had improved noticeably. The sword techniques I had absorbed like a sponge while moving between the mansion and the forest were neatly stacked inside my head. Digesting them all with my body was still a challenge, but…
“It does feel like I’m holding three or so.”
“That’s plenty. There are knights who spent their entire lives polishing a single card.”
“Really?”
“Of course, that person also received the goddess’s ‘blessing.’”
“Ah.”
I’d gotten my hopes up for nothing. When I unconsciously pouted, Hilde chuckled.
“That sort of… Well, even so, it’s not exactly ‘that sort of.’ Anyway, are you going to give up immediately just because you lack such a blessing? I didn’t teach you to be that weak.”
“Actually, you haven’t really taught me properly—”
“Ahem. Tsk. It’s all out of this master’s affection.”
Hilde had mostly watched me groan through training with amusement. Of course, she had still given me a fair amount of real instruction, so my grumbling was nothing more than the cute complaints of her beloved disciple.
“I have no intention of giving up.”
“Good. Then follow me. I’ve found the perfect training material.”
“Huh?”
Wondering what she meant, I looked at Hilde. She grinned while staring into the forest, where deep darkness had settled.
….
“Lately, ominous rumors have been spreading through the village, haven’t they?”
“Ominous rumors? Like crops being devoured by wild beasts, or disaster because the rain won’t come, or warnings not to approach the forest because it’s dangerous…”
“It seems that dangerous matter is about to occur.”
Her voice rang with certainty. I swallowed hard and scanned the forest, which felt different from usual.
“Kid.”
“Whoa!”
Thud! Hilde tossed the sword from her waist toward me. I caught it reflexively with both hands. It was a sword—the very one Hilde wielded as freely as her own limbs. In other words, her cherished blade. Though for something so precious, it lacked any ornamentation and looked rather crude.
Hilde placed it firmly in my hands and spoke with solemn eyes.
“Draw it.”
“……”
Shiiing! The sound was so sharp it sent a shiver through me. Simply drawing the blade raised goosebumps across my skin. Hilde could swing it effortlessly with one hand, but with my inferior height and strength, I could only manage it with both.
Hilde watched me struggle with both hands on the hilt, once again clearly entertained.
“That is the weight of a sword.”
“Ugh… it’s damn heavy.”
“Puhuhu. Heavy or not, hold it properly. We’ll have use for it today.”
“?”
With those words, Hilde spun and strode into the forest. The only things she carried were a few crude torches. She pushed forward without hesitation through the deep woods where even moonlight could not reach. Flustered, I simply followed her back.
“Master, what exactly is going on?”
“Sight, smell, sound, instinct—anything. Do you sense anything strange nearby?”
“Ugh. Give me a moment.”
I focused. No matter how eccentric she was, Master Hilde never spoke without reason.
“Huuup.” I breathed slowly and closed my eyes. First I concentrated on my hearing… but there wasn’t much. Just the sounds of insects. The smells were nothing but thick grass. As for instinct? With my eyes closed, I couldn’t even tell whether I was sensing anything.
In the end I opened my eyes and slowly scanned the surroundings—
“Ah.”
“You see it?”
“Yes, over there.”
A blurry shape in the darkness. It looked like a four-legged beast. It felt similar to when I focused my Gigaam to read Selena’s or Hilde’s aura. The distance… wasn’t far.
I met Hilde’s eyes and nodded.
Swish!
An unknown anxiety washed over me at the same moment.
“Kyaaaaah!”
A piercing scream tore through the trees ahead. Hilde and I kicked off the ground and raced toward the sound. When we arrived—
Grrrrr…
“R-run! No—please save me!”
A massive gray bear. And a woman collapsed after being attacked by it. I recognized her; I’d seen her several times in the village. She seemed close with Eila. I believe she was the blacksmith girl. I remembered her because she always broke into a bright smile whenever I passed the forge.
“Master?”
“Hehe. Yes. Where else could there be a more ‘knight-like’ moment than this?”
“……!”
Hilde crossed her arms and leaned against a nearby tree, as if she intended to watch exactly how I would respond. In truth, it also looked like she was simply enjoying an interesting show.
I narrowed my eyes at her, then immediately charged toward the gray bear.