Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: How Can Someone Be This Pure?
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Seeing Cheon-seong about to stop the two, Glacia instinctively grabbed his arm.
Suddenly.
Seeing Cheon-seong flinch in surprise, Glacia awkwardly let go.
“...”
Even as she let go... a clear dissatisfaction welled up inside her.
Today was supposed to be the day. The day Han Cheon-seong had promised to spend with me. But to suddenly have others join us would diminish the meaning of my efforts to be with him.
There was a clear difference between being alone together and spending time in a group.
The time to talk with him would naturally decrease, and his attention would be divided. As a result, the time I had to understand Han Cheon-seong would be drastically reduced.
So why did Han Cheon-seong arbitrarily decide to be with other people?
My refusal just moments ago felt perfectly reasonable.
I had received a promise from him, and we were supposed to be together today. There was no need to feel ashamed or embarrassed about my actions.
“Glacia. Are you... angry?”
At his cautious question, she blinked.
“Why do you think I'm angry?”
“Well, your expression looks that way right now.”
“Do I look that way?”
“Yeah. You look really angry.”
At his words, she unconsciously touched her face.
...She didn't know what kind of expression she was making, but it was surely one of dissatisfaction.
She was the type whose thoughts showed on her face. She nodded without hesitation.
“To be honest, I am a little angry.”
“What exactly... made you angry?”
He asked as if he had no idea. Seeing him, she couldn't help but wonder if she was the strange one.
Had she done something Han Cheon-seong couldn't understand? It didn't feel that way to her.
After all, he was the one who had promised her last night. He was the one who had readily agreed to spend the day with her. It was all him.
So, she didn't think her demand to be with him was unreasonable.
Yet she didn't understand why she had to feel like she'd done something wrong.
“Glacia. I thought it would be better to train with Leonhardt and Yumia. They're both exceptional.”
As he calmly explained his thoughts, she found herself nodding unconsciously.
She could agree with that.
Those two were among the top contenders in Class A1. Leonhardt, the top student, was a given, but even Yumia was more skilled than one might think.
“That's true.”
“...It's not about whether it's true or not. I want you to explain it to me properly. Why my actions just now upset you.”
At his calm question, her eyes met his.
"..."
His distinctive black eyes didn't seem angry, nor were they prying.
They were just... calm.
“...”
She hesitated for a moment, a strange feeling washing over her.
Come to think of it, Han Cheon-seong was quite different from others. He remained calm and composed at her words, simply asking for the reason.
Even when taken aback, he didn't try to ignore her. Even when with her, he didn't get upset by her attitude.
Everything about him, from top to bottom, felt different.
“You need to tell me properly so I can avoid doing things that upset you in the future. Let me say this first, I'm not asking with any other intentions.”
At his explanatory words... she found herself nodding unconsciously.
That's how it felt to her, too.
“Because you said you wanted to be with other people too.”
“...Because?”
“It upset me.”
She conveyed her feelings exactly as she felt them.
Seeing Han Cheon-seong freeze at her words, she knew, to some extent, that what she said was strange.
But she couldn't express it any other way.
Directly conveying the emotion of the moment to the other person.
That's what her sister had told her.
*—If you show your true feelings, the person listening will surely accept them.*
That it was better to treat others with sincerity than to try and deceive them by beating around the bush.
So that's how she had always treated people.
“So. To put it simply... I said I'd spend time with you. But then I said I'd spend time with other people too, and that upset you. Is that right?”
He broke it down slowly. His understanding was surprisingly accurate.
There might be other feelings in the details, but that was the gist of it.
After all the effort she'd put into getting this time with Han Cheon-seong, why should others get to spend time with him for free?
And why were they trying to interfere with her time with him?
It would surely take a very long time for her to understand Han Cheon-seong.
Even now, she didn't know how much time she'd have to invest to understand him... and being with others would undoubtedly prolong that process.
“......”
Was her answer that shocking to Han Cheon-seong? He looked at her and then moved stiffly, prompting her to ask.
“Han Cheon-seong... Do you hate me for being like this?”
Would Han Cheon-seong hate her like everyone else?
The question slipped out. The eyes of all those people who had pretended it was fine, pretended they didn't mind, but had clearly avoided her, came to mind.
Their gazes, as if she were strange. As if something wasn't normal about her.
So she had naturally started to distance herself from people who looked at her that way.
And at some point, she became reluctant to approach people at all.
She didn't want to approach them just to be rejected. She didn't want to receive those kinds of looks.
Even if she showed her true feelings... if they still avoided her, there was no reason for her to approach them.
And now, Han Cheon-seong too….
“No. I don't hate you for being like that.”
“...You don't hate me?”
“Of course, what you say is surprising, but I know it's all sincere. It's a strange feeling to hear it, but... I can't say that you're wrong for being that way.”
As he spoke with a faint smile, her gaze unconsciously fixed on it, dazed.
'He doesn't hate me. He can't say I'm wrong for being like this….'
It was the first time.
Anyone had ever said that to her….
And again, she felt that Han Cheon-seong was different from others.
He was definitely different somehow.
She didn't know in what ways he was different from others.
But he was certainly different. Beyond his extraordinary talent and mental fortitude... he felt fundamentally different.
“Well then, Glacia. Let's go train. You asked me to watch you, didn't you?"
He asked so lightly, as if everything was fine now.
She nodded blankly and opened her mouth.
“...I did.”
*Click.*
As she walked toward her training spot, she felt strange.
A sense of relief at Han Cheon-seong's attitude.
And at the same time, she felt a great sense of frustration.
Because even in this moment….
She couldn't understand the man named Han Cheon-seong at all.
...In fact, it felt like the closer she got to him, the less she understood.
***
—Purity.
It is often said that the purity of children shines because it is untainted.
Some believed the word 'purity' itself held meaning, as just looking at pure children seemed to wash away one's own filth.
Because children were seen as beings who expressed their feelings honestly, reflecting good and bad without calculation.
And Cheon-seong had never been particularly fond of children.
‘Just because they're a child doesn't mean they're all pure.’
He felt that as times changed, the purity of children had become sullied.
There were often times when he looked at young children and thought they were cunning, or wondered if their actions were truly born of innocence.
So he contemplated the essence of the word 'purity' itself, rather than simply equating children with it.
And now.
I was truly feeling the essence of that word.
“...”
“...”
There was no conversation between them as they walked.
But it didn't feel uncomfortable.
I understood why Glacia spoke the way she did, and I could feel the sincerity in her words.
A sincerity I rarely felt even when talking to children struck me so powerfully when talking to Glacia, it was as if it were beating against my chest. In fact, it made me acknowledge her.
That a person could be this pure, even as an adult.
It was a different kind of purity from what I had sensed from her last night.
...How clean a person who genuinely reflects themselves can appear.
It had a kind of magic that momentarily stopped the other person from having any other thoughts.
I instinctively felt that I shouldn't respond with lies. That I shouldn't hurt her.
So now, my heart was filled with a sense of understanding, a feeling of, *'Of course Glacia would be like this.'*
‘It was very surprising.’
The look in Glacia's eyes from a moment ago came to mind.
For a brief moment, I had seen the fear, anxiety, and worry in the eyes of Glacia, who always seemed to speak so calmly and confidently.
When Glacia asked if I hated her, for a second, I was speechless.
I had clearly felt something strange about her way of speaking, and I couldn't even count how many times her words had flustered me.
Just a little while ago, I was quite taken aback by Glacia blurting out words that Leonhardt and Yumia could easily misunderstand.
But now.
Her reaction to my persistent questions struck my heart as yet another shock.
It wasn't that Glacia was unaware of her way of speaking.
She knew that her manner of speech could sound strange to others.
And yet, she deliberately chose to speak that way.
I was sure of it, remembering how calmly and composedly she spoke in front of high-ranking people like the instructors.
She was doing it on purpose.
When she was with someone she felt she could get along with, she unreservedly revealed her true self.
An attitude of purely and honestly conveying her feelings of the moment to the other person.
Could I... really say that was wrong?
‘How could I say that?’
She was purer than anyone I had ever met... To the point that I felt sorry for not being able to answer her right away.
*Click.*
Arriving at the training ground, Glacia gently drew her sword from its sheath.
A simple iron sword, unadorned and plain.
“Well then, Han Cheon-seong. I want you to watch me and give me your honest opinion.”
“...Yeah. Alright.”
As Glacia made her calm request, I pushed aside my thoughts and nodded.
Although she was about to wield a sword, what Glacia wanted wasn't an opinion on her swordsmanship itself.
It was about whether there were any superfluous or lacking aspects in her movements as she manifested her trait through the sword.
I should be able to tell that much just by watching.
*Step.*
I stood at a certain distance from her, watching from the side, as Glacia slowly steadied her breathing.
The sound of her faint breaths had barely registered when Glacia kicked off the ground and launched herself forward.
As I focused on her, I was greatly surprised.
*Whoosh—!*
A fierce gale instantly engulfed the area.
Within that gale, Glacia moved as if she were floating lightly.
*Swish—! Whoosh—!*
With just a light swing of her sword, she struck the target scarecrow with intense force.
She was completely surpassing my expectations.
"......."
A bright light was now enveloping Glacia's form.
A brilliant, bright blue light that seemed to capture all eyes—it was definitely not mana.
The precursor known as the Light of Blessing…….
was now clearly dwelling within her body.