The Line
That night, as I was resting idly, that elf came to find me.
Not the flying elf, but the one who had come first.
The one with slightly short ears and a normally pretty face.
As soon as she arrived, she bowed deeply and introduced herself.
"I am Cien, the disciple of Lady Luniere."
No wonder she had entered with books floating beside her.
So she was a disciple.
"I will keep that in mind."
Having introduced herself as Cien, she proceeded to resolve the biggest questions I had.
The Heart Demon.
"It is a comprehensive term for the mental damage that occurs during or after failing a realm breakthrough. In your case, Lord Eisenhardt, it manifested as a loss of memory and self. The shared opinion of my master and myself is that when you lost your memories, the Heart Demon vanished along with them."
The Grand Council.
"It is an assembly held once every four months. All nobles of Count rank and above, as well as high-ranking officials, must attend. Therefore, as the Commander of the Imperial Knights, you are also expected to participate, Lord Eisenhardt."
"Then, giving me a week means..."
"Yes. Within that time, you must return to the way you were before. At least in appearance."
"Is there something I must do there?"
"There are no official duties. You may consider it as simply filling a seat, but you must prepare for any unforeseen circumstances."
Saying so, Cien lined up the floating books in front of me.
The History of Aurium, 10 Essential Liberal Arts for Nobles, What is a Knight's Honor, and so on. The titles made their intentions painfully obvious.
"This is what I will be teaching you over the next week."
After that, it was a real class.
The first thing I learned was history.
I listened intently at first, but gradually, other thoughts began to fill my head.
So, what is my name?
I knew very well that my last name was Eisenhardt, but what about my first name?
It was one of the things I was most curious about right now.
I should have asked earlier.
"And so, under the leadership of the first Emperor..."
Honestly, I wasn't that curious about this kind of history.
No, it was interesting, but my mind was so focused elsewhere that it just wasn't sinking in.
I was listening because the Emperor ordered it, but I wished someone would tell me my name first.
I thought about just asking, but... it wasn't that easy.
"Ultimately, the allied kingdoms united to fend off the disaster of the east, and that was the beginning of the Aurium Empire."
Cutting her off in the middle of a passionate explanation to talk about something else? Not easy.
Especially when that person was a beautiful girl breaking out in a cold sweat.
Since she was working so hard, I should just listen quietly.
I could always ask... Moritz about my name later.
If I'm really curious, I can ask after this is ov—
"Then, I will stop here for today and take my leave."
Already?
"Understood."
She bowed deeply in response.
She didn't even give me a chance to ask...
I had no choice but to nod, and she vanished without a single moment of hesitation.
Was it just my imagination that she seemed to be fleeing in a hurry?
I smacked my lips and lay down on the bed.
Night had already fallen.
Of course, there were no windows in the room, so I couldn't check, but that was how it felt.
My Qi Sensing, which had become as familiar to me as my own eyes, was telling me so.
Let's wash up and go to sleep.
It had been an eventful day.
Surprisingly, the next morning, I was allowed to take a walk.
It was only the nearby garden, but even that was a luxury.
They called it a Heart Demon, but in the end, wasn't I just a senile old man with dementia?
One who couldn't even control his own power, at that.
I still didn't have a grasp on how amazing a Sword Saint was, but it was clear he was a formidable existence.
If it were me, I would have locked him right back up.
Anyway, it was a good thing.
That room had been suffocating without a single window.
Naturally, Cien was behind me.
I thought Moritz would come, but he didn't.
Since he was a knight, perhaps he was busy.
I wasn't much of a talker, but being like this made my mouth itch.
If I had come out with Luniere instead, I could have chattered away without a care.
It was a bit of a shame.
But as we were peacefully strolling through the garden...
My perception stretched.
Right.
Qi Sensing.
The direction?
Upper right. A mysterious bird flying at a low altitude.
Judging by the distance of my Qi Sensing, it was already quite close.
Based on my experience so far, Qi Sensing only activated for humans.
It remained quiet normally, then automatically turned on when a person came within a certain distance.
But that bird... it wasn't human, and it hadn't even gotten close enough yet...
At that moment, something white dropped from behind the bird.
Ah.
I realized it instinctively.
Its destination was my head.
I didn't know how I reached that conclusion, but my Qi Sensing handed down its verdict.
If I stayed like this, I was going to get hit by bird poop.
Talk about bad luck. All sorts of things happen.
But since I knew in advance, my course of action was set.
Naturally, I would dodge...
Huh?
My hand lifted naturally.
Positioned near my solar plexus, my fingers curled naturally as if gripping something.
I realized it naturally.
This was a starting stance.
A posture signaling the start of battle.
And then.
The line.
I saw the line.
The entire world was dyed in monochrome.
With the sword I held as the starting point, dots spread across the world.
Next, the lines.
Dot connected to dot, dot to dot, drawing lines.
Fluttering, stiff, faint yet vivid lines filled the world.
The falling poop, the flying bird, the passing wind, the ground I stood on—all of them were lines.
Twitching in their own distinct flows, weaving, scattering, and gathering again—the absolute limit of dynamic movement.
In this dreamlike world that had instantly transformed into a black-and-white abstract painting, I was suffering from excruciating pain.
A sensation as if my body were being torn into a thousand pieces.
Amidst this indescribable sensation, I thought:
I don't know what this is, but let's end it quickly.
The moment I made up my mind, my body followed.
The sword lightly sliced through the air.
Simultaneously, the line that made up the bird poop was severed all at once.
The limply severed lines twitched before melting into the black background and vanishing.
With that, my time also came to an end.
Under the blue sky that had returned, I stood there blankly.
The bird poop was gone.
Because I had cut it.
"Pant... pant..."
Before I knew it, my hand was hanging limp.
My fist was still clenched.
A sword?
There was no such thing from the start.
The strength drained from my legs, and I collapsed to the ground.
Forgetting the dignity I had tried so hard to maintain, I sat sprawled out, staring blankly at the sky.
My body, which had felt like it was tearing apart just moments ago, was now perfectly fine.
Only the cold sweat remained to prove that something had happened.
Okay, I get one thing now.
Qi Sensing doesn't activate just because it's a person; it activates based on whether it's a threat.
No wonder the resolution was strangely different for each person. That was why.
"Lord Eisenhardt!!"
I waved my hand at Cien's delayed reaction.
I meant it as a sign that I was fine, but strangely, Cien froze.
When I looked to see why, I could read her complicated feelings.
Shock, awe, terror, fear, pity, and so on.
I nodded unconsciously at her emotions, which my strangely detailed Qi Sensing conveyed to me.
I'd be scared too.
Suddenly slicing the air with a hand and then stumbling—it must be baffling.
Didn't I look like a proper senile old man?
I stood up, trying to act as normal as possible.
And patted my butt.
Next, I opened my mouth and spoke solemnly.
"Let's go."
"...Yes."
What a mess just from trying to take a walk.
Thinking so, I returned to my room, and soon it was lunchtime.
I remembered a class was scheduled, but for some reason, no one came.
I scratched my head and picked up one of the books piled to the side.
I didn't know what was going on, but since I had designated this as study time, I planned to do it alone.
It was my problem, after all, so I should at least do this much...
My Qi Sensing activated.
A figure clearer than anyone else's.
Luniere.
Now that I knew, she looked different.
If my assumption that clarity depended on threat level was correct, it meant she was the strongest of all the people I had met.
Even more so than the Emperor, and even the Emperor's royal guards.
*Fling—*
"Hello?"
She greeted me as soon as the door opened.
I reflexively returned the greeting bluntly.
"Nice to meet you."
What do I mean, nice to meet you... Am I being too stiff?
I relaxed my body.
At the same time, Luniere's brilliant face filled my vision.
Jade eyes full of curiosity and vitality stared at me.
"Really?"
"Yes."
It was true.
Being with Cien felt like... standing in front of a kiosk.
Even if she was a bit selfish, Luniere was more comfortable.
She smiled brightly at my words and floated over to me.
"What's with the sudden formal speech?"
"Didn't you say that was your preference?"
"...You're catering to my taste?"
"...Why not?"
She seemed older than me anyway.
She's an elf, after all.
"Oh my, oh my."
I watched Luniere spin in the air and asked.
"But why did you come, Lady Luniere?"
"I wonder?"
Luniere answered a question with a question.
When I stared at her without responding, she finally gave a proper answer.
"Our little disciple cried and whined that she couldn't do it, so I came instead."
...?
What on earth does that mean?
My question remained, but she didn't seem to have any intention of explaining further.
Still floating in the air, she drifted next to me and peeked at the book I was reading.
"Were you reviewing what you learned yesterday?"
"...No. Just for fun. Actually, I wasn't really listening."
"Oh dear... No wonder our disciple is sulking."
"Is that really why?"
"Nope."
"..."
I felt a bit dizzy.
Had I gotten too used to being treated well in just one day? Whenever I met Luniere, I felt like I was being dragged around.
Though even this was pleasant.
Ah, it's not that I have that kind of preference, it's just that I don't prefer being served.
Luniere, who had been observing me with a smile, soon spoke an unbelievable truth.
"Actually, she says you're scary."
"...Pardon?"
"She said your energy is so terrifying that she felt like her lifespan was being shaved away just by being near you. As her master, I couldn't just ignore that."
"...Really?"
"Really."
I became a bit depressed.
It felt like all the internal intimacy I had worked so hard to build up on my own was meaningless.
Actually, there was one thing that came to mind.
"Is it because of my Qi Sensing...?"
"Qi Sensing? Ah, is that what you call the Domain?"
Commenting that it was a decent name, Luniere tapped my solar plexus while smiling brightly.
"It's natural to be scared when you keep the Domain that knights deploy before battle active twenty-four hours a day. It must feel like a blade is pressed against her throat. Who would want to be next to someone like that?"
"..."
It was that bad...
I felt a bit sorry.
"I wanted to be here, so I came myself! Don't be too sad, since you have at least one person."
I gave a half-hearted response to her words, unsure if she was comforting or teasing me.
"Wow..."
"Ahaha. Aren't you being too depressed? She's just a single half-elf, after all."
A half-elf?
But I wasn't given time to ask more.
"Starting tomorrow, a knight named Sachsen will come. Brown hair and blue eyes, the one you saw before. You remember, right?"
"Moritz Sachsen. I know him."
"Learn how to control the Domain—or Qi Sensing, as you call it—from him. As quickly as possible. Unless you have a hobby of issuing death threats to everyone around you."
"Yes..."
"I don't dislike it, though. That tingling sensation."
"Pardon?"
"Pfft... Look at your face. Are you doing that on purpose?"
At Luniere's words, I turned my head to look in the mirror, but my face was still a dry, expressionless mask.
Regardless, she had already moved on to the next step.
Snatching the history book from my hands, she declared:
"Let's finish all of this today. You can do it, right?"
"What?"