Chapter 83
Chapter 83
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Aonia (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A single grave mound standing all by its lonesome.
Considering that Aonia usually builds communal graveyards by village, it was an awkward sight.
But perhaps it was fortunate in a way.
Strange things were happening in the other communal graveyards lately.
They said the bones in the coffins had vanished, and the stench of rotting corpses hung in the air.
Truth be told, it didn't pique my interest much.
The owner of this grave had been chased out of the communal graveyard from the start, which was why she was buried here.
"I'm here, Mom."
A girl with her black hair tied back loosely.
She wore a top haphazardly thrown on, her chest wrapped in bandages.
Kurotsuki Yoru.
Splash—
She poured water over the tombstone.
Wiping away the grimy dust, she placed a single flower beside it.
No need to explain whose grave it was, inscribed with [Kurotsuki Yami].
Yoru's mother.
She was laid to rest here.
Alone, unable to join the others.
"Sorry I haven't come in a while. I was wandering outside Aonia."
Yoru murmured in front of the tombstone, lost in reminiscence.
No, this was her way of sharing her life with her departed mother.
Worried about how her lone daughter was faring.
So she visited periodically to tell her tales.
"The person you told me about... I roamed the Empire and even Priod looking for someone like that... but no luck."
Yoru's emotions were unreadable beneath her eyepatch.
Was she sad? Yearning? Lonely?
Still, Mom would understand, she thought.
Mom knew Yoru better than anyone.
She was her only family.
So even hidden by the eyepatch, she'd know.
"...Ah."
It hit her anew as she spoke.
"Come to think of it, I met a boy recently. Kline Leonhart. He's an Empire noble. A really high-ranking one."
Her rambling words hid her embarrassment.
Even though her mother was gone, no longer before her eyes.
But somehow, bringing him up felt like introducing a boyfriend.
She chalked it up to her narrow circle of acquaintances.
"At first... um... I just thought he was fun to talk to, someone I clicked with. But you know how it is, you get drawn in more and more."
She cleared her throat with a hum.
If Mom were listening, she'd definitely ask.
Who was he? She'd want to see him.
"He's incredibly handsome. Mom, you'd like him too. 'You've made a good friend.'"
She deliberately avoided calling him a "boy."
Yoru's lips parted, then closed.
Hesitating whether to say it.
"...Actually, I wanted to show him my eye."
She hadn't told Kline.
About the state of her eye.
About the life she'd lived.
About the wounds she carried in her heart.
She wanted to open up, but kept hesitating.
Out of fear.
"I know he's not the type. He wouldn't condemn or despise me... I think. That's the kind of person he is."
She remembered their conversation when she gave him the candy.
Recalled how he'd trusted her sincerity and eaten it without hesitation.
Even unaware of the secret—that her blood was on it.
She'd felt such guilt when he'd eaten it so readily.
"...Maybe that's why. I just can't bring myself to say it."
She hoped he'd accept her.
Her darkness, her flaws—all of it.
She believed he was capable of that.
But if—just if, a one-in-a-million chance—Kline rejected Yoru...
Then she truly wouldn't want to go on living.
She couldn't bear her hopes shattered by the one person she expected to understand her.
"Anyway... that's why I'm putting it off."
Yoru fiddled with the eyepatch covering her eye socket.
What would Mom say if she saw her now?
Don't overthink it—confess honestly?
Or it's worth worrying over, so wait a little longer?
She didn't know.
Mom would say whichever without holding back.
Because she'd always lived for her.
"...And I'm looking for that bastard."
She swallowed the urge to curse him out as a son of a bitch.
She didn't want to say such things even in front of her mother's grave.
Mom had always wished for her to grow up normally, happily.
A wish that proved impossible in the end.
"The one who raped you. The one who made me, inheriting his eyes... I'm going to find that bastard and kill him."
Mom had always told her not to.
It was just her bad luck, an accident—she hoped her daughter wouldn't get involved.
...That was impossible.
It could never happen.
To Yoru, her father was someone who deserved to die.
"Um... anyway, enough about that bastard. Back to the point... I'm preparing for the Azure Dragon Festival now."
The Azure Dragon Festival.
Aonia's most renowned and prestigious martial arts tournament.
The victor earned the acclaim and honor of the masses.
That's what she wanted.
"If I win the Azure Dragon Festival... people will have to acknowledge me, right? They wouldn't dare call the champion's eye color demonic."
She knew her logic was flimsy.
Winning the Azure Dragon Festival and Yoru's eyes were likely unrelated.
Her hopes probably wouldn't pan out.
But it didn't matter.
"This is the last one. The last."
She was exhausted.
Wandering for others' recognition.
Searching for someone who would look her straight in the eye.
Hunting for the person Mom described.
She was sick of it all. She wanted to stop.
"Once this is over... I'll focus solely on finding that bastard."
She turned her back.
She wasn't sure if she'd visit Mom's grave again.
The Azure Dragon Festival, that bastard...
She couldn't predict the outcomes.
So this was the last.
Her final visit to Mom's grave.
"Haa."
She let out a sigh.
As far as Yoru knew, the Azure Dragon Festival started from the round of 128.
How long would it take to climb from the bottom?
Well, she didn't hate the idea of winning every match.
Still, she wanted an easier ride.
Winning was the goal, after all.
"First, I need to head to where the Azure Dragon Festival is... Huh."
As she stepped away, she suddenly noticed.
Kline's position was moving.
She knew it because he'd consumed her blood.
He'd left the mountain where the Sword Empress Court was and kept going.
As if he had no intention of returning.
"Hmm."
Come to think of it, they'd agreed to meet once before the Azure Dragon Festival.
"Shall I go?"
Her heart pounded inexplicably.
She was still scared to reveal her secret.
But she wanted to see Kline.
Leaving the Sword Empress Court behind, I headed for the martial arts dojo said to hold the special plaque.
Master really knows everything.
The oni mask to hide my identity, the existence of the special plaque, even the dojo's location.
I have no idea how to repay all these favors.
'Ah. That's right, this too.'
I rummaged in my bosom and pulled out the scroll.
The memory-recording scroll Master had given me before.
Two memories were already inscribed on it.
The bandits from the restaurant when I first arrived in Aonia.
And the bandits from the sanatorium.
These alone would be enough to shock the world.
'But I should save it for the perfect target.'
Using it carelessly would dilute its impact.
This scroll was meant for the most devastating mark.
"Roughly a day left to the dojo."
I'd walked all day straight from the Sword Empress Court's mountain.
It was time to rest, so I decided to camp.
Thankfully, Master had packed plenty of gear, making it easy.
I found a sunny clearing and set up camp.
Gathered firewood, lit a blaze, and skewered some meat on a branch over it.
"Ughhh..."
I stretched while the meat roasted.
My body, broken for a while, was finally regaining its form.
When Ariel first touched my soul, I'd worried it might be permanent.
But after Master's advice, I slept deeply and woke mostly restored.
'Dojo infiltration should be fine.'
It'd probably be fully healed by the time I arrived.
Drip—drip—
Watching the juices fall from the meat, I muttered to myself.
"Come to think of it, I didn't see Yoru."
We'd talked like we'd meet again before parting.
But I left the mountain so suddenly without a word—is that okay?
Is she looking for me?
'Probably not.'
Looking back, she'd mentioned putting her blood in my body or something.
Thanks to that, she could track my position, right?
Then no issue.
If she misses me, she'll come find me somehow.
If not, she'll at least know where I am.
"Hmm."
I poked at the branch in the fire.
But now that it was like this, I missed her a little.
We'd only just reunited, and already parted—felt a bit lonely.
"I miss you, Yoru."
I was muttering to myself, about to tear into a chunk of meat, when—
"Found you!"
A familiar voice rang out.
I looked up to see Yoru.
Panting hard, like she'd run all the way.
"Kline! Where'd you go without a word? I'm seriously gonna—"
Mid-sentence, Yoru's mouth fell open.
And she couldn't close it, staring right through me.
Well, eyepatch and all, but you get the vibe.
"What's wrong?"
Something on my face?
I blinked and asked.
"Wh-who...?"
"It's me. Kline."
"Liar! Kline doesn't wear some weird mask! And he doesn't have black hair!"
"Ah."
Right, I was wearing the oni mask Master gave me.
I'd kept it on to avoid drawing eyes, but it caused a misunderstanding.
"Snap out of it, Kline! That mask doesn't suit you."
"No, Yoru. Just listen to me for a sec."
"I don't know why you dyed your hair, but if you thought it'd hit my type, you're way off—"
"Agh."
Calming Yoru down was going to take a while.