After the Battle (2)

"Yaaawn...!"

I was too sleepy to focus.

Thanks to sleeping in the same bed as Alice last night (we really did just sleep), I hadn't gotten any rest at all.

No, really—what kind of man could possibly resist being coaxed into bed by a woman with Alice's absurd, otherworldly looks?

And because of that, I'd barely slept a wink.

Though Noona, apparently, slept like a log.

Noona and I finished preparing for training and work respectively, then went our separate ways.

To check my condition before training, I opened my Status Window.

"What is even going on with this growth rate..."

An absurd rate of growth.

It seemed the 300% boost in my Trait wasn't just for show.

Huh?

What on earth was Dragon Authority?

Names I'd never even seen in the game kept popping up on my Status Window alone—it was starting to get scary.

Left with no choice, I tapped the detail view for Dragon Authority to find out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more.

"...Just what is supposed to happen that they're handing all this out for free?"

It had reached the point where I wasn't even surprised anymore.

Anyway. Time to run.

I shut off the Status Window and started running along the edge of the training grounds.

I was in the middle of my run when a familiar figure appeared at the training grounds.

"Lady Lord."

"It's just the two of us. Let's change that title."

"...Noona."

"There we go."

She flashed a smile as if to say, that's more like it.

That's right—as long as you're this bright, it's all good.

"So, what brings you here?"

When I asked, she drew her sword and said,

"I hear you've mastered the 1st Form of the Imperial Sword Style."

"I... suppose I have?"

More than mastered—I was inheriting the original sword style it was based on. But no need to mention that.

"Then it's time to learn the 2nd Form."

There was no stopping Noona once her scholarly passion ignited, sword drawn and all.

"Right. Let's go."

Once we'd moved to a new spot, Noona began explaining the new sword form—the 2nd Form of the Imperial Sword Style, Dragon Claw.

"Before I demonstrate—Dragon Claw is on an entirely different level of difficulty compared to Flying Slash."

"How difficult are we talking?"

When I asked, Noona thought for a moment and then answered.

"Most ordinary knights who complete their regular knight training can use Flying Slash, but even among them, the ones who can manage Dragon Claw are rare. Maybe one in ten, if that?"

She'd brought over a form with brutal difficulty...

"If your stance is wrong in Flying Slash, you still get partial effect. But with Dragon Claw, a wrong stance means the technique simply doesn't happen at all."

The moment she finished speaking, Alice began setting her stance.

Unlike Flying Slash, she didn't spread her legs; she settled into the stance exactly as if taking a normal stride.

Then, she seemed to hop lightly backward—and in an instant, her figure shot forward so fast it vanished from sight.

In the blink of an eye, one of the iron scarecrows standing ahead was split clean in half.

After that, Alice walked slowly toward me and said,

"That is the 2nd Form of the Imperial Sword Style. Dragon Claw."

"How am I supposed to do that?"

At my involuntary remark, Alice answered.

"You can. You picked up Flying Slash in no time, didn't you? A normal person takes over a week—you did it in three days."

I couldn't exactly tell her it was all thanks to my Trait.

Besides, Azure Dragon Ascension alone would never be enough to bring down higher-ranked demons or the Seven Deadly Sins, so I decided to take the lesson—good things are good things.

Alice stepped close to me and began teaching me the exact stance.

"Pick your main axis leg and your support leg."

"Main axis is my right foot. Support is my left."

Alice crouched down, looked up at me, and said,

"Then extend your right foot slightly forward and keep the left in place."

As I worked my way into the stance, she corrected anything that looked off with her hands, adjusting me bit by bit.

"Good. Now leap backward from there."

"Backward?"

"Yep. Leap back, load your weight onto your main-axis right foot, then drive forward using nothing but your leg strength."

Oh. So that was why she'd come charging forward with such insane speed.

"You can tuck the sword away or hold it—either is fine."

Following her instructions, I hopped back, loaded power into my legs, and lunged forward.

But unlike what Alice had shown me, I had to end the technique after a much shorter distance.

"Huh?"

"Doesn't work out, right? Can't be helped. Pouring all your power into your legs and driving forward like that is genuinely hard. Still, keep practicing. I'll watch over you all day today."

I nodded at her words.

"Yes, ma'am."

"No, not like that. Load more weight into your legs!"

"Better to bend your upper body further and eliminate the resistance."

Her feedback continued day after day after day.

It wasn't until five days after I'd begun learning Dragon Claw that I could finally stretch the distance.

Though I was still far short of the distance Alice had ultimately demanded of me.

The Status Window had finally deigned to display the technique for me, as if acknowledging that I'd managed to learn it.

"Good work. But your distance is still lacking. Probably because your strength isn't there yet."

"Maybe so. I still can't quite reach the scarecrow."

"No, you did well. Five days in, and that distance really is impressive."

To squeeze out any help I could from the basics and information of Dragon Claw, I opened my Status Window and tapped its detail view.

While I was buried in the Status Window, digging up information on Dragon Claw, I noticed Alice's expression had turned serious.

"The retainers have formally requested your Attestation. It will most likely be held next Tuesday. Your attestation, that is."

"Ah. The Attestation."

"Don't worry. If it makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to do it. I can simply testify on your behalf."

No matter how much Alice, the Lady of the house, testified that I possessed the Successor's power, they would demand clearer evidence all the same.

It seemed Alice had racked her brain in her own way, worried this might unsettle me—but if I tried to muddle through something like this with half-measures like testimony alone,

if a weakness were found and seized upon, then even if they judged me the true Successor, they might doubt me, and doubt me again.

Even if I truly did possess the power to protect this territory.

First impressions are among the hardest things in the world to rewrite.

Better, far better, to cement my position quickly through the Attestation itself.

"I'm fine. This is exactly what the Attestation exists for, isn't it? If I don't attest, the retainers will never believe I'm the Successor."

Unable to deny it, Alice scratched her cheek awkwardly.

Then she looked down at me, once.

"Alright. I'll have everything prepared. I'm counting on you when the time comes."

"Yes."

She kept looking down at me, as if she had more to say.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠'...? Is there something on my face?'

Just as I was about to ask what she kept staring at me for—

"You're still so short. I'll have to feed you more."

"....."

Alice was nineteen, and stood in the upper 160s.

For a woman in a medieval era, that was remarkably tall.

I was fifteen, and stood in the upper 150s.

Naturally, there was nearly ten centimeters between us.

...Damn you, body I'd possessed. On Earth I was over 180...

I would grow faster, and one day I would surpass that height, without fail.

With that final note on my growth prospects, Noona and I wrapped up the day's routine.

And then, before I knew it, Tuesday had arrived.

The moment had come for me to perform the Attestation before the retainers.

I'd done it once before, so it held little novelty, and since I genuinely possessed the Azure Dragon Successor's Trait, the chance of dying was zero.

So really, my being nervous was the strange part.

Judging by how much stiffer the maids' faces were as they prepared me for the Attestation than mine, they were the nervous ones...

First, I thanked the maids for their preparations and sent them all out.

Bathing and dressing were all things I could do myself, after all.

I'd always been more comfortable alone, anyway.

Having finished my bath and clothes entirely on my own and given my hair a light once-over, I called a maid back in to have my hair styled and my attire properly arranged.

At first, most of them had watched me do everything alone with wide, marveling eyes, but by now they seemed to have adapted, regarding me with looks that said, you manage quite well by yourself, don't you~

'Come to think of it, their glances back then and their glances now don't seem all that different...?'

Lost in such thoughts, I followed the maid's guidance and stepped into the council chamber, the venue for the Attestation.

The retainers hadn't arrived yet; only Alice, the Lady of the house, sat at the head seat.

"There you are."

"Yes, La—"

"Hm-mm!"

Still sensitive about titles, this Lady of the house.

"Noona."

"Good. Ready?"

"No preparation necessary."

"That's right. I trust you, Hyun."

With that, the retainers began filing through the council chamber doors.

A friend of Alice's father Sirius, and the retainer who had occupied his seat in Cumul Territory from the very beginning.

Cloud Deus.

He pushed open the council chamber door and entered.

His eyes went straight to Alice, the Lady of the house, and he bowed with impeccable form.

"Cloud Deus of House Cloud, vassal of House Cumul, greets Lady Alice, Lord of House Cumul."

At his flawless greeting, Alice welcomed him in equally formal speech.

"You are welcome. Come in."

Then his gaze lowered and settled on me.

"So this boy is the one chosen by the Sword of the Azure Sky."

"Yes. That is correct."

"I see. With not all the retainers present, an Attestation will be difficult—but if he did indeed take the Sword of the Azure Sky, then it must be him."

Saying this, he pulled out a chair some distance from the head seat where Alice sat and took his place.

Hardly had Deus entered through the door before the other retainers came streaming in after him.

"Rosie Benedit of House Rosie, vassal of House Cumul, greets Lady Alice, Lord of House Cumul."

Rosie Benedit—

"Crow of House Blooming, vassal of House Cumul, greets Lady Alice, Lord of House Cumul."

—and Crow, who had fought alongside us in the war, was among them as well.

"Drizzle of House Leo, vassal of House Cumul, greets Lady Alice, Lord of House Cumul."

"Mystic Haji of House Mystic, vassal of House Cumul, greets Lady Alice, Lord of House Cumul."

With that, every retainer of House Cumul who had come to verify that I was the Azure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dragon's Successor had assembled.

Once all the retainers had gathered, Alice formally began the proceedings for the Attestation.

"Thank you all for coming. The reason I have summoned you is none other than this: a new Successor of the Azure Dragon has been born."

At that, the fifth retainer, Mystic Haji, raised her hand.

At her raised hand, Alice nodded and granted her the floor.

"Is that young boy seated beside you the one who claims to be the Azure Dragon's Successor?"

Alice nodded in affirmation.

"Then, is it certain that the boy understands what the Attestation entails?"

A perfectly reasonable question.

When a fifteen-year-old boy claims to be the Azure Dragon's Successor, the first worry that arises is not 'is he lying?' but 'does he even know how to attest that he is the Azure Dragon's Successor?'

Alice opened her mouth to answer, but catching the look in my eyes, she passed the opportunity to answer over to me.

"Yes. I can attest, precisely and beyond doubt, that I am the Azure Dragon's Successor."

At my confident reply, Haji gave a satisfied nod, as if that were answer enough.

"Good. Then let the Attestation begin. Those among you willing to stand as witnesses, raise your hands."

At Alice's words, every retainer except Alice herself raised a hand and took part in the Attestation as witnesses.

"Then, boy who claims to be the Azure Dragon's Successor—Lee Hyun. Reveal your first Trait here and now."

Every eye in the council chamber converged on me.

"My first Trait is The One Watched by the Heavens."

The moment I spoke the Trait's name, the retainers waited in silence for the result.

If I was lying, divine retribution would strike me dead within seconds.

If it was truth, then minutes, even hours, would pass and I would not die.

And I—

"I live."

"Good. With this, the Lord and retainers of House Cumul formally accept the newly born Successor of the Azure Dragon."

The retainers congratulated the occasion, saying blessings would come to House Cumul.

"A joyous occasion, Lady Alice!"

"Indeed it is. To think House Cumul, servants of the Azure Dragon, would now host the Azure Dragon's Successor himself. Surely this is the Azure Dragon's blessing!"

But crisis, as always, picks the happiest of moments to come calling.

Drizzle of House Leo raised his hand and was granted the floor.

At the sight of his expression, Alice nodded and gave him leave to speak, and Drizzle began.

"The reason I have come today is, of course, to serve as witness to the Successor's Attestation—but there is another matter as well."

Alice's expression turned grave as she spoke.

"There are signs of the Tide of Corruption."

"What...?"

The faces of the retainers and Alice alike froze stiff in an instant.

The Main Quest had barely ended, and here it was again...

And the Tide of Corruption, of all things.

The demon population surged roughly once every four years.

As their numbers swelled, the demons would decide they might as well hunt humans, launching a united offensive against mankind—that was the Tide of Corruption.

And Drizzle had just discovered its omens. With the Main Quest confirming it, the Tide would come crashing down within the next few years.

The gathering meant for my Attestation transformed, then and there, into a council of countermeasures to drive back the Tide of Corruption—and the longer their meeting wore on, the more certain I became.

That my growth needed to accelerate, all the more.

And so, three years passed.

I was eighteen years old.