Blood Oath (3)
Do you remember? You always said my positive Lucky Vicky mindset was my greatest strength. After my dantian formed, I found myself getting beaten with a wooden sword every morning for some reason, but I was happy.
"You're too slow, Young Master."
A chilling voice accompanied a heavy blow to my side. My pathetic body tumbled across the ground. Dirt filled my mouth as I chewed it, but I couldn't hide the smile spreading across my lips.
"Kuhuk! Huuk! Ha, one more time, please!"
"......"
Iris lowered her wooden sword at an angle, narrowing her eyes. Her gaze still held that eerie obsession and curiosity, like she wanted to dissect me. But she had no idea how much insane profit I was raking in from this brutal beating.
Fuck... it hurts like hell, though.
I was in the middle of a muscle-burning event right now. At first, I'd thought to just fake it half-heartedly to shake off suspicion, but my mindset had changed. Muscles grow not just from strength training, but from external stimuli and recovery too.
Just like this.
Swinging the sword as she instructed tore through my muscles fast. And during sparring, getting pummeled all over with that wooden sword was like a full-body massage?
Plus, I'm in my growth spurt, so as long as I eat well, it all heals up fine by the next day...
If this wasn't eating the pheasant and getting the egg too, with triple experience gain, then what was??
"Heuk, huuk...!"
Seeing me rise with manic eyes, Iris made a dubious face and said,
"Young Master. You're not using my guidance for... something else, are you?"
"What are you talking about! Huuk... your teachings are just so intense, it gets me excited."
"......"
The merciless beating—no, guidance—resumed.
Thwack! Thud!
"Kwaaaak! (Shit, this is sweet!)"
"When raising your guard, feel the rhythm in your wrists more."
...How many weeks did that hellish muscle-burning event last? One morning, standing in front of the full-length mirror in my room, I saw some pretty decent results staring back.
"Kuhuhu, this is insane!"
Chocolate abs. A satisfied smile crept onto my face. Just a few weeks ago, the mirror had been filled with grotesque blobs of fat, but now they were burned away without a trace, replaced by solid, defined muscles.
"And who knew the scumbag Young Master Sian would look like this after losing weight."
A surprisingly small head. Delicate, refined features that almost looked feminine.
"Tch, my type's more of a rugged, straightforward guy."
Maybe because I hadn't cut my hair in ages, it was the perfect look to get misunderstood. Still, way better than being a fatty.
All this was thanks to the temporary dantian Iris had periodically reinforced with her mana like glue. A magical, temporary hwan-gol-tal-tae—body transformation—where the mana frame forcibly suppressed fat and rampaged through my metabolism.
The problem is, it's not permanent.
If that frame shattered or Iris's energy ran out?
Yo-yo effect hits instantly.
Not just any rebound, but ballooning back to 100kg at warp speed. The thought alone was horrifying.
I'd worked hard for this, and it was such a Lucky Vicky win— I couldn't just lose it all pointlessly. So, I'd prepared for this exact moment.
"Kya, who would've dreamed this spiritual herb was stashed in the corner of some unheard-of duke family's relic vault."
The one and only 10,000 Year Snow Ginseng. Something that wouldn't show up until the late game in the original story, but my eyes couldn't be fooled. I'd swiped it from the relic vault a month ago and hidden it in my room.
Now, if I just eat this and fast for three days in meditation...
The temporary dantian Iris made would transform into my real one, completing the full body transformation. I opened my mouth wide to chomp down on the 10,000 Year Snow Ginseng—
—Who dares to covet the treasures of the Brace Dukedom!!!
"......!"
A roar that made the entire Brace Mansion tremble echoed through. Outside in the hall, the clash of knights' armor and frantic footsteps erupted in chaos.
Timing's impeccable.
I hurriedly stuffed the herb back into its box. Cracking the door open, I peeked out and scanned the corridor. Just then, a maid came sprinting by.
"Hey, excuse me."
"Eek, Mommy!"
The maid who met my eyes jumped in fright and plopped down right there. She stared up at me with wide eyes.
"Who...? This is that fatty young master's room..."
"......"
"N-No way, Young Master Sian?!"
The maid clapped her hand over her mouth in shock. No wonder—she'd be stunned. Over a month of hellish training, beaten to near-death by a Swordmaster.
But now wasn't the time to bask in my diet success.
"Yes, the fatty young master. I won't punish you, so tell me what's with all the commotion."
"S-Sorry! It's just...!"
The maid panted, her face pale as she answered.
"The family head went down to the Underground Relic Vault after preparations this morning, and the spiritual herb stored there was stolen...! The whole mansion's in an uproar—he's deploying the knights to catch the thief right now!"
"......"
Bad premonitions always come true. The spiritual herb in the underground relic vault the family head was looking for... yeah, that was the 10,000 Year Snow Ginseng I'd nearly shoved in my mouth.
Why the hell does he need it today of all days? The family head's dantian isn't broken like mine.
I didn't want to put it back, feeling so wronged.
"Huh? Young Master, what's that in your hand..."
The maid's eyes locked onto the silk box half-peeking from my arms. The unique chill of the spiritual herb hadn't been fully contained, and faint white frost leaked from the seams.
I gripped the box tighter.
Just shove it in my mouth?
Temptation surged to chew it defiantly and swallow, but I held back. My gamer instincts issued a cold warning.
To fully absorb the 10,000 Year Snow Ginseng and transform my dantian, I needed at least three days of motionless meditation. If I crammed it down now and got caught by the knights?
...Forget dantian repair—qi deviation would have me puking blood and dropping dead.
The family head, who treated me like discarded trash, wouldn't spare me. He might even gut me for stealing the herb. All the public opinion and survival I'd spun so far would go down the drain.
"—Looks like you need some help."
Then, a voice came from my room's window. Cool yet oddly amused. The Sword Princess, Iris.
"I suspected, but to think you'd even steal the relic vault's spiritual herb... The family head will be heartbroken when he finds out."
"Sp-Spiritual herb?! You mean the one Family Head Baltar is looking for—"
"Pardon the interruption."
Thud! A dull impact. The maid, mouth agape in shock, rolled her eyes back white. She collapsed without a scream.
True to the woman who'd beaten me senseless, clean and efficient.
"You didn't kill her, right?"
"Just pressed a point to knock her out. She won't wake for half a day, so relax."
Iris stepped inside with light footsteps and added,
"By the way, Young Master. Such nerve. Stealing the 10,000 Year Snow Ginseng the family head is desperately hunting for."
"......I thought of it as a diet supplement. Didn't know Father treasured it so much."
I replied shamelessly, shoving the fallen maid under the bed. The immediate fire was out, but the commotion in the hall was drawing closer to my room.
—Search everywhere! Not even a rat gets out!
Fuck. My door would burst open any second. Even if it was the young master's room, with the family head's orders, the knights wouldn't hesitate.
Caught holding the 10,000 Year Snow Ginseng like this? Straight to the knights' underground dungeon.
Iris smirked mischievously at my predicament.
"You need help, don't you?"
Her expression was temptingly suggestive, like she wanted me to beg. But in a disadvantageous spot, you strike the deal boldly.
"The one who needs help isn't me—it's you, Sword Princess."
"......What do you mean?"
I hugged the box casually and said,
"I haven't told you how to disarm the gimmicks in the Abandoned Cathedral's underground chapel yet. They're pretty tricky."
"You think I can't solve them alone?"
"I know your skills well, Lady Iris. But I guarantee even the Sword God grandpa couldn't crack them easily. If I'm caught here as the herb thief, they'll dig into the other missing relics too. Wonder if I can withstand the interrogation?"
"......Lies. You laughed through daily beatings to the brink of death. And I took nothing that day."
"Oh really? Who's to know? A Swordmaster could fool and rob a nobody like me..."
Iris's eyes narrowed. At my brazen not-quite-threat, she sighed lowly.
"Hah. Even the man who'll be my future husband pierces the heavens with shamelessness."
"Husbands and wives are one body, aren't they? So take responsibility and hide me."
"The whole mansion's flipped upside down—where?"
I grinned.
"One spot's the safest, darkest under the lamp."
"......No way."
"Your room, Sword Princess."
Iris's neat brows twitched.
"The knights wouldn't dare rummage through a Swordmaster's private quarters, no matter their status in the dukedom. Just three days. Hide me there for three days, and we're golden."
"A strange man— the thief the family head's after—in my room?"
"I'll stay put meditating the whole three days. Treat me like I'm not there."
Thud, thud, thud!
—Young Master Sian! Are you in? We're coming in!
Knights' voices from the hall. Time was up.
"Choose. Get caught with me as an accomplice, or hide me clean for three days and get the northern relic gimmick."
At my urgent push, Iris let out a short sigh.
"......I yield."
Whoosh. No sooner had she spoken than Iris grabbed my waist. Her Sword Princess chill scent enveloped me.
"Don't bite your tongue."
"Pardon? Mmph—!"
Fwoosh—!
Just before the knights smashed the door, Iris's form shot out the window like wind. Holding me effortlessly in one arm, she soared into the sky.