Unraveling the Tangled Thread (Part 2)
"Then show me who the young lady is."
"···Who?"
Suddenly ordering me to reveal myself. My eyes widened in shock, but before I could fully process it, the heavy pressure of the intense stare burning my skin made me realize exactly what he meant.
I blinked my startled eyes as he rested the long blade of his greatsword against the floor and rolled up the sleeve of his shirt.
Even at his advanced age, the muscular arm beneath remained unmarred by weakness, bulging with raw power.
"Why? If you're truly Rigel, surely you can show me that much? I'm the designated head of the Knight Order."
···With this body? A body with zero muscles, never trained once in my life, ready to clash swords?
Even the short sword I could manage to wield felt heavy in my grip, the weight making it nearly impossible to use properly.
If I were still active on the battlefield, would I dare challenge this giant who could crush any monster bare-handed with just his fists?
"There's a saying in the Knight Order. Mages speak with knowledge."
"Knights speak with the sword."
"That's right. Well said."
He answered my words with a gentle tone, but the tension in his gaze never eased.
In the end, if I wanted to prove I was Rigel here, it meant clashing swords with him to prove it.
"Don't worry. I'm not planning to destroy your home, and I'm holding back my full power."
"···Then."
With no choice, I gripped the sword with both hands.
I adjusted my stance, relaxing my body, and stared at Helahem's every movement with my eyes.
'Holding a sword feels so unnatural.'
This body held no experience from the life I had lived. Though I shaped the posture with the knowledge remaining in my head, it felt oddly awkward and unfamiliar.
I widened my legs slightly and shifted the sword's grip lower, and just then the tip of his greatsword appeared directly in front of me.
Shwoo!
The blade flashed toward me faster than I could recognize in a single instant.
In a desperate bid, if I hadn't kicked off the ground and twisted my body sideways, my shoulder would have been pierced straight through.
'···It barely showed up!'
With my original body, nothing like that attack would have been invisible.
But this pathetic body—despite it not being his full-power strike—made the attack's end invisible.
It was barely, barely. Really close.
He had only twisted his body to dodge just as it reached me.
That's how weak this body was right now.
'But.'
Still, I reacted. If I could respond even a little, there was still a sliver of possibility.
Helahem's eyes shifted slightly. Still overflowing with composure.
Without piercing the air, his greatsword swung in a cutting arc straight toward me.
Kikiig!
"U, ugh···!!"
Just as the greatsword's blade sliced through the air as if to cut me down, I tilted my own sword upward to deflect it and advanced forward.
I had to pour my strength into the deflection. Blocking a sword strike with such an overwhelming difference in power head-on was suicidal.
What I could do now was only this.
Only to pour out the power, advance toward Helahem's inner side.
Kagagak!
Even though I poured almost all my strength into the deflection, it felt like my toes might lift off the ground.
I lowered my stance. With all my might, I forced it lower so my body could stay planted in the air. And I plunged deep into it.
The moment the clash of blade on blade ended and I successfully deflected Helahem's sword.
That was the moment. The fleeting time I had longed for.
The end of the arc Helahem's swinging sword had traced formed a perfect circle.
In other words, my body was empty. I jumped up with all my might and brought my sword down, pouring every ounce of weight into it with both hands.
He raised his sword belatedly, but it was already too late. Even if he tried to block my blade, his stance was ruined.
Kaaang!!
A loud, ringing sound echoed as the blades met with force.
My ears rang, and my hands shook from the shock of the collision, unable to fully absorb the impact.
But the scene before my eyes was nothing like I had expected.
'···What?!'
I had clearly seized a genuine opportunity.
Even if he pulled his sword back hastily to defend, his stance wouldn't have held up properly.
It was certain he would drop the sword or at least take a massive hit to the hand.
···In a normal situation, it would definitely happen like that.
My full-body weight slammed downward onto the sword strike, and it should have connected with his hand, delivering the impact.
Yet he had effortlessly withstood my attack. Not only that—his posture didn't budge even a fraction.
"Enough. Stop here. If you keep making such noise, we'll get a complaint."
And when my feet hit the floor with a thud, he declared the duel over.
Once the duel ended, he retrieved the short sword I had been holding and set it back in its original place.
'···As expected.'
Two thoughts surfaced in my mind.
First was the dark thought.
The movements were perfect. Honestly, if I were to follow the exact flow of that moment right now, I couldn't have done it with confidence.
The entire sequence flowed as naturally as water, and moreover, with the bookshelf behind Helahem, I couldn't retreat backward.
Still, the reason my attack had failed was the difference in build.
No matter how much weight I put into my untrained body and swung with all my might, there was a limit.
I absolutely needed to train and strengthen my body somehow.
The second thought was that even with this body, there was still hope.
Though he had left the front lines and hadn't treated our duel with full seriousness, the man known as the 'Iron Knight' was precisely this.
A body that hadn't trained at all had managed to drive him this hard. It was enough to show there was real possibility.
While I was lost in thought, Helahem had somehow sat down in the chair and was now watching me with a serious expression.
"Young lady. I realize your skill isn't enough to claim the name Rigel."
"······."
He still didn't believe it, did he? I lowered my head.
"However."
His massive hand appeared right in front of my lowered view.
"You're not an ordinary person. If you had trained even a little, a little more, I would be the one sitting here now."
As I looked up, Helahem's face had softened even further.
His eyes were no longer the same as before the duel—now looking at me more directly, as if gazing deep into my inner self.
"Not enough to call you Rigel. If it were him, the old me would have been suppressed by a single strike."
"···That's right."
I honestly nodded. I had pride in my original skill, and even objectively, the sword strike just now made the words true.
Helahem grinned and patted his own knee with his hand.
"Haha! I'm glad you're honest! Well then, young lady. Want to go back to the way you were? How about making a contract with me?"
"A contract?"
What contract? Suddenly?
"I asked the professors for help, and I'm working on breaking the magic cast on you! In return, how about you joining under me?"
"···What? Under?"
"Honestly, I don't care if you're really Rigel or not. I'm only interested in your potential. And you know I'm a professor at the Academy."
"So?"
"How about entering the Academy? I can write a recommendation letter with my authority. With your skill, passing the exam would be easy."
The Academy.
The elite training institution located in the kingdom's capital, a source of pride for the kingdom where countless talented youths from all directions converged.
To become a high official in the kingdom or to make a name for yourself as a mage or knight on the battlefield, entering the Academy was basically mandatory.
Of course, I had never set foot near the Academy, having been raised within the Knight Order.
"···Is the Academy really necessary for me?"
"Necessary and necessary! I can tell just by looking at your eyes! You have a big complaint right now, don't you? It's because your body won't move the way you want!"
He pointed at me with his finger and spoke in a rough voice as if clearing his throat.
"How did you know? Even if complaints show on my face···."
"That's because your last decisive blow was a movement that didn't suit this body. When you had the chance, you instinctively went for the surest attack you could manage."
Helahem was visibly excited, pointing at the air with his fingers to emphasize every word.
"Your build isn't suited for that downward strike attack at all! You should have swung your sword straight down! If you were a skilled person of your level, making that mistake would be weird. There's a chance that your body has changed, young lady."
"···Does that mean you're recognizing me as Rigel?"
"No, not at all! I'm only approving what I myself have seen."
He said it that way, but it seemed he had recognized me as Rigel to some extent. At least he was treating me like a 'skilled person'.
"Anyway, you need to correct your posture! You'll also need swordsmanship suited to your body."
"Does that mean I'll learn at the Academy?"
"That's right. You have real potential. You're not just an 'unpolished gem'! Just a 'jewel covered in mud'."
I had heard those words as a child too. Hearing them again now felt oddly nostalgic.
It was like returning to my childhood.
"What do you think? You seem to have complaints about your body moving."
I slowly nodded. There was no guarantee this body would return to its original state anytime soon.
Right now this frail body wouldn't move as I wished. A body that couldn't even grip a sword properly.
I could train and correct it alone, but having someone to help correct me alongside would definitely be better.
Moreover, the fact that I was secretly looking forward to visiting the Academy I had never been near before.
"···Yes, I'll do that."
When I nodded, Helahem extended his massive hand to me.
Once I took it, he shook my hand with enough force to make my shoulder ache.
"Great! Well said!"
···Although my heart was uneasy. I figured nothing bad would come of shaking hands with him.