Chapter 58
Chapter 58
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Maria Timons (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It had been about two months since I started training under Damian. After getting beaten every single day, I had finally managed to learn up to the third form.
"It took over a month to master Falling Moon, but the next two forms each took only ten days..."
After successfully executing the third form, I muttered in disbelief.
The first form, Moon Flower, had taken me more than a month to grasp, leaving me feeling utterly daunted. But the subsequent forms came after just ten days each, leaving me utterly baffled.
At that moment, Damian approached, having overheard my muttering, and explained.
"It's only natural. All the forms of the Single Moon Divine Sword are based on a single foundation. Once you comprehend one, the next becomes much easier to learn."
"I see."
Damian crossed his arms and gazed at me quietly.
"More importantly, you're heading to Aintban in a few days, right?"
"Yes, that's correct."
"Hmm... I see. I had something I wanted to try out, but it looks like it'll have to wait."
Something to try?
I couldn't help but wonder what it was that made him sound so regretful.
"What did you have in mind?"
"I was devising a way to blend the mana circulation of Holy Heaven Martial Extreme into the Single Moon Divine Sword. Things were just starting to take shape."
Damian's response was staggering.
Not because I didn't understand what he meant. After all, the footwork I used, Meteor Step, was created on a similar principle.
But that was only possible because I understood 'settings'—a concept close to the essence of this world.
Normally, people weren't even aware of the settings given to them or the world's predefined rules, let alone able to deviate from them.
Yet Damian continued as if it were no big deal.
"I've encountered countless warriors and their martial arts over the years, but nothing comparable to Holy Heaven Martial Extreme. I was eager to see what would happen if it fused with my Single Moon Divine Sword... What a shame."
He looked genuinely disappointed.
It wasn't hard to understand why. From the start, he had shown immense interest in the Holy Heaven Martial Extreme woven into my movements.
'He really is like your devoted follower.'
[Ugh... It's embarrassing...]
'What's there to be embarrassed about? He admires you so much he became a sword god.'
[But when I think about what I said to Rugal, it makes me scared he might regret it.]
Surprisingly, Gransesia seemed fragile when it came to mentioning past connections.
'Come to think of it, does Damian know why you ended up sealed in that ring?'
[...Probably not?]
I had once asked Gransesia why a soul was trapped in the Eye of Simosa.
Strangely enough, she had no idea how it happened. She didn't even remember how she died.
Even Michel, who carried on Gransesia's lineage, knew little about her death.
'Still, he's the only one who witnessed your life. He might know something.'
But Damian had lived for centuries, through the era when Gransesia was alive.
He might know something.
"Sir Damian."
"Hm?"
"I have a question about Lady Gransesia."
At the mention of Gransesia's name, Damian's face lit up as he looked at me, as if inviting any question.
"When Lady Gransesia passed... was there anything unusual?"
"Unusual..."
Damian rubbed his chin thoughtfully with his thumb.
"Truth be told, all I heard was that she passed away suddenly one day."
"Oh... I see."
Seeing my disappointment, Damian quickly added,
"But that doesn't make sense."
"What do you mean?"
"Lady Gransesia was the closest to the gods. Her body was nearly immortal, and her power could shake heaven and earth. Died of old age? It doesn't add up."
"That powerful?"
"Even now, in this era, she could have lived on unchanged without issue."
It was a bit exaggerated, but not entirely unconvincing.
Even now, centuries after her death, Gransesia's remains retained their youth.
Gransesia coughed awkwardly as Damian kept praising her.
[Ahem. That's not the point, is it?]
'True, the fact that her memory is hazy about it is suspicious enough.'
She remembered everything else, so why was her death-related memory so fuzzy?
I suspected something had interfered with her death.
'And...'
It might even be connected to 'Father's possession' in some vague way.
* * *
In the remaining time, I underwent a final review under Damian. I grasped the basics of the fourth form and memorized the shapes of the fifth and sixth.
'I need to master the sixth form by the time I return from Aintban.'
To learn the Single Moon Divine Sword via Setting Addition, dealing the final blow to Rugal was the biggest hurdle.
To boost the success rate even slightly, I needed to master its ultimate techniques by then.
'Learning like this has already been a massive feat for me...'
But I couldn't settle for that.
I wouldn't reach Fabian's swordsmanship otherwise.
Even if I learned the exact same swordsmanship as Fabian, surpassing the protagonist was impossible.
To surpass him, I needed to claim everything about the Single Moon Divine Sword—even what Fabian didn't know.
'At least you're progressing smoothly compared to your talent. Don't worry; it'll be close, but you'll make it.'
'That "close" part is accurate, right?'
[Yes.]
Then stop saying "compared to your talent" or "close."
Honestly, I was quite anxious even without her saying it. I wanted to delay going to Aintban, but that wasn't feasible.
"Don't worry about the mithril mine, Count Banheart. Just go and come back safely."
Rabin, sitting before me, said with a bright smile.
Lately, with mining and distribution underway, his face grew brighter by the day.
"Alright, I'll leave that to you."
"Thank you. And..."
"And?"
Wondering what else, I asked, and Rabin gestured to his guild members standing behind him.
A elegantly dressed woman stepped forward.
For some reason, she wore her hood deeply pulled over her face.
'Who is she?'
Rabin wouldn't introduce just anyone to me.
As I widened my eyes to check her settings, the hesitant woman slowly lifted her hood and greeted me.
"Hello, Count."
A young girl with pale pink-blonde hair and eyes.
But she was undeniably an adult—and someone I knew well.
"This is my younger sister, Maria."
It was Maria Timons, Clay's ally and one of the heroines.
'I never expected to meet her like this.'
The sudden encounter caught me off guard, but as expected of a main heroine.
Gransesia glanced at Maria and grumbled.
[She's pretty cute, I guess.]
'Cute? She's stunning. Well, she's a heroine, so of course.'
No way one of the novel's heroines would be unattractive. Even Moen, ambiguously a heroine, was strikingly beautiful.
"..."
According to her settings, Maria was only a year younger than me, but she looked like a girl in her early to mid-teens.
"...Count."
"Yes?"
"You're not surprised at all by my appearance."
Her flat tone made her emotions hard to read, but somehow I understood Maria's inner feelings.
She was quite flustered right now.
'Why?'
Rabins's reaction was odd too. He gripped my hand tightly, as if he'd trusted me.
"As expected of you, Count. So calm even after seeing my sister..."
"Huh? Well, there's no reason to be particularly surprised, right?"
I replied nonchalantly and reviewed Maria's settings again.
'Ah...'
Only after scrolling further down did I understand Rabin and Maria's reactions.
==
[Maria Timons]
Age: 19
Gender: Female
Role in Story: Younger sister of Timons Merchant Leader. Fabian's ally (protagonist)
Abilities: Innate Charm, Merchant's Intuition
Special Notes: Protagonist of the novel 'The Sword's Voice Echoes'. Fabian's ally and the eternal girl who loves him.
Possesses an innate charm akin to a curse, preventing aging after a certain age.
Younger sister of Timons Merchant Leader Rabin; aids Fabian with vast wealth and her own exceptional talent.
Half-human, half-demon lineage from a succubus mother.
==
It was the Innate Charm in her abilities.
The description explained why Maria hid her face and why Nior coveted her.
'The succubus blood is overly potent.'
The effect of Innate Charm was simple.
Anyone who met her or saw her face developed some form of affection toward Maria.
The affection varied, but since Maria couldn't control it yet, its allure toward the opposite sex was especially strong.
[Like an enhanced version of a succubus's 'Enchantment' ability. More versatile, I suppose...]
'Definitely an unparalleled ability for a merchant.'
Unlike Moen's vague luck, Maria's was a physiological phenomenon she could actively harness once refined.
'Half-demon.'
This wasn't in Rabin's settings.
That left only one conclusion.
'No wonder Rabin hesitated to introduce her.'
With a sister like that, he couldn't afford not to worry.
'...But why doesn't it affect me?'
[Various possibilities, but I don't know. Most likely, since it's a demon-derived ability, it doesn't work on you with Divine Blood and my relic?]
Either way, the key point was that it didn't affect me.
"I should've introduced her sooner. I figured someone like you, Count, might be immune..."
Not knowing the reason, it was hard to respond.
But Rabin didn't seem to care much about why it didn't work.
"Count."
After hesitating as he looked at me, Rabin spoke with a serious expression.
"Could you take Maria with you to Aintban?"
This was an unexpected proposal.