Chapter 14: The First Letter (14)
Chapter 14: The First Letter (14)
Several days had passed since I began training with Seria.
Of course, I hadn't made any significant breakthroughs during that time. Seria was still a swordsman far superior to me; in fact, it was more accurate to say that I was the one learning from her.
Spending time with her had also brought many changes to my daily routine.
First and foremost, the proportion of time dedicated to training increased drastically. I used to consistently invest over three hours a day in self-directed practice, but that was nothing compared to Seria’s training volume.
She swung her sword at dawn, she swung it during breaks, and she swung it at sunset.
I couldn't join her for every single session, but since I had decided to help, I felt an obligation to give it my all.
A noble's word must be kept. The weight of a noble's words was fundamentally different from those of the common folk. Was that not why we enjoyed wealth and glory upon the sacrifices of the masses?
Of course, it was somewhat laughable for me—the mere second son of a rural viscount—to prattle on about the duties of nobility.
Still, after spending a few days together, it wasn't as if there were no results at all. For one, I understood Seria better than I had before.
The new things I learned about Seria were as follows:
First, Seria lacked common sense regarding human relationships. This had been a mere suspicion until now, but as the days passed, I grew more certain of this deduction.
For example, her reaction to the flirtatious remark I’d made previously was a case in point.
Thinking back, it wasn't even certain that Seria was 'Sepia,' so I worried that suddenly complimenting her appearance might have been rude. Thus, the next day, I offered her a plain apology.
However, Seria merely tilted her head as if she hadn't even registered the comment in the first place.
"…? No, it is fine. Because it is the truth."
"The truth?"
I reflexively asked back, caught off guard by her unexpected response. Seria answered as if she were reciting an obvious fact.
"Yes. It is something I have heard often since I was a child. So, objectively, I considered myself to be on the pretty side… is that, perhaps, not the case?"
Seeing her lose confidence and steal a glance at me at the last moment, I realized there was no malice in her words.
In other words, she wasn't being conceited; she simply accepted the statement 'you are pretty' as an objective fact.
However, words always hide complex contexts and intentions. Normally, when someone compliments another's appearance, there is an underlying intent to make the other person feel good.
Seria didn't even know the basics of such social nuances. Only then did I realize why she had earned the nickname 'The Rude Brat of Yurdina.'
She wasn't rude; she was just oblivious. Because of that, her relationships must have been a series of failures, making it inevitable that she would eventually build a wall between herself and others.
I considered bringing this up but eventually let out a deep sigh, giving up on the idea.
It wasn't a habit that could be fixed in a day or two anyway. I simply gave her the answer she wanted—a pure evaluation of value.
"Yeah, you're pretty. Anyone would say so."
"I… I see."
Seria let out a sigh of relief, adding, "That is a relief."
It wasn't that she feared the possibility of not being pretty; rather, she seemed relieved to have information she already knew confirmed once again.
It seemed impossible to win Seria's heart using only the basics Reto had taught me. Not that I intended to get closer to her than necessary unless I was certain she was 'Sepia.'
Second, Seria lacked the concept of 'rest.'
On the first day we began training together, I followed her around all day trying to keep up with her workload. This was the conclusion I reached afterward.
Except for meals and lectures, Seria invested almost all her time in training. While this was the ideal image of an 'effortful genius,' skill improvement didn't happen just by mindlessly throwing time at it.
Even the harsh training of my childhood—the most grueling period of my life—was predicated on proper rest and nutrition. Without them, one's muscles could actually be ruined.
There was no way a daughter of the Yurdina family, one of the Empire's most prestigious houses, wouldn't know this. However, unable to contain my curiosity, I asked her.
"Seria?"
"Yes, Senior Ian."
Seria, who had been replenishing her fluids with a canteen, turned her gaze toward me.
Her gray hair was damp with sweat, glistening like dew. Despite having swung her sword for so long, her breathing was steady, and her enchanting aquamarine eyes gave off a dreamlike aura.
The forest at dawn was silent, and the sunlight shone down on Seria as if gently revealing a hidden gem of the world.
She was pretty. Truly pretty. While harboring that sentiment once again, I voiced my doubt.
"You've been swinging your sword all day since yesterday. Don't you have any rest periods? If you keep this up, your muscles won't have time to recover, and the effectiveness will drop."
Seria tilted her head once more. It was an expression that suggested she couldn't understand the intent of the question at all—a sight I had seen several times already since we started working together.
Seria tapped her lip with her index finger before speaking in a puzzled voice.
"I can just drink a healing potion, can't I?"
I had no choice but to swallow a hollow laugh at those words.
Right. If they have no bread, let them eat cake. A 'healing potion' was an item that could be called an extra life, possessing the effect of instantly healing wounds.
Since it was a potion with such power, how expensive must it be? It was a precious treasure that even most nobles, let alone commoners, would only carry a single bottle of for emergencies.
And yet, Seria was saying she drank them every day. Just so she could train more.
I had heard such rumors before—that the most obsessive children of high-ranking nobles sometimes trained while chugging healing potions.
But this was the first time I had seen the reality of those rumors with my own eyes. It made sense why it was rare; no matter how many healing potions one drank, they couldn't resolve mental fatigue.
Humans weren't machines. The mind needed rest just as much as the body. When one performed high-intensity training every day, the spirit was bound to grow weary alongside the flesh.
The reason the Academy's club culture was so active was for that very reason. Hobbies helped recover the mind and body exhausted by study and training.
Therefore, training while drinking healing potions wasn't just a matter of whether one could afford the cost. It was a matter of whether one could endure that murderous training volume.
She was a woman for whom the word 'tenacious' was truly fitting. I shook my head in amazement.
"Don't you get bored of just swinging a sword?"
Again, Seria's head tilted as she asked back.
"Is that possible?"
"For example, well, there's plenty to do besides training. Drinking with friends, doing club activities, or at the very least, reading a book…"
As I continued, Seria scratched her cheek awkwardly. She spoke cautiously.
"I… I have known nothing but the sword since I was a child…"
I clicked my tongue inwardly. I didn't know the details of Seria's upbringing, but it was clear she hadn't walked a path similar to others.
Come to think of it, Seria was an illegitimate daughter. Since she was born of low birth, it was easy to imagine how she had been treated in the prestigious Yurdina family.
Was that why she grew up knowing only the sword?
She was at an age where she should be tasting the sweetness of life, not just its bitterness. She had only just turned twenty. She had so much life ahead of her, yet her only path was the sword.
Of course, there were people for whom such a life was happiness. Seria's passion for the sword was real.
However, a life where other options were given is fundamentally different from a life where they were not. I felt a sense of bitterness regarding that point.
I didn't pity her. Every human had their own problems to carry.
Perhaps Seria felt the same way looking at me. To a genius, a person without talent was merely an object of pity or contempt.
However, as a senior, I could at least offer a few pieces of advice to my junior.
"Let's go to the city next time."
"For a demonic beast subjugation?"
I could only click my tongue at Seria's response.
The number of people residing at the Academy reached into the tens of thousands. More than half of the students were nobles, and many of those from commoner backgrounds were children of wealthy merchants.
Naturally, the Academy grounds couldn't handle that enormous demand. Thus, a commercial district called 'the city' existed on the outskirts of the Academy.
Its scale was quite large. Because the Academy spent so much money, merchants from various countries flocked there. Furthermore, since the Academy was located in the center of the continent and possessed a warp gate, it was a perfect transportation hub.
In a sense, you could say a whole city had been built around the Academy. And when young people in their twenties said they were going to the city, their goal was usually one thing.
To have fun. That was the common thought. But Seria seemed to take it as a suggestion to go on a 'demonic beast subjugation.'
The city housed not only shops but also the warp gate. Occasionally, Academy students would take time out of their schedules to perform demonic beast subjugation requests to gain practical experience.
When I was rendered speechless by the sheer absurdity of it, Seria seemed to take it as implicit agreement. She nodded to herself, her eyes shining with realization.
"I did think my growth had stagnated with just training recently. I used to go on subjugations before entering the Academy, but it is forbidden for lower-year students… However, if I am with you, Senior Ian, permission might be granted."
Facing Seria, who was nodding and marveling on her own, I didn't know what to do and pressed my hand to my forehead.
In the end, the words that escaped my mouth were the simplest ones.
"…Right. It's not for a demonic beast subjugation, but let's head to the city anyway."
I wondered if she didn't know because she had no friends to go with; I decided I should show her around the various spots in the city.
And finally, Seria seemed unexpectedly impatient.
Her grueling training also seemed to stem from that impatience. An obsessive fear that if she didn't swing her sword right this moment, she might fall behind.
No matter how much one treated themselves with healing potions, high-intensity training carried a risk of injury beyond that. In a way, it was only natural that Seria eventually sprained her ankle.
"Ah, ugh?!"
Swinging my sword beside her, I immediately turned my head upon hearing her faint groan.
There, Seria was sitting on the ground, clutching her ankle. It didn't take long to grasp the situation.
There was no swordsman unfamiliar with injury. I rushed over to her.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, my ankle for a moment… ugh……."
It looked like a bad twist. I could feel heat radiating from near Seria's ankle. It hadn't swollen yet, but it was clear as day that it soon would.
It was a sprain. I pulled some emergency medicine from my pocket.
"I-I am fine. If I drink a healing potion, a wound like this… hyak?!"
There was no need to listen to her further. As I applied the ointment to her ankle, Seria let out a cute shriek at the cold sensation.
Hearing such a sound from a woman with such a cold impression provided a strange sense of amusement. I deliberately rubbed her ankle as if massaging it.
"Ugh, hng… Se-Senior……."
At her whimpering, which mixed pain and relief, I finally let go of Seria. Her eyes were brimming with tears.
No matter how accustomed a person was to injury, tears would prick the eyes when it hurt. It was only natural, given I had rubbed the injured area firmly.
A faint resentment lingered in Seria's eyes. But what could she do? I was the senior.
I spoke to her with a faint smile.
"Stop exaggerating. And what's this about drinking a healing potion? No matter how effective they are, they aren't a cure-all."
Seria made a slightly grumpy face at my words but couldn't refute them. I was entirely correct.
My voice, which had started with a smile, gradually shifted into a scolding tone.
"You know well enough that even healing potions can't resolve all the fatigue accumulating in your joints. That's why you have to regulate your training intensity. Why are you so impatient?"
As I spoke, I pulled out a clean cotton cloth I kept in my pocket. I carried it during every training session just in case, and to think it would come in handy like this.
I picked up a short, sturdy branch rolling nearby to use as a splint. Seria, who had only let out a few groans until then, soon avoided my gaze.
"…There is someone I want to defeat."
"A fourth-year?"
This year's Hunting Festival, the last chance.
It was a short clue, but it wasn't as if there was nothing to deduce. At my casual question, Seria nodded silently.
A sigh escaped my lips involuntarily. I felt a bit frustrated.
"Seria, the Academy isn't the final destination of your life. The world is outside the Academy. You'll have plenty of chances to compete even after you graduate, so is there really a need to be this impatient right now?"
"Because they will move further ahead."
Now it was my turn to be silent. As I firmly tied the splint to her ankle, I looked up at her.
Seria didn't meet my eyes, looking down at the ground at an angle. But in those eyes, I saw despair and a sense of defeat.
She was biting her lip with strong conviction.
"As time passes, that person will move even further ahead. To a point where I cannot even be compared."
"…How can you be so sure?"
"Because she is Yurdina."
I chose silence again. Seria's expression looked complicated. Look at that gloomy, shadowed face.
It was likely a face she had shown to no one. Everyone has at least one face like that. So, I lowered my head again and wrapped the bandage around her ankle.
Though she must have felt a stinging pain, Seria didn't let out even a small groan. I only heard the sound of her head drooping low.
"The Academy is the only place where the legitimate and the lowborn can be evaluated without discrimination, Senior Ian."
The world is outside the Academy.
I chewed over those words I had casually tossed at Seria, over and over again.
And I tied the bandage even tighter. Because that was all I could do for her right now.
To Seria, the world was that cruel of a place.