Chapter 5: Needle (4)
Chapter 5: Needle (4)
“Until now, my training hasn’t involved a single lesson in swordsmanship. I haven’t even spent time getting used to the weight of a weapon in my hand… If these intruders are real, can I actually face them? Even if they are just untrained thugs?”
It was a natural doubt.
Since meeting Liam, my routine had been devoid of martial technique. I had focused solely on the most basic physical conditioning.
Liam answered my skepticism with unwavering conviction.
「It is fine.」
His eyes held a certainty that brooked no argument.
「You are about to learn why the world once feared the name Caravan.」
That gave me the assurance I needed.
「The blood of steel flows within you, child.」
*
It wasn’t a conscious decision.
My body moved before my thoughts could even form.
The intruder raised his axe, and in that instant, a chill ran down my spine like a bolt of lightning. Immediately following that sensation, my body acted on its own accord.
Like an angler hooking a fish, the tip of my needle pierced the enemy. It happened in the blink of an eye.
Fast. Had my body always been this quick?
For a fleeting moment, I felt as if the blade and my body had fused into one.
My arm moved with elastic grace, feeling as though it had extended by an entire handspan. It was the result of the flexibility I had worked so hard to cultivate.
The tip of the slender blade slid into the man’s body with terrifying ease.
“Urgh…”
The needle had pierced his chest, right where the lungs were located. It should have struck bone, yet the needle sank deep.
How did I aim so precisely between the ribs?
How could I, someone who had never learned a single proper sword technique, perform such a masterly feat?
Memory.
The answer was simple.
From the moment I gripped the needle, the driving force moving me was the memory of the swordswoman, Mary. The memories of the sword, which I had been steadily digesting and absorbing, had become my weapon.
“You little brat!”
One of the men sitting on the bed roared, leaping to his feet.
My heart didn’t race.
My breathing remained steady.
It was as rhythmic as when I went for my timed morning jogs.
What should I do now?
I had never learned swordsmanship, let alone been in a real fistfight. Even if I had luckily wounded one with a surprise attack, what about the other three?
『Living as a mercenary taking requests, I always fought from a position of disadvantage.』
It was a memory that answered the question in my mind.
Not my own, but the recollection of a seasoned swordswoman.
『Because I was a lonely mercenary, not a knight belonging to some order, I always had to fight alone. The enemies were many, and numbers were a form of violence in themselves. I was disadvantaged in many ways. I was a fragile woman, I was alone, and I had no family or organization to rescue me if I were captured.』
I pulled the blade out.
Blood sprayed.
A stray droplet landed on the bridge of my nose.
His strength failing, the man I had first stabbed collapsed.
Thud.
His knees hit the floor. He had already dropped his axe, and his arms hung limp.
I twisted my wrist and thrust the needle once more. This time, I didn't aim for the chest, but the throat.
It was an instinctive action.
I was driven by the mindset of a mercenary who knew the danger of not finishing an opponent cleanly.
Two small holes were instantly bored into his neck, and a gruesome amount of blood poured out.
The fresh blood was hot. The scent of death spread through the mansion, mingling with the thick smell of iron. I dragged my feet, sliding backward to secure some space.
After spilling a torrent of blood, the man twitched a few times, his face pressed against the floor, before falling completely still. Everyone in the room knew what that meant.
Death.
It was my first murder.
Yet, there was no guilt, no sadness, no self-loathing.
There was no excitement or trembling, either. I simply stared at the remaining three with emotionless eyes.
『That is why I had to become strong.』
For some reason, the eyes of the three savage men were trembling. Were they feeling fear?
Meeting their very human gazes, I recalled what Liam had said.
「The blood of steel flows within you, child.」
Perhaps those words weren’t a metaphor, but the literal truth.
Right now, I felt like I had become a sword.
Not a human.
*
“You… you little piece of…”
The large man gnashed his teeth and glared at me, wielding a massive axe.
An uncomfortable standoff ensued.
In the silence, I thought.
My old habit—suspicion—began to bloom.
Why aren’t they lunging?
The man was physically far superior to me. Tall, heavily muscled, broad-shouldered.
Even his weapon was superior. If my needle clashed head-on with his axe, it would snap in an instant. Logically, he should have charged immediately.
And why are the two behind him frozen?
It was one against three.
If they rushed me simultaneously, I couldn’t possibly handle them with a single slender blade.
Even if my body had become faster, it was impossible to put holes in three throats in a single second. I was still just a novice who hadn’t even become a Sword Beginner. So why couldn’t they seize the advantage?
「They are terrified.」
Liam provided the answer.
「A moderate amount of fear helps one survive, but excessive fear clouds objective information. It bloats the enemy, making them seem far more powerful than they truly are.」
Ah, I see.
Following my suspicion, I used my senses to observe.
The men’s pupils were shaking; the hands gripping the axe and clubs were trembling. The man in the back was biting his lower lip hard, his face a sickly shade of pale. In the silence, I could almost hear their racing heartbeats.
The enemies were scared to death.
Why?
Because a mysterious boy had appeared out of nowhere and killed one of their comrades with a single strike.
And because that boy remained calm and indifferent, showing no emotional distress.
In their eyes, I must look like someone accustomed to killing. If I’m accustomed to killing, they’ll assume I’m skilled with a blade. If they think I’m a high-born noble son, they might suspect I’m a Sword Beginner or a Sword Runner who has received professional swordsmanship lessons…
To these intruders, I must look like a ghost.
A terrifying being that couldn’t be handled with a mere axe.
Then there’s no need to retreat.
Backing away further to gain space would only dilute their fear. Right now, I had to maximize and exploit that terror.
An overly tense human becomes stiff, and a stiff human inevitably makes mistakes.
That is the nature of the animal called man.
I took a step forward.
The sound of my footfall broke the silence.
“Don’t come closer! Stay back! I’ve killed plenty of brats like you—!”
Instead of answering, I gave my wrist a sharp twist. The tip of the blade pointed directly at the man.
The man’s pupils dilated. His agitation had reached its peak.
It was time to act.
“I’ll split your head—”
The man acted exactly as expected.
His shoulders hitched as he raised the axe high. A preparatory stance for a vertical overhead strike.
A powerful attack, but the wrong answer. The moment an opening appeared, the blade in my hand shot forward like an arrow.
“Ghk—”
A hole opened in his throat. The axe fell from his hands.
They couldn’t react to the speed of my needle. If that was the case, the outcome was already decided. In my memories, the swordswoman Mary always struck the enemy’s vitals. Areas where a single hit would be fatal.
『In the first or second strike, you must pierce the enemy’s vitals. That is how my sword was forged. Hegel said that unlike in chivalric novels, real sword fighting ends in an instant.』
Blood sprayed once more.
Terror spread even further in the eyes of the men standing behind.
“Ch-charge him!”
One of the two remaining men shouted.
“He… he’s good with a sword, but he’s just a small brat. G-get close and crush him. That’s the only—”
“Then you go first! You son of a bitch!”
“What? You bastard—”
Fear clouded their minds. They belatedly realized the option of rushing me together, but they couldn’t forget the two comrades who had died so easily. Their numerical advantage had become a disadvantage. Neither wanted to be the first to step forward.
Even as they bickered, I continued my steady advance.
“Hii-eek!”
As the distance closed, the men’s eyes widened. They weren’t holding axes, but long clubs. One of them swung his club wildly. It was longer than I expected. Simply twisting my body wouldn’t be enough to dodge it.
In that case?
A body like a dancer.
My body bent elastically. I twisted my waist, using my firm muscles to keep my balance from breaking. I evaded the club as if performing an acrobatic feat. The man’s eyes bulged.
“What the…”
It was a bizarre posture.
The swordswoman in my head spoke.
I can do it. Even from this position.
『I am a woman. I cannot change the gender I was born with. Therefore, I must fill my deficiencies with my strengths. Hegel said: utilize what only you can do. Don’t try to compensate for your weaknesses; make your strengths shine even brighter. My advantage is flexibility. A body as supple as the clowns who occasionally visited the village inn. I can aim for the enemy’s windpipe from any posture, from any angle.』
Thwip—
With a faint sound, the needle shot out. It accurately pierced the man’s eyeball.
“AAAAARGH!”
Blood splattered along with his scream. The man desperately covered his eye, and I turned my attention away from the now-incapacitated foe. Instead, I targeted the stunned man standing next to him.
In a posture where I seemed about to fall, instead of forcing myself to stay upright, I threw my head back.
I planted my left hand on the ground as if doing a handstand. Supporting my light frame, I flicked the wrist of my right hand holding the needle. The needle glided through the air and pierced the man’s groin.
“H-ugh.”
The man’s posture instinctively buckled. Re-gripping the needle after pulling it out, I extended my arm and twisted my wrist vertically. The slender needle pointed upward, passing through the bottom of his jaw and piercing into his brain.
The man’s body went limp. Only one remained.
“Uuu… uuuugh…”
The last man was moaning, clutching his punctured eye.
I walked slowly toward him.
“…”
My gaze fell sadly on the clean blankets my mother had cherished so much, now stained with blood…
*
The four uninvited guests who had come to my precious mansion were easily dealt with.
Liam’s words had been proven true.
I had killed large men armed with axes and clubs without difficulty.
Even as four corpses lay sprawled in the bedroom, my breathing wasn’t even labored.
Now, I had no choice but to accept it.
The sword specter I could see, Liam Caravan, was indeed my great ancestor. The glorious era of the Caravan family that my father had talked about until my ears bled was likely true as well. Therefore, Liam’s teachings would lead me to a high realm.
High enough to take revenge on Swordmaster Carlos. That damn maxim still echoed in my head.
Only a Swordmaster can kill a Swordmaster.
That was why I had to become a Swordmaster.
No matter what it took.
“…I suppose I handled that well enough?”
I buried the dead men and meticulously wiped away the blood splattered across the mansion. Of course, the metallic scent still lingered. Perhaps this smell would last forever. In truth, I wasn’t sure if it was a real smell or not. It might be the scent of death that only I could perceive.
Only I, who remembered the tragedy of that day.
「Indeed. From now on, pests will frequently be drawn to this place. Enemies far more threatening than the ones today may appear.」
“…”
「You must face them and strike them down rather than flee. That is the way of a Caravan. A Caravan becomes greater through repeated struggle. Like a sword that grows harder the more it is hammered.」
Liam looked at me and spoke.
「To achieve that, there are still steps you must climb.」
“…”
「First, you must become a Sword Beginner.」
His eyes flashed.
Like a blade.
「From today, your training will change.」