Commander of the Royal Knights (1)
Commander of the Royal Knights (1)
I returned to the evening of the opening ceremony.
It was the exact moment I had died after challenging the Twenty-Year-Old Hero, Carlos.
I set down my sword, slumped onto the bed, and closed my eyes.
A wave of pain washed over me. After having my head severed, of course it hurt.
Still, thinking of the countless experiences I had gained in my previous life made the pain bearable.
The swordsmanship and mana cultivation technique I had learned from the Duke of Ceuta, an advisor to the Royal Knights; the sparring matches at the Pisen Marquisate; and, finally, my battle with the Vice-Commander of the Royal Knights.
Though what training and sparring had engraved into my body had vanished, my mind still remembered.
As I continued to dwell on the events before my death, the pain eventually subsided.
I immediately grabbed my longsword and headed outside.
Night had fallen, but I had to swing my sword before the night wore on any further.
Before the memories faded, I had to engrave them into my body.
After telling the staff member at the building entrance that I was going for night training, I headed to the nearest training ground.
The training ground was empty.
The soft light spilling from the windows of the surrounding buildings kept it from feeling too desolate.
It wasn't the brilliant nightscape of my past life, but the gentle glow of this world wasn't half bad either.
I tried swinging my sword.
I moved my blade according to the swordsmanship I remembered.
As expected, it felt awkward.
It was the kind of awkwardness where the mind remembered, but the body was experiencing it for the first time.
This wasn't the first time I had experienced this.
It was something I had gone through constantly over my countless repeated lives.
Resolving it wasn't difficult, either.
I just had to keep repeating the movements before the memories faded.
I swung my sword.
Until the break of dawn.
Experiencing the second-year classes again, things unfolded much as they had before.
With fewer liberal arts hours and more Knight Faculty classes, I ended up training alone.
It was because of the vast difference in skill between me and the other students.
Before, I would have found it troublesome, but now I actually preferred it.
I needed time to internalize the swordsmanship and mana cultivation technique I had acquired before my death.
Except when I was sleeping or in class, I was constantly swinging my sword, yet time was still scarce.
"I feel like they should give you an early graduation rather than just skipping a grade..."
Just as in my previous life, Katrin approached me while I was swinging my sword alone and struck up a conversation.
Her words were much the same as before.
I probably answered like this back then, didn't I?
"That would be impossible. Because of my liberal arts grades."
"Isn't skipping a grade at least possible?"
My conversation with her unfolded much as it had in my previous life.
We talked about the disadvantages of being a bastard child, and she lamented the state of the country.
Then, just as before, Katrin spoke to me and took her leave.
"Wait, I'll find a way."
As I lived much as before, my life unfolded in much the same way.
Starting the next day, Katrin was absent from class, and I continued to swing my sword, completely indifferent to the commotion around me.
As I kept swinging my sword, the weekend arrived.
Just as in my previous life, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and left the Academy.
And just as before, I met the Auction House Owner and sold the items in my backpack.
As before, he wanted the backpack more than the stolen goods spilling out of it, but even now, I had no intention of giving it to him.
Instead, I asked him something else.
"Did you say your name was the Divine Sword Tracker?"
At my words, the expression of the man who had been grumbling as he sorted through the stolen goods changed.
"It was my name back when I was a mercenary, but yes, I still use it."
He spoke calmly, a far cry from the man who had been throwing a tantrum over the backpack just moments ago.
"I understand that a mercenary's name is meant to declare one's goals and identity."
When I said that, the Divine Sword Tracker smiled bitterly.
"Some people are like that, while others just choose a name because it sounds cool. That's how it is."
"It doesn't seem like 'Divine Sword Tracker' was chosen just to look cool, though."
"Well, it wasn't just for show, but that was back when I was full of passion. Now, I suppose only lingering regrets remain."
After a moment of reminiscence, he looked puzzled and asked, "But why do you ask?"
"Ah, because I've seen the Divine Sword of the Pisen Marquisate."
I had seen it in the timeline erased by my death—and not only had I seen it, but I had even crossed blades with it.
"Oh, you've seen that sword? They really wouldn't show it to me, no matter what tricks I tried."
At my words, the Divine Sword Tracker's eyes widened.
His reaction was more intense than I'd expected, so I couldn't help but ask, "Surely the Divine Sword you're tracking isn't the one in the Marquisate?"
If so, I had spoken needlessly.
Fortunately, the man shook his head.
"I was looking for the real Divine Sword. The lost Divine Sword used by the Hero."
He didn't say why he was looking for it, and I hadn't asked him that much yet, either.
"The reason I wanted to see the Marquisate's Divine Sword was that I thought it might offer a clue."
"Would you be able to tell something if you saw it?"
"If it has any connection to the Divine Sword, yes. But I couldn't even get a good look at it from a distance, let alone hold it. I tried to negotiate using the relics I possess, but they wouldn't even give a common mercenary the time of day."
Since he had awakened, he was likely no ordinary mercenary, but dealing with the Marquis or the Marquis's Knight Order Commander would have been impossible for him.
The dagger's ego had already confirmed that the sword in the Marquisate was related to the Divine Sword.
If anyone could discover something more, it might be this man, who was capable of identifying relics.
"I'll come back next time. If I'm lucky, I might bring some good news."
"Then, does that mean you might sell the backpack?"
As soon as the talk about the Divine Sword ended, the man immediately reverted to being the Auction House Owner.
I shook my head and headed to the next location.
My next stop was the mansion where the Grand Archduchess lived.
There, I met the Grand Archduchess and handed over the damaged relics.
Unlike before, we didn't bicker over the split percentage.
"Once they're repaired, I'll give you fifty percent of the profits. You might feel it's insufficient, but I hope you'll consider it a down payment for our ongoing contract."
At my words, the Grand Archduchess agreed.
Even though I was taking ten percent more than before, the atmosphere was actually better because I had promised to continue supporting her.
Since my cost of goods was zero anyway, it wasn't a problem—even though I didn't know whether I'd be able to obtain more in the future.
Thus, the weekend passed, and on Monday, the groups for the team project were decided.
The team members were the same as before.
The Grand Archduchess, the Princess, Balea, Mirisa, and Joachim.
I stared at Joachim's name on the list posted at the entrance.
I still hadn't decided what to do with Joachim.
Unlike the others, it wasn't easy to define him as an enemy.
He wasn't affiliated with the Organization, and he wasn't a bad person.
But he was an imperial citizen, and his older brother was a member of the Organization who had died by my hand.
And once things got underway, he would inevitably get caught up in it.
I shook my head.
He was someone who would block my path eventually, anyway.
Thinking about it, things were no different from before my death. I couldn't afford to go easy on him just because he was a good person.
Time passed, and soon it was time for our first meeting.
As before, introductions proceeded under the Grand Archduchess's lead, followed by her apology to us.
"I'm sorry. The project is called... the Artifact Investigation Squad."
Everyone realized what kind of team project this was, but once again, no one objected.
Just as before, each person spoke about how they would conduct the investigation, while I watched the familiar scene with indifference.
"You have that expression again. That look of watching from afar. Whenever you make that face, I can't help but wonder what you're thinking."
Balea spoke from beside me. If anyone could recognize it, it would be Balea, who had watched me for a long time.
"I was just spaced out for a moment. Thank you. Thanks to you, I've snapped out of it."
When life repeats, there are times when I feel detached from the world, as if I'm separated from it.
At times like that, I had to snap out of it quickly. Spacing out could cause my plans to go awry.
Even after the meeting ended, there was still work to be done.
Once the meeting was over, I left the drawing room, leaving behind Balea, who was staring at me with her characteristically peculiar expression.
Just as before, the Princess called out to me from behind, and I made a request of her once again.
I took care to keep everything as close to how it had been before as possible.
The results would be known tomorrow.
Fortunately, nothing had changed.
On Monday, Katrin returned to class, accompanied by an old man leaning on a cane—the Honorary Duke of Ceuta.
Everyone was puzzled by the sight of an ordinary-looking old man, but when they were told he had come to observe me, they accepted it just as before.
Leaning on his cane, the old man approached me as I stood apart from the others.
Standing before me, he scanned my body just as he had done before.
"I clearly heard that you are practicing a Mana Cultivation Technique, so why is your body in that state?"
The exact same words as before.
My response, however, was different.
"Rather than checking everything one by one, it would be faster for you to watch me swing my sword."
"Are you saying your body can be explained by that as well? What an interesting fellow."
I raised my sword. Then I spoke to the old man again.
"I would like you to keep my true skills a secret."
The old man snorted at my words.
"Just swing your sword already. If I like what I see, I might even make a contract with you."
Though I had never heard the reason, the Duke of Ceuta had once gone as far as making a contract at the temple to keep my secret.
I could trust his word to keep it a secret.
I took my stance and swung my sword with all my might.
I didn't draw up enough mana for anyone to notice it from a distance.
Nor did I use any other abilities.
Instead, I unleashed all the swordsmanship and mana cultivation techniques I had learned before my death, the ones I had engraved into my body through training.
Whoosh.
The wind whipped up, and with a sharp crack, the sound of the air splitting rang out.
Shifting from the Duke's swordsmanship to the Marquis's swordsmanship, my mana cultivation technique transformed.
The sword accelerated, then slowed down once more.
The world seemed to slow down, as if I were the only one moving.
Just as I was losing myself deeper and deeper in the swordsmanship, a shout rang out.
"Stop!"
It was the old man shouting.
Startled, I stopped my swing and immediately realized why he had shouted.
Every student and knight who had been training on the grounds was staring at me.
I hadn't even drawn up any mana, had I?
Though the thought crossed my mind, a look at the marks on the ground made it clear why they were watching.
The ground was gouged, splintered, and swept aside.
The firmly packed ground had become uneven and rugged.
The sword hadn't even touched it. Nor was it a miracle wrought by mana.
It was caused solely by the wind generated by the sword.
"I am sorry! I drew up too much mana."
I apologized loudly to the people watching.
The knights and students turned their heads away with skeptical expressions.
But one person was not fooled by my words.
"What do you mean, you drew up mana? If anyone else had drawn up enough mana to leave marks like this, I, standing right next to you, would have coughed up blood from the shockwave."
The old man stared intently at me.
"I see why you asked me to keep it a secret."
The old man shook his head as he looked at my face.
"Are you really only that old? Even if a genius had been swinging a sword since they were in the womb, it would be difficult to achieve this."
In terms of the actual time I'd spent swinging a sword, I'd indeed been at it longer than the span from the womb to the present.
"I only came because the Princess and Katrin begged me, and yet here a literal monster suddenly appears."
The old man let out a sigh. What I'd shown him was different this time, so of course his reaction was different too.
"But where on earth did you learn all this? Ah, right, you asked me to keep it a secret. Good grief, did I make a useless promise?"
Lamenting to himself, the old man eventually shook his head.
"Still, with this level of skill, I'm not sure if there's anything left for me to teach you."
In truth, I hadn't spent much time learning, so there was still much left for me to learn from the Duke of Ceuta.
But for now, there was something I had to confirm first.
"By any chance, do you know where the Commander of the Royal Knights is?"