59. Yeah, It's Petty Alright
59. Yeah, It's Petty Alright
Hwangseong, the imperial capital.
In the dazzling office of Emperor Siegfried IV—the middle-aged man with deeper wrinkles than Marquess Lemnos—only two people remained, strangely enough.
A private audience with the emperor, who could hold the empire in the palm of his hand and move it, was said to be worth more than ten million gold.
There were not many people who could have a private audience with the emperor in his office, not in the throne room where the ministers gathered.
"I was surprised when you suddenly went to inspect the Academy. Was it something you had to keep secret from me as well?"
"Yes. There was something I absolutely had to confirm."
And Linda, the Empire's signature Master, was one of those few people.
The two, who spoke without reserve, had been friends since their academy days.
The combination of a royal with the lowest succession rights and a commoner had been famous at the Academy.
Though in the end, he was the one who became emperor.
The two still maintained their unreserved friendship, and that was the foundation of Emperor Siegfried IV's powerful rule.
What could be as strong as having the most powerful person in the empire as a friend?
"The Western Kingdom sent a proposal asking if our academy students and their academy students could hold an exchange meeting."
"From Clover..? Weren't they the ones who refused for nearly ten years even when we asked..?"
Siegfried separately picked out and told her information she ought to know.
Troublesome matters were all things he or the ministers could handle, but problems only a 'Master' could deal with occasionally came up.
An exchange between the academy students of each country posed no problem in itself.
However, because the victory or defeat had become a battle of pride between nations, the reality was that academies with clear differences in skill could not readily request exchange meetings.
Since the empire always selected excellent students through exams, other academies had not dared to challenge it recently, but an exchange match had come in after a long time.
There was no problem up to this point.
"Yes.. it's a strange thing. And yesterday, they notified us that the Sword Saint would accompany them as an advisor for that exchange meeting."
But if the kingdom's Master.. the Sword Saint came along, the story changed.
"They're going to let the Sword Saint into the Empire? The insolent bastard still hasn't grasped his place, I see."
A Master was a strategic weapon of the nation. Letting one into the heart of the empire alongside students was a clear declaration of war.
The corner of Linda's mouth slowly curved upward.
"There's no way that arrogant one is really going to the Academy to watch over his juniors.... Will you handle this?"
The option of refusal existed, but she did not voice it.
Since they shared a border, she already knew the Sword Saint's personality well.
He wasn't the type to be deterred just because he was blocked.
If forbidden, he would likely try to infiltrate through an invisible route instead, which would make managing him more troublesome.
It was easier to let him enter openly and then manage him.
"... I see. Shall I just keep an eye on him until he enters the Academy then?"
"You're not watching until the end?"
"I have a lot to do. Devoting all my time to a bastard like that is extremely inefficient.."
The emperor was surprised when Linda said she'd leave the task to someone else.
He almost wondered if this was really the Empire's Greatest Sword he knew.
The Linda who never refused a fight that came to her, who always sought a place to fight with all her might, had kicked away the opportunity to clash with a Master?
"For you to refuse a fight, the sun must be rising in the west."
"There's no need to worry about the Academy. A Shadow is hiding there, you see."
The emperor's eyes widened.
"Was that the reason for your unannounced inspection... Then there is no need to worry."
"Still, let's keep at least one reserve in place."
—————————————————
In the evening, not long after Academy classes ended, the dry sound of clashing metal echoed against the twilight glow in an empty lot near the dormitory.
-Chaeng!!
"Keuk!!"
Liber lost his grip on his sword and fell backward.
He had attacked Atlas's wrist with a real sword but was counterattacked and knocked down.
He had been hit by a counterattack strong enough to make him lose the sword he was gripping tightly, yet there was not a single cut visible on him.
Since it was a spar with real swords, it was extremely dangerous, but the control was frighteningly well done.
However, as if displeased by this, Liber picked up the sword that had fallen to the ground and roughly kicked off the ground to rise.
"Now, calm your excitement. Where do you think you went wrong?"
Since the atmosphere seemed too overheated, I stopped Liber just as he was about to start the spar again.
It's all right for your chest to burn hot, but it's not good if your head gets hot too.
"Haa.. haa.. You're adjusting to my level anyway, but I moved impatiently again.."
"Right. Thinking fast and being impatient are different things."
After thinking it over carefully, Liber gave the correct answer.
He hadn't been like this in the morning, but his condition wasn't very good.
Simoa's Secret Sword Technique was a quick sword style that approached swiftly like a wolf to strike the opponent's vital points first.
Since it moved fast, one had to coldly judge how to deceive the opponent and slip through their openings, but today he was lacking in that aspect.
"Let's stop here for today."
"No, I can still do more..!"
"You can't even focus properly."
Thanks to the training so far and the effects of the elixir, Liber had become faster.
That aspect was definitely showing results.
He was getting stronger, faster, and his Aura Blade was growing denser.
His skill needed to rise in tandem with that, but if it was like this, there was a problem.
"That's... I'm sorry."
Liber, knowing his body condition was strange, couldn't even meet my eyes.
At that moment, I was certain. The current Liber was not the usual Liber.
"Do you have some kind of worry?"
"I told you before.. everyone around me is stronger than me.."
"That's not it right now."
A look of bewilderment was all over Liber's face.
Seeing how it all showed on his face the moment he heard the words, he was an honest kid.
But he didn't voice it aloud.
He clearly had a worry, but he seemed to have absolutely no intention of talking about it.
Was it a problem he didn't want revealed?
"If you can't focus, pushing more won't be efficient. Go shower and let's have dinner."
I had an extremely ominous feeling.
This time, instead of letting it slide easily, I wondered if I should apply a drastic remedy.
————————————
At the Academy, there was a dining hall available for students, faculty, and staff.
Instead of having only one location, it was a space where golems capable of cooking all sorts of dishes busily moved, a gracious place that provided food commoners might never see in their entire lives for free.
The bustling crowd of countless students gathered together was a flaw if one considered it a flaw, but the interior was decorated quite nicely, making it a place always worth visiting.
"Emy, don't you find me trustworthy?"
"What's with the sudden question?"
And I began lamenting my plight to Emy, who had come out to eat dinner together.
"As expected, with a height like this, I probably don't have a trustworthy image."
I had an ideal self-image that only I had set for myself.
With this face and this strength, over 185cm tall with broad shoulders... I wanted to look like Andy.
Did Emy and Liber also think I wasn't reliable and thus wouldn't lean on me?
"Ah.. no!! Atlas, you're incredibly trustworthy and someone I can rely on.."
Emy panicked when I made a heavily self-deprecating remark.
Her brow furrowed the moment she heard it.
"That's rich, coming from the guy who went off alone like, 'Ugh! whether I die or not!'"
"Ahh, that's so petty. That was a question I was bound to lose, wasn't it..!!"
"I'm hurt, you know. Where else will you find someone like me who helps with training, listens to all your worries, and solves them too.."
I really was hurt. Caring for those two had been my top priority since coming to the Academy.
They wouldn't know how much I worried that they might go somewhere strange and pop by themselves, or meet an enemy too strong for them to handle and burst like a sunfish.
Even now, I was afraid of that.
Especially since Emy had a past incident.
"Rather than Atlas not being trustworthy... it's probably a very personal problem."
Emy narrowed her eyes at my words.
"I think it's because they think it's a problem that won't be solved even if they tell someone. If they say it for nothing, a secret they don't want exposed might come to light and things just get awkward between them... Atlas, don't you have something like that too?"
"Is that a self-introduction?"
"Geez... I answered seriously and you're too mean."
When I spoke playfully, she smacked my arm repeatedly with her left hand.
"Sorry, sorry. Me... well. I already told you all my problems."
No matter how much I thought about it, I had told her everything.
There was only one unresolved problem for me.
"... Growing taller?"
"What could be more important than that."
Really, just one.
That one and only.
The conflict with my parents had been forcibly tied up when they up and died on their own... and all the other big and small things from the past had been resolved, so nothing remained.
"I hope Atlas's wish comes true too."
When I spoke of my one and only wish, Emy smiled softly.
Right then, someone next to us shouted loudly.
"Saying that right in front of me, aren't you being too mean?"
"Yeah, I meant for you to hear it, don't worry."
Liber, who had been sitting beside us, frowned slightly and glared at me as if he would devour me.
It seemed Liber, who had been listening to everything I had said until now, had finally burst after holding it in.
If he had complaints, he should have spoken up.
"... It's not that serious of a problem."
Liber, who had been huffing, swept the hair stuck to his face up with his fingers and said it was no big deal, but who would believe that?
"So it is a problem after all."
There was a case right next to me of someone who had been groaning alone before bursting, and if things were like this, I couldn't stand the anxiety.
Emy and Liber didn't seem to know how important they were.
They needed to realize that their problems might be the wingbeats of a butterfly connected to a larger.. fate of the world.
They would never know, but because I knew, I had no choice but to react sensitively.
"Are you really going to be this childish?!"
"Yeah, because I'm small, my temper is small too."
I switched my expression to the most teasing one possible, to look as childish as possible.
It might look petty and childish, but I'd keep this up until he talked.
Now that the turning point had been shattered, events I didn't know about would keep occurring, and I couldn't proceed by judging based only on the knowledge I had anymore.
Even if I couldn't hear everything, I had to at least know the clue.
"Geez... Fine. I'll tell you."
Under the continued assault, Liber, whose face had turned bright red, finally opened his mouth.