138. End of Spring
138. End of Spring
"...Why did she title it like this?"
"Who knows."
Leona answered shortly, running a careful hand over the cover.
"She was someone whose thoughts I could never read, so I wouldn't know. And I never got the chance to ask her directly."
"You could've just asked. What do you mean you never got the chance?"
Zing— Leona glared at me.
"I didn't ask because I was afraid I'd get beaten, you hopeless disciple. You really lucked out with your master. If you'd had my master, you'd already be beaten to death."
"Was she that terrifying?"
"In ten years, I could count on one hand the times her emotions showed on her face. And she always gave off this faint air that if you got too close for no reason, she'd kill you."
"Hmm..."
That Arisa?
Aside from during battle, always smiling brightly was Arisa's defining trait. She wore a blank expression?
As expected... I can't picture it.
Well, I could if I tried... but it doesn't come naturally.
Come to think of it, Sparkle said the same thing.
That after sealing the Demon King and returning alone, Arisa was very quiet and blunt.
Still, titling it like this pisses me off.
"Past Forgotten, New Cherry Blossoms," my ass.
Why the hell would she give it a name someone about to drop dead would come up with?
She should've titled it something idiotic like usual—like "How to Make a Fist Harder Than Etherium," or "How to Stop Being Teased for Looking Like a Chimpanzee," or "How to Throw a Really Freaking Strong Kick."
She was better at coming up with moronic titles than anyone.
"Tch."
"What's with that face?"
"What about my face?"
"You look like you just bit into a bug."
"I chew bugs just fine."
"Always with the posturing..."
"It's true."
I carefully turned the cover of the book.
Did she really need to make thirty volumes? Before opening it, I thought it was needlessly excessive, but now that I'm looking at it... even thirty volumes seems well-condensed.
External and internal aspects of the body. Even her own insights were densely written out by hand.
And that's not all. Monsters, Demonized Humans, Black Wizards, Demons.
It even contains methods for a Martial Artist to kill them with ease.
Of course, Arisa's insights are useless to me.
I don't need to know what triggered those insights either.
Even without them, I can... do well on my own.
But does that make them completely worthless?
No.
There are methods written in here that could supplement the problems I've noticed in myself.
However... from a quick skim, it seems I can't apply them right away. It says that to become a proper person, one must reach Tier 7 and undergo Body Reformation.
By Arisa's standards, that is.
No. By our standards.
Because to us, being a proper person means being able to single-handedly kill a high-grade Demon.
"But why are you giving this to me now?"
"Before, I didn't think you'd be able to learn it even if I showed you. Like I said... I was underestimating you."
"And now?"
"I can't gauge you."
"You shouldn't try to gauge a genius."
Leona closed her mouth and stared at me for a long while.
"When you got hit earlier. Do you know what went through my mind?"
"That you really wanted to hit me hard?"
"I thought that later on, and I'm still thinking it now, but before that. I thought you were Ronan's Reincarnation."
"...Hm."
Did I keep my expression in check? Did she notice?
What kind of face am I making right now?
But Ronan, huh.
Arisa gets called "Master," so why don't I get an honorific?
"But there's no way that's possible. Reincarnation is impossible in the first place, and also..."
"Also?"
"That Ronan. That dark-skinned, crazy bastard of a Ronan—there's no way he'd reincarnate as a petite beauty like you, enroll in the academy, hang out with pretty friends, wear a neat uniform, and become a Martial Artist who occasionally shows off cute little panties with her kicks."
"Cute little... panties...? What? When did I ever show them? You just looked on your own, Vice Dean."
What's "that Ronan" supposed to mean, and what's this "dark-skinned crazy bastard" business? Not that I'm judging by skin color, but my skin was bronze. It wasn't black.
Why is she talking shit about me behind my back?
"And also... crazy bastard? Were you acquainted with Ronan... sir?"
"Yeah."
Leona smiled faintly.
It wasn't her usual "nyahaha" laugh or her "keke" laugh—it was a mature smile.
"I knew him. No... maybe I was the only one who knew him one-sidedly. So I can't be sure. Knowing that Ronan's personality... there's a high chance he wouldn't remember."
What is this. What. What?
She knows me? But I don't remember?
What the hell is she talking about?
Did we meet before?
Beastkin. Lion Beastkin. Golden eyes.
...I did save some Beastkin who were on the verge of annihilation once. The Beastkin I barely managed to save and bring to the Imperial Capital ended up becoming slaves to the nobles there.
Of course, I hadn't anticipated that situation.
We lost our minds and, as soon as we returned, ripped the heads off the nobles who had enslaved the Beastkin.
The humans I killed then probably numbered a little over a hundred.
Anyway, in total, I helped Beastkin twice.
Is she saying Leona was there during one of those two times?
Or maybe we met on the battlefield.
Leona, Leona. Leona Megenberta.
The surname Megenberta is new to me, and the name Leona is new to me too.
Was she a common soldier?
No. Even if she was a common soldier, if she'd been a soldier with a small frame like Leona's, I'd probably remember her. But I don't.
"It must have been... quite an intense encounter."
"It was intense enough that no matter how much I lock away my memories, that scene still surfaces."
Good grief. When the hell was it?
Who is she? How does she know me?
I scratched my head and looked at Leona.
She doesn't seem to entertain even a fingernail's worth of the thought that I might be Ronan.
The Flame Emperor was the same.
That's only natural.
Because beings who know a lot about this world know that Reincarnation is absolutely impossible.
Unless they're like Sparkle—someone who knew my Past Life and can even see the form of souls—it's only natural that they wouldn't recognize me.
First... I set aside the encounter with Leona that I can't recall no matter how hard I think, and picked up Volume 1, which Leona had opened.
"Anyway, I get the feeling you're finally seeing me properly now. Since you're even showing me something like this."
"I've always been seeing you properly and teaching you diligently, you know?"
"It was to the point where I thought you had absolutely no talent for teaching, Vice Dean. I only kept up because I'm a genius. If it had been anyone else, they'd have given up and run off long ago."
"If it had been anyone else, I wouldn't have even considered taking them as a disciple."
"...Oh. If you were trying to move me with that line, then yes. I think you succeeded."
Leona laughed—keke.
"Still... yeah. You're right. Up until now, I taught you a bit... loosely. Mostly focused on physical acquisition. But now, I don't think I need to hold back anymore. The fact that you used the Deceptive Body means... your ability to attune Mana is monstrous."
"Can't you use the Deceptive Body either, Vice Dean?"
"I know the theory. So I tried it. My hip joint twisted and my arm tore off. After that, I never even thought about it again. No—I couldn't. It's a technique not permitted to humans."
She was just insulting me, and now she's praising me.
Of course, she said both without knowing I'm Ronan, but still, the carrot and stick are well balanced.
The arm that tore off back then seems to have been her left arm.
Leona, massaging her left shoulder as she leaned back in her chair, looked at me.
I met her golden eyes.
"So now do I just have to tell you where I learned it?"
"No."
Leona laughed—nyahaha—and shook her head.
"There's no point in digging into its origin now."
"Then what do I have to answer?"
"What I asked you before."
"Before?"
"Do you want to kill the Demon King?"
"I remember answering that it seemed like an extremely dangerous statement."
"And I answered that it was okay—that you could speak honestly to me."
Leona, wearing a peculiar smile, seemed to know exactly what answer I would give now.
"So, how about it? Have you changed your mind since before?"
"Yes."
"Which question is that answer for?"
I don't know why she wants such a definitive answer, but I opened my mouth as Leona wished.
"Someday, I will kill the Demon King."
"Not even 'I want to kill him'—you're certain you 'will kill him'... heehee. As expected, you're utterly arrogant and impudent. But... yeah. I like that answer."
Leona smiled brightly and nodded.
"So I'll have to teach you even harder and help you get stronger even faster."
Then she raised her right hand and extended her claws.
"Before that, there's something I need to tell you."
"What?"
"I heard you looked up information on the Heroes in the Forbidden Archive."
"Ha..."
A sigh escaped on its own.
I rubbed my face and muttered.
"...Sir Balamir swore up and down that no one but His Majesty the Emperor could know about that."
"My fists sometimes have the ability to glimpse the past and the future."
"Is it okay to beat up the commander of the Royal Guard like that?"
"If a much younger brat doesn't listen to his elders, shouldn't he get scolded?"
"Even so... that guy—what, he gets hit a little and just spills it? What a joke."
"What? Did your inner thoughts just come out of your mouth?"
"I said it out loud on purpose. I'd have said the same even if Sir Balamir were standing right in front of me. He couldn't have touched me anyway, since you're my master, Vice Dean."
"You're really insufferable."
Leona, wiggling her clawed fingers, muttered, "Though if that had actually happened, his reaction would've been worth seeing."
"Well, anyway. I heard you're chasing traces from four hundred years ago."
"So?"
"I won't ask why. I won't ask about how you were able to use the Deceptive Body either. What you're planning to do by searching for the Hero, what you are. I won't ask anything anymore. Why? Because I already got my answer."
The answer that I'll kill the Demon King.
"Can you trust me that much?"
"I can. Because you carry the name Eustetia. Even if you deceive me, I'll accept it as something I couldn't help. That name gives me reason to do so."
Leona paused for a moment, then traced the area near her heart with her sharp claws.
"So, from memories that have been locked away for a very long time, I'll tell you the things that might help you."
What—? Before I could ask, Leona continued.
"The place my master—Arisa Eustetia—last headed to."
And.
"The place where my master might be now."
With those words, Leona's claws dug into her own chest.