Chapter 13: Auditore da Sicilia (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 13: Auditore da Sicilia (2)
There is something I need to make absolutely clear.
To get straight to the point, this power bestowed upon me is no divine blessing or grace. Nor is it some peerless talent ordained by heaven. If anything, I suspect it is closer to a curse.
To avoid relying on the Blessing of the Sword God, I had gone in search of a new armament. Yet, as if mocking my efforts, that power pursued me and took control of my body.
This time, there was no excruciating pain. No, far from pain, a pure, intoxicating pleasure and an overwhelming sense of lethargy—unlike anything I had ever felt—wrapped around my body. Like a marionette bound by strings, the curse jerked and pulled me around.
As I swung my sword in half-resignation, something unknown whispered sweetly in my ear. It was a language I had never heard before.
It sounded like a sweet persuasion, yet also like a spine-chilling threat. However, its intent was engraved into my brain as if branded there. A pitch-black malice rising from the depths.
'Cut more, slash more, destroy more.'
Foolishly, I surrendered my body. I wanted to plunge endlessly into the abyss of that terrible ecstasy, to see how deep it went. Just then, someone called out to me. A name that, before I knew it, I had come to recognize as my own.
Through a world turning a deep, vivid blue, a red-haired girl came into view. She was calling my name as if screaming in despair. At her cry, the shattered fragments of the world fused back together, returning to a single reality.
Summoning every ounce of my strength, I struggled to break free from the thing trying to consume and corrupt me. I threw the broken half of the wooden sword as if launching a projectile. Even then, the sword clung to my skin like a layer of flesh, refusing to let go.
Still, I tore it away. Even if my skin peeled off with it, I felt that if I didn't rip it off now, I would lose my sense of self forever.
The moment I threw the sword, my body was pulled forward like an arrow drawn to a magnet, landing right at the feet of the girl before me.
Only then could I remember her name.
Chloe.
The yandere who, until not long ago, had been trying to kill me. The girl who had just awakened my fading consciousness. Only when I completely let go of the sword did I finally regain my freedom of movement.
I felt a mix of annoyance and gratitude toward her for waking me up. After all, she was the one who had caused this in the first place by breaking my sword. So, as a playful punishment, I decided to let her off with a light flick to the forehead.
Having received the flick, Chloe blinked and opened her mouth a few times, looking utterly dumbfounded. Meeting her bewildered gaze, I patted her head.
It was one of the guidelines for encountering a yandere that I had seen on Neotube. I didn't know how reliable it was, but I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. I was terrified that I might reflexively reach for the wooden sword she was holding.
If things kept going like this, I would have to spend the rest of my life avoiding swords. A talent akin to a curse, manifesting only in exchange for my lifespan.
Thrown into this world as an alien existence, this was a talent I had to live with from now on.
I didn't ask for much in this place. I just wanted to live a normal life. I thought it would be enough to just smooth over minor incidents as they came.
But only now did I realize. Something trying to swallow my sanity was lurking inside my body.
On my way back to the dormitory, calming the raging torrent coursing through my veins, I thought:
This is no blessing. It is a curse solely intent on consuming me—the Technique of Defying Heaven.
* * *
Since that day, Kang Geomma had not shown his face in class for three days. Only Instructor Lee Won-bin and Chloe noticed his absence; the atmosphere of the classroom remained unchanged.
Chloe wanted to ask him why. If she had known his phone number, she would have tried contacting him, but she realized she didn't even have his contact information.
'Why didn't I ask him before?'
She had even gone to Kang Geomma's dorm room and knocked. Each time, only a raspy, metallic groan leaked through the door.
Chloe barely suppressed her urge to break down the door and enter. She felt that if she did, Geomma would end up hating her.
Neither conversations with her newly made friends nor the morning warm-up exercises could warm her cooling heart.
She had loved the sight of him in the classroom, always resting his chin on his hand, lost in thought as he stared out the window.
She had lost count of how many times she stole glances at him each day. Fearing he might think of her as a creepy girl, she had been cautious even about starting a conversation.
At first, she thought she had fallen for him because he threw himself in harm's way to save her, but perhaps that was just an excuse. Chloe simply needed Kang Geomma.
'...I miss him.'
By now, her feelings grew by the second, to the point where she couldn't even imagine a daily life without him. She wanted him by her side, no matter what means or methods she had to use.
Just like that, another day or two slipped by. It was on a morning when the sky was overcast with dark, ink-like clouds that Kang Geomma finally showed up in the classroom.
Instructor Lee Won-bin slammed his attendance book onto the podium as he spoke. His voice boomed like thunder. His presence was so imposing that even the unpredictable noble cadets cowered before his stern expression.
Lee Won-bin scanned the faces of the cadets. Sure enough, Kang Geomma was nowhere to be seen today either.
That diligent and humble cadet had vanished without a trace one day. Any other instructor would have gone looking for him.
But because Lee Won-bin respected the free will of his students, he decided to trust Kang Geomma. Surely, there must be a reason.
"Since rain is forecast for this morning, there will be no morning training. Instead, study on your own."
Having said that, Lee Won-bin pulled out his chair and slumped into it. Although the cadets, who were supposed to be self-studying, chattered in low voices, the instructor simply laughed it off.
They were hot-blooded youths. They couldn't sit still, and with friends nearby, they were bound to talk. Lee Won-bin pulled a pocketbook from his coat and began to read.
Slide—
The classroom door opened.
In an instant, all eyes locked onto the doorway.
Normally, his entrance would never have drawn such attention.
"Huh...?"
Instructor Lee Won-bin was taken aback by Kang Geomma's sudden appearance.
His eyes looked as if a layer of emotion had been stripped away. The last few centimeters of his hair had turned a dusty white. The boyishness from just a few days ago was gone, replaced by a young man exuding a decadent, weary aura.
"Geomma!?"
Chloe sprang up from her seat, her expression freezing. A faint sense of dread quickly washed over her entire body. The goosebumps rising on her forearms refused to subside.
"I apologize for being late, Instructor."
"Ah, no, it's fine."
Entering the classroom, Kang Geomma gave Lee Won-bin a brief nod and headed toward his usual seat. Glances darted toward him from all directions.
—Isn't he that special admission student? Did he always look like that?
—Right...? But didn't he get kind of handsome?
Whispers filled the classroom.
Ignoring the staring eyes, Kang Geomma stared out the window.
His eyes, heavy with deep fatigue, remained completely still, as if looking down on every single cadet in the room.
* * *
When lunchtime arrived, Chloe cautiously approached him.
"G-Geomma."
"Yeah, Chloe."
"Did something happen?"
"No, nothing much."
"...Well,"
Chloe hesitated, searching for the right words while stealing glances at him, before speaking in a barely audible whisper.
"You didn't show up for days, so I thought something had happened to you. Was it... because of our sparring match back then?"
Her clear, innocent eyes welled with tears. To reassure her, I gave her a gentle smile and shook my head.
"I just had a really bad cold. Thanks for worrying about me."
"I'm glad to hear that, but..."
Still looking uneasy, Chloe trailed off. I reassured her once more, telling her I was fine. In truth, having a cold was a blatant lie.
For the past three days, I had been tormented not by physical pain, but by a severe withdrawal-like state that left my mind utterly devastated.
Since the sparring match, I had locked myself in my room, unable to eat a single thing. I buried myself in bed, praying for the violent, convulsive tremors to subside.
The price of wielding power with a broken armament far surpassed the compressed agony I had experienced before.
And that wasn't the only change. When I looked in the mirror, my facial structure was the same, but my expression had turned so cold that even I was startled.
I couldn't count how many times I touched my face. Even the tips of my hair had turned white.
It was definitely the penalty of that shitty blessing. When I let out a deep sigh, Chloe fell silent and stared at me blankly.
She seemed to be feeling guilty. Well, she was the last person to see me, and she had been my opponent in that intense training session.
To ease her obvious guilt, I changed the subject.
"Do you want to have that dinner we talked about having before, today?"
"Huh? Really?!"
At my words, Chloe's face lit up and her eyes sparkled. She practically bounced up and down, unable to contain her excitement. She must have been incredibly happy.
"But today, I'd like to eat something you cooked, Chloe."
"O-Of course! I'll do my absolute best!"
Chloe clasped her small hands to her chest and nodded rapidly. Having starved for days, my stomach was practically sticking to my spine. I desperately wanted to put something in my belly.
"Then I'll make whatever you want to eat today, Geomma! What do you like?"
"Hmm, I'd like to eat fish. It's been a while. Ever since I had it at your dorm, I haven't been able to eat it because it's too expensive."
While we were chatting away, I felt a gaze on my back. A sharp, damp, and unpleasant presence.
My eyes scanned the surroundings. With my senses heightened after what I had gone through over the past few days, I quickly located the source of the gaze.
Standing by the door, a red-haired male student was staring at us with a sneer.
As I cut off the conversation and looked toward the door, Chloe's gaze followed. Her face instantly contorted in disgust.
"Do you know him?"
Chloe nodded silently. I could read a faint emotion on her face—something akin to avoidance and fear. For some reason, the guy's sneer also pissed me off.
Clicking my tongue, I stood up and strode toward the male student.
"Hey."
"..."
"If you have something to say, let's settle it with our fists. Like a man."