Chapter 115: The Sword That Severs the Yoke 1
Chapter 115: The Sword That Severs the Yoke 1
The incident where the Incinerating Tyrant's warship had violated Academy airspace and torn through the sky as he pleased was, by now, safely in the past.
Not because much time had actually passed, but because the Academy had gained two new attractions that stole everyone's attention.
The Retriever who did morning exercises with Lee Ha-rin, and the giant cat who accepted snacks so long as you offered them with both hands.
Since neither Lee Ha-rin nor Kim Ha-eun were exactly idle freeloaders at the Academy,
those two messengers roamed the campus as they pleased.
A cadet from the neighboring building took pity on the Retriever racing across the training grounds under the midday sun with its tongue lolling out and shared some cool water with it — and the dog brought back a lost keepsake from her childhood.
One day, an instructor who'd been dumped by a man playfully offered a snack to the giant cat with exaggerated politeness, and the next day the man had a change of heart and accepted her confession.
Those two animals weren't ordinary animals — they were messengers held in special regard by a Constellation. Treat them with respect, and good things happened.
They trained hard at the Academy for conviction and justice, sure, but they were still hot-blooded youths. Couples kept getting caught sneaking affection past the Constellations' voyeurism and the instructors' surveillance — who wouldn't be fascinated by rumors like these?
The result was what I was looking at now.
"Look over here, please!"
"Premium ham airlifted from the Western Continent!"
"I have jerky handmade by Southern Continent Incarnations!"
A huge cat huddled in the cool shade of a tree.
And in front of it, people holding thin-sliced meat, jerky, and sausages, all standing in line.
Not just cadets — even instructors and professors had mixed into the crowd.
A cat that chases things away.
A cat that drives away misfortune.
The creature that had become an Academy landmark snatched a sausage in its jaws,
sprang up, used the shoulder of the woman who'd offered it as a springboard, and vanished somewhere.
A few sharp-eyed onlookers tried to track the black trajectory, but failed.
Among the disappointed crowd, only the female cadet who'd lost her sausage beamed and dusted off her shoulder.
'What a goddamn circus.'
I'd known since my previous life that cat owners humbly called themselves cat butlers and servants,
but this was practically an idol fan-signing event.
Then again, if a cat that erased misfortune and brought good luck in return wasn't more impressive than an idol, what was?
I finished my walk with that thought and was about to head inside a building.
Checking texts through Lee Ha-rin's smartphone last time had been a nuisance,
so I intended to demand a smartphone registered in my name from the Academy.
The Academy was part of the Continental Union — surely they could spare an ID and a smartphone for a Constellation who had Descended.
'Considering how many offerings I've surrendered so far—'
I felt it: a gut-level certainty that I absolutely could not let my foot touch the ground.
A chill ran down my spine.
A sensation I'd barely felt since becoming a Constellation — but a feeling I'd lived with constantly back on Earth in my previous life.
'Am I about to die?'
Before the thought could finish forming, I channeled magic power into my legs and leaped toward the training grounds — no, I hurled myself forward.
It didn't matter that this was my real body, not a Clone, or that Constellations couldn't die or be harmed without special means.
My instincts, honed through experience, were screaming bloody murder: jump if you don't want to get fucked.
"Ah, er, my apologies?"
My posture broke and I overexerted, tumbling several rotations across the dirt.
Ignoring the murmuring voices of the cadets, I glared through the thick cloud of dust at the person who had been behind me.
A traditional Eastern-style outfit with wide sleeves, and a long blade secured at her waist.
"I'd thought I might catch you off guard, you being a Dream Demon — but I see now my thinking was shallow."
A beauty brushing back hair as black as ebony, looking flustered.
She held the cat by the scruff of its neck with one hand.
That foul-tempered beast had its tail curled, eyes downcast toward the ground, letting out a thin, meek little cry: myaaaooong~
A stark contrast to its usual deep, weighty yowling.
"For a man to notice the killing intent ingrained in my body."
I steadied my heart, suddenly pounding as if a bomb had gone off, and glared at her.
A chill along my spine. Sweat beading under my arms and on my palms.
Within seconds my lips had gone dry, and I couldn't even blink from the unease.
"Hm, are you all right now?"
The incomprehensible terror receded, and the muttering of the cadets around me filtered in.
"Uh, that, that sword...?"
"Oh shit, go get Tae-rim."
"Her, why— wait, you're her Contract Constellation?"
"The Yoke—"
The woman gave an embarrassed smile and raised both hands, palms spread open.
Freed, the cat fled with a kyaong! at a speed far faster than usual.
She watched that black trajectory with what looked like regret, then addressed me.
"As you've gathered, I too am a Constellation. I am called The Sword That Severs the Yoke, responsible for a portion of the Eastern Continent's front lines. Forgive me — I've been rude at our first meeting."
Last month it had been the Incinerating Tyrant; today, The Sword That Severs the Yoke.
Well, I was treating Incarnations in the heart of the Academy.
At this rate, I'd end up meeting the Western Continent's Eternal Light and the Southern Continent's Drifting Hope.
As I was calming my startled heart, people suddenly swarmed toward us.
I wondered what was going on, but on reflection, the Constellation before me was said to be the strongest on the continent, like the Incinerating Tyrant. If a Constellation of that caliber came to the Academy, of course cadets and instructors alike would rush to see her.
"Shall we move elsewhere?"
"...Let's."
The converging crowd looked unmanageable, so I relocated as she'd suggested.
'Should I take her to my Sanctum?'
At first I thought a casual restaurant or café would do.
But we hadn't taken more than a few steps across the training grounds before I saw cadets moving en masse to follow us, and I had no choice but to reconsider.
No matter how much they kept their distance, with this much attention on us, a café or restaurant seemed out of the question.
I had no desire to hold a conversation under the gaze of several hundred people.
The thought made my feet naturally turn toward the building that housed my Temporary Sanctum.
I felt a twinge of displeasure at the idea of a stranger setting foot in my territory.
Was this a Constellation's instinct, or a Dream Demon's? I couldn't tell.
Still, it wasn't harmful — that much was true.
'If she'd meant to kill me, I'd be dead already. Nothing to be done about it.'
Unlike the Incinerating Tyrant, The Sword That Severs the Yoke had become the continent's strongest through personal martial might.
If she had intended to kill me, wouldn't she have done it dozens of times over while I was rolling in the dirt and getting covered in dust just now?
And if a Constellation of that caliber had come looking for me, there could only be one reason.
The people who'd been warily trailing us scattered in every direction once I headed for the Temporary Sanctum.
I entered the building, opened the door to my quarters, and Lee Ha-rin greeted us with a bowed head.
At this hour — wasn't she supposed to be deep in research with that old instructor?
"Tea, or coffee. Which do you prefer?"
"Why don't you catch your breath first? I'm worried your heart might burst."
To Lee Ha-rin, who'd asked in a breathless, elated voice, The Sword That Severs the Yoke laughed and made a gentle joke.
Only then did I notice: the ragged breaths, the pounding heartbeat, the skin flushed bright red.
This kid had sprinted here from that building the moment she'd heard the news.
While Lee Ha-rin — caught after trying to act composed — cooled her reddened face and steadied her breathing,
silence settled over the table where The Sword That Severs the Yoke and I sat.
For a Constellation this powerful to visit — the reason was probably to ask me to heal someone.
'But asking something like "who's sick?" out of the blue feels a little awkward, doesn't it?'
The silence lasted until sweet milk tea and well-steeped green tea were placed on the table.
I'd seen her lips start to move several times, only to hesitate and stop.
Figuring it must be hard for her to begin, I used the wait to study her face closely.
An Eastern beauty with jet-black hair and snow-white skin.
Her complexion was flawless, without a single blemish, and her figure was so slender she didn't look like a swordswoman at all.
Judging by her overall appearance alone, she resembled a film actress in her prime.
"To arrive unannounced and make a request so abruptly feels somewhat rude, but there is something I would ask of you."
At the sight of her struggling to broach the subject, I gave a slight nod and took a sip of milk tea.
The familiar sweetness filled my mouth, and my mood turned charitable of its own accord.
What did a little dirt on my clothes matter?
"I have heard that you and your Incarnation extract Nightmares and treat the mind."
"Is there someone you want healed?"
The Sword That Severs the Yoke gulped her green tea and continued with difficulty.
"I wish to heal my disciple."
"H-hic."
Behind me, Lee Ha-rin, who'd been attending us, started hiccuping at those words.
When The Sword That Severs the Yoke's gaze and mine both turned toward her,
she apologized but kept hic-hic-hiccupping behind her hand, unable to stop.
"Your surprise is only natural. Yet how could a master cast aside her one and only disciple?"
...It seemed The Sword That Severs the Yoke's disciple had some special circumstances.
At some point, instead of me, Lee Ha-rin had begun conversing with her.