The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 24

Translation: godsn

Though there wasn't a single memo left behind, it was obvious who had brought the tray. Alice Winterbell.

Eki stared blankly down at the tray. Her chest felt strangely unsettled. In her mind, the magic sword was laughing like a madwoman.

"Stop laughing, you're making my head ring."

[Hey, she's actually pretty cute. I thought she'd be more annoying... Would've been a waste if we'd killed her back then.]

Ignoring the magic sword's commentary, Eki ate her breakfast.

She'd arranged to meet Baraha at the stables again today. Originally, Baraha had suggested they skip squire training tomorrow since it was the day of the freshman ranking tournament, offering to let her do personal training instead, but Eki had refused, saying she didn't need it.

'Maybe I should've taken him up on that personal training offer.'

As she washed up and gathered her clothes for the day, Eki belatedly regretted her decision. Every movement sent pain through her entire body. The slight fever she'd had seemed to be spreading—it looked like she was coming down with something.

Not that she planned to rest just because she was in pain. Echinacea was a superhuman who had reached realms beyond Master. Using mana would let her push through any illness. Even without mana, she could move without showing any signs of discomfort. If a mere fever could break her spirit, she never would have spent nine years gathering Giosa. Of course, no amount of willpower or mana could actually cure an illness.

Since they'd be at the stables again today, she chose a short dress that reached mid-calf. It was dark brown with beige lace trim. Though thin as a spring dress, the material was reasonably warm, and with its long sleeves and high neckline, it seemed well-suited for her poor physical condition.

Eki slowly pulled on her clothes until the effort became too bothersome, then plopped down in a chair. She used mana to pull on her stockings and attach her accessories. She slipped dark gloves over her blistered hands. Her arms felt heavy, so she infused them with mana to manipulate her cosmetics and apply her makeup.

Valdergiosa muttered in disbelief as she watched Eki decorate herself without lifting a finger from her chair.

[Using mana to put on makeup... There's such a thing as taking wastefulness too far...]

"Moving my arms would be more bothersome right now."

It took longer than usual. After one final check to ensure her feverish face wasn't noticeable, Eki left her room.

Baraha was already waiting when she arrived at the Blue Sky stables.

"There you are. But seriously, with the freshman ranking tournament tomorrow, should you really be here tending to horses?"

"Yes, there's still so much to learn. With only a month as a probationary member and the monster subjugation mission in between, there's not enough time as it is."

"...I don't think you'll place outside the top three, but aren't you being a little too confident, Eki? Don't underestimate the other officer cadets."

Baraha let out a dry laugh. Following him into the stables, Eki answered nonchalantly.

"I'm not underestimating them."

"Then?"

"I just have a very accurate grasp of my own abilities."

Baraha's lips twitched before he burst into loud laughter. Too overcome to speak properly, he gestured toward Sylphid between chuckles.

"Pfft, hmm, today, ahem, let's finish grooming the mane and tail like we couldn't yesterday. Then I'll teach you how to saddle up and prepare the equipment."

"Yes, thank you."

Sylphid was well-behaved again today. Eki followed Baraha's instructions, brushing its coat, fitting the saddle, and methodically preparing each piece of tack. Though she remained inwardly tense in case Yurien might appear again, fortunately, he didn't show up.

As the late afternoon approached, Baraha spoke up.

"That's enough for today. Tomorrow is the ranking tournament, after all."

"I'm really fine though."

"Anyway, I need to go see my lord in the afternoon. Speaking of which, yesterday..."

Baraha trailed off, furrowing his brow. He suddenly remembered visiting the Baron yesterday after hearing the Captain's message.

"It was just supposed to be a quick visit before finishing duty. Has he already arrived?"

When he'd asked why he was being summoned, the Baron had flustered and said just that. Had the Captain perhaps misheard the lord's words?

"Baraha senior?"

"Ah, it's nothing. Anyway, I need to go now, so let's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stop here. Do well in tomorrow's tournament. I'll be watching."

"Yes, understood. Thank you for your hard work today."

Echinacea lightly lifted the hem of her dress as she bowed. Her composure was so natural that Baraha completely failed to notice her physical condition until the very end.

After parting ways and leaving the stables, Echinacea immediately headed to the nearby water pump. She brushed off straw and dust, washed her hands, then soaked a handkerchief in cold water and pressed it firmly against her cheek. She felt dizzy as her fever rose.

"I should go get some sleep."

[I don't think I've ever seen you sick before. Injured plenty of times, but...]

"What can I do when my body isn't properly conditioned? It'd take at least a year to build it up properly..."

Echinacea's curt reply cut off abruptly. Someone was approaching. The presence of someone she really didn't want to meet.

'Ian Pelletro.'

She'd been trying to avoid him, but there was only one entrance to the water pump area. Ian was coming straight toward it. There was no avoiding him.

Echinacea sighed, gathered her handkerchief, and headed for the entrance. Sure enough, as soon as she stepped out, she saw Ian approaching. He smiled brightly.

"Ah, Cadet Echinacea. I was looking for you. Cadet Baraha said he'd just parted ways with you at the stables, so I thought you might be at the water pump."

"Hello, senior. What brings you here?"

"We need to finalize the brackets for the freshman ranking tournament."

Ian pulled a leather pouch from his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pocket. Untying the drawstring, he held the slightly opened pouch out to her.

"Since you have no previous records, we'll determine your matchups by lottery. Go ahead and draw one."

"Understood."

Echinacea obediently reached into the pouch. Inside were folded slips of paper. As she randomly grabbed one, Ian said with a smile:

"I heard you're determined to rank in the top three so you can ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠participate in the monster subjugation?"

"Ah... yes. Did you hear that from Baraha senior?"

"Yep. Though honestly, it'd be ridiculous if the cadet who'll become the Captain's squire couldn't even make top three, right? Ah, I don't mean to pressure you."

"Yes, I understand."

She had no desire to prolong the conversation. Giving a perfunctory reply, Echinacea unfolded the slip she'd drawn to reveal the number 8 written on it.

"Bad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠luck, Cadet Echinacea."

Ian clicked his tongue, then took out the bracket chart and wrote Echinacea's name in the 8th slot. He showed it to her.

The ranking tournament followed a single-elimination format. Winners advanced while losers dropped out. Naturally, even skilled participants could end up with lower rankings due to unlucky matchups, though there was a system to challenge and change rankings through duels afterward.

"Your first opponent is Cadet Mihail. You know Cadet Mihail, right?"

Next to Echinacea's name was written "Mihail von Franc Almari." The younger brother of Teresa, the Giosa Owner. One of the three first-years Fatima had mentioned as being particularly noteworthy.

"If you win and advance, your next opponent would be Cadet Alice. Well, you've already beaten Cadet Alice in a duel before. Of course, you'll have to get past Cadet Mihail first. I believe in you. I'll be watching with high expectations."

Ian patted Eki on the shoulder with a smile. Was this match-up a coincidence? She had a strong gut feeling it wasn't, but she simply nodded.

"Thank you, Senior."

In any case, she didn't care how the bracket turned out. As Ian studied her indifferent expression and opened his mouth to say something, Eki stiffened abruptly. Her sharp senses had picked up on someone else's presence. Neat, measured footsteps. Yurien was passing nearby.

"Cadet Echinacea?"

Ian called out to her, puzzled. Eki quickly wiped the tension from her face.

"Yes, Senior."

Of course, it was only on the surface—every fiber of her awareness was fixed on Yurien. He had been heading toward the stable entrance but suddenly stopped. Though not as keen as hers, Yurien's senses were still broad enough to easily detect Eki and Ian standing by the water trough. Instead of entering the stable, he began walking toward them.

If he came for Sylphid, he should go to Sylphid—why is he coming this way...?

Already exhausted and disoriented, Eki grumbled inwardly before another thought struck her.

Was he coming to check on me from the start?

If he suspected she might be the Demon of the Magic Sword, it made sense he'd keep observing her. He might even grow uneasy seeing her alone with someone else. From his perspective, a potential murderer—one who could snap at any moment—was roaming freely in his domain.

Viewed that way, their frequent encounters were only natural. He could be constantly monitoring her, receiving daily reports from places she didn't even notice. He'd probably want to make her a squire as soon as possible, just to keep her within sight. To him, she must look like a ticking time bomb.

But if—if—he had no memory and was watching her because he'd noticed something about her during last year's Birthday Banquet, then the reason for their repeated meetings might be...

"No, it was personal interest."

Yurien's words echoed in her mind. Before she realized it, Eki shook her head. Was she running a fever? Her thoughts were spiraling into absurd, romance-novel-like fantasies.

"Cadet Echinacea, are you listening to me?"

"Ah—yes? Sorry, what did you say?"

"Cadet Bread wants to apologize to you."

"......What?"

What kind of nonsense is this now? The sheer absurdity of it made even her thoughts about Yurien vanish. Ian smiled gently as he spoke.

"He said that, upon reflection, he realized he made mistakes in several ways and wanted to apologize. Cadet Bread asked me to arrange a meeting between you two. What do you think?"

"He wants to meet me to apologize? Cadet Bread said that to me?"

"Yeah. If you don't feel like forgiving him, you can refuse. Just because he wants to apologize doesn't mean you're obligated to accept it."

What kind of scheme is this? Eki furrowed her brow. She didn't know Bread von Poum well, but even from their brief encounter, she couldn't imagine him ever reflecting on his actions. Maybe—maybe—if she had already demonstrated undeniable strength in the ranking matches, but they hadn't even started yet. And the fact that Ian Pelletro was the one delivering this message? The whole thing reeked of suspicion.

"When does he want to meet?"

"He was hoping for this evening, if possib—"

Ian's words trailed off. Eki knew exactly why he'd stopped. Ian hurriedly bowed.

"Ar Sebat-tiem." "Captain, it's an honor to see you."