Chapter 38
The Flower That Bears a Sword - Chapter 38
Translation: godsn
Baraha was staring at her without moving a muscle, his face utterly blank. Eki pressed his own sword against his throat. With the tip of the blade, she lifted his chin. Her face reflected in his yellow eyes as she asked in a low, measured voice:
"Did you see?"
"...I saw too much to know what exactly you're asking about."
Baraha answered slowly. Eki looked down at him with cold eyes. He took a steadying breath before continuing.
"The Magic Sword, Valdergiosa— Hrk."
His words were swallowed by empty air as Eki suddenly slammed the sword into the floorboards beside his feet with a sharp clang. She left it embedded there and slumped to the ground, a long groan escaping her lips. Hugging her knees and burying her face in them, she muttered weakly:
"Ah, I'm so screwed."
"...Sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?"
"Uh... I just felt like I should."
Eki lifted her head in bewilderment, then burst into a snorting laugh when she saw Baraha's utterly dumbfounded expression, his face blank like a simpleton's.
With one hand, she undid the cloth strip tying her hair and roughly combed through the cascading locks with her fingers. She knew her appearance was far from its usual state, but since everything was already exposed, it hardly mattered anymore.
Baraha's pupils followed Eki's hands as they tidied her hair, his gaze shifting back and forth like a fool—or perhaps an animal. Eki waved a hand in front of his face.
"Are you okay?"
"Uh, well, you see—"
Baraha let out a groan. As if trying to collect himself, he shook his head and pressed his fingers firmly against his forehead before speaking with difficulty:
"A Giosa Owner?"
"Yes."
"Of a Magic Sword?"
"...Yes."
"A Master?"
"Yes."
To be precise, she had surpassed the Master realm, but Eki still didn't even know the name of that higher state. Most people weren't even aware such a realm existed. So she simply nodded vaguely.
"Earlier, when someone struck the back of my neck and knocked me out—was that you, Eki?"
"...Yes. I'm sorry."
"Because you didn't want to be found out?"
"You're quite perceptive."
Eki gave a bitter smile. What should she do now? She had entered the Node to save Baraha and killed Ian when he tried to kill him. But now, would she eliminate Baraha just because he'd discovered her Magic Sword? That made no sense.
If she were the type to kill people so casually, she wouldn't have bothered hiding her strength, enrolling as an officer cadet, and planning to become a knight in three years. She would have just stormed the knight order at night, slaughtered all the guards, and looted the Giosas.
Unless they were irredeemable trash like Ian, she had no desire to kill innocent people—as long as they didn't threaten those around her. But now she had to silence him. And for someone who wasn't a mage, there was only ever one solution.
Eki locked eyes with Baraha. His sword remained embedded between them as she sat slumped on the floor.
"Senior."
"Yeah?"
"I... I don't want to kill you."
The color drained from Baraha's face. Eki rested her chin on her knees, staring intently up at him.
"But if you won't keep my being a Giosa Owner a secret, then I'll have to kill you, Senior."
Even if Baraha went around spreading the news everywhere, Eki had no intention of killing him. It was impossible. How could she kill someone she cared about with her own hands when those horrific memories were still so vivid in her mind? She could struggle desperately to save him—but she could never do that.
She wanted to see Baraha become a knight. So this was nothing more than an empty threat. Still, she couldn't let him catch on to that. Eki kept her face blank as she continued.
"Keep it a secret. This isn't a request—it's an order."
"...Hmm."
Baraha's expression turned odd. He studied the girl sitting cross-legged before him, then finally spoke.
"I have a few questions."
"Go ahead. But I won't answer all of them."
"First, how are you still sane when you're wielding a Magic Sword? Valdergiosaa is supposed to control its owner."
"I can't answer that."
"...Then can you at least tell me if you'll be able to maintain your sense of self going forward?"
"Yes. As long as I don't completely lose my mind."
"Why hide the fact that you're an Owner?"
"Because it's a Magic Sword. No one would believe I'm safe."
And truthfully, she couldn't claim to be perfectly safe either. Eki smiled bitterly, thinking of the murderous impulses steadily building inside her. She'd vented some of it today, but that alone wasn't nearly enough.
Baraha accepted her words easily—Valdergiosaa's infamy worked in her favor.
"Ah, right. That makes sense."
"You're surprisingly quick to believe me."
"What choice do I have in this situation?"
Baraha let out a hollow laugh. His gaze drifted to the monster corpses sprawled behind Eki, then to the greatsword planted between them. Noticing his line of sight, Eki shrugged. Well, she had just threatened to kill him.
"Fair enough."
"Why did you join the Azure Sky Knights?"
"To get rid of the Magic Sword."
"Get rid of it? How?"
"By obtaining another Giosa. That's why I enrolled in the academy—to become a knight."
"Wait, so if you get another Giosa, you can discard the Magic Sword?"
"Yes."
It was a lie. She could abandon the Magic Sword right now if she wanted. But doing so would mean losing all her memories from before the regression. Eki had no intention of telling Baraha she'd turned back time.
Baraha pressed a hand to his forehead as if organizing his thoughts.
"But you're already a Master. Couldn't you just become a knight right away?"
"I plan to take about three years before officially becoming a knight. A twenty-year-old Master would raise too many eyebrows, don't you think?"
"Now that you mention it... yeah, that's extremely abnormal. But it is true. The Captain became a Master at twenty-three, so you're even more of a genius than him, huh? I guess geniuses can get away with that."
He stared at her with a strange expression, as if truly registering her age for the first time. Eki tilted her head.
"Even for a count's daughter who's never once received formal swordsmanship training? The Captain has been holding a sword since childhood."
"Wait, what?"
"Baraha, senior. I'd never even held a sword before I turned twenty."
That much was true. Shock spread across Baraha's face. Eki smiled, lifting just the corner of her mouth.
"If a twenty-year-old Master appeared, the entire continent would take notice. My birth, my upbringing—everything would become gossip. They'd dig into every detail of how I grew up. It happened with Captain Yurien too, didn't it?"
"...Yeah, it did."
"Then they'd find out. That Echinacea Roaz had never even trained with a sword before becoming a Master. There's only so far I could push the 'self-taught' excuse. Look—I don't even have calluses."
Baraha stepped closer. Understanding what he wanted, Eki held out her hand—her bare right hand, ungloved. He startled at the black sigil on her palm before cautiously tracing his fingers over it. Soft. Supple. The kind of hand no one who'd swung a sword for over a year could possibly have. His face went slack as he stared at her.
"Just how... did you become a Master?"
"I became a Master because of the Magic Sword. So that's another thing I can't reveal. If I claimed to be a Master right away, it would be too unbelievable. I planned to gradually show my skills improving and pretend I became a Master around twenty-three."
"The Magic Sword had that kind of power?"
"Yes, that's right."
This was a lie. The Magic Sword had no ability to turn its wielder into a Master. At most, it could manipulate its host to fight on par with a Master.
[Liar. Not even bothering to lick your lips before lying. If I could do that, I'd be a Divine Sword, not a Magic Sword.]
The Magic Sword grumbled. Eki pretended not to hear. Baraha rubbed his face with one hand. Covering his eyes with his palm, he called out to her.
"Eki."
"Yes?"
"One last question—why did you enter the Node?"
"It just... kind of happened."
"Bullshit. I just saw you fighting your way through. You came in deliberately. There's no way you got swallowed by accident."
Baraha lowered the hand covering his eyes. His desert-people heritage showed in his dark skin, black hair, muscular frame, and vivid yellow irises. Crouched like a predator, he spoke.
"You came in because of me."
"......"
"Because I got pulled into the Node. Right? You were confident you could survive inside a Node. So you came in to save me."
As she'd thought before, Baraha was oddly perceptive about the strangest things. Eki found herself avoiding his gaze without realizing it. She couldn't bring herself to admit she'd entered to save him—it was too embarrassing. Her face felt hot.
"No, I told you it was an accident. I tripped. Did you think Masters don't make mistakes?"
"An accident. So you're saying you tripped and accidentally entered the Node? Had nothing to do with me? Just pure coincidence?"
"Do you think I'm insane enough to walk into a Node on purpose? Stop emphasizing the tripping part—it's embarrassing enough as it is."
Eki snapped, her voice thick with emotion. Baraha studied her with an odd look before breaking into a grin.
"Eki."
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"That threat about killing me if I don't keep your secrets—that was a lie, wasn't it?"
Eki's shoulders gave a tiny flinch—one Baraha didn't miss. After a brief silence, she moved with terrifying speed. She yanked the sword embedded between them and lunged at Baraha, knocking him flat on his back. Mounting him, she pressed the blade against his throat. The edge bit into his skin, drawing blood.
"Does it seem like a lie? Do you want to test your only life on that? We're in a Node. No one's around to hear you."
Her voice was dry and cold, the killing intent so palpable it made Baraha instinctively tense. Despite her light, soft frame, he felt crushed beneath the weight of a man-eating monster. Yet despite his body's reaction, he wasn't afraid.
"Eki."
"......"
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."
Still lying down, Baraha raised a hand and patted her head. He continued with a smile.
"You keep denying it, but either way, I owe you my life. If you hadn't taken down those monsters earlier, I'd be dead right now. Do you really think I'm the kind of person who wouldn't keep a secret for the one who saved me?"