Chapter 13
Chapter 13
When he opened his eyes, he saw the sky.
A vast blue stretched across his vision, as clear as freshly washed glass.
And beneath it, something large overlapped like a shadow, blocking part of the view.
“Ah, I’m awake… Marty?”
“…Tiana Nuna.”
A warm voice, like early spring flowers, flowed from above.
Only then did Matios realize that the blue he had mistaken for the sky was Tiana’s eyes, and the thing blocking his view was her ample chest.
“…Tiana Nuna.”
His voice came out hoarse.
Matios slowly recognized his own state.
His thighs… warm and soft.
He was lying neatly across Tiana’s thighs. He must have been completely unconscious.
Tiana held Matios’s head against her chest.
As soon as she hugged him tightly, air was pushed from his lungs. His breath caught.
Yet strangely, it wasn’t unpleasant. On the contrary, it was oddly comforting, like being buried in a blanket. She smelled nice too.
“Thank goodness… I was worried when the blessing didn’t wake you, but I’m so relieved.”
Tiana exhaled in relief, pulling his head closer to her chest.
She stroked his gray hair as if she were a caring mother.
There was pure worry and reassurance in her green eyes.
In that moment, Matios felt like a newborn, and it was strangely exhilarating.
“Embarrassed?”
Tiana grinned, tidying his hair.
Her hand brushed the strands from his forehead behind his ear with excessive tenderness.
“Embarrassed…”
Matios nodded honestly.
“Aww, so cute. Taiven must be cute like Marty too, that would be nice.”
“Don’t say such horrible things, Nuna.”
Taiven immediately protested from beside him.
“Why~ You used to cuddle me a lot too, remember?”
“…Ugh, that was a long time ago!”
Taiven’s ears turned red. Tiana laughed at the reaction as if it amused her.
Matios squirmed in her arms.
“Uh, I should go now.”
He tried to wriggle out a little, but each movement made the sensation of her thighs even more noticeable, which made him even more embarrassed.
“No! A patient has to rest here.”
When he tried to move cautiously, Tiana grabbed him instantly, like catching a fleeing kitten.
“That’s not true.”
“It is true. You were out for twenty minutes.”
“Twenty minutes?”
“Yes, so stay in Nuna’s arms, okay?”
Tiana treated Matios truly like a baby, holding him tightly while he squirmed.
He felt embarrassed, but didn’t dislike it. It gave him a sense of self-reproach.
And it wasn’t his imagination that jealous eyes were watching from nearby.
“Sorry, Matios.”
Yuri, sitting next to Tiana, apologized.
“I didn’t mean to knock you out. I’m sorry.”
Yuri bowed her head. Matios still waved from Tiana’s embrace.
“It’s okay. You didn’t do it on purpose. But what happened exactly?”
“What?”
“You were standing still, I didn’t see you swing your sword, but when I opened my eyes, you were unconscious.”
“Oh, that!”
Joy appeared smoothly, pointing her finger as if to explain. Matios frowned. What the hell is with you?
“Actually, Ayende didn’t attack you.”
“Didn’t attack?”
“Yes! Instead, she blocked your attack. The sword you swung with full force rebounded and hit your forehead perfectly!”
Chop!
Joy tapped her own forehead with her palm. The sound was surprisingly crisp.
In other words, I was defeated by my own attack. It was a slightly embarrassing loss.
He rubbed his forehead. There were no injuries.
“…Sorry. I should have hit gently. I accidentally countered.”
Yuri hung her head like a sulky puppy.
“Why do you keep apologizing?”
“Sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, then spar with me more.”
At those words, Yuri raised her head. Her eyes widened.
Her earlier gloom vanished as if it had never existed.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Got it.”
Yuri’s expression returned to a calm, obedient puppy. Innocence, in a way, was truly pure.
“You’re awake.”
Tap tap tap.
Professor Wilhelmine walked toward me, who had barely escaped Tiana’s embrace.
She looked down at me and took a pocket watch from her pocket. The silver lid clicked open, ringing a faint metallic note. After checking the time, she casually addressed the students.
“That concludes today’s lecture.”
The classroom fell silent.
“Uh… may we leave now?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, okay.”
The students streamed out.
“Mati, let’s go.”
“You go ahead. I have to stay.”
“Oh, right. See you tomorrow!”
Tiana, Taiven, and Joy left the classroom.
The classroom suddenly quiet, Professor Wilhelmine pulled out a candy and popped it in her mouth.
“Um… Professor, what should I do?”
She had told me to stay. Nervously, I stood in front of her.
“You may go ahead.”
“?”
“I was displeased with your being late for the first lecture, so I thought we could tidy up the classroom together.”
“…Together?”
What surprised me was the word together. The professor was going to help clean the classroom? Isn’t that what janitors are for?
“You can’t just have students do it while you stand around. Naturally, we do it together, right?”
“I suppose so.”
“Then off you go.”
“You’ll tidy the classroom alone?”
“I’ll be done quickly anyway.”
Professor Wilhelmine picked up a sword lying on the dusty floor and placed it back on the display as if nothing had happened.
Watching silently, I rolled up my sleeves and started.
“It’ll go faster if we do it together.”
I picked up trash, returned weapons to their places, moving around the classroom.
“You didn’t really have to…”
“I have a favor to ask. May I use this place when there’s no lecture?”
“Why?”
“I want to train alone with my sword.”
After a moment of thought, Professor Wilhelmine rolled the candy in her mouth and nodded calmly.
“Very well.”
With her permission, I picked up my sword again after finishing the cleanup. Alone, I stood in the center of the spacious classroom.
Yet Professor Wilhelmine didn’t leave. Arms crossed, she leaned against a pillar, watching me quietly.
A little distracting, but I ignored it.
I gripped my sword and focused.
-If this is your first time holding a sword, I have only one piece of advice. Get used to the sword. The feel in your hand, the distance of the blade, its balance. You must become familiar. The method is simple: repetition. On the first day, swing it a thousand times. Stick to one posture, do not be careless, be serious. Do not give up because it’s hard. Your efforts and hardships will naturally train your muscles.-
Egashi’s Roshka.
He never recorded his sword techniques separately. Not due to selfishness, but because they were too difficult.
Swordsmanship is the skill of wielding a sword. But Roshka said his techniques were so free-form that writing them down would be meaningless.
Instead, he left his greatest advice and insights for someone reading his history far in the future.
That was the Roshka Epic.
Even someone like me, ignorant of swordsmanship, could understand it easily. It contained explanations of sword principles, advice, and practical combat strategies, all fully detailed.
The Roshka Epic was not called a hidden item for nothing. It was one of the rarest items obtainable in the early and middle stages.
Whoosh.
I swung the sword downwards. The air was sliced.
The single swing left my limbs screaming in pain.
“Huff…!”
One.
I raised the sword again and swung.
Whoosh.
Two.
My muscles ached. I gritted my teeth. Swing again.
Hold it and swing.
I repeated this ten times and staggered. At first, it was just a tingling, but now it was painful.
‘…I can’t even swing ten times?’
Of course, that was true.
I had stayed up all night. Exhausted, yet the fact that I could only manage ten swings was shocking.
I realized just how weak I was.
“You’ve put too much tension in your shoulders and traps.”
“Huh?”
As I prepared for the eleventh swing, Professor Wilhelmine, who had been leaning against the pillar, spoke.
“You can’t swing a sword recklessly like that. Keep tension in your lower body, but relax your upper body.”
“Understood.”
Whoosh.
I swung again. Still, it didn’t feel right.
“…So…”
Professor Wilhelmine strode toward me with her long legs, her black hair swaying.
Standing right before me, her scent was subtle and pleasant.
“Your body is too tense. All your muscles are tight. That doesn’t make your strikes stronger. It makes them jerky and unnatural.”
“Really?”
“It’s not a question—it’s true.”
She took a wooden staff from her slender waist and used it to point from my shoulders down to my legs, speaking as she went.
“First, relax your shoulders and traps. Swing the sword with your wrists, not your shoulders. Your lower body must firmly support the ground. Power comes from the ground.”
“I… see.”
I was flustered by her enthusiasm. Why is she like this?
Professor Wilhelmine was known for her blunt personality. She didn’t pay much attention to others and quietly did her work. So her sudden interest in me was quite unsettling.
“Do you understand?”
Her red eyes burned with fervor. I nodded, even if I didn’t fully grasp what she said.
“Then, again…”
At that moment, Ophelienne appeared at the classroom entrance.
“What are you doing with my brother?”
Though she smiled politely, her eyes glimmered sharply.