Chapter 14: Introspection

Part 1

“Hey, are you done yet?”

“I just need to finish hammering this in!”

“Excuse me! Could you please help me with this?”

Lively shouting and the sound of hammers taking to nails could be heard from all around. The once-dull buildings were now vibrantly decorated, and temporary buildings and tents had bet set up all over the place. The Institution was busily preparing for the school festival that was to take place in two days’ time.

The school festival was a week-long event meant not only for festivities but also to help commoners get ahead in life. Students were devoting every drop of energy in their bodies to show off their talents.

The school festival was attended not only by the Roanne nobility, but also by the nobility of foreign countries. It was not just a simple festival. It was a place where nobles who wished to grow their influence could scout out talent.

There was a plethora of talented commoners attending the Institution, and students were able to establish personal connections of sorts while attending school together for six long years. It could disturb their efforts to scout talented personnel in the future if bad rumors about them spread throughout the Institution, so the nobles generally enjoyed the festivities quietly.

Still, it wasn’t as though vain nobles who surveyed the grounds that they themselves had decided to visit and expressed disgust or complained about how crude things were didn’t exist at all.

The Swordsmanship Department’s swordsmanship tournament was one of the most popular events at the school festival, as military might was one of the pillars by which a noble house was measured in the Age of Magic. Though the sword was the preferred weapon throughout the continent, the nobility’s main goal, however, was not to keep an eye out for individuals of talent but simply to immerse themselves in the tension and excitement of watching sharpened blades clash fiercely against each other. The event was even popular with the ladies, who were normally afraid of such violent confrontations, because it was filled with many young and tempered men.

There was another event that the Swordsmanship Department was promoting this year, and it was so provocative that everyone had taken an interest in it —be they students, nobles, or even just guests.

The event was called “Serving You as Our Master for a Day!”

It was an event that lasted for all seven days of the school festival in which those who lost the swordsmanship tournament would be put up for auction as they dropped out and, ultimately, even the tournament champion would be auctioned.

This event had caused a stir in the Institution as soon as the rumors about it being hosted had begun circulating. Swordsmanship Department students were generally so exhausted from their rigorous training that their eyes looked sunken on a daily basis, but there were still a lot of people who wanted to forge a relationship with them. Swordsmanship Department students were almost always scouted by the nobility to become knights, and some were even chosen for the royal guard. And, with only a few deviant exceptions, Swordsmanship Department graduates generally had good personalities beaten into them by their seniors and professors throughout the six long years they attended the Institution.

How many women were out there who wanted such individuals as their beloved husbands, and how many nobles were out there who wanted such individuals as their loyal subordinates?

But there were only about eighty students per year in the Swordsmanship Department —hardly enough to satisfy every woman and noble on the continent. Most people were lucky just to be able to exchange greetings with a Swordsmanship Department student.

And, strangely enough, there was even a girl among their number this year. Ianna Roberstein. There were still some people who secretly despised her, but she was quickly changing the people’s perception of her. Her public image had grown considerably better than what it had been. Good rumors about her had reached even the nobility’s ears, changing their opinions of her ever so slightly and even persuading them to feel some goodwill toward her.

“Ahh, I’m so jealous…….”

Sighed one female student who had been busily preparing for the school festival. The female student population was very knowledgeable on the recent rumors surrounding two certain popular students, and the girls were so envious of Ianna that they were sick to their stomachs.

“Jeez. Aren’t there any other men out there like Sir Arhad? He’s the man of every girl’s dreams. I’m so jealous of Lady Ianna. Seriously seriously seriously!”

A male student, who was a bit denser about the rumors, asked,

“I heard that they had an argument or something —did they make up?”

“Yeah. Sir Arhad was seriously the best, you know?”

The female student had a dreamy look on her face as she clasped her hands together. She continued,

“He stayed outside and waited for Lady Ianna in the pouring rain without moving a muscle the day the fought. All the girls were too excited to go to bed and stared out their windows all night long, you know? Some wanted to give him an umbrella, and others wanted to give him a cup of hot tea……it was quite the fuss.”

“A fuss? But no one gave him anything?”

“Some tried, but they all went back crying because he ignored them outright. But even the usually cold Sir Arhad argued with Lady Ianna for a bit when she arrived and then he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into a tight hug even when she tried to shake him off……kyaah! That’s pure love right there. If only I could find myself a man like that…”

The male student clicked his tongue as the female student hugged herself and fantasized about the thrill of romance.

“Look at you dreaming away…”

“Shut up, will you? Aw, anyway, I’m so jealous of Lady Ianna. I’m so, so jealous of her.”

Ianna was far too brusque —unlike Arhad, who could not keep himself from smiling whenever he saw her. Every rumor that suggested they were dating had dissipated because Ianna’s every action toward him hinted only of her blazing desire to spar with him, rather than the sweet whispers of love.

The biggest thing that killed those rumors, however, was the most recent rumor that Ianna had avoided Arhad and brushed him off in front of a crowd, and that Arhad had waited for her all day in front of the female dormitories without even eating properly.

The obscene rumors that they had spent a hot night together in reconciliation had died down thanks to Ianna’s drastic fury and Arhad’s denial. And now, there were new rumors circulating that Arhad was madly possessed in his one-sided love for her.

“Sob.”

The girls who had been crushing on Arhad could only tear at their handkerchiefs in frustration. They wanted to spit pointed words at Ianna and harass her. But they could not, because they remembered how Ianna had once made eunuchs out of the four men who had dared insult her.

~~*~~

Ianna let herself be measured and dressed up whenever Priscilla requested it of her during her spare time. Ianna’s clothes were completed before long.

“I’m……a genius!”

Priscilla had quivered and cried tears of pride and self-love the day that she completed Ianna’s outfit.

Ianna did not have any specific plans for the school festival. Her biggest concern —Priscilla’s request— had turned out to be rather simple. All she had to do was to get on stage on the fourth day of the festivities and spin around before turning back. Then, she would wear the outfit again on the sixth day of the festival after the sixth years’ fashion show was concluded and participate in the awards ceremony.

The swordsmanship tournament was to be held every day, with the finals on the seventh day, and all she had to do was participate as her turn came up. It was a tournament that began with a melee to decide the competitors on the first day, so after that she would only need to fight one match a day. And she also had someone who could easily solve her predicament with the slave auction, which bid off everyone involved in the tournament, including the victor.

“It’s been a while, Little Ianna!”

“Miss!”

Ianna found Finn and Mursi, who had returned from their expedition to the South and were currently on vacation, soon enough. Finn, who had been small for his age before, had put on some weight. But he was still young. Ianna beamed when she saw the radiant sparkles in Finn’s green eyes.

Ianna explained her situation to Mursi and asked him to bid on her when she was auctioned —a request to which he readily agreed.

“That won’t be difficult at all. Please let me know anytime if there’s anything else you need.”

“Thank you. It’s very reassuring to hear that.”

Ianna smiled softly. Mursi looked to her with overflowing goodwill as she held up Finn in her arms.

“But you don’t really need to pay me back…… I don’t mind donating to the Swordsmanship Department, you know? You can consider it my gift to you.”

Mursi wanted to help her in any way he could. Part of this was because his merchant’s intuition told him that he would reap greater rewards one day if he strengthened his ties with Ianna, but, as a father, he also wanted to support Ianna however he could for being like a real older sister to his lonely son.

“No thank you. That’s a little…”

“Haha, I understand.”

Still, he promptly withdrew his proposal when Ianna looked reluctant. He knew her personality well, and he knew that any unwanted goodwill would only incur her displeasure.

“Hmmm. I was planning to pay as much as you’re worth, Little Ianna, so I might be able to tie you down into being the light of my company for life if things go well.”

“I’m a little worried about turning down your offer now, since it looks like you plan to spend a lot……but I’m also looking forward to it. I’ll get to see what you think my worth is, Mr. Mursi.”

Ianna joked back when Mursi smiled with his eyes and jested. He waved his hands in front of him in surrender.

“Goodness, that was a joke. I simply need to win your bid at the lowest amount possible, right?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Understood. But… What will you do if people bid high for you? I hope this issue won’t be too much of a burden on you, Little Ianna. Should I simply stop bidding if the bid gets too high?”

“You needn’t worry about that. Most of the nobility hold me in scorn and contempt, and I doubt that there’ll be too many commoners eager to bid for me either, as the rumors paint me as wicked and cruel.”

“But you’re a really good person, Miss, so why do all the adults say that?”

Finn sulked and wrapped his arms around Ianna’s neck when she gave her level-headed assessment of her circumstances. He continued,

“You’re so nice. You’re really, really nice.”

He was blindly fond of her. Ianna looked a little embarrassed as she readjusted Finn, who endlessly insisted that she was a good person, in her arms.

“Who could say? I wouldn’t say that I’m particularly nice, though.”

“You’re wrong! I’m serious. You’re a really good person, Miss!”

Finn was upset. He hated the way that Ianna put herself down.

Finn kept the image of Ianna standing powerfully in front of him as she protected him from the stampeding minortaurs, so heavy that the earth itself seemed to shake, from trampling him to death deep in his heart. She was someone who would take him by the hand and walk outside with him when he couldn’t leave his house because he was half elf, and she also shared the secret of the spirits, his friends whom he couldn’t tell anyone else about, with him.

“People are bad. They’re so mean.”

Ianna might be scary, but she was never bad. Finn would consider her a good person forever no matter what she did to others. Anyone who cursed at her and scorned her was bad.

“Sob…….”

Ianna stopped talking when Finn, who was too young to be able to fully control his emotions, began sniffling. The warmth of his small frame and the honest words he offered in her defense softened her heart.

“All right. I understand. I’m sure I must be a good person if you say so, Finn.”

Ianna pat Finn on the back and looked up to find that Mursi had been watching over them. She said,

“In any event, Mr. Mursi. I detest being dragged along by another against my will. Please win my bid no matter how high it gets.”

Pft— Mursi crossed his arms and laughed as Ianna looked visibly reluctant.

“People apparently don’t have a good eye for things. If I could really buy you, if I could really use money to keep you as one of my own people, then I would spend as much money as I’d need to in a heartbeat, Little Ianna. Even if it took ten-thousand gold.”

Ianna gave Finn a little squeeze before she could stop herself as father and son continued to lavish goodwill upon her. Her face shadowed ever so slightly. She looked to Mursi, who was smiling gently, with subdued eyes.

“Not many people value me as highly as you do.”

“Truly?”

“Which is why I’ve been meaning to ask…… Why do you evaluate me so highly, Mr. Mursi? Is it because you’re grateful that I saved Finn?”

“Goodness, Little Ianna. I wouldn’t have been successful as a merchant if I was someone who was always blinded by emotion all the time. I have a good eye for people, you know.”

Mursi tapped by his eyes before he continued,

“I see you as a prominent figure in the future, Little Ianna. I’m saying this from the intuition I’ve built up as a merchant. I know that you will one day be someone remarkable whom no one can ignore. If I had to give a reason as to why, I suppose it would be because of your talents and your character? But in any case, you will be someone incredible. I don’t know why you have such a dark shadow over your face right now, Little Ianna, but such a gloomy expression doesn’t suit you.”

Mursi, who had noticed early on that Ianna wasn’t in a good mood, took Finn back from her. Ianna smiled wryly.

“I’m not so incredible as you think I am.”

Ianna walked out onto a crowded street. Theodore was generally separated into the streets that nobles took and the streets that commoners took. The streets where priceless jewelry was sold, where restaurants cooked only with the most expensive ingredients, and where the inns were luxurious were all a part of the nobles’ district, and the irregular, boisterous, and freely traversable streets were regarded as the commoners’ district.

The Paella Company had multiple buildings, but the building where its owner, Mursi, resided was located in the commoners’ district. This was because the building was often used by smaller merchants in the company.

But nobles crowded the streets of both the nobles’ district and the commoners’ district during October, when the Institution’s school festival took place. This was because the nobility from all over the world, and not just from Roanne, visited the capital for the school festival.

There were still only one or two nobles amongst the jam-packed crowd of commoners, of course, but they were usually so rare that it was almost bizarre how relatively frequently they could be spotted now.

Even the more reclusive of nobles spent time at the Institution’s festival because it was both a good place to enjoy themselves and a market for talented personnel. Still, important nobles who disliked spending time frivolously never left their personal offices in their manors. Talented individuals sought them out even if they didn’t personally attend the festival, so they simply sent their underlings in their stead to keep an eye out for anyone interesting.

In other words, it was generally the curious children of powerful nobles or middle-ranking nobles who needed to win over talented people who attended the school festival with zeal.

There were many nobles staying in the towns around Theodore because the capital was over-saturated. Those who had connections to mid-ranking Roanne nobles could stay comfortably in the latter’s manors, but the rest had no choice but to book rooms in cheap inns because there were hardly any available bookings left elsewhere.

As could be expected, the nobility and the commoners clashed against each other frequently as each tried to go about their lives, proving a thorn in the side to the Roanne soldiers who had to protect the public order.

Carriages adorned with jewels leisurely strolled the streets, showing of their abundant wealth. Noble ladies walked about quickly with parasols decorated with expensive lace and feathered fans to hide their mouths.

The night before the festivities started was so saturated with pomp and luxury that it was less a feast for the eyes and more a chaotic mess. Commoners were reluctant to step outside during these times. Everyone wore more comfortable clothes during the school festival itself, but nobles dressed to a tee during the days leading up to the event because now was the time to show off their wealth and dignity before other nobles.

Crash!

Someone slammed against a stack of crates and fell over. A man with multiple gold ornamental chains hanging from him was red in the face as he raised a sharpened blade above his head.

“I’ll have your head, damn you!”

“Eek, my Lord! Please spare me!”

Most nobles were understanding of the fact that there were many other people around them —generally other nobles— and went about their way quietly, but those nobles who cared about status often stirred up trouble. Some would even begin yelling loudly if someone who looked like a commoner so much as brushed against their clothes as they walked by.

But they generally snorted and walked away as if nothing had happened when other nobles began eyeing them or coughing awkwardly, or if they drew the Roanne soldiers’ attention.

“Hmph. Did ya just hit me? Yeah?”

A sonorous voice boomed from behind. Ianna turned around. There was one man towering above the rest, who were all around the same height. She was familiar with the orange hair covering his head and his thick accent. Ianna tilted her head to the side. Lalatua had Taro wrapped around her pinkie, and he was supposed to be running errands for her all over the place around now.

A menacing mood started to form as the man who looked like Taro grabbed another man by the collar.

“N-no, I didn’t…….”

“Yeah ya did! Ya just elbowed me in the stomach right now —what gives?”

“I’m sorry! There were just so many people…… Please forgive me!”

People covered their ears and stepped away from the man. It was only then that Ianna saw his beefy muscles and bronze skin. It was a chilly autumn day, and yet he was wearing a sleeveless shirt made of thin fabric as if he had just stepped out of the desert.

Just then, Ianna saw yet another man reaching out for a small pouch dangling from the man’s waist and whisk it away. He was pickpocketing. Ianna took pity on the man for being targeted because he was from the countryside like Taro was, and she clicked her tongue and walked toward them.

But then, a woman with her hair disheveled came running while panting and pointed at the small-statured thief.

“That man —someone please catch that man! He’s a thief! He took my money!”

“Eh?”

“Damnit! ……Eek!”

The thief tried to run only to find his body dangling in the air. The man who looked like Taro was holding him up by the head with one shield-sized hand. People took fright upon seeing a grown man hanging in the air and began screaming.

Then, the man saw his own pouch in the thief’s hands and clicked his tongue.

“Hey, damnit, this little chicken-head over here even managed to swipe my pouch!”

“Ack! My head!”

“Heave-ho.”

The man launched the thief into the air. People dropped their jaws as the thief flew high into the sky like he was doing acrobatics.

“Ahhh!”

The man grabbed the falling thief by the ankles. Then, he shook the thief up and down so hard that onlookers couldn’t help but pity him. The thief’s eyes rolled back just as the pouch and two purses fell from his pockets.

Then, yet another orange-haired man made his way through the crowd and barked,

“Pops! Argh, I knew it as soon I heard ya say that ya wanted to go for a walk alone. Let’s just ignore that guy and be on our way, yeah?”

“The hell are ya talkin’ about? I haven’t done nothin’ yet? I just shook him up a bit like I did to you lot when ya’ll were just babes?”

“This ain’t the desert. People’ll end up dyin’ if ya keep actin’ like it is, ya know?”

“That so? Hasn’t quite hit me yet since it’s been a while since I last left.”

“What is going on?!”

Roanne soldiers, who had come running after hearing the commotion, looked to the two rough-looking men and the unconscious and skinny thief in turns. The purses that the thief had pickpocketed had fallen to the ground when the man had dropped him. The man squatted down and picked out his own pouch. He looked the very picture of a good-for-nothing robbing a sickly man blind. No one would have guessed that it was the sickly-looking thief had wronged the man who looked like Taro.

One soldier rebuked,

“You scoundrel! Are you committing a crime in the middle of Theodore in broad daylight?!”

“Sir Knight! That man is a thief! That damned bastard.”

The woman who had first called the thief a thief ran up and smashed her heels against his face. The thief groaned and slowly opened his eyes. He collected himself as soon as he regained his senses and began screaming desperately.

“D-do you know who I am?”

“What’s that?”

The man asked, intrigued by the thief’s suddenly bold attitude. The thief snickered as his eyes glistened.

“I’m a member of the Black Fox! My colleagues won’t let you off easy you bastard…….”

“What a load of bullshit.”

Pow!

“Croak.”

The thief slammed hard into the wall when the man kicked him lightly in the stomach. The soldiers and onlookers were dumbstruck as the thief began throwing up blood as he convulsed. The man pat at one of the soldiers to get his attention and pointed at the thief.

“Take care of him for me, yeah?”

“……Yessir, and we’re sorry for misunderstanding the situation.”

“Ain’t nothin’ to be sorry about. Khazar! Let’s go!”

“Ugh, gosh.”

The man walked ahead with an imposing gait and his embarrassed son tagged behind, and they both came closer to where Ianna was. People stepped back a bit as they walked past. Ianna stepped back as well and snuck a glance at the man’s face from up front.

He had a few wrinkles on his forehead, but it was impossible to guess his age. All of his features were thick, including his eyes, nose, and mouth. A large scar running down from his right eyebrow diagonally across to his left cheek made him look like a wild beast.

He was walking without a care in the world, but the aura he exuded made those who looked at him falter. He was very strong. The thief who had tried to pick his pockets had been an utter idiot.

‘……But he’s just like Taro.’

His orange hair, his features, his attitude.

Ianna wondered if they were Taro’s family, since he had said that they would be visiting for the school festival, but Ianna did not intend to act like she knew who they were.

But then, the man’s eyes met hers.

“Oho?”

The man sauntered over and stopped directly in front of her. Ianna was disconcerted by the sudden change in the situation. The man leaned in a stared into Ianna’s face before narrowing his eyes.

“What a strange feelin’ lass……?”

“Whoa, Pops!”

His son came running over and pulled his father hard by the shoulder. He continued,

“What’cha scarin’ this lass out of nowhere for, yeah? Let’s just go already, please!”

“Taro…….”

“Hmm?”

The two men were startled by what Ianna had subconsciously muttered. Ianna was certain that they were Taro’s family now.

“Are you Taro’s family, by any chance?”

“Hey, how does a lass like ya know my son?”

I knew it, Ianna mumbled to herself before she bowed to them in greeting.

“I’m a friend of his from the Institution, and we’re both members of the Swordsmanship Department. My name is Ianna.”

“The Swordsmanship Department? And yer name’s Ianna, lass? But how’d ya know that we’re that stupid bastard’s family?”

Ianna glanced at the twin pair of eyes glistening in curiosity and honestly replied,

“Well……because you’re just like him.”

“Whaaat?! Ya think we’re just like that idiot?!”

“Look at this lass runnin’ her mouth!”

Taro’s family refuted her claims vehemently, but they just looked like two more Taros in Ianna’s eyes. The looked a little different, but they acted exactly the same.

Someone grabbed her by the arm just then. Ianna looked up to find that Taro’s father had stopped making a fuss and was grinning as he pulled her along.

“Never thought a lass like ya was a friend of our Taro’s. The rest of my family’s at a restaurant nearby, so why don’t ya come along and say hello? Unless yer busy, of course?”

“I didn’t really have any plans in mind, so……I’ll go.”

Ianna agreed to the man’s proposal. Looking at the two of them made her curious to see what the rest of Taro’s family was like……and it wasn’t as if she had anything to do at the Institution even if she went back anyway. Not only did she not have any last-minute preparations to make for the school festival, but she hadn’t been going to the training grounds as of late either because of the discord in her heart. Normally, she would have been hard at work training by now.

Ianna stood in place with a heavy heart for a moment before she suddenly frowned. Her arm, which the man was still holding onto, began to hurt.

“Sir, my arm…….”

“Let’s go!”

Taro’s father dragged her into a restaurant. An eye-catching crowd immediately caught her attention. Most of the people of the Kingdom of Roanne had a shade of brown hair, like Herrace, and the sudden dense flock of orange hair she saw looked like an ingot of gold amongst a sea of pebbles.

They would have still caught her attention even if it wasn’t for the orange hair, though. Their large frames were crammed boisterously around the table.

“Whoa, what’s this about, Pops? You cheatin’?”

“That’s a real pretty lass. Looks a bit fierce, but still a heck lot whiter any of our womenfolk…… What’s this now, Pops? You tryin’ to take her in as a daughter-in-law?”

commented a grinning young man with drooping eyes. The young man sitting next to him clicked his tongue.

“That lass is wasted on ya, Bro. Just be good to the wife ya have now.”

“What was that? Did ya just diss my Ceci right now? Ya tryin’ to say something bad about her?! Why don’t ya just worry about yerself. Tut tut. Yer wife already leaves ya halfway through the night as it is.”

“Ya pickin’ a fight with me?”

“Shut yer mouths already! Or I’ll tell yer wives what ya just said!”

A boy smaller than Taro told off the other two as they began quibbling.

“Shut up, ya rascals!”

the man scolded loudly. He continued,

“Ianna here’s a friend of our Taro’s. These noisy brats are my first, third, fourth, and last, in order, lass. Khazar, who came here with us, is my second, and Taro’s my fifth.”

“And I’d be these bloody rascals’ mother.”

Ianna turned to where the voice had come from. There was a small woman smiling kindly as she sat in between the large men. Ianna bowed, bewildered. The woman was so delicate and mild-mannered that it was difficult to believe that she had married the uncouth man and had given birth to six hefty sons.

Her hair, the color of red clay, was so faint that it was hard to notice her in the sea of vibrant orange, and Ianna could hardly tell that she was there at all. But now that Ianna saw her, she thought that the woman’s delicate and well-proportioned features reminded her of a lovely rabbit.

Taro’s father whispered,

“Don’t ever ignore her. This woman here’s the one who really wears the pants in this household. I can’t budge a finger without her knowin’.”

“Dear?”

“Alright, alright. Come sit with us, lass!”

“Whoa!”

The man picked up his youngest son by the scruff of his neck and secured him under his arm before sitting Ianna down where his son had been sitting. Ianna suddenly felt parched even though she hadn’t done anything wrong when seven pairs of eyes —one of which was kindly— pierced her.

“So, is our Taro doin’ well? We talked him into comin’ here even though he didn’t wanna at first. But I suppose he must be doin’ well for himself if he’s friends with a lass as pretty as you.”

Should she say he was doing well, or should she say otherwise? It wasn’t as if he wasn’t training, but he was so head over heels for Lalatua had he barely had his head on straight —what would his family say if she said that?

But she shouldn’t interfere in someone else’s love life. Ianna contemplated for a moment before deciding to gloss over things.

“He’s working hard. Though a little too hard, perhaps…….”

“All that’s important is that he’s workin’ hard. That bastard, he’s my son alright. Anyway, lass, ya said ya were in the Swordsmanship Department?”

“……!”

The man suddenly grabbed Ianna by the wrist and stared at the palm of her hand.

“That’s a pretty hand. It’s a hand that’s been workin’ hard ever since it was a wee little thing.”

The man had said it nonchalantly, but Ianna had nearly choked up for a moment. She didn’t let it show, however, and the emotion quickly dissipated from within her. The man let Ianna go and grinned with his white teeth on full display.

“All those other scrubs were just a bunch of good-for-nothin’s. But you’ll be something big if ya keep workin’ hard. I’ve a good eye for people, and the moment I saw ya, lass, I just got this strange feelin’ that ya’d grow into a giant tigress one day like bam—!”

“C’mon, Pops. Why’re ya workin’ so hard to win over a lass who’s still so young? And when Mum’s right here?”

“Quiet! Quit runnin’ yer mouth when yer Pops is tryin’ to set the mood here! Shut up, yeah?”

“How long are we gonna be stayin’ here anyway? We’ve finished eatin’, so are we gonna go stop by Uncle Mursi’s place now? I wanna see Finn,”

the man’s second son, Khazar, who had come to find him during the commotion from before, said as he tapped at his father, causing the man to open his eyes wide.

“Right! Let’s go see our cute lil’ Finn……!”

“Finn……and Mr. Mursi? Are you referring to the owner of the Paella Company?”

Ianna asked with a strange look on her face when she unexpected heard their familiar names, prompting Khazar to ask back in surprise.

“Ya know Uncle Mursi?”

“I was on my way back from meeting with Mr. Mursi when I met you…….”

“Whoa, who are ya, lass? And how do ya know Uncle Mursi?”

“Pops is good friends with Uncle Mursi. He always listens to whatever Uncle Mursi asks of him. Uncle Mursi’s practically Pops’ mistress, I tell ya.”

The third son said with a grin on his face, prompting his father’s fists to come flying.

Bam!

“Aaack!”

“Look at this lil’ runt runnin’ his mouth in front of the women!”

“Ughhh, am I not allowed to crack a joke? My head’s gonna break open.”

Ianna kept silent as she watched how the third son only grumbled after being hit with a fist larger than a normal rock without anything to defend himself with. The man who had passed down his brute strength to Taro…… Most normal people would have had their bones broken if they had been hit by the man’s fist —the entire family was rather sturdy.

Ianna stared at the man. He was very strong. Had there always been a man as strong as him in the world?

The desert……a friend of Mursi’s……Benfomè, the mercenary with a gold badge……the friend who had accompanied Mursi to the Great Forest of Shaob……?

Several thoughts ran through Ianna’s head before she suddenly recalled the name of someone Mursi had once told her about and mumbled in disbelief.

“Are you……Lord Absilot, by any chance?”

“Huh?!”

The blood drained from the man’s face. His sons, too, grew wary and leaned away from her.

“This lass is possessed or something, I’m sure of it. No wonder she felt so weird.”

“I about to get a bit scared.”

“Ya sure she ain’t some kinda spy?”

“……You’re the Mercenary King Absilot? Truly?”

“What?! How’d ya know?”

The Mercenary King who had once lorded over the entire continent. He was the boss of the Tiger Mercenary Guild, and he was a hero to every mercenary in the world.

People around Ianna’s age didn’t know much about him because he had holed himself up in the Girohai Desert twenty or so years ago and had hardly ever stepped out, but those in her parents’ generation knew him well.

Ianna had never met him before in person, but she had heard much of the rumors about him. She knew that he had been defeated so few times while he had been active that he could count his losses on the fingers of one hand and that he had earned ridiculous sums of money by sweeping through entire battlefields.

He had nothing to do with the war Ianna had once fought in the past, but she had now met this big shot as her friend’s father and as her acquaintance’s close friend.

‘Did I say something wrong? Did he not want the fact that he’s Absilot to spread around?’

Then again, from their perspective, it might even be stranger that some girl they had met on the streets knew Taro, Mursi, and Absilot’s name even though he had retired two decades ago.

Ianna waved her hands to pacify the mood, which was quickly growing chaotic.

“Mr. Mursi told me about you. Though I never thought you’d also be Taro’s father…….”

“He told you about me? But he ain’t the type of guy to just go tellin’ anyone about me?”

Absilot looked back at her dubiously, so Ianna added,

“I also heard from Mr. Benfomè, who’s with the company at the moment, that you were the one who sent him here. He said that you sent him over to protect Finn and Mr. Mursi.”

“……Huh……Oh! So that’s how it is!”

Absilot punched his fist against the palm of his other hand in understanding. His facial expressions had already relaxed, and he was now looking at Ianna with great interest.

“Yer the incredible lass who’s been goin’ around messin’ with them black fox bastards, right? Who’d have thought ya’d be so young…… Yer a more incredible lass than I originally thought. I wanna talk with ya some more, so why don’t we head over to Mursi’s together?”

“But I just came back from…….”

“Let’s go!”

And so, regardless of her wishes, Absilot dragged Ianna back to the Paella Company building by the hand.

The company guards keeping watch at entrance recognized Ianna but didn’t open the door immediately. They were reluctant to the let the rough-looking men behind her inside. Which was why the door opened from the inside first.

“Yo, Boss!”

“Ben!”

“I thought I’d heard someone familiar —so it was you, Boss!”

It was Benfomè, who lived in the room next to the office on the second floor and guarded Finn and Mursi. Benfomè gestured to the other employees that it was all right to let them in, and the employees readily complied.

Taro’s family clambered up to Mursi’s office on the second floor and pushed Ianna toward the door. She looked back at the mischievous looks on their faces and sighed before knocking. Ianna swung the door open wide when Mursi told her to come in.

Finn was reading on the sofa, and Mursi was pouring over documents. Finn looked up to find Ianna standing at the entrance with an awkward look on her face, and he threw his book aside, leapt up, and ran to her.

“Miss!”

“Hmm? Little Ianna, why are you back so……huh?!”

Mursi, who had found it peculiar that Ianna had returned so soon, was astonished to find the throng of orange hair standing behind her. His jaw dropped when he saw the familiar large figure standing at the forefront.

“Absilot! Why are you here with Little Ianna……no, before that, why are you even here?”

“Hahaha. It’s been a while.”

“Hi Uncle Mursi.”

“Hey there.”

“Ha……haha.”

Mursi failed to hide how dumbfounded he was as Absilot and his sons began greeting him. Then, Absilot’s wife stepped out from behind him. Mursi was shocked to see her.

“It’s been a while, Mursi!”

“You’re here too, Mrs. Lanka? You brought your entire family here with you…… Did a huge war break out somewhere? And how do you know Little Ianna……?”

Absilot beat Ianna across the back and laughed when Mursi’s gaze turned to Ianna, who still had an awkward look on her face.

“Oh, I met her by chance just earlier, ya know. What a twist of fate. Says she a friend of my son’s!”

“Your son? Friends? Which one are you talking about?”

“My fifth, Taro! Ya said that ya’d be headin’ over to the Kingdom of Roanne. So I got Taro to attend the Institution too. I wanted to come and surprise ya when the school festival came ‘round.”

“Wait, no way —did you seriously wait all this time without telling me anything……? And I bet that rascal Taro doesn’t even know I’m here?”

“‘Course not. It was too likely that the bastard would come see ya and sell me out. Ya surprised?”

“I’m so surprised I’m actually astounded.”

“Kyah, that makes it worth my while, ain’t it?”

Mursi steadied his alarmed heart and had Ianna and Taro’s family sit down in the sitting room.

“Finn! Ya little rascal!”

“Mr. Absilot!”

Absilot’s hands twitched as he raised Finn, who was laughing with reddened cheeks, high in the air.

“Hey, why’re ya so different from my own brats? Mursi! Ya sure he’s eating properly? I feel like I might crush him just by holdin’ him.”

“……I’d ask that you don’t say such terrible things.”

“Finn, just sit on Uncle’s arm. I don’t think I can hold ya.”

“Okay!”

Absilot was taller than the average man by about half their height, and his arms were thick enough that Finn could sit on them without losing his balance. Absilot laughed out loud as Finn wriggled around while sitting on his arm.

“Why ya cute lil’ darn thing. Yer a fairy, I tell ya.”

Ianna flinched. He was acting just like Taro did in front of Lalatua. Absilot’s firstborn saw her and cackled as he explained,

“Our family can’t lay our hands against anything that’s delicate and pretty like a doe. We loosen up and get all silly when they’re with us, should I say……? Just like our Mum here.”

Hearing about the family’s history helped Ianna understand why Taro had fallen head over heels for Lalatua. Absilot’s sons continued,

“If our Pops had a daughter, she prob’ly would’ve been all over Finn. She might’ve even kidnapped him and raised him to eat later, yeah?”

“And then, we’d suddenly find ten lil’ brats who’d look just like them…….”

Bam! Bam!

“…….”

“…….”

Absilot smacked his first and third sons across the head for their unsavory jokes. Mursi’s stiff visage relaxed and he laughed upon seeing their antics, which hadn’t seen in nearly two years.

Part 2

Mursi brought over a basket filled with bread and cookies and a container of refreshing fruit juice. Absilot’s wife, Lanka, looked to her sons with displeasure and dragged them outside, saying that they would only get in the way of Absilot’s and Mursi’s catching up. It was fairly amusing to see a line of bulky young men following meekly behind a tiny woman in despondence.

“They’re exactly the same as ever.”

“And that’s exactly the problem. They’re bodies got bigger, but their brains ain’t growing up all. Is it ‘cause I hit them on their heads all the time?”

“Anyway, is it all right for you to leave the desert like this?”

Mursi asked worriedly as he placed the basket on the table. Absilot picked up a piece of bread and began chewing on it like nothing was wrong.

“It’s cool. Lord Terra said it was okay too. I can travel all I want, I just don’t ‘cause it’s too much of a pain.”

“Is that so…….”

Mursi nodded slowly without another word before he looked to Ianna. Then, he said,

“If he’s a friend of Little Ianna’s, then Taro must be in the Swordsmanship Department too. That rascal —he’s always liked the sword……so he got in too. What a small world. You’ll find connections in the most unexpected places.”

“I was surprised too. I just happened to take an interest in her ‘cause this scary tiger lady was watchin’ me carefully —who’d have thought she was both the swordswoman ya praised to high heavens in yer letters and a friend of my son’s?”

“Haha. Little Ianna is one amazing young lady.”

Mursi did not hide how fond he was of Ianna. He continued,

“She’s only sixteen, but not only is she strong enough to slay a minotaur in one stroke, but she also won the Swordsmanship Department’s swordsmanship competition and she’s the top of her year.”

“Mr. Mursi.”

Ianna said his name, intending to get him to stop, but Mursi wasn’t about to stop anytime soon. He wanted to tell his friend, who was also known as the strongest man in the West, all about how amazing Ianna was.

“She even went to one of the notorious Black Fox’s hideouts and found out why they were after Finn. She’s as great as they come character-wise too.”

“Mr. Mursi, that en……”

“What’s so bad about it, Lil’ Ianna? Is there anything that I shouldn’t hear about? —‘cause I wanna hear. Keep goin’, Mursi!”

“…….”

“Did you see how brightly Finn smiled as soon as he saw Little Ianna earlier? The little rascal was always so depressed and gloomy ever since Paella passed away, but he’s cheered right up ever since he met Ianna. He’s always talking about her all the time.”

“I love Miss Ianna lots! She’s really nice and super strong!”

“Oh yeah……?”

Absilot, who had been listening with great interest, looked down at Finn, sitting in his lap, as the child clamored on about how much he loved Ianna. Then, he turned to Ianna, whose head was hanging down and had her face in her hands.

“And that’s not all. She’s even been to a dwarven village in the Karankell Rocky Mountains.”

“……Huh? You mean a human went that deep in one of the four corners and came back alive?”

“Exactly. The Black Fox had captured a dwarf and was about to sell him at a slave auction, but Little Ianna brought him back to his village. Dwarves generally dislike humans, but this one was attached to Little Ianna from the very beginning. I suppose it was because she rescued him?”

“Hmmm……a dwarf, ya say? That’s odd. The mythical races hate humans a lot, and they wouldn’t have let go of their hatred that easily.”

Absilot tilted his head to one side. He continued,

“And ya visited one of the four corners and came back alive? Wow, yer a waaaay better lass than I’d pegged ya for. Ya sure yer human? No but, even if yer that strong, to think that ya went to one of the four corners at yer age…… You definitely have something special to ya.”

“Little Ianna can even call upon the spirit kings for help too.”

Absilot stopped still as he was about to bring a cookie to his mouth. He frowned heavily.

“……What? Ya sure ya ain’t just teasin’ me now, Mursi? Ya didn’t actually mean that, right?”

Ianna had tried to stop Mursi from speaking at first. But Absilot had suddenly grown so serious that she judged that there must be some reason why Mursi, who normally had tight lips, had told Absilot about the spirit kings.

‘Maybe I’ll learn more about the spirit kings.’

“It’s true. The dwarf had his hands cut off when I first met him, but then he suddenly got them back one day. The spirits Little Ianna summoned had recreated them.”

“But spirit kings……? That’s absurd. Ya serious?”

Ianna nodded when Absilot looked to her in disbelief.

“I can’t summon them directly because I don’t know how to, but the spirit kings come on their own accord when I touch a spirit summoned by someone else.”

“……You clearly have something special about ya, lass, though I don’t know what it is. So, how ‘bout it, Lil’ Ianna?”

Absilot stared at Ianna as he crunched— the cookie in his mouth. He continued,

“Wanna have a match with me?”

Ianna hesitated for a moment because of his sudden request before she shook her head no.

“It’s a temping offer……but I’m sorry, I’ll have to decline.”

“Why’s that?”

Her heart had skipped a beat when he proposed a duel, but Ianna turned him down. A spar with Absilot, the Mercenary King, was an enticing offer. Ianna was someone who could never be satisfied by fighting someone normal and someone like Absilot who had once rampaged the continent as a figure of absolute strength was an incredible opponent —he could even impart her some invaluable teachings. And yet, she wasn’t in the mood to spar at the moment.

“I’ve been avoiding sparring with others because there’s been a lot on my mind as of late. And I also have to participate in the swordsmanship tournament too.”

“And also, Absilot…”

Mursi followed up from beside her.

“Not only does Little Ianna have her circumstances, but it isn’t as spacious here as it is in the desert. This is Theodore, one of the most densely populated places in the world. There isn’t anywhere here where you can run amok to your heart’s content.”

“Hmmm…….”

Absilot crammed several cookies in his mouth while looking disgruntled before he slouched back against the sofa as if he had lost interest. Finn, sensing his mood, climbed out of Absilot’s arms and sat next to him instead. Ianna studied the look on Absilot’s face before gingerly saying,

“I’d like to spar with you when I’m in my best condition, Lord Absilot.”

Absilot seemed to take a liking to her for saying that, and he grinned as he slung his arm over the sofa armrest.

“Sure. Come visit me if ya ever have business in the desert. We generally don’t let outsiders in, but I’ll make an exception for ya and welcome ya with open arms.”

“Thank you.”

Absilot lovingly pat Finn’s little head as the child was sitting next to him before he suddenly startled.

“……Oh, right!”

Absilot jumped up with a sunny look on his face. Ianna was puzzled and didn’t know why he was looking at her with sparkles in his eyes, but she did not turn away.

“There was something I wanted to do when I got here, lass —mind comin’ with?”

“If it’s something I can help with.”

“Perfect. Hey, Mursi. Let me borrow a robe for the lass.”

“Absilot? What are you planning to do?”

“Hey. It’s a secret.”

Mursi looked at Absilot dubiously, but he left the room and came back with a set of robes all the same. Absilot threw it over to Ianna, who put it on. Then, he rummaged through the luggage that his family had piled up in one corner of the office, picked out a large robe, and draped it over his own shoulders.

“Imma take a short walk with Lil’ Ianna here, so look after my wife and kids for me, will ya? —they’ve prob’ly tired themselves out by now.”

“I don’t care what you do, but please don’t do anything that could harm Little Ianna.”

“I know, I know.”

There was absolute trust hidden in Mursi’s words, and Absilot accepted it as if it was only natural. Ianna looked between them in turns with a question on her face. Where did their deep friendship stem from?

“Is this all right with you, Little Ianna? I don’t know what exactly he’s up to…….”

Ianna nodded to Mursi, who was worried for her, to show him that she didn’t mind. She was curious as to what Absilot, who was once renown as the Mercenary King and had roamed the entire world, was so eager to do.

“Let’s go!”

Ianna followed after as Absilot dragged her outside the company building by the hand. The roads were bustling with people, but they were daunted by Absilot, who was easily several heads taller than most, and shied away from him, and Ianna followed behind him comfortably as he cleared the path ahead of them. Ianna clicked her tongue.

“That cutpurse from earlier was much too gutsy for his own good. To think that he would dare try to steal from you, Lord Absilot, when everyone else is shying away from you —never mind the fact that you’re also the Mercenary King…….”

“Huh? Oh, that bastard. He just happened to bump into me by chance. He wasn’t lookin’ where he was goin’ when he ran into me, and he prob’ly figured he might as well take my stuff too. But anyway, them black fox bastards —that’s what I’m more concerned about. How dare they set their sights on that cute lil’ kid…….”

Ianna flinched at the sharp air she suddenly felt coming off of Absilot’s back. Even she ended up stepping away from him before she knew what she was doing. She felt like he had suddenly covered himself with pointy needles.

But he returned to normal soon enough and stepped inside a certain building, and Ianna cautiously followed after him.

“Well, here’s the thing. I did this— and I blocked the saber-toothed tiger’s claws.”

“And that female orc started crying with tears and snot pouring down her face when I told her to buzz off. I don’t even know where she came from.”

“Bwahaha! That’s the best commission ever!”

“I’m telling you, a nobleman’s grumbling is a helluva lot scarier than any monster’s roar! They employ you as a guard but drive you like a slave, those damned bastards. I’m never taking another request from House Cashiot ever again!”

Ianna, who didn’t know where Absilot had taken her to, only began surveying her surroundings after she had stepped inside. The wooden planks that served as the building’s floors were so old that some of the nails keeping them down were out of joint. The pungent smell of alcohol and sweat permeated the place, and thick grey clouds of cigar smoke obscured her vision. There were bearded men lounging around the circular tables. Things were made hectic inside with the clamor of laughter and shouting. An entire wall had been made into a bulletin board, and it was plastered with papers scrawling with handwritten letters.

<Harvest 16 futugi mushrooms from the Lotso Mountains. Reward: 3 gold.>

<Recruiting escorts traveling to Count Selder’s lands in the Kingdom of Karsiva in October.>

Ianna had a good idea as to where she was. People skimmed over the bulletin board, ripped off one sheet at a time, and lined up in front of someone who appeared to be an administrator of sorts. Behind the administrator was a large and coarse panel that read, ‘The Kingdom of Roanne — Theodore Mercenary Guild Branch.’

Absilot took out the pouch dangling at his waist, which the thief had tried to steal from him earlier, and pulled out a shining gold badge. He ignored the line and sauntered up to the busy administrator.

“Gasp!”

The blood drained from the administrator’s face when he looked up, wondering who the clueless bastard was, only to see the gold badge Absilot was holding. The administrator jumped up from his seat and vanished up the stairs that led to the second floor. There was a loud slam shortly after as a door slammed against the walls, and a potbellied man stomped downstairs in a hurry. Other mercenaries looked up to see what was going on and was surprised to see the potbellied man.

“Hey, what’s that fat guy come all the way down here for?”

“The guildmaster’s here in person? Is there a VIP client here or something?”

The man walked up to Absilot and clasped his hands together as he bowed from his waist.

“You’re here, Sir!”

“Did you prepare what I asked you for?”

“But of course.”

The man courteously handed Absilot a roll of paper. He continued,

“Here you are, Sir. I looked into the matter as closely as my abilities allowed.”

“Good work.”

Absilot brought Ianna back outside once he had received the paper. He unrolled the paper and looked at its contents. Ianna snuck a glance at is as she walked alongside him. She immediately knew what it was at a first glance. It was a map of Theodore —something she was familiar with.

It was nowhere near as detailed as the map Camastros had —it was a normal map that travelers used while visiting Theodore—, but it had several red dots marked on it. Ianna expressed her interest.

“What are those red dots for?”

“This is a map of the Black Fox’s hideouts.”

“…….”

Ianna found herself at a loss for words when the air Absilot was giving off changed like a flip of a switch.

“I was plannin’ to clean up the capital since I’m here anyways.”

Ianna tensed up a little and stole a glance at Absilot’s profile when a bloody air suddenly formed about him. Why was it? She hadn’t particularly cared too much about Absilot’s large frame until then, but now he looked distinctly ferocious. He had been like an easygoing man from the countryside until then, but now he seemed like the king of wild beasts who had survived countless battlefields.

Absilot, who had peeled back a portion of his outer mask, smiled chillingly with his white fangs bared. Was it because his teeth were a cut sharper than normal? He looked like an actual tiger who was growling as he prepared to hunt.

“How dare they target Mursi and our cute lil’ Finn? Those damned bastards. I’ll cut their shit-filled heads clean off and beat their bodies to a bloody pulp.”

Absilot stroked the stubble on his chin as he added, almost as if in afterthought,

“You seemed to have a lot goin’ on in yer mind right now, Lil’ Ianna. But the swordsmanship tournament was just an excuse, yeah?”

Ianna startled when Absilot saw through her. He looked down at her and grinned.

“You don’t seem to care really much about the tournament, no? And ya flinched when I said ya had a lot on yer mind —am I wrong?”

“…….”

“I’ll protect ya if things get dangerous, so why not go wild on a rampage and break stuff to yer heart’s content? Ya might feel better. It’s bad for the heart to keep things all bottled up inside like that.”

Had she really been that obvious? Ianna quietly placed her hands over her cheeks and massaged them. She had thought that she was good at controlling her expressions, but it looked like she had let her feelings show because just thinking about that day made her emotions flare up like exploding lava.

That, or Absilot was a monster capable of noticing even the slightest change in people’s faces.

“……Is that so? Very well then.”

Her feelings, which she had been keeping suppressed in her heart until then, began boiling over now that she had been confronted about them head-on. She pulled down hard at the hood of her robes. She was clutching her robes so tight that veins were popping out from her hands. Her shadowed red eyes glistened gloomily from beneath her hood. She continued,

“But I don’t need you to protect me. I can take care of my own body. If I needed to ask for help even for something like this……then I wouldn’t be able to keep moving forward.”

“That so?”

Absilot and Ianna slipped into the back alleys. The streets were as crowded as sand on a beach, so no one noticed that they had slipped away and neither did they care. The noise of hustle and bustle subsided as they walked deeper into the alleys. Then, Absilot abruptly said,

“Is it really true that ya can summon the spirit kings?”

“Well, like I said before, I can’t summon them directly, but if I touch a spirit that’s already been summoned, it takes my divine power and…….”

Ianna stopped talking because she didn’t know if Absilot knew that divine power existed in people’s hearts.

“So ya know about it too, lass? I guess the spirit kings told ya? I know what divine power is, so carry on.”

There was a strange look in Ianna’s eyes as she looked back at Absilot.

Absilot was the Mercenary King, who had once been renown all over the world. He was currently known as the protector who defended the many members of the mythical races who dwelt in the desert.

Elves lived in the East, dwarves lived in the South, and no one knew what kinds of mythical races lived in the North, but the West was inhabited by mythical races from all over the world. She could understand why Absilot, who also lived in the westernmost corner of the world with them, would know of the spirit kings. But to think that he had also known about divine power…….

“The spirits dive into my body somehow and eat at my divine power to summon themselves.”

“I don’t know how yer body’s made up, lass, but it’d be for the best that ya didn’t abuse yer ability to summon the kings. The spirit kings ain’t something ya can just summon using any normal means. In a sense, ya can even say that the spirit kings are the closest beings to the Demon here in the Age of Magic…….”

“Pardon?”

“Smaller spirits are child’s-play. But the spirit kings, their true forms, take and devour a ton of life as the price for their miracles.”

“…….”

“Looks like ya don’t really have a good grasp about the price that’s needed to summon a spirit king. Fine then.”

Absilot scratched at his cheek before folding his arms and nodded as though he had come to a decision. He continued,

“I’ll teach ya a simple way to summon a spirit king to commemorate our meetin’ today, lass, so go ahead and tell me which spirit king ya want to learn how to summon. Fire, water, earth, wind —choose one.”

Absilot wasn’t making sense. He had said that the price to summon a spirit king was hefty, and yet he was also saying that there was a simple way to summon one? But Ianna sensed that he absolutely wasn’t joking around, so she gingerly said,

“The spirit king of fire, then.”

“That’s one’s the simplest. All ya gotta do to summon that king is to throw a hundred sacrifices in a pile of wood and burn them alive. If ya take the divine power that’s released as the sacrifices die, bundle it up, and summon a spirit with it, ya’ll get the spirit king of fire. Easy, right?”

“…….”

“The spirit king of water’s a similar deal —just drown a hundred sacrifices at once.”

Ianna found herself unable to say anything because Absilot was not being playful at all.

“I know it sounds extreme, but you can really summon the spirit kings that way. Ya get what I’m getting at? Put another way, it means that ya need that much divine power to summon a spirit king. So it’s strange that ya can summon a spirit king, lass, when ya aren’t even a member of a mythical race that can live for thousands of years.”

Ianna grabbed at her heart. Her heart, beating steadily, didn’t feel like there was anything wrong with it. But she was sure that the divine power it held inside was different than that belonging to others.

Perhaps it was because her mother, Lebony, who had crossed over the Holy Age and clung persistently to life even in the Age of Magic, had passed down a vast amount of divine power to her. And yet, she was certain it was the fact that her house carried the name of the crimson god —the fact that her prior incarnation might have been the crimson god eons ago— that would solve all these questions for her.

But there was nothing special about her house’s history and she didn’t know how reincarnation worked in general, so she could not explain anything in detail yet.

“So I’m tellin’ ya that you should stop callin’ the spirit kings until ya figure out how exactly yer body ticks. There’s always the chance that ya might just drop dead.”

Ianna thought that Absilot was truly strange.

“But how do you know about all of this, Lord Absilot?”

“Me?”

But five rugged men suddenly blocked their path just as Absilot was about to answer. They were all armed.

“Ehehe, hand it over. Hand it all over!”

“We’ll let you leave with your lives if you take off everything you have on you right now! Ahaha!”

“We’ve been starving because we haven’t been able to make money because of those damn knights, and now the two of you show up here……you must have forgotten to be afraid! Heehee!”

Ianna sighed —this happened every time she entered the slums. It almost made her wonder if stealing was all these thugs knew how to do. No wonder people avoided dark alleyways. The thugs at least made themselves scarce when Ianna was wearing Camastros’ robes and mask, but she and Absilot were only wearing normal robes today.

Whoosh!

Just then, Absilot dived deep through their numbers in the blink of an eye. The thugs hadn’t been able to see how fast he was and were still cackling away, having failed to grasp the situation. Absilot sent his tight fist flying at one of the men.

Baaaam!

“Aaaack!”

The man took Absilot’s punch directly in the face, and his teeth went flying out of his mouth and his face seemed to cave in. He fainted on the spot and was about to go flying like an arrow because of the weight of Absilot’s punch, but Absilot grabbed him by the head and hurled him hard against the ground.

“U-ughh.”

The man, who had become a bloody mess, spasmed as he spewed blood everywhere. The other thugs froze where they stood. Absilot burst out in laughter.

“Hand it over. Hand it all over! We’ll let ya leave with yer lives if ya take off everything ya have on ya right now! Ahaha!”

Absilot parroted the exact words that the thugs had said earlier and looked straight at them. The way his eyes glistened under his sharply raised eyebrows was more than enough to make the thugs go numb with fear. The tiger looked down at them arrogantly, as if he could hunt down his prey at any moment just by reaching out even with his head at such a high angle. The men paled as they quickly waved their hands in surrender.

“W-wait! We’ll take everything off! We’ll strip!”

“No need for that!”

Absilot shouted loudly before rushing at the remaining men. It took him less than a minute to finish off the remaining four men. Taro favored his sword, but Absilot was a master of the martial arts. He used his fists and feet to beat the thugs to a literal pulp.

“Ughhh.”

The dull sound of fists beating away at flesh continued for a while before Ianna found herself staring at the bizarre scene of Absilot rummaging through the moaning thugs’ pockets for their purses.

He pulled out a large sack from his own pocket and emptied the thugs’ purses into it. He slung his sack over his shoulder like a proud and mighty bandit as he stood up, and, upon seeing Ianna staring back at him, boldly proclaimed,

“It’s always good to have more money.”

They encountered a few more groups of thugs along the way to the Black Fox’s base, and Absilot beat all of them up and took their money before leisurely continuing along his way with Ianna following behind in silence.

He stopped in front of a small building a little while later.

“Hmm, so this is the place.”

They had arrived at the base that was to be their first hunting grounds. It sounded like there were men gambling inside, as they heard people shouting things like, “Straight!” and “Full house, sucker!” mixed in with thick laughter. Absilot smirked and whispered to Ianna,

“I’ll take full responsibility for everything, lass, so go on in and wreak havoc to yer heart’s content.”

“If you say so.”

Absilot ran ahead and Ianna followed closely behind. He leapt up as he was running and kicked the door open.

Craaaash!

“Whoa!”

“What the?!”

The latch and hinge snapped like a cracker before Absilot’s brute strength, and the door nearly broke it two as it shot inside like a cannon. The people inside were astounded as the bent door came flying with a thunderous roar.

Pooow! Pow!

“Kgh!”

A few people passed out in succession as they were hit by the flying door. But the door never lost momentum and continued sailing until it slammed against the wall opposite where it had been originally and splintered into pieces.

The remaining members of the Black Fox hurriedly grabbed their weapons and looked to the cloud of dust that had kicked up where the door used to be. Absilot walked in and coughed.

“This the Black Fox’s base?”

“Who’re you?”

“Who are you, and why were you looking for us?”

“So it is.”

Then, calamity promptly fell upon the base. Absilot ran around the place smashing things up, and Ianna, too, pulled no punches as she ruthlessly beat up the Black Fox’s men and blew off some steam.

She didn’t particularly want to see severed limbs flying all over the place, so she kept her sword sheathed and broke the men’s bones by bashing them with the wood of her scabbard. That being said, she didn’t hesitate to cut them down if they rushed for her in droves.

What members who were still alive fell to their knees and begged Absilot and Ianna to spare their lives. This base was used only as a gambling house, so none of the members were high-ranking —they were all small fry. But they still had a leader of sorts. He trembled as he wailed,

“Who are you, and why are you harassing us like this?”

“Hu—h? What makes ya think I gotta tell you who I am?”

“Y-you coward!”

“Coward? Look at ya sproutin’ nonsense now.”

“Are you Camastros?! You bastards are finished now! The Lord Mage will track you down and kill you!”

Ianna’s gut wrenched horribly when she heard them talk about a mage and her eyes slanted dangerously. Was the mage they were referring to Keigus Dimitri, whom Arhad had killed about ten days ago? It looked like news of his demise hadn’t spread throughout the organization quite yet.

Then again, Keigus’ body had been burned up by a black flame and had vanished completely after Arhad had taken his Demon’s fragment. There was no way for the Black Fox to know that he had died.

“I don’t know about this Camastros business or whatever, but I’m still a fox hunter, ya dipshits. And besides that, you’ll kill me? Ya really think ya dare?”

The man flinched in bewilderment. Absilot cracked his knuckles for a moment before he planted his fist into the man’s face. The man flew backward as the sound of his neck breaking echoed about the room, and he slammed hard into the wall and never moved again. The other men, who were still kneeling, shivered in terror. There were even a few who soiled their pants. Absilot roared with laughter.

“Wanna know who I am? Then let’s just say I’m the White Fox goin’ around huntin’ you Black Fox bastards! Ahem, it’s good profit.”

Absilot had forced the Black Fox members to hand over their money before forcing them to their knees, and he grinned in satisfaction as he raised up his now-heavy sack. Then, he noticed that one of the men was glaring at him and kicked him hard in the face. The man’s broken teeth spilled all over the place as he fell sideways.

“…….”

Those who had been glaring at Absilot without realizing what they were doing quickly looked down. Absilot sat down on the table and stuck a cigar —he had stolen a pack from one of the men earlier— between his teeth. He created a small flame with a simple spell and began smoking it. Black smoke flowed out from between his lips.

“Now listen up, ya bunch of babies. I’m about to go and bust up a bunch of yer bases and kill the whole lot of ya. So ya better stay the hell away from the Black Fox if ya don’t wanna die —got that? I’m only gonna let ya go ‘cause I need ya to go and spread the word about me, yeah?”

The men nodded frantically, and Absilot smiled in satisfaction. Then, he nodded to Ianna, who had been watching from behind, and they left the base.

The once clean and tidy base had become a complete mess. There were cracks running along the walls, and all the windows had been broken.

“Damn, it’s been a while since I cleaned a place out like that,”

Absilot said to Ianna, who was walking next to him, as he continued to smoke his cigar. He continued,

“Yer with Camastros, ain’t ya, lass? Them’s the only bunch with guts big enough to take the Black Fox on.”

“You know about Camastros?”

“I do. Anyone who says they don’t know the Black Fox or Camastros in the underworld’s a spy. Someone I know’s a part of that group too, ya know?”

Ianna thought of Caesar for a moment. He was an amazing martial artist who could also use the spirits. But members of Camastros were forbidden from prying into the circumstances of other members. Besides, all she would accomplish was to satiate her curiosity if she tried to find out, and it would also be incredibly rude to Caesar.

“I am. Anyway, may I ask why you told them to spread word about you? It’ll only put them on alert and make it harder to take care of their bases.”

“That don’t matter. I have faith in my skills.”

He was quite brazen, even for someone who just declared that he would confront the Black Fox, whose very name could send people trembling away in fear. Absilot smirked.

“I’ve been alive for so long now that they’re just food to me. It don’t matter how hard those bastards struggle.”

Absilot looked like he was middle-aged, but his speech implied that he had lived his fair share of years. He was very bold.

“But tryin’ to cut down their influence by killlin’ those gangsters is both underhanded and ineffective. Gangsters’ll never fully disappear from the world. Even if ya clear them all away, some other bastards’ll pop up to take their place. And besides, our goal is the organization itself, not just gettin’ rid of the gangsters.”

Absilot breath—ed out some smoke.

“The Black Fox’s declined a lot ‘cause of Camastros, yeah? If a third party comes after them ‘bout now, they’ll start gettin’ impatient, and the weaklings’ll scatter off on their own. And fewer people’ll be willin’ to join them if not one but two strong powers are after them at once. Which means that the Black Fox’ll get even more shaken up as an organization.”

They arrived at the second base as they conversed. It was a larger base than the one before.

“What I want isn’t just the safety of those I care about, but also for them to be cleaned up as quickly as possible. And I’m plannin’ to meddle for real from now on.”

Absilot snuck up to the door.

“I’ve cleaned up most of the bastards out West, but they’re still flappin’ about as they please here, yeah? How is our cute lil’ thing supposed to live happy like this? Ya know…”

Luckily, there was an executive present at the second base. He wasn’t very high up the ladder, but he was still a relatively important executive in charge of handling the members beneath his command and conveying orders from the upper brass to them.

Absilot and Ianna half-killed the dregs, like they had in the first base, and forced the executive to his knees as his comrades sprawled out around him.

“Ya know, I quit my drugs and stuff after meeting my wife and Mursi and all…….”

Absilot had a blank look on his face as he squat down in front of the terrified man and blew— a cloud of smoke in his face. He continued,

“And I was doin’ so well keepin’ my dirty temper in check too……but there’s just one thing that I absolutely refuse to tolerate. Know what it is?”

Absilot’s eyes gleamed with a frightening light. He dug the lit end of the cigar directly against the man’s forehead. The man screamed in agony.

“It’s when trash like you keep showin’ up in front of people I care about. Got that, huh? I’ll kill the whole lot of ya. All ya Black Fox bastards are as good as dead now.”

They headed for the third base after successfully making a mess out of the second.

“There’s some mighty weird-lookin’ dogs starin’ right at us. And they don’t feel right either,”

Absilot said as he gestured with a nod of his head. Ianna stepped out from behind him and looked to where he had pointed to. She immediately felt herself break out in goosebumps. Those hideous forms and the bizarre air about them. They were chimeras.

Keigus was dead, but it looked like the chimeras he had given the Black Fox were still alive and well. Ianna glared sharply.

She had been rather melancholy as of late. And Keigus had a part in the reason behind that. He wasn’t the main reason. But he had forced her to feel an unbelievable amount of helplessness and shame, and he had pushed her into the abyss she was drowning in by forcing her to realize something that she had never noticed before.

And now, there were traces of Keigus right before her very eyes. The suffocating feelings she had been feeling, which hadn’t been resolved even as she beat the Black Fox members senseless, exploded out from her the very moment she found a fitting target to vent her frustrations on. Ianna ran forth from Absilot’s side like the wind.

“Huh?”

Ianna had already crammed mana into her sword by the time Absilot intoned dumbly, and there was a dense crimson fortification wrapped around her blade.

Riiip!

Ianna furiously brandished her sword diagonally.

Splat—!

Her fortification was released from her blade in the shape of a crescent moon and slammed directly into the chimeras. Black blood splattered everywhere. Ianna had a frustrated look on her face, as if she couldn’t quite express her feelings properly, as she watched the blood splatter.

Absilot had watched her powerful fortification in surprise at first, but he quickly settled into observing her carefully instead.

Her fortification hadn’t only cut down the chimeras, but it also continued on to rend through the base behind them as well. The base was built of sturdy brick, and yet it cracked as Ianna’s fortification cut through.

Rumble…….

The building split in two along the crack, and its upper half slid along the line and crumbled down. People screamed as they ran outside, and Ianna wielded her blade against them mercilessly. Absilot helped too, and they finished cleaning up the third base quicker than the first two.

“Pant, pant……”

Absilot watched over her quietly as Ianna, who was normally cool and composed, collected her breath with fury written plainly on her face. He found it strange how she had changed so suddenly after seeing those weird-looking dogs. But he chose not to say anything as he brought Ianna along to the next base, and the next base, and the next base.

They found more of the mage’s chimeras at the bases every now and again. Absilot sensed that Ianna’s heart was beginning to settle down as she rained death upon the chimeras with fire in her eyes. Her heart was emptied of her rage and frustration, only to be filled again with bitterness toward herself for being so vexed.

By the time they had wrecked nearly ten bases, Absilot looked to the skies and said to Ianna,

“My wife’s prob’ly waitin’ for me. Let’s stop here for today.”

Ianna didn’t say much else as she nodded. They walked back along the alleyways for a bit before Absilot, as if he had just remembered a passing thought, asked,

“So how is it —feelin’ a bit better?”

Ianna stopped for a moment before she quietly answered,

“……Yes.”

“Doesn’t sound like it though? Wanna come beat them foxes up with me again tomorrow?”

Not only did Ianna dislike lying, but she also found it difficult to lie in front of Absilot. Ianna smirked before she shook her head no and turned down his proposal.

“I’ve beat enough people up and destroyed more than enough things to vent my frustrations today. I feel a lot less suffocated now. Thank you.”

“Do ya mind if I ask what’s been weighin’ so heavy on yer mind? Even if havin’ other people listen to what’s goin’ on won’t solve things, it can still help ya feel a whole lot better.”

There was reason in what he was saying, but Ianna was still hesitant to speak up. The feelings she had bottled up inside her weren’t something that a young girl of just sixteen should be troubled over, and neither were they something that could be easily understood by others even if she told them.

“There is someone whom I’ve always wanted to defeat, so much so that it drives me insane.”

But, wouldn’t it be fine just to show him a little? Her lips quivered a bit.

“Defeating him is my goal —it’s the entirety of my life. I always ended up losing, but I would still last for dozens of minutes every time we fought.”

Matches that people fought until one party had rendered the other powerless with their weapon ended quicker than most would think. Fighting for dozens of minutes on end was rather long. Which was why, though Ianna knew that she was lacking, though she could not see the end of Arhad’s strength……she had always thought that she had only lost by a narrow margin.

“But then, one day, I learned that he was more than powerful enough to beat me instantaneously, but he always, always continued……to go easy on me.”

She had never thought that he had been going easy on her before.

“I felt so ashamed and my pride was bruised……and I cried because I felt like I had been treated as nothing more than a toy and because I felt like I had been deceived my entire life. I couldn’t hold back how defeated I felt when I learned that, due to a certain reason, I would never be able to beat him. And then, he told me that he would help me become strong enough to defeat him.”

Ianna had felt so wretched when she had heard him say that.

“What he suggested is my only means to win. And I am planning to accept his help. But I’m just so disappointed in myself, because it’s ridiculous that I have to accept his help in order to defeat him…….”

There was more to it, but this was all she could tell Absilot that he would understand. Ianna shut her eyes in irritation and pulled at her hair.

“And I’m still upset over it even now. ……Though I’m sure you’re wondering why a young girl who isn’t even seventeen yet is saying something like this…”

“So, lass, didn’t you try?”

She couldn’t understand what he was saying. Ianna brought her hands down and looked to him. Absilot was still facing forward, however. He continued,

“I’m askin’ if ya didn’t put in the effort to beat him while he was deceivin’ ya. Ya have nothing to say for yerself if ya didn’t. Ya wouldn’t have the right to agonize over this either.”

“I did!”

Ianna retorted as her temper flared.

“I did try. I did everything I possibly could to defeat him, and I poured all of my time into making myself stronger. And that’s why I’m so frustrated and angry right now!”

“Then, was all that time ya spent meaningless? Was all that time he was deceivin’ ya just trash to ya, lass? Do ya regret the time ya spent while tryin’ to beat him? Do ya think it would’ve been better if ya just gave up early on without tryin’ so hard?”

Ianna’s breath caught for a moment.

“……No. I’ll never……regret it.”

“Then that’s fine. But, do ya really wanna beat him? Even now that ya know he was deceivin’ ya?”

Absilot asked quietly as he smirked. He was not making fun of her. Ianna hung her head down low and muttered,

“……But of course. I’m so frustrated right now because I can’t bring myself to cleanly give up.”

“If ya really wanna win, then don’t be choosy with yer means and methods. Put up with it even if he ignores ya, and just get stronger. It’s not like ya have no path before ya, yeah? Ya have clear way to get stronger. Even if ya have to bow down and hold yer tail between yer legs for now……all ya have to do is win in the end,”

Absilot declared boldly.

“…….”

“If ya have the time to be disappointed in yerself and stress out ‘cause of that, then think, ‘Damn you, just you wait! I’m bowin’ my head to ya for now, but I’ll break that high and mighty nose of yers one day!’ and keep tryin’. Bow down, and just get stronger till yer strong enough to surpass anyone who harasses ya, lass. Get strong, and make him face ya in earnest. By then, you won’t be feelin’ sorry for yerself because ya would’ve finally made him get serious. Then, get stronger and stronger until ya finally get yer complete victory. Take the guy who dared to ignore ya and devour him whole.”

“…….”

“If ya wanna win, then who cares about how? If keepin’ yer head down low means ya can get strong enough to surpass him one day, then kill yer pride until the day ya finally beat him. Then, when ya do get stronger and win, go force him to his knees for ignoring ya for so long and sneer as ya kick him in the face.”

Absilot locked his fingers together and stretched when Ianna didn’t reply.

“Well, that’s what I would do. Then again……I do tend to overdo these things. I can see why it might be a bit difficult for a normal person to think this way!”

Absilot scowled when the light hit his face as they exited the alleyways and blocked the light with his hands. The sun was preparing to dye the skies orange. Ianna looked to the sun as it hovered off to one side of the sky above the royal palace.

They slowly made their way back to the Paella Company building.

“Thanks for comin’ with me today, Lil’ Ianna!”

Ianna quietly looked back at Absilot before bowing from her waist.

“No, I’m the one who should be grateful.”

“Mm.”

Absilot nodded in satisfaction when he heard that some of the weight had been lifted from Ianna’s voice. He looked to her with a strange light in his eyes.

“I learned from watchin’ ya today that ya aren’t no ordinary person, lass. Yer so strange I couldn’t help but wonder if ya were really human, ya know? Make sure ya come visit the desert one day if ya can…….”

Ianna was glad for his offer. It seemed like there were many secrets hiding in the four corners of the world that she couldn’t glean in the center of the continent.

“I will, for sure. But, are you human, Lord Absilot?”

“Huh?”

“No ordinary person would know about the spirits, divine power, or the price of summoning the spirit kings. And I was watching too —your physical strength was incredibly strong. So much so that it couldn’t possibly be normal.”

That was what Ianna thought. Even an adult Arhad couldn’t hold a candle to Taro’s Herculean strength unless he was using mana. Ianna continued,

“You’re a bit too different from other humans to be human.”

Hers were words that could have made the other party uncomfortable. And yet, Absilot simply smiled with his teeth bare.

“What do you think I am, if not human, lass? If ya don’t think I’m human, then why don’t ya try guessin’ what I am?”

“Why you…?!”

Lanka flew out of the building and shouted just then. She continued,

“Where did ya drag off that rascal Taro’s friend to when it’s nearly time for dinner? Huh? And is that cigar smoke I smell? Were you smokin’?!”

“Ack. Honey. That hurts!”

An awkward look crossed Ianna’s face as Absilot, who had ruthlessly beaten up the members of the Black Fox, got one-sidedly smacked around by a woman as tiny and pretty and Lanka.

~~*~~

There was a hill near the Institution grounds that, while it was somewhat low in elevation, you could see the entire campus from if you sat at the peak and looked out. It had no name, but the hill, covered in lush green grass, was a part of the nature along the outer districts of the capital, Theodore, along with the forest. The grasses were dyed orange as the twilight settled over them with the setting sun.

Ianna sat back against one of the trees growing on the hill and took in the cool autumn air as she looked down at the picturesque scene of the Institution buildings covered in a festive mood. It was two days before the school festival was scheduled to begin, and it had been five days since Keigus’ death.

Ianna had not sought Arhad out for a while after they had killed the mage. She returned to her dormitory as soon as her lectures were over, and she hadn’t even trained, much less sparred. Arhad had not come looking for her either.

Then, Ianna had come looking for Arhad outside his lecture hall one day.

“I showed you something unseemly the other day,”

Ianna had said to him, four days later, while looking like nothing was out of the ordinary whereas Arhad looked anxious to see her again.

“I’d like to learn how to control divine power. But, while I understand this might be a little rude because I’m the one learning from you……I’d like to put off learning for a little bit. I’d like to hold back from sparring as well…… Is this all right with you?”

This was what Ianna had asked. Arhad had not asked her why and had simply accepted it while looking visibly relieved.

“Of course. Let me know anytime when you wish to learn.”

“Thank you.”

The reason why she had delayed learning how to control divine power wasn’t because of the school festival that was soon to start, but because she wanted the time to organize her thoughts.

Ianna had resolved to ask Arhad to teach her how to control divine power even before she had heard Absilot’s advice. It wasn’t as if she was planning to avoid Arhad forever, and she had to learn how to control divine power regardless. It was simply because she knew she could never defeat him with just her power alone, and she was disappointed and gloomy about having to ask him, her rival, to teach her how to control divine power if she wanted to defeat him.

Ianna combed through her memories.

She had felt incredibly uneasy when she had learned of the relationship between mana and Arhad five days prior to that.

And first, her pride had bruised so much she thought it would drive her mad. Fury and shame had seized her mind when she thought about how she had been as ignorant as a day-old puppy barking before a savage beast both now and in the past.

‘He pretended like we were almost evenly matched even when he was capable of winning instantaneously.’

‘I’ve been making a fool of myself in front of this man all this time.’

‘What was he thinking whenever he saw me?’

‘It must have been hilarious. He must have been sneering at me on the inside.’

She wanted to slap herself for being so happy she could almost fly whenever their matches had ended in a draw.

Then, she had felt dejected by the unfairness of it all when she realized that she would never be able to defeat Arhad for all eternity. It was horrible —her newly budding feelings had been trampled over so thoroughly that she could not even hope.

And then, she had gotten sick and tired of herself for not being able to cleanly give up, for being so greedy to win. And she was sick and tired of herself for feeling wretched over the fact that she would never be able to defeat Arhad completely. And also over the fact that she had no way to prove herself other than by her sword. She was sick and tired of the fact that she had already lived one life wielding a sword that could only lose to Arhad anyway, and of the fact that she would have to live like this yet again.

Ianna was so vexed about feeling sick and tired of herself that it was driving her insane. She felt so pathetic and foolish. She felt so ashamed and so petty that it was suffocating.

Who are you to make me like this? Why must I feel this way?

You always manage to shake me. Always, always…….

Comically enough, the last emotion to flare within her was sorrow. Tears had welled up in her eyes. Ianna was sad that the man whom she had always regarded as her rival, whom she had always burned brightly to face, had never fought her seriously. She had been so frustrated and so sorrowful that she had sobbed her eyes out. She had shed more tears than she had ever cried before in her life.

“And I think you’ve misunderstood something, but there is no way that I could possibly go easy on you. Mana? It clings to you so tightly because it loves you, so how could I pry it away? That would be a cowardly thing to do.”

Such sophistry. Didn’t it just mean that he chose not to pry it off her when he was fully capable of doing so? Was he trying to protect her pride? It would hurt her pride all the more if it was true.

And five days had passed as she had thought this.

“Sigh.”

Ianna took a deep breath.

She felt a bit better after venting her frustrations today. It gave her the leeway to change the direction of her thoughts.

Ianna tried to see things from another perspective. Arhad had probably felt the same way about her. No, he had probably felt worse. She had never once faced him properly, much less actually tried to accept his sincerity. And so, she had no reason to be so depressed, nor did she have any right to be.

“And also, I too have no choice but to give it my all when I fight you because I hate losing too. I couldn’t imagine losing to you on purpose even in my wildest dreams. And I have never once made fun of you.”

His words felt positive now that she looked back on them. Now that she actually took the time to consider them, he had meant that he had never gone easy on her in terms of swordsmanship.

If Arhad wasn’t being serious, then all she had to do was force him into being serious by the merit of her own skills. She would put more effort into polishing her swordplay, and there was a chance she could win if she put in the effort to master controlling divine power. And there was no reason for her pride to be wounded just because she asked her rival for help. After all, all she had to do was win.

‘My troubles were resolved so easily —what did I agonize over this for?’

Shhhh…….

The wind blew across the grass. Ianna’s crimson eyes wavered.

She had finished organizing her thoughts to some degree.

But the unease and awkwardness that still remained in one corner of her heart…….

“Then, when ya do get stronger and win, go force him to his knees for ignoring ya for so long and sneer as ya kick him in the face.”

She didn’t plan on doing that, and she couldn’t even if she had wanted to. After all…….

She mustn’t think this way, she knew that she mustn’t think this way…….

But the man who had wounded her pride for decades was no longer here.

“…….”

Ianna spun around clutched onto the tree trunk. Then, she took a deep breath, and…

Wham!

She slammed her head hard against the tree. Leaves dropped from the powerful impact. Her forehead swelled up and turned red. She even suffered a few scratches from the tree bark.

Ianna shot her eyes open wide.

“I’m done self-reflecting.”

She was not a good person, nor was she an admirable one. She was a peerlessly selfish lump of pride, she was foolish, and she was shameful.

Yes, let’s just say that it was only true until now. I was foolish, but all that effort I put in over the course of my life wasn’t in vain. It’s not something I should regret just because I found it foolish. It was the foundation of my life, and it’s the reason why I’ve reached the point where I am now.

So, I’ll change now.

Arhad was Arhad. All she had to do was defeat the current Arhad. She would emerge unconditionally victorious in the swordsmanship tournament since Arhad wasn’t participating. She would not lose to anyone other than him.

“I fell for the sword that you are.”

Arhad’s voice from back then still remained vividly in her mind.

Possession and victory —sincerity was the path that would bring these two things together.

I will become the strongest sword, and I will break you and your sincerity with my full might. And then, I will accept your sincerity, I will become a sword befitting of the sincerity you’ve shown me, and I will become yours.

“Ow…….”

Ianna clutched at her forehead as she groaned. Her forehead hurt so much, probably because she had slammed it as hard as she could. She looked at her hands when she felt something wet only to find blood.

She closed her eyes and rested against the tree to soothe her aching forehead.

“We’re no different, you and I.”

She had thought that they had clashed endlessly, but the truth was that they had run parallel to each other and had never once intersected. This was because she had never been sincere. She had been defeated and defeated, and that was how their time had ended and passed.

……But, had it truly ended?

Ianna opened her eyes. The light in her eyes was subdued.

Why is it that you’re just as fixated on me as you were in the past? What is the illusion you spoke of?

Just where do your feelings stem from……?

— “Introspection” End