Chapter 7: The Institution

Part 1

The room was square. It was a desolate sitting room with only an old wooden table and three chairs.

But it wasn’t just a sitting room. There was a pungent odor —was it from herbs or poisons?— coming not from the entrance to the room but from the trapdoor in the corner of the floor.

A mixture of curious odors, and not the smell of various grasses, were coming from beneath the trapdoor —nauseating smells, sweet scents, the stench of vomit, a delectable fragrance, and the smell of something fishy. If a normal person ever came into the room, they’d immediately run back out as soon as they’d had a whiff of the pungent odor. Though, it was more accurate to say that they’d leave the room in a different sense, since they’d probably be killed first.

And yet, the trapdoor was locked tightly today, as though it had forgotten its purpose. Today, it was the sitting room, that was only used twelve times a year, that was to have purpose today.

There were two men in the sitting room. One was the scrawny owner of this secretive room, whereas the other, a stark contrast to him, was a massive man with excess flabs of fat.

The fat man groaned as he broke out into a cold sweat. Something apparently didn’t sit well with him. Even though the secret trapdoor was tightly shut and the only smell that circulated around the room was the stale smell of dust, not the pungent odors hidden beneath the door.

Creak.

A lone young man entered the room. The fat man smiled a crooked smile when he locked eyes with the young man who had just walked in through the door.

“You’re here? You cheeky little brat. You’re late.”

“But I’m not late? And quit calling me a brat. You and I are the same rank now.”

“Aww, look who’s all grown up.”

The fat man sneered as if he was looking down at someone beneath his station and the young man grinned toothily back in open hostility.

“You’re just old. I guess you must’ve used up all your stamina sleeping around with slaves day in and day out? Your hairs are staring to gray.”

“Listen to this bastard. Just running off your tongue without a hint of gratitude even though I was the one who raised you ever since you were a slave yourself.”

“Screw gratitude.”

The young man smiled cynically and pulled out a small knife from the back pocket of his pants. The knife glistened a deadly silver in the murky room as the young man twirled it around his fingers. He continued,

“I want to fill that fat stomach of yours with dozens of daggers every time I see the scars on my back. Why don’t I stick as many blades in you as I can so you finally stop indulging in that revolting hobby of yours?”

Swish— Pow!

The knife that the young man threw drew a bizarre arc in the air before lodging itself smugly in between the fat man’s spread out legs. The fat man paled as he stared down at how close the knife had come. The young man found the look on his elder’s face hilarious and began cackling.

“Mr. Bruce —you don’t have much time left, yeah? Make sure you give it your all each and every day before you can’t use it anymore.”

Bruce’s face was flushed red as he slammed down against the table.

“You damned brat —don’t get cocky just because the second master happens to have taken a liking to you. Do you think his favor will last forever? I’ll rip that hair of yours that you’re so proud of right out of your head the very day you lose his favor.”

“Try me. Do you think I’ll just sit around quietly and let you do as you please?”

“Can it before I cram this in your mouths, you dirty assholes.”

Bruce and the young man quickly shut up when the scrawny man pulled out a bottle from his pocket and gave them an irritated warning. The young man spoke up again as the musty air began eating away at their lungs.

“So…”

His tone was a cut calmer now. He continued,

“Payne, what business do you have calling me over when I’m doing my work just fine?”

“Are you sure you’re working properly?”

Payne’s tone wasn’t sarcastic, but there was still a hint of doubt in his voice. The young man cleaned out his ear.

“If they have a working brain, they’re going to keep their identity secret and hide away for as long as they can, and I won’t get a resonance even if I get close to them if they’re not using mana. How am I supposed to find someone whose gender I don’t even know in this situation? Isn’t it a bit much to nag at me for failing to do something that couldn’t be done for the past twenty years?”

“But finding them is the reason why the masters elevated you to your current position to begin with.”

“They just pushed the issue on me since no one else could do it.”

“You guaranteed that you could get it done.”

“Well yeah —I would’ve lost my head if I said I couldn’t. And besides, I’m the best there is when it comes to managing intelligence, no? They got the better end of the deal even if it wasn’t for the Roygen case. Yawn.”

The young man stretched. The other two men simply glared daggers at him without refuting. The young man continued,

“The masters were too impatient. I get that they were angry, but they should’ve left a few alive just in case.”

“What are you prattling on about? You’re here, aren’t you?”

Bruce quipped sarcastically as he smirked. The young man narrowed his eyes. Bruce continued,

“Aren’t all you Roygens the same? It’s because of your origins that the job was given to a bastard like you, isn’t it? So why don’t you hurry up and meet the masters’ expectations already?”

Bruce snickered and said,

“Won’t you have to find them soon, before you lose your head like the other Roygens did?”

Slam.

The young man thrust his knife deep into the table. His bluish veins were popping out from his hands. His white teeth were bared like a beast’s canines.

“Look here. I thought we all agreed to stop talking about my origins? I kissed the masters’ feet, and I took Payne’s drugs when I swore my loyalty.”

“Yeah, and that’s why you were the only survivor out of all those Roygen slaves.”

“Bruce, if I have to tell you to can it just one more time…….”

“Alright, Payne. I get it. Put your poison away.”

Payne had put his hand back in his pocket, but Bruce raised both of his up in surrender. He continued,

“It’s ‘cause it annoys me that this little bastard moved up the ladder way too fast.”

“I’m sure that even you know that his brains are something else to behold?”

“But does it make sense to you? He’s barely half our age and he used to be a slave to boot, but now he’s talking to us as equals like the cocky little bastard he is!”

The young man pulled out his knife and returned it to his waist as he sneered at Bruce.

“Huh. Would you look at that? I think you’re the worst for sitting around and panting like a dog when you’re not even a big deal at all.”

“What was that? Then what about you?”

Payne sighed and took a seat between the two men who were bickering like cats and dogs.

“I’m starting to get tired of stopping the two of you from fighting, you bastards. Let’s just get to the point. Hey, Eiji.”

“What?”

The young man, Eiji, tapped his fingers against the table.

“The masters are pressing you to find them more frequently now. It means that their patience is starting to wear thin. It would be best if you found them as soon as possible. It’s your head on the line if you don’t.”

“I’m trying, alright? But how am I supposed to find someone who was still in their mother’s womb when she ran away twenty years ago? I don’t even know their gender or what they look like —much less their name! And I only have two leads. First, the mother was so beautiful that even the master was captivated by her. She had green hair and blue eyes —characteristics of the Roygens.”

Eiji raised a stiff finger in the air. He continued,

“And second, they’ll have an abnormally good control over mana because they have a fragment of the Demon…….”

Then, he sighed as he put his stiff finger back down.

“……And that’s all I have. It’s too vague. There are many skilled people in the world, and it’s possible that they’re hiding their powers. And it’s not like there’s a way to pinpoint them either. This is harder than finding a needle in a haystack. And it’s not like the mother’s turned up anywhere either…… Are we even sure they’re not both dead?”

“Enough with your bullshit. The masters are certain that the bloodline is still alive. And you should know that too, don’t you? You’re a Roygen too, after all.”

“Jeez. At this rate, I’m going to end up getting killed off for being powerless. Why’d they have to kill off all the Roygens anyway? They should’ve gotten some information out of them first.”

“They never said a word about the woman’s whereabouts no matter what kind of torture they were put through. They planned it all out from the very beginning. And the masters had no choice but to kill them all because the Demon’s power would wane if they didn’t.”

Then, Payne, who had been cold and distant until then, suddenly shivered. He continued,

“The masters were so cruel and terrifying back then that they really seemed like they were demons from hell. The Demon sleeping in their blood is just that important to them. After all, they practiced intermarriage for over a millennium just to keep it in their grasp.”

As he listened to Payne, Eiji muttered,

“It sounds so unrealistic no matter how many times I hear it. I mean, really, a demon……?”

But even then, he furrowed his brows and shook his head after a while.

“……Though I suppose I can’t say it’s entirely unrealistic when I consider myself and how powerful they are.”

“Never forget that you aren’t allowed to doubt or reveal anything about the Demon. Oh, and now that I think about it, I hear that you were admitted into the Valgenta Institution today?”

“Yeah, it seemed like it’d be fun. And quit glaring at me. My job’s to find a young person with the benefits that come from having a fragment of the Demon, right? Then the Institution’s the best place to begin looking. It’s just as possible that they’re there than it is not.”

“Stop fooling around. Your main mission is to find the person who stole the blood of Bahamut. Understand?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Payne turned back to Bruce once Eiji was done nodding absentmindedly.

“Bruce, have you prepared the slaves to be sent to the empire?”

“Of course I did.”

“I thought you took a lot of losses because of Camastros?”

“I abducted more people to make up for it. I’m trustworthy, unlike this fool over here, so there’s no need to worry about me.”

Bruce laughed, his buck teeth out in full display.

“Ugh.”

Eiji pretended to vomit in disgust. Bruce’s flabs of fat jiggled as he flew into a rage.

“You little……! Fine, you bastard!”

Bruce’s eyes flashed as a sly smile formed on his face. He continued,

“Now that we’ve gotten off topic anyway. I hear that you’ve been hanging around a girl lately?”

“What girl? You mean Julie?”

“Julie?”

“I’ve only met up with Julie a few times at night —I don’t seem to recall hanging around her much.”

“Oh, not her —I was referring to the crimson-haired wench with blunt manners.”

Just then, a frigid light appeared in Eiji’s cerulean eyes.

“She’s pretty good-looking and her body’s to die for. Haha. I almost want to fuck her myself.”

“……Hmmm……?”

Eiji’s lips twisted into a scowl when he heard Bruce’s lewd comments. He tapped his fingers repeatedly against the table. A frightening sense of bloodlust unraveled from his tapping like a piece of thread.

“Were you shadowing me?”

“If I did, then there’s no way a rat like you wouldn’t have noticed. About a month and a half ago……I got a report saying that the girl chased out some of my boys for stirring up a fuss as some inn, and then I heard that some of your subordinates took care of them afterward. Hmm? And then a few others told me that they saw you chasing after the girl ever since. Oh, right. I almost forgot.”

“…….”

“How dare you touch my boys without my permission, you damned little bastard. What are you gonna do about it now? You’re gonna pay me for killing them off —I don’t care whether you pay me with money or with people.”

Eiji bared his teeth as his put his bloodlust on full display.

“Actually, I think you should be paying me for cleaning up after trash that gave away their organization’s name like it was candy, you idiot. But then again, I guess the trash working under you must’ve taken after their master.”

“They told people they were with the Black Fox? Damn, I guess there’s nothing more I can say about them in that case. Anyway, that girl —she yours? Snicker.”

Bruce wagged his pinky finger. Eiji glared at him before he gave a terrifying smile.

“Sure is. I’m putting a lot of work into her, so I’ll grill that fat ass of yours and feed you to pigs if you so much as touch her.”

“Hahaha! You must like that bitch a lot!”

“Don’t ignore me, you son of a bitch. You think I won’t make good on a threat?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure you have it in you. You’ve already fallen to the lowest of low once —what’s there you wouldn’t be willing to do? But seeing you get all worked up about it makes me want to do it more, you know? Maybe I’ll go over one night and……hehe.”

“Touch her, and I’ll really kill you.”

Payne, who couldn’t stop the two from bickering no matter what he tried, had gone down the trapdoor and into the basement before returning with a single bottle.

“Eiji.”

Eiji, who had been glaring murderously at Bruce as the latter continued cackling, started when he saw the bottle Payne was holding out to him. Then, he groaned as he expressed his distrust.

“Ugh, is it time already?”

“This is the most important business we had today. The effects of the drug should be wearing thin by now. Drink it.”

“That disgusting drug is seriously the worst. Tell that bastard over there to drink it first.”

Bruce furrowed his brows and slammed down against the table.

“I already did, you idiot. I still feel like shit even though it’s been two hours since. Can’t you see how much I’m sweating?”

“And here I was thinking it was just because you’re fat. Ugh, no wonder you were so quick to pick a fight today.”

“Hurry up and drink it.”

Eiji stared down at the bottle in Payne’s hands in disgust before he accepted it. Then, he slowly brought it to his lips and drank the blackish liquid sloshing inside.

~~*~~

Ianna stared at the bouquet of flowers inside the vase. Harchen had come to the induction ceremony today.

“My sincere congratulations for getting into school.

“Contact me anytime if you need anything.

“I know you’re probably sick of these, but I wanted to give this to you anyway.”

Harchen had given her flowers like he always did, and, though she usually ignored him outright, today Ianna had asked back,

There’s something I’d like to ask you.

Why do you always give me flowers?

You have no obligation to do this for me, Young Master, and neither do you have any reason to.

“……Who can say?”

Harchen, who had skipped his own back-to-school ceremony at the Theodore Academy, smiled at Ianna’s question before heading back.

Ianna could not figure it out no matter how hard she thought about it. What reason could he possibly have for giving the half-sister who had messed up his entire household flowers instead of hating her outright? A sense of responsibility? Pity? Sympathy?

‘Why do they keep pestering me when I’ve already said that I’d leave them?’

Ianna laid down in her bed.

Eiji had went off somewhere, saying that he had errands to run, as soon as the induction ceremony and the new student’s swordsmanship competition was over, Herrace had gone to eat with his family, who had come to see the induction ceremony, with a stiff look on his face, and Taro had gone to the Swordsmanship Department’s new student’s party in tears.

The winner of the competition was an experienced swordsman named Juvis. Herrace had placed among the middle ranks, whereas Taro had been in second place.

Ianna, who had been spectating, learned that Taro was very familiar around a fight. She had the nagging feeling again that she knew him from somewhere ever since she watched him fight in the preliminaries, and she was extremely curious about his background because she could not recall who he was for the life of her.

Taro had fought his way to the finals with his herculean strength and skill, but he had lost foolishly because he had been too busy looking over at the audience during the match. Ianna, Eiji, and Herrace had realized that he was staring because he had spotted the girl he had fallen head over heals for, but they could not see who she was because there were too many people in the direction Taro was looking.

Taro had been in tears by the time he returned. The girl had flatly turned him down.

He had invited Ianna to the party through his sobbing, but Ianna decided to go back to her room and rest because she was uncomfortable with the looks she was getting and didn’t want to drink with her injured arms.

Tick tock.

The second hand of the clock on the wall ticked.

‘Why isn’t my roommate here yet?’

She had not met her roommate yet even though classes were scheduled to begin tomorrow. Her roommate, who had left the room in a mess the day that Ianna had moved in, had not returned yet. Which was why Ianna had ended up tidying up the room after her in her stead.

Priscilla, a fourth-year student in the Fashion Department.

That was the information that had been written on the nameplate outside their door. The Institution assigned dorms without regard to year or department, so Ianna had ended up rooming with an upperclassmate from a completely different department.

Ianna looked out the window to see that it was so dark out that it would be difficult to walk around without relying on the moonlight.

‘Is she not planning to return to the dorms?’

But just as Ianna was thinking that as she lay in bed.

Crash!

“Ehehe.”

Ianna hesitated for a moment at the stench of alcohol that permeated the room as soon as the door opened.

Based on the way she was leaning heavily against the doorway and hiccupping, it was obvious that the newcomer was drunk out of her mind. The joints sticking out from her sleeveless dress made her look extraordinarily skinny. Her short blonde hair, which was a mess, suggested that she was very pale, but her face was so red that it was difficult to ascertain what color her skin was actually supposed to be.

Ianna was at a loss for words.

“Hmmm? Are you my new roooommate? Nice to meet you. I’m Priscil—la…….”

Priscilla was in the middle of introducing herself when her unfocused blue eyes fell on the displeased look on Ianna’s face.

“Kyaaah!”

Priscilla screamed while bringing her hands to her cheeks. Ianna quickly ran up to her, pulled her inside the room, and shut the door. Priscilla kept her eyes stubbornly fixed on Ianna’s figure even as she staggered around, unable to keep her balance, like there was an earthquake happening around her.

“Sigh.”

Ianna furrowed her brows with her hand still on the doorknob before she turned around. She walked up to Priscilla, who was still ogling at her. Ianna was tall for a girl of sixteen, but Priscilla was still so short that she barely made it up to Ianna’s chin.

Ianna looked down at Priscilla and coldly asked,

“What do you think you’re doing this late at night? And why did you scream as soon as you saw me? —it was quite unpleasant.”

Priscilla didn’t reply but simply continued to stare up at Ianna. Ianna glared at her frigidly for a moment before plopping down on her bed. She frowned heavily and crossed her arms and legs as she glared down at Priscilla, who had taken a seat on the floor.

She had planned to have an amicable, if indifferent, relationship with her roommate, but things had changed now. She needed to give a curt warning even if it risked souring their relationship. That being said, she didn’t think her roommate was currently in any state to understand anything she told her.

“Oh my goodness…….”

Ianna felt a strange chill run down her spine as she broke out in goosebumps. The girl before her eyes looked dangerous to her for some reason.

“You’re perfect!”

Priscilla shrieked and came running at Ianna with open arms. Ianna almost doubted her eyes for a moment, but it looked like Priscilla meant to hug her.

Ianna shot back up before Priscilla could reach her and pushed the latter’s face away with the palm of her hand. Priscilla’s burning gaze swept across Ianna’s face and body. It was almost like there was steam coming from her nose.

“Y-your perfect! Hic. That busty figure, so tall, and so proud even when you’re being cold! That suggestive crimson hair! Ohhhh, I finally met the one! Hic!”

What is with this strange woman?

Ianna, who was beginning to develop a headache, scowled as she brought her arm back down.

“Ahh, t-that gorgeous body, hic —I-I wanna touch it with my own……ugh.”

Ianna dodged Priscilla, who had come running at her while sprouting nonsense as soon as she had put her arm down, and struck her gently at the back of her neck. Then, she held Priscilla up before she lost conscious and fell flat on her face.

Priscilla was so small and light that Ianna could hold her up with just one arm. Ianna did not normally lay a hand against the small and weak, but she had no choice to make an exception this time.

Ianna carefully carried Priscilla over to her bed. She was careful because she was afraid that she would hurt Priscilla if she flung the upperclassman away like she would have a guy.

The stench of alcohol made the room reek. Ianna placed a hand on her forehead and sighed heavily as the premonition that her life was about to get tiresome came over her. She would either have to talk to or convince Priscilla to change her behavior once the latter sobered up, or she would have to submit a complaint to the dorm manager and get a new room assignment. She absolutely refused to have to live with such an offensive girl for an entire year.

The uncomfortable night passed as a new day dawned. Ianna, who had woken up early as was her habit, finished her meal in the cafeteria, which was tranquil because it was so early in the morning. She returned to her room and washed her face in the bathroom before changing into her training gear. She tied her hair up after brushing it a few times and looked back just as she was about to leave.

Ianna thought that she would have woken up from the noise, but Priscilla was still sleeping like the dead. So, Ianna decided to save her warning for later as she took the sword resting beside her bed and left the room.

Ianna slipped out of the dorms while the girls who believed that sleeping beauties needed their beauty sleep slept in and others decorated themselves.

The fresh dawn wind cut through the skies, grasses, and flowers before it reached Ianna and rustled her crimson hair. She looked around herself as she slowly walked forward.

There was nary a cloud in the sky as daylight broke and dyed it crimson. The early birds chirped as they woke up the life around them. The green trees looked fresh from the heartfelt care they received regularly, and the colorful flowers danced as if in joy as they put their innate beauty on full display. The clear beads of dew dribbled down paths across the leaves they sat on as they moistened the frozen earth one drop at a time. The dry seeds hidden smugly within the ground quenched their thirst as they prepared to bring forth new yellow-green sprouts.

Ianna smiled as she stretched. She loved the morning —when everything seemed to begin anew. The grasses growing from the moistened soil seemed greener today than they had been yesterday.

The gardens in the Institution were beautiful. This was because the Gardening Department students maintained them regularly for practice.

The Institution was a place for students by students.

Art Department students drew the new students’ portraits, Architecture Department students built new buildings around the Institution, Culinary Department students cooked in the cafeteria, Fashion Department students designed the uniforms, and the School of Martial Arts and the School of Magic defended the Institution during times of emergency.

Everything in the Institution was made possible by the students’ hands. Not only were they rewarded handsomely for their efforts, but they also took great pride in the fact that they helped shape the place in which they lived, so the students were more than satisfied than not about the system by which the Institution ran itself.

Even outside of this, the various systems that the Institution had in place, such as the exams, grades, lectures, and scholarships, were particular but excellent. It wasn’t that corruption, which was always present as people suffered through their lives, didn’t exist, but there was only very little of it, and the Institution was practically a paradise for those who wished to learn.

Ianna, who had left the dorms while enjoying the view, made her way over to the first gymnasium, where her Practical Swordsmanship classes were to be held.

There weren’t many people present since the sun had only just come up. Everyone’s eyes turned to Ianna as soon as she walked in.

The only woman in the Swordsmanship Department. The young girl whose skills were still kept secret because she had withdrawn from the swordsmanship competition due to injury. She might have passed the exams on her own merits, but that wasn’t enough change the fact that they still thought lesser of her. Even the students who had been in the same group as her in the fifth exam unfairly thought, ‘Sure, let’s see what a girl can do.’

Once again, Ianna would have to scale the great wall of prejudice if she wished to live in the world of martial arts, which was dominated by chauvinism.

Ianna twisted and swung her right arm around. The doctor had once said that her arm would suffer lasting effects. And yet, the powers of her own body and the fish were something to behold. Her right arm, which had been freed from its bandages a mere two days ago, had completely recovered.

Her left arm was still in bandages, but she could still move it because the pain was still bearable. She felt that it, too, would make a complete recovery if she met the fish again in ten days or so.

I’ll pay you back for this humiliation as soon as I’m healed.

She hadn’t planned to show off her skills because she wasn’t planning to stay at the Institution was long, but she now felt the need to show off at least once if she wanted for a peaceful school life. She would make her debut at the next swordsmanship competition, which the Swordsmanship Department was said to hold every semester.

Her sword would solve all her problems for her.

Shh.

Ianna drew her sword. She smiled an unfathomable smile as she saw her blade glisten even more frighteningly than usual under the bluish dawn.

Her ruthless and beautiful soul, which would make everyone who had failed to acknowledge her see her merits.

Ruthlessness —the single ray of light that cut through the darkness of her fading past.

Oh, my sword. You make me everything that I am.

Students began to gather about an hour after Ianna had begun her personal training. Eiji, Herrace, and Taro walked in together and happily greeted Ianna, who had already worked up a sweat.

The Swordsmanship Department was split into two groups because there were so many students, but Ianna’s group were all in the first group together because they had signed up for the same group when they registered. More students continued to pour in until there were about forty people present.

“How long have you been here?”

“Since before the sun came up.”

Ianna collected her breathing as she resheathed her sword. Taro applauded here sincerely.

“Man, yer really workin’ hard. Yer amazing, I tell ya. I like swingin’ around by sword in the mornin’s too. I just couldn’t sleep last night ‘cause of that neat freak nerdy lump of ash.”

Ianna posed a question at Taro’s grumbling.

“Lump of ash?”

“Oh, it’s because his hair and eyes are grey. He’s the same age as you, Little Ianna, but he’s exceptionally smart and he’s with the Political Science Department. Isn’t that impressive? And he’s fairly good-looking too. He has a rather intellectual image about him to begin with, but his sharp and angled glasses really complete the picture. Should I say he looks the part of an honors student at the very top of his class and that it makes him a little difficult to approach……?”

“Ugh, enough! Quit complimentin’ that damned bastard!”

“He’s the complete opposite of Sir Taro.”

There was a hint of laughter in Herrace’s voice. Taro made a giant fist as he bristled.

“Kchhhh. That’s the only good thing that damned psycho has goin’ for him. He pushes people’s buttons and shows off how smart he is when ya try to talk all nice to him, then he threw a pillow at me while I was mindin’ my own business sleepin’ just ‘cause I snored, and then the stingy prick draws a line across the middle of the room as yells at me if I happen to cross it! I just wanna sock him good, but I can’t even hit him ‘cause he looks like he’d keel over even if I hit him just once…… I thought I was gonna explode! Argh!”

Eiji smacked his lips and said,

“Yeah, the kid’s pretty sharp-tempered. But why didn’t you just change rooms if he bothers you so much?”

“Hell no! That’d be the same thing as losin’ to that damn lump of ash. I will never, ever give up and change rooms until that little bastard surrenders and leaves first!”

“S-Sir Taro!”

“Hmph!”

The professor had arrived while Taro was busy exploding about his roommate like an erupting volcano. The look on the professor’s face, which was already stormy to begin with, grew even more displeased.

Herrace was bewildered and tapped Taro a few times to get his attention, and the professor cleared his throat to give Taro some time, but Taro was too agitated to realize what was going on.

“What?! I’m so pissed off I could die right now, so don’t try stoppin’ me!”

“That’s not it…….”

“Imma teach that lump of ash a lesson and turn him into a real pile of ashes!”

“You will be the one to learn your lesson first!”

“Huh?”

Taro, who had only realized that the professor was there when the latter yelled at him, quickly turned around. The other anxious students had quieted down for some time now, and only Taro had been raising a ruckus.

“Mr. Taro, the finalist —come up next to me and get down. If you don’t want to fail out of class, that is.”

The blood drained from Taro’s face as he went up to the professor and got down.

“Keep doing pushups until I say you can stop.”

“Yessir!”

Taro quickly began doing pushups as the professor squared his legs shoulder-length apart and crossed his arms. There was a sturdy air about him, like he was a rock, as he straightened his neck and began speaking as sonorously as a lion.

“Once again, I congratulate you all for getting into the Swordsmanship Department!”

The students flinched at the sudden volume of his voice, but they straightened themselves out immediately as they turned to face their professor. It was only then that the professor nodded with a satisfied look on his face.

“My name is Filliger, and I will be teaching you sword fighting during your first semester. I am sure you are all familiar with me, as I met you once after the fifth exams were over and I was observing the swordsmanship competition from start to finish, yes?”

“Yes sir!”

“Good. I will start by giving you all a compliment. I was very impressed by the skills you displayed at the competition —I realized that this year’s batch of new students is more skilled than were the students in the years before you. Though I see that one of you has a few screws loose in the head.”

“Ahem.”

Filliger’s gaze fell sharply down at Taro. Taro felt the professors pungent gaze upon him while he did pushups and cleared his throat.

Bam.

Filliger landed an extremely impactful fist against Taro’s head.

“Ack.”

Taro was unable to withstand the blow and face-planted the ground before clutching at the back of his head and writhing. Then, Filliger yelled at Taro to head back. Taro did as he was told with his shoulders drooping low in gloom. Filliger clicked his tongue before loudly explaining what the class was going to be about.

“The objectives of the first-year Practical Swordsmanship are as follows. To learn the proper postures for swordplay, to build up your base stamina, to form the habit of never letting go of your sword no matter how fierce a blow you suffer, and to form the habit of never closing your eyes no matter how much danger you’re in. You will engrain into your bodies the things that you will need to do during a real fight until it comes as naturally to you as breathing.”

Ianna agreed with what Filliger had said. The sword was a weapon meant for killing, not just some toy. The basics of a real fight were to never let go of the weapon in your hands while you waited for a chance to strike and to never close your eyes so you could block or dodge even while the bloodlust pointed at you was as sharp as blades.

“Practical Swordsmanship classes will be held three mornings each week and will essentially be as your time for personal training. I will tell you how to train each morning, and whether you succeed in completing your training will be recorded each day and will reflect in your grades. You are free to do extra training to improve yourself even after you’re done if you wish. Though I cannot guarantee that you’ll have the stamina to do more once you’re done.”

It was a rather spiteful jest.

“You will also have one hour for sparring. You will change partners every day so you can experience a variety of sparring styles, as everyone has their own preferred fighting patterns. But don’t go easy on each other just because you’re sparring. I will be walking around and showing you where you can improve, and my evaluation of your efforts will be reflected as points in your grades. Oh, but I will not fail you so long as I can see that you’re making an effort, of course.”

The students laughed dryly as they broke out into a cold sweat.

“Well then, today is no exception. Twenty laps around the gymnasium for now! The first five people who finish will be given extra points!”

The students’ eyes flared up when they heard about the extra points. Their resolve to work hard and their fierce competitive spirit shone through as they took off one by one and scrambled to take the lead. It was a refreshing sense of tension made possible only because they were new students.

Ianna, who had been watching over the situation as she stretched for a moment because she didn’t want to throw herself in the midst of all the men, slowly moved to begin running.

“Oh, Miss Ianna? Could you please come here for a moment?”

Ianna walked up to Filliger with a puzzled look on her face.

“Yes, sir?”

“We will be doing pushups later —will you be all right? It would be best if you didn’t strain yourself.”

Filliger was infamous among the Swordsmanship Department students as the Tiger Monster Professor. And yet, he was being so cautious around Ianna that any student who knew him well would have been astonished.

Ianna felt a familiar prejudice as she stood before him.

It was the Institution’s policy not to discriminate between nobles and commoners. Surnames were included in the roll books, but it was tacitly agreed upon that individuals would only be identified as students in public situations where students’ names might come up, such as during lectures or school events. Even the dormitories only included the students’ first names.

Filliger was aware of Ianna’s station. But it wasn’t because of her rank that he was being cautious around her. Filliger’s full name was Filliger Ashltondt. He was a count who had once been the head of House Ashltondt, and he was an important figure who had once been the general of the royal guard. He was of a much higher standing than Ianna.

He was simply awkward around Ianna because he had lived while butting heads with other men his entire life. And because the knightly code had been thoroughly engrained in his body. He hadn’t been able to decide how he wanted to treat Ianna yet, so he had reverted to habit and was treating her as he would any noble lady.

A few students had finished their first lap around the gymnasium and were staring at Ianna and Filliger with scathing looks. A few flushed red as they stole glances at Ianna, while others looked at her in open discontent.

“Hmph!”

Ianna felt oddly delighted for some reason and she laughed as she brushed back her disheveled hair.

‘I wonder how long those looks on their faces will last?’

It gave Ianna great joy and pleasure to think about how she would trample those smug looks on their faces underfoot one day. And they would bow at her feet, too. Just as the men from her memories once had.

Her current situation was not unpleasant so long as she kept that in mind. Rather, she enjoyed waiting eagerly for the day it would happen.

Ianna shook her head as she smiled.

“You do not need to accommodate for me, sir. I can do pushups with one arm.”

“Hmph! There is no need for you to strain yourself. I will take your injury into consideration when I grade you.”

Ianna shook her head yet again.

“No thank you. That’s quite all right.”

Filliger locked eyes with Ianna. He was startled before he knew what he was doing when he saw something in her crystal-clear eyes behind her argent passion for the sword.

“I do not wish to take it easy, Professor. I cannot waste time over a trifling injury when I could be using it to get stronger.”

“Oh?”

“I do not wish for you to accommodate for me. Please just teach me well.”

Her eyes never wavered. Her pride was unyielding when it came to matters concerning the sword.

Ianna possessed a genuine greed and passion for the sword that had nothing to do with either the lust for power or the desire to protect or kill. Filliger felt his lips twitch.

“I’ve taken quite a liking to you. It looks like I might have underestimated you because of your injury, station, and gender. Allow me to apologize and stand corrected. Please be sure to understand that you will lose points should you be unable to complete your training exercises for class.”

Filliger was a professor who would listen to what she had to say. Ianna smiled gently before she turned around and started running.

Filliger gazed at her retreating figure, smaller than that of the male students around her, and fell into thought. He rather liked her greed, her passion, and…… Filliger laughed quietly to himself. To think that he had thought the young girl with her newly-budding resolve had seen the same things that he once seen? Surely, it must have been a foolish delusion on his part.

What he had once seen and despaired at twenty years ago on the battlefields that reeked of blood that he was only now beginning to forget…….

The madness.

Surely, he was mistaken. Filliger had seen countless men have their pride as swordsmen shattered by the now-fading terror, but the girl’s passion seemed to revive all the dead swordsmen in his memories.

But this, too, was preposterous. Why was he having this delusion just because of one young girl? What madness? —surely, he had simply been shaken by the bright light of ambition that only the young possessed. Filliger shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Part 2

The male students, who were so exhausted that they were about to collapse, went to the men’s showers, while Ianna, who was comparatively better off, went to the women’s showers once their Practical Swordsmanship class was over.

Martial Arts students were always drenched in sweat from training, and the Institution had installed shower rooms in every Martial Arts building so they wouldn’t have to walk around campus all sweaty after their classes were over.

The male students lined up in front of the men’s showers while forcing their quivering legs to keep upright, while Ianna simply walked into women’s showers without having to wait.

There were not many female students in the School of Martial Arts, even if you considered both the students who were in the major and the students who took martial arts classes as their liberal arts electives. Even still, the facilities were still well-maintained for the few female students who used them.

Ianna even found new soap and new towels within easy reach. It was like they had been prepared especially for her. After all, the female showers in the Swordsmanship Department buildings were basically for her exclusive use.

Ianna quickly pried off her clothes, which were drenched with sweat from running and rolling around, threw them on the shelf, and turned the faucet. The water turned on with a creak and the cold shower seemed to congratulate her for her hard work as it engulfed her.

“Whew…….”

The cold water washed away the dirt, dried sweat, and the sticky looks that seemed to cling to her like rubbish.

There was a reason why Swordsmanship Department classes were infamous. Even the first class they had taken as new students was as tough as the high-leveled training they normally undertook. Or rather, it was much tougher.

Not only had Ianna completed the training with only one arm, but it was much more difficult to train with the high-level techniques and tools supplied by the Institution than it had been to train alone in the small mountain on the Roberstein lands with nothing but her own body.

Ianna rested a hand against the mirror in front of her as she stared at her reflection.

Ah, here I am.

She was in the spacious training grounds, not a small clearing, and around her were various machines she could use to train with, not nature. Those who had been staring at her had eventually stopped because of the hellish and exhausting training. There were a few who never dropped their gaze, but they would be as less than even dust before her once she held a sword.

Ianna had trained in secret in the Roberstein lands because she was afraid someone might try to tie her down, but now she could wield her sword to her heart’s content without having to care about who might be watching. Morning, noon, evening —she could wield her sword whenever she wished. After all, no outsider had the right to intrude upon her world.

Ianna’s eyes were curved into an arc. There was a small smile on her lips. She closed her eyes and savored the cold water pouring over her.

Creak.

Ianna turned the handle for hot water, but the water did not grow warmer. Ianna glanced at the faucet to find an empty mana stone slot. The shower was apparently an artefact designed so that you had to bring your own mana stone if you wanted to use hot water.

Artefacts were magical tools unique to the Age of Magic that used mana as their power source. The artefact before her had a magic circle that told her it would be activated when a mana stone was equipped into the slot and deactivated once it ran out of power.

Magic was a phenomenon made possible by specific arrangements of mana. There existed a way to make magic systematic and easier to manifest. It was to create a circular mold to stabilize the mana so it couldn’t move around and stuff the mana into pre-arranged arrangement instead of rearranging the mana again every time it needed to be used.

This circular arrangement of mana was called a magic circle. Most magic in the Age of Magic was both researched and manifested in the form of magic circles. Magic circles were also popular because their geometric forms were beautiful and held great artistic value.

Artefacts, which were capable of manifesting magic just by supplying mana to the magic circles inscribed on them, were deeply ingrained in most of the lives of the people who lived in the Age of Magic. There were many uses for them, as they allowed even those who couldn’t use magic to benefit from them.

But it was too much of a burden to blindly buy and use artefacts, which were not only expensive in and of themselves but also rather costly to use, freely.

There were three reasons for this; the first of which being that it was difficult to draw a magic circle that would actually manifest magic. The magic would not manifest if the magic circle was even a little off, and, though rare, a defective magic circle could potentially cause a mana explosion. It required precise magical knowledge and special techniques to ensure that a magic circle was created with no faults.

Second, there was a lot of pressure generated when magic manifested, so artefacts had to be made with expensive materials or else the magic circles inscribed on them would wear away with each use.

And third, while people who could control mana could use artefacts without them, ordinary people who couldn’t control mana had to use mana stones, which were made from condensed mana. Mana stones came in standardized sizes, though their price varied depending on the manufacturer. Mana stones that had more mana in them despite being the same size as others were more expensive. And even the lowest-grade mana stones were expensive for ordinary people.

Heating up water used up a considerable amount of mana because the heating magic needed to be applied continuously. It was only natural to require some form of payment to use it if you considered the cost.

Ianna turned the handle to turn on the hot water and poured mana into the empty mana stone slot. The water pouring down on her began warming up.

Ianna felt good as the piping hot water began pouring over her. The warm showers, which were created by magic engineers from the Institution using their magical knowledge and the latest crafting techniques, were more than satisfying to use.

Ianna took some time to wash herself down before she swept up her flowing hair and turned off the water. She splattered around the water that had pooled on the floor for a bit before wiping her drenched hair and body dry with a towel.

Ianna was fresh out of the shower when she stepped out and waited for the others.

“Gasp!”

The male students who had finished showering all stiffened up and gasped when they saw Ianna come out of the showers. They, who hadn’t done much in terms of washing themselves and had essentially only doused themselves with water, blushed furiously upon smelling the sweet fragrance of soap from her and ran away. It wasn’t that there weren’t any male students who simply walked past her like normal, but most ran away. Ianna suffered their unsightly behavior for a while until her friends returned and she breathed out a sigh.

Herrace came running gladly up to her first.

“You’re already done, Little Ianna?”

“Well, I’m the only woman here.”

“That’s true…… But don’t women generally take a while?”

“I only need a little more time than you do —I don’t wear makeup, but I still have to take the time to dry and brush my hair.”

“Wow,”

Eiji said in astonishment as he walked out of the showers before a sly look came upon him. He continued,

“Must be convenient. The men’s shower room was a battlefield, I tell you. Can I just use the women’s showers with you?”

“Sure —if you want me to break all the bones in your body, that is.”

Eiji didn’t even have the time to recover from his failed joke before he immediately shut up.

“That aside, I chanced a peek at Sir Eiji in the showers, and his body was really something else.”

“Hm?”

Herrace could not hold back his surprise at what he had seen of Eiji in passing. Eiji asked,

“What, you mean my muscles?”

“He had so many scars on his body. Apparently, he lived somewhere with a lot of monsters when he was young.”

An awkward look crossed Eiji’s face at Herrace’s amazement before he puffed up his chest and said,

“They’re my badges of honor from the difficult life I’ve lived.”

“Who cares about that —let’s hurry and go eat, yeah?”

At Taro’s irritated insistence to find food, Ianna and the group decided to eat lunch at one of the many cafeterias located on the Institution grounds.

No one ever ate all three meals a day in the dorms. Though students might choose to eat dinner at the dorms, they generally ate lunch at the cafeteria with their friends because they found it too much of a pain to travel across the large Institution campus to go all the way back to the dorms, they wouldn’t have enough time to rest if they left the central area of the Institution where most of the buildings were located because they had other classes to go to later, they were tired of dorm food, and because they could eat with friends of the opposite sex in the cafeteria.

“Hey, look over there.”

The people who had been eating in the cafeteria all turned to look when people walked in with swords at their waists. Students of both sexes alike looked at the Swordsmanship Department students with envy.

Power equaled authority in this day and age. Graduates of the Institution’s Swordsmanship Department had no need to prove their skills because their backgrounds already spoke for them. They were essentially guaranteed a successful future because nobles would be bending over backwards to recruit them.

This was why Swordsmanship Department students were the objects of envy for male students from other departments and the objects of affection for the female students. Not only were they a group of men whose future success was all but guaranteed, but they were also a group of eligible bachelors who could protect their partners behind their broad backs during times of crisis and fulfil their partner’s desire for protection.

It wasn’t that there weren’t any Swordsmanship Department students in the cafeteria already. But the reason why Ianna’s group was at the center of attention was because not only were there two prominently good-looking men in the group, but there was also a taller man with a fierce look about him and a pretty girl.

It was only natural that most of the attention fell on Ianna. The Swordsmanship Department had been exclusively male-dominated for so long now that it was difficult to believe that there could be a girl amidst all that muscle.

But Ianna was equipped with a sword, and those who saw her began to question her. Who was that girl?

“Damn, that’s a lot of eyes,”

Eiji muttered as he picked up his spoon.

“Doesn’t that just mean that Little Ianna’s getting a lot of attention?”

“I can’t tell if that’s a good thing or not.”

Then, purely by chance, Herrace locked eyes with another female student as he was eating. He smiled awkwardly as she flushed bright red and screamed, “Oh my god!” before looking away.

“I guess the Swordsmanship Department is amazing in more ways than one?”

“Well yeah, why wouldn’t it be? Everyone in our department had to go through a competitive selection process of two hundred-to-one to get in. And we’re basically guaranteed to succeed in life.”

Ianna and Taro remained silent as Eiji and Herrace talked. Taro had piled up a small mountain of food on his tray that he was in the process of tackling, and Ianna was dining quietly because she had a habit of chewing her food carefully to savor its full flavor.

Taro wolfed down his food, Ianna dined tenderly, and Eiji and Herrace ate while having fun talking between themselves. The group was at a strange harmony.

“All of our major classes are in the mornings, so we’ll only have class together until lunch. Aww, I’m gonna be lonely.”

Eiji stretched as they left the cafeteria. The Swordsmanship Department classes were all held in the mornings for convenience’s sake, and Ianna and her group were going to be together every morning because they had all signed up for the same classes. They would be going their separate ways after lunch, however, because they had each taken different liberal arts electives in accordance to their personal interests and their classes were held at different times.

They were also in different classes for their compulsory world history and theology classes. There were so many different professors and curricula available that they had simply each picked different professors in accordance to their respective preferences.

Which was why they all had different classes in the afternoon. Ianna had her world history class, which she only had once a week, after lunch today, whereas Eiji, Herrace, and Taro did not.

“I guess this is goodbye for today, Lil’ Ianna. This is why ya should’ve been born a dude, tch.”

The reason why Taro had said this while clicking his tongue was because the three men could still meet up in the dorms if they wanted to, but they could not see Ianna after lunch unless they specifically planned to see her again.

“You can just come over to the training grounds if you need me. I’ll be training there after my classes.”

“Eek, I’m so tired from training I think I might fall over dead, but you want to do more?”

Eiji was appalled. He continued,

“Besides, we’re all in the same boat. That’s why we should always stick together!”

Ianna shrugged because she didn’t understand what he was getting at.

“There’s no reason why we always need to be stuck together, is there? If we see each other, we see each other, and if we don’t, we don’t.”

“You’re such a cold woman with zero social life.”

Eiji wagged a finger at her. He continued,

“Do we need a reason to meet up? We might grow apart from each other if we don’t see each other often, and we don’t want that, do we? We’ve got to keep socializing.”

“…….”

“Oh, I just had a great idea. Why don’t we all go drinking together on Friday nights? Just to wind down and relax. We can go drinking earlier too if we have time.”

“Damn, Eiji, I see ya’ve been workin’ yer brains a bit there! I was gonna go drinkin’ anyway, and more’s the merrier!”

“That’s a fine idea.”

Taro laughed openly as he slung his arm across Eiji’s shoulder. Ianna agreed with Eji’s proposal since she, too, like to drink. Herrace, on the other hand, had heard about what had happened when he had been drunk last time and scratched his head with an awkward look on his face.

“I-is it all right……if I drink too?”

“Herrace, the only thing you’re going to drink is orange juice.”

“No way! What’s with that? I’ll stop drinking just before I get drunk.”

“You sure? We’re just going to leave you there if you do get drunk, you know?”

“Sure, that’s fine!”

“Then let’s meet up at 7 p.m. Friday afternoon by the main entrance! I’m gonna drink ‘til my nose gets crooked. I’ll be waiting eagerly for Friday every day.”

Ianna said goodbye to her friends outside the cafeteria and took a short walk before heading to the history buildings for class.

The front of the lecture hall was crammed with students with an ardent passion for studying. Ianna sat somewhere in the middle sections.

“Whoa, look at her. She’s gorgeous.”

“Wow. Don’t you think she kinda looks like a noble?”

Ianna exuded an elegance about her, born from her beautiful looks and upright posture, that turned the other students’ attention toward her even though she was wearing the same exact uniform as them.

“World history is a vast topic, so we will only be going over the fundamentals this first semester before diving deeper into it. Over the course of this class, I will teach you the basics of the largest branches of historical studies and how the kingdoms that exist in the world today were founded.”

The middle-aged professor, who had introduced himself as Professor Illut, briefly explained the course syllabus.

“I do not believe it is wise to get straight into the heavier topics on the first day of class, so today we will only be briefly going over the commonly held myths surrounding the founding of our kingdom.”

The students’ faces brightened up. Ianna wrote down, ‘Common myths surrounding the founding of the kingdom,’ on the top of her notebook.

“We can’t exclude the myths of Laos if we are to discuss the myths surrounding the founding of our kingdom. However, I will only be teaching based off recorded history, so today will be the only day we will be discussing mythology. Today’s material will not be on your exams, so you don’t have to write anything down. Please just listen to today’s lecture as though you are listening to a story.”

“Wow, you’re the best, Professor!”

Other students put down their pens in delight, but Ianna’s eyes sparkled when the professor mentioned the myths and she gripped her pen tighter. She was as enthusiastic about the lesson as would be a fanatic believer of Laos.

“It is said that the founding kings were all ardent followers of Lord Laos back in ancient times when Lord Laos was said to have existed in the world and created all life. The power of creation was miraculous, and the kings watched over the creation of history as they followed Lord Laos.”

Illut composed his voice as he continued,

“Lord Laos vanished from the world soon after he had created everything, and his followers named themselves kings and became as rulers. It is said that the progenitor of the Kingdom of Roanne, Queen Roanne de Roanne, was the most faithful of Lord Laos’ servants. This is why the legends state that Lord Laos gifted her with the powerful gift to control mana. Most members of our royal family are highly proficient at controlling mana. This is also the basis of the superstition that you can get better at controlling mana if you obey the God Laos.”

Laos had vanished. Gods went extinct if they used up all their divine power.

‘Did Laos use up all his divine power while creating everything and go extinct like Lebony did?’

Except for those who were of the lowest class, gods could generate their own divine power and live eternally. If Laos had really gone extinct after using up his divine power, then did that mean that Laos was also one of the lowest-ranked gods?

And, if one’s ability to control mana depended on how fervently they obeyed the God Laos, would that mean that Ianna was a religious fanatic? The legends were truly preposterous.

“Now, after hearing all this, does anyone have any questions or something that you found strange? Asking questions endlessly and digging through history to find the answers is a good way to study the subject.”

“Professor,”

Ianna said as she raised her hand.

“Yes?”

“If one’s control over mana increases depending on how religious they are, then how does the Bahamut imperial family fit into the picture? I hear they are extraordinarily strong despite the fact that they don’t believe in Laos.”

“Hmm.”

Illut cleared his throat.

“The Bahamut Empire did not exist at the dawn of the Age of Magic. Bahamut first emerged like a wild shark ripping through stormy waters while the other kingdoms were warring for supremacy after Lord Laos had hidden himself from the world. It was said that Bahamut’s imperial family, though smaller in number, was as strong as —no, stronger than— the Roanne royal family, which had been known as the strongest at the time. The Bahamut imperial family is thorough in the concealment of their history, so there is little opportunity for us to learn more about them. We have no way of learning where their power comes from or how they had managed to get so strong.”

Illut smiled and continued,

“In any event, it was a good question. We call these legends myths because they are without definitive evidence. Personally, I believe that control over mana is an innate trait that has nothing to do with one’s belief in Lord Laos and is inherited through blood. Wouldn’t you agree that this is why they have been able to rule over their empire for over a thousand years?”

Ianna agreed with him. Children inherited their parents’ traits. If affinity was just another trait that could be inherited, like hair color or physical appearance, then it was highly likely that the fact that most of the Bahamut imperial family were either powerful mages or warriors also had to do with genetics.

‘Maybe that’s also why they’re so obsessed with intermarriage?’

Ianna also believed the theory that the ability to control mana was hereditary. One was born with one’s genetic traits, much like how mana affinity was an innate talent. The other talents could be trained with meditation and backbreaking effort.

In other words, mana affinity was passed on through blood. But was it really only a simple genetic trait?

‘Or maybe it’s something else that determines one’s affinity?’

Ianna wracked her brains until she finally uncovered a clue inside her memories. During the incident with Horby, mana had rushed hungrily toward divine power, which overflowed with enormous vigor.

‘It’s said that everyone has divine power. Maybe affinity is influenced by divine power? Maybe it’s influenced by how much divine power you have, or by the taste of your divine power that the fish was talking about.’

She thought it was a reasonable conclusion. Both Roanne de Roanne and the progenitor of the Bahamut imperial family who had appeared toward the beginning of the Age of Magic, though no one knew who he was, must have surely had extraordinary divine power.

Ianna gradually grew more confident in her theory that mana was drawn to divine power. Divine power and mana were similar, but they were ultimately different. Just what kind of relationship existed between the two that mana was so attracted to divine power? And just what were they, exactly?

Ianna gripped her pen with a complicated look on her face.

“Are there no other questions? In that case, let’s begin talking about non-human races. There is not much that is known about the mythical races, so I will only be going over a few brief points before the end of class. The mythical races are mysterious beings who only appeared at the dawn of the Age of Magic. It is said that they now reside deep within the farthest reaches of the world where humans can’t enter.”

It had been over three thousand years since the mythical races had completely hidden themselves. Which was why they were regarded as little more than myth in the present.

“Lord Laos created many different mythical races before he created us humans, and, while it is said that they lived alongside humans at the dawn of the Age of Magic, they gradually disappeared, and it is now said that the elves live in the Great Forest of Shaob to the east and that the dwarves live in the Karankell Rocky Mountains to the south. Many different tribes of people live in the Girohai Desert to the west. There are many warriors who only respect physical strength living in the Desert, and the beastmen, who are physically the strongest amongst the mythical races, get along well with humans and have appeared before us most frequently. They are especially common in the Kingdom of Toraca.”

The Kingdom of Toraca. Ianna frowned as she wondered where she had heard about it before. She was lost in thought for a while before she opened her mouth in silent realization. The Kingdom of Toraca was where the Paella Company had been most active before moving to the Kingdom of Roanne.

Elves were slender, like tree branches, and had beautiful looks and figures, dwarves were short, like midgets, but had sturdy muscles, and beastmen had the ability to shapeshift into animals. There existed mythical races other than these three, but nothing was known about them.

Goods made by the mythical races were classified as rare items, and the wealthy royalty and nobility tried to obtain items such as elven herbs, bows, or cloth with fiery fervor. It was only natural that the nobility wanted dwarven weapons, because they were regarded as the highest-grade weaponry, and there were even warriors who went in search for the dwarves directly to get their hands on dwarven weapons.

As for the beastmen, there were many cases where the people themselves had become as commodities. It was rarer now that the beastmen traveled in large groups, but beastmen slaves had been common in the past. For example, cat or rabbit beastmen women were often kept as pets or as sex slaves, bird-type beastmen were kept as slaves for their ability to take flight, and predator-type beastmen were kept as slaves for battle.

“And finally, nothing has ever known to have lived in the Himalapè Ice Fields to the north.”

Illut, who had been explaining about the mythical races for some time now, cleared his throat.

“This class is about world history, so anyone who wishes to learn more about the mythical races should visit the library, and that will be the end of today’s class. We will be starting class for real starting next week. Class dismissed.”

World History was her last class for the day, so Ianna promptly made her way over to the Swordsmanship Department’s training hall.

There were a lot of older people swinging their swords in the training hall. It couldn’t be helped that a lot of eyes were turned when a young and pretty girl walked into the training hall that reeked of sweat.

“Oh, Little Ianna?”

Ryan, who stopped beating away mercilessly at a training dummy to happily say hello, was also present. Ianna bowed as he walked up to her.

“Hello, Sir.”

Ryan cleared his throat.

“Ahem. It feels somewhat strange to have a female junior bow to me to courteously.”

“What’s this, Ryan? Is she that famous first-year?”

Ryan’s curious friends snuck up to them and looked down at Ianna with intrigue.

They were tall, and Ianna stared directly back up at them and blinked. She had done this for no real reason in particular, but they reacted to her actions anyway. While it wasn’t that none of them had girlfriends already, most of them devoted most of their time and energy to their sword training because they had come to the Institution to get ahead in life, so most of the students present had little to no immunity to feminine charm.

One student even staggered back as he flushed bright red.

“I-is this pretty lady really our junior?”

“Hey, stop staring so rudely like that,”

Ryan beat his friends back with his words before they could say anything else. He continued,

“Little Ianna is our junior, and she got into the department fair and square with her outstanding skills.”

“Okay, we get it. We heard that from you so many times I thought my ears would start bleeding —but still, I think my brain’s disoriented because such a pretty little lady just walked into this sweaty, smelly place.”

Everyone else in the training hall were upperclassmen, and they trusted that Ryan, with whom they had spent a long time with, was fair in his evaluation. There were even a few students who looked to Ianna in discontent because Ryan had praised her so much. And yet…….

Ryan surveyed the hall. There were already a lot of students in the training hall who had put down their swords and were staring at Ianna with their mouths agape. Ryan sighed deeply.

“Hmm, this’ll be a problem.”

“I don’t mind them.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m sure you’re fine, Little Ianna, since you’re so upright, but these old men here are a problem. Everyone here’s about to graduate soon, and they have to train with everything they have before they can, but they’ll just stare at you and make fools of themselves if you’re here.”

“Old men?!”

One of the men standing next to Ryan resentfully cried out. Ryan never even gave him a second glance before he immediately quipped back,

“You are old. Little Ianna here’s barely sixteen. And the youngest man here is twenty-four. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

“We just wanted to be good friends with our cute little junior here…….”

The other male students looked sullen. Ianna, who had been listening to their conversation in silence, furrowed her brows in displeasure.

“Are you saying that I can’t even train properly in the Swordsmanship Department’s training hall?”

Because of these idiots? —she refrained from saying.

Ryan was troubled for a bit when he saw the displeasure on Ianna’s face before he came up with a good idea and snapped his fingers.

“Oh, I know! I’ll lend you my personal training room. I don’t use it that much as of late because I have to help these guys train.”

“Your personal training room?”

Ryan nodded when Ianna posed the question.

“Personal training rooms are provided to the top five members of each year starting from your second semester. Listen up guys, I’m going to bring Little Ianna over to the personal training rooms, so keep training by yourselves, alright?”

“Cheapskate. You just want her for yourself, don’t you?”

Ryan laughed when someone grumbled.

“I’ll remember that, Lantz.”

“Cough!”

Leaving his threat behind, Ryan brought Ianna over somewhere that wasn’t very far off from the main training hall. The training grounds were on the outskirts of the Institution to begin with, and the personal training rooms were of no exception.

Ryan and Ianna entered the building with the personal training rooms and climbed up to the fifth floor. Ryan walked up to one of the four steel doors on the fifth floor and opened the padded lock with a key.

The padlock clunked as it unlocked, and the door opened with a creak. The room was dyed in the colors of sunset as light poured in from the window at the front of the room. Ianna took a quick look around the room. The room was smaller than the training hall, but it was more than spacious enough for personal use. There was a pile of training equipment —the same kind that she had seen in the training hall— prepared in a corner of the room.

“It’s a nice place.”

“Isn’t it? There’ll be a lot of people in the training hall, so you can train here if you’re uncomfortable. Oh, and there’s sealing magic cast around the entire room, so you can do mana training here too.”

As Ryan had mentioned, there was a sealing magic circle drawn on the walls that was meant to prevent the room from being destroyed. Ianna restlessly moved her eyes across the walls. She felt the faint flow of mana coming from them. It looked like the sealing magic was always active.

“Thank you for your consideration.”

Ryan quickly waved his hands when Ianna bowed to him again.

“It’s nothing. Actually, I wanted to apologize for kicking you out of the training hall. Anyway, will you start training today?”

“Yes?”

Ianna’s hands itched as she toyed with her sheath because she wanted to wield her sword as quickly as possible.

“I’ll leave the key on the shelf here. I won’t be using this room, so please feel free to train here to your heart’s content.”

“Thank you.”

“Well then!”

Ianna bowed one last time before Ryan waved goodbye and left the room. The door slammed shut.

Ianna slowly got back up. The waterfall of her crimson hair waved gently through the air. She simply stood in place until she couldn’t hear Ryan’s retreating footsteps any longer.

“…….”

Then, she took another look around. It was quiet. There was a peaceful calm about the room. It gave her the illusion that none could ever trespass inside this place. The only thing standing here alive was Ianna, whose heart was pounding in her chest.

It was quiet.

She was in a good mood.

“Sigh…….”

Ianna closed her eyes and held her head up as she let out a long sigh. The breath that she had breathed in tightened her lungs before it slowly escaped her.

She slowly opened her crimson eyes. She turned her head ever so slightly to the side. Her eyes turned toward the beautiful setting sun outside the window as it filled the skies with crimson.

It’s all crimson.

“Phew.”

Ianna tied up her hair in a breath and the corners of her eyes, which were normally subdued, lifted up as she laughed. Her sharp eyes seemed to glow.

It was time to forge ahead.

Ianna, who had trained with all her might, dragged her fatigued body back to her lodgings.

“Oh, uh, welcome back!”

She was greeted by Priscilla, whose face was as red as a ripe tomato.

Ianna did not step inside the room. She stayed in the doorway with one had on the doorknob as she sarcastically asked,

“Are you fully sober today?”

“Oh……um, I’m sorry about yesterday. I’m really sorry. I drank a bit because I was upset about something, and I went overboard. I failed to take the fact that I had a roommate into consideration.”

Priscilla’s voice grew quieter and quieter because even she was embarrassed by how she had acted yesterday.

“We can put yesterday behind us, since you’ve apologized. But I’d like to warn you once just in case something happens in the future.”

“Y-yes?”

Priscilla grew nervous when Ianna stepped inside the room just as the door clicked shut. Ianna looked down at her with a face so stiff that it looked like she wouldn’t bleed even if someone pricked her with a needle.

“There is no curfew in the dorms, but it is to my understanding that alcohol is prohibited and students aren’t allowed to return to the dorms while drunk. It doesn’t matter if you aren’t caught by the dorm master and your roommate looks the other way, but you do know that you can be immediately evicted from the dorms if your disgruntled roommate submits a complaint, yes?”

“Yes…….”

“I was very displeased. And so, I will not be giving you a second chance. Please spend the night outside if you are drunk. I will submit a complaint to the dorm master should something like this ever happen again.”

“Okay, it’ll never happen again!”

Ianna had been prepared to utterly ruin their relationship when she had given her cold and heartless warning, but Priscilla beamed when she realized from Ianna’s words that she would be forgiven just this one time.

Ianna decided to wash her hands of this incident since it looked like Priscilla had understood. She had sweat a lot, so she wanted to take a shower like she usually did at this time. She walked past Priscilla to get a change of clothes from her wardrobe before heading to the bathroom. She was taking off her clothes and throwing them in the laundry basket like normal when she felt a stubborn gaze glued onto her body. Ianna stopped in the middle of taking off her pants as she turned toward Priscilla.

“Oh, please don’t mind me.”

Ianna was a little embarrassed by the sparkle in Priscilla’s eyes as she stared back at the older girl for a little while. Priscilla was staring openly at her body. She was a little uneasy, but she eventually took off her pants and headed over to the bathroom in only her tank top and underpants.

“B-beautiful.”

Ianna found herself speechless when she heard Priscilla speak. She was overcome by a sudden impulse to cover up her body. But then, she furrowed her brows as she wondered why she felt the need to do that when she and Priscilla were both girls.

“Why have you kept staring at me so rudely since yesterday? I find it very troubling.”

“Ack! Wipe, I’m sorry.”

Priscilla was startled as she wiped away the drool at her mouth. She continued,

“Actually, you look exactly like the model of my dreams, Little Ianna. I mean, you’re perfect. So, Little Ianna, I’ve been meaning to ask…”

Priscilla snuck up to Ianna and latched onto her arm. Ianna wondered what the tiny woman was trying to do as she stared dumbfoundedly back down at her. She decided to tolerate Priscilla’s rudeness for the time being because she was curious as to why Priscilla was behaving so oddly. Priscilla continued,

“I’m sure you must think I’m strange for saying this when we’ve only just met. But there’s something that I want to ask, no, beg of you since we’ll be roommates living together for an entire year. Would you please hear me out?”

Priscilla grabbed Ianna’s hand tight and said,

“Please be my model!”

“……What?”

“I’m actually pretty good at sewing, all things despite. I’ll make you any clothes you want, be it everyday clothes, underwear, corsets —anything. So please, give me your body……. Pant pant……. I want to measure you right now…….”

Ianna closed her mouth. Was this woman drunk again? But she was probably sober, considering that she didn’t reek of alcohol today.

“The ratio between your head and the rest of your body. The ratio between your upper and lower body. The ratio between your upper arm and forearm.”

Ianna’s arm was beginning to break out in goosebumps. Ianna tried to brush Priscilla off, unable to resist the bewilderment that came from the awkwardness that arose because this was the first time in her life that someone was looking at her with such interest. But Priscilla would not let go. There was an eerie madness in Priscilla’s eyes as she continued to scrutinize Ianna.

“The ratio between your thighs and your calves. Your shapely muscles, which emphasize how different you are from most women. Your biceps, pectorals, abs, and dorsi muscles……drool……. The amazing lines of your body that hold together your scapula, clavicle, sternum, and ribs, and the wonderful line and angle of your waist coming down from your shoulders. The beautiful line of your back along your vertebrae……. And your prettily-shaped breasts that are sure to make men fall head over heels for you with just one look…….”

Priscilla let go of Ianna’s hand as she started groping Ianna’s arm with wriggling fingers.

Ianna immediately refused her proposal. Then, she slammed the bathroom door shut in Priscilla’s face.

Ultimately, Ianna had made Priscilla cry that night.

Priscilla had pursed her lips tight and gone to bed while sniffling when Ianna continued to firmly refuse her persistent badgering and as coldly as the northern winds.

Priscilla had continued sniffling until she had finally fallen asleep, and it weighed on Ianna’s heart to be sleeping in the same room as a girl who had gone to bed crying because of her. She had actually lost a bit of sleep over it.

And, while she had been supposed to learn horseback riding after sitting in lectures for swordsmanship and battle tactics, the strict professor had told her that a horse was not an animal that she could ride with just one arm and demanded that she sit out due to her injury, so Ianna had ended up sitting around for so long she thought her butt would fall off.

“What is mana? Can anyone explain what mana is?”

“Mana is the measure of power in the Age of Magic that separates out the strong from the weak.”

“A very typical answer. You are correct in saying that mana is a measure of power because it is both the foundation of a warrior’s strength and fortitude and a mage’s magic. It is also the foundation behind all of creation. Fire, water, air, earth, trees, animals, people…… Everything exists as a beautiful arrangement of mana. It is also mana that makes it possible for mages to manifest artificial phenomena through spells such as Fireball or Lightning. So, where does mana come from?”

“…….”

“The priests say that mana is an energy that was created by Lord Laos, but the truth is that no one knows where mana actually came from. We also do not know if mana will ever be exhausted.”

To be completely honest, this was all that Ianna retained from her classes today. Listening to lectures on subjects that she already knew so well it may as well have been seeped into her bones had made her sleepy, so she had tried reading ahead in the textbook, but even then it wasn’t helpful at all because the textbook had only contained the most basic of fundamentals. The only thing she found useful in the textbook was that it diagramed the mana arrangements of certain natural objects in detail.

Nothing was going well for her today.

“The Holy Book is a treasure gifted to the entire continent. The Black Prophet lived alongside and followed the God Laos in the beginning before the God Laos hid himself from the world. The Black Prophet wrote down all the tales that the God Laos told and the history of the gods down in his journal. The Holy Book is a formal compilation of the records in the Black Prophet’s journal and stories of God Laos’ other followers.”

Ianna snapped out of her reverie and returned to her senses upon hearing a kindly voice and cleared her head of any stray thoughts so she could focus on class.

She was taking theology class from Priest Pianca. Priest Pianca had been sent from the Great Temple to teach at the Institution, and she was famous for her easy classes and grading.

“Shall we open the Holy Book now?”

My Golden Demon.

I weep bitterly.

For Phaemdra’s, the token of our promise, life has run dry

And only the End remains in Paradise.

Today, you will obey my sword and disappear.

In Pandemonium, located at the end of birth and immortality.

It is there that you shall slumber.

I, too, will be at your side.

And, at long last, the blinding moment of the sun shall come upon the world…….

Ianna was very familiar with this poem because she had read it so often after the incident with Lebony that she had memorized it.

“All history begins with this poem. But there is almost nothing that we know about it. Even the God Laos’ followers, who personally saw him engrave the poem onto the gravestone, never heard a word about it. There is little mentioned about the Holy Age either.”

Ianna gripped her pen and concentrated. She could never miss a single theology class if she wanted to uncover the secrets of the Holy Age.

“All we know is what the God Laos had mentioned in passing —that the Holy Age was a beautiful era and that there were many gods who lived in it alongside him. And so, this poem has sparked much debate over the years. It is a very thorny topic even to this day. To be truthful, I’m not sure if the subject can even be taught properly.”

Pianca smiled ruefully.

“Still, I can at least tell you how the Temple interprets this poem. As I’m sure you already know, the Golden Demon referenced in the poem is considered to be the absolute evil that heralded the End of the Holy Age. There is much debate over why the pronoun “I” is used in the poem, and one of the more amusing interpretations is God Laos is speaking in the first person because the Golden Demon was a beautiful being who seduced him and became his lover. God Laos is “weeping bitterly” because he was forced to kill the Demon after she betrayed him. Ahem.”

Pianca cleared her throat, having grown embarrassed for speaking such nonsense as the thought that the Demon who had brought about the End of the Holy Age was once God’s lover and that God had been betrayed by the Demon.

“I guess even God’s hopeless, if he fell head over heels for the Demon just because she was beautiful! How beautiful was she that even a god fell in love with her?”

“She was more than just a beauty who destroyed a kingdom —she destroyed an entire age! I almost want to see her myself!”

Someone joked loudly, prompting everyone else to laugh along.

“Which is why it is an amusing interpretation. What a farce. Let’s move on! We have no way of knowing what Phaemdra, the token of their promise is. You all know about the dragon that lives atop the Lotso Mountains, yes? And I’m sure you also know what the dragon said after killing everyone who trespassed into the mountains. ‘All ye who seek the gods’ secrets will die in the fires of hell.’ The Temple believes that the dragon is guarding Phaemdra. From the phrase that Phaemdra has “run dry” we can infer that Phaemdra is likely something of natural origins, like a flower, tree, spring, or lake……. We don’t know what Phaemdra is, but the fact that the token of a promise has “run dry” points to a broken promise. It is the temple’s conjecture —and not just a random guess made by passersby— that there existed some manner of covenant between the Demon and Laos, and that the End came about because the covenant was broken for some reason.”

Ianna tapped her pen gently with a serious look on her face. She wrote down everything Priest Pianca had said while switching out Roberstein for Laos.

“The Demon died by the sword. And as for Pandemonium, located at the end of birth and immortality……hmm. While there are many different interpretations for it, most priests believe that Pandemonium is some kind of hell because they believe that it is where the Demon was born and also where the Demon’s immortal life had ended. It is very likely that “slumber” refers to death. And, “I, too, will be at your side.” ……This line is the most difficult to theorize. What do you all think about this line?”

One student laughed at Pianca’s question and answered,

“Doesn’t it mean that Laos cast the Demon’s corpse down to hell and is watching over her so she can’t resurrect? Maybe the Demon can revive like the undead in horror books.”

Piana laughed at the student’s fantastical answer.

“Hoho, do you know any priests, by any chance? The theory you mentioned is one that is gaining traction in the Temple. The Demon is an unfathomable being, and we don’t know what kinds of powers it may have had. So it is possible that God Laos is watching over the Demon even now as we speak.”

“Urk.”

The student made a strange noise in response. That a dead being could somehow resurrect was impossible from a commonsense point of view. Most students broke out in laughter saying, “That’s ridiculous.” They didn’t take the myths seriously because they were all too unrealistic. Humankind was fated to doubt everything in one corner of their hearts unless they witnessed something personally with their own eyes.

The Laos myths were based on records that were at least a few millennia old, if not older. Which is why most students treated them like fiction.

But Ianna, who had experienced the strange phenomenon of being reborn, thought differently. The gods were capable of manifesting phenomena as bizarre as creation and rebirth, so wasn’t it possible that the Demon who destroyed them could at least restore its own life after death?

“Next, let’s take a look at “the blinding moment of the sun.” When do you think this was?”

“If a moment was “blinding,” then it means that the speaker had to have been awake, right? I think it has to be sometime between dawn and morning.”

“Yes, you’re right. It is the moment that the sun shined down on all creation after the night had ended. It is likely that this line referred to morning —the time when a new day begins. The End was over once the Demon had died, and everything started anew…… The line refers to genesis!”

Ianna scribbled her pen across the page. Morning —it sounded feasible.

It was most certainly useful to go over the Holy Book with an actual priest. She could learn about things that she couldn’t even imagine anymore because her mind had been so firmly directly toward only the realistic during the decade or so she had lived as a duchess.

The services available to Ianna at the temple every week was a useless event where all they did was heap praise upon Laos, read a small portion of the Holy Book and hold a sermon on it, sing and dance in Laos’ name, offer a flowery prayer to ask for a good day, and collect offerings. This was why she had never once attended even though she was curious about the Holy Age. In contrast, she found her theology class at the Institution acceptable.

Though, the Holy Book was divided into three parts —the beginning, which contained the writings of Laos and the Black Prophet, the middle, which contained the writings of Laos and his followers, and the end, which only contained the writings of Laos’ followers— and the class would become pointless once they reached the end.

“Shall we move on to chapter 1 verse 2 now?”

Laos sent away the sorrowful shadow that had been sullied by the demon’s blood.

And, he failed to send the shadow away and treasured it instead.

“This verse is just as vague as the first, but the most common reading of the verse interprets the shadow as the sword that was pierced through the Demon’s heart. It is the only interpretation that makes sense in this context. It is theorized that God Laos also cast away the sword that had been thrust through the Demon’s heart when he discarded the Demon’s corpse in hell.”

Ianna wrote down everything that Pianca had said before immediately crossing out this section.

The shadow was probably Roberstein. Verse 1 was probably about Roberstein, not Laos, and the Golden Demon. She needed to correct what Pianca had said by swapping out every instance of Laos with Roberstein.

There was nothing left in the End.

Only one mission was given to Laos, who stood alone —the mission to recreate the fallen world.

The first thing he did was to erect a large mountain range across the Demon’s heart with Phaemdra at its center and steady the unbalanced world.

“And now, there is a chilling conjecture we can make based off chapter 1 verse 3.”

There was a wicked look on Pianca’s face that was ill-befitting of a priest.

“Let’s discuss verse 3 based on what we interpreted in verse 1. Phaemdra is at the center of the mountain range! Does that mean Phaemdra lies at the heart of the Lotso Mountains? And, the mountain range cut across the Demon’s heart! In other words, the Demon’s heart lies beneath the Lotso Mountains……. Perhaps hell, and a giant Demon, lies beneath the very earth we walk on.”

“……Haha?”

The students laughed awkwardly, unsure of how to react.

“Laos never created monsters. He only created gentle creatures. There is a very strong hypothesis……which proposes that animals were turned into monsters after being exposed to the Demon’s evil energy. The theory states that monsters are born endlessly from the Lotso Mountains because it is a land where the evil energy from hell seeps up into the world. And this theory is credible because it was jointly formed by both the Monster Research Society and the Temple. Scary, isn’t it? It’s possible that the Age of Magic could come to an End if the gates of hell were to open and the Demon is resurrected, now that God Laos has disappeared from the world!”

“Jeez……you’re scaring us, ma’am!”

“Wouldn’t the priests stop that from happening in God’s name?”

“But what happens if the Demon is so beautiful that even the priests fall in love with her? Haha!”

The students responded to Pianca’s light joke with laughter.

Sorrowfully, Laos spoke.

O Phaemdra, though your body has already withered away,

The promise of the gods is still in effect

And thus, your soul shall here remain.

So, may you be at peace where none shall seek you.

Laos turned his back on Phaemdra and left eternally.

So that he may raise the world back into the light.

“Finally, is chapter 1 verse 4. No one knows what the promise of the gods, that Phaemdra was the token of, was. Nor does anyone know what Phaemdra even is, since we cannot go to the heart of the Lotso Mountains. “May you be at peace where none shall seek you” means that no person can ever find Phaemdra. And, just as the line suggests, we humans have no way of finding out what Phaemdra is.”

“Yes ma’am…….”

“Now then, we’ve finished going over the ambiguous first chapter of the Holy Book. All of this may have been a mismatch of interpretation based on imagination, but I am sure that God Laos is smiling down upon us for trying to get closer to him even if our interpretations turn out to be wrong. The Holy Book heavily relates to our daily lives, and not only will you grow closer to God if you read it, but you will also learn much in the way of liberal arts. In our next class, we will read through chapter 2, where Laos creates the heavens and the earth. Let’s end here for today. May the bright light of Laos be with you all.”

“May the bright light of Laos be with you.”

Once they had said their goodbyes, students began pouring out of the lecture hall while talking boisterously amongst themselves.

Priest Pianca remained in the lecture hall and watched her students depart, unlike other professors who were usually the first to leave, and Ianna packed up her notes and walked up to her once the other students had left.

“Excuse me, Priest Pianca.”

“Hmm? Oh, you were the admirable student who was listening to my lecture very earnestly. How may I help you?”

“Um…….”

Ianna pondered over how she should word her question so that she would not alarm the priest before she decided to exploit her status as a student. She said,

“This might be a little rude, but I’m very curious by nature and there was something that I’ve been wanting to ask you all throughout class.”

“My, what a truly diligent student you are. Please, ask away.”

“I was curious as to what the Temple’s treasure, the gravestone on which chapter 1 verse 1 is engraved, was like and what kind of energy it carried. Could you please tell me what it was like if you’ve had the chance to see it before? Oh, but if I’m overstepping my bounds……”

“Not at all. You are by no means overstepping anything. Is it not a teacher’s duty to satiate her student’s curiosity? You’re right —I’ve seen the gravestone before in person.”

Ianna waited with bated breath.

“It’s closed off to outsiders, but priests who have dedicated their lives to God Laos are allowed to see the gravestone in the basement of the Great Temple and touch it. It’s a kind of pilgrimage of sorts. It was a long time ago, but I still remember it vividly to this very day.”

Pianca closed her eyes and folded her hands together as she smiled gently. She continued,

“I felt a warmth when I saw the gravestone.”

“A warmth?”

“Yes. The actual stone itself was cold, of course……but I felt a warmth coming from it that warmed up my heart.”

There was a very peaceful and even longing look on Pianca’s face as she recalled what she had felt that day. Ianna stared back at her.

“When I was seized by the energy that is known as Laos’ divine power, I……how should I put this? Oh yes, I felt like I was being held in my mother’s arms. I wanted to burst into tears like a lost and wandering child who had finally found her mother again. And I did end up crying, despite myself. The other priests there with me were crying as well, perhaps because they felt something similar. My heart for God Laos grew deeper after that experience. And oh,”

Pianca exclaimed just as Ianna had thought she was done.

“Not only did I feel that loving warmth, but I also felt a surge of vitality coming from my entire being. It felt like my body had grown lighter. It was almost like……the vigor of life itself.”

Ianna’s eyes glistened fiercely. Pianca continued,

“It felt like the energy of God, who created all life.”

Once Priest Pianca had left, Ianna looked down at her notes and spun around her pen in the empty lecture hall.

Everything that lived had divine power. In other words, it was one’s life span. This was why the gods died when they extinguished all their divine power, and it was also why humans died when they used up the small amount of divine power that God Laos had given them.

‘What kind of god was Roberstein?’

Why had she sealed Lebony away right before the End after giving Lebony all her divine power? Wasn’t that basically suicide?

Ianna had once thought that the myths were just baseless stories at best. But now, the they were the secrets she had to uncover to solve the mystery behind her rebirth and to figure out what the ancient power sleeping in her heart was.

And they would also tell her who she was.

Ianna hated ambiguity. She especially hated it when there was something that she didn’t know about herself, and she had a strong need to be able to control every aspect of her life.

The only things she could fully possess in the past, the present, and the future, and the only things that would never betray her hopes, were herself and her sword.

Ianna clutched at her heart.

~~*~~

Part 3

Time passes slowly when lived out day by day, but it speeds by before you even notice when you look back at how much time had already passed. It had already been a month since Ianna had summoned the spirit king in the beginning of February.

Ianna, who had been strolling through the boisterous business district, turned into a certain large building. It was the headquarters of the Paella Company.

“Welcome, Lady Ianna.”

The employees greeted her with a smile. They had been shocked when she had first shown them her golden tag and had bowed to her so courteously that their waists had been bent at right angles, but they only nodded politely at her direction now that she had visited several times.

“Miss!”

Finn ran down from the second floor in a hurry when he heard that Ianna was here and jumped into her arms. Ianna hugged him back tightly, like he was a small puppy, and gently lifted him up with one arm.

“It’s been a while, Finn. Have you been well?”

“Hehe, yes! I’ve been learning lots of fun stuff.”

“What have you been learning about?”

“Mm, I’ve been learning how to draw from my art teacher, and I’ve been learning how to raise plants from the old gardener grandpa…… Oh, he said that I have talent in raising plants.  He said that the plants that I raised are really springy, teehee! I’ll give you one later, Miss!”

Finn’s complexion looked healthy. Ianna asked him if something good at happened because there was a bright light in his eyes that hadn’t been there a month ago when he had been skinny and haggard. Finn enthusiastically replied that he had stopped having nightmares ever since Ianna had saved him from the monsters.

Ianna was relieved. She pitied Finn to begin with, and she was willing to save him as many times as it took if her simple act meant that he would smile so brightly that you might think that he been saved from the depths of hell.

Finn flushed red and enjoyed himself when Ianna put him down and stroked his head. He then placed his hands on top of hers.

“Actually, I’ve been waiting eagerly for today. Teehee. Not only do I get to see you, but I can help fix your arms too. Hey, Miss, let’s hurry and go to the forest.”

Ianna grasped Finn’s hand tightly at his whisper. She, too, had been waiting eagerly for this day.

Ianna left the building with Finn in tow and headed for the woods to the west of the capital that was meant for taking strolls in.

The Kingdom of Roanne had flattened the earth and cut down the trees when she first pioneered the land, but she had left just one forest untouched for entertainment purposes —and the people all agreed that it had been a good choice. The green forest was a good place for the weary to rest and was right next to the vivacious capital.

People normally stuck to the forest paths —they rarely ever walked off them. Ianna chose the most uninhabited and shadowed part of the forest to head toward. Lovers might have occasionally frequented the area hoping to engage in lewd shows of affection at night, but no one was there during the daytime.

Ianna spread out her senses and confirmed that no one was around before she nodded at Finn.

“Finn, if you would please.”

“You don’t need to say ‘please’. After all, I’m just calling a friend.”

Finn promptly clasped his hands together and closed his eyes. Ianna startled at the divine power she felt emanating from him.

Now that she thought about it, wouldn’t Finn’s mother have told him that the spirit ate away at his divine power……at his life span? Even elves shouldn’t be able to afford using their life span so recklessly. What was the difference between humans and elves?

A single drop of water formed in the air. It formed into a mass of water before Finn, and, just as it had a month ago, the mass exploded when Ianna touched it. She felt something permeate inside her from her fingertips and swim up her blood vessels, and then she felt something being eaten away at her heart.

Divine power. Ianna scoffed. This was the feeling of her life being shaved away…….

She felt strange now that she knew what it was. Still, she thought it was only natural that she would have to endure shaving away at her life a little to call forth a being as mysterious as a spirit.

[Kyah, you really called me again! Aw, I’m so happy!]

The transparent fish was giddy as soon as it appeared. It splashed around while saying how much it loved Ianna. But they didn’t have the time to fool around like that.

“Wait, calm down, there’s something I wanted to ask you…….”

The fish illuminated joyfully when he heard that Ianna wanted to make a request.

[Yippee! Of course, just say the word!]

“Can you fix my left arm?”

The fish immediately burrowed itself into Ianna’s left hand without another word as soon as she asked. But he quickly came back out crying.

[Whine, I told you before, but this isn’t the kind of problem I can solve on my own. You need the spirit of earth to fuse the bones back together. Tch……I was planning to save some for later, but it looks like it’s a good thing I didn’t eat all the divine power that’s pooled up in one go. Whatever. Hey, Finn!]

“Y-yes!”

Finn replied stiffly.

[Do you know how to call the spirit of earth?]

“No.”

[We don’t have much time, so hurry up and kneel with your hands on the ground. Send your power to the earth through your hands like when you’re calling me, feel the energy in the dirt, and think about wanting to see the spirit of earth!]

Finn knelt awkwardly and did as the fish told him to.

“Spirit of earth, please come out.”

Little clumps of dirt began rising from between Finn’s fingers as soon as the words left his mouth. The clumps began consolidating, moving just like the way moles moved by digging through the ground.

[He’ll be summoned if you touch it. Hurry up and touch it!]

Ianna tapped on the clump of dirt as the fish had instructed, and the dirt scattered as soon as she did. Something began pouring in through Ianna’s fingers, just like what happened when the fish was summoned. It travelled up to her heart and gnawed away at something that was there.

Simultaneously, fine sand, muddy dirt, and hard stones began forming endlessly in the air and circled around Ianna like a growing tempest.

Whatever had entered her had apparently finished eating away to its heart’s content, and it shot out of her at the speed of light and began taking shape at her fingertips using the earthly materials that had formed in the air.

[Hmm…….]

It was a small mud doll. And it was really cute, to boot. It had a six body parts —round head, a body, two arms, and two legs— and it wiggled around its adorable little limbs as if in disbelief.

[What in the…… I’d heard about this from Splashy, but I didn’t think it’d be true.]

The fish stared at the mud doll in displeasure before zipping back inside Ianna’s left arm.

[Hey Slowpoke! Hurry up and get inside this child’s left arm and fix it. There isn’t much time left since we’ve both been summoned!]

[Fix it? Oh, okay. I got it.]

The mud doll, which had been floundering about for a while, slowly got up and walked up to grab the fingers of Ianna’s left hand tightly with his little arms. Ianna watched over him as she startled. The mud doll seemed to fuse together with her fingers before it turned into flesh and disappeared.

And then, the changes began.

Crunch. Crackle crunchhh.

Ianna’s arm twisted this way and that. Her bones protruded out against her skin before sinking back inside, zigzagging around, and finally settling back into its normal position.

Finn covered his mouth with his delicate, fern-like hands as he paled with fright at the bizarre scene, and Ianna grit her teeth from the terrible pain.

But the pain only lasted for a moment. Her left arm returned to normal, and the fish popped out from her left hand and the mud doll from her right as her arm gently dropped back down.

[We fixed it perfectly! Right? I did well, right? Right? I took out the dead blood and switched it out for new blood. Praise me!]

The fish splashed around as it rubbed itself against Ianna’s arm as soon as it came back out. Ianna tried making a fist. Her arm had completely recovered. She smiled.

“Thank you.”

[Teehee!]

The mud doll pulled at the fingers of Ianna’s right hand. Ianna looked down to her right.

[I took a look at parts of your right arm that hadn’t healed completely yet too. It should be sturdier now than it was before.]

“Thank you, truly.”

[Mhmm.]

The mud doll wiggled around a bit when she gave it her gratitude before collapsing into a pile of sand. This was how he expressed his happiness.

[Anyway……]

The mud doll rebuilt itself and walked up to Ianna. He continued,

[Dear girl, we loved Roberstein. Your divine power reminds us of her. We don’t know how this came to be, but we are truly happy for it. There was only a little of it, but even that was more than enough. We are happy to be able to reminisce about her again after all this time.]

“…….”

[And your divine power is marvelous in and of itself even if it didn’t feel like her. In other words, this means that you are one amazing human……. But who are you? I want to be friends with you.]

The small mud doll held tight to Ianna’s fingers with its round little arms.

[Call me whenever you wish. I am always ready to be your strength.]

[He’s so desperate to be friends with you that he’s acting all busy even though I’m right here!]

The fish splashed around and smacked the mud doll with his tail, but the mud doll ignored him.

[You might find it strange when we say that we can help you while looking like this, but this isn’t our true form. We could only be summoned in these tiny forms because you don’t have much divine power.]

[Yep, we’re actually super large and grand spirit kings! I’m not just some tiny little fish! We could probably manifest in our true forms if you opened up the divine power locked inside your heart……. But I think we’ll disappear soon. Boo.]

[That’s a pity.]

Ianna stared down at the two spirits who were stuck to her hands in their lament before saying,

“You called yourselves spirit kings, right? I know that you can’t stay here for long, but there are a few things I wanted to ask you —I’m sorry, but I’d like it if you could give me answers before you go.”

[We will answer anything you ask of us so long as it’s something we know.]

[Yeah, yeah. Ask away!]

The fish and the mud doll waited for Ianna’s questions with bated breath.

“First, what is divine power?”

[An abstract and difficult question to answer. But if I must……I would say that it is the power of the gods. Divine power is the great power of origin.]

“Can I ask you what the trait of life and what the trait of power are?”

[Divine power is used for two purposes. It is the lifeforce needed to live in the world along the axis of time, and it is also the power needed to manifest one’s unique abilities. Respectively, these are what you would call the trait of life and the trait of power.]

“I see. But then, what is mana? I’m referring to the energy that’s spread all throughout the world. What’s the difference between mana and divine power?”

[Mana…… Are you referring to demonic power?]

[Oh, jeez. Now that’s just upsetting!]

Both the mud doll and the fish were shaking their heads.

[Laos called demonic power ‘mana’ because the original language carries a bad connotation, but ‘demonic power’ is actually the correct way to refer to it.]

“What was so bad about demonic power?”

[Demonic power refers to the Demon’s power. It is an energy that originates from the Golden Demon.]

The Golden Demon’s energy!

Ianna gasped as the unexpected revelation took her by surprise.

[I really hate this! It’s upsetting!]

The fish suddenly raged and cut in while the mud doll was calmly explaining things. His fins quivered like he was shuddering in disgust before he made a splash and swam over to Ianna.

[You see, mana is an energy that’s fundamentally the same thing as divine power, but it’s different. It’s the dead energy that remained after the Demon took out the trait of life from divine power and left behind only the trait of power. Just touching it gives us the creeps, and it scares us. We spirits really hate that energy.]

“Wait…….”

Ianna asked the spirits to wait while she gathered her thoughts.

Divine power was an energy that carried both the trait of life and trait of power. Mana ­—no, demonic power— was an energy that carried only the trait of power.

“How did the Demon take out the trait of life?”

[The Demon always coveted life for being filled with divine power. Do you know about the gods, by any chance? I suppose you don’t, since you’re human……. But it’ll be hard to understand if you don’t.]

“I know the gist of it. I know that divine power is produced by chaos fragments, and that the gods were ranked based on how much divine power they could produce……and that’s about it. I don’t mind if I don’t understand what you tell me, so hurry up and answer me on the presumption that I already know what I need to know about the gods.”

[Really? I curious as to how you learned this, but there’s no time, so…… The Demon was the lowest of the lowest-ranked gods who couldn’t produce any divine power at all and was always in want of life. The Demon hungered for both life and power like crazy, until one day the Demon was able to divide divine power into demonic energy and lifeforce and use them separately. Even we don’t know how that was possible.]

It wasn’t that difficult to comprehend. After all, Ianna had brooded over what Lebony had said as many times as it had taken for her to understand.

For now, she focused on memorizing everything the mud doll said so she could go over it again later until she understood him perfectly. She recorded the mud doll’s words in her mind as if she was shoving them inside her brain.

But then, why does demonic power linger around divine power?

“I’ve seen mana circling around divine power before. Do you know why it does that?”

[It’s not wrong to say that demonic power is incomplete divine power. It can’t help but be drawn to its complete form because it wants to make up for what it lacks and hungers for life. And, because demonic power is the power of the Demon, who was jealous of and hated the gods, it clings to those with tasty……I mean, amazing divine power. The twisted Demon liked killing strong and captivating gods. That’s why demonic power is drawn to those with a lot of divine power or those with amazing divine power.]

One of Ianna’s questions had been resolved. She had been right. Ultimately, mana approached living beings because it wanted their divine power. This was the secret behind mana affinity.

“Can the amount of divine power one possesses be passed down genetically, by any chance?”

[Genetically…… Are you referring to the process by which offspring inherit the traits of their parents? Offspring take after their parents, so it’s normal for them to have similar amounts of divine power. But there are many exceptions to this rule. Only Laos knows the principles behind birth.]

Her other question had been resolved as well. But to think that mana was the Demon’s power. Ianna toyed with her tongue. The believers of the Faith of Laos would faint while frothing at the mouth if they ever learned of this. But, why was the Demon’s, who had died at Roberstein’s hands, power dispersed throughout the world?

“Why is the Demon’s power spread throughout the world? And just what was the End that brought a close to the Holy Age?”

[I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that. We were hardly ever summoned toward the end of the Holy Age because of the Demon’s interference. Boohoo. To think that even Roberstein, the arbiter, had died with the Demon too…….]

[I’ve never liked that bastard to begin with! That stupid piece of deadweight!]

Ianna carved the fact that the mud doll had called Roberstein ‘the arbiter’ deep into her heart.

[In any case, the first time we had been summoned in a long while was immediately after the End. Only Laos and his beloved pet were here.]

Ianna’s eyebrows twitched. She rummaged through her memories.

‘Beloved pet? I thought only Laos remained after the End……oh.’

The Black Prophet had been Laos’ first creation and had followed Laos since the very beginning of the world.

Apparently, the spirits referred to the Black Prophet as Laos’ beloved pet. Why did they insist on treating the Black Prophet like some kind of animal? Of course, it was possible that the spirits simply thought of all humans as animals, since it was technically true. Still, it felt strange to hear the Black Prophet, who was regarded as the first pope of the Church of Laos, which was the predominant religion of the world, be referred to as a mere pet.

[Only they, and the chaos which everything had been jumbled into, remained after the End.]

Ianna’s reverie only lasted for a moment before the mud doll continued, and she returned to her senses and focused on what the spirit king was saying.

[And the demonic power, which had gone out of control, was floating around the whole world like a ghost. Yeah, so……I’m sorry I can’t be of any more help, but we don’t know anything about the End,]

the fish muttered as he wriggled his tail and fins.

[Laos…… That was our first time seeing him, but in any case, only he could know about what had happened in the End because he was the only god who survived it, but he wouldn’t tell us anything except for the fact that everyone else was dead no matter how much we asked. Wicked little brat. Hmph. We still grew attached to him anyway, but then he suddenly disappeared one day too……. Ack, my body’s warping!]

It was already time for the spirits to disappear. The fish’s and mud doll’s bodies began shaking. Ten minutes was too short when Ianna had so many things she still wanted to ask. Still, she had gained a lot of information regarding the Holy Age during their short discussion. It wouldn’t be bad to take the time to make sure she understood everything she had heard today and organize her thoughts before formulating her next questions.

[You have to call us again, okay?]

“I will. I’m sorry to see you go too.”

[I’m glad.]

[Kyah, I’m so sad! Huh?]

The fish suddenly startled and began splashing around as he swam circles around Ianna.

[We don’t even know your name yet! We’re so stupid! You might carry Roberstein’s power with you, but surely you must have your own name!]

[Indeed. What is your name?]

Things had been so hectic when she summoned the spirits that even Ianna had only just realized she had never given them her name.

“It’s Ianna.”

[I’ll remember your name, Ianna.]

[Ianna. Ianna. Ianna. Ianna.]

“And what about you……? Do you have names? I don’t know how I feel about calling you “Fish” and “Mud Doll”.”

[Names? But “Fish” and “Mud Doll” work just fine? Heeheehee. We don’t refer to each other by names. I’m Splashy, he’s Slowpoke, the spirit of wind is Wily, and the spirit of fire is Moody…… Well, actually, we do have other names you could call us by……]

Booooom!

The fish exploded audibly before he could finish.

Craaaaash!

The mud doll followed suit soon afterward.

Ianna, who had learned her lesson the first time the fish had suddenly exploded into a downpour, quickly picked Finn up and ran back. A wet mountain of dirt stood where the spirits had been just moments earlier.

“What’s going on?! Huh?!”

The guard, who had happened to be patrolling nearby, was taken aback when he saw that a part of the forest had been razed and fell into thought for a moment before turning vaguely to Ianna. Then, he grew flustered.

“Look here, Lady Mage. You can’t test out your spells here. You might hurt other people who are just trying to take a walk…….”

The guard had mistaken Ianna for a mage. He was nervous because mages were very prideful, ill-tempered, and were of a high status because of how rare they were while he was just a mere forest guard. And any mage who could conjure up a mountain of dirt out of nowhere must be a very strong mage indeed.

Ianna, who had been at a loss as to how she should explain herself, thought that things had worked out for the best. Ianna bowed once in apology and left the forest with Finn in tow.

‘It would be nice if I could sit down and talk to the spirits for even just an hour. Still, I shouldn’t be too greedy about this.’

Ianna was lost in her thoughts.

Divine power was the power of the gods. Demonic power was the power of the Demon.

How ironic was it that those who believed in the God Laos were actually using the Demon’s power? And how was the Demon’s power spread across the world when the Demon was said to be dead?

The puzzle had been splintered into so many different parts. The picture of the Holy Age only grew more complicated the more she tried to fit the pieces back together.

She fell even deeper into thought.

“Miss Ianna.”

Finn called out to Ianna while she was lost in reverie when they had reached the forest path. Ianna returned to her senses and looked down at Finn, who was wiggling his fingers.

“What is it?”

“Is your arm really all better now?”

A small laugh escaped Ianna’s lips when she saw the top of Finn’s head turn as he restlessly stole glances at her left arm. It looked like she would have to reassure the anxious little child.

“It is. My arm is well enough……”

“Whoa!”

Ianna wrapped her arm under Finn’s and lifted him with ready ease. Finn’s, whose field of vision had suddenly been elevated, wobbled for a bit before clinging tight to Ianna’s neck. Finn inadvertently looked around before his verdant eyes fell on Ianna’s smile and vivid red ones.

“…That I can hold up a small child like you with ease.”

“Heehee…….”

Finn’s face flushed. His face was probably as red as an apple now. How was someone as pretty as Ianna just so cool?

Ianna carried Finn as she continued walking. She pat the speechless child lightly on the back with her right hand.

“And it’s all thanks to you, Finn.”

“Don’t say that, Miss. You hurt your arms because of me.”

Finn shook his head no.

So don’t say that. I don’t want to ask any more from you. I’m already more than happy enough that you come to see me and talk to me and hold me like this, Miss.

But the word’s remained in Finn’s heart because he was too embarrassed to say them out loud. He simply hugged Ianna back tightly and hid away the redness of his cheeks. He buried his face in her crimson hair and floundered for a moment before bubbling out into laughter upon feeling how sturdy Ianna’s left arm was as she held him up.

“Hehe. Thank goodness.”

Finn was truly glad that he had been able to be of help to someone as cool as Ianna.

~~*~~

Today was Ianna’s first day of class in the History of Roanne and Bahamut. The professor had missed three classes in a row for personal reasons, which was why she was only stepping into the Political Science Department building to take the class for the first time three weeks after the semester had started.

Most Political Science majors were male, but there were still some female students in the mix, so Ianna did not draw as much attention as she did in the Swordsmanship Department. Still, her looks and the air she exerted about her made it difficult for others to see here as a commoner, so there were a few people who still occasionally glanced her way.

The professor walked into class a short while later. He walked slowly with arrogance in each and every step while holding out his potbelly in front of him.

“Hello, class. I am Baronet Elily Shamar, who will be your teacher starting today.”

The students, who had been sitting around expressionlessly until then, brightened up in greed upon hearing that Elily was a Baronet.

“The textbook for this class is a book on the history between Roanne and Bahamut which I wrote myself. I was once but a humble pheasant before becoming Baronet Shamar after writing this book.”

“Wow!”

“That’s amazing, Professor!”

The students broke out in admiration. Professor Elily’s success in life was one that they wished to emulate.

Elily cleared his throat, satisfied by the looks of envy he was getting, before opening up the roll book. He went down the list of names for a while before stopping at one name and rubbing his eyes in disbelief while mumbling,

“Ianna Roberstein?”

A noble student’s surname was only recorded in roll books. This was why their social standing generally only because known if another student had asked around and spread rumors or if the they revealed their station themselves.

Sometimes, other students would read into the situation if a professor seemed to have trouble figuring out how to deal with a particular student, but, considering that there were many noble students in the upper grades who fit in with their commoner peers just fine, there weren’t many instances when a noble student’s social standing was disclosed by a professor.

And so, no other professor until then had publicly revealed Ianna’s surname and pretended to be surprised.

Awkwardly, Ianna answered,

“……Present.”

Several students turned to her with so much surprise they were practically quivering when she responded.

Did you hear that? “Roberstein,” he said. That’s one of the five founding houses of the Kingdom of Roanne, right? She’s the daughter of a count. You’re right. Wow, I wanna get to know her better. I mean, she’s the daughter of a count! We rarely ever get the chance to be in the same space as someone so noble. Should I say hello to her? We should try talking to her later! But why is the lofty daughter of a count here? Why isn’t she at the Theodore Academy? And why is she even taking this class to begin with? What department is she in?

Ianna’s reddened ears picked up an endless stream of comments. She furrowed her brows as she felt the atmosphere in the lecture hall take a subtle turn. She hated getting attention in this kind of matter.

“I’ve taught students who were the children of barons and viscounts before, but never the child of a count. And from one of the five founding houses no less! It’s an honor to teach someone so noble as yourself!”

The professor’s face lit up as he stirred up a fuss and heaped praise upon praise on Ianna. He began flipping through the roll book with excitement written plainly on his face. He continued,

“You must be amazing —the Institution is no easy school to get into no matter how prestigious your house is. And you’re……you’re in the Swordsmanship Department?”

The students shared their professor’s astonishment and dropped their jaws. Dumbly, the professor asked,

“That sword of yours —it wasn’t just for decoration?”

Ianna’s eyes narrowed in displeasure. She was used to such behavior, but she still found it unpleasant nonetheless.

“My sword is not for decoration, and I am in the Swordsmanship Department. Is there a problem with that, Professor?”

“Hahaha. No……there isn’t.”

Ianna, who had seen many such unpleasant people in her time as a duchess, only looked a little uncomfortable as she guessed what the professor was thinking. He was probably thinking that she had used her lofty status and a pile of money to pressure the administration into admitting her.

And she was right —that was what Elily was thinking. The entrance exams for the Political Science Department were essay-based, meaning that a professor’s evaluation of an examinee’s discussion was the most important factor in the exam, so it wasn’t impossible to get admitted by bribing a professor with a lot of money.

The Swordsmanship Department may have been famous for its thoroughly transparent examination process, but it wasn’t as if corruption didn’t exist in the department at all. Man-made institutions were known for crumbling like castles made from sand before the influence of money and authority.

Elily’s thoughts regarding the matter were as such that the prideful professors in the Swordsmanship Department would have leapt up in indignation had they known.

Elily was sure that Ianna had been admitted into the Institution in such a manner. He tried to guess as to why Ianna, the daughter of a count, had chosen to attend the Institution’s Swordsmanship Department instead of the Theodore Academy.

Either she wanted to personally pick out a skilled knight for herself, or she wanted to bathe in the envy of the commoners, or she had a problem with either her personality or her status that prevented her from being admitted into the Theodore Academy……

“Have a good day, Lady Ianna Roberstein.”

“It was an honor to meet you.”

Ianna had not liked the class from the very beginning, and the look on her face had grown steadily stiffer as the lecture continued and was cold and expressionless now that class had ended.

A few students reached out to her cordially once class was over, but she only retuned them with a curt nod. The students tried to keep talking to her, but they were unable to say much as Ianna coolly began flipping through her books and ultimately left the lecture hall while clicking their tongues.

Ianna’s lips twisted into a scowl. The other students would quickly try to dig up more information on her, the daughter of Count Roberstein. And then they would only learn the gossip surrounding her and spread the rumors all over again. She doubted that any of them would try to find out what had actually happened. After all, who would try to uncover the honest truth about someone else if they only had a passing interest in them?

“Sigh.”

Ianna perused through the history book that Professor Elily had bragged about writing before clicking her tongue at the absurdity she found in it. The book was filled only with praise about Roanne’s supremacy. It only ever referred to Bahamut as evil and was altogether an unpleasant read.

Had it been a mistake to expect the class to have a neutral stance on their enemy nation? The fact that someone had given Elily a peerage for writing a book that was no different from any other old history book one could find in the bookstores spoke volumes of how lax the leaders of the kingdom were being.

It was even possible that Elily had bought his peerage with money to begin with.

Commoners who coveted success in life were extraordinarily greedy. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong about wanting to succeed in life, but nobles had a duty to the people. One could only become a true noble if they desired to use their abilities to the fullest for the people who looked up to them and supported them from below.

Someone who wanted to become a noble just for their personal success would only end up as a dog chasing after higher-ranking nobles to lick their feet. After all, hadn’t the kingdom become a mess in her past because there had been so many such dogs running amok?

In any event, today’s class taught Ianna that, no matter how prestigious the Institution may be, it wasn’t only professors who were passionate about their subjects who taught there. She would have to learn more about a class first before deciding to take it going forward.

“Those dunces won’t be sucking up to you for long, Lady Noble,”

someone said sarcastically from behind as Ianna closed her book. She looked up. No one was in front of her.

‘Was that directed at me?’

Ianna looked back. She found a boy with silver hair the color of ash.

A hazy image passed through her mind as soon as he entered her line of sight. Ianna furrowed her brows slightly at the strange feeling of déjà vu.

“Most students in the Political Science Department are black-hearted snakes, so their attitudes toward you will change completely once they learn about your situation, Lady Noble.”

The boy righted his glasses as he stared at Ianna in irritation. He continued,

“They’re probably looking up information on House Roberstein and Ianna Roberstein as we speak. The idiots will probably be turning their brains trying to decide whether you’re worth getting friendly with.”

He had intelligent features. He looked like your typical civil official, and his head seemed to work a cut better than the rest. Ianna looked back at him and asked,

“Do you know me?”

“Of course I do. It’s essentially to know everything about the nobility if you want to study politics seriously.”

“Then you know about me?”

“You’re Ianna Roberstein. The daughter of a commoner who became the count’s mistress through dirty means and who used to sleep around with many different men before she got married. You’re a girl who abandoned her morals and killed your own grandfather, and you might have even killed your own mother, who’s gone missing. Your entire household hates you.”

The boy responded to Ianna’s query with straightforward facts.

Ianna stared at him. This was her first time encountering a commoner who treated her so blatantly like this even after knowing who she was. His voice was monotonous, however, so it sounded like he was merely stating the facts instead of insulting her.

“The others won’t see you for who you are —they’ll only focus on the fact that you’re the daughter of a commoner mistress and that you murdered your own grandfather. They won’t stop to consider that you might have had your own reasons as to why you had to do that, and neither will they try to get closer to you.”

Ianna listened quietly for a while before she asked the boy,

“What is your reason for telling me this? Are you trying to insult me?”

“Perish the thought. I simply wanted to tell you that everyone’s attitudes toward you will change as readily as the wave of a hand. Will you be able to bear that?”

The boy’s words suggested concern, but his tone was so cynical that his voice carried no warmth at all.

“It doesn’t seem that you’re actually worried for me.”

“Of course I’m not. I just figured that it would be best for you to drop this class, Lady Noble, since that’s what’s going to happen. Not to mention that the professor’s not too great either.”

What other reason could he have if not concern? The answer came easily enough based on his attitude. Ianna got up from her seat and said,

“You want me to drop this class? In the end, you’re just the same as them —you detest me, and you want me to get out of your sight as quickly as possible.”

The boy’s eyes twitched. Ianna had hit the nail on the head. She stared at him calmly and continued,

“But what right do you have to make me drop this class?”

“……I don’t have any right. My apologies.”

The boy apologized. However, he did not refute the fact that he detested her. He nodded and said,

“Please don’t misunderstand me. I think you’re rather amazing. The Institution’s Swordsmanship Department admits its students through a public selection process, and it is famous for being transparent about it. Not to mention that the head professor of the Swordsmanship Department was a former general in the royal guard who was famous for his skill and righteousness.”

“…….”

“You were successfully admitted into the Swordsmanship Department. I think that this fact alone marks you as a remarkable individual. But even then…….”

A sharp light flashed in the boy’s ashen eyes as he continued,

“…You’re still a born and bred noble.”

The boy’s lips twisted into a smile once he had said his piece. This was his true nature, which had been hidden behind his business-like attitude until then.

“The nobility are morons who only know how to wield their authority without understanding the duty that comes with it.”

The boy clearly understood how Ianna had been treated while growing up. Most nobles did not know how to take responsibility for the seeds that they themselves had sown. They would despise and neglect even their own children if they were not also the children of their legal wives and see them as nothing but tools to marry off into another house.

He figured that Ianna’s must be a similar case. Was Ianna not still of the count’s own blood, even if she was the daughter of a mistress he had married for money? If he was going to despise his daughter anyway, then he shouldn’t have gotten the mother pregnant to begin with. The boy censured the count silently in his heart.

And what other dirty deed had the count committed even outside of that? The boy was disgusted. Roanne may be considered the strongest nation in the world for now, but it was sure to fall one day if its nobility was filled with pigs —no, they were even less than insects— who knew nothing about the ancient principle of noblesse oblige.

“You might only be half-blooded, but you still carry a noble name —so what about you? The nobility might detest you, but are you not ultimately the same as them……?”

Ianna smirked.

“A noble would have put you to death for the crime of offense.”

The boy, who had failed to control his emotions and had spoken his true feelings about the nobility aloud, returned to his senses and immediately said,

“Damn me and my mouth. I’m sorry, Lady Noble. Please take everything I’ve said to you today as the blabbering of a madman.”

Ianna chuckled as she watched the boy make a beeline for the lecture hall door.

“What’s your name?”

Her delighted voice echoed through the lecture hall in which they stood alone. The boy stopped in his tracks as a strange look crossed his face.

“Why are you asking? Are you planning to punish this lowly commoner for angering you, Lady Noble?”

“Stop being sarcastic. I’m only asking because I found you interesting.”

The boy stared fixedly at Ianna as if he was observing a strange lifeform.

‘There’s something about her that’s different from the other nobles.’

He had burned her rather badly, and yet she was still being so composed and easygoing. The boy muttered,

“……It’s Rikijen. Nothing I said today was said with any malice toward you —please accept my sincere apologies.”

Rijijen turned around as soon as the words had left his mouth and left without once turning back.

‘……Rikijen?’

Ianna tilted her head to the side at how familiar his name sounded. She had heard it often once long ago.

‘Rikijen…… Rikijen……’

“Please kill that woman today, my liege!”

Ianna gasped she pictured a single man from her past in her mind. Her alarmed gaze fixated on the boy’s retreating ashen figure.

“That damned woman feels only inferiority toward you, and she’ll only become as a poison to you the longer you yearn for her, my liege!”

‘Rikijen Rostari!’

His ashen appearance grew clearer in her mind’s eye.

The man who had always stood by his liege’s side and offered counsel even amidst the shower of blades and blood, arrows and gunpower, and fortification and magic that came with war.

The man who had always looked to her with loathing in his eyes, rudely wondering why his perfect liege always put his life on the line for a woman like her and why his liege couldn’t just simply kill her instead.

The man who had always asserted that there was more merit in killing her than bringing her under their banner.

He had always loathed her because his liege clung so tightly to her, and he had looked so pleased when she had finally died at his liege’s hands.

Rikijen Rostari.

He was the prime minister of the Bahamut Empire and Arhad Ro Ralzo Bahamut’s closest advisor. The boy’s irritated behavior and cynical countenance truly did seem to match his older self’s. But why was he here right now?

Ianna was shaken and her eyes wavered because of her sudden acquaintance with someone who had to do with Arhad.

Still, her shock only lasted bur for a moment, and Ianna immediately regained her composure. She had been surprised to see someone whom she hadn’t expected even in her wildest dreams, but the coincidence had still been within the realm of possibility. Apparently, Rikijen Rostari had been a student at the Valgenta Institution when he was younger.

‘I had thought he was from Bahamut, but I wonder if he was actually a commoner from a foreign country?’

Her interest piqued once her astonishment had settled. He had always regarded her as his mortal enemy, and he had been a nosy bastard who had sent assassins after her at every turn without Arhad’s knowledge, and the first thing that Ianna felt after meeting him unexpectedly for the first time after her rebirth was merry welcome.

Had Rikijen already met Arhad? Or, perhaps he hadn’t met Arhad yet? And if not, would he meet Arhad while he was still in school?

Ianna did not have the time to train because her classes had ended late today. She was lost in thought as she walked back to the dorms in the darkness.

Slam!

“Little Ianna, I can’t get you out of my mind no matter how hard I try to forget you! Sniff!”

“…….”

“Sob sob.”

Ianna’s roommate, Priscilla, rushed into her embrace as soon as Ianna opened the door and burst into tears.

“Sigh…….”

Ianna let out a truly, genuinely exasperated sigh.

Priscilla clung tight to Ianna and presented her with a few pages of designs she had come up with even as she continued her waterworks. Ianna had rejected all of Priscilla’s designs up until now because she hated being treated like a doll, she hated having her body be analyzed by another, and she also hated dressing up for no reason.

Priscilla had always left the room in tears and fright after Ianna threatened her by warning her with a slight hint of bloodlust in her tone, but she would always come back and cling to Ianna again the very next day.

Priscilla had been quiet for a few days after Ianna had told her to stop in a bloodcurdling manner, but she had started up again today.

“I’m telling you once again that I refuse.”

Ianna peeled off the tiny girl who was clinging tightly to her. Priscilla wiped away her large, bead-like tears with the back of her hand before sinking to the floor. There was gloom written plainly on her face.

“Sniff, okay……. I see you just hate both me and my clothes that much.”

Priscilla had only ever pestered her up until now, so Ianna was startled by her sudden change in behavior and took a step back. Priscilla looked despondent as she knelt on the floor in self-torment and began crying in earnest.

“I get it, sniff sniff. My handiwork must’ve been so terrible that……sniffle, you were revolted be me, Little Ianna. Sniff sniff……. I’m rubbish. I’m just ruin myself if I ever tried to open up my own store. This is the end for me…….”

“I never… That’s not why I…….”

Priscilla sat back up, with her face still filled with tears, when Ianna began inadvertently refuting her despite herself.

“They why? I even offered to make you any clothes you wanted, and not just the things that I want to design for you, Little Ianna! All you need to do is wear the clothes I make just once in our room! You would never have to go out of your way to buy new clothes, and I would get to make the clothes I want to make —it’s a win-win situation for both of us!”

“…….”

“I start overflowing with inspiration just by looking at you! I want to see you wearing my clothes so much I could die! I, I was never satisfied with the clothes I made no matter how hard I tried, and it’s stressed me out so much that I was never quite happy with what I made even when I had people model them, and now I finally thought that my muse had appeared before me! And not only that, but my muse is my roommate and I thought that it just had to be fate! You’re so heartless, Little Ianna! Sob sob!”

Priscilla prostrated herself again and bawled.

Ianna froze up and didn’t know what to do about the delicate girl who had collapsed to the floor in tears. Her attitude had a mollifying effect on Ianna because she was so fragile.

It depended on the situation and the people involved, of course, but Ianna had always found it difficult to watch when those who looked so frail that they might shatter with even the slightest impact were crying or struggling. That was why Ianna had stopped saying her sharp and merciless words when Priscilla began crying and simply elected to watch over the latter silently instead.

Priscilla brought her hands together with her eyes still filled to the brim with tears.

“Please. I’m begging you. I swear I won’t disappoint you.”

This girl —she got me good today.

Ianna sighed. She had learned over these past few weeks that Priscilla was a stubborn girl who was like a dog that refused to let go of something once she’d latched on. Priscilla would probably still chase after her even if she changed rooms.

Of course, Ianna could always return to the murderess she had been in her past and kill the girl off without leaving even a trace behind if she continued to bother her even when Ianna truly disliked her antics. Ianna disliked her pestering, obviously, but not enough to the point where she would commit murder because of it.

In any event, it wasn’t as if Priscilla was offending her either —she was making such a fuss because she liked Ianna. Priscilla’s goodwill had simply exploded in her face. And it wasn’t that Ianna particularly disliked Priscilla’s goodwill either. She was simply awkward about the new situation she suddenly found herself in, and she simply found Priscilla’s rather extreme reaction somewhat uncomfortable and burdensome.

‘But when I actually stop to think about it, it’s not something that will bring me harm.’

Priscilla was offering to make her clothes for free. She figured that any clothes Priscilla made should be good in both quality and design since she was a student in the Institution’s Fashion Department. And more importantly, she didn’t want to drag out this tiresome exchange with someone she had to room with for the rest of the year.

“Are my measurements all you require?”

Priscilla, who had been crying with her head down, suddenly looked up. Her blue eyes were sparkling.

“Yes! And you only need to wear my clothes just once in our room —you can throw them out if you don’t like them! And you can keep them if you like them, Little Ianna! You can do whatever you want with them! B-b-but…….”

Priscilla’s fiery outburst suddenly dwindled into a stammer as she crawled up to Ianna. Then, she clung tightly to Ianna’s legs.

“Could you please wear my clothes to the school festival? —I have to exhibit my works there. Other than that, you can just wear them once in our room and you don’t have to wear them outside. But just that one time, okay?”

Priscilla continued to cling to Ianna’s legs, afraid that the latter might change her mind. Ianna stared down at Priscilla’s tiny head and the slender arms wrapped around her legs. Priscilla was quivering. She was so desperate it made her look a little pitiful. But that only lasted a moment before Ianna broke out in goosebumps again as she felt a hand climbing up her thighs.

“Wow, you’re so firm. To think a girl could feel like this……but of course. You probably have such a sturdy body because you’re in the Swordsmanship Department. You’re the only woman in the entire department…… You’re so cool…….”

Eventually, Ianna shuddered and shook her head as she said,

“All right. I get it, so stop groping me like that.”

Priscilla had finally gained Ianna’s consent after several weeks of desperate struggle. There was a sunny smile on her face as she overflowed with delight. Ianna continued,

“Though I do have one condition —I will not tolerate any more of your pestering outside of getting measured and wearing your clothes as you asked me to.”

Priscilla hugged Ianna’s thigh’s tightly.

“Kyah! Of course! I understand, and I love you, Little Ianna! Ahh, thank you so much!”

“Can you start by getting off me?”

Priscilla quickly let go of Ianna’s legs and sprang up. Ianna wondered if Priscilla was a girl who was slightly off from the norm as the latter immediately stopped crying and was all smiles and joy. Still, Ianna did not dislike how passionate Priscilla was about her work and how she had clung on persistently because of it. Then, Ianna asked,

“In any event, I know that you’re a fourth-year student, but how old are you actually?”

“I’m twenty-five! What about you, Little Ianna?”

Ianna was rendered speechless. To think that this girl, who had a baby face and acted so childishly, was nine years her elder.

“I’m sixteen.”

“I knew it! Your body might be a little more developed than other girls around your age, Little Ianna, but I had a feeling that you weren’t done maturing just yet! Uwaaaa……. Just think about how beautiful and sexy you’ll be in your mid-twenties……. And think about how powerful and dignified you’ll look in your thirties once you’ve had some more life experience……. I can’t even imagine it.”

Priscilla clasped her hands over her cheeks and squirmed. Ianna could not help but laugh at how absurd the other girl was being. Priscilla stirred up another fuss when she saw Ianna smiling.

“Goodness, you’re so captivating when you smile like that! Please smile more often! Do you know how scared I’ve been of you? I was afraid you might beat me up. No, I was afraid that you might run me through with that sword that’s practically attached to you.”

That was probably because Ianna had included little bit of bloodlust in her tone every time they had spoken before. Scaring the girl had been her intent, but Ianna could not help but wonder if she had gone too far while talking to an ordinary person whenever she saw Priscilla shivering in terror.

“I bet you’ve secretly wanted to hit me before, right?”

“…….”

“You’re like a natural tyrant. Should I say that it felt like I’d have no choice but to offer up my head and die if you ordered it with just a wave of your finger? You weren’t just scary —you were terrifying. That’s why I, who’s famous in the Fashion Department for being crazy, had no choice but to quietly crawl back into bed.”

Then, Ianna resolved to up the ante with her bloodlust when dealing with Priscilla in the future.

Fwip.

“Now, now. More importantly, Little Ianna. Strip.”

Priscilla’s eyes flashed as she extended the measuring tape that she always carried around with her. Ianna, who had never before stepped back no matter what kind of enemy she faced, could not stop herself from pulling back in fright.

“What?”

“I’m telling you to take off that damned piece of cloth that’s covering up your beautiful body right this instant.”

That day, Ianna learned what it was like to have her body dissected even without a blade.

~~*~~

Part 4

Ianna’s History of Roanne and Bahamut class was skipped two more times because of the professor’s personal reasons. The class had only finally managed to meet a total of eight times two months into the semester.

And the class was the absolute worst, if Ianna had to be honest.

“Answer this, Little Ianna.”

The professor posed Ianna a confrontational question while looking like he was addressing an insect. Ianna slowly looked up at him.

‘There’s a limit to how long I can just sit here and smile.’

There had been more people willing to test her directly as of late. She had ignored them at first, but now they seemed to take her for a fool.

Ianna’s lips twisted into a scowl. She tapped her fingers against the desk. The way they had been so amicable to her at first upon learning her surname only to despise her now was utterly ridiculous.

Ianna’s social standing, what department she was in, and her difficult family situation had spread across most of the students in the Institution within a month since she had started attending. Her social rank was so high up that the rumors had spread with extraordinary speed.

Most students who learned of her situation either treated her the same way that Elily did or ignored her outright. There were four main reasons as to why they treated her that way.

First, was because Ianna was the daughter of a mistress. In this day and age, children of mistresses were barely acknowledged in high society, and even if they were, they were usually only regarded as tools to use for the union of noble houses. They were scorned by the nobility and derided by commoners.

Nobles generally only considered their mistresses as attractive commoners who kept them entertained at night, so there wasn’t much the resulting children could do about their situation if they didn’t receive the noble’s favor and protection.

Ianna’s situation was even worse than usual because she was the daughter of the dirty mistress who had wedged her way in between a couple who was famous for their conjugal harmony despite the trends of the society they lived in.

Second, was because of the rumor that she had been illicitly admitted into the Swordsmanship Department. After all, did it make sense that a young girl of just sixteen had been admitted normally into a department which even men who put in their utmost efforts failed to enter? And, though she may be half-blooded, she was also a noble lady who only knew how to hold a fan!

This rumor only spread because corruption existed within even the Institution. After all, even if the system was famous for being impartial, it wasn’t passible that everyone that participated inside it was as well, no? Humanity had always been a mix of the good and the bad since the very beginning, so it was unlikely that everyone involved in the system was always good and fair. Even the Institution had its fair share of cases where people had passed the entrance exams by bribing the proctors with money.

Third, was because she had murdered her own family. There were students in the Institution who had come from the Roberstein lands. They were very familiar with the rumors concerning Ianna, and they were more than happy to spread them throughout the Institution.

It was a fact that she had killed her own grandfather, and she could even be so depraved as to have killed her own mother, who had gone missing. And not only that, but she had inherited the vast wealth belonging her grandfather whom she herself had murdered because she was his only surviving kin.

Her grandfather had been a commoner, there had been extenuating circumstances behind his death, and Ianna had not been punished because the Count and his wife had brushed everything under the rug —but parricide was still evil. And Ianna was truly vile and despicable if the rumors that she had murdered her grandfather for his wealth were true.

And fourth, was because she never responded when people insulted her. She might have been half-blooded, but she was still a noble. No one would have been able to humiliate her to her face if Ianna chose to exercise her noble authority. There would have also been at least some people who would have believed her if she actively asserted that the rumors weren’t true.

But Ianna never grew angry. And neither did she act ashamed or burst into tears. Nor did she affirm or deny the rumors. She had simply ignored everything because she found it a pain to have to deal everything separately, but her actions only caused more controversy because people didn’t fully understand her situation.

‘How many people would believe me even if I denied the rumors?’

Ianna scoffed to herself.

‘And more importantly, he wants me to name the five founding houses?’

Ianna pursed her lips as she carefully poured over the professor’s question.

‘Just how does he plan on belittling me this time?’

Even Ianna’s patience had begun to dry out by now. Still, she kept her discontent off her face and obediently answered what she was asked.

“Queen Roanne de Roanne, the founder of the Kingdom of Roanne, planted the flag of Roanne in Theodore while surrounded by scores of her people. Her closest advisors were the founders of House Tarwitt, House Winifried, House Owen, House Claude……and House Roberstein.”

“Hmph. You may have been born of dirty, baseless blood, but it looks like your head’s still on straight thanks to the blood of the reputable count running in your veins!”

Ianna’s lips twitched when the professor insulted her to her face. Professor Elily had only ever humiliated through stealthy, sarcastic quips until now. He had never before insulted her directly, but today was the day he seemed to have changed his mind.

‘Does he think he can run his mouth as he pleases just because I won’t react?’

People were funny creatures. They would flinch and gauge the situation when they first hurt someone else, but they would delude themselves into thinking that everything was all right if their victim didn’t respond out of a wish to avoid confrontation. Then, they would begin hurting their victims more and more.

Who do you think you are?

Ianna decided to endure it just one more time out of consideration for the fact that she was a student and he was her professor. Still, she knew she would have to stand up for herself if push came to shove.

“Dirty blood? My head’s still on straight? Could you please elaborate on that, Professor?”

“I meant exactly what I said. You may have inherited your mother’s dirty blood, but you’re still smart because you also inherited the count’s. Still, your conduct suggests that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to dirty blood.”

Ianna clenched her fist. Dirty, dirty —this dog was running his mouth now that the dam had broken.

“That’s quite harsh of you. I acknowledge my mother’s wrongs. But that’s not something you should be pointing out in front of her child. And what conduct of mine was so outrageous that I must hear you say that about me?”

She was neither the highest-ranking duchess of Roanne nor the strongest swordswoman of the continent at the moment —just a mere bastard child of a count’s—, so she was willing to let things go if only he apologized. She continued,

“It may be true that my mother has done wrong, but why must I be judged for her actions as well?”

This was the final chance she would give him. And yet, Elily simply sneered at her upon finding another chance to attack her from her words.

“The answer to your question is obvious. Children take after their parents. How did you get in to the Swordsmanship Department, Little Ianna?”

The other students, who had been watching the situation unfold while whispering amongst themselves, stopped dead silent. Everyone was curious about this topic, save for the teaching assistants who had actually witnessed the exams.

“Why are you bringing up the Swordsmanship Department? Don’t change the subject.”

“I haven’t changed the subject. I’m sure that you must be aware of the rumors that suggest you somehow gained special admission into the Institution by flaunting your grandfather’s wealth? After all, you committed parricide and inherited your grandfather’s fortune.”

The other students held their breaths. Elily continued,

“Then, you were admitted into the Swordsmanship Department, which even young men with good physiques are hard-pressed to get in to. Doesn’t the story make sense?”

Elily stroked his chin.

“I seem to recall that there was even a rumor about how you got in by having relations with a teaching assistant instead of using money. So what’s the truth, Miss Ianna? I can only take it as silent affirmation when you keep your silence despite all the rumors circulating about you. So tell me. Blood never lies…… You got into the Swordsmanship Department either by using money or by using your body, yes? All so you could have your way with capable men.”

Elily’s double chin jiggled as he stared at the speechless Ianna. He understood that his reputation was growing as the students nervously focused on his each and every word.

Elily, who had strong ambitions for his future and enjoyed being at the center of attention, laughed to himself. A shiver of delight crawled up his back as he thought about how he was cornering someone from a count’s household.

Children of mistresses were treated as a rank lower than their name, even if they were from a high-ranking house, and daughters of mistresses were usually sent off to marry into a lower-ranking house or became the mistresses of another high-ranking noble.

It was one thing if such children were protected by their households, but Ianna, who was hated by both her household and the people of the Roberstein lands, was practically the same rank as Elily or even a rank lower.

In the Institution they were professor and student, and in society Elily was a baron who had received his peerage because he had been acknowledged by a marquis, who ranked higher than a count, whereas Ianna was simply the lowly daughter of a slutty mistress.

Elily Shamar was able to rebuke Ianna as he pleased because he believed that he was her superior.

He had heard the rumors that said that the nobility detested her.  There was no point in being friendly with her. Therefore, he could treat her as he pleased.

Confidently, Elily added,

“What else could this be but the results of genetics? So, how will you answer?”

Genetics……. Ianna muttered.

How much longer would she have to be tied down because of it? And what was so bad about Lebony’s blood to begin with?

Ianna suddenly began sympathizing with Lebony, whom she had all but forgotten until now. Lebony had committed many wrongs, and it was only right that she was rebuked by those around her, and Ianna, too, loathed her. But she still understood Lebony’s life nonetheless.

She had been absolutely obedient to one particular god, and she had followed her god until the very end.

She had missed all those that had disappeared, and she had been exhausted in her loneliness at being the only survivor of her era —what must she have felt when she finally found a trace of her god in someone?

It was impossible to fully understand another’s pain without walking in their shoes. To be sympathetic by making a haphazard guess was practically hypocrisy.

Therefore, Ianna could not say that she understood Lebony’s pain. But she could comprehend why Lebony had lived the way she had when Ianna recalled the loneliness she had suffered in her earliest years.

“I know my classes are excellent, but I dislike the fact that you are taking them, Miss Ianna. So let me give you a warning. I will give you one every day.”

Then, Elily glanced at Ianna’s sword and said,

“Hmph, I’m sure that sword of yours you always carry around is simply there for decoration.”

It looked like he had taken Ianna’s silence as her admitting to the allegations that she had bribed her way into the Institution. Ianna’s lips curled into a scowl. She had not thought that he would go as far as to insult her sincerity for the sword.

Ianna pursed her lips taut and her red eyes shivered in bloodlust.

‘……You arrogant little…”

She could ignore the whispered mumblings that she happened to catch with her extraordinarily good sense of hearing, but she was not such a fool that she would simply let go an insult made to her face.

Ianna hid away her bloodlust for a moment and smiled.

“I was admitted into the Swordsmanship Department on the basis of my skills. There is no reason why I should have to hear something as preposterous as a claim saying that I had been admitted illicitly.”

“And how do we know you’re telling the truth?”

“If you’re willing to go that far, Professor, then are you suggesting that you actually saw me bribe someone? Whom did I bribe, and how much did I pay them? Or, did I involve myself with someone and coyly ask them to admit me into the Institution?”

Ianna never so much as blushed as she uttered her candid words. The people sitting around her felt a prickling chill as they subconsciously rubbed their arms.

“How should I know that? You probably got rid of any evidence.”

“In that case, do you have any proof that I got rid of any such evidence?”

“That’s…….”

Elily found himself at a loss for words.

There was no way he would have any proof. After all, the rumors had been born on the basis of Ianna’s origins, and those who had spread dirty gossip about her had simply decided amongst themselves that the rumors must surely be true. They were prejudiced, and they had decided that Ianna was guilty even without any proof.

“Why aren’t you answering? Do you mean to suggest that you said all those things about me without any proof whatsoever?”

The mana around Ianna came to life in accordance to her will and was dyed completely in her bloodlust as it began to devour the room. The professor was too far away to feel its effects, but the students around her suddenly found that it was hard to breathe and that their vision was growing dark. They began sneaking away from Ianna like small herbivories trying hard not to catch a predator’s attention while she was in the middle of a hunt. Ianna continued,

“Which must mean that you must have assumed all that due to my background alone…….”

Ianna suddenly grabbed the pen she had been twirling in her fingers. She smiled a lovely smile immediately afterward.

“You’re a hack writer who isn’t worth the respect you receive.”

The words behind her smile were chilling.

The professor was bewildered when Ianna, who had maintained her silence until now, suddenly returned her bloodcurdling words. This was why he stammered out a response that even he thought was silly.

“E-everyone says you did.”

“That’s just a baseless assumption —not proof. I asked you whether you insulted me because you had proof of my bribery.”

The professor wracked his head as he attempted to respond to Ianna’s chilling words. Ultimately, however, he could do nothing but parrot everything that he had already said.

“Your mother…….”

“Don’t drag other people into my affairs. I am the subject of the matter at hand, not my mother. Why are you bringing up my missing mother in the middle of a debate on whether or not I was admitted into the Institution illicitly? Are you sure you’re even a scholar? You don’t even seem to be able to grasp the subject at hand, you keep changing the topic, and you can’t even speak for yourself properly.”

Her smile transformed into a wintry sneer. The professor flew into a rage when his ego was hurt.

“How dare you say that to a professor!”

“You’ve been treating me as a whore and not a student this entire time —what right do you have to call yourself a professor?”

Ianna’s forthright words continued without pause. She attacked Elily’s slipshod logic as if with a sharp blade.

“Are you even qualified to teach? —you keep skipping classes for your personal affairs. Your lectures lack zeal, and even when you do teach you’re bragging about your success in life half the time. You’re supposed to maintain a teacher-student relationship at all times in the classroom, and yet not only do you insult your students to their face, you even ignore them outright. And, what’s with this book of yours?”

Ianna picked up her book and threw it down on the desk.

“The only thing about Bahamut written in this book is low-quality information you can find just about anywhere, and all it does is sing praise for Roanne. Does the kingdom give anyone a peerage just for praising it these days?”

Elily flushed red. This was something he had heard often in academia. It was true that there had been a bit of bribery in the process, but Elily was proud of his book nonetheless and felt like he was being insulted whenever anyone criticized it.

“The class is titled ‘History of Roanne and Bahamut,’ but all you do in class is brag about how you became a baronet because of this book and sing praise about Roanne……. You’re making a fool out of anyone who signed up for this class because they were genuinely interested in learning about the Bahamut Empire. You should’ve just named the class ‘The Brilliant History of Roanne’ instead. Did you name your book and class as such because there was too much competition among scholars who only paint Roanne as the victor of history that you couldn’t distinguish yourself otherwise? Is that how it is?”

Ianna was so forceful in her tirade that Elily could not get in a single word. He wanted to say something in his rage, but he could not refute because everything Ianna said was true. Which was why he flushed red instead and said,

“Miss Ianna, are you insulting me right now?”

“……What?”

Crack.

Ianna snapped her pen in two. The bloodlust seeping around her began wrapping around the professor like an iron maiden.

Elily saw how the pen fell under the desk in two halves and was so frightened that he felt like he was being physically pierced by terror as he choked as he felt the terror wrap around his throat.

Ianna showered Elily with bloodlust like a savage beast growling in the dark as she pushed him into the black abyss of terror.

“Insult you……? Such sophistry. I was simply stating the truth —when did I insult you? Was it not you who insulted me with baseless remarks?”

Elily trembled uncontrollably. He had only ever held a pen before, and he was quivering in fear now that the tyrant of the battlefields, who had been keeping her silence until now, made herself known.

The bloodlust of a murderess who had slaughtered countless people was fierce. Elily instinctively shrank back when Ianna’s fiery red eyes and hair seemed to be dyed in blood.

“I’m sure you’ve insulted me behind my back to anyone who was willing to listen. You probably thought it was okay to run your mouth since I never reacted to any of your sarcasm. Did you think everything would be pardoned just because I was keeping quiet?”

“……Urk.”

“Shut your dirty mouth.”

Elily had huffed because he was finding it difficult to breathe, but he shut his mouth immediately upon Ianna’s order. She continued,

“And, did you really think you could insult me and get away with it even if I had been admitted illicitly?”

The other students watched Ianna with bated breath.

She was terrifying. No wonder they said that it was scariest when someone who was usually quiet got angry. She was as expressionless as usual, but her air about her had done a complete one-eighty. They had used to think that it would be fine even if they pointed fingers at her to laugh in her face, but now they thought even the smallest insult would send their heads flying.

She was a noble.

They had been rendered immobile by Ianna’s high-handed attitude as she dominated the lecture hall, and they could not tear their eyes off her. A certain image was forming in their minds.

It was that of a sharp blade that dictated life or death. That of a swordswoman who cut her enemies down mercilessly with her sword.

“Even if I am scorned by my house and by the nobility, I am still the daughter of a count and Roberstein is still my name. How dare you, a mere upstart plebian baronet, insult me, the daughter of not just any house but a house with a lineage that goes back for centuries?”

“…….”

“Was anything you said today true? If you were simply running your mouth without any proof of your claims, I could sentence you to death for the high crime of slander. Do you really think all nobles are the same?”

All the blood had drained from Elily’s face. The edges of Ianna’s lips curled into a smile.

“I do not intend to make use of my station. But neither will I overlook the insults I have received today. I will have you take responsibility for the things you’ve said.”

“W-what……responsibility?”

“I will make good on my threat if you don’t immediately kneel with your head on the ground and apologize. Or, I will challenge you to a duel to the death. You will not have the right to refuse.”

Elily began spasming.

“A-a duel to the death?”

“You won’t apologize? In that case, you will simply die!”

Bloodlust began sweeping across the room. And it was centered solely on Elily.

A line of drool fell from Elily’s lips. He wanted to run out of the lecture hall at once. And yet, he couldn’t get his trembling body to move.

It felt like Ianna could behead Elily where he stood. He was personally experiencing the fact that Ianna had gotten into the Swordsmanship Department on account of her skills.

A duel, she said. Elily broke out in goosebumps. The girl had already murdered her own grandfather —there was no reason why she couldn’t do the same to him. Elily understood that the things he had said was cause enough for a duel and bent his waist.

“I-I’m……sorry.”

“Is that what I told you to do?”

Elily immediately knelt where he stood and pressed his forehead against the floor.

“I’m sor…….”

“For what?”

“I’m sorry for……insulting you without proof……. For saying things that weren’t true…….”

Elily continued to repeat his apology. Ianna, who had been watching over him coldly, grew tired of his obsequious behavior.

“I’m s-sorry…….”

“Shut your mouth. This is nauseating.”

“…….”

Ianna gripped the edge of the desk as she stood up. Elily yelped in fright and fell on his behind. He thought that she was about to draw the sword that was fastened at her waist.

“W-w-what are you planning to do?! I-I’m warning you…!”

That was Elily’s only defense. Ianna looked down at him and sneered.

“Foolish coward. But what else did I expect? I’m simply leaving because I don’t want to sit in for the rest of your rubbish lecture. And a warning? Did you not give me one just moments ago? I thought you were only going to give me one warning a day, no?”

“T-that’s…….”

Ianna laughed. She almost wanted to tear apart what little self-pride Elily had left like she was pulling off a writhing cockroach’s legs one by one. His professorship was one such leg. His peerage was another, should she choose to go that far.

“I’ll forego the duel, but I will submit a formal complaint to the Institution’s head office. It’s difficult to watch a walking piece of trash teach a class. It’s up to the office to decide how they want to resolve the matter, but I will continue attending this class for as long as you continue pretending to be a professor. I’m rather curious to see you roll around like a pig, after all…….”

Ianna was being as cheeky as cheeky could get, but there was no way that Elily, who had not only had his pride utterly shattered but had also experienced the height of terror, do anything about it while she was standing before him.

Ianna thought she might even applaud him if he had the guts to continue teaching after he had been disgraced so badly, even if Ianna decided to drop the class.

“If you plan to continue as a professor, then you should at least get your lectures straight.”

Still, if he recovered from today’s events and meekly continued to teach more meaningful classes……than Ianna saw no problem with letting him be. She had already seen him kneel before her in apology, and she felt like it would be good to end things here because she didn’t want to cause too big a fuss.

“And also…….”

But there would be no second chances. Ianna wiped the smile off her face and was expressionless once again.

“I won’t let things simply stand should you sprout nonsense at me ever again, so just shut up and do your job, you utter fool with shit for brains.”

“Pfft!”

Someone burst out in laughter once Ianna had finished saying her piece. Ianna turned around. She saw that Rikijen, who had been sitting in the back, was laughing uncontrollably with his head buried against the desk. Ianna packed her books and sword while thinking that he must be rather odd and readily slipped out from the chilly atmosphere of the lecture hall.

“Where are you going?”

Ianna glanced back before facing forward again.

“Why are you following me?”

“How was class supposed to continue in that kind of atmosphere? The professor said that class was over for today and ran out of the room in a hurry after you turned the entire lecture hall into ice and left, Lady Noble.”

“Is that so?”

It was strange to be talking so peacefully with him when they had been trying to kill each other in the past. Still, despite who Rikijen had been in her past, Ianna was beginning to lose interest in him now that she’d seen him in the present a few times.

Rikijen called out from behind her,

“Anyway, where are you headed?”

“I’m going to the library. It’s almost time for midterms.”

“We should go together, since I’m heading there myself.”

Rikijen chuckled as he ran to catch up with her with a stack of books in his arms. He continued,

“You were amazing today, you know? Who would’ve thought that you would resolve things like that……. I was impressed. The professor might have soiled his pants. Oh, did you know that everyone in the lecture hall was trembling with fear? At the very least, none of them will ever ignore you again, my Lady.”

“I don’t mind if they ignore me. I don’t care as long as they don’t insult me to my face like what the professor did today.”

Rikijen shook his head at Ianna’s indifferent behavior.

“You’re such an interesting person. Doesn’t it annoy you? Don’t you want to argue back at them? How do you always keep your silence, my Lady? People will only continue running their mouths as they please if you don’t say anything.”

“There wouldn’t be a point in me denying their claims. They’ll just keep thinking what they want. I would die of fatigue if I cared about each and every one of them.”

“……It’s human nature to not be able to hold back even if you know nothing will come of standing up for yourself.”

“It is fine once you get used to it. You simply become immune.”

“…….”

Rikijen looked at Ianna out of the corner of his eye with a strange light in his eyes before changing the subject.

“Oh, but the professor was quite famous for his lecture, you know?”

“Famous? ……I don’t believe you. It might just be a matter of preference, but the class only ever focused on Roanne and I would hardly say it was a good thing.”

Rikijen listened to Ianna quietly before he replied,

“Well, there are a lot of people who have pride in their homeland. Not even the Bahamut Empire can stand up to us. We’re citizens of such an amazing kingdom……people tend to get carried away in their pride. The Kingdom of Roanne quickly became more conservative after the war with the Bahamut Empire ended. Professor Elily’s class is the perfect fit for the conservatives. And for those who want to get ahead in life.”

“……Is that so?”

“But I’m more inclined to agree with you, my Lady. I wanted to take a class that takes a neutral and impartial look at Roanne and Bahamut too. I was a little disappointed when the class was only filled with baseless praise for Roanne and vulgar censure of Bahamut. But I couldn’t simply walk out of class like you did, my Lady, since I’m taking the class for my major.”

“Even I wouldn’t have gone this far if the professor simply taught his class like he was supposed to.”

“Still……I think that there’s a ten out of ten chance that you’ll fail out of class after five warnings, my Lady. You’re planning to let things go as long as the professor stops sprouting nonsense, aren’t you?”

Rikijen, being as intelligent as ever, had seen through her behavior. Ianna nodded. Rikijen continued,

“That professor has too much on the line to quit being a teacher here. He knows a lot of people at the head office, too, so it’s highly likely that everything will just get hushed up even if you submit a formal complaint, my Lady.”

“…….”

“A moment of fear is only that —it only lasts but for a moment. The professor will forget his fear if you start quietly attending class again and, though he might not insult you to your face anymore, it’s likely that he’ll give you enough warnings to make you fail out of class.”

‘Would he really dare?’

Ianna quietly doubted Rikijen’s predictions.

She had only focused her bloodlust at Elily. The others had been afraid just to look on at her wrath, but Elily had experienced her bloodlust head on. She had truly lashed out at him with the intent to kill, so his terror must have been beyond all imagination. Would he really dare given a warning to someone who had taught him that terror? That was preposterous.

It wasn’t something that could easily be explained to those who hadn’t experienced it directly. And so, Ianna decided to simply gloss over the topic when she replied to Rikijen.

“The class is a liberal arts elective for me, so I don’t care even if I fail. Besides, I don’t do anything to merit a warning in the first place.”

“Who could say……? He might decide to nitpick on you and give you a warning for even the smallest mistakes.”

“It’s one thing if I deserved the warning, but I will not tolerate receiving a warning for no reason other than pure emotion. I suppose I’ll have to submit a complaint to the disciplinary committee if I can’t accept the reason behind the warning. The Institution’s guidebook suggests that such things have happened in the past.”

“I’m sure they have. But what if the warning isn’t withdrawn even then?”

“Then I will go directly to the dean.”

“And if even that doesn’t work?”

“I doubt that things would even get that far, considering what the Institution is famous for, but I suppose I’ll have no choice but to take matters into my own hands and punish him myself at that point. I do not forgive those who dare to challenge me to my face.”

“Punish him……?”

“There are many ways to go about it, but the most efficient……”

Rikijen observed how Ianna’s hand moved to her sword before she knew what she was doing. He quickly understood what she was thinking.

“Wow…….”

Rikijen looked both impressed and astonished as the same time. He continued,

“I’m really starting to revise by opinion of you. You really are quite different from the norm.”

Ianna smirked.

“I don’t really think your opinion of me really matters all that much to me, no?”

“What’s that? Look here, my Lady. Wait, now that I think about it —you aren’t actually a Lady, are you? I should be calling you Miss Noble!”

“I’m the same age as you. So it’s quite awkward regardless of whether you call me Lady or Miss. Just call me by my name if you’ve decided to stop being sarcastic about my noble status.”

“In any case —do you even know how high my standards are?”

“All right. I get that you have high standards, so why don’t you just take care of your books?”

Rikijen noticed that the books in the middle of his stack had started becoming askew and quickly straightened up and readjusted his books. Once book, however, had lost its equilibrium and continued to slide back down. Rikijen was hard-pressed to find his balance because he was holding so many heavy books and his arms had starting hurting, so he complained,

“Hey, can’t you see I’m having trouble here? You’re a member of the amazing Swordsmanship Department, so can’t you at least offer to help me?”

“Help you? You’re not in danger, and neither did you ask me for assistance, so why should I volunteer to help you?”

“……Huh,”

Rikijen said rather dumbly. He continued,

“No one lives in the world alone. We all live by helping each other out. It’s perfectly normal to help someone even if they didn’t specifically ask you to. That being said, you’re rather unsociable, aren’t you, Lady Ianna? How do you plan on surviving in this ruthless world like that?”

Ianna shrugged.

“I’ve surviving just fine. And besides, it’s your fault for embarking on a task that you couldn’t even be responsible for to begin with. You’re the one who brought so many books with you in the first place, so you should be the one responsible for carrying them around. And, how are you planning to serve your lovely wife in the future when you, a man, can’t even manage to carry a few books? You’re quite the lousy man if you can’t even do that much. Just ask for help if you’re really having that much trouble.”

“……Haven’t you ever heard of embarrassment? How could you even say that? Ugh, you know what? —whatever. Who would ask you for help after hearing that?”

Rikijen huffed as he adjusted his books. However, the book from earlier continued to slip down. Rikijen was so focused on it that his other books began tumbling down as well.

Thwack.

“Well, I suppose I can spare you a hand before everything comes crashing down on you.”

Ianna grabbed the books and placed them back in Rikijen’s arms as she helped him regain his balance.

“…….”

Rikijen simply stood there and stared blankly as Ianna walked ahead without sparing him even a second glance after helping him get his books back together. Then, he quickly caught back up to her. As soon as he did, he said,

“You’re quite the intriguing noble, Lady Ianna.”

“You keep saying things like that —stop treating me like I’m some kind of rare animal.”

“Chuckle.”

Their conversation ended with Rikijen’s laughter. They walked through the quiet hallways until they finally reached the library. In the silence, Rikijen looked as entertained as someone who had finally found something of interest in the midst of tedium.

~~*~~

Part 5

“I think I’ve figured out who Taro’s lump of ash is.”

“What?”

Their group turned to Ianna when she spoke up while Taro was on a rant again like an angry bear about how much of a little shit his roommate was during lunchtime. Ianna pushed a piece of meat into her mouth with her fork.

“Rikijen. That’s his name, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. How’d you find out?”

“He takes History and Roanne and Bahamut with me, probably because he’s in the Political Science Department. I had a hunch because he was similar to what Taro described……and I was right.”

Slaaam!

Taro pummeled the table with his fist. The four trays on the table lifted up and sent food flying everywhere. But the group was of comprised of Swordsmanship Department students, so they simply grabbed their trays and caught their food before it fell.

It was the students who had been watching them, rather, who dropped their food upon having witnessed the miraculous scene.

“Sir Taro…”

Herrace looked down at the few pieces of salad that had fallen on his pants —they had been too close for him to catch with his tray— and sighed. Eiji pulled his tray closer as he startled and yelled,

“Hey, dumbass! What the hell?!”

“Ugh. Sorry. I just get so mad when I hear the bastard’s name I can’t help it. So, what’s yer take on the bastard, Lil’ Ianna?”

“I knew it.”

Ianna was savoring the taste of her meat as she held her tray up with her left hand and rolled up pasta with her fork with her right. She continued,

“He’s quite eloquent —I can see why you find him difficult. After all, you can’t be violent with him.”

“You’re right. Sir Taro has never won an argument against Little Rikijen yet. Even I’m a little scared of him. He glares at me something fierce too. Even Sir Eiji avoids him like the plague.”

“Hmph, I don’t do that ‘cause I’m afraid of him —I avoid him because I just don’t want to deal with him.”

Ianna smirked.

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“No, Little Ianna, it’s not. Disliking something isn’t quite the same as being afraid of it.”

“Arrrgh, Imma go crazy ‘cause it pisses me off just thinkin’ about the bastard. I’m just gonna finish my food. Hey, but ain’t this soup kinda close to that lump of ash in color?”

Then, Taro grabbed his spoon and began cleaning away his meal like he was at war with it. It was like his soup had suddenly become Rikijen all of a sudden. The rest of the group simply chose to ignore his antics.

Ianna didn’t understand.

“Why doesn’t he just change rooms if his roommate stresses him out so much? Rikijen’s something else, so I’m sure Taro has a hard time dealing with him.”

“Well, Sir Taro’s pretty prideful too. He says that he’ll never change rooms unless Little Rikijen moves out first. And, despite what he says, they’ve been rooming together for two months now and they even talk to each other normally sometimes —I guess they just have a love-hate relationship going on. It always ends with Sir Taro clouting Little Rikijen on the head with his knuckles, though.”

“……How can you say that there’s any love in their relationship? That little Rikijen brat looked like he’d die from the pain.”

“Really? It seemed to me that they got along pretty well despite the squabbling. Anyway…”

Herrace saw how Ianna’s hand wasn’t shaking as she held up her tray and smiled in relief.

“It looks like your arm really did heal. I was worried because you took up your sword and started hitting away at the dummies as soon as you took your bandages off, but I’m glad my worries were unfounded.”

Ianna put her tray back down on the now-stable table at Herrace’s kind words and waved her left hand.

“It’s completely back to normal. Though, the fact that it’s healed up so quickly poses its own problems. People are busy running their damned mouths because my once-immobile arm is suddenly better again.”

“It’d be nice if they could see you for who you really are, Little Ianna.”

“I don’t care even if they don’t.”

Herrace sighed.

“I still think it’s a shame, though. People are misunderstanding you solely on the basis of prejudice……. They wouldn’t be able to run their mouths like that if you got mad at them even just once…”

“It’d only tire me out if I had to respond to every last one of them.”

“But I heard you caused a scene yesterday? Rumor says that you made a professor kneel,”

Eiji asked, intrigued. Herrace opened his eyes wide and stared at her. Ianna clicked her tongue at how quickly the rumors had spread.

“The professor insulted me to my face. I can tolerate it when people whisper behind my back, but not when they slander me to my face. He was more than happy to shut his mouth when I refuted him at every turn with the intent to kill.”

Eiji shuddered.

“……A normal person had to suffer Little Ianna’s bloodlust…… That professor didn’t burst into tears?”

“I backed off before I pressed too far. In any event, it’s far more effective to make one big example instead of responded to every little thing. I’m sure things will change in a month after the midterms and the swordsmanship competition.”

Eiji stabbed at his beans with his fork.

“You’re right. The competition’s separated by year, so it’ll be a good chance for you to show off your skills since the upperclassmen won’t be there.”

Ianna rested her chin in her hands.

“I wouldn’t have minded even if they were. It sounds like it would’ve been more fun that way.”

“That’s too bad. But it’s also nice to be able to take things easy.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

But just as they were spending their lunchtime normally with peaceful joy and laughter.

“……Whoa, if it isn’t Herrace?”

A man’s unfamiliar but sarcastic voice interrupted them. Herrace, who had been looking happy that Ianna’s arm had healed, suddenly stiffened up like a rabbit who had encountered a predator.

Taro hadn’t noticed because he was too busy stuffing his face, but Ianna and Eiji, who had noticed Herrace’s strange behavior, looked past their friend and toward the stranger.

Standing next to their table was a young man with a sturdy build. He had a rather sharp and prominent air about him, and, judging by how the girls clamored and blushed upon seeing him, they figured that he must be rather popular.

But then they noticed that he looked a little like Herrace upon a closer inspection. He had the same brownish hair and eyes and Herrace, though his colors were far darker.

The man narrowed his eyes and laughed coldly.

“I see you’re making the same dumb face as always.”

“Brother Travis,”

Herrace called out to the man with a heavy voice. Ianna and Eiji shared a glance and Eiji nodded.

The man, Travis, was Herrace’s older half-brother. Herrace loosened the taut muscles around his mouth before smiling kindly at his brother.

“It’s been a while, Brother. I was rather lonely that you didn’t come see me at my induction ceremony. Were you too busy to come?”

“Do I have some kind of obligation to go see your induction ceremony?”

Herrace’s countenance was colored by hurt.

“……Not an obligation, no, but I’m still your younger brother even if you hate me.”

“Oh?”

Travis furrowed his brows like he was questing the absurdity of it all to pour salt on Herrace’s wounds. He continued,

“I don’t quite seem to remember having deadweight like you for a brother.”

The blood drained from Herrace’s face. Eiji gripped his fork tighter, and Taro looked up from his tray.

“Hmm.”

Ianna watched over the situation while tapping her spoon against her tray.

“Deadweight?”

Taro swallowed his food and asked back in malcontent. Travis’ contempt, which had only been directed to Herrace until then, was pointed to Taro. Taro glared back at Travis while chewing on a piece of meat like he was about to pick a fight. Taro continued,

“What kinda bullshit is that? Makes a guy feel awful just listenin’ to ya.”

“You must be Little Taro, the top of your year. It looks like you’ve gotten friendly with this piece of deadweight here, but you should do yourself a favor and distance yourself from him because he’s less than worthless.”

“I was askin’ what ya meant by ‘deadweight’.”

“I meant that this wuss over here can’t use mana…….”

“Brother!”

Herrace shouted to stop Travis from finishing his sentence. He continued,

“Please stop this!”

Herrace did not want Taro or Eiji to learn about his fatal flaw. Everyone who learned of his illness pitied him. Ianna didn’t, but she was a special case.

He didn’t want Taro or Eiji, who treated him like he was their healthy younger brother, to learn of his illness. He did not want to be pitied by his cool older brother figures. Which was why he wanted to physically block Travis’ mouth before the latter openly prattled on about his illness like it was nothing.

Herrace put down his spoon with a shaking hand.

“I’m saying this again, but I have no intentions of succeeding the household. I’ve told Father the same multiple times now. So why must you continue to be so hostile toward me and view me with such contempt?”

“Tsk tsk. You still don’t get it? I hate you more because of how utterly stupid you are.”

Herrace continued to one-sidedly be attacked verbally by the brother. Travis continued,

“I hear that you placed in the middle ranks during the new students’ swordsmanship competition? That’s pretty amazing, considering that you’re nothing but deadweight. But what you do think will happen later?”

Travis pressed down at Herrace’s wheat-colored hair and ruffled it.

“You’re a deadweight swordsman who can’t even use mana.”

Travis’ ridicule only continued.

“Herrace, deadweight like you will only be weeded out through natural selection eventually no matter how hard you try. It’s obvious how you’ll end up, so why do you keep trying to wield the sword? Do you even realize how pathetic you seem? Don’t sully the Bendham name.”

“Whoa, hey.”

Taro slammed his fist down on the table again. Ianna and Eiji were able to hold their trays still in time, but Herrace, who was still ashen-faced, was not. Soup poured out from his tray and food flew out of it and made a mess.

Herrace was unable to speak, so Taro menacingly said in his stead,

“Are ya fuckin’ done?”

Herrace returned to his senses upon feeling the bloodcurdling tension in the air and grabbed onto Taro’s arm.

“S-Sir Taro. It’s fine.”

“Herrace! Just challenge him to a match already. Are ya holdin’ back ‘cause he’s yer brother? I’d have gotten him good already if it was me!”

Herrace pursed his lips before hanging his head down low.

“……I can’t.”

“What’s that?”

“My brother Travis is a much better swordsman than I. He can use mana, too. How am I supposed to fight someone like him? And, well, you heard what he said before……hehe.”

Herrace made a strange face that looked like something caught in between laughter and tears. He opened his quivering lips as he dug further still into his own wounds.

“I can’t control mana.”

“So what, ya coward?!”

Taro beat at his chest as though he was suffocating.

“I can’t use mana yet either! Forget about the risks and just take a go at him! Ya won’t know if ya’ll win or lose until ya try!”

“Little Taro. Stop interfering. This is a Bendham matter.”

Taro’s ferocious glare fell squarely on Travis. Travis continued,

“Besides, that little brat will never beat me. But do continue if you want to make Herrace more pathetic than he already is.”

Tears ultimately began welling up in Herrace’s eyes. A nasty smile hung on Travis’ lips when he noticed.

“Are you crying? That’s so unsightly. You held your head up so high when people used to call you a genius —are you mad? Are you miserable?”

“Why ya lil’……!”

Just as Taro finally lost it and was about to grab Travis by the collar in wrath. Ianna quietly put down her tray and said,

“Herrace is much stronger than you seem to think he is, so your worries are rather misplaced.”

Taro and Travis’ bloodthirsty eyes turned to Ianna. Ianna continued drinking her soup as though nothing was wrong. She continued,

“I mean, Herrace looks like he had much more talent than you do in my eyes.”

Travis narrowed his eyes.

“Are you talking to me right now, Lady? I’m sure you don’t know because you’re a new student, but I’m the top third-year student in the Swordsmanship Department.”

“You may be stronger than him now, but Herrace has significantly more untapped potential than you do.”

“Hah, I don’t know what you think you possibly know……wait, well look who it is.”

Travis saw the sword Ianna had equipped at her waist, and then he took in her crimson colors. He placed his hand at his waist in an exaggerated manner once he had realized who she was and laughed.

“If it isn’t the famous Little Ianna Roberstein?”

Eiji, who had been quietly watching the situation unfold from the sidelines, narrowed his eyes. Ianna put down her spoon.

“What do you mean by ‘famous’?”

“Shouldn’t you already know what I mean? Not only are you well-known in high society, but you’re pretty famous here at the Institution too, Little Ianna. Especially within the Swordsmanship Department.”

“And what do you mean by that?”

Travis held a hand up to his mouth as he snickered.

“I mean like how Department Head Ryan marked up your exam scored because you engaged in, ah, relations, with him. Or like how the Department Head’s lending his personal training room to a mere first-year wench like you. Haha. Just one rotten apple spoils the whole barrel, as they say…….”

The argument suddenly evolved from Travis’ one-sided insulting of Herrace to a war of nerves between the former and Ianna.

“Hah!”

Ianna laughed sharply with her dainty lips. Then, she gripped the table to stand up.

“Are you using empty rumors to insult both the Department Head and me right now?”

“Are you sure they’re just empty rumors?”

“You aren’t even worth responding to, I see. It’s unsightly, the way you’re just brimming in shame because of your inferiority complex toward Herrace. Dirty bastard.”

“……Inferiority complex? Shame? Dirty?”

Travis scoffed at how absurd he found Ianna’s words. Ianna chillingly continued,

“I was trying to keep things civil, but I suppose it’s not enough for you. That egotistical look on your face after humiliating Herrace was ridiculous. You piece of human trash.”

Travis’ face warped something terrible.

“Are you done?”

“Am I done? And what are you going to do if I’m not? Herrace will be a better swordsman than you one day, so why don’t you quit worrying about him and worry about your own pathetic excuse of a life for a change?”

Herrace, who had been listening in to the entire exchange, looked to Ianna in alarm as Travis was taken aback.

“I’ve had enough of this. What right do you, someone who entered the Institution illicitly, have to say that to me?”

“Enough of your nonsense —did you say your name was Travis? Why don’t we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“There’s a swordsmanship competition next month. Keep winning until you face me. If you happen to beat me and win…….”

The edges of Ianna’s eyes curled into a smile. She continued,

“I’ll leave the Swordsmanship Department. I’ll acknowledge that I don’t have the right to attend and that my skills are worthless if I can’t even beat the likes of you and I’ll drop out. I’ll even bow my head and apologize for everything I’ve said to you just now.”

“Oh?”

Eiji, Taro, and Herrace all looked to Ianna in shock.

Travis, who had raised an eyebrow when she had said “the likes of you” clapped in sarcastic and amused applause.

“It’s only natural that I, who had never lost a swordsmanship competition, will advance to the finals —but what are you so self-confident about? Well, whatever. And what do you want from me if I lose?”

Ianna smirked.

“From you? Nothing. You’ll just be crawling at my feet in disgrace in front of everyone else. I’ll trample over you and make you miserable.”

“Look at you, running your mouth. Just be prepared to leave the Swordsmanship Department a month from now.”

Silence fell upon the table after Travis had sneered at Ianna with twitching lips and left. Taro tapped his spoon against his bowl.

“Hey, what’d you go and say all that for? What’cha gonna do if something happens?”

“I will win.”

Ianna crossed her hands and smiled. She continued,

“There will be no other outcome.”

Eiji and Taro sighed when Ianna was calm and didn’t show a shred of worry. Then, they smirked and pat her gently on the shoulders.

“Be careful with your arm, okay?”

“Ya should just do what ya did during our fifth exams.”

Herrace, however, was still just as blue in the face as he had been earlier.

“L-Little Ianna…….”

“Herrace. Damn, are ya sure he’s really yer brother? He was a whole ‘nother level of asshole.”

“He’s my half-brother. My mother was Father’s legal wife, and my brother is the son of a mistress Father took in because my mother was without a child for so long. And he’s also the one who will be continuing the Bendham name. He’s only a year older than me, but he’s amazing and he got into the Swordsmanship Department at the top of his year when he was only sixteen. Little Ianna……why did you make a bet like that with him?”

The tears welling in Herrace’s eyes eventually began dripping down.

“My brother is truly strong. So much so that even the royal family continues to lobby my father to make my brother the king’s personal knight.”

“Between him and me, who do you think will win?”

Herrace was unable to answer her question.

Travis had always stood before his ruined self and pushed him deeper into the pit of despair. The shadow he cast over Herrace was vast. He could not say that Ianna would defeat Travis with any certainty even after knowing how skilled she was.

Herrace’s face flushed red.

“I’m sorry, Little Ianna. I can’t say for certain that you’ll win.”

“Well, I suppose it’s natural for you to think that way.”

Ianna ignored his plight and immediately proceeded to her next question.

“Then let me change the question. Is he someone whom you’ll never be able to surpass?”

“Yes,”

Herrace replied feebly. He rubbed at his moistened face with his hands. Travis was far ahead of him. He had only ever seen his brother’s back for a while now, but he could not catch up because of his illness. He wondered if he would never catch up for the rest of eternity.

Ianna watched as resignation fell over Herrace and muttered,

“You coward.”

“…….”

“L-Little Ianna…”

Eiji called out to Ianna in alarm at the wintry tone of her voice. Herrace was unable to look up at her. She continued,

“You told me before that you still had the greed of a swordsman. So why are you simply letting Travis humiliate you? Why do you abase yourself and find yourself unable to refute anything he says?”

Herrace looked up at her next words, startled. He was overcome by an unbearable embarrassment when he met with her unwavering gaze looking back at him.

“I don’t know what it is that you’re trying to accomplish with the sword —whether your goal is to get stronger or to emerge victorious against another……but you should only accept your complete defeat and give up after you’ve tried everything you possibly could but still couldn’t manage to reach your goal even after that. That is the attitude you should have if you want to get stronger.”

In a quieter tone, Ianna continued,

“You haven’t given up on the sword. So it’s not time for you to despair yet. Despair is something you should let yourself feel only after you’ve given up. If you truly have a swordsman’s greed, then you should never put yourself down. Trust yourself and carry on. Tell your half-brother to focus on his own path the next time he tries to belittle you because you’re doing just fine. Be optimistic in your faith that you can beat him one day if you keep trying and keep walking forward.”

“Truer words have never been said!”

Eiji nodded deeply and broke out in applause. Tears began forming in Herrace’s eyes anew.

“But I……I’ll never be able to control mana for as long as I live. I, I, I’ve already tried everything that I could think of.”

“You were already pessimistic about the future to begin with, so what else did you expect? Are you sure you’ve tried everything you could? Did you truly give it your all? You’re just a loser if you give up without giving it everything you’ve got.”

Ianna’s words, though blunt, conveyed her heart with candor. Herrace clenched his hands tight beneath the table. His palms were growing sweaty. Ianna continued,

“And don’t be so fixated on mana. Mana is important, but the things you need first and foremost are a healthy body and a tenacious mind. You won’t accomplish anything without them. And they’re the first things you need to work on. You’re overlooking them because you’re so fixated on mana. From what I can tell……your talent is amazing, Herrace. So don’t worry about anything else just because of your unfortunate illness.”

Ianna gathered her breath after giving her long speech and nonchalantly picked up her knife to begin working at her meat again.

Eiji and Taro looked impressed, whereas Herrace stared back at her in mute amazement. Ianna savored the flavor of lamb as she chewed while ignoring their looks. Then, she said,

“And besides, Travis is basically just a lump of inferiority and shame.”

“You said that earlier too, but why would my brother feel that way?”

Herrace asked, unable to comprehend.

“Answer me this first. When did your house learn that you couldn’t control mana?”

Herrace stole a glimpse at Eiji and Taro at Ianna’s outspoken question. They looked back at him blankly as though they didn’t know why he was being cautious.

“When I was ten.”

“I see. So it was during his tender years when he was still just an emotional child. Let me tell you a story that I read in a book once.”

“Oh?”

“Once upon a time, there was a man of extraordinary skill who was always number one. There was also a man who was number two and was always overshadowed by the first man. No one paid any attention to man number two because there was someone who was always better than him, and man number two was always filled with envy and worked his hardest to beat man number one someday. But then, one day, man number one lost both his arms in an accident and came crashing down from his pedestal on his own. The man who was always number two suddenly became number one and became the center of everyone’s attention. How do you think the man who used to be number two felt what that happened?”

Taro huffed and sounded disgruntled.

“I think he’d prob’ly be pissed? I’d have wanted to beat the guy who was number one with my own hands if I was him, so what’s a guy supposed to do if my rival trips up on his own? That’d mean that I’d never get to beat him.”

“I suppose…”

Eiji tilted his head to the side. He continued,

“I wonder, though. Wouldn’t he just be happy? The guy who was standing in his way went ahead and self-destructed.”

“Indeed.”

Herrace stiffened up when he realized why Ianna had told him this story. Ianna looked to Herrace and said,

“Travis is man number two……. He’s a year older than you, but he’s the son of a mistress. You were born and you stole the limelight from him before he was old enough for your household to pay him any attention. And on top of that, you showed a lot of promise when you were young, right? He lived out his tender childhood years in your shadow, and he was probably filled with envy the entire time.”

“…….”

“If you were in his shoes, you would have probably ground your teeth together whenever you saw him. And you would’ve thought about wanting to drag him off his pedestal with your own hands. Travis probably did. But then you self-destructed before he ever got the chance.”

Ianna shrugged. She continued,

“Travis was probably pretty angry that he was never able to defeat you personally. But then, House Bendham probably began focusing its attention on Travis, who had been neglected until then, right? Well……I suppose that’s only obvious. He was probably angry, but there was probably a part of him that was really happy for it too. The lonely are always thirsty for attention, after all.”

“…….”

“But you never gave up, and you continue to train in the art of the sword to this day. And you’re showing results with just your swordsmanship alone. I can’t be too certain, but if I were to take a guess at how Travis must feel, but he probably remembers how he always lagged behind you when the two of you were younger, and he’s probably anxious that he might lose everything that he’s only just managed to gain. He’s standing far ahead of you now, but he’s afraid that he might lag behind you again one day. Should I say that his heart must be in a right mess about now?”

Eiji voiced his concurrence and nodded.

“You have a point. But what made you think of that?”

“Intuition.”

She was all too familiar with the feeling, so she had been able to spot it at once. Ianna continued,

“Well, it’s still just my guess —it’s still possible that he just hates Herrace for no real reason. There’s always the possibility that he might simply have a personality disorder.”

Ianna smirked when she saw how Herrace’s pupils wavered.

“That’s absurd…….”

Thwaaaaack!

“Ack!”

Ianna audibly flicked Herrace on the forehead with incredible force as he mumbled to himself with unfocused eyes. Herrace grabbed his forehead, which he thought was about to explode, and buried his head against the table. It hurt so much he was tearing up again.

“O-ouch……what……?”

“That’s your punishment for looking down on me earlier.”

Ianna beamed as she folded her hands. She continued,

“I will win against him. And I’m rather put out to hear that you think that I was being absurd. I only say what I think out loud if I’m sure of it to some degree.”

“Wow, that overflowing confidence of yours really is something else.”

Eiji applauded merrily from the sidelines.

“I was only planning to display just enough skill to quash the rumors, but now I’ve changed my mind. I’m going to trample over that arrogant bastard until I’m satisfied.”

“Whoa! I wanna piece of him too! I’ll take that bastard down before he even gets to ya, Lil’ Ianna!”

Taro was excited and made a fist, but Ianna shook her head no.

“No, just withdraw from the match should you face him.”

“What?”

“He called himself the ace of the third-years. That makes him the perfect sacrifice to quell all the rumors about me with. I’m going to beat him half to death, so he’ll probably have to crawl out of the arena like a fool once our match is over.”

“Da—yum. Yer so confident it’s so cool!”

Things were getting rowdy.

“…….”

Herrace let go of his throbbing forehead and looked up a little from the table. There was a confident smile lingering on Ianna’s lips.

Ianna……you…….

Herrace looked back at her with wavering eyes.

The situation exploded not too long after that.

It happened at the end of April, on the day the Swordsmanship Department first-year students were scheduled to assemble.

There were eighty students in each year. Each year was then divided into two groups, and people generally only made friends within their respective groups because they hardly ever had the chance to meet the students in the other group even if they were part of the same department.

Which was why the entire department got together at the end of every month so students could get to know each other, and first-years were given the chance to practice for the swordsmanship competition with their groups while their professors were watching.

Though, in truth, the above was essentially just a pretext for a battle of pride between the professors in charge of each respective group.

“Hello, Little Ianna.”

“Hello, Mr. Flayn.”

“Hello! I see you’re working hard today too!”

There were a few students who reached out to Ianna first and joked around with her as she stood with Eiji, Herrace, and Taro. They were all students from the same group as them.

It had already been two months since they had been admitted into the Institution. Two months was long enough to get an idea of what a person was like even if you were only observing them. And you would grow attached to them before you knew it if you spent every day with them. Which was why the students of group 1, which Ianna was a member of, acknowledged her to some extent.

Ianna trained harder than any other. She completed the trainings the professors assigned them before any other, and she returned to her personal training before any other when everyone else was still resting.

The students of group 1 chased after her because they didn’t want to lag behind a girl, but they were only made to realize that she was no ordinary person. There had been countless people who had given up after trying to follow along with her training regimen because it was too hard for them.

Ianna’s stamina and perseverance, better than any male student’s, was so great that the students in group 1 could not help but acknowledge how amazing she was as they even wondered if she might actually just be a crossdressing man. She also had a positive influence on them in that they saw how hard she worked and worked harder because they couldn’t let themselves work less than a woman.

Moreover, Herrace and Eiji had spread around the fact that Ianna had hit the dummy all 9999 times during the exams, and Taro, the current top of their year, convincingly said that, “Lil’ Ianna was like a tigress during the fifth exam. Yer done for once she gets ya. She’ll crush ya completely,” and made many students see her in a different light.

They had never seen a woman like Ianna before. If the women they normally encountered were delicate deer, then Ianna was a nimble jaguar.

Ridiculously enough, some students in group 1 decided that, just like how good guys were said to finish last, girls who were fierce and cold stoked their desire for conquest more than did meek and kind girls who were easy to win over.

Of course, Ianna was stunning in appearance as well. Her face became more attractive the more you saw her, and her body was something to die for. She exuded two kinds of charm —in that she was a proud noble cat when she was simply sitting around docile, and a ferocious tiger when she wielded her sword.

Still, though it probably wasn’t her intention, Ianna had become as an aloof flower of ice on top of a steep cliff as she lived amongst the men.

Ianna remained blissfully unaware, but Eiji and Taro were all smiles and joy and Herrace nodded as though all was as it should be as Ianna’s reputation went up while she grew closer to her other classmates. Ianna’s expression had soured when she had learned of this only after the fact.

“Wow, would you take a look at that?”

They had stared whispering amongst themselves with a wicked glean in their eyes as soon as Ianna walked into the Swordsmanship Department building. The students in group 1, who had grown closer to Ianna to some extent during the past two months, looked to them in dissatisfaction.

A certain group of men had decided that today was the day.

They walked up to Ianna, who was surrounded by students from group 1. Eiji spotted them first and unhappily muttered,

“Oh, those assholes —there are some pretty nasty rumors going around about them. Why’re they coming here?”

Ianna, who had been toying her sword, looked up and over at the four men that Eiji had pointed out. They were whispering to each other as they made their way over, but, judging by their clean appearance, they didn’t quite seem like the type of people that others would be spreading nasty rumors about.

“Why the nasty rumors?”

“They’re the type of guys who have a new girl with them practically every week. They’re more than a few girls they’ve reduced to tears because they talked her into sleeping with them only to break up the morning after. Those bastards aren’t even that special……. And the thing is…”

Eiji gestured Ianna to come closer, so she carefully leaned in toward him. He continued,

“They’ve even forced some girls into sleeping with them —all four of them at once…….”

Ianna furrowed her brow as she heard the vile things Eiji was telling her.

“And the Institution allows bastards like them to attend?”

“The Institution accepts students regardless of how good or bad a person they are. And there’s more —those bastards are from some pretty rich families. They hush things up with money. I almost wanted to vomit when I heard what they started doing after becoming sworn brothers. They think they can get away with anything just because they happen to be good-looking. Jeez.”

“……They’re considered good-looking?”

A question mark seemed to pop over Eiji’s head when Ianna posed her question.

“Well, they are, aren’t they? They act worse than rabid dogs, though.”

Ianna shrugged.

“I couldn’t say. They just seem so-so to me.”

“Whoa there, Little Ianna. I guess you just have high standards? What was your first impression of them, then?”

“That they have clean appearances.”

Pfft—Eiji laughed.

“Man, you really are something special.”

“Well, if they’re the standard for good-looking, wouldn’t that mean that you, Herrace, and Taro are good-looking too?”

As Ianna had pointed out, Eiji and Herrace received their fair share of compliments regarding their looks, and Taro, too, was said to be rather charming, perhaps because his accent served to dampen his otherwise violent looks.

“Hmmm? Aren’t they better-looking than us though?”

“I don’t really see the difference. In any event, I don’t feel anything when I look at you guys, so what reason would I possibly have for feeling any different while looking at them?”

Eiji laughed his head off.

‘Good-looking…….’

Of course, it wasn’t that Ianna had never thought that a man was attractive before. It was none other than Arhad.

Arhad had been famous for being one of the most handsome men on the continent. His black hair seemed to forbid any light from escaping it, and his golden eyes were piercing. He was tall enough to look down upon most other men, had a good layer of muscle on him that made him nimble, and he had power, wealth, and authority —he was the best in every aspect. He had been the most distinguished man in the world.

Ianna had known him and his virile looks for a long time, and she had fought him as they locked eyes from up close. She had thought he was handsome, but that was all. He had only ever been an enemy.

“How do you do, Little Ianna?”

“Hello.”

Ianna decided to reply for now when the men greeted her.

“Would you like to eat with us once the assembly’s over? We’d like to be friends with you, Little Ianna. It’s our treat.”

“I must decline. I’ve already made plans to eat with my friends.”

Still, she did not intend to follow along with their offer.

The men were a little surprised when Ianna refused them so decidedly. They had never met a girl who had refused them so quickly when they offered to take her out. Eiji looked smug as he watched from the sidelines.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a good thing to only hang around the same group of friends. What about making some new friends for a change?”

“I dislike making fake friends whom I have no reason to even see on a regular basis. And so, I must decline.”

The men from group 1 cackled amongst themselves when Ianna’s response was so calm that the four men must have found it humiliating. Their visages were dyed in the color of shame, and the man at the very back of their group muttered loudly on purpose.

“Jeez, look at her trying to play all prude when she’s already slept around plenty.”

Ianna stopped in her tracks as she was about to turn away from them.

“Excuse me?”

“What’s there to excuse? I’m just saying that you’ve already been sleeping around.”

The students in group 1 stiffened up at the man’s thoughtless remarks. His friend, who had been standing next to him, walked up to the front of the group with a displeased look on his face and looked down at Ianna.

“Weren’t you the nasty woman who even fools around with thugs?”

“……Thugs?”

Ianna furrowed her brows, unable to comprehend where the conversation was heading, before the man raised his voice as if to stop her from feigning innocence.

“You don’t remember Charlot?”

“Who’s Charlot?”

“He the poor guy who got beaten up because you sent thugs after him for doubting you back during orientation! He was beaten up so badly that he had to submit a leave of absence recently because he missed too many classes!”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Then, Ianna heard Eiji snort beside her. She turned her eyes on him. Eiji looked apologetic as he brought his hands together and tried to stand in front of her.

“That was my…….”

Ianna stopped Eiji with an arm before he could finish. His behavior gave her a good grasp on what had happened. She remembered how he had been fuming about wanting to kill the guy, and it looked like Eiji had indeed taken matters into his own hands.

Eiji belonged to the underworld. He probably knew at least a few gangs in the area.

“So what?”

Ianna asked coldly. They were here to pick a quarrel with her, not Eiji. She did not want to see Eiji get tangled into this mess as well.

Eiji grabbed her arm as if to ask her why she was stopping him, so Ianna elbowed him hard against the pit of his stomach as punishment for doing something bad behind her back. Eiji coughed and sank down while holding his stomach.

“What do you mean, “So what”?”

“I’m asking what that has to do with anything?”

“You see, we really don’t like you. There’s a rumor going on about how there must be corruption within the Swordsmanship Department because of a nasty wench like you —didn’t you know? And now we’re under suspicion too, because of that. It’s rather awful.”

Their actions merited the suspicion they were under, but they simply pushed the blame on Ianna. Ianna stared back at them with no expression on her face.

“So what is it that you really wanted to say?”

“A girl should be at home doing embroidery or something —why are you here ruining everything? The guys in group 1 must’ve all fallen head over heels for you, since they hardly even laugh along when someone says anything about you anymore —they’re a bunch of wusses. I guess you must have slept with quite the number of them already?”

“And you seduced the Department Head too, no? I heard that he even lent you his personal training room, isn’t that right?”

“She probably even slept around with a few of the professors before she even took the exams, yeah? I mean, with that pretty face and all. Hehe.”

“And you visit the Paella Company pretty often, right? I heard that the owner there really looks after you. Did you sleep with him too?”

“Surely, you wouldn’t mind spending just one night with us at this point?”

The other students began looking uncomfortable as they listened in.

It was only natural for guys to joke around with the topic when they got together, so what the men were saying wasn’t anything the other students hadn’t heard before, but they were uncomfortable that the men were being so up front about it and they flushed red at the thought that they would be lumped together with them.

A wintry look settled in Ianna’s eyes as she watched the four men chuckle amongst themselves.

“Those bastards!”

Herrace and Taro had been mingling with other students, but they came over to watch over Ianna’s situation when they heard someone shouting. Taro had been unable to hold himself back any longer when the situation rapidly soured and had come running at the men with his fists clenched, but Ianna stepped in front of him and blocked his path. Then, she asked,

“Are you insulting me like this because I’m a woman?”

“Well, there’s that too. I mean, let’s be honest —how could a girl possibly make it into the Swordsmanship Department?”

“And besides, I heard that your mother was a slut who slept with any man she came across. You must have learned a lot from her while you were growing up. Snicker.”

Ianna took in a deep breath and slowly breathed it out.

“You lot really are a worthless pile of trash.”

“……What was that?”

“Well, whatever.”

Ianna smiled and shrugged. Still, she didn’t hide the bloodlust that she was showering them with, and the people around her began breaking out in goosebumps. She continued,

“I’ll challenge you during practice today. I’ll do anything you want me to should I lose even once.”

“Oh?”

“But anyone who loses to a weak and dirty girl like me is just a worthless piece of trash……”

Eiji, Herrace, and Taro recalled something that they remembered her saying before and immediately paled.

Ianna twirled her sword around. It glistened with a terrifying light under the sun.

“And so, that thing that makes you men that you’re so proud of and use so carelessly —I’ll slice it clean off your bodies.”

The incident that had taken place during the Institution’s Swordsmanship Department’s assembly stirred up quite the fuss.

A student from the Political Science Department, who had been slow to hear the news because he had been too busy studying, came running to his friend in the Swordsmanship Department for clarification.

“Hey, I heard that the four guys in your department who used to strut around like they owned the place because of their looks and households all became eunuchs or something? What the heck’s that all about?”

“Wait, you only heard about that just now?”

“C’mon, hurry up. What the hell happened?”

“Well…….”

The friend scratched his chin. He continued,

“They picked a fight with Little Ianna during the assembly, and they were being pretty dirty about it too. And not only that, but they joked around about her sleeping with them —it was so bad that I was getting embarrassed just listening to them.”

“And then?”

“Little Ianna made a bet with them. If they won, then she’d……well, not that it really matters, but she said that she’d cut their you-know-whats clean off their bodies if she won. The first guy who lost to her thought she was only bluffing, so he laid down and told her to go ahead and do it, but then she actually took her sword to him.”

The blood drained from the student’s face.

“Wait, so she r-really cut it off?”

“……He screamed and said he was really sorry and begged her to let him off just this once before she cut all the way through, but……um……. She didn’t. He passed out as soon as she was done and had to be carried to the infirmary. One of the professors was so alarmed that he started demanding what was going on, and do you know what she said in response?”

The man gulped as his friend mimicked the expressionless look he had seen on Ianna’s face that day and said,

“I am simply making good on the promise I made before eighty members of the Swordsmanship Department as my witnesses. Promises ought to be kept.”

“Daaamn.”

“……And she was so calm about it too! Do you know how hard I shuddered when I heard that? Then, the next guy got pissed and charged at her…… And she cut his off before he even got to her……. The third guy shut up as soon as he lost and bowed to her in apology……. And the last guy even tried to run away, but……”

His friend looked like he was about to pass out. He continued,

“She didn’t let any of them get off easy. Nope, not a single one. She was a monster.”

“T-t-that’s……. Haha. So they really……?”

The male student was frightened and clamped his hand over his precious jewels.

“Well……. I’ve heard that they might have gotten them reattached by immediately pouring expensive medicine on them. But who knows? Anyway, all I saw was how she stabbed away at them. Like swiiish.”

“……Hey, you crazy little… You really have a way with expressing thing, don’t you? Staby-stab……. That’s one incredible woman. I heard she was no joke in Professor Elily’s class either.”

“Yeah, she really is something else. I learned a valuable lesson yesterday —that I should never, ever mess with that woman. And what was that about illicit admissions? Bullshit……. She definitely belongs to the Swordsmanship Department. I mean, she made quick work of four students in a row.”

One boy staggered and collapsed against a wall as he walked past them.

“Snicker snicker…….”

He grabbed his stomach with his free hand as he laughed like he had lost his mind. He was Rikijen, who had burst out in laughter as he happened to chance across the conversation.

“My my, hoho…”

A bright laugh chimed across the hallway. It came from a woman whose abundant and capricious grape-colored hair flowed down past her chest.

“What an amusing young lady.”

There was a brilliant light in her purple eyes as she hid her mouth behind a black fan, and the corners of her lovely eyes crinkled as she smiled.

~~*~~

Part 6

“I’ll watch my mouth more carefully from now on.”

Ianna was climbing down the stairs with Eiji after their classes were over. They were on their way to the cafeteria, since they had agreed to eat dinner with their friends today, and Ianna stole a glance at Eiji when those were the first words out of his mouth after he had been lost in thought for a while.

“What’s with you all of a sudden?”

“The stuff that happened a few days back made such an impression on me that I can’t get it out of my head. I remember it whenever I’m about to say anything to you, Little Ianna.”

Ianna was dumbfounded.

“What exactly do you take me for? If someone heard you, they’d mistake me for a cruel woman who goes around cutting off men’s family jewels for no reason.”

“But it’s true. That’s the most fatal and absolute worst kind of attack a man could suffer. And you seemed so used to doing it, Little Ianna. You’ve cut a few off before, haven’t you?”

She had, though only in her past life. This was the first time she had castrated anyone in her current life, however, so she shook her head no.

“I would’ve preferred to kill them outright if I could, rather than stab them down there. And you said it yourself. That they were infamous for being careless about where they put their lower parts. And then they even treated me like I was some kind of slut. So I simply corresponded in kind. Though it’s also true that I did use them as an example.”

“In the end, they…….”

Eiji shuddered as if he had felt a sudden chill. From what he had uncovered, at least two of the four would never truly be as men ever again.

“Whether they recover or whether they became impotent —what happens to them after the fact has no bearing on me. It’ll depend on their luck, I suppose. I’m sure that God will help them if they’ve done any good in their lives.”

“Bwahahaha!”

Eiji clutched at his stomach as he burst out in laughter, as if his trembling earlier had been nothing more than a joke. He continued,

“Well, it was pretty refreshing to watch —I’ll give you that. Hahaha. Though I’m sure it must’ve been awful to be on the receiving end. But, Little Ianna, they’re the sons of some pretty well-off merchants, you know? They might be less than scum, but their parents cared a lot for them because they showed a lot of promise in swordplay ever since they were young.”

“So what?”

“What were you planning to do if their families wanted revenge? They’ll probably stir up a fuss about it, especially since the guys might end up impotent for life.”

“And what could they possibly say for themselves? I have plenty enough to say right back at them. But now that you mention it, why haven’t their parents come looking for me yet?”

“Who can say?”

Eiji deliberately stretched out his words and flashed a grin. He continued,

“I’d think they’re just a little preoccupied as of late? There are a lot of other matters they might have to deal with right now.”

Ianna felt something off in the crafty tone of his voice and narrowed her eyes.

“Did you do something?”

“All I did was make sure they were well aware that someone who cares a lot about you knew a few secrets on them that they absolutely don’t want the rest of the world to know.”

Then, Eiji was frightened and raised his hands in surrender when Ianna raised a fist at him. He continued,

“Alright, alright. But who’d just sit and stay still when their friend’s being insulted? It pissed me off just listening to them.”

Eiji said this as if it was only natural. Ianna put down her fist and smirked.

“And you didn’t take well to that Charlot fellow either, I presume?”

“Well, yeah, but……oh.”

They turned the corner to proceed down the next set of stairs to find a girl carrying so many books towering over her head that she tripped and was falling over backward. Most normal people were seriously injured if they fell down the stairs, or, if they were unlucky, they could even die.

She must have been quite reckless to carry so many books that they obscured her vision while climbing up the stairs.

Ianna promptly ran up the stairs and grabbed the staircase handrail with one hand and the girl’s slender wrist with the other. The girl’s books tumbled down the stairs as her purple eyes met Ianna’s crimson ones.

“Be careful.”

“Oh my.”

‘……?’

Ianna was assaulted by a strange sense of déjà vu the moment she saw the girl’s purple eyes. She put the feeling behind her, however, and pulled up the girl who was staring back at her in daze for the time being.

The girl, who was now standing stable on the stairs, was so enchanting that even Ianna, a fellow girl, could not help but be captivated by her. The charming waves of her hair were the same color as her eyes, which gleamed mysteriously like beautiful purple gems. Her skin, so white that it was almost translucent, only made her mystical colors stand out more. She had a beauty mark just under her left eye that was so poignant it could have been drawn by the prick of a pen, which suited the conceited but sly upturning of her eyes that made her look like a vixen who could charm any man on a whim.

Ianna could not help but think that she had seen the girl’s face before.

The girl did not seem like she could care any less about her books, which had tumbled down the staircase and made a mess, as she stood at the top of the stairs, and her gaze, too, was fixated on Ianna as the latter was deep in thought.

“Thank you. You were very cool, Miss.”

The girl smiled with her eyes closed as she languidly pulled Ianna into a hug. Ianna made a strange face as the hug caught her off guard because she had been too busy rummaging through her memories to notice what was happening. But she was sure of it. She had definitely seen this girl before.

“Hey, Miss. I’ve got your books right here. Can you really carry all of these? They’re pretty heavy.”

The girl’s slender arms only lingered around Ianna briefly, and she pulled away when Eiji picked up her books and crinkled her eyes into a smooth smile.

“My, thank you both so much —not only did you save me from falling, but you even gathered my books for me. But…….”

She placed her hands on her cheeks in a show of embarrassment before letting out a gentle sigh. She continued,

“Since you’re already helping, would you mind helping me take my books up to the laboratory on the third floor……? I feel like my arms are about to fall off because I’ve been carrying them up from the basement. I’ll treat you to tea and snacks for helping me.”

Ianna studied the girl. She was very slender as a whole. She could not help but want to praise the girl for managing to carry her heavy books all the way up to the second floor.

“There’s no need to treat us —we’ll help you since we’re not busy.”

Ianna, now free from the girl’s embrace, took about half of the books from Eiji and nodded to him. Eiji shrugged and followed after her when Ianna began climbing back up the stairs she had just come down from.

“How kind of you.”

The girl placed a hand at her lips and smiled deviously when they couldn’t see.

They didn’t have to carry the books for long. They added the books to yet another pile that was already in the laboratory, which smelled heavily of old paper, before Ianna turned to the girl and said,

“Well then.”

“Thank you so very much. How will I ever repay you for your kindness?”

Then, the girl clapped her hands together and said,

“Please let me treat you to a meal.”

“I do not believe we did something so great as to merit a stranger buying us a meal.”

The girl shook her head in response to Ianna’s roundabout refusal.

“Not at all. You saved me and even carried my books for me, did you not? I, Lalatua, am not the kind of person to leave a debt unpaid. Are you refusing because we’re strangers? In that case, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Lalatua El Mardial of the Magic Department, lovely Miss.”

There was a honeyed look in Lalatua’s eyes as she grabbed Ianna’s hand in hers and gently stroked the back of the Ianna’s hand.

Ianna remembered who she was after hearing Lalatua’s name and seeing the familiar look in her eyes.

“You are the only one who can stop Arhad, who is slowly going mad, the war, and the ravaging of the whole continent.”

She was the woman who had sought out Ianna, who had only grown sharper after the many battles she had fought, to utter nonsense such as, “Arhad grows crazier by the day. His fervent desire to possess you is like the thirst of a man trapped beneath the scorching sun. He’ll truly go insane if you don’t quench his thirst. Won’t you consider giving up and becoming his?”

Ianna had ignored her and ignored her until she lost her patience just once and snapped back,

“Have you lost your mind? Arhad started the war because he wants to conquer the continent. Why would he abandon a war he’s already won just to have me?”

“I am being sincere, my beautiful duchess. It is highly likely that Arhad will abandon everything and withdraw the very moment he gets his hands on you. He would rather conquer you, rather than any other country.”

“……I will not refute the fact that he is obsessed with me. But Arhad must truly be insane already if what you say is true.”

“I see you really know nothing about him. He truly is insane.”

The woman, and the nonsense she uttered, had irked Ianna to no end. Which was why Ianna had always cut their conversations short with the same sentence.

“Shut up and leave if you’re only here to prattle nonsense at me.”

Even now, Ianna thought that Lalatua had been absurd.

Ianna shook the thoughts out of her head and looked at Lalatua, who was very openly staring back at her.

Back then, there had been a third party other than the Allied Forces and the Bahamut army who had antagonized Arhad when he had spread his influence across the entire continent. Among them was one great witch, one of the ten archmages of the time, who, while not an official ally to the Allied Forces, had been a powerful supporter to the Roanne army whenever it clashed with the Bahamut army…….

Ianna, who had found yet another fragment from her past after Rikijen, muttered,

“Lalatua, the genius mage…….”

Ianna was shocked, but not as much as she had been with Rikijen. After Rikijen’s sudden appearance, Ianna had realized it was possible that people from her past could crop up in unexpected places.

And, unlike how completely unexpected her meeting with Rikijen had been, she had a reason to expect that Lalatua would be here. Lalatua’s teacher was the archmage Heinrich, who was also the Institution dean.

“Oh my, did you already know who I am? How adorable.”

Ianna recalled Lalatua’s infamous nickname when the latter smiled like a sly vixen.

The Mad Magician of the North and……the Desert Servant.

Ianna finally realized why Taro had always seemed so familiar to her as she witnessed Lalatua’s coy antics. She also realized who Taro’s Goddess was and why she hadn’t remembered him until now.

Truly, what a strange string of events.

Ianna broke into a smile before she could stop herself.

“We have other friends, you know?”

“I’ll treat your friends as well.”

Ianna thought about the offer for a moment because she knew Lalatua was persistent and would chase them around to buy them a meal even if they refused.

‘Mad Magician’ was the perfect nickname for Lalatua, who had been infamous for firing off large-scale spells ruthlessly and haphazardly with a smile on her face. It was also why Ianna knew little else about her.

Ianna, who was both curious about what Lalatua was up to in the present and what would happen when she and Taro met, raised her hands up in surrender.

“Lalatua of Mardial is a pretty famous name.”

Lalatua opened her eyes wide as Eiji pretended to know her when they made their way to the cafeteria where they had planned to meet up with the others.

“Oh my, do you know me too?”

“You’re a princess of the Kingdom of Mardial, a kingdom located to the west of the Bahamut Empire. You’re a special case who was admitted into the Institution for being the dean’s best disciple. Am I wrong?”

“No, you’re right.”

Lalatua was a big shot. Not only was she a princess of Mardial, which, though it paid tribute to Bahamut, boasted a large territory, but she was also Heinrich’s, who was known as the greatest mage of his time before he died of old age, best disciple.

Now that I think about it, Heinrich is the dean here.

“Cough!”

“Eeek!”

A queer shriek resounded from in front of them. Ianna and Eiji, who had been looking at Lalatua as she walked in between them, turned forward. They found Herrace, whose already pale skin had somehow paled even further, and Taro, who was flushing red all over.

“My oh my. What a surprise…….”

Lalatua’s smile vanished as she elegantly furrowed her brows.

“G-Goddess!”

Taro quickly ran up to her.

“To think that I’d get……gulp, to see you here, Goddess. What a stroke of luck……. A-are you here to dine?”

Taro’s speech was sleek and smooth —a startling contrast to his otherwise hearty personality. He was even timidly wringing his hands as if he didn’t know what to do with them.

Ianna placed a hand over her mouth and chuckled while a peculiar look came across Eiji’s face.

“Goddess? No way —Little Lalatua’s the girl who dumped Taro?”

“To think that I’d meet the little country bumpkin here. Hmph, what a nuisance.”

Eiji found the fed up look on Lalatua’s face hilarious and burst into laughter.

“Well, he’s a friend of ours.”

“……Goodness. What a stunning twist of fate.”

“W-what? Eiji?”

Taro, who had only just realized that Eiji was there, glared daggers at him. He continued,

“What are ya doin’ hangin’ around my Goddess for?”

“It’s nothing big. Your Goddess here offered to treat us to a meal.”

“What?!”

Ianna took a step back and looked between Lalatua and Taro. Her hazy memories seemed to come into focus as she saw them side by side.

The Ice Witch, who cast all sorts of spells while waving around her hands with an alluring smile on her lips, and the Desert Warrior, who wielded his gigantic sword to keep anyone from approaching her.

It was only natural that Ianna hadn’t recognized him when he was alone, because he had been considered to be an extension of Lalatua back when she had known him. He had been a powerful warrior who changed abruptly like a demon of war carrying out his life’s mission at Lalatua’s every order. Taro had been a man who had done everything that Lalatua ordered him to, just like a servant.

“In that case, is Herrace, frozen stiff over—there, also a friend of yours?”

Ianna turned around at Lalatua’s unexpected words. Herrace was pale with fright as he stood behind Taro, who was snarling at Eiji for laughing uncontrollably. He was frozen stiff like a mouse that had been cornered by a cat.

Ianna was bewildered.

‘How does Lalatua know Herrace?’

Herrace staggered back when Lalatua placed a hand at her waist and looked at him ever so gently.

“M-M-Miss Lalatua…”

“Goodness, Herrace. Stop inching back and come here, you little rascal.”

Herrace took another hesitant step backward when Lalatua beckoned him forward. Lalatua smiled like a devious vixen when she saw. She continued,

“If you take one more step back, I’ll shove another live frog in your mouth like I did when we were kids.”

The air seemed to freeze over when the nasty words escaped Lalatua’s delicate lips, and Herrace hurried over.

Lalatua smiled in satisfaction as she pat Herrace, whose complexion had shaded over, on the head.

“My, what a good boy.”

Ianna and her group of friends were rather famous for frequenting the cafeteria. They only drew more attention to themselves, for better or worse, now that Lalatua El Mardial had joined their number.

All the other students did, however, was to steal glances at them, even if they were curious about what was going on, because Ianna had recently been involved in some rather frightening incidents and Lalatua was infamous for being crazy about magic.

Herrace, who was moving his spoon jerkily like a stiff wooden doll, eventually caved beneath the weight of his friends’ gazes and groaned before he said,

“……I’ve known Miss Lalatua since I was young. She’s my grandfather’s disciple.”

“Princess Lalatua’s teacher? Wait a minute…”

“Yes. The dean is my grandfather. Please keep this a secret.”

This was yet another astounding discovery.

Ianna finally understood where the horrible medicine that Herrace always carried around with him had come from when she heard about the relationship between Herrace and Heinrich.

No ordinary pharmacist had the skills or the knowhow to create a medicine that could put someone in a state of temporary death. It was highly likely that Heinrich had a hand in the medicine’s production. He had probably predicted that Herrace would use mana because he was unable to give up on his ambitions and prepared the medicine in advance.

Ianna found herself lost in her thoughts.

Eiji, Herrace, Taro, Mursi, Finn, Priscilla, Rikijen, Lalatua, Heinrich, and herself, who had been tied down to House Roberstein before she had cast it aside to attend the Institution.

All of these actors, who had either only met in the future or not at all, were now tangled up together in the present. What kind of effect would the changes in herself and in these newly formed relationships have on the future?

“Goodness, Herrace. It’s already been two months since the semester started, and yet you haven’t come to see me even once.”

Lalatua linked her arms with Ianna’s, who was sitting to her right. Taro, who had sat down at her left immediately after she had sat down, gulped. He stared at Ianna with envy.

“Wouldn’t you agree, Little Ianna?”

Ianna, who had been lost in thought, broke out of her reverie and tried to push Lalatua away. All Lalatua did, however, was to grab tight to her arm and smile alluringly.

“Miss Lalatua, could you do me a favor and not get too attached to Little Ianna? Little Ianna’s not the type of person whom you can use as a test subject. And, why would I visit you when I never know what kind of strange experiment you’ll force on me when I do?”

“My, you’ve grown a bit cocky, haven’t you, Herrace?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

His defiant attitude only lasted but for a moment, and Herrace immediately retreated with his tail tucked between his legs when Lalatua narrowed her enchanting eyes.

Eiji, who had been listening to their exchange, tapped his spoon against his bowl.

“You might be a princess, but aren’t you only a princess in name because the royal family gave up on you before sending you to Lord Heinrich? You were a genius among geniuses who turned your entire kingdom on its head, but I heard you caused more than your fair share of problems because you’re crazy about magic and you ran experiment after experiment without bothering to hide your means or methods if something pricked your interest. You’ve controlled yourself ever since you entered the Institution, but they still call you the Witch of the Magic Department because of your strange tendency to experiment on things and the captivating air about you, and because you’re even rumored to eat live frogs —mmph!”

A spherical mass of water appeared out of nowhere and struck Eiji on the face as it exploded. The ball of water had come from Lalatua’s direction. Mana was fluctuating around her.

Ianna, who was sitting next to her, had seen the ball of water form. Mana had twisted and turned in front of Lalatua like it was being sucked into something, and a single drop of water had formed at the center. The drop of water had instantly grown into a mass, and the surrounding mana had promptly become a strong wind that had shot the mass of water at Eiji’s face.

It was magic, one of the phenomena made possible by mana.

Lalatua’s spell had been completed within the blink of an eye. She might not have needed complex calculations or a magic circle because it was a small-scale spell, but her speed was still extraordinary.

She was truly the Mad Magician of the North. Ianna stuck out her tongue.

“What the hell?!”

Eiji, who was drenched as if an entire kettle had been dumped over his head, shouted angrily.

“That’s what I’d like to ask of you and your rude remarks.”

Lalatua looked sour as she retorted while brushing back her hair with her free hand that she wasn’t latching onto Ianna with. It was only then that Eiji, who was shaking the water off, realized that he had been rude. Calling her a princess in name only who had been cast away by her own kingdom must have hurt her pride.

He grew embarrassed and stroked his chin.

“Ha, haha. That’s just what all the rumors say. Sorry.”

“Watch your mouth next time. I don’t eat live frogs. I boil them.”

“…….”

“Ohohoho.”

The others stared in mute amazement as Lalatua giggled. She let go of Ianna and crossed her arms and legs. She continued,

“I don’t care about the rumors. After all, they’re all true.”

Taro, whose eyes were glued on his Goddess, gulped when her actions drew up the skirt of her uniform and exposed her white thighs. Lalatua’s gaze fell upon him.

“I thought I’d already taught you a lesson, little country bumpkin, but you still haven’t returned to your senses?”

Taro flushed scarlet when Lalatua spoke to him.

“I enjoy getting pummeled by your magic, Goddness! Please teach me as many lessons as you’d like!”

What a wimp, Eiji mumbled as he worked through his soup with his spoon. Lalatua breathed out a soft sigh, apparently having given up on the starstruck man. Taro’s mouth dropped open as he watched her.

“Whatever —Herrace?”

“Y-yes?”

Herrace flinched like a startled rabbit when he became Lalatua’s next target, and his anxiety was written plainly on his face.

“I simply happened to take a liking to Little Ianna. I never even considered using a precious lady like her as a test subject. Why would I even need to when you’re here, Herrace?”

Herrace planted his forehead against the table in despair. Lalatua pulled her plump lips into a smirk. She continued,

“Besides, where else would I find an amazing girl who managed to turn four guys impotent? I really like Little Ianna. And I sincerely want to be her friend.”

Lalatua ignored the guys as the blood drained from their faces and rubbed her face against Ianna’s shoulder like a wily cat smuggling up to her owner.

Then, Ianna, who had only been listening in on the conversation until then, said,

“……It looks like you already knew who I was. Did you pretend to fall down the stairs on purpose? And was bringing your books up to the laboratory and buying us a meal as thanks a part of your plan as well?”

“Hohohoho.”

Ianna voiced her suspicions, but Lalatua simply laughed without making any excuses for herself in response.

Their nonsensical dinner soon came to an end and Lalatua squeezed Ianna in a tight embrace before saying, “Let’s meet again,” and heading for her study, and Taro quickly chased after her to escort her there.

Eiji and Herrace left for the training hall to pull themselves together and work out, and Ianna went to the third library. The swordsmanship competition was one thing, but it was already midterm season before she knew it.

Ianna arrived at the library. She stepped through the grand doorway and onto the warm, reddish-brown carpet before surveying the hallway. She heard the sound of pens scratching across paper and smelled the smell of books from the room just beyond.

Of the four libraries in the Institution, this one was meant for personal studying. There was also a boy who was waiting for her there.

“You came?”

Rikijen called out to her quietly when he saw her and waved. He moved his books aside when Ianna sat down next to him. She gave him her thanks for saving her a seat.

Ianna and Rikijen studied together after dinner twice a week. Rikijen was innately smart and grasped things quickly, while Ianna knew a lot already from personal experience and was amazing at practical application. They had happened to see each other in the library once and had learned that they made good study partners —and they had tacitly agreed to sit and study together ever since.

Ianna looked to Rikijen. He was so focused on his studies that he didn’t even notice.

Rikijen had told her that he came to the library to study whenever he had the chance. Ianna always thought, ‘He really is Rikijen Rostari,’ whenever she saw how earnest he was while studying —a marked contrast to his usual sarcastic quipping.

Ianna could not know the details of how he had ended up in the Bahamut Empire, but she was sure that it was because of his amazing intellect and passion for studying that he had become the prime minister of the empire despite his commoner status.

Ianna followed suit and opened her books. Studying was tiresome, but it was something she needed to do for herself. She had already learned everything before in the past, however, so she skimmed through her books relatively quickly.

Time passed and passed until it was finally nighttime. It was time to leave.

“Education is important.”

Ianna and Rikijen had been chatting away as they left the library, and they happened across the topic of education. He continued,

“There’s a reason why some students take a lot of liberal arts electives even if they don’t count toward their grades. Not only are the subjects difficult to formally learn elsewhere, but studying up on a lot of different things will also help them with their work in the future too.”

Rikijen declared how important liberal arts electives were as he admitted that he was taking six of them.

“You only need one major to graduate from the Institution, but you can also learn how to do this and that by taking other liberal arts electives too. You can be more flexible because all the various knowledge you’ve studied up on deepens the breadth of your mind. You can tell others you’re certain that there are many ways to go about helping them…… All of these are yet more ways to express your abilities.”

“Do people who are talented at their major really need to know more? Is there really a reason to go that far?”

“But of course. Those who are truly exceptional won’t care because others will line up to pay them for their sheer talent alone. But those who are only average will have a leg up against their rivals if they know even just a little more.”

“That’s true.”

“But even the exceptionally talented are better off studying electives that might be useful to them. It’s to my opinion that people can’t live smartly if they’re only a master of one.”

“For example?”

“Well, a skilled swordsman might get ripped off by a shrewd employer if they aren’t also worldly-wise. Or, a merchant who’s quick with finances might be ruined if they aren’t also good at bargaining. That’s why it’s smart to learn from the many liberal arts electives offered here at the Institution.”

Ianna smirked.

“But what about you? Are you filling up your schedule with electives because you want to get ahead in life? Or is it because you want to live smartly?”

“……I don’t know how to answer that, but I can tell you that I’m studying with a goal in mind. But beyond that, I also find studying fun. Knowing more can only be a benefit —it will never weigh you down.”

“Hmmm…….”

“All the knowledge in the world is related to how people live and to the world itself at large. It’s amazing to see the things you learn from books or lectures be applied to real life. One day, I want to be someone who changes the world with the things I’ve learned as my foundation. Because, to be blunt, this entire world is rotten.”

It was refreshing to hear the ambitions of the boy who would one day become the prime minister of the Bahamut Empire. It was said that as the twig is bent, so grows the tree, and Rikijen was extraordinary even in his youth. He continued,

“And more importantly, I can’t let my amazing brain just rot away, now can I? Oh, and did you hear about the gigantic new bookstore on Sixth Street?”

Rikijen, who had been bragging about himself with his head held high, suddenly turned to Ianna with a sparkle in his eyes.

“I’ve heard.”

“I’m planning to drop by tomorrow —do you want to come with? There are a lot of books at the Institution, but I can never get my hands on the books I want because of the way the loaning system works.”

Ianna found it bizarre.

“……Why are you inviting me?”

She found it bizarre not only because Rikijen had once been hell-bent on murdering her in the past, but also because he had been openly spiteful toward her ever since they had first met due to his hostility toward the nobility. She had thought that he had no choice but to study with her in the library because working with her was beneficial to his studies, but…….

“Well, you just seemed like you were the kind of person who liked to read, Lady Ianna…….”

Rikijen answered nonchalantly before catching himself and flushing red.

“I-I mean, I was just thinking of going since I don’t have that many classes tomorrow, and you just so happened to be standing next to me. ……You don’t have to come if you don’t want to…”

Ianna smirked when she saw the boy’s ears turn bright red even in the dark of night. Apparently, he did not dislike her enough to hate her.

“It’s not a bad idea. I’ll go.”

And so, Ianna and Rikijen went downtown once their classes were over. The weather was too nice to hole up in the Institution and study.

The round sun lit up the world from cloudless skies. The gentle southern winds that blew from beyond the clear sky warmed up the capital. The vibrant flowers and the fresh green leaves that decorated the once barren branches colored the kingdom in pastel tones. Spring was growing richer and fuller.

Was it because they were intoxicated by the warmth that had chased away the dreary winter? The people’s faces were cheery as they lined the streets. There were children running about with their friends, merchants doing business with their customers, braggarts showing off their elegant new clothes to celebrate the spring, and even nobles strutting around to show off how much better they were than everyone else.

Ianna and Rikijen, who had walked out of the outskirts of the city where the Institution was located, mixed into the crowd as they headed toward the center of the city.

Rikijen stretched and said,

“Mm, what a nice day. I heard that you were waiting eagerly for the swordsmanship competition two weeks from now. Do your best.”

“Waiting eagerly? Who told you that?”

Rikijen intoned and scratched his head.

“From Sir Taro. I hear that you’re good friends with Sir Taro, Sir Eiji, and Lord Herrace……right, Lady Ianna? I was really surprised to hear it.”

“I thought you weren’t on good terms with him?”

“He ticked me off at first because he leaves the room in a mess, he’s loud, and he has no respect for his roommate, but now that I’ve gotten to know him better……well, he seems to have more going for him than his demerits. Sir Taro snores a lot too, but I hardly even register it anymore since I’ve gotten used to it. It almost sounds like a lullaby now. And he knows to clean up after himself when I tell him to now since I’ve nagged at him so often. And the others……they seem like nice people too.”

Ianna grinned at Rikijen’s mumbling.

“Time truly does heal all things, I see. You two used to be like cats and dogs, but now you’re even calling him nice.”

“Did Sir Taro say something about me?”

“He was practically spitting fire when he said he’d reduce you to a lump of ashes.”

“Wait, why was he so mad at me? —he’s the one who started it! Is he even aware of the fact that his fists are basically lethal weapons? Tch. Anyway, just train hard for the swordsmanship competition, Lady Ianna. It’s not as famous as the tournament during the school festival, but it’s still a good opportunity to change the students’ and professors’ impressions of you.”

Ianna understood that Rikijen was sincerely worried for her as he muttered word after word next to her with his face flushed ever so slightly red.

“Were you worried about me? Why thank you.”

“Tch. Why would I be worried? I’m sure you’ll do just fine since you were good enough to turn four male Swordsmanship Department students into eunuchs.”

“I see you’ve heard the rumors?”

“Why wouldn’t I have heard —the news spread all throughout the Institution? There were some people who didn’t believe it because they didn’t see it happen with their own eyes, but most students do believe because the Swordsmanship Department first-year students described it so vividly and because those guys never came back after that. Oh.”

Rikijen pointed to a building where a savory and delicious scent was wafting out from and continued,

“That’s a bakery that I’ve visited often ever since I was a child. It’s quite famous for its tasty bread. Let’s go there first.”

“Right now? Are you hungry?”

“I wanted something as a snack. I thought it’d be nice to browse for books while eating bread.”

“Hmm.”

Ianna slowly followed behind him as Rikijen quickened his pace and walked faster than he usually did.

The bell chimed and the door creaked as they entered the bakery, and the smell inside was much stronger than the scent that had wafted outside. The bread-colored walls and the sunlight streaming inside from the large front window gave it a cozy atmosphere.

“Welco…… My, if it isn’t Rikijen?”

“Rikijen?”

A middle-aged woman with a warm smile greeted Rikijen with a cheer. A middle-aged man, who had been kneading flour in the kitchen, poked his head out and waved a flour-covered hand.

“It’s been a while, Missus, Mister.”

“You little rascal, what brings a bookworm like you who likes to huddle up in the corner of his room outside the Institution? And who’s the lovely lady behind you?!”

The man was surprised when he saw Ianna. He smiled in satisfaction when Ianna bowed her head in greeting.

“Good for you, Rikijen, you little runt. I still remember you coming here crying hand in hand with that good-looking older boy, but now you’re coming here with your girlfriend? Are you on a date?”

“Mister! She isn’t my girlfriend, and neither is this a date. What are you even talking about? She’s one scary lady, you know? One wrong word and she’ll cut off your…”

Slam!

“Urk……!”

Rikijen grabbed the back of his head where Ianna had hit him.

“Shut up and buy your bread already.”

“I guess she’ll smack your head off too, then. Ugh, ow…”

Rikijen picked up a basket and began scuffling along as he browsed the selection of bread. Ianna stood by the counter as she patiently waited for him to finish, and the middle-aged couple restlessly apologized to her.

“Well……please excuse us for earlier, Miss.”

“Sorry about that. We got a tad bit too excited.”

“It’s nothing at all. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ianna Roberstein, and I am Rikijen’s classmate at the Institution.”

The man startled when Ianna bowed and introduced herself.

“A noble?! That Rikijen’s walking around with a noble?”

“Dear!”

The man shut his mouth when his wife pinched him at his sides. Ianna scanned their faces. Their bewilderment told her that they found it alarming that Rikijen was hanging around a noble like herself.

It was obvious that Rikijen hated the nobility just by listening to what he said on a regular basis. Until now, she had simply thought that Rikijen hated the nobility because of the many public messes they created, but the couple’s reaction just now made her think that he may have personally had an unfortunate mix up with one in the past.

“Ahem. It’s curious, though. Who’d have thought that the first friend Rikijen brought here would be a noble? What department are you in, Miss? Political Science, like Rikijen?”

Ianna shelved her thoughts had tapped the sword at her waist.

“I am in the Swordsmanship Department.”

“Goodness!”

The woman smiled brightly and applauded. She continued,

“You must be amazing! It’s reassuring to hear that our fragile little Rikijen has a friend in the Swordsmanship Department!”

“Rikijen’s a bit frail since all he does is bury himself in his books. Please look after him for us, Miss!”

“Hey, are you trying to tick me off on purpose?!”

The couple stopped talking and simply laughed when Rikijen’s vexed voice carried over to them.

“Oh, but what are we doing here? Please go ahead and get some bread. We can’t have Rikijen’s friend pay us. We’ll give you some for free. We’re confident in how it tastes, all things despite.”

Unlike other people, the couple believed that Ianna was in the Swordsmanship Department like it was only natural. They were neither astonished nor dubious.

Ianna didn’t know how to feel as she walked up to Rikijen, who was still picking out bread. As she stood next to him, Rikijen quickly mumbled,

“They’re both really good people. I was having a bit of trouble before I got in to the Institution, but they gave me free bread every day because I was young and struggling. They’re very warm, and they don’t know how to be suspicious of others. They’ve been swindled many times before because they’re so naïve, though.”

Ianna understood what he was getting at.

“I see. Anyway, can you really finish all that bread?”

Rikijen had a mountain of bread packed away in his basket.

“Of course. There bread here is delicious. And, well, I can always give the rest to Sir Taro if it’s too much.”

If it’s too much? Isn’t it obvious that you’d have plenty left to give away if you buy that much? Evidently, giving the bread away had been his real aim. She had thought him to be temperamental and cynical, but he was quite funny and affectionate once she had gotten to know him better.

“You should’ve only bought what you could carry. You’ll have a hard time carrying both the bread and the books you wanted to buy.”

“One basket is one bag. We’ll both still have one hand free if we carry one bag each.”

“……Already treating me as your porter, I see.”

“Well, that’s why I was planning to buy your portion too, Lady Ianna. So have as many as you’d like.”

Rikijen brought his first basket up to the counter and filled a second one before bringing it up as well. Rikijen took out his wallet and was about to pay when the woman stopped him.

“Oh, you don’t need to pay us. We know about your circumstances…….”

“What are you talking about. I have money to spare now since I’m doing well at translating for my part-time job. I can pay for my own bread now. So, here.”

“…….”

“I want to pay for it properly because it hurts my pride to have gotten so much from you for free. So please, hurry and take it.”

The woman smiled as Rikijen stubbornly held out his money to her.

“I see. I’ll ring you up then.”

Ianna and Rikijen carried their respective bags of bread and left the bakery as the bell chimed behind them.

Ianna took a loaf of bread out of her bag and brought it to her mouth. It was indeed just as delicious as Rikijen had said it would be. It was crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and seemed to melt on her tongue. The sweet cream that dribbled out of the bread accompanied it well. Ianna’s mood brightened because she liked good food.

They were met with a crowd of people lingering on either side of an otherwise empty road as soon as they stepped out. They looked around, wondering what was going on, before finding a carriage speeding closer from afar with a cloud of dust behind it. The carriage had notified the city that it was passing through in advance, so the people had moved out of its way.

The speeding carriage was streamlined and white, was decorated by golden trims that seemed to glisten as brightly as the sun, and was pulled by six gorgeously decorated white horses.

“It’s rather fancy. Does that mean whoever’s inside is ranked count or higher?”

“Probably. They would have to be, if they’re riding a stagecoach that grand right through the middle of the capital.”

Ianna stared at the scene before her without much thought as she munched on a piece of bread. She was only in a daze for a moment, however, before she opened her eyes wide. She looked at the oncoming carriage and the road in front of it for a moment before clicking her tongue.

“Tch!”

Ianna swallowed her bread and shoved her bag at Rikijen before kicking off hard against the ground. Rikijen, who staggered at the sudden gust of wind she had stirred up, dropped his jaw when he saw that she was already far up ahead of him.

“Wha—Lady Ianna!”

Toooot!

The horn was sounding to warn the people about the oncoming carriage, but Ianna had run straight toward it.

“Kyaah!”

“Ack!”

The people screamed like crazy. Among their number was a woman who looked like she was about to throw herself forward but had hesitated with a blank look on her ashen face when Ianna rushed ahead.

Ianna snatched a fluttering scarf out of the air and scooped up the little girl who had been chasing after it in her arms before rolling sharply forward.

Neighhh!

The shocked coachman had pulled at the reins as hard as he could as soon as he had seen the little girl run in front of him, but he only stopped long after the carriage passed where Ianna had rolled with the child in tow.

“I…… Ah…….”

The little girl in Ianna’s arms was stiff with shock. Ianna didn’t ask her if she was okay. She had swept across the dirt ground when she rolled, so it was only obvious that the child would be all right.

Ianna helped the child up as she stood back up herself. The woman from before ran up to them and shook the child by her shoulder as she burst out in tears.

“You little…! Mommy told you not to move! How could you brush Mommy’s hand away and run off like that?!”

“But Mommy, your scarf…….”

“Who cares about the scarf?!”

Eventually, the woman spanked the child across her bottom.

“Waah, that hurts! Waah!”

Ianna was brushing the dirt off her clothes when an angry voice erupted from the carriage.

“What is the meaning of this? Lilith could have gotten hurt!”

“M-my deepest apologies, Master! A little girl suddenly jumped in front of the carriage…”

“……Ugh, did we hit her?”

“No, we didn’t, but…….”

“You little wench. How dare you jump in front of a moving carriage —are you insane?!”

A middle-aged man slammed the carriage door open and shouted at Ianna with heavily furrowed brows. He continued,

“I won’t let you off easy if you did something this rash for no good reason!”

The nobleman had every right to be upset. The roads were always busy with people, but nobles in a hurry notified the city in advance if they had to pass, and the people usually stepped aside for them. This incident had been entirely the child’s fault.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, my Lord!”

“Waaaah!”

The child’s mother pulled her daughter close and bowed in apology over and over again while tears streamed down her face. The child began crying because she was afraid of the angry nobleman. The nobleman scowled and looked between them and Ianna in turns.

“What happened? Wasn’t it that red-headed wench who ran in front of the carriage?”

“The little girl ran in front of the carriage first, and the red-headed Miss came to her rescue.”

“Father.”

Just then, a lovely and clear voice tickled everyone’s ears from inside the carriage. It continued,

“Let’s just go. No one is hurt.”

Click.

The carriage door opened and a woman in a pale green dress climbed gently outside. She was a slender beauty with gorgeous blonde hair and vivid green eyes, and she was so beautiful as she stepped out that the people, save for Ianna, stopped to stare at her like they were witnessing the advent of the goddess of beauty herself.

“Lilith. There’s no need for you to personally step outside the carriage.”

“Not at all. How could I possible stay inside when we’ve almost hit a child? Miss. Are you unharmed?”

The lady, Lilith, turned to Ianna and smiled kindheartedly. Ianna bowed to her deeply.

“I am all right. I only ask that you have mercy on the child, for she knew not what she was doing when she jumped in front of the carriage.”

The nobleman was a duke.

Ianna remembered the beautiful woman. She and Princess Angelina were regarded as the most beautiful women of Roanne. She had been known as the flower of high society, she had married the second prince Schneider Lezè Roanne, and she had become the queen of the Kingdom of Roanne after her husband had usurped the throne —Lilith Tarwitt.

“Goodness, what a respectable young lady you are. But I do not intend to punish anyone. We, too, are at fault for trying to pass through this busy street.”

Lilith smiled a lovely smile as she showered Ianna with praise. Ianna’s black uniform was covered in dirt, making Lilith appear pure and noble in contrast. She continued,

“Let’s go, Father. We were busy, no?”

She was the only child of House Tarwitt. She was also the highest-ranking woman in the kingdom after the royal family.

The people were spellbound by Lilith’s radiant figure —something that they could never see under any ordinary circumstances. Her amiable consolation melted even the duke’s anger, and he climbed back into the carriage behind her.

The people only returned to their senses after Lilith had disappeared from their view.

“Wow, what a kindhearted noble lady.”

“The more foul-tempered nobles would have taken heads on the spot for even the smallest mistakes.”

The carriage vanished from view, and those who had other places to be left the scene while those who had taken an interest in Ianna and the mother and daughter lingered behind to continue observing them.

Ianna knelt down and handed the child the scarf that she had been chasing after. The little girl took it gingerly while sniffling. Ianna placed her hands on the child’s shoulders and looked at her directly in her tear-filled eyes.

“Make sure you listen when you mother tells you not to do something, and don’t run in front of carriages. Okay?”

The warning was piercing. Ianna’s firm warning planted itself in the child’s heart like an arrow.

“Yes, Miss,”

the little girl answered quietly as she toyed with the scarf in her hands. Ianna pat the girl on the head before standing back up.

“Well then.”

“W-wait, Miss!”

The woman, who had very clearly been moved, bowed from her waist as she pushed her daughter’s little head into a bow as well. She continued,

“Thank you so much! Come now, you should say ‘thank you’ too.”

“Thank you, Miss!”

“If there’s anything I can do to repay you…….”

Ianna looked down at the bowing mother and child and replied,

“There is no need for you to be so grateful. Please just make sure your daughter doesn’t do it again. Ignorance is not a sin when committed by a child……but it can still be as a poison. Then…”

There was no hint of conceit or showy airs in Ianna’s stern words. Neither was there any trace of embarrassment or pride in her visage.

Ianna simply nodded once before she left without another word. The people followed her retreating figure with their eyes as she leisurely walked away after declining any recompense as if what she had done had only been natural.

“That’s the Valgenta Institution’s uniform.”

“Well, she had very warrior-like swift reflexes.”

“Is she a swordswoman? —she had a sword strapped to her waist. Amazing.”

“She was such a cool lady.”

Lilith’s fantastical image vanished after only a moment, but Ianna’s sturdy figure was carved deep into the people’s hearts and lingered like a warm afterglow.

Ianna returned to where Rikijen, who was still standing with his mouth agape, was and looked back at him quizzically.

“What’s with that face?”

“Eek! Are you out of your mind? Are you insane? What were you going to do if you hurt your arms again? Wasn’t it because you were saving a child that you hurt your arms last time too?! I mean, how could you even think of jumping in front of a racing carriage?! You’re crazy!”

Rikijen was ashen faced and began yelling indiscriminately after Ianna walked up to him. Ianna covered her ears and frowned because his voice gave her a headache. He continued,

“You were lucky this time, but your bones would’ve been shattered if you got hit! Am I wrong? And if you got hit and died, then you’d never be able to wield that beloved sword of yours ever again, much less participate in the swordsmanship competition —do you understand?!”

Ianna stopped Rikijen from blabbering incoherently with an outstretched arm.

“I couldn’t just stand there and watch a young child die.”

“That doesn’t mean that you should disregard your own life! That child had nothing to do with you!”

“Well, yes, she was a total stranger. But I couldn’t just leave a child to die when I had the ability to save her.”

Rikijen bit down at his lip.

“The ability to save her?”

“I wasn’t simply rushing in blindly. I hurt my arms last time because I’d had no other choice, but this time I was able to take different courses of action into consideration and jump in after I judged it was safe to do so —I was in no danger.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Rikijen balled his hands into fists. He was truly angry. He continued,

“You do know that there were variables that were outside your control, yes? Do you know how reckless you can be sometimes? There has to be a limit to how much you blindly trust in your own abilities. That’s not being confident in yourself —it’s hubris!”

“You and I see the world differently, Rikijen.”

“What are you even talking about all of a……ack!”

Ianna suddenly brought her fist to Rikijen’s face and Rikijen screamed as he brought up an arm to shield himself. He glared at her when her fist stopped just shy of his arm.

“What’s the meaning of this?! Are you hitting me now because I was nagging at you?”

“Tell me. What did you see when I was punching you?”

Rikijen was flabbergasted.

“What do you mean what did I see? I saw your fist!”

“And what about the speed it was coming at? The angle of my thrust? The flex of my muscles from my forearm to my triceps and biceps? And where were my eyes looking?”

“Are you truly out of your mind? How could anyone see all that?”

Ianna smirked and brought down her fist.

“I can see all of that as clear as day.”

“……What?”

“The way the child was moving as she ran in front of the carriage, the speed that the carriage was traveling, and how it deaccelerated when the coachman pulled at the reins. And my own physical prowess……. I took everything into consideration and jumped in only when I knew it was safe to do so. There was no way I would’ve gotten hurt. But…”

Ianna took back the bag of bread that she had shoved at Rikijen earlier and continued,

“That child was a different story. She would’ve died on the spot if I hadn’t saved her.”

“…….”

“I simply trusted my body and saved her when I was certain I could do so. And look. I’m standing here just fine without a single scratch, no? My interference prevented a tragedy from occurring on this fine day. That’s more than enough to justify getting a little muddy.”

“……Even if you’re right, there was always the possibility that someone else could’ve saved her instead. Why did it have to be you?”

Ianna took out a fresh loaf of bread from the bag Rikijen was carrying and brought it to her mouth.

“Rikijen, that’s just a guess at what could happen —it’s not a guarantee. There aren’t many people who are capable of running in front of a speeding carriage to save a child no matter how brave they are. And, would a commoner really have the guts to jump in front of a duke’s stagecoach? To put things in terms of probability, since you love it so much, the chances that someone else would act to save a child who had nothing to do with them—was practically zero. Though I suppose there was always the chance that someone could have acted without thinking.”

Rikijen could not refute her. Ianna was satisfied to have stopped his nagging and finished her bread in one bite, and she smiled in good cheer as she savored its taste. She continued,

“I have faith in my abilities and I always strive to do what I can —what I want. That way, there’s no chance that I’ll regret it later.”

“…….”

“I wouldn’t have regretted it even if I had failed. It was the path I myself chose, and I would have failed as a result of my choices. It would’ve been my choice, and no one else’s.”

Rikijen was at a loss for words. He simply stared with wavering eyes as Ianna’s crimson hair fluttered in the wind.

The center of town. On a well-paved road. The hot sun that elicited thirst. The warm breeze that seemed to envelop his heart. And the peerlessly strange girl of crimson standing at the center of it all while munching on the bread he had recommended to her.

“……You……are such a strange person. Are you sure you’re a noble?”

“Surely, you know the answer to that? Weren’t you the one who always used to tease me by calling me ‘Lady Noble’ all the time?”

Ianna crammed the rest of her bread in her mouth and jerked her head toward the road. She continued,

“Let’s go already. You’re the one who whined about wanting to go to the bookstore.”

“……I never whined,”

Rikijen muttered quietly and he ran to catch up with her.

~~*~~

Part 7

It was unbearably hot.

Ianna squinted and shaded her eyes with her rough and calloused hand. She could still see the scorching hot sun from the gaps between her fingers.

It’s hot. That was the first thought in her mind as the pressing heat bore down at her as soon as she walked out of the dorms. It was only the middle of May —not yet time for the summer heat waves because it was still only spring— but it was so hot that Ianna couldn’t help but wonder if it was the swordsmanship competition, the center of the Institution’s attention today, that was at fault for the heat.

A competition in which victory would be determined by swordplay. Ianna had participated in two such events in her past life. The Youth’s Swordsmanship Tournament hosted by the royal family just before she had turned nineteen, and the Continental Swordsmanship Tournament, in which prominent swordsmen from all over the world had competed with one another, that she had participated in at twenty-two.

She had lost during the former like a pebble plummeting down from a precipice, but during the latter she had stood at the very summit like the sun in the sky above.

The Continental Swordsmanship Tournament —it was on that very day that Ianna’s life, in which she had only ever received contempt from the other nobles, had turned on its head. It had been that very day that the second prince Schneider Lezè Roanne, who had needed her abilities, much less scorned her for them, had told her that he would elevate her so high that none would ever look down upon her ever again. Ianna had pledged her fealty to him in exchange for her fast track to success.

It was also the day that Schneider, who was ambitiously vying for the throne, had started to push Ianna forward. Ianna, who had burned House Roberstein to the ground and had become a countess in her own right, had become as a cruel blade who could cut down anyone at Schneider’s command. Marchioness, duchess……she had enjoyed an amazing career path as the first female commander-in-chief in the kingdom’s history. It was also why she had never needed to participate in any additional tournaments after the first two.

She had gained everything after the Continental Swordsmanship Tournament. And yet, it was only the first tournament, where her pride had been wounded, that remained vivid in her fading memories of the past. Her memories of the glorious victory she had won in the Continental Swordsmanship Tournament were so murky now that she hardly even remembered why she had wielded her sword that day in the first place.

Why was that?

“Whew…….”

It was hot. Ianna wiped away the beats of sweat forming on her forehead with the back of her hand. It was so hot that sweat was trailing down her face. What was the burning heat blazing from the deepest depths of her heart that seemed to envelop her entire being? Was it fear? No. Was it anxiety? No.

The joy, excitement, and delight she had felt as she trampled over those who had sneered at her…… The tight kinship she had felt as she had crossed blades with Arhad…… The desire to win, the rivalry, the envy, and the hostility she had felt toward the opponent against whom she could pour out her everything…….

The fires burning inside Ianna came from the whirlpool of emotions she had felt during the first swordsmanship tournament she had ever competed in that had shaken her soul to its very core. She had never felt as much pleasure as she had experienced that day for the rest of her life.

Moreover, she had only rarely experienced emotions as intense after being reborn. And even then, those emotions had only been negative. Which was why she was all the more expectant. For the pure ecstasy she was sure to feel when she trampled over those who had scorned her under her feet with her sword —her soul.

On your knees. Be humiliated as you concede your defeat. Present to me my overwhelming victory.

She would not experience anything negative today because Arhad, who had once crushed her in terms of skill, was not present. She wondered if it would make it all the more enjoyable to be the only crimson savage beast present to ravage the screaming sheep with her teeth bared.

It was only a small event, but the swordsmanship competition was well-received by the Institution’s students nevertheless. Students who tired of studying could destress by watching talented swordsmen fight each other in single combat with all the bloody glory that came with it.

The underclassmen’s swordsmanship competition proceeded as follows. Preliminaries would be conducted within each year until a total of sixteen participants —four first-years, five second-years, and seven third-years— would compete against each other during the final tournament; and, while it was usually a third-year, who had already subjugated monsters for practice by then, who won the overall tournament, there had occasionally been exceptional first-years who had won in the past as well. And so, underclassmen eagerly anticipated the swordsmanship competition, while upperclassmen found it burdensome.

Naturally, it had only been a matter of course that Ianna had made it past the preliminaries, but Taro was the only member among her group of friends who had made it with her. Eiji had dropped out rather early because he disliked being at the center of attention, and Herrace had withdrawn after a moment of hesitation, saying that he only wanted to watch this time around. He was probably too worried about what would happen when Ianna and Travis faced each other that he couldn’t focus on his matches.

Ianna was waiting to see the results of how the tournament would be set up, as it was based on a lottery. There were other first-year students besides Taro around her and, while the trend hadn’t made it to the other years yet, most first-years wanted to be friendly with Ianna by now.

No one in her year in the Swordsmanship Department had tried to pick a fight with her ever since she had repaid the fools who had insulted her to her face in kind. Their biases against her had begun to crack after they had learned how skilled and terrifying she was during that unforgettable incident.

Ianna was knocking down prejudices one after another as time passed. Everything that had worked against her ever since she had been born was slowly cracking and breaking away.

The world painted her as a poison, but the Ianna people saw underneath that blackened shell was a truly superior woman —no, a truly superior person.

Ianna trained harder than any other, and even the Tiger Professor smiled at her in satisfaction for it. The other professors liked her as well, as she remained alert and took meticulous notes during class while other students were yawning in boredom.

And people regularly saw her studying hard in the library while they were walking around to find a seat. Even the janitor who oversaw the personal training rooms had stirred up a fuss praising Ianna for always being the last person to leave the rooms, since Ryan had lent her his.

Ianna’s dedication to her studies was her greatest merit, and she had no significant flaw to her nature either. She might have common blood running through her veins, but she was still a noble. Ianna was a high-ranking noble, and yet she kept quiet and didn’t flaunt her superiority. The reason that others shied away from her regardless was likely because of the pressure and elegance she exuded.

Moreover, word had spread among the merchants that she had not been able to participate in the new students’ swordsmanship competition because she had broken her arms while saving the son of the Paella Company’s —a rather large company— owner from being trampled by a charging minotaur while on her way back to her lands.

And the capital residents praised her by saying, “Have you heard about the red-headed lady in the Swordsmanship Department? She saved a little girl from being run over by Duke Tarwitt’s carriage. And she did it in a blink of an eye!”

Any student who came from merchant families or those who had a keen ear had easy access to those rumors.

Ianna had never intended for it to happen, but her unchanging tidy attitude and the stories circulating about her made her the mascot for the Swordsmanship Department first-year students.

The first-year students’ change in attitude began spreading over to other students as well. There were even students who had never met a noble before who naively thought, ‘Are all noble girls like that?! It might really be worthwhile to serve one if they are!’

“The lottery results are out!”

A large banner with the bracket drawn on had been hung up. The sixteen competitors were split into two groups before advancing to the finals, and Taro and Travis were in one group while Ianna was in the other. In other words, Travis would have to beat Taro and advance to the finals if he wanted to face Ianna.

“Sorry ‘bout that, Lil’ Ianna,”

Taro, who had been standing next to her, apologized out of the blue.

“What are you sorry about?”

“My Goddess is here to watch the fight today, so I’m gonna give it my all too.”

Taro made a tight fist and continued,

“Meanin’, that I ain’t gonna throw that bastard the match on purpose.”

Ianna stole a glance at Lalatua, who was sitting in the audience with Eiji, Herrace, and Rikijen.

“I don’t mind either way. I’m not trying to make light of you, but if you beat him then it simply means that’s as far as he goes. More importantly, it’s all fine and well that you’re trying to look good in front of her…….”

Lalatua smiled back a pretty smile and waved when her eyes met Ianna’s, prompting Taro to smile at her foolishly.

“……But don’t try to woo her without considering the consequences,”

Ianna advised with a shallow sigh.

The Taro in her past life had been so absolutely loyal to Lalatua’s every order that Ianna couldn’t help but wonder if he had been manipulated into doing so. He had been willing to jump into certain death without hesitation with just a wave of Lalatua’s finger.

Whenever Ianna saw how Taro smiled in delight whenever he saw Lalatua, it reminded her of how he used to stare at Lalatua passionately with burning love from behind in her past. Ianna vaguely remembered how she had once asked Lalatua if the man was her husband……and Lalatua had shaken her head no and replied that he was simply her adorable pet desert tiger. She remembered how Lalatua had said that he was simply her pet beast who protected her during times of war and willingly suffered through all sorts of experiments for her.

Until the moment of Ianna’s death, the Mad Magician Lalatua had only been crazy for her studies in magic and her pursuit of the truth —she had never known love.

Feelings that would never be returned. Ianna could not help but think that unrequited love was unsightly when she thought about how she had wanted and wanted for love until she abandoned the idea in her exhaustion or how Lebony had been driven insane because of the love that was never returned to her.

Ianna pitied Taro. Taro and Lalatua had survived her, so Ianna didn’t know what happened to them after her death —if that time even existed at all—, but Ianna knew that Lalatua had regarded Taro as little more than a human shield until the moment she had died.

“I just like her —what else am I supposed to do ‘bout it?”

Taro mumbled as he pouted.

“I’m not trying to tell you what to do about your feelings……I just wanted to advise you against offering your everything to the princess just because you like her. Make sure you take care of yourself, too.”

“I ain’t that extreme yet, y’know?”

Taro simply liked Lalatua because she was pretty. She was pale and slender, unlike his dark and bulky frame, so he wanted to protect her. She was refined and proud, unlike his tackiness and dull-wittedness.

Taro, a naïve young man in a foreign land, had fallen for the elegant Lalatua at first sight when he had chanced across her on the road. She had turned him down and blasted him with magic, but he liked her so much he had only found it charming. But she had never even looked back at him as she walked away, so there was no reason why he could like her so much that he would offer her his everything.

“Yet……you say. I see, you aren’t that extreme yet. Still, don’t ignore my advice later.”

“Yer being so weird today. But still…….”

Taro brightened up and toyed with his hands. He continued,

“I feel like I could offer her my everything if it means that my Goddess’ll love me back. Mm, yeah. Anyway, d’ya think things might change it I quit bein’ a timid lil’ mouse like this and be more assertive about it? Ya think there’s a chance my Goddess might fall for me then? Hmm?”

“The future is uncertain. It’s foolish to try so hard when you can’t be sure if she’ll like you back.”

Taro made a strange face.

“That don’t sound like you at all, Lil’ Ianna. Wasn’t it yer personal creed that anyone could do anything they wanted as long as they tried?”

“…….”

Ianna closed her mouth and held her silence for a moment before quietly responding,

“It’s different when it comes to people. Personal relationships are always the most difficult to deal with.”

It was love from other people that she could never receive in the past no matter how hard she had tried, and it was also love from other people that had been the first thing she had given up on.

It was only natural for a young child to want affection. It was practically by instinct. Which was why Ianna loathed her childhood, where she had not had a choice but to crave for affection like it was instinct. It had been a wreck.

“Difficult?”

“It’s not like swordplay or studying…… I can accomplish anything alone so long as it doesn’t have to do with personal relationships, but forming a relationship with another is one thing I can’t do by myself no matter how much effort I put into it.”

And that was why Ianna had given up on personal relationships as an adult. She had built an impregnable fortress around her heart. She had given up on approaching people first, and she had simply watched others from a distance in quiet contemplation.

She sorted people into two categories —allies and enemies. She let those whom she had judged would never betray her inside and sided with them, and she regarded those who weren’t her allies as inanimate objects whom she could cut down the very moment they became her enemies.

That was the secret behind how she could dispose of her enemies so heartlessly like a cruel arbiter.

That being said, it wasn’t as though she necessarily loved her allies either. She was a sword who had grown up without knowing love, and she was always aloof and detached. She had never allowed her heart to another. Not to the king nor even to her subordinates. It had always been others who had chased frantically after her.

She had simply lent a hand to help if she happened to glance back while racing forward to see that they were having trouble —that was as far as her feelings would go. She had never needed them.

She had been the culmination of a person who had given up on thirsting for love and had even refused to receive it.

Taro shook his head no with a strange look on his face.

“I’m pretty sure that ain’t true at all.”

“……Is it, now?”

Ianna quietly accepted it. She had never been sincere with or had grown close to anyone in her past. The kind-hearted Isphee had died when she was young, the brusque Karnitz had been nothing but one of her many retainers and he had died while protecting her from a magical attack, Lalatua had been but an annoying mage, Taro had been an extension of Lalatua, Schneider Lezè Roanne had only been her liege, to whom she offered her fealty in exchange for everything he had given her, and Arhad had only been her rival and enemy who had shattered her pride.

This life, however, was completely different from her last. She had Isphee and Karnitz, who had showered her with love and affection ever since she was little, and she had her peers at the Institution who were her equals because she wasn’t a duchess.

The many relationships she found herself tangled up in after restarting her life anew often felt strange to her. She often wondered if it was truly all right for her to life her life this way as she reminisced about her past—but she never found it unpleasant.

Truly, Ianna did not find it unpleasant.

“Who do you think will win?”

“Lord Travis, the third-year, right?”

The plaza bleachers were jam-packed with spectators even though classes were generally held during this time. Many classes had been cancelled because the Institution’s longstanding history had proven that students did not generally focus well on competition days.

“You guys are so, so cool!”

“Do your best!”

Several prettily adorned female students stood at the top of the bleachers and cheered with lovely smiles plastered on their faces. Male students in the Swordsmanship Department, and those who had made it into the tournament proper in particular, were suitable marriage candidates whose future success was all but guaranteed.

In turn, the Swordsmanship Department students, who was too busy suffering through their professors’ rigorous trainings to get to know many girls that well, blushed red when they were smiled at.

“They say that she’s the only girl in the Swordsmanship Department.”

“Isn’t she a count’s daughter or something?”

Ianna, the sole woman in the Swordsmanship Department, naturally caught the spectators’ eyes. She stood out as she stood quietly amongst the rough men of her department.

The other students had taken an interest in her. There was a lot of talk surrounding Ianna, for better or worse. But now that she was standing in line with the other Swordsmanship Department students in the arena, they were only curious about her level of skill —nothing else. Just how far could the woman go?

“Now, now. It’s here, it’s here! Place your bets on who you think will win, like as with every competition!”

Gambling, in the form of betting, was rampant. It was undeniably illegal, but no one kept a close eye on it or regulated it in any way because it was a way for people in the Institution to earn pocket money during every tournament or competition of any kind.

“Hmmm…….”

Eiji, who had been swaggering around the area while observing the odds, broke into a grin. Ianna’s odds were atrociously low, but the lower the odds the better the yield.

“Ah, well, I have no regrets.”

Today was the day, and Eiji bet all the money he had on Ianna. The person manning the table opened their eyes wide in shock and asked him if he was sure he wanted to bet that much before asking if he was sure he had bet on the right person. Eiji, however, and firmly waved his hand, so the person manning the table stared back at him like he was some rich idiot while writing his name down on the list before giving him a piece of paper.

Herrace, who had watched over the entire exchange with an awkward smile on his face, also emptied out his pockets to bet evenly on both Ianna and Taro.

There was also another boy standing next to them who was clearly in a sour mood.

“Why’d you drag me out here while I was studying? I was reviewing material between classes.”

Eiji stuck his tongue out at Rikijen, whom he had dragged outside, when the latter grumbled.

“You studybug. What’s the point in studying on an important day like this?”

“I prefer studying over watching a bunch of people wave their swords around like fools. I want to study every day I can so that…….”

“You’re so boring —what else can you get out of studying other than future success in life?”

Rikijen shut up. Eiji continued,

“I thought you were friends with Little Ianna? Don’t you want to see how well she wields her sword? Don’t you want to cheer her on?”

“What’s the point in cheering for her? She’ll win regardless.”

“Wow.”

Eiji stared at Rikijen, who was fixing his glasses in a stormy silence, with a strange look in his eyes after hearing what the latter had mumbled. He continued,

“You’re always so dubious about everything else, and yet you sound so certain about this.”

“Little Rikijen, have you seen Ianna wielding her sword before?”

“……No, but I do know that Lady Ianna is remarkable. She was amazing when she jumped in front of a speeding carriage and saved the girl in an instant even in my eyes, and I know next to nothing about swordsmanship. Well, whatever.”

Rikijen pulled out his wallet and threw it on the betting table.

“Ianna.”

The person manning the table counted the money inside his wallet and was shocked by how much there was. Rikijen, like Eiji had been, was asked if he was really sure about betting that much on Ianna, before he brushed the question off in annoyance and had his name written down.

“I suppose I’ll see how good she is with my own eyes since I’m already here. I’m rather curious to see how much more she’ll manage to surprise me,”

Rikijen mumbled as he received his piece of paper and crammed it into his pocket. He continued,

“Is she really good enough for me to bet all my savings on her?”

“You coward. Well, you chose well regardless. You’ll be a rich man tonight!”

Eiji cackled as he wrapped an arm around Rikijen’s shoulders before squeezing the latter in a chokehold. Rikijen screamed.

“H-hey, that hurts! I’m not built as sturdy as you lot, damn it, so don’t call me a coward! Ack! That really hurts!”

“Oh, stop exaggerating.”

“Sir, he looks like he’s in so much pain he really might die.”

“The cocky little punk can stand to suffer a little.”

“Ack!”

“I see you’re having fun.”

Eiji was strangling Rikijen mercilessly when an imposing voice that would make any Swordsmanship Department student stand at attention called out from behind them.

Eiji let go of the flailing Rikijen as he and Herrace turned to greet the newcomer.

“Hello, Professor Filliger!”

“Hello. So tell me, who did you bet on?”

“On Little Ianna, of course.”

“I see. I am here to bet on Miss Ianna as well.”

Other students, who had recognized Filliger as the head professor of the Swordsmanship Department, watched with bated breath and took a greater interest in Ianna upon hearing that he was betting on her.

Eiji grinned when Filliger left the betting table.

“Damn, Little Ianna really is a teacher’s pet.”

The people who had been about to carefully place their bets on Ianna hesitated upon hearing Eiji’s words. They couldn’t tell if the professor had bet money on her because he was sad that his favorite student’s odds were low of if it was because he had truly thought she would win.

The group put those people behind them and leisurely walked away from the betting table.

They regrouped with Lalatua, who had been saving their seats on the highest level of the bleachers where they could enjoy the best view and watched over the arena. And, just as Ianna entered the stage. They heard a certain woman shouting from next to them.

“You’re so beautiful, Little Ianna! You’re so sexy, Little Ianna!”

A tiny girl with short blonde hair was waving around a large piece of cloth with the words, “Go Ianna, my beautiful muse!” scribbled across it without a hint of shame. She beamed as she waved around the cloth.

“Jeez, you should’ve told me about the competition earlier. I would’ve made you a cool and sturdy costume!”

Ianna, who had subconsciously turned toward the familiar-sounding shouting, suddenly developed a headache.

Eiji, who was looking back and forth between the girl and Ianna, suddenly gave a thumbs up and confidently exclaimed,

“I’m willing to bet my finger that girl over there’s Ianna’s pain in the ass roommate.”

The girl, Priscilla, turned to them and said,

“Who, me? How’d you know I was Little Ianna’s roommate?”

“Well, that’s ‘cause we’re her friends.”

“My oh my.”

Priscilla’s eyes lit up upon hearing that and she asked the guy sitting next to the group if they could switch seats. The guy didn’t protest, since both seats came with a good view.

“It’s so nice to meet you! Let me introduce myself formally. I’m Priscilla, a fourth-year student in the Fashion Department. How about you?”

“I’m Eiji, from the Swordsmanship Department, Little Priscilla. Little Ianna tells me you’re quite the roommate, you know?”

Priscilla laughed and waved around her cloth when Eiji smiled slyly and pretended to know her well.

“Look here. I painted all over the cloth I was planning to make clothes with today just so I could cheer Little Ianna on, see? But there’s no helping it, since I’ve completely fallen for her charm and her gorgeous body.”

“34—24—35?”

“Whaaat? That’s perfect! But, how did you know? You didn’t actually touch her, did you?”

“What are you talking about —I would’ve gotten punched in the face and thrown against a wall if I did that…….”

Eiji and Priscilla got along rather well.

“What are you talking about? I want in.”

Lalatua, who had been watching Ianna, took interest and cut in.

The three of them chatted away boisterously as Rikijen, who had been keeping his silence with his chin resting against his hands, turned to Herrace, who was quietly blushing beside him, and said,

“Lord Herrace, I think you’re the only normal friend she has.”

“Ah…”

Herrace was startled when Rikijen called out to him, and he flushed a shade redder and laughed as he replied,

“Haha. Not at all. They’re only acting strange because they’re all really fond of Little Ianna. I mean, honestly, Little Ianna’s just really cool, isn’t she? I’m just too shy to join in on their conversation…….”

“…….”

Rikijen returned his gaze to the arena, where Ianna was standing in line with the other participants. Herrace followed suit. Standing below were Travis, who always called him deadweight, told Herrace to give up on being a swordsman, and crushed him underfoot with his words, and Ianna, who told Herrace that he could emerge victorious against his illness become an amazing swordsman if only he stood up against the challenge and gave him hope.

Herrace had not been able to answer Ianna back then because his newfound hope had clashed against the resignation and sense of shame that had built up over his long boyhood years……

But now, his heart was surging with both anxiety and anticipation. Hit gnawed at his lips and clasped his hands tightly together as he looked down into the arena with nervousness written plainly on his face.

~~*~~

“Whoa…….”

“Wow…….”

The students were completely captivated by the crimson girl standing amidst the clouds of dust rising up from the arena.

Clang!

“U-ugh!”

Screeech. Cling.

Their swords screamed as metal clashed against metal.

“Huff, huff.”

Fabion was frantically trying to collect his breath as he stood at the ready. Then, he quickly raised his sword vertically upon seeing a sword glide so effortlessly up his blade.

He was hard-pressed. Ianna evaded his every attack with ready ease and drew closer to him like a ghost with only one step, and she never failed to capitalize on every crack in his defense. He had ignored the chance he could get hurt and had gone for the offensive, feeling like he would accomplish nothing at this rate, only to be rewarded with a throbbing injury to his side.

The frighteningly sharp and long rapier in Ianna’s hands seemed almost otherworldly as it twirled.

Clang!

Not only was Ianna terrifying when he faced her from up close, but she was also expressionless. He could not help but break out in goosebumps as he wondered whether she could maintain her poise even if she ended up killing someone.

Fabion was one of the top third-year Swordsmanship Department students. And he took great pride in the fact.

And yet, he was so busy trying to defend himself against Ianna’s rapid-fire attacks that he hardly had any time to attack properly. His restlessness was written plainly on his face, but his opponent, Ianna, seemed to feel absolutely nothing. Fabion was beginning to lose his nerve.

Suddenly, Ianna’s sword slid past his and closed in on his Adam’s apple. Fabian was startled. And he yelled,

“I-I yield!”

Cling—

Her sword stopped just as it reached Fabion’s Adam’s apple. A red stream of blood poured down his throat where the rapier’s pointed end had pricked it.

The crowd broke out in cheers after a strangely long and frightening moment of silence.

“The victor is Ianna!”

“You’re……quite amazing,”

Fabion said as he collected his breathing while straightening himself out, but Ianna, who was sheathing her sword, simply glanced at him once before walking away without a reply.

Fabion had no idea what she was so displeased about even after winning. He feebly made his way out of the arena and walked up to Travis.

“Lord Travis, that girl —she’s something else.”

“…….”

Travis was well-aware, having watched the match himself.

Ianna had just faced Fabion, a friend of his, in the semi-finals. The girl he had insulted easily had more than enough skill to make it into the Swordsmanship Department. And not only that, but she had readily beaten the other second and third-years to make it to the finals.

But she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl. There was no way she could beat him —not when he had always trained so desperately under the guidance of his mother’s harsh urgings. He could already control mana to an extent, could already beat some of the upperclassmen with ease, and had already been scouted into the royal guard.

“There’s a swordsmanship competition next month. Keep winning until you face me. If you happen to beat me and win, I’ll leave the Swordsmanship Department.”

He hated Ianna, who had also been scorned and neglected by others for being born a mistress’ child. He disliked her for reminding him of his own circumstances. But insulting her back then had truly been a mistake he had committed only out of rage. The twisted monster that dwelt in his otherwise composed heart always broke past his restraints and surfaced whenever things had to do with Herrace.

He knew that he had insulted her without any proof. It was only right that he should apologize. That he should take back their bet. It would stay in his heart and torment him forever if Ianna dropped out after losing when she had done nothing to deserve being expelled in the first place.

But the arrogant things that Ianna had said after slamming the table and standing up kept him from apologizing.

“It’s unsightly, the way you’re just brimming in shame because of your inferiority complex toward Herrace. Dirty bastard.”

“That egotistical look on your face after humiliating Herrace was ridiculous. You piece of human trash.”

“From you? Nothing. You’ll just be crawling at my feet in disgrace in front of everyone else. I’ll trample over you and make you miserable.”

She was haughty no matter how many times he thought back to it.

Ultimately, Travis chose the bet and his pride over an apology and his conscience.

‘She was the one who proposed the bet first. I didn’t force her into it. Hmph. I’ll have her drop out like she said she would.’

He would apologize for his actions and take the bet back if she apologized first, of course. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t done any wrong either.

Travis was so sure he would win that he didn’t spare any thought into what would happen should he lose. He swung his sword a few times for practice as he waited to face Taro in the next semi-finals match.

~~*~~

Part 8

“Hmm, is something up? That’s one look ya got on yer face.”

“……It’s nothing,”

Ianna replied stiffly. Taro was perplexed as to why she was acting like that, but he climbed into the arena for his match against Travis nevertheless.

Ianna gripped the handle of her sword tightly with her brows furrowed.

It was strange. Even as she ran into the arena in the burning heat with sweat dripping down her face, as she basked in the audience’s passionate cheers and defeated her opponents without leaving them a single recourse to make an excuse for themselves, as she vividly witnessed defeat coloring her opponent’s eyes……she felt absolutely nothing, contrary to her expectations.

Ianna wiped away the beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead with the back of her hand. The cries of her opponents’ defeat under the scorching sun as she swung around her sword like a marionette made her insides churn.

“……This is irritating.”

Ianna, who had been absolutely thrilled just mere hours ago, was now down in the dumps. Her victories felt so empty, and she felt so little even after defeating her opponents with her sword that it annoyed her to no end.

‘This is boring.’

Indeed, it was boring. Her opponents’ surrenders failed to hold even the slightest interest for her.

‘I’m so bored.’

Ianna grasped tightly to the hilt of her sword as it rested in its sheath. She wasn’t even killing time. And neither was she in the mood to play along. She just wanted to cut them all down. And she found it strange that she thought this way.

Ianna closed her eyes and forced herself to relax her uncontrollable emotions.

“Whew…….”

The scorching sun overhead was unbearable. Sweat poured down her skin in rivers.

It was hot.

The heat was undoubtedly the same as it had been when she had been nineteen, and yet something about her had changed as she stood inside it.

“…….”

“…….”

Taro and Travis only watched each other and didn’t move even after the match had started. They could not attack recklessly because they knew that their opponent was skilled.

Taro squared off against Travis, who was staring back at him single-mindedly, for a while before yawning from the tedium of it all and readjusting his grip on his sword.

“Hmm. Might as well.”

Taro swung his greatsword through the air. The colossal blade whistled sharply as Taro sped it up with his brute strength. He continued,

“Oi, ya stuck up noble.”

“Are you referring to me?”

Travis replied sharply.

“What other stuck up asshole would I be talkin’ to here?”

“What is it that you want to say, you hillbilly?”

Taro’s lips twitched at being called a hillbilly.

“I have a hard time tryin’ to control my strength, for a lotta different reasons…”

“So what of it?”

“Well, so…yaah!”

Taro instantaneously closed the distance between them and brought his greatsword down like he was trying to break open Travis’ head. Travis would have died on the spot had he not dodged. Some members of the audience covered their eyes and screamed.

Travis, however, had readily dodged the simple vertical slash that had only had brute strength going for it.

Craaash!

Taro’s greatsword rang shrill as it not only slammed against the arena floor but also shattered some of the stone underneath. The small fragments of the broken stone tile jumped up into the air and fell back down like hail.

“…Make sure ya dodge properly.”

Taro rested his blade against his shoulder and grinned while baring his white teeth. Travis stood there and stared at the ghastly figure before him for a bit before he said,

“I’d be done for even if I only got hit just once. Are you trying to kill me?”

“Hmph. Ya shouldn’t call yerself Herrace’s older brother if ya can’t even dodge this.”

Travis’ eyes narrowed into a glare. Taro continued,

“Herrace dodges this way n’ that and he’s pretty good at avoiding large attacks. His body might be on the frailer side, but his swordplay…….”

Claaang!

“Stop praising the bastard in front of me.”

Travis brought down his sword against Taro as he grit his teeth.

Clang! Claang!

He struck against Taro’s greatsword once and then twice. Taro took it in stride and was lost in thought for a while before, out of nowhere, he exclaimed,

“Dang, ya were right, Lil’ Ianna.”

He was speaking to Ianna, and not Travis.

“What?”

“Yer scared of Herrace, aren’t ya? Damn!”

Travis’ face stiffed up, and Taro brought up his sword diagonally from the lower-left to the upper-right. Travis, who had been a little late in returning to his senses, missed his timing to dodge and had no choice but to parry.

Craash!

Taro’s brute strength, however, sent him flying back.

“……!”

Travis scowled at the numbness in his arm as he soared through the air. He somersaulted to correct his posture and struck his sword into the ground when he landed safely.

He was seething inside. Travis held back his rising nausea and retorted,

“Why would I be scared of Herrace?”

“Snicker. Well, it’s pretty obvious when ya listen to what yer sayin’, yeah? Y’know, our Lil’ Ianna’s not only awesome, but she’s real good at wieldin’ her sword and she’s smart too. Snicker snicker.”

Travis’ head was starting to get hot with rage as Taro guffawed like he was sneering at him.

Just what did they possibly know that made them think they had the right to judge him like this? He was so enraged that all the hairs on his skin were prickling in indignation.

“Well, it’s cause Herrace got all —what was it again? He got cursed or something, and no one paid no attention to ya until it happened, yeah? And then ya started bullyin’ and humiliatin’ him nonstop after that……yeesh……narrowminded, aren’t ya?”

Travis’ boiling anger erupted like a volcano at hearing Taro comment about how he had psychologically bullied Herrace because he was narrowminded. Travis, who had maintained his cool until then, flushed bright red in wrath as he shouted,

“Shut up! What would you know?!”

Travis pulled his sword out of the ground and swung it down furiously at Taro, but Taro caught it only too readily. Travis ground his teeth together. Taro, who was famous for his brute strength, was not an opponent he could take on with simple strength or skill alone.

Bzzzt…….

Travis started to imbue his sword with mana.

Using mana to fortify your weapon against an opponent who was not doing the same was essentially the same thing as declaring that you were willing to kill them. Which was why fortification was tacitly forbidden while sparring, where you weren’t allowed to kill your opponent.

But tournaments designed to test one’s skills were the exception to the rule. A real battle in the Age of Magic consisted not only of weapons, but of mana as well.

They could not murder their opponents, but they could still use mana against them. In other words, Taro, too, would have to fortify his weapon now that Travis had all but declared that he would go all out in their match.

Bzzt, bzz.

A hazy light formed around Travis’ sword as mana condensed around it.

“It’s fortification!”

The audience cheered.

It was said that only a fraction of the continent’s population knew how to control mana. Also, most people did not learn how to control mana properly until they were at least in their mid-twenties. Mana did not tend to listen to those who were younger, which made it difficult to control.

And yet, Travis had managed to condense so much mana that it was vaguely visible to the naked eye at just the young age of eighteen. His talent was incredible.

The audience watched the arena with bated breath. A fortified sword was so sharp that it could cut through a person whole with just one swing. Even the smallest mistakes could send body parts flying.

Instead of following suit and fortifying his sword, however, Taro simply stood there with his eyes wide open in surprise. Travis seemed like he would cut Taro’s head off with his fortified sword at any moment now.

“Urgk. Ya know how to control mana? Damn…….”

Taro slapped his palm against his forehead. Travis, who had been intently swinging down his sword, hesitated as Taro’s attitude killed his momentum. Taro continued,

“Welp. Swords are meant for cuttin’ stuff up, but I can’t do that all that well yet……and I might lose a limb or something if I keep goin’…….”

Taro mumbled calmly to himself with Travis still in front of him, prompting the latter to scowl and say,

“What are you doing? Take this seriously!”

“Take what seriously? I yield~. I can’t use mana.”

Taro cleanly abandoned the fight. Taro, who had been late in training his mana skills, had always been warned by his family to avoid fighting someone who knew how to control mana unless he was truly in danger.

Taro strapped his sword across his back and waved his arms. The referee waved his flag.

“The victor is Travis!”

Taro stuck his tongue out at Travis while the other was taken aback.

“Ya must be pretty amazin’ if ya can even control mana n’ all, so what’cha gotta bully Herrace for? —he ain’t done nothing wrong. Take it easy, yeah? Put it bitter taste in my mouth to see ya shrink back into yerself like that before.”

“…….”

“Damn, what am I gonna do if my Goddess gets disappointed in me…”

Taro rendered Travis’ use of fortification entirely pointless as he climbed out of the arena while smacking his lips together after churning Travis’ insides upside-down.

“Damn it…….”

Travis, who was left standing alone in the arena, cursed.

He had lost his household’s favor just one year after he had been born. By the time he could wonder why, he realized that Herrace was lavished with love just for being the son of a delicate noblewoman and showing talent for the sword despite his weak constitution whereas he was being pushed aside.

Travis had been all but forgotten and only his mother had taken his hand as he tottered his first steps while Herrace had been enshrouded in the household’s love while he was just beginning to coo and babble.

Travis had grit his teeth and started basic running exercises while Herrace had been laughing with people in the garden as he took his first steps.

Travis had studied mana alone with the help of books while Herrace had been personally taught by the archmage Heinrich.

His commoner mother, who had been accepted into the household as a surrogate to produce an heir, had gotten so carried away in her dreams when Travis was born, but she lost everything when Herrace was born only a year later and grew so miserable that she wept all the time —Travis had grown up under his mother’s constant nagging and had never had the chance to play as a child because he was too busy training all the time.

And yet, Herrace, who had only started wielding the sword a year later, was so remarkable and talented that he quickly surpassed Travis in skill no matter how hard Travis trained.

Why can’t you be as good as Herrace? Put more effort into your sword training, like Herrace does! How are you so much worse than him? All Young Master Herrace does when he’s not eating or sleeping is train. It’s truly commendable. You should try harder too, Young Master. Herrace is so talented. He’s sure to be an amazing swordsman in the future. Lord Herrace is very warm in character, so he’ll surely guide the household well in the future. He’s the only one fit to be the next head of the household. Unlike a certain common-born someone.

Herrace, Herrace, Herrace…….

Herrace, Herrace, that damned bastard Herrace!

Travis had spent his childhood years being compared to Herrace —it wasn’t just his mother, but the rest of the household and even his father too. He had never once been complimented —he had been compared to his brother, who was only a year younger than him, every single day, and it had been enough to drive him mad.

He hated Herrace for always smiling so revoltingly naively as he called him Brother. And so, he had resolved himself one day. He would grow stronger until he made the household acknowledge the fact that he was better than Herrace. He would crush that naïve little bastard underfoot so hard with just his skill alone that Herrace would never be able to smile at him again.

That was how deep the wounds had run across his heart when he was younger.

But then, he had later learned that Herrace was afflicted with the curse of mana, which was practically a death sentence for any swordsman. Herrace had started to be pitied as House Bendham, a house of warriors, lost interest in him, and it was only then that Travis had begun to surface as his substitute.

Travis had been absolutely delighted at the situation, but he also felt wretched.

He had never cast Herrace’s shadow away with his skills —Herrace had collapsed all on his own. His dreams had been forcibly cut short and he would be in second place forever because he had not overtaken Herrace’s place by his own merit.

Still, he had grown used to people treating him as the heir all the same. His mother, who used to spend all her time crying, now laughed with good cheer, and his father, who began to look at Herrace with cold eyes, was satisfied upon learning how skilled Travis was. The servants stopped mistreating him and now bowed whenever they saw him.

Travis loved his new everyday life so much that he didn’t mind burying the wretchedness and shame he had felt when he first learned of Herrace’s affliction forever.

Herrace would never be able to advance any further. It was obvious that he would give up the sword soon. And so, Travis, too, tried hard not to recall what he had felt. He had buried his feelings deep inside. He had forgotten them.

And yet, like a thorn in his eye, Herrace had stubbornly refused to give up the sword. The hopeful members of the household had a look that clearly said, ‘If only Herrace could control mana…….’ in their eyes.

Herrace’s sudden onset of illness meant that the gap between his and Travis’ skills only grew larger with each passing day no matter how hard Herrace worked, and he would never be able to easily catch up ——but pathetic and unsightly Herrace never gave up. It aggravated Travis to no end. He gushed with rage whenever he so much as looked at Herrace. His insides seethed with his boiling emotions.

You should hurry up and fall if you’re going to be ruined anyway.

You’re nothing but deadweight! Get out of my sight and disappear.

You’ll never get any better no matter how hard you try.

It’s insulting for me to get compared to the likes of you.

Perhaps others would see him and think he was disgraceful. But Herrace’s mere existence was traumatic for him.

He was only eighteen —not old enough yet for his thoughts to grow rational. The youth could not hold back and verbally abused his younger brother and hurt him with his words at every turn.

‘Scared.’

Travis could not comprehend why Taro had said that.

‘Why would I be afraid of him? —he’s nothing but deadweight now.’

He simply sneered at and scorned Herrace, who had fallen way behind him, for being an eyesore.

He did not realize that his overbearing anxiety had shroud his entire heart in fear. And Ianna had brushed upon the great ire that had been slumbering deep within.

Whoa! Wow!

The audience was on fire as Ianna, who had demonstrated her amazing skills with each consecutive match, and Travis, the ace of the underclassmen, faced each other.

Students mumbled about Ianna during the intermission before the finals as they stood in line to buy snacks from the stands.

“Wasn’t she amazing?”

“Yeah. I wonder how long I’d last if I had to fight her?”

“What are you talking about? You wouldn’t last a second.”

No one who had watched the tournament today doubted her skills any more. Their opinions of her had done a complete one-eighty.

“Which assholes were the ones spreading rumors about her?”

“Bastards, were they looking down at her for being a woman or something? They probably spread all that nonsense just because Lady Ianna’s a girl.”

“Poor Lady Ianna. She must’ve been so upset.”

Ianna’s reputation had been changing for the better bit by bit because of her behavior and the good rumors about her. But today was the day that she went from being a dirty half-blooded noble who might have used her authority, money, or even her body to gain illicit admissions into the Swordsmanship Department to an excellent swordswoman who had gotten in on account of her outstanding scores.

It was easier to change the crowd’s tune in one big go rather than to respond to every little thing that cropped up. Ianna had been right on her money.

So, would the amazing Ianna Roberstein be able to defeat the ace of the third-years?

The students thought her chances were slim, but she was on such a roll that they eagerly anticipated her victory nevertheless. Their eyes had gone from being colored with suspicion and curiosity to wonder and goodwill.

“Wow, would you look at that? And these bastards used to look down on her.”

“Ain’t it obvious? Lil’ Ianna was a sleepin’ tiger all along.”

Taro had regrouped with his friends, and they were making merry as they sat on the bleachers.

There were still a few people, however, who seemed displeased. They were those who disliked the fact that a woman was beating all the men, those who still couldn’t stomach Ianna’s background, those who had bet money on people Ianna had defeated, and those who were cheering for Travis.

The loud cheers for both Travis and Ianna filled the stands, and, as always, Travis relished in the sound as his excitement seemed to envelop his entire being.

“…….”

There was fury in his eyes as he looked down at Ianna, who was standing expressionlessly just a few feet in front of him. His wavering eyes, like undulating waves, seemed to burn as he took in Ianna’s crimson colors.

And yet, Ianna looked like she couldn’t have cared any less about Travis’ agitation as she simply stared down at her sword.

“Ianna Roberstein.”

Ianna, who had been staring at her sword, only looked up and met his gaze after Travis called out to her. Travis realized from the way that she didn’t seem even the slightest bit nervous that she didn’t care about him in the slightest.

Travis’ face turned aghast as even his pride was trampled.

“You think you’re so great?”

The question tore through his lips. Ianna could feel his fierce indignation even from afar and tried to ask what nonsense he was sprouting.

“Who do you think you are —what do you even know about me to talk shit about me?”

She closed her mouth again when Travis mumbled. He continued,

“What’s that about me and Herrace?”

Ianna looked back at him with cool eyes as she figured out what was enraging him so. She had seen them exchanging words during the semi-finals, and it looked like Taro had told him exactly what she thought about him. Ianna wiped at her chin with the back of her hand.

‘Is that why he’s so irked at me right now?’

Ianna found Travis’ interrogations ridiculous. A cold sneer alighted her crimson lips.

“I said that you were so lost in shame that Herrace makes you quiver in fear.”

“What?”

Travis was so furious that he nearly swung his sword when he heard her ridicule. However, he clenched his hands into tight fists and simply stared at her instead because the match hadn’t begun yet.

“……This is preposterous. You are truly irritating.”

Travis enunciated each word clearly as he spat them out. He continued,

“I just don’t like the fact that Herrace hasn’t given up on the sword yet. He keeps clinging onto something that’ll never happen! He’ll only disgrace our family name if he continues to be unsightly like this!”

“Is that so?”

Ianna simply shrugged and didn’t even bother to refute him. Travis bit down at his lip.

‘What’s with that attitude? Is she disagreeing or not?’

She neither backed Herrace up nor did she apologize to him. Never mind apologizing, she hardly even looked at him like he wasn’t worth her attention, and it made Travis fume.

“Just admit you were wrong and apologize.”

“For what?”

“For all the insults you hurled at me!”

Ianna covered her mouth with a hand and scoffed. Travis flinched, feeling like she was sneering at him. Slowly, Ianna brought her hand down and said,

“Why should I apologize to you?”

Travis, who was infuriated, was struck dumb when she sounded like she truly didn’t understand why she should apologize and stared at her blankly. She continued,

“I suppose I did insult you, if that’s what you’re calling it. But why does that I mean I should apologize? For what reason must I care about how you feel?”

Ianna snorted and said,

“You’re nothing to me.”

Ianna responded more sharply than she usually did. She was already suffering through an unidentifiable sense of boredom, and Travis’ irritating attitude only served to dampen her mood further.

But she was still being sincere. Travis did not mean anything to her. He was closer to an enemy, if anything. He had insulted Herrace, her peer. A cold light alighted her eyes.

“I was simply stating what I felt based on my observations. Well, would you like to hear more of my opinions of you?”

Ianna’s lips twisted into a sneer.

“You’re so entrapped by your emotions that you can’t control them anymore, and yet you shift the blame on others and abase them —people like you are the most pathetic of all. Not only that, but you’re the worst kind of the lot who can’t even realize this about yourself. It’s revolting just having to look at you. I’d prefer to not have to talk to trash like you at all.”

She was openly deriding him.

“……You damn bitch.”

Travis’ veins popped up as he gripped his sword.  His eyes burned fervently with the desire to strangle Ianna for belittling him.

The referee cut in and warned them as they air around them grew tense. Once their conversation had ended, the referee announced the start of the match and brought down the flag.

Claang!

Sparks flew as their swords clashed furiously. Travis had rushed in and brought down his sword as soon as the match had started. Ianna could have been seriously injured or even killed had she not defended herself.

“So you won’t apologize? In that case, I’ll just have you uphold your bet! I’ll make you shut your cocky mouth and drop out of the Institution! With your tail between your legs!”

His infuriated blade came down at her like he was trying to split her in two, but Ianna blocked all of his attacks by swinging her sword diagonally.

Clang! Claaang! Clash! Cling!

Travis ruthlessly swung down his sword, but Ianna maintained her composure as she reacted to each and every attack. She never even blinked or gave him even the smallest of openings.

Ianna watched over Travis’ offense without counterattacking. There was a reason he was called the ace of the Swordsmanship Department underclassmen. He had the talent. His flurrying blade was sharp even though he failed to keep his rationality. He attacked fiercely as if by instinct when Ianna tested him with the smallest of openings. He would slice through her flesh and bone the moment she allowed him the chance. He had a lot of weaknesses, however, because he was too busy attacking her ruthlessly.

Ianna looked down at him listlessly. She could sprain his wrist, break his arm, or crush his abdomen so thoroughly that he would vomit his own innards whenever she wanted to. She could dodge him by a wide margin and elbow him in the flank and thrust her sword through his heart while his breaking ribs stole his breath. There were any number of attacks she could do, or, she could use mana and cut him in two from the shoulder down to the opposite side of his waist in but an instant.

She could see all her options vividly in her mind. But she wasn’t allowed to kill him, and Travis was too enraged to fight at his best, so Ianna simply decided to stay put and defend. He would not submit to her completely if he was defeated in this state. There was no greater frustration than to be forced to bend the knee even after giving everything you had.

Travis’ rough blade grew sharper and his frantic attacks grew focused as he regained his composure.

He only began to think something was strange after his first few dozen attacks were blocked. His eyes met directly with Ianna’s wintry ones. Travis immediately flushed red.

He felt wretched, as if he had given an enthusiastic performance on a stage without a single member in the audience.

Travis learned that Ianna’s blade was swift, that her strength was no weaker than any man’s, and that she was flexible enough that she could twist and turn her every bone and muscle at will as he fought her. She was more incredible than he’d originally thought. And yet, someone as amazing as her had yet to attack him.

At first, he had thought she had been unable to counterattack because he was the superior swordsman, but then he realized that she was only defending because she was waiting for something.

‘But for what? For an opening? For me to mess up?’

Travis stiffened up from his subtle anxiety.

“Why aren’t you attacking?”

Ianna’s lips twitched at his question.

“I was waiting for you to regain your senses.”

It was only then that she started brandishing her sword relentlessly like a cruel torturer’s whip.

Claang! Clang! Swish! Cling! Shhh! Cla-clang!

Travis was hard-pressed to defend. He was blocking, and yet her sword had slid down to scratch the back of his hand, dropped low to cut his forearm, stab at his stomach like the horn of a charging monster, and appeared like an unpredictable ghost blade to pierce his thigh and draw blood.

Ianna wielded and thrust her sharp rapier as she rushed around him. Her attacks were like a swarm of a hundred venomous snakes lunging at him at once.

“Pant, pant!”

The empty look on Ianna’s face from across their blades as Travis struggled to keep his breath truly chilled him to the bone. Her red eyes, which caught the light of their clashing blades, truly looked like a monster’s. The fact that her eyes were being dyed with irritation and her wish to end things as quickly as possible was even more terrifying.

Ianna was honestly so irritated that she wanted to kill her opponent and be done with it. Travis, her opponent in the finals, was of no exception to her ire. How was it that no one had been worth giving it her all even though she had made it all the way to the finals?

Is there truly no one?

No one who will match my sword?

Arhad —is there no one like him……?

She felt nauseous. It felt like there was a monster living in her heart.

Her incomprehensible emotions became as the monster’s tentacles and coagulated inside. They pulled her deeper inside the monster’s maw.

It whispered to her just before it swallowed her whole.

You will never be satisfied by any other, it said.

“Is this all you’ve got? You were all talk, I see.”

Ianna opened her crimson lips, the color of blood, and uttered words that could only elicit terror from those who were on the receiving end. Travis could not help but wonder if she had lost her mind.

Travis tried to step back only to find himself stopped at the edge of the arena. Ianna slashed away at him with incredible speed once she had cornered him into immobility like a cat cornering a mouse. Travis hurriedly tried to dodge only to be wounded at his side, and he found himself in imminent danger of being stabbed near the ribs.

There was no way that Ianna would murder him during what was supposed to be a friendly match, but Travis could not help but feel like the reaper’s scythe was closing in on his throat.

Bzzt! Bzzzt!

Travis frantically crammed mana into his sword. Ianna’s sword stopped for a moment. He took the chance to roll out away from the edge.

The audience had been rendered silent at some point.

“Huff. Huff.”

Travis, who had rolled haphazardly across the ground, was a mess. His entire body ached from the cuts and stabs he had suffered. His hands were shaking from his fear of death.

Travis slapped himself on the cheek to force himself to think straight and readjusted his grip on his sword. He could use fortification. He had fortification, which he had longed and longed and longed for so earnestly and had only gained after putting in the effort and more effort and more effort.

Travis held tight to his last shred of pride and tried to taunt at Ianna to continue. But he couldn’t. Buckets of sweat were pouring down from his forehead.

Even the annoyance had been wiped clean from Ianna’s face. Her surroundings were so filled with bloodlust that it wouldn’t be strange if she cut him clean in two whenever she wished.

“Is that supposed to be fortification……?”

You want to face me with that shoddy and amateurish excuse of fortification?

Ianna twisted her dry lips into a fierce scowl.

“How much further do you intend to irritate me……?”

Multiple members of the audience gasped. Ianna had fortified her own sword. She had controlled the aura to ensure that it was faint, but it was still more than enough to astonish people.

Ianna brought her sword up to her shoulders and glared stiffly and fiercely down at Travis.

Pooow!

This isn’t it.

Clang.

Broken fragments of mana flung out and beat against the ground, leaving behind deep gouges like a monster had taken an axe to it.

It’s not this.

Travis froze up as the look on Ianna’s face grew more furious. Ianna mumbled to herself,

Why am I even here right now……?

She wondered if she over-glorified the swordsmanship competition in her fantasies. Perhaps she had been too excited to emerge victorious in an official match that wasn’t just for training. It was just another name for a venue for young people to dual others on the merit of their respective skills, and she was fighting in the finals just as she had before, and yet, this match was too different from the one she had fought when she was nineteen.

She had a good idea as for why she didn’t feel the sense of superiority or ecstasy even after crushing her opponents underfoot.

She was a different person than she had been back then. The wounds that others had left on her heart had not quite healed yet back then, but now, not only had her wounds healed long ago, she was also strong enough not to be swayed by the thoughts of others. It was only natural that the emotions she experienced had changed as well.

Moreover, she had already lived for decades, and it had become so natural for her to simply trample and slaughter all those who belittled her. There was no reason for her to feel overflowing delight just because she had forced someone to their knees anymore.

And……there was yet another truth she had realized.

That day, when her sword had been defeated by a man named Arhad when she was nineteen. The very day that she had met an opponent against whom she could give her all…….

What had she been like ever since that day? Had she not made forcing that man to his knees one day her only goal in life?

Ianna had wielded her sword to murder people for decades. She had ruthlessly mowed down both criminals and enemies. The only thing her sword pointed to was destruction, and that was all her sword was good for against anyone who wasn’t Arhad.

It was simply that the man named Arhad, who had made her heart beat so furiously it almost tingled that day, had become the ‘only’ target she wanted to defeat with her sword.

Wasn’t that why she had felt so empty during her second swordsmanship tournament —because Arhad wasn’t there? Wasn’t that sense of emptiness the very reason why she had stopped participating in swordsmanship tournaments altogether? Wasn’t that why she couldn’t remember even the smallest details from her second tournament?

Wasn’t the reason why that day with Arhad remained so vividly in her mind because the memory was so intense, because the experience had upended her entire life and shackled her to him?

She enjoyed wielding her sword. That being said, she apparently didn’t particularly enjoy defeating others. The true path to victory now only lied with Arhad.

This isn’t it.

That man is the only one whom I can pour my everything out against, so why are you here instead?

Craaack! Clunk!

Ianna’s sword cut through Travis’. His sword broke and dropped to the ground in pieces. A gasp rose from the bleachers before the audience broke out in screams that covered the arena. It was only then that Ianna returned to her senses.

That had been dangerous. She had nearly slit his throat.

Ianna’s sword had stopped precisely next to his palpitating arteries. Her sword at stopped, but the fortification wrapped around her sword had rent his flesh and blood was pouring out from his wound.

“Huff…… Huff…….”

Travis’ countenance was a pale as a corpse’s. Ianna stared down at him silently with her fortified sword, so strong that it could even cut through steel, resting against his throat. Travis was looking back at her as he trembled in pure terror.

Pow!

Ianna kicked Travis in the knees and forced him to kneel. The audience fell silent.

Travis looked up as the world buzzed around him. There was a single girl standing before him. His blood was dripping down from the sword in her hand. He slowly moved his gaze up to look at the shadow that was cast across her face because her back was to the sun.

The shadow was overflowing with crimson bloodlust. It felt like the fires of hell that would devour him any moment now and reduce him to nothing but blackened soot. He was so terrified that he could not stop himself from looking back down.

His eyes were quivering in fear. The sharp protruding emotions of his wicked hatred of Herrace were cut away cleanly by the sudden blade called fear and a few other emotions burrowed deep inside his terrified heart.

Ianna stared down at the fearful look on face and smirked.

“Phew.”

She looked up at the sun.

You’re shining your heat down upon me just as you did that day, so why is today so different? I no longer feel the euphoria from defeating my enemies like I did back then.

But yes, the reason why everything’s so different because he was at the heart of my day back then, but he’s not here today.

It was because I met you that day that I could defiantly wield my sword until the day I died.

You’re not standing here with me atop this hard ground, and that’s why it’s so cold it seems to rob even the scorching heat.

“The victor is Ianna—!”

Ianna gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.

Whooo—!

The cheers that broke out for her victory sounded so empty as they hung in the air.

“……Three years,”

Ianna chanted quietly to herself. Three years was both a long and short wait, but that’s how much time she had left before she could finally meet him. She felt like that time was like an outstretched elastic band. It felt ever so long.

The upperclassmen swordsmanship competition had also concluded successfully, and a large afterparty was being held in the largest Swordsmanship Department building. Ianna was, of course, the main star of the party.

The professors praised her by saying, “To be able to control mana to that extent already —your talent is truly unprecedented!”, the first-years lingered around her for a chance to speak with her now that it was obvious that she would be a major player in the department from now on, and the second and third-years were depressed about the fact that a first-year had managed to defeat the third-year ace. Their gloom was made worse by the fact that Travis, their star, had been taken away to treat his serious injuries.

“I’m good, thank you.”

“Aww, it’s only because you remind me of my younger sister back home. Just say the word if there’s anything that you’re not comfortable with!”

The considerably older upperclassmen treated Ianna like a cute younger sister. Some of the sixth-years, in particular, had already had a good opinion of Ianna because they had heard so much about her from Ryan or the other teaching assistants who had overseen her entrance exams. There were also more than a few upperclassmen who simply wanted to get to know Ianna, their only female junior who was also quite pretty, better.

Ianna was the crimson flower of the Swordsmanship Department, which was otherwise a sausage fest. Or course, a term like ‘flower,’ which would sway flimsily with even the lightest tap, did not suit Ianna at all, but what else could a lovely young girl be called when she walked elegantly among crude beasts?

Besides, Ianna was a rose, for she was brimming with sharp thorns!

Eiji had told her what their upperclassmen thought of her while laughing his head off, and Ianna wondered if they had lost their minds and was displeased at the thought that they might be looking down on her even still.

“Eat some more.”

“No thank you.”

“Gosh, your glass is empty. Care for another?”

“I’ll get it myself.”

“C’mon, I’m just trying to pour you one as your senior.”

“…….”

They loitered around her and brought her more food when her plate was empty or brought her more wine with her glass was empty. Ianna continued to refuse them curtly, as it made her uncomfortable to be surrounded by large men. Normally, people would get embarrassed after being refused so frequently, but they slyly continued their antics no matter how cold she was because they knew it was just in her personality to be that way.

Some of the upperclassmen were up to ten years older than her and, comically enough, they saw Ianna as small child. If not a child, then they saw her as a sullen little girl.

In any event, Ryan, the department head, was keeping tabs on the situation and scolding the upperclassmen for their nonsense from time to time, but some people still continued to dote on Ianna nevertheless. There were a few individuals who saw her as a member of the opposite sex and blushed, of course, but for the most part they were trying to act like good older brothers to her. They shamelessly continued to dote on her as they lingered around her.

Ianna entertained them for a while before slipping out to the terrace, saying that she wanted some time to herself. In her hand was a bottle of thirty-year-old Bartel wine that Professor Filliger had opened for her as he commended her. Ianna, who had enjoyed her wine in her past life, had not refused and instead accepted it with gratitude because she knew it was good wine.

“You had so much beer earlier too —why are you drinking so much today?”

Eiji burst open the terrace doors when he saw Ianna sip glass after glass of wine that would have made a normal person drunk with just one glass as she leaned against the guardrail. He continued,

“Judging by how red your face is, I’d say that you’re uncharacteristically drunk right now.”

“…….”

“Taro said that you started looking down in the middle of the competition —looks like he was right.”

Ianna didn’t reply. Eiji crossed his arms and watched her sip away at her wine for a while before saying,

“You were looking forward to the swordsmanship competition —aren’t you happy you won? If you were drinking because you were happy, I’d be stirring up a fuss right here with you, but I’m holding back right now since you don’t look happy at all, Little Ianna. Did something happen?”

“……I thought I’d be happy.”

Ianna replied after emptying yet another glass as she realized that Eiji was being uncharacteristically serious out of worry. She continued,

“I suppose I feel nothing because my victory was so obvious.”

Eiji smirked.

“So you feel nothing —and what else?”

“I’m just feeling a little down. But that’s all. I don’t feel that bad now that I’m not on the arena anymore. And I’m only drinking a lot because I just felt like it.”

Swipe.

Eiji took Ianna’s glass from her as she made to pour herself another. He poured her the glass himself as she looked at him.

“It’s no fun to drink by yourself. I’ll pour you more, so talk to me. Were the Swordsmanship Department students that far below your expectations? Man, that’s amazing.”

Ianna watched as the dark red wine filled the transparent glass as she mumbled,

“The students aren’t the problem. It just wasn’t fun to defeat them with my sword.”

“Why not? I thought you liked wielding your sword?”

“I still do. It just wasn’t fun to use it to face off against others. I don’t care about it when I’m sparring for practice, but it was so annoying to fight in a match where victory is important like at the swordsmanship competition. And it irritates me all the more when I think about the other tournament I participated in long……I’m drunk.”

Ianna shook her head mid-sentence. Eiji, who had been organizing his thoughts, realized that she was feeling so down because the swordsmanship competition today had something to do with the other tournament she had mentioned.

“Do you have bad memories of the tournament you participated in long ago?”

“……No, that’s not it. It was a good memory.”

“Hmmm?”

Ianna sipped away at her wine as Eiji grew curious. She continued,

“I was only being so unsightly because I selfishly thought that things would be the same as they were back then. But I’m all right now, so you needn’t be concerned. And don’t take an interest in the past tournament I mentioned, because I don’t feel like talking about it.”

Crash!

A pair of unwelcomed guests tumbled into the terrace as Ianna and Eiji shared their heartfelt conversation.

“Oof.”

“Hello.”

They were Taro, who was staggering around with a large keg of beer in his hand, and Herrace, who looked nervous —he probably hadn’t had any alcohol— as he straightened out his clothes.

“What’cha guys doin’ out here?! Yeah!”

“Hey, you bastard. I told you to drink alone. Damn, you’ve drunk yourself senseless. And ugh, you reek of alcohol too.”

Eiji scowled heavily as he covered his nose and fanned the air in front of him. Taro ignored him completely and planted his large frame against the wall.

“I gotta learned to use mana as quick as possible……sniff. Goddess…….”

Tears were streaming down his face. There was a reason why he was saying the things he did while crying. His beautiful Goddess, the genius mage Lalatua, had worn an even colder look in her eyes than usual when it had been revealed today that Taro didn’t know how to use mana yet.

Taro clung to the wall and made a scene of himself crying, and Eiji pat him on the back in consolation even as he cursed at him.

“Um, Little Ianna…”

Herrace gingerly walked up to her and bowed. He continued,

“There’s something I wanted to tell you…… Are you free right now?”

Ianna stared at the top of his head and said, “Sure—.” Taro, who had somehow heard Herrace’s quiet voice, slammed the wall as he turned around to look at them.

“The hell, are ya guys datin’? Well……ya guys feel like a general and her grunt, but…… Ya look good together regardless! I’m gettin’ goose bumps all over! I’m so jealous of ya!”

Eiji snorted at Taro’s interjection.

“Damn it, you twat. That’s enough.”

Eiji nodded at Ianna and Herrace to signal them to continue their conversation as he dragged Taro away. Taro struggled and tried to stay at first, but he eventually caved after Eiji had lovingly smacked him across the back of the head a few times and the two left the terrace.

Herrace was silent for a while as he organized his thoughts even after they had left. Ianna shook her wine bottle, which didn’t have much left inside, before she spoke up first.

“What did you want to talk about?”

Herrace immediately bowed again when Ianna began talking. Ianna simply stared back at him in silence. Herrace slowly got back up and looked her in the eyes.

“Please help me.”

There were tears forming in Herrace’s eyes. Ianna didn’t answer and waited instead because it felt like he wasn’t done quite yet. Herrace continued,

“I must seem shrewd to be saying something like this on the day you won the swordsmanship competition, I suppose?”

“Not at all.”

“No……. I’m just being embarrassed about myself.”

The tears ultimately fell from Herrace’s eyes as he sniffled. He frantically wiped his tears away as they spilled across his cheeks. He continued,

“I’m so sorry I hesitated back then……when you said you would help me. And I’m sorry for lashing out at you too. I’m so sorry. For all of it. Sob.”

Ianna shrugged.

“What are you so sorry about? There’s no need for you to feel this way.”

Herrace nodded, his face a mess from his tears and snot.

“You’re wrong. I’m sorry. There’s something I must ask of you, Little Ianna, instead of receiving from you freely out of your kindness. But before that, I have to explain my behavior and seek your forgiveness for acting the way I did. Would you please listen to what I have to say?”

Ianna nodded at him to continue. Then, in a feeble voice, Herrace continued,

“You see, I’m not confident that I can overcome my illness. Even my grandfather, an archmage, told me that it might be impossible. I don’t seem to get better at all no matter what medicines I take……. I said that I had the stubborn greed of a swordsman. But to be honest, I’d almost given up by then. I applied to the Swordsmanship Department not only because it was my dream, but because I wanted to give my six years here everything I had for one last time so I could give up without harboring any lingering regrets. I failed the entrance exams once, but then I applied again……and I met you, Little Ianna.”

Herrace’s eyes wavered as he spoke, just like they had that day. And, just like they had that day, Ianna’s eyes held steady.

“I knew even back then that you weren’t the type of person to lie, Little Ianna, but I couldn’t believe you when you suddenly told me that I could get better and become a great swordsman. I was afraid to hope. I was finally ready to give up, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to bear it……if my hopes ended up in vain and things didn’t work out.”

Herrace’s unsteady eyes gradually gained their focus like Ianna’s, as if his unrest was disappearing as he spoke. Another teardrop formed in the corner of his eye.

“……But then, I found myself dreaming every day ever since. In my dreams, I always saw you freely controlling the mana that surged toward you more maliciously than it does towards me.”

Herrace wiped away his tears with the back of his hand.

“And I felt like I would be not only a scared little coward but also the biggest fool in the world if I didn’t take the hand you extended to me that day.”

Herrace gulped and spoke his next words gingerly to Ianna, who’s expression remained as unreadable as ever.

“I want to try until the very end. I can’t just sit still and give up, not when you say that there might be another way, Little Ianna. So, will you please help me?”

Ianna smirked and downed her wine.

“If that’s what you wish…….”

Herrace eventually broke out in tears again. One teardrop fell after another until they poured down his face like rain. Ianna continued,

“Let’s try this together until we can’t try anymore.”

“Thank you……. Sniff.”

“Don’t cry.”

“Sob.”

Herrace lowered his head in an effort to stop crying and trembled. Ianna looked down at the round back of his head. Then, she slowly said,

“For starters, I wanted you to stop taking your medicine because I didn’t think you’d be able to handle the vast amount of mana that surged toward you. Because it was obvious to me that you were only eating away at your body.”

“…….”

“But I changed my mind when I heard that you’d fought without giving up for seven long years to try to control mana, that you still carried the greed of wanting to be a swordsman.”

Herrace’s heart squeezed.

“Seven years is no short period of time. I can’t commend you for depending on your medications, but your perseverance, hard work, and stubbornness shows me that you might be able to control that vast tide of mana one day. And I can’t help but feel that you really might be able to do it the longer I watch you. I wonder why that is?”

Ianna continued muttering,

“I don’t know how yet, but I have a feeling that your illness is curable. My intuition is good, so don’t give up.”

Herrace leaned weakly against the wall next to him as he heard Ianna’s bold statements.

“……No one has ever said that to me before. They all thought I would die sooner rather than later. They pitied me and thought me a fool for not taking better care of my life.”

He had only grown weaker, and the promise he had shown when he was younger had all but faded from people’s memories as they determined that he would never develop into a strong swordsman.

“My grandfather always looked at me like he was sorry for me, my father turned away from me in disappointment, and the members of my household only looked to me in pity. Their eyes seemed to say that I’d fail no matter how hard I tried and that I was bound to give up eventually, and I hated it so much. No one has ever told me that I could succeed. They knew too well that the curse of mana is incurable.”

Herrace looked back at Ianna with blank eyes.

“So, who are you, Little Ianna?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Are you truly a dragon from the legends, like what Sir Eiji jokes about all the time?”

“……I see you’re sprouting nonsense now.”

Ianna clicked her tongue and downed whatever little wine was left in her bottle. Herrace laughed at himself as he watched her wine be gulped smoothly down her throat.

“I know it’s nonsense, of course. But you’re just that awesome, Little Ianna.”

Ianna, who had finished her bottle in the meanwhile, placed it on the ground before turning back to Herrace. He continued,

“I learned from watching you that the curse of mana isn’t actually the double-edged blade that people make it out to be. It’s a blessing to those who can handle it, and only a curse to those who can’t.”

Herrace smiled like someone who had been saved from a dark abyss.

“So I’m going to try my best.”

And one day, I want to be a swordsman strong enough to proudly call you my equal. I want to be an equal who can watch your back. An equal who can rush to your aid and be as your firm support should you find yourself in danger.

Herrace was about to say this out loud, but he grew too embarrassed to vocalize his words before Ianna’s sturdy figure and swallowed them. His face flushed as red as a carrot, but Ianna took no notice and instead said what she most wanted to tell him.

“For now, don’t ever take your medicine again. Focus on building up your weak constitution. Your mind can only grow strong if your body is healthy.”

“All right, I will.”

“And listen close. I have a strong feeling that I can help you, but I don’t know exactly how just yet. This was my first time hearing about the curse of mana.”

“In that case, would you mind meeting with my grandfather sometime?”

Ianna faltered. Herrace’s grandfather was Heinrich, who was both the Institution dean and Lalatua’s teacher.

“With the dean?”

“Yes. My grandfather has researched a lot about my illness. Perhaps you might find a clue if you speak with him?”

Ianna nodded slowly as she fell into thought.

She had never made contact with the archmage Heinrich in the past. He had been one of the most influential figures in her past life. He had thrown the entire continent in turmoil when he had died of old age in her twenties, but he was still alive in her current life.

If he had researched about Herrace’s illness, then it was possible that Ianna could learn something from him, no matter how trivial. If Ianna’s hypothesis was correct, then divine power, which was also a person’s life, attracted mana. She hypothesized that Herrace, like herself, must also be unique in some way in regards to his divine power.

However, there was nothing she could do as of yet because nothing about divine power was known in the Age of Magic. A mage’s theory was more likely to be useful. What kind of illness was the curse of mana when seen through the eyes of a mage?

“And also, Little Ianna……I hope, I’m hoping… I’m only asking because I really hope this is the case…….”

Herrace hesitated for a moment before he lowered his head upon seeing the strange look on Ianna’s face. He continued,

“My brother Travis……. If the reason you hate him is because of me, I wanted to ask you not to…….”

“…….”

“Our house treated my brother like he’d stopped existing after I was born. And he was compared against me extremely often……. I didn’t realize when I was younger, but I think I can understand how he felt now. So I always felt sorry for him. And I think it’s only natural that he came to despise me.”

Herrace grew disconcerted when Ianna didn’t respond and quickly raised his hands. He continued,

“Oh, but there’s no need to force yourself in any way if that’s not the case.”

Ianna wordlessly spun her empty glass in her hands for a bit before she said,

“Well, you were one of the reasons why I wrecked him today, but it was also because I wanted to pay him back for all the insults he threw at me. But I’ve made sure to crush him today, so I won’t insult him any further so long as he doesn’t pick a fight with me first. It’s too much of a bother to care so much about someone I don’t even like.”

Herrace breathed out a sigh of relief upon hearing what Ianna had to say.

“Thank you, Little Ianna.”

“There’s nothing to be thankful for. It’s just too much of a bother to hate him. Anyway, I think I’ll head back now.”

Ianna stood on top of the terrace guardrail. Jumping off the second story of a building was a piece of cake for any student in the Swordsmanship Department. Which was why Herrace made no move to stop her.

“Are you leaving?”

“I’m tired. Tell the others that I left early because I was tired.”

“Sure. And good work today. Get back safe.”

“Of course.”

Thump.

Ianna jumped off the guardrail and landed gently on the ground. Herrace watched as Ianna seemed to glow even in the dark as she slowly walked away and smiled blissfully.

“Thank you!”

Part 9

Ianna walked slowly under the bright yellow moon that adorned the black night sky. To be honest, she wasn’t tired at all because she had not wielded her sword seriously today. She was simply in a good cheer and a little tipsy because she had drunk too much wine.

Ianna had absolutely no intention of returning to the dorms in her current state. She was sure that the easygoing Priscilla wouldn’t mind, but she had warned Priscilla not to return to the dorms drunk and Priscilla had kept her word, so Ianna wanted to practice what she herself had preached.

“Phew.”

The scent of wine wafted through the air as Ianna breathed out. The bottle of wine Professor Filliger had given her was good, but it was also high in alcohol content and even Ianna, whom Taro liked to say drank like a fish made of steel, did not sober up quickly after drinking the entire bottle herself. Her feet were steady, but her mind was blank. She was in high spirits because it had been a while since she had last been tipsy.

She had concentrated hard and focused back when she had been conversing with Herrace, but it felt good to let herself loose as she walked alone in the darkness under the golden moon.

“Hmmm…….”

The wind was cold although it was spring. It was completely different from the heat she had suffered during the day.

It had been a truly absurd day —she had gotten psyched up all on her own, and she had grown disappointed all on her own. She constantly recalled the day in her past that contrasted so starkly to this one.

Suddenly, Ianna felt like seeing the arena and her once aimless feet carried her to where the swordsmanship competition had been carried out earlier. If no one was there, she intended to wield her sword to her heart’s content as she reminisced about that day. Being drunk had given her energy to spare.

The sword at her waist clattered with each step as it told her that it, too, was having fun.

Ianna arrived at the plaza. The plaza had been filled with trash from the audience earlier when she had crossed it, but the janitors had cleaned it since and it was now as clean as it had been before the competition had taken place.

Ianna slid past the audience seats and was about to climb into the arena before she looked up at it and stopped in her tracks. There was already someone there. It was a man. She could not see what he looked like because it was dark. All she could tell was that he was entirely black, like the night sky itself, and that he was kneeling with one knee and his hands on the ground.

Ianna placed her hand on her forehead because she had a migraine from her hangover, and she stood there and frowned heavily for a moment before staring directly at the man once her headache and eased and her vision grew clearer.

He was wearing the Institution’s black uniform —perhaps he was a student—, but his limbs were so long that it looked like he was wearing formal wear instead. He also wore a single sword at his waist.

‘Is he from the Swordsmanship Department?’

Ianna could not help but wonder what the strange man was doing in the middle of the night in his uniform. He stared down at the cracks on the ground that had been formed when fragments of mana had gouged though it before drawing his own sword and slipping it through the cracks. Then, he kept his eyes closed for a while as he held his sword there.

Ianna made to leave, as the man looked rather serious and he seemed to be thinking about something important. But the man stood up and pulled out his sword just then. And then, he turned to her.

“Gasp!”

Ianna was so shocked that her breath caught. She was so shocked, in fact, that she even stepped back without meaning to.

Why is he here……?!

The young man looked squarely back at Ianna with his hair as black as the night sky and his eyes as gold as the glowing moon.

He was like the moon rising in the cool night sky, unlike Ianna, who was more like the scorching sun during the day.

“Who’s there?”

His voice was ever so familiar.

Ianna found herself stunned speechless by the suddenness of the situation. She simply watched with bated breath even as he pointed bloodlust at her while he approached.

“Was I lost too deeply in my thoughts? To think I’d fail to feel someone drawing near…….”

The young man walked up to her and pointed his blade at her. His chilling eyes stared daggers at her. He continued,

“Still, it’s unpleasant to find that someone’s been observing me in secret.”

Just then, the moonlight broke through the clouds behind the young man and cast a shadow over his face, making his golden eyes shine all the brighter, while it’s subtle light lit up Ianna’s countenance. Ianna stared at his gleaming golden eyes with bated breath as her crimson colors were revealed to him.

“……So crimson.”

The young man scowled fiercely at Ianna’s crimson colors as if they gave him a headache. Still, he opened his eyes wide and stared piercingly at her.

“Ianna Roberstein?”

Ianna returned to her senses when the young man called out to her in his all too familiar voice. She froze up stiff in her bewilderment. How did this man know her right now, never mind how he was even here in the first place?

“How…do you know who I am?”

“……Oh.”

The young man lowered his eyes at Ianna’s inquiry and stood silent for a moment before looking back up and at her again with an all too familiar look in his eyes. He said,

“You were the star of the swordsmanship competition today.”

“…….”

“You’re matches left a deep impression on me. Your skills were astounding. So much so that I was almost bewitched as I watched, that I found myself coming back here this late at night in search of traces from your fights…… Your swordsmanship was captivating.”

The young man’s words made Ianna’s breath grow ragged. He continued,

“……Well then.”

The young man tried to walk past her with a curt farewell. Ianna could not help but wonder if she was drunk to the point of hallucinating as she stood blankly while the young man walked away. She turned around only when his footsteps began growing distant. She ran up to him.

“Wait!”

She grabbed hard onto his wrist. The young man’s arm stiffened up. But Ianna was in no state to notice.

Ianna collected her shaken breathing as he turned back around.

“Is something the matter?”

It was definitely him. He was younger than she remembered, but there was no mistaking it. There was no way she could ever forget his physique, his appearance, his voice, or his eyes —not when he had faced her from up closer than any other.

“……What’s…your name?”

It was of utmost importance to Ianna that she confirmed the young man’s identity. The tall young man seemed to savor her attitude before he looked deeply back at her.

“My name is Arhad, Little Ianna.”

Ianna’s hold on the young man’s —on Arhad’s— wrist weakened. Her arm fell away. Arhad stared down at Ianna in her bewilderment for a moment before he turned around and faded into the night.

Ianna sobered up at once.

Thud.

Ianna sank down to the arena floor in the silence that remained around her. She sat around in an uncharacteristic daze for a while before she twined her fingers together and stared into the darkness in which he had disappeared.

‘……Arhad Roygen.’

Certainly, he was an incredible man. She had lost her usual composure and was quivering in place just from seeing him once. But, wasn’t their sudden encounter shocking enough to merit it?

The lines of his jaws were as sharp as ever, like steep cliffs. His hair, so unlike her own, was as black as the curtain of night, his fierce golden eyes seemed to rule as king over savage beasts, and he towered over her, even when she herself was tall for a woman —it was all the same as before.

Still, it was so strange to see him much younger than when they had first met. Ianna keenly felt that her flow of time had been distorted.

Arhad Roygen, Arhad Ro Ralzo Bahamut.

As the secret prince of the Bahamut imperial family, which married into itself to keep a tight grasp on their bloodline, he would one day slaughter the imperial family and rise to the throne as the Bloody Emperor.

He was the very emperor who had once ruled perfectly over the masses with his outstanding governing and his powerful might, stronger than any other. Ianna guessed that he had gathered excellent retainers, like Rikijen, during his stay at the Institution. And then, as if fate itself had meant for it, he had met her at the Youth’s Swordsmanship Tournament after he had graduated.

Indeed. In the past, she had only met Arhad after she had turned nineteen. And yet, she had met him at sixteen in this life. The present differed from the past, and the cogwheels of fate had begun spinning much earlier than last time.

Ianna clenched her hands together.

Their encounter had been so unexpected that she had not been able to do anything. She had waited only for the day she would meet Arhad again, and she had been so caught up in her nostalgia for him today that she had not been able to say anything to him while he was here. She had caught his broad wrist to ask for his name in her disbelief, but her grip had lost its strength and she had let him go upon hearing it. She had simply allowed him to walk away into the night because she did not know what to do or say even if she stopped him.

Once again, Ianna was made to keenly feel that her life had changed entirely. Everything felt so new to her already, and she felt like she had been cast inside a dark abyss now that she had met Arhad, who was practically her goal in life, much earlier than she had anticipated.

Her mind was a mess as she wondered things like, ‘How should I act now?’ and ‘What kind of relationship should I form with that man?’

However, her state of mind did not last for long. Ianna, who normally always maintained her calm and stillness, flushed with her entire being from anxiety and excitement. She bit gingerly at her lips.

‘I’m being foolish.’

She only found herself foolish, now that she had broken out of the reverie that had arisen from his afterimage and had made a mess of her heart, for missing the opportunity to fill the void she had been feeling.

She had always been able to give it her all against Arhad, and Ianna, who had only today learned thoroughly of the void in her life caused by the absence of his great presence, was wistful.

‘I should have proposed a duel when he said that my swordplay had left an impression on him.’

Ianna did not know what to do with her regret. She kept her trembling hands together as she lowered her head.

‘I want to fight him. Right this very instant!’

Ianna was definitely not in her right mind as her heart was filled only with her desire to fight him.

Her only rival in the world, and the sole person who could ever truly understand her.

The catalyst who broke her out of her constant reverie and cornered her until she finally felt alive.

He was precious to her. What else could he be, if not precious to her?

“……He is precious to me…….”

The words Ianna had muttered to herself echoed around her. This was something that she had never realized before.

Her everything had been centered around Arhad in her past. She, who had once trained in her sword with only joy in her heart, and only trained in spite in want of defeating him after they had met. She, who had only ever been detached, had taken a stark interest in him and had bristled up whenever she saw him. She, who had only ever pointed her blade at others if there was a need to, had drawn her sword and charged at him at every chance.

She did not even see other small fry in her eyes —only Arhad. She had simply cut down those who got in her way as she chased after only him. She could never have known that this would make it so that it irritated her to no end to seriously face anyone who wasn’t Arhad.

She had learned of this only today. That she could only wield her sword against two such opponents —her targets for murder and Arhad. And that it was only Arhad who could excite her into knowing that she could fight against him perfectly and with everything she had.

It stuck to her heart as she realized how precious he was to her.

“Phew…….”

Ianna laughed out loud.

She no longer felt any hostility toward him. She had acknowledged her complete defeat when she had died. She had accepted the fact that her skills lagged behind his when his blade had rent through her flesh. She had laid down her animosity and repulsion of him as she laid down her life. She had vowed to be his in her next life as she breathed her last.

And, she had gone against the flow of time to be reborn with all of her memories.

It had been her reminiscence of Arhad that had saved her from lingering on the past in her childhood when she could not accept the fact that she had been born again. Her new goal in life, which had sprouted from her reminiscence, had awakened her from the dreams of her past.

This time, she would defeat him, and this time, she would be his.

Her desire to defeat a powerful rival still ran rampart in her heart like a beast. It was an ambitious desire that would never disappear so long as the person named Ianna still existed.

Still, between her fierce desire to defeat Arhad and her vow to serve him as his knight, Ianna regarded her vow as the more important of the two.

This was only made possible because she had already acknowledged her defeat. Because she had acknowledged the fact that Arhad was one step ahead of her. Because her desire was neither as desperate nor as malicious as it had been before.

Ianna was more easygoing than she had been in her past life. Nothing would change even if she lost to him a few times, and it didn’t matter to her even if she was to experience her defeat over again tens or even hundreds of times because she would hold tight to her radiant goal of defeating him one day after losing time and time again.

And, she had made yet another realization.

“……I want someone of talent like you.”

The Arhad from back then.

“Your swordsmanship was captivating.”

The Arhad of today.

Ianna closed her eyes. Arhad had always wanted to bring her under his wing.

Arhad, who had always been so persistent that it had actually been strange.

Ianna was never certain of anything that had to do with personal relationships, but of this she was sure. Everything in the whole world may change, but Arhad’s desire for her sword would always remain the same.

As for why? She could not say. He had been exactly as she had expected him to be, regardless of why. There was no way he remembered the past, but he looked at her with the same light in his eyes all the same.

He had always wanted her, and he would want her again in this life. His desire would only grow stronger as time passed, just as it had in her past life.

She was glad. The edges of her lips creeped up. Her eyes were filled to the brim with vitality even though she wasn’t holding a sword.

……Wasn’t it fine to reward his fierce yearning now?

And yet, she had no idea how she should act going forward.

Come to me, he had said, I will make it so that none may ever scorn you if you wield your sword for me by my side; I will grant you the greatest glory, so come to me. It had always been Arhad who had clung to her as he tenaciously reached out to her.

She continued chewing at her lips as she scratched them lightly with her thumb.

‘How am I supposed to act?’

Should I reach out to him first and tell him that I’ll wield my sword for him, that I want to be with him? Or, should I just ask him to spar out of nowhere to satisfy my desires?

Ianna was at a loss.

“Eiji, would you happen to know of a male student here named Arhad by any chance?”

Ianna, who wanted to learn more about Arhad’s whereabouts, asked Eiji the next day during their Swordsmanship class as casually as though she had simply been asking him if he’d had breakfast that morning. She had a feeling that Eiji, who was a master at handling information, might know of him.

“Pfft!”

Eiji, who had been gulping down cool water as his entire body was drenched with sweat, suddenly spat out his drink.

“Cough, cough. Chooooke.”

“……What’s wrong with you?”

Ianna stared at him as though he was touched in the head as he wrapped his hands around his throat with tears in his eyes.

“I mean, hack. Gulp. The water, hic. It went down the wrong way…… Hack, hack. Cough…… I think I’m gonna die…….”

“Idiot.”

Ianna paid no heed to Eiji’s frivolous antics as his face reddened like a ripe tomato. He was acting typically for someone who had swallowed the wrong way.

Eiji settled down after a while and wiped off the water that had spilled down his chin with the back of his hand as he turned to answer Ianna, who was eagerly awaiting his reply.

“Ahem, but why are you looking for him, though?”

“I’m interested in him.”

Ianna uttered the words as they came from her heart.

“…….”

Eiji kept his mouth shut had remained silent for a while. Ianna furrowed her brows a little at his strange behavior.

“Is there a problem?”

“Not exactly, but……well, I know of him, in any case. But how do you know who he is, Little Ianna?”

Ianna was surprised by his answer.

“You know him?”

“He’s pretty famous among the students here at the Institution, especially the female ones. You probably didn’t know him until now because you don’t typically care about these things. But how did you learn about him anyway?”

Eiji smiled as he urged Ianna to reply. He continued,

“To think that you of all people would take interest in someone first……. Did you hear about him from our seniors yesterday?”

Ianna, who was adept at reading other people’s feelings, felt that there was something off about how Eiji was smiling, but she was more interested to hear what he had to say.

“He’s famous?”

“Well, he’s a bit of a social outcast who’s absent for over half of every semester on the account of sickness.”

‘Sickness?’

Was Arhad ill? —Ianna rummaged through her memories of the past before she scoffed. It was preposterous. He was likely busy with planning how to swallow the Bahamut Empire whole. There was probably someone higher up in the Institution’s management who was understanding of his circumstances.

“He’s also considered the best-looking guy at the Institution, and all the girls get absolutely enchanted by him as soon as they lay eyes on him.”

There had been many women who had been drawn to Arhad’s remarkable looks, exceptional skills, and the special air about him even in the past. But Arhad himself had never shown any interest in women. The women had left him when he brushed them aside and treated them like mere nuisances. There were also a lot of women who had given up after mistakenly believing that he was madly in love with Ianna because he pursued her all the time.

Ianna had been flabbergasted. It had truly been one absurd misconception. She wasn’t simply denying the truth —it truly had been a misconception.

Arhad had never once tried to court her as a man. All he felt for her was his fixation for the sole person who refused him after he had gained everything and his fierce possessive desire for her as an exceptional swordswoman.

“C’mon, how’d you learn about him? Don’t just stand there —tell me.”

Ianna returned to her senses when Eiji shook her by the shoulders.

“I met him yesterday while I was taking a walk around the arena. He complimented by swordsmanship.”

Ianna chose her words carefully. She continued,

“He seemed like a man of remarkable skill, from what I could tell, and I simply grew curious because he seemed to be a swordsman, since he had a sword at his waist.”

That was all she could speak of about her current relationship with that man. After all, the tangled events of the past she had once lived with him were now but an unraveling dream that only she remembered.

“When you said you were interested, was it the hot, passionate kind of interest that you had as a woman for a man?”

“Not at all.”

Ianna immediately shut down his subtle questioning. Eiji stared at her for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.

“That’s good.”

“Stop spewing nonsense. In any event, you’ve been acting all stiff since earlier —do you have a problem with him or something?”

“Not really —watching you take interest in a man just made me feel like a father sending off his daughter on her first date. Goodness.”

“You’ve finally lost it, I see.”

Ianna said brusquely as Eiji pretended to wipe tears from his eyes.

“Aren’t you being too harsh on your dad…….”

Eiji promptly raised his hands in surrender when he saw Ianna make a fist. He continued,

“Okay, I get it. I’ll stop. Just put your damn fist down already! Anyway, if he’s shown up, then you might be able to see him on back-to-school day, which is coming up soon. Sir Arhad’s our senior in the Swordsmanship Department.”

Ianna opened her eyes wide as she unclenched her fist.

“Our senior? In the Swordsmanship Department?”

“Uh-huh. And he’s among the best in the department too. He’s a fourth-year. Anyway, don’t you have class soon, Little Ianna?”

“Oh.”

Ianna, who had been visibly shocked to hear that Arhad was in the Swordsmanship Department, forced her body to move when she remembered that she still had class. She nodded stiffly at Eiji as he waved her farewell, spun around on the spot, and walked away with heavy steps.

‘You’re in the Swordsmanship Department?’

Her breathing was uneven.

Then, it won’t be long until the day comes that I’ll see you again. How should I treat you when that day comes, and how will you treat me?

Her heart grew as restless as her unsteady feet as she thought about the day that her relationship with Arhad would begin anew. Her uneven footsteps mixed into the mess of her thoughts.

Everything was chaos.

Thump.

Everything was agitated.

Thump.

Everything was excited.

Thump.

And the darkness, in which she could not see even a single step in front of her.

Ianna stopped in her tracks. The thumping of her footsteps stopped as well. She looked down to the sword hanging at her waist. She stroked it once before grasping to it tightly. Then, she smiled.

There was one thing she was certain of.

Her disjointed breathing regained its rhythm. She began walking with lighter steps.

At the end of the darkness, she would be standing at his side with her sword in hand…….

“……Phew.”

Eiji, who normally wore a merry smile on his face, pursed his lips and furrowed his brows as he watched Ianna’s retreating figure gradually grow smaller. Then, as he stroked his chin, he thornily muttered,

“Wow, that guy. Not only did he give Little Ianna his medicine, but he even went to see her as soon as he woke up……?”

Bam! Poow! Swish!

Swords of different sizes and shapes were being swung around the air. Hot droplets were splayed every time a sword came down or was swung around. The droplets, of course, were the countless drops of hot sweat excreted by those who were zealously training their swordplay. The crimson afternoon sun seemed to squeeze every last drop of sweat out of them as it moved lazily to the west.

Baaang!

Ianna’s wooden sword, which she held in both hands, fell heavily upon the wooden dummy. The training dummy had been reinforced with magic, but it still failed to withstand the blow and exploded out in fragments so small they could have been dust along the cracks.

As soon as she had ended class with Professor Elily, who was still daunted by her and always kept one eye on her out of fear, Ianna had made her way to the outdoor training grounds, which was a part of the Institution’s vast main training hall.

She had come here instead of using the personal training room that Ryan had lent her because Ryan had apologetically told her that he needed to use it himself for a week to prepare for an exam meant only for sixth-year students.

Ianna had shaken her head no and told him that he needn’t feel sorry because the training room had been his to begin with.

“Wow, so that’s her…….”

“Amazing. Do you hear that?”

The main training hall was open to everyone, and Ianna was at the center of attention because of the storm she had caused during the swordsmanship competition, but Ianna could not have cared any less about it. At the moment, her head was filled only with training, training, and more training.

How could she take training lightly now that she had finally met Arhad, now that she didn’t know when she’d see him next? She normally trained so hard that it would have shocked others to begin with. And yet, she still resolved to spend more time training now that she had met Arhad. The intense feelings of her heart set her entire being ablaze.

Ianna widened her stance and drew strength up from her calves, to her thighs, and to her waist. She gripped her sword hard as she caught the wobbling wooden dummy with her eyes.

Cruuunch!

The wooden dummy, which had suffered yet another blow, started breaking apart from the cracks and eventually split into two and fell with a dull thud.

Those who had been peeking at her train dropped their jaws at the surprising fact that, between the reinforced wooden dummy and her normal wooden sword, it had been the wooden dummy that had broken. It was especially bizarre for those who had been training against the wooden dummy for months, as they did not typically break unless someone was sharpening their sword with fortification or the dummy was old and worn from use, and yet the wooden dummy’s fragments were scattered about on the ground in a grisly manner.

“She’s ridiculously strong too,”

someone murmured. Someone was making the profound discovery that—not only was Ianna very learned in swordplay, but she also had the strength to match —they thought that the scene she had caused had been brought about by raw strength alone.

It wasn’t that Ianna was weak. She was much stronger than the average man. Still, it was impossible for her to break a dummy that had been reinforced with magic with brute strength alone so long as her strength was not monstrous like Taro’s.

“That’s not something you can do with strength alone, you stupid junior of mine.”

An upperclassman, who had been watching over Ianna from the beginning of her training session, shook his head at his mesmerized junior standing beside him. He continued,

“Who could possibly break a reinforced wooden dummy with brute strength alone unless they were some kind of monster?”

“Really? Then how?”

“You have to look carefully for weaknesses in the grains of the wood and keep hitting away at it with powerful blows at precisely that one spot.”

Like he had explained, it was only possible to break the dummy by hitting it repeatedly on its weak spots with powerful blows. The upperclassman continued,

“But it’s no simple feat to keep hitting at exactly the same location. Not to mention that a grain in the wood is practically the width of a single strand of hair —do you think you’d be able to keep hitting away precisely at a single strand of hair consecutively for an hour straight?”

“……No.”

“Right? That being said… I’ve been watching Little Ianna all this time, and she’s been doing just that. She’s amazing —seriously amazing.”

It was a result only made possible because of her incredible concentration. One student who couldn’t believe what he was hearing stole glances at her face and her voluptuous figure. Then, he apprehensively muttered,

“Is she really a girl?”

Others looked back at him incredulously.

“You pathetic fool. If our lovely little junior isn’t a girl, then who is?”

“Crazy bastard. Do all your female relatives look like guys to you?”

“T-that’s not what I meant!”

The man quickly raised his hands. He continued,

“It’s just my first time seeing a girl wield the sword so well…….”

“It’s probably for the best that you start seeing Little Ianna as the exception to the rule. Not only can she use fortification, but she even sent Lord Travis, another amazing junior of ours, to the doctor’s.”

The training hall quieted down at those words.

Travis was skilled, and the upperclassmen had acknowledged him for it. Not only was his swordsmanship exceptional, but no one thought twice about calling him a genius for being able to freely use fortification at such a young age. The reason why it had taken over four weeks for him to heal even despite that was because his arm had broken when Ianna had cleaved his sword clean in two with her last attack and because he had received such severe mental trauma that his nightmares caused him to shiver in sweat scream for someone to save him through the night.

Those who had gone to visit him had all said that Travis, who had always been confident in himself, was talking drastically less now and that he simply sat lethargically in thought even when others were around him.

It was only natural. His sword had broken as he was wielding it and he had nearly had his throat slit by a fortified blade. He had been forced to kneel with a kick to his knees, and he had wretchedly looked away from Ianna’s gaze as she looked down upon him with bloodlust.

Rather, it would have been unnatural if he, who had only ever known victory until then, had not been shocked by the humiliation he had suffered.

Those who had watched the finals had been shocked as well. They had seen Ianna’s skills as she had advanced to the finals, but they had still thought that she had only blocked Travis’ attacks at first because even she had been unable to beat the Swordsmanship Department’s ace.

But then, out of nowhere, she had suddenly begun an outpour of fierce attacks as if she had simply been toying with him like a cat teasing a mouse until then. Ianna’s sword had become as a cruel slaver’s whip as she beat down upon Travis and pressed him into a corner.

Cornered, Travis had used fortification, his trump card, but then Ianna had simply fortified her own sword as if it was nothing. And then, she had completely crushed his pride underfoot with her swordplay.

She was amazing. Which idiot was it who had sprouted nonsense about her gaining illicit admissions into the Swordsmanship Department? And what had they been thinking when they wondered if the rumors were true? The scales of ignorance had fallen from their eyes.

Ianna had been shrouded by heat and silence as the audience had their eyes glued on her, and she had smirked down at Travis, kneeling before her, for a moment before turning to look up at the sun. Everyone watching had broken out in inexplicable goosebumps back then.

It had been unearthly. The way that the crimson girl had looked up to the sun, as crimson as her own colors. But no one could fully explain why. All they could feel was that she was somehow worlds apart from them.

She had seemed so bored as she looked up to the sun after beating Travis half to death that those who had only been watching over her had broken out in shivers, so how could any ordinary person understand what she had been thinking back then?

They could not understand her —even as the victor she had not shown any trace of joy, delight, or pride. They simply felt that, at that moment in time, the girl standing before them was not human in the same way they were.

“She’s just an amazing person.”

“……I suppose. We should’ve started by doubting if she was really human to begin with, instead of doubting if she was really a girl. I was so surprised my jaw fell to the floor. I mean, what did she eat while growing up to be like that……?”

“You idiots —stop spewing nonsense and get back to training. Don’t lose out to our junior who’s only just been admitted to the Institution.”

The men nodded when they were harshly scolded and refocused on their training.

Poow! Poow! Pow!

Ianna, who couldn’t have cared less about the change in the behavior of those around her, simply began swinging her sword at will now that she had lost the dummy as a target. She slashed, and stabbed, and sundered. She seemed like she was locked in a life-or-death battle with her lifelong enemy as her sword weaved through the air.

Then, just as Ianna carefully collected her breath, her arms swung back like a lion preparing to pounce upon its prey.

Swiish— Pow!

A thrust, as sharp as an arrow that had been fired from a bow pulled taut, split fiercely through the air. The sundered wind was pushed by the sword and burst at its tip. She was only using a wooden sword, but her attack had been so powerful that anyone unlucky enough to have been standing in front of her would have died immediately from the resulting shockwave alone.

Clap clap.

“That thrust right now —you’d have sent someone straight to the valley of death if you’d hit them with it.”

Rikijen, who had been observing from the sidelines, could not keep from applauding.

“Urk.”

He abruptly paled and twisted his lips into a frown.

“They say that the guys from before were turned into eunuchs after being hit with that thrust of yours…… Wow…… Poor them…….”

“Shut it. Do you want me to stab you too?”

“My apologies.”

“Why aren’t you holed up in the library like you usually are? And what brings you here?”

Ianna wiped away the sweat from her face with a towel that had been hanging on the rack. Rikijen, who had been watching her with his chin resting on the palms on his hands, quietly replied,

“……Well, I simply thought it wasn’t a bad idea to leave the stuffy library and explore the outside world from time to time.”

“Then what about swordplay? Why not try it out since you’re already here?”

“No thank you. A frail and delicate boy like me can’t possibly do exercise as strenuous as swordplay. I’m not as rough and tough as you are, Lady Ianna.”

Ianna’s hand whisked through the air.

Slap!

“Ack!”

Rikijen screamed as he clutched the back of his head.

“You’re all talk, I see.”

“Ow, damnit……. Can you stop being so violent?! Do you think I’m some kind of monster like the rest of you are?!”

He wasn’t saying it just for show —he had even begun tearing up from the pain. He already felt like he was losing brain cells because Taro smacked him across the head for being cute when Rikijen snarked at him.

“There’s a limit to how much I’m willing to deal with you, so at least keep your mouth shut if you’re only here to watch. I can get pretty sensitive when I’m handling a sword. Especially as of late.”

Ianna returned to where she had been training once she had finished carefully wiping off the sweat from the handle of her wooden sword. Rikijen pouted as he grumbled,

“You really are being sensitive. But yeah, sure, I’ll just shut up and watch. You don’t mind if I watch, though?”

Rikijen stared quietly at Ianna before he slipped in,

“……If you don’t, would it be all right for me to come and watch every so often?”

Ianna, who had taken her stance, stopped and turned back at him upon hearing his question.

Rikijen was and had always been undoubtedly the scholarly-type in both now and back then. He had followed Arhad in the past, but he had been the typical schemer and did not do much physically.

Rikijen, who thought that Ianna’s silence meant that she was turning him down, grew a little embarrassed and muttered,

“It’s fine if that’s a no.”

“It’s not that I mind, but did you suddenly gain an interest in swordplay or something?”

“I don’t want to wield a sword myself, if that’s what you mean. It’s just that, well… I thought it might not be a bad idea to watch. The swordsmanship competition was my first time actually paying attention to swordplay, and watching was fairly worth my while…….”

“Swordplay isn’t just for show, you know?”

Unlike her usual serene demeanor, Ianna swung her sword horizontally in irritation with a foul look on her face. Rikijen smirked as he watched her act differently from usual.

“It really is just like what the others said.”

“What did they say?”

“That you become a completely different person when you have a sword in hand. I never meant to say that your swordplay was just for show, Lady Ianna. I just meant that I wanted to watch.”

Ianna had no reason to deny him if he simply wanted to watch without any underlying ill intentions. She wondered if he had taken an interest in the sharpness of blades —a different kind of sharpness than the sharpness of a bookshelf, the nib of a pen, or the edges of fine print. Ianna shrugged.

“……Do what you want.”

Her surroundings seemed to vanish into a haze when she wielded a sword and she only saw the trials of each swing with clarity, and so she didn’t mind letting him watch until his curiosity was sated. Besides, who was she to cast him aside when he was saying that he was slowly beginning to see the charm in her beloved sword? Ianna smiled before she could stop herself as she swung around her sword this way and that.

Just then, Rikijen moved his mouth as though he was chewing on something he wanted to say. And yet, he didn’t say it.

The sun slowly sank and retracted its light as darkness slowly stretched across the ground. The beautiful sunset dyed the blue skies crimson. It was the sun’s last hour before night fell upon the world.

The other students, who had finished their training before the day came to an end, began heading back one after another. Ianna was the last to leave. Ianna drew her real sword, glistening crimson under the sun, when no one else was around her. She continued with her training even though no one was pushing her to.

A real sword, not a training one, gave her a subtle sense of delight. Ianna was susceptible to forgo eating to keep wielding her sword, like the way an artist forgot to eat when they were too absorbed into the beautiful masterpiece that was being created at their fingertips. She looked like she was having fun.

“Excuse me…….”

Ultimately, Rikijen could not help but ask.

“I’m sorry to keep bothering you. I’d been wanting to ask before too, and now I want to ask even more after seeing you wield your sword today, Lady Ianna. Can I ask you just one thing?”

His tone, which seemed to suggest that he was absolutely dying of curiosity, stopped Ianna’s sword in its tracks. He had never shown such intense curiosity toward her before.

“What is it?”

“Why were you like that back then?”

“What?”

“You looked so incredibly bored after the finals.”

He, like the others, could not forget what he had seen that day. But, instead of feeling the distance between Ianna and himself or finding her incomprehensible for not being happy, he had reacted with extreme curiosity. He continued,

“I heard that you loved wielding the sword, and you look like you’re enjoying yourself much more now than you do when you’re studying. But, you looked angry that day. Why was that?”

“I was bored to the point of irritation because my opponents were so far beneath my every expectation,”

Ianna immediately replied.

“……That’s quite arrogant of you.”

“Arrogant, you say……. I see. I suppose others may find me arrogant.”

Who could ever understand her? She did not feel arrogant —simply empty.

It was said that a genius musician had once announced this retirement after the death of the friend who best understood their music and had cut off the strings of their most precious instrument. Perhaps things would have been different if the friend had never been there to being with. The absence of the companion who had understood them best was akin to starvation. They had only felt despondent no matter how loudly the people had extolled them.

Who could understand the hunger of feeling starved every day no matter how much you ate and ate? The starved may be rebuked, perhaps, for choking on their fortune, but no one would ever pity them for it.

“But no one can truly understand me. And you aren’t an exception to that.”

“……I see.”

Rikijen nodded slowly.

“But why were you curious about that? Did I really look that horrible that day?”

“You clearly love wielding the sword so much, but you were different back then. It was bizarre.”

The darkness was slowly eating away at the remaining daylight. Stars had begun shining through the night sky, already devoured by the darkness, and were waiting for the moon to rise. Rikijen absentmindedly looked up at the sky before continuing,

“You see… There’s a person whom I’ve wanted to follow for a while now.”

Ianna turned to look at him when she heard his unexpected words. Was he about to tell her about his past? It piqued her interest.

Rikijen’s ashen hair fluttered in the wind.

“……He’s someone who not only saved me from a truly terrible situation when I was young, but also someone who protected me all this time until I made it into the Institution……. And he’s truly amazing.”

Was he talking about Arhad? Ianna, who associated the future Rikijen closely with Arhad, naturally came to that conclusion.

“I don’t really know him that well. All I know is that he’s a major player in the underworld. That’s where I grew up, you see.”

Mention of the underworld naturally reminded Ianna of Eiji. After all, he was its only inhabitant whom Ianna was currently aware of.

“I want to be of assistance to him. I’m studying so desperately because I want to be of use to him no matter what it is he might be doing. I’ve been told that I was smart ever since I was young —and I am—, and studying’s really the only thing that I’m actually good at.”

Ianna was certain that Rikijen was talking about Arhad. Rikijen had always followed Arhad, his liege, unconditionally, and was willing to do anything, even if it meant getting his hands dirty, so long as it helped Arhad in some way. Ianna suddenly saw the past Rikijen flash across her mind.

Rikijen Rostari, who used every means at his disposal to get whatever Arhad wanted and did everything in his power to do what Arhad needed to be done, had utterly despised Ianna Roberstein, whom his liege obsessed over while ignoring everything else.

“But he always tells me to find my own path in life. He does everything flawlessly by himself, as if to say that he doesn’t need me.”

Rikijen buried his face in his knees.

“He’s good at everything he does. And among all that, there is no one stronger than him in the underworld when it comes to swordplay. I’ve seen him take care of the thugs who invaded our district within an instant so many times over now.”

That was only natural, if he was talking about Arhad. No one could dare pose a match for him. Who could possibly emerge victorious against him when he had once garnered fear for being the strongest?

“But the thing is… He often makes the same face that you did that day, Lady Ianna. Even as he was surrounded by the groans of all those he’d ruined.”

Ianna’s heart skipped a beat.

“I’m sure he was irritated, just like you were. Because there was no one who could stand at his level and understand him. ……Isn’t that right?”

Ianna’s hand trembled as she grasped tightly to her sword.

“He makes that face often, even when he’s not fighting. After all, he’s so good at everything —it’s almost as if he isn’t truly human. He’s so good that he can take care of everything by himself, so why would he need someone who barely even catches his eye? Do you think he’s like you, Lady Ianna, and he’s irritated because no one can match him properly? I can’t help but wonder if he distances himself from me because I’m useless to him…….”

Rikijen fumed as he kicked against the dirt.

“But I’m still going to keep trying harder. I’m going to grow my abilities to the bitter end so I can stand by his side as his aide and truly understand him.”

“……Why do you go so far for him when he’s already told you that you don’t need to?”

“I want to repay him for everything he’s done for me. And I want to be able to understand him. People like him are always all alone. Isn’t that so?”

Ianna was rendered silent by Rikijen’s angry retort. He continued,

“Even if you’re amazing, isn’t it lonely and irritating if no one can understand you? Isn’t that why he always looks so weary? I’m sure it is.”

Then, his roused ash-colored eyes turned to Ianna.

“And isn’t it the same for you?”

Ianna could not refute him.

It’s true, Arhad. You’re just like me. You are my only rival in the world. The man who made it possible for me to always live as brightly as a blaze.

Did you feel that way about me as well? Did you want to bring the one person who could truly understand you to your side back then?

You always let me go free as I struggled and could never bring yourself to kill me even though you had all but won the war already. Perhaps this is why you were always so fixated on me and why you were always anxious to make me yours?

But in the end, you killed me with such an exhausted look on your face. And now, I’ve found you here…

Ianna bit down at her lip and straightened out her heart.

“No.”

“…….”

Rikijen was puzzled by her denial.

“Perhaps that might have been true before……but things have changed now.”

Ianna readjusted her grip on her sword and stared back at her reflection in its blade. Her lips moved ever so slightly as she watched how her eyes burned in her blade. She continued,

“……After all, I’ve finally met ‘him’.”

I’ve finally met that man, whom I had always thought had only ever stood in front of me and defeated me, but was actually my sole companion.

Rikijen was confused because he didn’t know what she meant by ‘him,’ but Ianna refused to tell him any more.

Slash—

Ianna twisted her wrist and rent through the last crimson hues of the sunset. As she did, the sun, which had dyed the skies a burning red, fell behind the grey towers of the Institution and ushered in the night.

The cylindrical Grey Tower, with its grey stone walls stacked so high they seemed to pierce through the heavens, was the Psychic Magic Tower in which Heinrich, the head professor of the Magic Department and the dean of the Institution, resided. It was called as such because, of all the many types of magics, Heinrich was an authority on psychic magic.

“…….”

In the tower was a man who resembled the night that was slowly falling in from the top of the tower. He had hair as black as the night sky itself, eyes that were reminiscent of the full moon, and outwardly features so prominent he could have been made by the best sculptor in the world with only the best materials.

At a first glance, he seemed almost depraved as his golden eyes stared intently at something outside from within the darkness of the tower. He was staring rather tenaciously.

Tap…… Tap……

The way he tapped his fingers regularly against the window represented his current state of mind. Arhad was sitting sidelong against the large windowsill from which he could survey every building of the Institution from its highest peak.

The crimson sunset had always had a queer talent for unsettling his heart.

He looked up and watched the sun sink beneath the horizon with subdued eyes as he said,

“I see you were already aware that I was awake. Even though I hadn’t shown myself yet.”

“Jeez, you’re as quick on the uptake as ever,”

someone snapped back as he stepped out from a shadowed corner of the room. It was Eiji, with his green hair and cerulean eyes.

Arhad only looked toward the last traces of the sun behind the royal palace even as Eiji walked up to him. Eiji turned to Arhad, who didn’t bother to spare him even a single glance, and sharply inquired,

“Let me ask you just one thing. Are you out of your mind?”

“What are you trying to get at? I am perfectly sane.”

“I couldn’t help but grow suspicious since you gave away your medicine, which is practically your lifeline, to someone else just because you regretted the injury to her arms —it wasn’t something you’d normally do if unless you’d lost your mind.”

It was only then that Arhad turned to Eiji.

“……How did you learn about that?”

“The only reason you would fall into a coma is if you failed to take your medicine —what other reason could there be? I searched your pockets because I found it strange that you fell asleep as soon as you returned to the tower and I didn’t find the bottle, so I thought you’d been clumsy and lost it somewhere until I just so happened to find it in someone else’s hands……sigh.”

Eiji ruffled his hair in irritation.

Creeeak—

The door opened just then, and a kindly old man entered the room. The old man was wearing dark robes and he looked the part of a mage to a tee. He looked toward Arhad and the enraged Eiji in turns before turning to Arhad with a gentle smile.

“How are you feeling, Little Arhad?”

“I am in good health.”

“I was alarmed when you vanished as soon as you woke up.”

“My apologies for many things, Lord Heinrich.”

Heinrich smiled benevolently when Arhad lowered his head. Eiji scowled heavily as he watched the exchange.

“Lord Heinrich, don’t be so easy on him. You and I run all over the place doing things that could only be called the devil’s work just so we can make him that medicine without exposing his existence, and yet he goes and does something like this as if he doesn’t know what it means to be grateful…… Either he’s not in his right mind, or, just maybe…….”

Eiji sneered as he continued,

“Have you fallen in love with Little Ianna or something?”

For a moment, a pair of golden eyes flashed like the glare of a savage beast.

“……You know Ianna?”

Eiji glared at him more sharply than he ever had before when the familiar name spilled out from Arhad’s lips.

“I’m warning you, but it’d be for the best that you didn’t consider dragging that girl into our business,”

Eiji snapped fiercely. He continued,

“The only reason I’m working with you is to exterminate every last one of them. Do you think this is just any ordinary level of risk we’re taking? And, I’ve told you multiple times now that things are getting critical —that the imperial prince or princess themselves might personally come to find you. This is serious!”

Eiji raged for a while before he finally slapped his palm against his forehead. He continued,

“I’m letting you do as you please because you’re the main star of our revolt, but that’ll change if you so much as lay a finger on her. If you’re making passes at her to bring her into our business for no reason, I’ll do everything in my power to lock you up —so help me. And, all that aside, how do you even know Little Ianna in the first place?”

Wordlessly, Arhad jumped down from the windowsill.

“That was what I wanted to ask you……?”

The air around Arhad, who had narrowed his eyes, began to tingle. Mana obeyed his will and pointed itself at Eiji like sharpened blades. Eiji, who was sensitive to the flow of mana, felt a bloodlust so strong that he broke out in goosebumps.

“How do you know that woman?”

Arhad asked as he stroked his chin. Eiji almost rejoiced as he contorted the features of his face.

“What is the meaning of this……? Are you pointing your bloodlust at me over Little Ianna right now? Wow, I never figured that you of all people would chase down a single girl and bring your lips to her fingers as she slept. This is treachery, you know?”

Arhad was slightly bewildered and his face stiffened subtly, but he put aside his feelings and crossed his arms regardless.

“Answer me. How do you know her? And how did you learn about that?”

“We applied to the Institution together and grew close while taking the exams. She’s my friend. Did you seriously fall head over heels for her or something?”

Eiji clenched his teeth together when Arhad didn’t reply.

“I knew you’d just keep quiet like that again. You always hide your feelings behind a mask of steel. You’re so off-putting. But listen close. I don’t care about how or what you feel about that girl —I will keep her out of our business to the bitter end. Little Ianna will have absolutely nothing to do with our dangerous line of work. No matter what.”

Then, Eiji took one last shot at him.

“You must never hold something dear to you —something that’ll only become a weakness, not until our revolution is concluded.”

Arhad, who had only been listening silently to Eiji speak until then, smirked.

“I know that.”

Eiji glared furiously at him before turning around and leaving without another word, and Heinrich followed suit after considerately telling Arhad to rest because his condition probably hadn’t stabilized yet.

Arhad, now alone in the tower, walked back to the square window. He leaned his hands against the windowsill and took in the cool air from the night that had completely taken over. Then, with a sigh……he breathed it out again.

Arhad’s gaze fell past the slope below, to the main training hall where Ianna had been just moments earlier.

You were never by my side back then or even afterward, and, even now, you weren’t supposed to be by my side. And yet…

The look on his face, which had only been disinterested earlier, was now colored by chaos and bewilderment.

How is it that you’re here right now?

~~*~~

Part 10

The day Ianna was looking forward to came soon enough with an uproar that stirred through the entire Institution.

“Sir Arhad is back at the Institution!”

“I know, I know ­—I saw him yesterday! Siiiigh. The way he only keeps getting more attractive as time passes almost feels like a gift to us, don’t you think?”

“I’m gonna go to see him at the next Swordsmanship Department assembly. Without fail!”

Almost every female student in the Institution was focused solely on one topic.

“He’s so handsome. Is he really just a commoner?”

“Well, yeah ­—he doesn’t have a surname.”

Another female student near the group of gossiping girls put down her food tray near with a puzzled look on her face.

“Hello? Who’s this Sir Arhad that the whole Institution is talking about?”

“Oh, right. You new students wouldn’t know him.”

Sir Arhad is an upperclassman here. And not only is he one of the most skilled students in the entire Swordsmanship Department, he’s someone amazing who’d be the very top of his class if you only look at his exam scores! A-and he’s really, really good-looking. He’s so handsome that it’s hard to do him justice with words alone. He sits in a daze every so often, though no one knows what he’s thinking when he does, but you should never let those opportunities escape you. There are no words to describe how ridiculously sexy he is when he’s deep in thought. Just what must he be thinking about to make such an attractive face? Drool. Man, you really need to see him for yourself. But even he has his downsides. He looks healthy on the outside, but he’s apparently really sick and takes long leaves of absences —and a lot of them too. Oh, it breaks every girl’s heart to see someone so attractive in such pain.

“…….”

Ianna accidentally happened to overhear other female students gossiping about Arhad as she was eating in the cafeteria.

Is he finally here? Ianna blinked.

It was finally time to decide how she was to act from now on. Would she approach him first, or would she wait until he approached her?

It had always been Arhad who had approached her first. She had only ever rejected him or pointed her sword at him. But that was all a part of a past she would have to cast aside now. Ianna was living in the present, and not in the past that had been erased. Their relationship was starting over anew.

The Swordsmanship Department had a department-wide assembly this morning. Ianna had arrived early at the field where they were supposed to gather, but it was already jam-packed with nearly three hundred people. It was boisterous. The clamor, however, was focused on one spot.

Ianna pushed people aside as she paved her way through the center of the uproar. The other students glared and turned around when they felt someone push them out of the way, but they greeted Ianna upon learning that it was her. Ianna, however, only nodded back in return as she continued to push her way through the sea of people.

Her gaze was fixated on one spot. Her eyes were narrowed. A familiar crown of black hair was glimmering before her.

Naturally, that spot was where Arhad was. Well, actually, it was where Arhad was conversing with Ryan and a few others. Ianna stopped in her tracks and stared piercingly at his familiar profile.

Arhad Roygen…….

Arhad felt Ianna’s stinging gaze on him and turned around.

Clang—

Ianna saw an apparition of their crossing blades and hallucinated the sound of steel clashing against steel.

Their eyes met. It was silent without a single whisper of wind, and it was almost like time itself had stopped the very moment their eyes locked onto each other’s.

Ianna suddenly felt parched, like the air around her had suddenly dried up, and she lost her voice. Perhaps it was because she was seeing Arhad.

The light of the sun blazing down on them seemed to proclaim that they had finally arrived at this very moment only after the glory of day and the ruin of night had passed.

The people around them held their breaths. How could they dare speak? —a vivid boundary seemed to form as two people, as contrastive as day and night, met, and one sharp, blade-like gaze seemed to pass straight through and extend into the void beyond.

That was how penetratingly fixated Ianna’s gaze was. Arhad, who had skipped school for nearly half a year including winter break, should have found her strange because he shouldn’t have made any contact with any of the new students yet, and yet he quietly received her gaze nevertheless. No one could have predicted what Ianna said next.

She extended her hand after the moment had passed and Arhad’s eyes began to collapse into mystery.

“I’m so glad to see you again…….”

The curve of her arm was perfectly elegant beneath the bright morning sun. She gently reached out for Arhad as she walked up to him. She continued,

“I truly am, Sir Arhad.”

Arhad visibly flinched and looked down at her hand, breaking off the line of their gazes.

The wind blew.

“Haha…….”

It sounded as if something was shattering— in the laughter that he threw into the wind. Arhad’s eyes were unfocused and wavering.

Arhad’s sharp gaze, sharper than broken glass, fell on the hand that Ianna had extended out to him ­—and then it climbed up her arm, her shoulders, and finally rested on her face.

Ianna’s eyes and lips were curved in such round arcs. She was obviously smiling —with her crimson lips curled like a crescent with her white teeth peeking through. She was neither smirking, the expression did not vanish as soon as it was formed, nor was she only curling up the edges of her lips —it was an ordinary smile. One that no one who knew her had ever seen before.

It would have simply been overlooked if it had been anyone else, but it was only natural that the unusual sight of Ianna smiling left a vivid impression on people.

Ianna, who found her current situation most pleasant, continued smiling. She was finally facing the man whom she had waited so many seasons for like a gently flowing stream.

Arhad had been the man who had taken up nearly half the life she had lived until now, and he was also her current goal. That was why meeting him excited her more than she had been when she had met other characters from her past.

She was pleased. How could she not be, when her emotions were surging turbulently out from the tedious silence?

Arhad was speechless. It was almost rude how he neither took Ianna’s hand nor replied to her happy greeting and simply stared at her face with an unfathomable look written on his own. Then, his eyes gradually came back down. Ianna followed suit and could not help but feel strange as her gaze coalesced with his on her hand.

Was it awkward to hold her hand out to him like this? Her hand, which she had only ever used to heartlessly brush him aside with since their very first meeting, was waiting to be held in his. It was both incredibly strange and incredibly awkward. It felt so indescribably strange as her heart beat furiously.

‘What are you thinking of right now as you look down at my hand?’

A sudden laugh spilled out from Ianna’s lips. She was thinking something ridiculous. Surely, Arhad only thought of her as a girl whom he had met just a few nights ago saying hello to him. He might even be delighted for it, since he had been captivated by her swordplay both in the present and the past. He might even just be dazed.

After all, he would have no knowledge of the time that they had once spent together.

She couldn’t help but feel a little bitter about it. In this life, she would willingly go to Arhad so long as he wanted her. But she had only ever rejected the past Arhad time and time again.

Ianna lowered her eyes. The Arhad of her past and the Arhad standing before her now were undoubtedly the same person. But, because her soul had been so colored by despair, because only she remembered the time they had once spent together before they had both been reborn, Ianna could not help but see his past and current selves as two separate beings.

There was something Ianna learned today as she reached out to him. That, even if she were to become his knight in her current life, the Arhad of her past would never have her for all eternity.

No. Arhad is Arhad —what nonsense am I thinking of right now? Ianna shook her head clear.

“…….”

Arhad stared at Ianna’s hand for a long while before he balled his hand into a fist once before reaching back out to her. And he reached out to her and grasped her hand with so little hesitation that the pause he himself had created almost seemed like a lie.

“Yes, we meet again. I’m delighted that you remembered me, Little Ianna.”

Again…….

Ianna chewed on the word. It felt ever so awkward to her. It was probably because the “again” that Arhad was referring to and the “again” she had referred to spanned the difference of just a few days to over several decades.

She felt something rough as their hands touched. Ianna’s hand were fairly rough as well from training, but she had still been born with softer skin as a woman, so her hands were still softer than Arhad’s rough and calloused ones.

Her hands fit smugly in his larger ones —large enough to wield his large blade as easily as the reaper wielded his scythe. Ianna’s hands were on the larger side as well, but they were still smaller than Arhad’s, who was not only a fully mature man five years her elder but also on the taller side for his sex.

Ianna fell into thought as his hand held tightly to hers. The touch, the size……it was all so unfamiliar. This was her first time holding Arhad’s hand like this.

How was it that she had not held his hand like this even once when he had wanted her so? —Ianna couldn’t help but wonder. But she found her answer at once. Arhad had wanted her whole heart and soul, so he had not done anything to force her into obedience.

Ianna stared at Arhad’s handsome face under the sun. Before the war, he had penned her dense letters of conciliation and had personally sought her out to get closer to her. But Ianna had always ignored him, reacted poorly, or even drawn her sword immediately to run him through that he had never once had the chance over the course of their long years together to touch her.

But Arhad had always returned her hostility with a smile on his handsome face, as though nothing was wrong, and had said things like— “It’s worth putting in the time and effort to gain someone as remarkable as you,” “Don’t consider this my final attempt,” “It was fated that we should meet,” or “You’ll be mine one day if I keep persevering.”

He had even set her free whenever he had capture her, an enemy leader, during the war. He had ignored all his subordinate’s cries as they opposed his course of action and had reached out to her for a handshake, but she had only ignored him all the same.

Arhad had only grown more resigned as time had passed. In the latter half of her life, he had only watched over her quietly as she grumbled about her unilateral defeat before turning his back to her and simply walking away.

“…….”

Ianna smiled wryly before she could stop herself.

She had lost so many times, and yet she had never been able to acknowledge her defeat. She had been so lost in her animosity that she had only ever been cruel to the man who had reached out to her.

It had been her fanatical obsession over the sword and the desperation that stemmed from the knowledge that her sword was the only thing she truly possessed that had made her that way.

Her sword was her life. She had been saved by her sword, and everything she had ever accomplished in life had been achieved through her sword. Surrendering her sword was no different from being forced to bend her knee atop the shattered remains of everything she had ever accomplished.

And that was why she had not been able to acknowledge anything and could only bare her teeth at the sole man who had ever broken her. She had always been thorny toward him, and she had always been snarling at him. It had been her defense mechanism.

And yet……that wasn’t all.

Ianna honestly acknowledged it.

They had ended in a draw.

Arhad had always been supportive of her choices regardless of how contrary they were to his desire to have her. His wishes, which could only be fulfilled by her consent, had become as a solid shield that had kept her from experiencing utter defeat at his hands. They had become as a weapon by which she could circumvent that shield and pierce him.

She would have probably crumbled in defeat and shame had he not desired her.

Which was why she had been foolish.

She had been so foolish that even she could not keep from holding herself in contempt for casting aside his sincere hopes and maintaining herself by surviving on her rejection of him. She had been so foolish that even she herself could not shield her eyes from her foolishness.

But what could she do about it? That was simply who she was.

‘Enough.’

Ianna cleared away her thoughts and braced her heart. There was no need for her to pointlessly get sucked into her reverie. Nor was there any reason to consider herself a fool. All she had to do was do better going forward. Wasn’t that why she had been reborn to begin with? To live a better life this time around?

Ianna instantly calmed her ragged breathing and tried to take back her hand. But she could not pull it away.

“……?”

It hurt. Ianna, who had not registered the pain while she had been deep in contemplation, frowned upon feeling it and looked down at her hand. Arhad was grasping her hand so tightly that the veins were popping out from the back of his hand. Her hand was pale because he had cut off its circulation.

Ianna could have shaken him off for the offense of trying to crush a swordsman’s hand, but she did not. Arhad’s eyes were unfocused as he looked down at their touching hands, and it was clear that he was thinking intently about something. And so, she simply decided to wait for him to return to his senses.

Arhad finally returned to his senses and bit down hard at his lip as Ianna stared back at him.

“……My apologies.”

Arhad, who had been grasping her hand ever so tightly, slowly let her go. Warm blood began flowing through her hand once more.

“Whoo~.”

The students around them finally breathed out the breaths they had been holding despite themselves as their hands finally fell away.

“What was that about?”

“I don’t know, I just found it hard to breathe all of a sudden.”

“Strange…….”

They stole glances at Arhad and Ianna, who were simply staring at each other in silence. Perhaps it was because they were both attractive, but they looked good together despite their stark contrast in appearance.

Arhad. A young commoner with no surname whose looks stood out more than any nobleman who concerned himself with only looks and riches. A man who scored top grades in the Swordsmanship Department despite being bedridden for so long. It was only natural that he was so explosively popular among the women, as both his skills and looks were exceptional.

One reason why no one harassed him out of envy was because they knew that his illness was fatal for any swordsman living in the Age of Magic, another was because he coldly brushed away any woman who developed feelings for him, and yet another was because he carried an air about him that made him difficult to approach recklessly.

If all the people in the world were to be divided into the emotional and the rational, then Arhad would have been the most extreme case of the latter. That was simply how composed and expressionless he was.

It was only when he was angry that it was easy to tell what he was feeling. He generally ignored those who were rude to him, but he grew terrifying if they crossed the line and chillingly drove them into a corner as if he was squeezing the wind out of their lungs.

Though, to be blunt, it was somewhat difficult to say that he was truly being angry during even those times. Normally, people began grumbling when they lost their temper and it showed on their face even when they held back, but Arhad only acted cold with the same look on his face as always. It was almost as if he didn’t see others on the same level of human as he was, or even as if he simply viewed them as annoying insects.

Not only that, but all he did was smile through his composure even when something good happened to him. It was as if the concept of excitement didn’t exist within him at all.

And yet, he was always courteous. It was why he got along with the amicable Ryan and why he readily returned a reply whenever someone called out to him. He was mature and he knew a lot, and he always gave good counsel whenever anyone sincerely turned to him for advice.

No one thought that he was particularly kind, but they all said he was a good person. The reason why the found him difficult to approach regardless was because he had a distinct air about him that made people feel as though they shouldn’t approach him without good cause. He was never menacing, but they could not help but feel as though they would be ripped to shreds if they made an enemy of him.

There were a lot of male students who thought he was cool and thought well of him. And there were plenty of female students who looked upon him warmly and made great efforts to grow closer to him.

And then, there was Ianna Roberstein. She was a rare high-ranking noble the likes of which wasn’t common to the Institution, and her background was unusual in that she was both a daughter of a count and the scorned daughter of a mistress. She was a lovely young girl who had endured months of bad rumors about how she had been admitted illicitly into the Swordsmanship Department through money or by selling her body. Not only was she upright and level-headed in disposition, but the crimson swordswoman’s reputation had currently exploded within the Institution for showing off such amazing skills as she defeated the third-year ace just as the rumors about her had begun to die down.

Yet, not only did her station make her feel distant, but her indifferent attitude also made it difficult for others to approach her even if they wanted to. It was difficult to talk to her without the pretext of business. Even when they trying conversing with her, Ianna never showed them a single side of her heart unless she was talking to people whom she had been friendly with to begin with.

Which was why her greeting had been so utterly unexpected. She never seemed to open up while conversing, and yet she had greeted Arhad so warmly. Would even the indifferent Ianna Roberstein fall for the charms of a good-looking man’s face?

It was unlikely, considering Ianna’s composed nature, but Arhad’s rare cordial reply had overtaken even that misconception and inevitably created a new one.

Even Ianna’s peers were of no exception.

“What, did Lil’ Ianna just fall for that stupidly good-lookin’ guy over there?”

“Um……. I doubt that Little Ianna’s someone to fall for looks alone, but I’ve never seen her act like that before, so she actually might have…….”

“Hahahaha.”

Eiji scoffed in blank amazement as Taro and Herrace curiously chatted away.

Just why? He had only just finished warning Arhad not to linger around Ianna so much the other day, and the man had agreed ­—so why was she taking an interest in him first? Was it because of his face? His head was gradually filled up with chaos and bewilderment.

Ianna did not pay the others any heed. She simply observed Arhad from one step away uncaring of whether the others misunderstood her or not.

‘What should I do next?’

Ianna looked him over from head to toe. He was the same. He looked exactly the same even though he was younger. He was like a sleek panther who dominated over the night.

His face was as good-looking as ever, and his physique, consisting of his dense musculature, was well-balanced. His supple arms were well-suited to wielding the sword, his waist was as sturdy as an old tree, and his muscles were firm no matter what posture he took…….

See his tempered frame ignited Ianna’s desires. Her habits had been solidified over the course of her many years, and she balled her hands into tight fists as her fingers twitched impatiently out of instinct.

She wanted to match his powerful sword even as soon as now —be it through sparring or an actual match, regardless of the consequences. She knew that he wouldn’t ever fail to excite her.

Her eyes, filled to the brim with vigor, oozed with competitivity. Her passionate greed, so hot that it was almost bloodlust, showered upon Arhad, but he had only stroked his chin almost bashfully when he had seen the look in her eyes by chance.

It was understandable for him to be bewildered that a girl whom he had only just met officially was asking him for a fight. Ianna knew in her head that she was being rude, that she should stop herself, but she failed to restrain the feelings gushing out from her heart.

‘Should I request that we spar?’

The idea was gaining traction in her heart.

“Phew!”

Ryan sighed loudly from beside them. He continued,

“You’re not even being lovey-dovey or anything, but it’s hard to cut in between you two. Do you guys know each other?”

“We met a few days ago,”

Arhad replied promptly, as though he had been floundering and had finally been offered an escape route.

“A few days ago?”

“On the day of the swordsmanship competition. I was impressed by Little Ianna’s skills while I was watching her secretly from afar, and I failed to hide it when we happened to meet by chance later.”

Ryan nodded as he concurred.

“I agree. She’s amazing. But, you were there, Sir Arhad? Why did you watch in secret? You should have said hello and watched from a good seat with me.”

“I hadn’t meant to be back yet.”

“I see. That being said, won’t you need someone to help get yourself back in shape? You were absent for a while this time, and you must be getting stiff, right?”

A bright gleam entered Ianna’s eyes, as she had been listening quietly while boiling with the desire to join the conversation.

“I’m sure you need to prepare for your graduation exams, Sir. So I’m quite all…….”

“I’ll do it,”

Ianna interjected. She continued,

“May I be your opponent?”

“You, Miss Ianna?”

Ryan asked quizzically as Ianna nod back enthusiastically before turning back to Arhad. Arhad’s dilated pupils were looking back at her. He had been awkwardly avoiding her gaze, and it was only now that their eyes had met properly again.

“It was to my understanding that you had taken an interest in my skills when we met a few days back. I, too, am very interested in yours. So, will you please allow me this?”

Ianna looked up at Arhad, who was a full head taller than her, with pep and zeal— and she smiled. She continued,

“May I match your sword, Sir?”

Arhad froze on the spot.

“I heard you got rejected big-time today?”

“…….”

Ianna was rendered speechless and looked up when RIkijen whispered to her with a wide grin as he placed his stack of books down in the corner of the quiet library.

“……Who rejected whom and how?”

“You, Lady Ianna, by Lord Arhad, and big-time. Snicker, even the great Lady Ianna gets humiliated like that sometimes…… How did it happen?”

Wham.

“……Ow, damn it!”

Rikijen, who had been hit across the back of his head as soon as he sat down, flushed as he raged,

“Why are you taking it out on me?! I just happened to hear about it from the others?!”

“What you heard is one thing, but you just tried to make fun of me just now.”

Rikijen, who found himself unable to refute, was about to grumble back at her before closing his mouth because people were looking over at them, and Ianna fell into thought as she rested her chin in her palm.

‘I got rejected?’

Arhad had stiffened up visibly at her proposal and had immediately replied,

“No thank you. I must decline.”

She hadn’t been rejected in a romantic sense, but she could not deny the fact that her proposal had been turned down on the spot. It had been the first time in Ianna’s life that she had been rejected by Arhad, who had always chased her around so fervently.

“I don’t wish to face you at the moment, Little Ianna.”

She did not mind that she had been turned down. But his golden eyes had seemed so feeble, almost like a weak creature of prey, and his body had stiffened up like that of a mouse trapped in a corner.

Ianna had only ever seen others act this way. She had never once seen Arhad act like that before. Was that fear? It didn’t suit him at all. Ianna had not been able to hide her disbelief back then.

“I’ve seen how skilled you were, Little Ianna, and I am certain I will lose. I am critically ill, and I do not think I will be able to live up to your expectations. I’m afraid that I might slip up and end up disappointing you.”

He had turned her down firmly with honeyed words that amounted to little more than lip-service.

‘Lies.’

Her mood had dropped like a sack of bricks when he lied.

You of all people are telling me that you don’t want to fight me because you’re afraid of something like that?

Lies.

Her face had contorted when she heard his infuriating lies. Such lies, coming from someone who would force her to her knees as easily as a cat toying with a mouse. It was obvious that his true reason lied elsewhere. There was no way someone as incredible as Arhad would seriously decline a spar with a mere sixteen-year-old girl because of some supposed, ridiculous fear.

Ianna had glared at him, and Arhad had looked away.

“I’m sorry. Some other time, perhaps.”

She had not stopped him when he had immediately turned around and walked away from her after that. She had read someone displeasing in his retreating figure. He had used his illness as an excuse to avoid sparring with her. He had almost looked like a dog running away with his tail tucked in between his legs.

It had surely been a lie when he had said that he didn’t want to face her because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to satisfy her due to his illness.

‘But then, what was the real reason?’

There was a wintry look of displeasure in Ianna’s red eyes as she stared into space.

~~*~~

There were so many students at the Institution that it was practically impossible to count them all. There were easily over a hundred departments even if you tried to divide the students up by their field of study, each department accepted anywhere from ten to a hundred new students each year, and students typically studied for six years, so it was only natural that the Institution was always jam-packed with people.

The Institution was essentially the size of a village with several dozen thousand residents to be able to accept so many students.

When it had first been established, the Institution had been but a small facility in the corner of the large capital.

Long before the Bahamut Empire had established itself in the northern half of the continent and begun her never-ending war with Kingdom of Roanne, which had subdued the continent’s southern half, countless smaller countries had ravaged the continent with their endless wars for hegemony. The beginning of the Age of Magic was covered with the stench of rot as hot blood and cold corpses constantly covered the earth, and the period was often called the Dark Ages or the Age or War.

Power had been everything in those times, and the archmage Zicara Valgenta, a close friend of Roanne’s Founding Queen Roanne de Roanne, had founded the Institution as a place to train a small number of powerful troops so the kingdom could foster more military might.

Only the School of Magic and the School of Military Arts had existed at first, because it was necessary for the Institution to nurture more magicians and warriors. But the people of Roanne had started to be able to live luxurious lives as they won victory after victory and conquered many other countries, and the kingdom’s culture had begun to blossom. The Institution took advantage of the changing times to establish more schools, and it eventually became the best place of learning on the continent as more and more people were drawn to its system.

The Institution began expanding its grounds in a circular fashion with the grey magic tower at its center as the number of its students increased exponentially. And so, there were a lot of older buildings toward the center of campus and a lot of newer buildings toward the outer rim.

The older buildings would have long since collapsed if they had not been maintained. Thanks to consistent repair, however, the buildings preserved their long-standing history in their awe-inspiring, antique exterior designs, while the lecture halls inside had been installed with the latest facilities to ensure that students had a comfortable place to learn.

The Swordsmanship Department building, in which most of the swordsmanship classes were held, was one such building. It’s vast hallways with arched marble columns were bustling with students as they travelled to other buildings for classes, to the cafeteria for lunch, or to the library to study.

But every students’ eyes, without exception, were drawn in front of one particular lecture hall where Ianna, the central figure of the latest school gossip, was standing in wait.

“…….”

Ianna was waiting for the lecture to end with her arms crossed.

Eventually, the lecture ended and students began pouring out from the room. They were taken aback when they saw Ianna standing there, as she had no reason to be waiting outside the upperclassmen’s lecture hall.

That day, when Ianna had been rejected by Arhad, she had learned that Rikijen was already his follower as he sung praises upon praises as they left the library saying, “I see even you’ve taken an interest in him, Lady Ianna,” “Isn’t he good-looking?” “He’s very smart too,” “And his swordsmanship is absolutely amazing,” and “He’s rather popular with the ladies,” —he was practically deifying the man.

Which was why Ianna figured that Rikijen knew a lot about him. Ianna had requested that he provided her with a certain bit of information, and Rikijen had been bewildered by her request.

“W-why are you asking me for that?”

“I had a feeling you would know.”

Rikijen had rolled his eyes.

“I don’t.”

“Hand it over.”

“Wait……I just told you I didn’t know. But why do you even want it to begin with?”

“Because I’m interested in him.”

“I thought you said you didn’t like him.”

“I don’t, but I’m still interested. So hurry up and hand it over.”

The bewildered Rikijen had quietly written something down on a piece of paper because Ianna had even stealthily used bloodlust while making her demands.

The information she had received from Rikijen was the reason why she was currently standing in front of a lecture hall that she had no business to be standing in front of.

“……!”

Arhad, who was leaving the room now that class was over, stiffened up and opened his eyes wide, flabbergasted, when he saw Ianna standing there. Ianna un-crossed her arms when she saw him and walked up to his frozen figure.

Ianna stared up at Arhad so fiercely that the passersby thought she might bore holes into his handsome face.

“May I have a moment of your time?”

Arhad was rendered speechless. Ianna, who disliked the fact that they were standing out all the more because they were blocking the door, unilaterally grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along the wall. Arhad meekly followed along.

Ianna let go of his wrist and turned to him again once they had finally reached somewhere more secluded. Arhad’s face was completely frozen stiff. Ianna smiled jerkily. He looked disoriented, as if he had only just realized that he was been dragged away, rather than confused about why she was acting like this.

Ianna’s reasons were very simple. The way he had run away with his tail between his legs had felt like a hallucination to her, so she wanted to confirm that it had actually happened.

“Please spar with me.”

It was a heavy-handed demand, and not a mere proposal. Arhad returned to his senses and awkwardly pressed his fingers against his forehead.

“I’m sure that yesterday I…”

“You said that I would be disappointed should we spar.”

“…….”

“I will not be disappointed even if you happen to lose. But I will be more disappointed if you refuse to spar with me at all. I detest cowards, you see.”

Ianna tried to provoke him with what was almost a threat. She had told him that she would be more disappointed if he didn’t spar with her, so if he was being sincere about his reasons he would be offended by her arrogant attitude and her calling him a coward and agree to her request out of spite.

But Ianna furrowed her smooth brows after a moment’s pause.

Ianna, who was standing with Arhad before her, knew, even if no one else ever could. Why wouldn’t she, when he had once wanted her so possessively that it bordered obsession for well over a decade? The man before her was exactly the same now when he was younger as he had been when he was older.

Arhad was looking down at her with visibly dulled eyes. This was the look he had always worn whenever Ianna had so vehemently rejected him or whenever Ianna had been forced to her knees before him on the battlefield.

He was intently considering something. Perhaps he was even conflicted inside —over whether he should kill her or not. He was turning the gears in his head —wondering what he should do about the situation.

In any event, it meant that he was thinking.

Ultimately, Arhad stood there for a while without responding before he simply said, “Later,” before fleeing the scene.

Ianna did not stop him. She was certain. That Arhad was avoiding sparring with her for some other reason, and not over something as absurd as his alleged fear of disappointing her.

‘But why?’

Ianna hated uncertainty, and her mood dropped like bricks when she utterly failed to understand. Black was black and white was white. Arhad had left her hanging, and Ianna’s blade-like temperament would not stand for it. Such a wishy-washy relationship did not suit her tastes.

Ianna firmly resolved herself as she watched Arhad’s retreating figure. She wanted to figure out why he was avoiding sparring with her no matter what.

She began stubbornly chasing Arhad around whenever she could while referring to his class schedule, which she had squeezed out of Rikijen. She continued to ask him, “Why?” and “How come?”

~~*~~

Pow!

Ianna’s blunt wooden sword came down swiftly from top to bottom. The blade was destructive as it rent through the air in its path in a straight line even though it was dull. The wooden sword, which slowly climbed back up to its high starting position, repeated the same motions over and over again.

Each school of swordplay, and even every skilled individual, had their own unique style of wielding the sword. A style was a predetermined manual of moves meant to attack opponents with an unconventional defense that was difficult to predict.

Swordsmen were always in search of remarkable styles because they needed to learn a good style if they wanted to learn a wide variety of attack patters, and those who lacked ingenuity and practical ability often found their simple attacks blocked at every turn.

But a sword, at heart, was simply a tool for murder. At its core, all swordsmanship truly required was a strong body, basic skills, and an actual fight. It was common for swordsmen who failed to grasp this to be drawn to flashy but conventional swordplay and end up with their blood spilling over the earth as a result.

Ianna had no teacher in the sword, and her house, House Roberstein, carried no particular sword style. Ianna, who simply loved the sword, had become a swordswoman with only her innate senses and by maintaining her physique.

She found that her opponents would collapse before her as she carried her body in a natural flow and wielded her sword in response to how she perceived her opponents moving. Therefore, Ianna understood well that what she needed was not a style but only a strong foundation.

Which was why she focused heavily on the basics when she trained. She only used what parts of sword styles that she thought might be useful if she read about them in a book or learned about them during class.

Swish. Swish.

Bam! Pow! Thwack!

It was her Practical Swordsmanship class, and the only sounds that echoed around her was the sound of swords whooshing through the air or the sound of two swords clashing against each other. The training grounds were generally covered in the students’ ardent passions, but it was more fervent than usual as of late. This was because finals were coming up.

The semester had passed into its second half at some point. Both the final exams concluding the semester and summer break were coming up. The finals, which evaluated everything a student learned throughout the entire semester, were more important to one’s grades than were the midterms.

It was also a poorly-faring student’s only chance to overturn the thorny looks their professors gave them, so it was only natural that the students were working their hardest.

Practical Swordsmanship classes had by and largely become a period of self-training because it was exam season. It was not a problem even if students left class during self-training, as it was the Institution’s fundamental ideology that every individual would take care of themselves.

Eiji had only wielded his sword for a short while before sauntering off somewhere because he had other stuff to do, while Taro hadn’t even shown up to class because he had gone chasing after Lalatua instead. He was falling deeper in love with her, just as he had in the past, as time passed.

Therefore, only Herrace was hard at work training next to Ianna. Herrace had never tried to force himself into controlling mana after he had made his promise with her. His tattered heart was slowly beginning to recover now that he had no reason to use his medicine to stop the onslaught of mana, and his body was beginning to regain its vitality.

Poow!

Ianna swung her sword. Herrace, who was focusing on the basics while training as Ianna had advised him to instead of practicing his house’s style of swordplay, stole a glance at Ianna’s jawline —so straight that it could have been drawn out with a ruler.

It was extremely difficult to bring one’s sword down at an imaginary point in the air, as opposed to hitting an actual target. Not only did the repetitive movements cause the body to spasm, but it was also difficult to keep your swings straight as your focus wavered.

And yet, Ianna repeated her swings without rest unless she was wiping down her hilt of the sweat from her hands. Herrace was slowly realizing that she was more amazing than he had given her credit for as he watched her.

It hadn’t even been a full month yet since he had determined to digest all of the training Ianna undertook, but he had already given up mirroring her out of exhaustion dozens of times.

The fact that his stamina wasn’t even a fraction of Ianna’s and that his swordplay was full of cracks had been shocking to him. Even if there was nothing he could do about his stamina because he was frail to begin with, he had been embarrassed about his swordplay because he had always thought that he had been thorough in his training of his house’s sword style.

Ianna turned around, feeling his eyes on her, and met his gaze. She flicked her fingers at him when she found him staring blankly.

“Stop spacing out. Train.”

“Oh…….”

“And now that I think about it, when can we meet the dean?”

Ianna wanted to meet Heinrich as soon as possible. Not only did she want more clues about the secret behind Herrace’s constitution, but she always wanted to glean more about the secrets of divine power and demonic power. But Herrace had not taken her to see Heinrich yet even though it had been weeks since the party.

“Hmmm…….”

Herrace returned to his senses, but he still found himself groaning at the question. He returned her an awkward smile. He continued,

“I didn’t know you were waiting. I’m really sorry about that. It looks like I didn’t give you a proper explanation with regards to my grandfather.”

He had explained as thus. Heinrich’s position as the Institution’s dean was simply a societal position, and at heart he was one of the most extreme when it came to so-called mages who were zealous about their research. Most of his administrative duties were performed by other managers, and he spent most of his time cooped up researching in the magic tower at the center of the Institution.

Still, Heinrich cherished his grandson and always contacted him to meet up whenever he had a pause in his research.

“I suppose his current topic of research must be keeping him busy. He hasn’t contacted me for a few months now. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize. We can meet him when he has the time.”

“Thank you.”

Ianna, who had lost her rhythm in training after conversing with Herrace, looked up to see where the sun was in the sky and decided to call it a day.

Ianna tossed her wooden sword back in its box, opened and closed her numb hands a few times, and pat Herrace across the shoulder before turning toward the Swordsmanship Department building exit. Herrace had a strange light in his eyes as he made sure to watch her go.

Ianna hadn’t been acting like herself for the past few weeks. She was probably going to see him even now.

“Are you going to see Sir Arhad again?”

Ianna, who had walked a little way from Herrace, stopped for a moment before shaking her head.

“I’ll probably stop after today.”

Herrace opened his eyes wide in surprise at her unexpected reply.

The students looked haggard from sleep deprivation because it was exam season, and they were hurried in their footsteps. And still, the students passing by a certain corner of a certain hallway could not hide their curiosity as they stared at a certain famous pair.

One of the two was an incredibly handsome young man, while the other was a captivating girl on her way to maturity. The fact that they were of opposite genders, compounded with the fact that the girl had been chasing the young man around as of late, were more than enough to spread scandalous rumors about them regardless of what the girl’s actual intentions were.

Ianna had fallen for Arhad at first sight.

The rumor, which stemmed from the happenings on day of the Swordsmanship Department assembly and had started the day after, had cemented from Ianna’s tenacious pursuit of Arhad in the weeks following and had slowly spread across the entire Institution.

Those who were familiar with Ianna’s personality found it difficult to believe that she had actually fallen head over heels for a guy. Ianna always remained rooted firmly in place, like a deeply rooted ancient tree, and it was always others who approached her first. There was no way that Ianna had taken so much interest in another.

Putting her brusque and cold personality aside, it was difficult to imagine that Ianna, who had once brutally sliced off men’s family jewels, much less show any sort of interest in any of the amazing men she was surrounded by in the Swordsmanship Department, would suddenly start dating someone.

And yet, Ianna was busy chasing down a certain man even now.

It was not sweet words of love that Ianna spoke but rather a stubborn request to spar and a persistent inquiry on why he was refusing, and the air around them was rather bloodcurdling because Ianna was growing increasingly frustrated by Arhad’s attitude, but the youths who enjoyed their romantic gossip continued to insist that Ianna was simply socially awkward and that this was simply her way of showing her affections.

Eventually, Ianna’s actions turned into those of someone chasing after a crush in their eyes.

But Arhad, on the receiving end of Ianna’s supposed love, was only brusque. Onlookers pitied Ianna because Arhad was acting as coldly as he always did when women approached him. But Ianna took no notice of their pointless delusions and simply chased Arhad around asking,

“Just why is it that you won’t spar with me?”

The words had become glued to her lips now, like a broken music box that could only repeat the same phrase.

Arhad never answered her —either because he was ignoring her outright or because he couldn’t answer. He simply turned his back to her and rubbed his hand across his face. Ianna stared silently at his back.

It had been several weeks since she had first gone looking for Arhad.

Arhad’s peerlessly aloof expression had broken when Ianna had asked him why he wouldn’t spar with her on the first day Ianna had come looking for him. He had been so bewildered that he had not been able to answer and had simply fled with long strides. Ianna had been so dumbfounded that she had lost the chance to stop him. Others might have thought that Arhad was ignoring her, but Ianna could tell that he was running away.

Ianna was the type to see things through until the bitter end once she made up her mind, unless she happened to change it. She was stubborn about every little thing. And the target of her obstinacy was Arhad, whose existence alone was enough to excite her. Ianna stubbornly decided that she wouldn’t stop until she uncovered why Arhad was refusing to answer her.

And so, she had started chasing him around and pestering the very next day, but Arhad always reacted in the same way. Ianna felt that something was off. It was only natural that she felt strange, as she felt as if she had become the savage beast and someone as remarkable as Arhad was her prey.

Still, her fury only burned brighter as one then two weeks had passed.

Her rage finally exploded when she had happened to see his swordplay by chance.

Ianna had happened to see Arhad facing off against Ryan as she passed through the Swordsmanship Department building for class one day. She subconsciously stopped in her tracks and watched them spar. And her soul seemed to freeze over as she watched.

It was Arhad, of course, who had overwhelmingly cornered his opponent and forced Ryan to his knees. He was looking down at Ryan, who was covered in bruises and struggling to catch his breath, as if it was only natural —he was someone who would bear his fangs and grin when his enemy provoked him in the same way, not someone would meekly become another’s prey. The edges of his lips curled up into a smile as the bruised Ryan praised his skills —he was not someone to cower in fear.

He clearly wasn’t severely ill either, considering that he had beat Ryan without so much as shedding a single drop of sweat.

So why?

Ianna scowled heavily as she reconfirmed Arhad’s lie with her very own eyes.

What is he playing at? Ianna grit her teeth and spun around to leave the area.

It was then that she truly began resenting Arhad. So much so that she had started exuding bloodlust at the sight of his figure from behind without meaning to.

Surely he’s not refusing me because I’m a woman, is he?

Or, is it because he doesn’t even think I’m worth facing to begin with?

……When he was the one who looked at me, at my sword, with such eyes?!

Arhad. You were the one who made me this way, so take responsibility for it. I’ve been chasing you around for weeks on end, and yet not only won’t you spar with me but you even ignore me outright?

She knew that the present Arhad was faultless, but Ianna felt her lofty pride take damage just by thinking about it.

Ianna, whose head was filled with only negative thoughts until just a few days ago, finally exploded and wanted to take her sword to him at once. She figured he might face her if she started attacking him indiscriminately.

But she couldn’t wield her sword in the Institution, and neither did she want to face Arhad if he didn’t share in the sentiment.

And, while Ianna was absolutely seething from the indignation of it all, Arhad had stopped running away altogether. Now, he simply ignored her even as she glared daggers at the back of his head while he slowly walked away. There was no way Ianna wouldn’t have exploded in fury.

‘Is he ignoring me outright now?’

She had been so persistent that she had figured Arhad might face her even if only out of irritation at this point, and yet he did not. If he didn’t like the fact that she was chasing him around, then he should have simply crushed her and forced her to apologize for her behavior. Arhad refused to answer her to the bitter end and neither brushed her away nor agreed to entertain her as he simply left things hanging. Ianna was exploding with fury on the inside, and she almost wanted to break his head open if only to see what he was really thinking.

“…….”

Ianna stared carefully, ever so carefully, at the back of Arhad’s head. He looked so young compared to her memories.

A few days ago, as Arhad walked slowly so that no distance would grow between them, as Ianna had been able to take him in with her eyes at leisure instead of being in a rush to chase him down, she had realized that Arhad was still only twenty-one years old, that she herself was only sixteen, and that there were still three longs years to go before they were supposed to have met.

She felt like she had suddenly been doused with cold water. She thought she could make sense of their bizarre situation if she considered that something may have happened to him within those three years that would make him change his mind.

Ianna contemplated for a few days before reaching a decision. She would only chase him around for a little while longer and would give up sooner rather than later.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

Ianna only parroted her words in dejection now. Her patience had worn so thin that she wasn’t even curious anymore.

Thump.

Ianna eventually stopped in her tracks. She would normally have continued chasing after him at this time, but she simply stood in place while looking at Arhad’s back before turning around without any lingering attachments.

She had chased him around asking him why he was avoiding her for weeks now, but Arhad showed no signs of ever telling her why, and she figured that there was no point in it anymore if he had some grandiose reason for not telling her.

Ianna was averse to troubling others any more than she already had, even if it was Arhad.

Not only had she lost time training her sword because she had been so affected by Arhad, but she also realized that getting infuriated all by herself was a pointless waste of emotion, just as it had been in her past. She would be frustrated at only being able to face opponents way below her standards, but it wasn’t something that would pose as a problem to her.

And so, Ianna ultimately raised her hands in surrender. It had been unlike her to have chased after him for so long.  She regained her composure and decided to wait until he approached her himself.

She hadn’t lost all interest, though, and she planned to watch over him quietly from behind. Arhad had chased after her for nearly twenty years, so Ianna figured that there was no reason she couldn’t do the same.

She had already known that they were only supposed to meet three years later, and it wasn’t as if she couldn’t wait it out. It was ridiculous to have to wait for that time when everything else had already changed so drastically, but wasn’t that when their relationship had started to begin with?

Arhad was acting strangely, so Ianna figured it might not be so bad to simply watch over him in the meanwhile. To be honest, she was bubbling with curiosity about how he, who was actually a high and mighty prince, prepared to usurp the throne in the three years she hadn’t known him.

Ianna, who had been deep in contemplation as she changed her way of thinking, did not realize that a hand had reached out toward her.

“……!”

The hand grabbed her tightly by the arm. Ianna was startled for a moment. She was startled not by the unpleasant surprise, but rather because of strange sense of déjà vu. She was certain that a large hand had grabbed her and pulled her back like this before…….

“Have I hurt your feelings?”

She had been held so tightly it had been hard to breathe. By a man around his height wearing a black robe.

“……I’m sorry.”

Ianna snapped back to her senses and blinked a few times as she wondered what on earth she had been thinking before she took in the man who had stopped her. It was a hesitant Arhad. He looked desperate.

Ianna erased the robed man from her mind and she looked wordlessly up at Arhad. Arhad, who had stopped her, looked a little depressed when she didn’t answer. She could not understand why he was suddenly acting like this.

“For what?”

“For continuously declining your offer, Little Ianna.”

Ianna doubted her eyes for a moment. Arhad almost looked like a sad animal with his ears drooping low as he carefully said his words. Ianna made a strange face as she felt like she had somehow become a cruel assailant that had mistreated the poor creature.

To be honest, she found it absurd. Just what had happened over those three years that would change this man into such an easygoing beast? She resolved herself to keep a closer eye on him going forward.

“For not answering your questions. For always turning my back to you. All of it. But please understand that it was never because I hated you, Little Ianna.”

Ianna already knew he didn’t hate her. If he had truly hated her, he would’ve run her through with his sword to begin with.

Ianna pondered as Arhad mumbled. She wondered if this was an opportunity.

“Then, can you tell me your reason now?”

“…….”

Ianna smirked and gave up when she saw his mouth shut tight.

“It’s all right if you can’t tell me. But please just answer me this.”

Just a few days ago, Ianna had wanted to grab him by the collar and scream her next questions at him but had held herself back and crammed them back behind her lips, and now she brusquely asked,

“Are you ignoring me because I’m a woman?”

“No,”

Arhad replied immediately.

“Then, was it because you thought my sword wasn’t worth your time?”

“Never!”

Arhad, who was still holding to Ianna’s arm, grasped it tighter. He continued,

“……I would never.”

Not only was his answer sincere, but he even seemed angry that she had ever doubted him. His hold had only tightened for but a moment, but it had hurt enough for Ianna to frown nevertheless.

Ianna watched him with a strange light in her eyes as Arhad was visibly on edge. The man clearly wanted her sword very badly.

‘That’s right. This is how you’re supposed to be.’

Ianna was in such a good mood that she smiled for the first time since she had begun chasing after him. Her lips drew a natural arc as she smiled. Arhad’s shaking gaze centered on her smile.

“I accidentally happened to see you training once, Sir. I learned then that you were skilled enough that there was no way you would ever be afraid of disappointing me. So, please just let me say this.”

Ianna wiped the smile off her face and looked at him. She continued,

“I truly detest liars. I had even considered giving up and stubbornly attacking you indiscriminately.”

Arhad flinched at her words, and Ianna found even that ridiculous. She sighed……and she smiled again.

“But now that I think about it, I realized that there was no malice in your lies and that there must be some reason as to why you won’t spar with me that you can’t tell me —and that is why I’ve decided to stop.”

For example, he could be busy figuring out how to conquer Bahamut and didn’t want to drag an outsider into his affairs. Or, it could be because he knew he would only grow to desire her more once he had faced her.

Ianna smirked. Her reasoning may be arrogant, but it was plausible nonetheless.

“And so, I will stop chasing you around. I’m sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused you.”

For some reason, Arhad’s slowly loosening grasp tightened up once more. Ianna furrowed her brow a little when her arm throbbed, but she did not coldly brush him off because she wanted to forge a good relationship with him moving forward.

Ianna took Arhad’s hand with her free one. She felt him flinch, but she ignored him because she figured he was simply surprised by her actions. Ianna looked back at him with unfaltering eyes.

“But please do tell me your reasons someday. I like you quite a lot, Sir Arhad, and I wish to get to know you better, but I would need to know why you are avoiding me first.”

She was actually planning to observe him in secret, but Ianna didn’t mention it and feigned ignorance. There was still a lot of time, so there was no need to rush.

Ianna gently spoke her thoughts and carefully took Arhad’s fingers off her arm one by one before letting him go. His arm fell listlessly back down.

“Well then.”

She nodded to Arhad, who was looking down at her with an unreadable expression on his face, and turned her back to him.

“This is dangerous…….”

Arhad mumbled.

“You……really……just like the last words you said to me that day…….”

Ianna had turned around feeling refreshed and had never once looked back as she simply tread forward, and so, she had not seen how Arhad’s golden eyes had burned bright with a peculiar fever as he stared piercingly at her retreating figure.

~~*~~

Part 11

[I was so sad that you didn’t call Splashy or me in over a month, but I see you hadn’t forgotten about us. I’m really glad. Hmm?]

The Spirit King of Earth, the small mud doll looked around as soon as Ianna summoned him and crumbled apart in joy when he saw that Ianna, who provided him with divine power and Finn, the half-elf boy who was looking at him with his eyes filled with curiosity, were the only two present with him. He quickly rebuilt himself and clung tightly to Ianna’s fingers.

[Am I the only one this time? That makes me even happier.]

The mud doll rubbed his face against Ianna’s fingers and Ianna found him so cute that she tapped her fingers against him before she realized what she was doing. Calling forth both spirits halved the time they could stay. She had only called the mud doll this time because she thought he would be able to provide her with more information during his short stay, but there was no need to tell him that.

Ianna, who had stopped chasing after Arhad not too long ago and had successfully concluded her first semester with excellent grades on her finals, was currently in the forest in which she had summoned the spirits previously. This was the perfect place, considering the disaster that followed every time she summoned the spirit kings.

It had already been over two months since she had last called on the spirit kings. The reason that Ianna had skipped a month when she could call them once a month was not only because Finn had accompanied Mursi on a business trip, but also because Ianna had been so busy chasing Arhad around that she had completely forgotten that a month had passed.

Ianna felt a little sorry when she saw how happy the mud doll was that she had called him as he clung to her fingers and told her how much he loved her, though she technically hadn’t done any wrong.

[Now that I think about it…]

The mud doll abruptly pulled his crunchy cheek away and looked up at Ianna with his round eyes.

[We are always waiting eagerly for you, who brought the light of change to our long years of silence, to summon us……but why is it that you do? Did you get hurt again?]

The mud doll scrutinized Ianna all over. Ianna shook her head no and lifted the mud dolls face with her index finger.

“I wanted to hear your story.”

[Our story?]

“I wanted to learn more about the Holy Age……oh.”

Ianna closed her mouth mid-sentence. A king was a king even if he looked like a toy that children would play with, so she wondered if it was okay for her to speak so casually with him. She continued,

“You call yourself a king —am I supposed to address you formally?”

[There’s no need for that. We call ourselves kings, but the term is somewhat inaccurate. After all, we are all the spirits.]

Ianna immediately asked,

“The fish said something like that before too. To be precise, he said that he was water itself, and that all water spirits were a part of him. What does that mean? If all spirits are a part of you, and how are you the king?”

[Hmmm. It would be difficult for you to understand even if I explained things to you if you lack the basic knowledge that prevailed in the Holy Age. Chaos and souls, spirits and physical bodies, divine power and demonic power, powers and magic…….]

Ianna’s heart began thumping furiously as she heard what the mud doll had muttered.

[A lot of knowledge has been buried in this age, save for that pertaining to demonic power and magic. It was common sense in the Holy Age, but humans of the Age of Magic may have no need to know this……]

Ianna grasped the mud doll tight even before he finished speaking.

“But I want to know. Please tell me. All of it, without skipping over even the smallest details.”

The mud doll looked up at Ianna and nodded.

[You have an impressive passion for learning. Hmm, I suppose you could be curious. Very well. I feel there’s ample time before I must return……so I will tell you about the gods you are so curious about. Will it be all right if I tell you how the gods were born?]

It was valuable information.

“Yes, of course.”

[Very well. Then I will begin my story.]

Ianna picked up her pen and notebook, which she had left aside, and focused so that she wouldn’t miss a single word. The mud doll walked a few steps away and looked to Ianna as he began his story.

[In the beginning, there was chaos.]

The mud doll spread his arms out wide. A foggy aura appeared in front of him and began wiggling around like jelly. Ianna clenched her hands into tight fists. It had no color to it, but that aura was definitely divine power, which she had been searching for so long. She stared penetratingly at it.

[The chaos clumped together into a massive energy.]

“Not divine power?”

[The energy would soon become divine power. It was called as such only after the gods were born.]

The mud doll broke off a piece from the lump of divine power and floated it around as he continued his explanation.

[The energy was capable of transforming into an astral body. An astral body can’t be seen with the naked eye because it belongs to the astral plane, so let’s pretend that this energy is an astral body.]

“……What is an astral body and the astral plane?”

[Hmm. I’ll explain what the astral plane is after I tell you a little bit more first.]

Ianna nodded.

[An astral body is the lowest-stage spiritual element because it has no ego and therefore no color. When an astral body awakens to an ego, it means that a sense of ‘self’ now exists within it. In short, it acknowledges its own presence and becomes self-aware.]

His explanation was abstract, but Ianna felt as though she had understood the gist of it.

The mud doll broke off more divine power from the large mass and merged it into the lump floating before her.

[When two or more astral bodies merge together, they become a high-grade astral body, or an essence. An essence does not possess an ego yet. But, when it does awaken to an ego, the once colorless essence gains a color and becomes a soul.]

The cloudy lump of divine power was dyed crimson.

[A soul is the final stage of all spiritual elements.]

The word ‘soul’ was used commonly. It was said that the dead’s souls returned to Laos, for instance, or that mana was dyed in the soul’s color in the ultimate stage of mana control…….

Ianna figured that spiritual elements must refer to something psychological when she compared what the mud doll was saying against concepts she was already familiar with.

“Does the word ‘spiritual’……refer to the conscious mind, by any chance?”

[Yes. You may think of it as the psychic.]

She was right.

“We use the word ‘psychological’ more often in our world.”

Ianna furious jotted down her notes.

[We spirits were born before the gods, and we are completely different from them. We don’t know exactly how because we don’t remember it, but we were able to use our powers even when we were merely essences. Our powers together created the combined particles of earth, water, fire, and wind before we awakened to an ego and became souls.]

Fine grains of sand formed in the lump of divine power one after another and mixed into it. The mud doll had a grain of sand spin around Ianna.

[This here is a particle. It is the smallest physical element of the physical plane. Particles are capable of holding onto energy or astral bodies and housing them. Like this.]

The surrounding crimson mana began swirling around the grain of sand.

[We don’t know how we differentiated all of these when we created them. We can create dead particles at the moment, but how we created living ones is still a mystery to us. Both dead and living particles are composed of the same parts, so we don’t know what it is that differentiates them…… We’ve tried making living particles many times over, but we could only manage to create dead ones. That guy Laos seemed to have known, but he would only chuckle to himself. Hmph. Anyway…]

The mud doll pointed at the lump of divine power.

[Eventually, the chaos became a giant mass of astral bodies, particles, and energy. This is when the birth of the gods began. The particles endlessly repeated the cycle of coalescing together regardless of type and scattering apart…….]

The mud doll broke off more grains of sand from the chaos and fused them together with the first grain of sand he had pulled away. The grains of sand clumped together tightly to form a solid pebble.

[They would come together by chance and clump together, and when the particles meshed together, they would naturally draw in the energy they generated and the astral bodies dwelling within them would fuse to become an essence as well. If you look at it from the bigger picture, these clumps of particles —or aggregates— were able to produce divine power and have essences dwelling within them. Now, if the particles simply stay in this bundled state…….]

The pebble crumbled apart.

[It will break apart sooner or later. But…]

The scattered grains of sand fused into a pebble once again.

[If an essence awakens to an ego in this state, then it will become a soul.]

A cloudy light swirled around the pebble like fog.

[When an astral body becomes a soul, the aggregate follows its will to not break apart and does not scatter. Instead, it binds even more tightly together and becomes a crystal. This crystal belongs to the soul, and it will belong to that soul forever.]

The pebble, which had originally been formed from simple grains of sand, because a radiant jewel that emitted a translucent light. The mud doll had the jewel revolve around the air.

[This here is what we call a fragment.]

Ianna stared deeply at it. She had heard the phrase ‘fragment of chaos’ before.

“Everyone who lived in the Holy Age, an unfathomably long time ago, was a god who carried their own special power. Our powers were handled through divine power, which was created by our fragments of chaos, and we could maintain our lives forever —the world of the gods was beautiful!”

She had heard it from Lebony…….

Ianna recalled the conversation as soon as the mud doll had mentioned the fragment of chaos because she had written down everything she knew about the Holy Age in her notebook as soon as she could and had memorized its contents.

If she recalled correctly, fragments of chaos generated divine power, and the gods were divided into ranks depending on how much divine power their fragment of chaos could produce.

[The energy produced by the fragment to meet the awakened soul’s needs is divine power. Now, shall we create a god? Souls and divine power are bound tightly to their fragments.]

Divine power surged into the jewel’s surroundings.

[A soul can only awaken an ego —it can’t do anything else. It can’t move, speak, think, sense, or feel…… It needs a physical medium, a body, to be active in the world. It needs a brain to think with, bones that will move in accordance to its will, skin by which it can sense and touch……. But a body is a physical element, so the soul, a spiritual element can’t create one for itself.]

The mud doll pat himself on the chest.

[It was us spirits who helped the souls create a body. We spirits use divine power to fuel our powers and create everything the world is comprised of. Depending on the amount of divine power we’re provided, we can create physical matter capable of maintaining its existence in the world. The gods provided us with divine power.]

The crimson divine power that had been surging around the jewel gathered around the mud doll’s hand.

[And in exchange, we used our powers of creating earth, water, fire, and wind to provide them with bodies that are overflowing with vitality. We made the souls bodies in accordance to their wishes. The first thing that souls that want a body do is seek out our help and transform their fragment into the shape that is most suited to them. For humans, this shape is a heart.]

The jewel slowly contorted in shape. It eventually transformed into a familiar beating figure. A heart.

[We receive divine power from the soul and create various new elements around the heart.]

The divine power touching the mud doll’s hand turned into dirt and rushed toward the fragment of chaos. The dirt that the mud doll created wrapped itself around the fragment of chaos. Then, it created blood vessels, brains, internal organs, bones, and muscle. Finally, a layer of skin covered over the body. It turned into a doll that looked like Ianna. The doll began to walk across the ground.

[This is a god —that which was born upon the foundation of the soul.]

Ianna broke out in goosebumps. She felt as though she had glimpsed at the secrets of the gods, which humanity so coveted.

The mud doll sighed in exhaustion after its lengthy explanation. Then he broke off a few more pieces from the model of chaos he had created.

[Most of the gods had humanoid bodies, but there were those who had taken other forms as well. For example, there were some gods who took the shapes of fish or ants. All that lived in the Holy Age other than us spirits and the plants were gods.]

The mud doll created more fragments the same way he had made doll of Ianna’s, and they took the forms of many different types of lifeforms. Ianna watched the dolls walk around with great interest. The mud doll was puppeteering them, of course, but it was still intriguing to see them move around.

[Time is an absolute governance which none may meddle with.]

Ianna startled. But why? She had definitely been reborn, so why was the spirit saying that no one could meddle with time?

Ianna was perplexed for a moment when the spirit, a being from the Holy Age, had said as such, but she quickly straightened out her thoughts and refocused on the spirit’s next words. The mud doll was jumping up and down.

[Divine power is consumed whenever an action is taken as a being lives in the flow of time. Like how I’m jumping right now, for example, or if I nod my head, or shake your hand, or run around —anytime I perform a physical action with my body…… You also need divine power for spiritual actions, such as thinking, feeling, or reminiscing.]

The mud doll stopped jumping.

[Divine power is also consumed to maintain the body and the soul on a fundamental level. Even if you think you’re just lying around not doing anything, there are a lot of biological activities taking place inside your body as time flows, and all of that consumes divine power. Maintaining consciousness of your ego is also a type of activity undertaken by the soul, so you need divine power to maintain your soul as well.]

The mud doll sighed yet again after another lengthy explanation.

[Now. I’ve finished explaining everything about divine power’s ‘trait of life.’ Shall we try organizing this information? Would you like to give it a try?]

“Divine power is the trait of life because it’s used with every action of the soul and the body as it lives through the flow of time. Got it.”

The mud doll crumbled.

[Wonderful. Heehee.]

Ianna nodded and asked,

“Then…… What happens when your divine power is completely exhausted?”

[You go extinct. The body begins to age and deteriorate when you start running out of divine power. The body collapses down to the earth when it no longer has enough divine power to move, and it crumbles away before long. Then, it becomes as earth, water, fire, and air and returns to nature. Take a look at those dolls.]

The dolls, which had been moving about just fine, grew older and broke apart. All that remained were the fragments of chaos with crimson energy swirling around them.

[The fragment of chaos can be preserved so long as the soul remains aware of its ego. Put another way, the soul lives on even after the body has disappeared, and it can call us to make its body again if it still has enough divine power. But if the soul doesn’t have enough divine power to maintain itself, then it loses its ego. Then, both the soul and the fragment of chaos disappear.]

The crimson aura around the fragments disappeared. The jewel-like fragments lost their luster and returned to being pebbles. They vibrated like bombs that were moments from going off, and Ianna figured that they would return to being scattered grains of sand, before they popped and vanished altogether.

[They vanish completely from the world. They disappear in the truest sense of the word. To the contrary, this also means that there are ways to maintain a youthful body forever without dying.]

The mud doll pushed more crimson energy inside the doll of Ianna, which was still alive and trembling, and it stood right back up and began walking around again as if nothing had been wrong with it.

[One is to continuously supply the body with enough divine power, and the other is to borrow our power and create a new body altogether…….]

The mud doll suddenly crumbled apart. He soon rebuilt himself, but he grunted as he stood back up.

[Oh dear, I allocated too much divine power in my explanation and my balance…… In any event, this sums up the basic nature of the gods. Do you have any questions?]

Ianna flipped through the pages of her notebook as she skimmed over the content she had penned in today. She had summarized and drawn simple diagrams of the process behind the birth of the gods that the mud doll had shown her using dirt, and she had briefly noted any unresolved questions that still remained. Ianna checked through her notes and asked,

“What is the difference between human hearts and the gods’ hearts?”

[Ah, let’s start with a fragment of chaos’ main functions.]

First, it produces divine power. Second, it is very sturdy. Third, it disappears completely when it goes extinct. Fourth, it imprints a power. Fifth, it holds tightly to divine power. And sixth, it is the vessel that is impressed upon the soul.

[If you take away the first three functions, a god’s heart is no different from the hearts of the creatures that live in the Age of Magic. The hearts of those from the Age of Magic are an aggregate of dead particles created by Laos and us spirits. We can’t create living particles, as I explained to you earlier, so it isn’t possible for your hearts to create divine power. As for the second and third functions……I’m not entirely sure myself. It might be a characteristic of living particles.]

“My heart produces divine power, even if only a little…….”

It was only now that Ianna fully understood what Lebony had been talking about. Ianna starred the differences between human hearts and the gods’ hearts and scribbled down, “Imprints a power?” off to the side. It was an important question, but Ianna simply marked it with a check and toyed with her pen as she decided to save it for next time because she felt like it would be another lengthy explanation.

“All right, then next. Can you answer one of my first questions now? Why are you guys called spirit kings?”

[Oh, right. But first let’s go over souls and planes one more time.]

Ianna flipped to the page where she had jotted down, “Astral bodies cannot be seen with the naked eye because they exist in the astral plane. Souls take color in the astral plane.”

[A soul is a unique body of consciousness. For example, you are Ianna.]

The mud doll pointed to Ianna and then back to himself.

[I am the Spirit King of Earth, and the small child sitting blankly over there is Finn —no two beings that exist in the world are the same. Let me phrase it another way. You, Ianna, carry the soul of the individual known as ‘Ianna’, I carry the soul of the Spirit King of Earth, and that child carries the soul of the individual known as ‘Finn’. A soul determines every being’s identity. An astral body is simply a lump of spiritual substance that cannot do this.]

That was only natural because souls possessed an ego, which meant that they also possessed an identity. The mud doll’s explanations were easy to understand. Ianna, who was listening carefully to his words as to not miss a single thing, nodded.

“I understand.”

[Good. Next, a soul has four important characteristics. First, the effects of the body’s activities are stored within the soul. It’s like an archive for storing memories.]

An archive for storing memories…….

Ianna mumbled.

[A god that has awakened and has created a body for themselves can move, sense, feel, and think. Their memories, created through their bodies as they think, sense, and feel, accumulate within their souls. And so, this is also what makes reminiscence possible.]

Memories build up within the soul…….

Ianna had personally experienced this fact. She was always reminiscing all the time —so much so that she was getting sick of it. She ruminated over not only the memories she had made after her rebirth, but even the memories she had made before. So, why hadn’t those memories disappeared from her soul when they had vanished from everyone else’s? Ianna laughed quietly to herself. Did memories have their own degree of perseverance?

[Your soul must be self-aware in order to reminisce, since reminiscing is the act of reading the information that has been stored inside the soul, and you also need a fragment of chaos, the soul’s vessel, and a body with a brain to act as a physical medium. And lastly, reminiscing is a spiritual action, so you must also have divine power. Do you understand?]

Ianna nodded as she scribbled her pen across the page, and the mud doll nodded back in satisfaction before he continued.

[Second, a soul can leave its fragment of chaos and roam around. It can break apart into multiple pieces and merge back together. It can even reside in another object. But that is all it can do. It can only roam around without a will, and it can lose its ego if it’s not supplied with divine power in this state…….]

“So it goes extinct?”

[Yes; and third, the soul can determine its power.]

“It determines its power? You told me earlier that the fragments of chaos imprint powers.”

[You are correct. You might not be too familiar with powers…… A power is a special ability that belongs to only one individual. An individual’s powers are determined naturally in accordance to their soul’s wishes and lifestyles and are then imprinted upon their fragment of chaos. This is also what is meant by the ‘trait of power’, which I will explain to you the next time we meet. And fourth, and finally, are planes.]

The mud doll fell into contemplation for a moment before it began speaking.

[The world consists of the physical plane, the astral plane, the spiritual plane, which exists in the overlap between the first two, and the robust plane, which refers to all the planes combined. These ‘planes’ refer to everything that exists within the same plane of perception —in other words, that which can be perceived and holds influence over the same space.]

Meaning, that only physical objects could perceive and hold influence over each other in the physical plane, and only souls could perceive and hold influence over each other in the astral plane. An element’s actions could only be perceived within the plane that the element operated in.

Both physical matter and souls could be seen in the spiritual plane, which overlapped between both the physical and astral planes, and physical matter and souls could see spirits. However, in the case of the latter, a spirit’s soul could always be seen in the astral plane, but spirits could not be seen in the physical plane if they only existed as souls and they could only be seen if they created themselves physical bodies first.

The same held true for what spirits could influence. And, as divine power existed in the robust plane —that is, it existed in every plane—, it could perceive, be perceived, influence, and be influenced in every plane.

Ianna scrawled down “A spirit’s soul,” and placed a check next to it before asking,

“So you wouldn’t be able to see it in the physical plane even if a soul gains a color in the astral plane?”

[Indeed. Generally speaking, ‘seeing’ refers to a physical action carried out by your eyes on the physical plane……. It is impossible to see a soul unless you yourself are a soul or you have a special power that has to do with the astral plane. But it’s possible to see a soul indirectly through ordinary means. A soul can be seen when it absorbs divine power and separates from the body. Technically speaking, you would be seeing the divine power because beings of the physical plane can’t see a soul, but……a soul is always accompanied by divine power because it must always keep a supply of it, so it isn’t completely incorrect to say that you are seeing the soul. In any case, this is only possible because divine power gets dyed in the soul’s color.]

“Right, the color of the soul and of divine power. I wanted to ask about that too. You guys referred to it as how the divine power ‘tastes’. Is that the same thing as color, and does that mean that there are different types of divine power?”

[Hmmm. Rather than to call it a type of divine power……it is more accurate to say that it takes on the nature of the individual. Souls possess their own unique colors from their very inception. After all, souls are composed of astral bodies, which also possess their own unique colors. But a soul’s color changes as the individual goes about their life and they accumulate more memories and experiences. In other words, the color of an individual soul consists of their true nature. For example, you are a crimson like the sun that burns everything down, I am a gentle brown, and Finn is green like a young sapling.]

Crimson divine power seeped out from the mud doll’s hand.

“Divine power is translucent and invisible when it’s first created. But when a soul is nearby, it gets dyed in the soul’s color and therefore belongs to the soul. What we call ‘taste’ corresponds to what you would call ‘flavor’ in your world. We can taste an individual’s nature and how they’ve lived their lives.]

Ianna found herself lost in thought.

What did it mean when the spirits ate her divine power and said that they tasted the crimson god?

“Can divine power that has already taken the color of one soul change into the color of another?”

[Of course. It is normal for divine power to change in color if it becomes possessed by another. It’s color changes quicker the stronger the new soul’s ego is. But, in rare instances, when divine power is completely dyed in the color of a god with a very strong ego, it doesn’t easily take on a new color unless it’s been forced to. The crimson god’s divine power was like that in the past.]

“Is that what you meant when you said that the taste of my divine power is mixed with the taste of the crimson god’s?”

[Yes. Why? Is there a problem?]

“Just answer my questions for now. What do you mean by the taste was mixed? Did you mean that my divine power was combined with the crimson god’s divine power, or did you mean that my divine power felt like the crimson god?”

[The latter. We somehow tasted something nostalgic in your divine power. But yours is not the exact taste of the crimson god’s. And that’s only natural. After all, you are not Roberstein.]

“Is it possible for two souls to merge together?”

[No. Two souls may co-exist, but they will never merge.]

Ianna bit down at her pen and thought. Based off of what she had heard from the mud doll today, she had three hypotheses about why the spirits tasted the crimson god’s divine power in her own divine power.

‘First, my soul is the only soul that exists inside my body. If this hypothesis is true, that means Roberstein’s divine power is in the process of being dyed in the color of my soul, and I have my own divine power. But the mud doll said that there was only one ‘type’ of divine power and that he tasted the god’s power from my divine power. So this can’t be the case. Second, both my soul and Roberstein’s soul co-exists inside my body. Which must mean that Roberstein’s soul existed in my blood from the moment I was born. And that my divine power was influenced by Roberstein.’

Ianna looked up.

“Can spirits see souls?”

[Yes, we can. For spirits exist in both the physical and astral planes.]

“Then, is it possible that……another soul resides in my body besides my own?”

[Hmm? No. You only have one soul.]

Which meant that her second hypothesis was also false. Which meant that only her third hypothesis remained…….

But her third hypothesis was impossible. It should be impossible, at least. It shouldn’t be possible, but it was also the strongest hypothesis she had that didn’t contradict with anything she had heard from the mud doll today.

‘Third, Roberstein’s soul is my soul. This is why Roberstein’s divine power, which Lebony possessed in the past, was drawn into me. But my soul changed a little in color while I lived as Ianna, and so my divine power changed in color as well.’

Ianna spun her pen around. A soul was the identity of one’s existence. If her third hypothesis was true……then who was she?

But there was no need for her to ask. After all, her answer had already been decided.

‘I am me.’

Ianna’s ego was more resolute than any other.

She was Ianna. Didn’t she know that best?

She had only ever considered herself to be ‘Ianna’ throughout the entirely of her life. It’s wasn’t right to attach the name ‘Roberstein’ to her soul.

Which meant that Roberstein was…

‘A past incarnation that I don’t remember……or something like that?’

“Hah.”

She suddenly broke out in laughter. It was absurd, after all. To think that she had been a god in her past life.

But it didn’t matter to her if she was a god or even a bug in her past life. She was Ianna now, even if she had once been a god in another life. She was only Ianna.

She only needed to know enough about her past life as Roberstein to understand why her life was such a mess because of the god and to uncover the secrets about her body.

‘Even if there’s still a part of me that remains as Roberstein, I’ll devour it all and make it mine. Yes. I need to know what I must, and I need to be certain that I can use every means available to me.’

Her soul was hers alone. Her divine power was hers as well. Everything belonged to her. She would not permit herself to not know something about her own body.

House Roberstein.

Ianna tapped her pen against her lips. There must be some sort of secret within the lineage’s bloodline. She had become the head of the house in the past, but not everything had been passed down to her properly. So, there may be a household secret that only the heads’ knew.

But Ianna did not want to take an interest in the household that she had already decided to abandon. And so, she decided to shelf the issue for the time being.

Ianna wrote down everything she had learned about souls and divine power in her notebook. She would return to her dormitory and organize her information soon. Ianna, who had been looking down at her jam-packed notes, looked up at the mud doll who had been waiting for her to speak and said,

“Can you answer my first question now? And, I had another question while you were telling me about the spiritual plane —can you guys exist only as souls?”

[Oh, I forgot about that part because I was explaining things from my point of view. That’s the biggest difference between spirits and the gods. Gods have fragments of chaos, and therefore possess hearts, but we spirits do not.]

Gods needed both a body and a soul to partake in both physical and spiritual activities, but spirits were capable of undertaking spiritual activities with just their soul alone without a physical counterpart.

They needed bodies, however, if they wanted to communicate with the gods, but they could not produce their own divine power because they did not have a heart.

[We normally exist in an unconscious state because we are always lacking divine power. And, as I told you earlier while I was explaining the characteristics of a soul, souls can break apart. A spirit king’s soul is scattered all throughout the world. And each piece of our soul can become a spirit. For example……]

The mud doll fumbled with Ianna’s finger.

[This is your finger, Ianna. Your arms, neck, head, legs, feet……. All of them are different parts of you. Every single strand of your hair is a different part of you, and so is every individual piece of your skin. Do you understand?]

“Yes.”

[Spirits are like individual parts of us —like our arms, neck, or head—, while spirit kings are the owner to whom those parts belong. This is why we say that the spirits are a part of us. And……oh.]

The mud doll, which at been stroking Ianna’s fingers, spotted a small birthmark on Ianna’s wrist and patted at it.

[You have a small birthmark on your wrist I see. This birthmark is your wrist’s birthmark, but it is also your birthmark. Everything a spirit thinks and feels is shared with the spirit kings because they are a part of the spirit kings’ souls. Spirit kings are the foundations that make up the spirits, and we are also the psychological pillars that govern them. This is more than enough to call us kings, is it not?]

“I see. You’re right.”

[Moreover, if you happened to summon me while all the other lower-class spirits of earth were summoned into the world, then all the other spirits would disappear. This is because they are a part of me. This is also why you were able to call for me after touching a spirit that manifested as a clump of dirt, as that clump of dirt was also a part of me. To illustrate, it’s like if I pulled hard at your fingers from far away so the rest of you would come to me.]

The clump of dirt or mass of water that Finn summoned was a part of the spirit kings. This was why spirits absorbed her divine power when she touched them and reemerged as spirit kings.

Evidently, the spirits’ memories returned to the spirit kings when they were summoned. The fish remembered playing with Finn because the mass of water, which was a part of it, remembered playing with Finn.

And then, Ianna asked the question she had most wanted to ask today.

“You said that it costs divine power to summon you.”

[Yes. We require bodies to manifest in the physical plane from the spiritual plane. We need divine power because bodies are made with divine power. We like to call it a snack, but it isn’t incorrect to say that it’s the price to summon us.]

“Divine power is the price of summoning you —but isn’t divine power also life? Does my lifespan decrease each time I call you?”

The mud doll fell into contemplation for a moment at Ianna’s question before nodded.

[I cannot deny that. The gods were able to live forever even if they kept summoning us because they could produce divine power, but a human’s lifespan would decrease when they summoned us because they can’t. But more importantly, humans only have a small amount of divine power, so they wouldn’t be able to summon us even if they knew how to control it.]

“Then I…….”

The mud doll grabbed Ianna’s finger and shook it gently as her words trailed off.

[But you are different from other humans. It’s true that we don’t consume much divine power because we manifest ourselves in tiny bodies…….]

The mud doll stole a glance at her just then.

[I’m sorry about eating your divine power without your permission. We wanted to meet you so badly that we manifested without your permission even when you didn’t call for us…….]

Ianna shook her head as the mud doll’s little head sank.

“It’s fine. Anyway, what were you going to say next after saying you don’t consume that much divine power?”

[We can vaguely sense that there is very powerful divine power crammed inside your heart. I don’t know exactly how much of it there is, but I would estimate that you have enough to be able to call forth my original form several times over. And you can summon me in this smaller form as freely as you wished.]

Ianna vividly recalled what Lebony had said to her once. She could still hear Lebony screaming about how she had stolen all of Roberstein’s divine power from her the moment she was born and how Lebony had lost everything because of it. She also remembered how the divine power that had burst out when she had stabbed Horby in the heart had been absorbed into her. Apparently, all of it had been stored inside her heart.

[It’s normal for all living beings to have the most divine power around their hearts, but in your case, there is only a very tiny amount that’s pooled up outside your heart. In other words, you have divine power inside your heart, and I can feel that there is a lot of it in there. If I had anything definitive to say about your situation, I’d say that it feels like your divine power is being suppressed inside your heart like it’s been walled in there.]

This was it. This was what she had most wanted to learn about today.

“What do you mean by walls? Like the membranes of my heart?”

The mud doll shook his head.

[A physical element like that can’t restrict the flow of divine power.]

“Then, is there a way you could figure out what it is?”

[No. A heart is made from earth and water, but it is a territory that I cannot enter because a heart belongs solely to the soul that owns it. But, in my opinion, I think there may be a seal……I think.]

Ianna remembered that Lebony had said something about a seal.

“But then, right before the End, she passed all of her divine power unto me and left me with the strange words that she was entrusting everything to me before she sealed me away.”

Ianna tensed up. The secrets pertaining to the Holy Age never seemed to end no matter how far into them she pried. The reason why Lebony, a god from the Holy Age, had been able to survive all this time. The secrets surrounding her own heart.

Ianna hastily urged the mud doll,

“Tell me what a seal is.”

[It is one of the many abilities that can be performed with divine power, but a human wouldn’t know if it. I will explain things to you in more detail time, because it’s almost time for my summoning to end. And, I said that I think there might be a seal, but I’m not certain. It’s a bit too strange to be a seal……. We should look into this more carefully.]

The mud doll tapped at Ianna’s fingers. Ianna felt his small gesture settle down her heart. She had never thought that the small mud doll could feel so reliable. He was like a lamp —the sole light to guide her through the pitch-black darkness.

Ianna began stroking the mud doll’s little head before she realized what she was doing.

“……Then how does my divine power come out? You said it’s being walled in by something.”

[This is just my guess, but I believe that your divine power is leaking out from a crack in the walls and pooling around your heart. Hmm…… Are you aware that I’ve been here for much longer than I was last time?]

He was right, now that Ianna thought about it. The fish had only been able to stay with her for a short while, even if he had treated her arm too, the first time she had summoned him. But the mud doll was still here looking as calm as ever even after his many lengthy explanations.

[A little more divine power is pools around your heart each time you call us. This is the third time you’ve summoned us, right? You had a lot more divine power pooled around your heart today than you did the first time you summoned Splashy.]

“What does that mean?”

The mud doll suddenly staggered before pulling himself back up with Ianna’s fingers.

[I’m sorry, but it’s time for me to go now. I think we’ll need to finish this conversation next time. I’ll get cut off if I started telling you that now.]

He had already spent more than enough time here. Ianna had learned a lot from him. Still, she could not hide how wistful she was. There was still a mountain of questions she had yet to ask.

“I see. Then, there’s just one favor I want to ask of you,”

Ianna asked cautiously, but the mud doll shivered with its entire being. He hugged her fingers tight for a moment before replying in a thrilled voice,

[Ask me for anything. I’ll do anything for you so long as it’s something I can do! Do you need a mountain? Or a deep hole? Or, perhaps there’s a criminal you wish to bury deep within the earth?]

The mud doll was so violently happy about Ianna’s favor that Ianna, who had been cautious about asking for it, grew a little astringent.

“It’s nothing that grandiose…… I wanted to ask if it’s all right to keep asking you to share stories about the Holy Age with me?”

The mud doll tilted his head to the side in surprise at her response.

[I don’t mind……but why is it that you’re so curious about the Holy Age? Information regarding the Holy Age should be useless to those who live in the Age of Magic. It’s a little too excessive to be merely a passion for knowledge.]

“I…”

Ianna took her hand off the mud doll’s head. The mud doll followed her hand with his gaze and stared when she placed her hand over her heart.

“I want to know the secrets surrounding the divine power inside my heart. You may not have known this, but it’s twisted my entire life. This is the only lead I have to finding out why my life has become so bizarre.”

[…….]

“But I need to know the basics about it first. And you are the only ones who can tell me this.”

The openly curious mud doll nodded when it heard the weight of Ianna’s words.

[Hmm. I see. I would tell you regardless even if that wasn’t your reason. But we don’t know what happened around the End because the Demon’s power enshrouded the world and kept us from manifesting. Is that all right with you?]

“I don’t mind. You’re the only ones who can tell me anything about the Holy Age at all.”

[I see. Then that is what I’ll do. I will tell you more the next time you summon me. It will take me some time ruminate over the vast stores of memories I have about the Holy Age, so I will return to the spiritual plane for now and organize what information to tell you with the others.]

The mud doll began disintegrating while breaking off into dust like he was being eroded away.

[I really don’t have much time left, seeing that my body is falling apart. It’s sad, but this will have to be goodbye for now.]

Ianna stroked the mud doll across the head, prompting it to close its eyes while looking pleased.

“I’m sorry that I keep asking you question after question like this.”

She felt a little cruel for calling out the spirits, who were so happy from even her slightest touch, and asking them about the Holy Age just to fulfil her personal needs. The mud doll opened its little round eyes wide at her words and furiously shook his head.

[It’s all right. There is nothing for you to be sorry for. There is so much you have given us. You’ve given us change when we were falling asleep from being in the silence for so long. We are happy just to be able to do something for you. I am delighted just to be able to converse with you like this. But…….]

The crumbling mud doll shook Ianna’s finger.

[Someday, will you tell us your story too? You are a special human. You feel different from the rest. You are definitely human, one that we created while borrowing Laos’ divine power and abilities, and yet…….]

There was something desperate in how feebly he was shaking her finger.

[How is it that we taste the crimson god, whom we so loved, from you, and before that, how is it that you have such amazing divine power to begin with? We want to know more about your life. What was your life like, which you said was twisted by divine power, and how have you lived until now? We want to get to know you better.]

Ianna felt strange. Was her life really worth telling someone about? And, even if she did tell them about her bizarre life, would they even believe her?

Ianna found it awkward to be asked to share her life story, which she thought she would have to keep to herself forever, but she slowly nodded when she considered that the spirit king before her was just as strange an existence as the mysteries surrounding her life.

The mud doll, which had been growing anxious in Ianna’s silence, crumbled apart when Ianna finally agreed. She found it cute now that she understood this it was something he did when he was overjoyed.

[I’m so glad. I am truly delighted.]

The mud doll reformed its body, but he warned her that time was almost up as his body broke apart here and there. Then, Ianna remembered something that gave her a headache.

“I wanted to ask just in case…”

[Hmm?]

“Is there any way you can stop the onslaught of the vast quantity of dirt or water whenever you disappear again? It’s a pain to deal with afterward.”

[Hmmm? The dirt that makes up my body is incredibly high-quality because it’s filled with life. There’s nothing bad about this dirt, and anything you grow in it will be overflowing with vitality, but I can summon it into space for you when I leave so long as I’m not forcibly dispelled.]

There was a lot of benefit to leaving the dirt behind, but it was impractical for her to have to explain it to every single person who mistook it for magic and told her to stop. Ianna gently agreed to let the mud doll take the dirt back with him.

[Well then, stay healthy until the day we meet again.]

Just as the mud doll had said he would, his body didn’t explode this time but shrank into a dot instead before vanishing from the world completely.

Ianna, who had kept Finn close and prepared to evade just in case, found herself a little disappointed. She put Finn back down and quietly whispered,

“I’m sorry, Finn.”

“Huh? For what?”

Ianna really felt sorry when Finn looked up at her like he didn’t know what she was talking about. Finn had been listening carefully while she was speaking to the spirit king, so he should have heard that he was using up his lifespan to call the spirits out, but he looked as innocent about it as ever —perhaps because he was too young to understand what was going on. Ianna forced her mouth open to say,

“Every time I ask you to summon the spirit king, your lifespan…….”

“Mm. You’re talking about how my life gets shorter each time I call the spirits, right, Miss?”

Finn had understood. He continued,

“But you don’t need to be sorry about that. Mommy told me that elves live a really long time so that we can live together with the spirits. I’ve been calling the spirits out to play since I was really young, and I call them out all the time even when you don’t ask me to. Heehee. I’m actually really happy I can call the spirits out together with you, since I usually have to do it in secret. And I really like listening to stories from a long time ago that no one else knows about too. I should be grateful to you…….”

Ianna couldn’t stop herself from hugging Finn tight when she heard the kindness in his words. She squeezed him tighter when she heard him giggle in delight and felt the warm goodwill he had for her.

“Thank you, Finn.”

A part of Ianna’s heart melted while another settled into a cold and cruel resolve. She was determined to personally punish any who would do evil unto the good and kind child, monster or human alike.

Ianna gently stroked Finn’s hair, which was as soft as a freshly sprouted leaf.

Ianna wandered around the city hand-in-hand with Finn for a while even after they had left the forest. Finn was incredibly excited at he looked around. He enjoyed walking around the capital even though he lived in it because Mursi, the owner of a merchant company who was frequently out for business, was too busy to play with Finn as often as he would’ve liked.

That being said, Finn was too young to venture out on his own. The public safety might have been good in the capital, but it was always likely that someone who knew that Finn was Mursi’s son might abduct the child for money. There was also the possibility that Finn could get captured and sold to vile slave traders because he was as eye-catching as the son of an elf should be.

But the biggest reason why Mursi could not simply hire a guard to watch over Finn’s excursions was because he was too anxious to let his only remaining family venture outside of his watch alone.

It was a traumatic anxiety he had developed after leaving behind his beloved wife and son for a business trip only to return and find that his wife had been eaten alive and had died without even leaving a corpse behind. Mursi was too afraid to let Finn leave his side, lest something terrible happened to the child.

Finn had been wanting to go out and play ever since he had stopped having nightmares. He might have liked reading, but it was still a child’s inevitable instinct to want to run around outside.

Finn, who had also inherited the elven nature of wanting to live in the wilderness, always itched for more. But he was a good child who understood that his father was anxious for him, so he obediently stayed by Mursi’s side and read his books.

Still, for as much as Mursi fretted about Finn, he trusted Ianna completely because she had saved Finn’s life before, so he gratefully entrusted his son to her care whenever she came by.

This was why Finn was always waiting eagerly for Ianna to visit. It was only natural —he loved her so much already, and now he could even explore the outside world when she was here.

“…….”

Ianna furrowed her brows ever so slightly as Finn was happily eating the pink cotton candy that Ianna had bought for him from a street vendor.

‘Someone’s tailing us.’

Someone was already tailing her just moments after she had made her decision. Ianna bristled with anger upon feeling like someone was trying to test her resolve the very day she had made it.

She frowned heavily as Finn was excitedly looking around in front of her. The stalker was so unskilled that he failed to hide his presence even as he tailed her —was he looking down on Finn’s escort just because she was a woman?

Ianna sensed that the stalker was looking for a chance to jump them. Ianna pretended not to notice him and offered him the chance to leave by guiding Finn to where there were a lot of people around. But she smirked when he stubbornly continued to follow them, and she sneakily led Finn into a dark alleyway.

Finn opened his eyes wide as he took in the dark and damp alleys —a stark contrast from the bright world outside.

“Finn, can you close your eyes and cover your ears until I tell you it’s okay to stop?”

“Huh? Okay.”

Finn obediently did as he was told. The stalker closed the distance between them as the darkness began to fall upon their shoulders. Then, Ianna sensed that the stalker had reached out for them.

Crack.

Ianna squeezed her fingers tight.

Swiipe!

She punched hard as she turned around. A shabbily dressed man entered her line of sight. There was a handkerchief in his hand. Ianna’s keen sense of smell perceived an unpleasant stench coming from it.

Ianna dug her nails into the wide-eyed man’s flesh as she held him by the throat and slammed him against the wall before he could react.

Baaaam!

“Urk!”

Craack.

Ianna had slammed him against the wall so hard that cracks were running through the sturdy bricks behind him and he struggled as the bones around his neck creaked as though they were being dislocated, but her eyes were only cold as she looked down upon the rough-looking man.

“I even gave you the perfect chance to walk away, so why is it that you tailed us all the way down into this alley and reached out for us with your filthy hands?”

Ianna turned her eyes to the yellow handkerchief that had fallen next to the man whose eyes were rolling back and couldn’t even scream in pain because he couldn’t breathe properly. It was obvious that the dirty piece of cloth was smeared with some kind of drug that knocked people out, and the man’s filthy intentions for having it were also plainly obvious.

“You’re here to kidnap someone, I see.”

The man continued to struggle and began choking while still being pinned to the wall. Crunch. The eerie sound of bone and muscle grinding against each other sounded when Ianna tightened her grip.

What should I do with him?— Ianna wondered for a moment before letting go when she felt the man grow limp in her hands. The man slid down the wall, and Ianna found that he was still alive when she used two fingers to check that his pulse was still there, albeit only weakly. She stepped hard against his limp hand when she saw that he was still short of breath even while he was unconscious.

“Ahhhh!”

The man screamed as he woke up and Ianna took her foot off his hand only to plant it back in his mouth and kick him hard against the wall.

Pooow!

“Urrrghk! Cough, hack!”

Blood began pouring out from the man’s mouth when the hard tip of Ianna’s boots gradually dug further into him and began breaking his teeth.

“Shut up, you insect.”

Ianna slowly leaned toward the man. With a terrifyingly empty look on her face, she whispered,

“There’s a child listening.”

“Ugh…… Ughh…….”

The man was so afraid that Ianna, unsatisfied with just crushing his jaw, would take his life as well that he began leaking from his eyes, nose, and even his nether regions as he trembled.

Ianna, who had been about to murder the man, looked toward Finn standing behind her and then turned to her hands. She did not want to touch the pure and clean child with her hands stained with another’s life. Besides, it would be too much of a bother to clean up afterward.

“Well aren’t you fortunate?”

Ianna fell into thought for a moment before she looked down at the man’s drenched face and curled her lips into a smile.

“Get out of my sight and stay out if you want to live a long life. The day I see you again will be your last.”

She was smiling, but she was not. The man was eventually overwhelmed by her diabolical bloodlust and passed out while frothing at the mouth.

Ianna took her foot off his mouth and wiped the vile fluids off her boots against his clothes. She looked down at his sorry figure for a moment before cramming in into a nearby garbage can, and then she picked Finn up and left the place at her leisure.

“You can open your eyes now.”

Finn opened his eyes once Ianna had put him down and taken his hand.

“Heh. You were punishing someone, Miss…….”

Finn, who had been terrified the day that Ianna had saved him but also recalled how beautiful her flame-like crimson mana had been, teared up a little. The sight of her had moved him so much that the image had been burned deep inside his heart. He continued,

“Can I just watch normally next time? You were so cool when you were beating up that minotaur.”

Ianna could not help but smile from the hilarity of it all when Finn muttered wistfully. The child was a little too gutsy for his young age.

Then, Ianna frowned as she thought things through and remembered everything he had suffered through. His mother had been eaten in front of his eyes, and he had witnessed a minotaur being cut in half —his childhood had been far from normal.

“No. Children aren’t supposed to see things like that.”

“Aww…”

They walked around for a little while longer, and Ianna brought Finn back to the company building when the sun began setting over the palace. Ianna pulled her brown robe over her head and left after seeing Finn off with Mursi at the doorway.

She walked along the road.

‘Oh.’

Normally, this was simply the road she took to head back to the dorms. The reason why things weren’t so normal today was because she spotted the man who was her biggest object of interest there.

Arhad, who donned a black robe, did not see Ianna, who was wearing her brown one. Ianna hid her presence as soon as she had spotted him and snuck behind a wall as she monitored him.

Arhad was standing in front of an alleyway that was beginning to sink into the black darkness. Then, he pulled out a plain white mask and put it on before quietly stepping inside.

‘A white mask……and a black robe?’

Ianna felt a strange sense of déjà vu when she saw his black robes, but she firmly shook her head clear. A lot of people wore black robes. She quickly dismissed the absurd hypothesis that had formulated in her mind.

Her déjà vu ebbed away like the tide and curiosity rose in its place. Ianna pondered over why Arhad would enter the alleyways while hiding his identity.

She didn’t know. She didn’t know what it was about, but she was sure that it would be entertaining nonetheless.

Her interest piqued, Ianna quieted her breathing and hid her presence as she peered into the alley Arhad had entered. She couldn’t see very well because it was dark, but she could hear Arhad walking ahead far across the other side of the shadows.

Ianna stepped forth into the darkness and seemed to melt inside it. Then, she stealthily began tailing him.

—“The Institution” End