novelraw Chapter 21 : Chapter 21
Chapter 21 : Chapter 21
Chapter 21. Iris (1)
Iris was glad to see the two of them.
One, though not related by blood, was her younger sister, and the other, her lifelong master.
But she didn't show it.
‘It’s best not to give them any room.’
She asked with a stiff face, as if they were complete strangers.
"What brings you here?"
Noemi was silent.
Instead, Rude opened his mouth.
His expression was incredibly serious and earnest.
"Let's go home. It's dangerous here."
His face, glancing at Number 1, looked tense.
Iris, reminded of old memories, was about to put on a wistful expression but stopped herself.
She couldn't show weakness here.
‘So like Master. He’s such a coward, unbefitting of the title ‘Sage.’’
Iris raised her lips in an exaggerated manner and shook her head.
"Home? This is my home."
"What are you talking about! Your home is……."
As Rude tried to grab her hand, Number 1, who was behind him, intervened.
"That's far enough. Stay still if you don't want to die."
Rude flinched.
As the atmosphere grew hostile, Iris stepped in and stopped Number 1.
"He's my master. It's okay."
"Understood."
Iris approached Rude and whispered.
"Master, I have no intention of going back yet. I still have things to do here."
Rude's brow furrowed.
"What is that?"
"That's a secret."
"Hmph."
Iris left Rude and approached Noemi.
"It's been a while."
"It has."
Noemi's face was as unreadable as ever.
Still, she could feel her sister's concern.
"You haven't changed at all."
"You're the same, sister."
"Did you foresee this too?"
Noemi nodded.
"Roughly."
"Do you know what I'm trying to do?"
"I don't know that much."
Iris let out a sigh of relief and continued.
"Then why did you come?"
"I felt I needed to see how you were living for myself."
"Keke."
When Iris laughed, Noemi laughed along without making a sound.
Iris spoke leisurely, as if doing a favor.
"You've come a long way, so rest for a few days before you go."
"No. I won't stay long."
"How cold."
After hearing her sister's reply, Iris immediately turned her back.
Rude moved his lips as if to say something, but in the end, he couldn't open his mouth.
Because Number 1 was glaring at him fiercely.
She didn't know what he was thinking, coming here despite being such a coward.
But what could she do, that was just how her master was.
***
As Rude and Noemi left, Number 1 spoke with a relaxed face.
"Well done."
"With what?"
"You have to be firm with your refusal."
Iris scoffed as if it wasn't even funny.
"Did you think I would follow them?"
"No. As you said, you have things to do here."
"That's right."
"What do you want me to say?"
Number 1 looked at her as if he were her father.
Iris waved her hand.
"Get out. I'm tired."
Number 1 nodded and vanished in an instant.
She thought she had gotten used to it, but his elusive appearance was still unfamiliar.
‘If I had said I would follow them, he would have killed not only those two but me as well.’
That was the contract.
Either way, betrayal meant death.
Left alone, Iris buried her face in her bed and thought.
‘Is this the right path?’
There was no answer.
It was just a question she asked herself.
‘How did I end up here?’
At first, it was simple rebellion.
She hated that her father treated her like a tool.
Days were so desperate that she couldn't tell if he was treating her as a daughter or a money-making machine.
So when Adel left home to take the knight exam, she also stealthily ran away.
But the world outside the home was scary.
A situation where she could neither go back nor live on her own.
That's when she thought of the Unseen Ones that Rude had mentioned.
Iris looked at the ceiling and muttered.
"This is a gamble with everything on the line. I must succeed."
The goal was just one.
To amass a huge fortune and drive Frank out of Rarc Village.
Everything was already flowing in her favor.
‘I'm sending funds to Marquis Moltke, so Frank will soon fall to the status of a commoner.’
She didn't want to get involved with rotten nobles, but Frank was a former hero.
To bring him down, it would be necessary to strip him of his noble title first.
Some might ask.
Isn't killing him the fastest way?
And doesn't she have the reliable backing of the Unseen Ones?
‘No. That's different.’
What she wanted was not Frank's death, but for him to kneel before her and beg for forgiveness.
For that, she was a woman who could sell her soul even to a demon.
Rude, having failed to persuade Iris, was restless.
"Damn it. At this rate, I won't be able to face Frank."
He had boasted that he would definitely bring Iris back, but this was meaningless.
On the other hand, Noemi was composed.
She was unfazed, as if she had expected this result.
Seeing Noemi like that, Rude got angry.
"Is that true?"
"What is?"
"I'm asking if you predicted things would turn out this way."
When Noemi nodded, Rude slumped into a chair.
There was much he wanted to say, but he felt drained because Noemi had agreed so easily.
"Haa, then didn't we come here for nothing?"
Rude's sigh grew longer.
But Noemi shook her head and replied.
"No. It was something we had to experience someday."
"If you had told us beforehand, we wouldn't have had to go through this trouble!"
At Rude's words, Noemi smiled quietly.
"Then, Master, you probably wouldn't have tried to go."
Noemi knew Rude well.
He had more of an adventurous spirit than anyone, but when it came to problems with a set answer, he became passive.
Rude shook his head and lamented.
"Iris is one thing, but you're too much too. It's not like you're teasing an adult."
"I'm sorry. But I couldn't speak carelessly."
"Why?"
Noemi tilted her head and replied.
"I just felt like I had to."
"Because you were afraid the future you saw would change?"
"That's part of it."
"Phew. Right. If the actions change, the result will change too. Well done. I'll go to my room, so call me if anything happens."
Rude shook his head and stood up from his seat.
As he left the room with heavy steps, Noemi watched his receding back and thought to herself.
‘I’m sorry, Master. The problem wasn’t just Iris.’
Noemi, who knew Iris would react this way, couldn't tell Rude what would happen next either.
Because that event would soon happen to Rude, who suffered from claustrophobia.
In a way, it was the most important reason the two of them came here.
‘I’ll be sure to master it and come back, Dad. That’s the only way I can be of help to you.’
Right now, Anticus, or rather Anonymous, was on our side, but strangely, she couldn't be seen in the future.
In that respect, the thing buried in the ancient ruins must be something Dad needed.
Noemi looked north and made a promise.
It hadn't been long since she left Rarc Village, but she already missed her dad to death.
Would things be okay with Adel?
She sure hoped so.
"Hmph. Even if the sword changes, you still can't lay a single hand on my body."
"Ugh! I can still do more!"
"Hoot. I acknowledge your passion. But you're still far from it."
What on earth had happened?
Anonymous, who had been over there just a moment ago, had instantly knocked Anceps out of Adel's hand and pointed her sword at her neck.
It was a wooden sword, thankfully; if it had been a real sword, blood would have flowed.
Anonymous, with a triumphant face, slowly opened her mouth.
"Are you still going to continue?"
"...I have lost."
Adel dropped her head with a discouraged face.
Anonymous, perhaps feeling bad, spat out words of comfort.
"Still, you're much better than before."
But her comfort was unlikely to reach the discouraged Adel.
Unable to watch any longer, I picked up Anceps and handed it to her.
An screamed, but I couldn't hear her.
Because I wasn't the master of Anceps.
‘Her face is a mess. What's the point of training with Anonymous at this rate?’
Training is done for a better future than today, not to break one's spirit.
I patted Adel's shoulder and muttered lowly.
"Don't follow the opponent's movements with your eyes, feel them with your heart."
"Huh? What do you mean by that……?"
Adel stared at me with a dumbfounded face.
It sounded profound, but in truth, I didn't know either.
I just said it because I remembered that saying things like this in the game had a good effect.
Just because I entered Frank's body didn't mean his knowledge and experience came along.
‘To be honest, I can't see the movements of the two of them at all.’
All I could see were the sounds of swords clashing and sparks flying.
The movements of the swords didn't even register in my eyes.
But how could I call myself a father if I just stood by and did nothing?
More importantly, in the game, Adel's swordsmanship improved quickly thanks to those words.
‘At least in theory, it can't be wrong. I mean, you always see people say things like this in comics and anime, right?’
Don't follow with your eyes, follow with your heart.
Even though I said it myself, I felt strangely proud.
Fortunately, these words seemed to have helped Adel.
She nodded slowly as if she had realized something and got into her stance again.
Then she shouted loudly towards Anonymous.
"Master! One more time, please!"
On the other hand, Anonymous shook her head as if fed up.
"Your stamina is truly monstrous. Don't you get tired? I don't even know how many hours we've been at this."
"I'm not moving an inch from here until I land a blow on you, Master!"
At Adel's spirit, Anonymous also smiled as if she didn't dislike it.
"Right. That's my disciple."
Then she offered an unexpected carrot.
"If you manage to land even one blow on me, I'll upgrade your sword."
"Upgrade?"
"Yes. You haven't forgotten that I'm the one who made that sword, have you?"
In addition to my advice, with a sweet reward given, Adel nodded her head with a happy expression.
Then she suddenly closed her eyes.
‘Oh? Is she really going to try and follow with her heart?’
It felt like a famous scene I had seen in a comic was about to be reenacted before my eyes.
My chest was about to burst with excitement.
Popcorn, I need popcorn!
I cheered her on from afar.
If I were to be nearby, I might get into trouble.
Joking aside, if Adel grows from this, that is all I wish for.
Go for it, Adel! Dad believes in you!
***
Frank might have said it as a joke, but for Adel, it was not.
‘Father is right. If I only look with my eyes, I can't even touch a hair on Master.’
Since she was young, her father had said it like a habit.
To see with the eye of the heart.
But was it because her training partners so far had been too easy?
Even just by looking with her eyes, the opponent's movements felt like slow motion.
‘At some point, I started to follow with my eyes instead of my heart. Because that was enough. But Master is different. I can never win against her like that.’
When she closed her eyes, her senses changed.
Her sense of sight was blocked, but her senses of hearing and smell felt alive.
Then, she heard her master's voice.
"How long are you going to stay like that? If you don't move, I'm coming to you."
Whatever.
Adel followed her master's presence.
An and Ceps chattered noisily.
But Adel concentrated quietly.
Gradually, she couldn't hear any sound.
‘I am nothing. I am nature. I am a stone. I am air.’
Muttering, she fell into a state of no-mind.
Soon, she even forgot whether this was a garden or where she was.
At that moment, she felt a powerful energy.
It was the deep, dark energy of her master.
‘It was this immense. How ridiculous must I have looked all this time.’
Compared to her master's immense energy, her own was a drop in the ocean.
She could also feel the energy of Anceps in her hand.
It was nothing compared to her master's, but the dark blue energy on the left must be An.
The red energy on the right must be Ceps.
‘But where is Father?’
She couldn't feel anything.
Was it because his power was sealed by the Demon King?
No, now she thought she understood.
‘He turned his own power to nothing, just like me! He wouldn't have been able to defeat the Demon King if he wasn't at this level.’
It was a new realization, but her father seemed great.
How much bloody training must he have gone through to reach that level.
At that moment.
She felt a presence from the left and the feeling of something being swung.
But Adel blocked the opposite side.
Clang!
The first time she blocked her master's attack.
"Oh. You blocked this?"
It sounded like a compliment, but it wasn't perfect yet.
‘I have to completely erase my presence like Father.’
As she was frantically blocking attacks.
She saw an opening in her opponent.
"Here!"
Adel was certain.
Her sword would surely be aimed at her master.
But when she opened her eyes, there was nothing there.
Ceps, held in her right hand, just swung futilely through the air.
‘Did I fail?’
As she bit her lip.
A single strand of black hair fluttered down to the ground.
Her own hair was blond, so it wasn't hers at least.
‘Could it be?’
Adel hurriedly looked around.
Then she saw Anonymous smiling softly from a distance.
And her father also looked happy, as if it were his own matter.
She had finally succeeded in touching a single hair on her master.
However, this was not entirely a good thing.
Because from that day on, Anonymous' training became even more rigorous, to the point where her mouth went dry.
Still, a smile never left Adel's lips.
Because now she felt like she had finally caught up to the tips of her father's and master's toes.
‘Father! I will definitely become a swordswoman who surpasses you.’
She even felt refreshed at her improving swordsmanship.
***
At the very moment Adel succeeded in cutting Anonymous' hair.
In an empty guard post, a man was reading a letter with a serious face.
It was Alvarez, the second-in-command here and Adel's adjutant.
Two soaring eagles.
At the end of the letter, the seal of the Marquis Moltke family was clear.
He burned the letter he had read in the candlelight, and as if that wasn't enough, he
scattered the remaining ashes into the air.
The ashes flew far on the wind.
Alvarez watched the scene silently for a long time, then muttered as if reciting.
"Don't resent me, Frank. You took everything from me."
His eyes blazed with anger.
It was as if he would kill Frank right then and there.