novelraw Chapter 96 : Chapter 96
Chapter 96 : Chapter 96
096
I had proudly declared that I had realized something about the sword, and yet I had fainted without being able to show anything properly.
I heard I was unconscious for about 30 minutes.
It was a relief that Yuria was able to finish the treatment with just a nosebleed.
"I'm embarrassed."
I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment, but the reaction was not great.
No, should I say there was no reaction?
All the people gathered were looking at me without saying a word.
Why? Did I swing the sword in a slightly different way in this swordsmanship, and was that too strange…?
At that moment, Rozalin opened her mouth.
She had a slightly dazed expression.
“Teacher. What was that?”
“Hmm?”
“That swordsmanship you used when you fought me.”
“Well.”
I slowly replayed the swordsmanship I had swung.
The realization I had gained this time was about cutting.
Until now, my swordsmanship had mostly been focused on blocking or dodging.
This was especially true right after I awakened my Aura.
When a huge enemy that I couldn't handle with my level attacked, I had no choice but to worry about blocking or dodging it.
But right after the fight with Avril, I realized the sword I really wanted.
“A sword that can cut through all the paths I thought were right.”
“……Wow.”
Rozalin let out a hollow laugh as if it were absurd.
“So you cut my will too?”
“Hmm? How do you cut will?”
“No, just now, uh? You cut me, saying, ‘You little bastard, you were trying to run away, I won’t tolerate that,’ and you also cut my will to live, saying, ‘You used such a cute trick? Die.’”
“? You can cut something like that?”
At her words that seemed to be grasping at clouds, I asked Rozalin back.
She pounded her chest with a frustrated expression.
“No, you cut it, didn’t you? Huh? After you did it? But you’re treating me like I’m the only strange one?”
“Did you get hit somewhere wrong earlier?”
Rozalin was now rolling on the floor, screaming, “Uwaaaaa.”
I left Rozalin alone and went to Hati.
“Rozalin is a bit strange.”
“Let her be. I feel like doing that myself right now.”
But Hati also glared at me with an annoyed expression.
That look was quite scary, so I flinched back.
Why is everyone like this?
“That’s enough. But is this all you called us here for? To evaluate your swordsmanship.”
“Ah, uh……”
“It was amazing. It was on a different level. Is that enough?”
Just in case, I looked at the other people.
Their expressions and evaluations were not much different.
“That was a crazy swordsmanship. No, is that even swordsmanship?”
“It’s more like a physical art than swordsmanship, but it’s unbelievable.”
“If the opponent seems to be about to block, just cut the sword, the will to block, and the neck! A truly certain solution!”
Rozalin said in a very annoyed tone.
But that very statement from Rozalin was the evaluation I wanted to hear.
“So you’re saying that my current swordsmanship can’t be blocked even with Aura and will inevitably cut?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Then it’s fine to release all of Cassian’s Intermediate Swordsmanship manual.”
“……Huh?”
The people looked at me with expressions that said, ‘what are you talking about?’
I summarized and told them what we had discussed in this meeting.
The current situation of Akarind Academy.
The surrounding situation and the solution Zelta had proposed.
And finally, the conclusion I had reached.
“It’s an expansion of the method I used against the Goldline Merchant Guild.”
To the people of the Goldline Merchant Guild, I had only provided the intermediate manual swordsmanship up to the point of awakening Aura.
About a third of the entire manual?
Because I had judged that that was the level that I, and the people of Akarind Academy, could handle.
But in this fight, I had gained a realization, and as a result of today’s test, I was able to swing my sword without much difficulty even against Rozalin.
“So I’m going to throw out a slightly more attractive bait.”
“Even so, the intermediate manual……”
“It seems they won’t fall for a cut-up manual.”
It was because of Goldline.
This whole plan is meaningful when various countries are weighing various conditions and competing to obtain the intermediate manual.
But what would happen if I only gave out information to the extent that I had given to Goldline?
Wouldn't Goldline, which is in the midst of a civil war, use that information to join the fray to fill their own pockets?
Given Avril's or Abrahal's personalities, they might use other countries to pressure Akarind Academy.
“But this whole plan is meaningless if we don’t get stronger. This second semester. You all must train with me to reach my current level.”
Based on that skill, we had to protect Akarind Academy.
And finally.
“Rozalin. The sword you saw me use. Is that enough to fight the demons?”
Rozalin thought for a moment before opening her mouth.
“Of course. You’ll be able to cut down a Giant-Block by yourself.”
It was a satisfactory answer.
* * *
I put in a request to the Firestorm Mercenary Guild to go to the borders of the countries protesting the academy and conduct a show of force.
It wasn't a request to actually cause trouble, but to spread a rumor that the Aura of the Firestorm Mercenary Guild was incredibly powerful.
The more they played an active role on the border, the more the influential people abroad would covet Aura.
I thought it was a difficult request, as they had to play with the opponent moderately and show off their power at the same time.
“I told you I’m going on that request!”
“No, shut up! You stay here and stand guard!”
“Oh, the stronger of the two goes!”
It was a bit scary to see the mercenaries clamoring to go, one after another.
I heard that the mercenaries had officially accepted this request as a chance to relieve stress and make fun of foreign armies.
I asked Hati and Rozalin to be in charge of security so that no one would infiltrate the academy.
The enemies' goal was not to neutralize or invade the academy itself.
It was to take away the students of interest who were attending the academy.
Therefore, it was highly likely that they would sneak in to avoid unnecessary commotion.
I also asked the students to patrol the dormitories and respond immediately if they saw anyone suspicious.
“But teacher. What is your level?”
“Well. I think I've gotten a bit stronger than a Runner. How are my skills compared to Pan before the regression or other swordsmen in your opinion?”
“Um……”
Rozalin fell into thought for a moment.
“In terms of swordsmanship alone, you’re a bit more of a monster, teacher. But Pan’s Aura was a bit stronger.”
“I see.”
We decided to call the moment Pan even cut through time a Master.
And the time when he could constantly use his Aura to fight demons was about an Expert…….
"Let's call it Adept. Aura Adept."
A stage that is superior to Aura Walker or Runner, but weaker than Expert.
A stage of proficiency where one handles swordsmanship but cannot yet be said to have awakened to Aura.
That was an Adept.
“Then what is the swordsmanship that raises an Adept? You said that up to Runner was intermediate.”
“You could call it Cassian's Advanced Swordsmanship.”
The intermediate stage is when one can run.
But advancement means flying towards the sky.
It was a fitting name for a swordsmanship that goes beyond the human realm and towards the next.
“I like that. I’ll be the first one to fly this time too!”
“First? Weren’t you later than Instructor Jessie or student Freizier, big sister?”
“I was! The most! outstanding! Aura! I was the first one to come running to save the teacher, you punk!”
Rozalin shouted at the top of her lungs, as if she were throwing a tantrum, and then retreated with Hati.
The students also said their goodbyes one by one and retreated.
After sending everyone off one by one, only I and Yuria were left in the training ground.
Yuria had been staring at the sky and lost in thought while I was talking with the others.
And when everyone had left, she was about to disappear without a word.
“Yuria, come here for a moment.”
“……”
I called Yuria inside.
I sat Yuria down and offered her a cup of tea.
She stared at me, holding the teacup blankly.
'Her eyes are completely gone, as if she's about to die.'
Her eyes had always been blurry and it was hard to tell what she was thinking.
But since Ganemia's visit, Yuria's condition had worsened.
She had even started skipping the philosophy class, which she had been attending well.
“Is your mind in turmoil these days?”
“……My mind has not been at peace a single time since I returned to the past.”
Her voice was hoarse, as if she had not spoken properly for a long time.
Her voice was even smaller than her usual volume, trailing off.
I had seen students in this state a few times before.
Most of them left the school within half a year at the longest.
“Shall we take a walk?”
It wasn't just that they had dropped out.
More than half of those who had left were never heard from again.
There was no news of where they were, what they were doing, or how they were.
The same was true for the children of noble families.
Perhaps…….
“You heard me talking to Rozalin and the others earlier. The level I have reached. I called it Aura Adept.”
“Congratulations. You have pioneered a new level and taken another step towards the hope that humanity can escape from the abyss.”
“I wanted to tell you about the realization I gained then.”
“Didn’t you say it was a single-minded desire to cut through everything?”
“I did.”
I looked at Yuria.
She was small.
She was only 10 years old when she came to see me last year.
And now she was 11.
She was even younger than the students who had entered Akarind Academy.
'Even if she lived for another 10 years, she would be 22.'
For such a young age, Yuria was carrying an excessive burden.
God, world peace, the universe…….
Each one was so grand that the more she thought about it, the more she was bound to be entangled.
“I wanted to cut through the path I hadn't taken, the world I hadn't experienced.”
And that was similar to me.
“You all are good people. You all act with good intentions and for a greater cause. And those words confuse me.”
“……”
“I know it’s necessary and good. If my past, I mean, my future self hadn’t died, I would probably be fighting the demons hard. To protect you all.”
“……”
“But just as my fighting self is precious, my self that can be afraid and worry before fighting is also precious.”
Just as the present, where I am on the path to reaching the level of a Master that the students talk about, is precious, even if I haven't reached it yet.
“So why don’t you try approaching it in a similar way?”
“……”
Yuria looked at me without a word.
"If you're going to be hurt by the betrayal of God abandoning the world, try to lessen God in your heart a little."
“How can I doubt God when I know that God exists and believe in his absolute nature?”
“You can think of it as a kind of friendship. For example, let's think about Rozalin and me. When there is one piece of bread, you might share it with Rozalin but not want to share it with me.”
A way to keep God by one's side without doubting him.
To treat him as a person, to believe that his abilities are absolute, but to assume that his personality is not.
“……What will change with that.”
“You won't know the future.”
Yuria's dead eyes trembled slightly.
“You’ll finally be human.”
“Is it human to run towards death without knowing the future?”
“Everyone dies. But no one lives by reminding themselves of it every day. If they did, the fear of death would consume us.”
Perhaps Yuria's depression and the strange madness shown by the regressors all stemmed from that.
Because humans forget death and live, they can be faithfully happy day by day.
“……I will think about it a little more.”
Yuria said that, then bowed her head and trudged away.
I hope she can overcome it on her own.
I watched Yuria's back for a long time before returning to my dormitory.
And a week passed.
It was the start of the second semester.