Chapter 21
Training
"……This is quite a peculiar sensation."
I said that while glancing around at the bleak, featureless scenery.
Across from me, Meyer, who was sitting idly with his chin propped on his hand, chuckled in reply.
"It's always like that the first time you experience it."
They called the act of manifesting someone's 'mind' as a space a Mental World, and the place Meyer and I had stepped into now was exactly that.
I looked with distaste at the bracelet fastened around my wrist.
< Item Info >
[ Soul Connector ] [ Rare ]
[A bracelet containing the supreme soul 'Knight of Dawn.' It allows entry into the unique space <Mental World>, which can only be opened by those who have reached the pinnacle. In this space, you can come into direct contact with spirits.]
……Thanks to such effects, things like this were possible.
The bracelet itself was merely an old relic with no particular power, but simply because it housed Meyer’s soul, all kinds of effects were plastered onto it.
‘Just how much of a monster is he?’
When I sent a gaze carrying that thought toward him, Meyer, still craning his neck, slowly looked me up and down.
His eyes felt as if they were scanning every inch of me, and my body involuntarily shrank back.
I hadn’t sensed it as strongly when facing his spiritual form, but meeting face to face, I felt certain—he was no ordinary human.
I also knew a word that described this man quite well.
‘……Predator.’
Humans who existed in a completely different 'realm,' to the point it felt as if we were different species.
If I had ever felt a similar impression, it would have been from Noel or Katya.
But even compared to those two, the atmosphere he exuded was unmistakably—
‘—frightening.’
Unlike Noel and Katya, who usually kept such an aura hidden out of consideration for others, this man didn’t seem to have the slightest intention of concealing anything.
Just having him in front of me made me feel like I was shriveling up. The pressure was especially intense, even more so than with those two.
‘Should I be glad that I’ll be learning to fight from someone like this……?’
The condition I had set before was that I would tread the 'pinnacle' this man had failed to reach in his stead.
And this was one of the steps toward that. Every night, within the Mental World unfolding in my 'dream,' I would receive one-on-one instruction from him.
Since this world was built inside his mind, no matter what happened, it wouldn’t affect the real world in any way.
"So, about that condition you set. Before we begin, let me ask you a few things."
At Meyer’s words, my expression turned serious.
"Let’s be honest. You don’t have anything."
"……."
"I know you can handle multiple abilities, but let’s set that crap aside for now. You’ve never actually fought anyone, have you? Even with just a kitchen knife, I could kill you ten times over in three seconds."
This man, if nothing else, certainly didn’t have the knack for saying things nicely.
"And there’s something even more serious. You don’t really look like you want to be doing any of this."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"You don’t seem to enjoy fighting itself. You’re the kind of person who runs away first if something dangerous comes up, aren’t you?"
Good grief.
"Do you gain mind-reading powers when you become a ghost?"
"I established over half of the continent’s methods for wielding supernatural abilities, you little snot. Do you have any idea how many disciples I’ve taken in? It’s obvious to me at a glance."
I did know that.
Even now, he was the Knight of Dawn, a hero known across the continent, and most of those tales about him had actually been ‘downsized.’
……In that sense.
The assessment Meyer gave after thoroughly examining me was quite unexpected.
"……So how does a guy like you even hold an ability like this?"
"What?"
"I’ve seen plenty of people using multiple abilities, but I’ve never seen anyone who could ‘blend’ abilities together. How did you do it? Did you swindle the gods or something?"
"……Is that really so remarkable?"
"Is that really so remarkable, you ask? Is that really so remarkable……? You little piece of—"
Meyer, who was clearly suppressing a string of curses down in his throat, let out a long sigh and continued.
"Abilities are the exclusive domain of the gods. It doesn’t make any sense that they’d blend. What’s more absurd is that there hasn’t been an uproar around you until now. I mean, ha—"
"……I heard that His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire has been working hard to keep my information hidden."
"The very fact that it can be suppressed at all is nonsensical. It only proves how little this era understands supernatural abilities. If it were in my time, you’d probably have been captured alive and dissected already."
……Honestly, even with all that said, I still couldn’t quite grasp what made it so extraordinary.
I just knew I should be grateful I hadn’t been born in Meyer’s era.
I scratched my head.
Well. Having someone suddenly hand me this kind of high evaluation was not something I’d ever imagined.
"Well, fine. With this alone, you’d never be lacking in power anywhere you go. You can learn proper methods for using abilities much later."
"I can learn them later?"
"More precisely, I need to study you a bit myself. I’ve never seen anything like this either. There isn’t much I can teach you right away."
…That was a situation I hadn’t imagined at all.
But.
"……Isn’t there anything else?"
Given that I was in a position where I had to raise my specs even a little, I had no choice but to press Meyer like this.
♠ Main Quest
◈ Act I, <Imperial Capital Fracture>
▶ Chapter 1 will begin soon!
▶ Related incidents will proceed shortly. (D-4)
……And the problem was that the progress of the main quest was drawing close again.
The situation pressing down on me every moment left no room to hesitate in getting stronger.
"Hmm……."
At that plea, Meyer scratched his chin and fixed me with a stare.
"There isn’t exactly no way."
"Really?"
When I brightened and smiled at those words, Meyer lightly nodded in return.
"First of all, how about dying a few times to start?"
With that, he swept his hand horizontally. It was a movement so casual it barely counted as an effort.
And then.
……My head was sliced clean off along the path of his hand.
"……?"
My severed head soared into the air. My body collapsed to the ground. Blood sprayed like a fountain. My vision went black. I died—
"-?!"
Next.
The moment I blinked, the sensation vanished in an instant.
Gasping for breath, I frantically felt around my body. My neck was still properly attached.
But.
"……Just now."
I had definitely died once.
The feeling of my head rolling across the ground was vivid.
"False perception. Dying in the Mental World doesn’t cause any problems for your real body. You can ‘return’ like this."
To me, drenched in cold sweat, he tossed out those words.
"Well, what the hell was that just now—"
"To be blunt, you’re not even standing at the starting line yet. The priority is getting you used to extreme situations where you’re dodging and your flesh is getting torn up."
Meyer spoke as he loosened up his body, his tone sounding almost friendly, like someone explaining step by step to a beginner.
But what he said next was anything but gentle.
"So you’ll have to keep dying and fighting."
"……."
"First, you need to get used to the ‘fight’ itself. We have to quickly arm that mind of yours that’s gone soft from peace."
"……Wait a moment, Senior. Is that really—"
"Forget theory and technique lessons for now. This seems like the most efficient way…."
Meyer continued with that same big smile on his face.
……At this point.
That warm smile looked to me nothing short of a demon’s grin.
"……Try to survive by any means necessary, junior."
The moment that sentence ended.
The second death struck me.
▣
"……Sir Aiden."
At that sudden voice dropping out of nowhere, I hastily straightened up.
"Are you all right……?"
Noel studied my face carefully as she spoke in a cautious tone.
She wasn’t wrong. My face was pale. My complexion was ashen, and all day long my mind seemed somewhere else.
I couldn’t possibly admit that it was because I’d spent the entire night getting tormented by Meyer.
"If you are unwell, please retire to your chamber. There’s no need to remain in the office…."
"……I’m fine."
In truth, my body was perfectly normal.
It was only that the memory of being hacked to pieces by Meyer all through the night was simply too horrifying.
"……That damned man."
Thinking that, I glared at the window floating in front of my eyes.
-System Log
▶ You have engaged in intense combat. Combat experience has been newly accumulated.
▶ Accumulate combat experience to learn techniques of various schools!
▶ If you learn the techniques of 2 more schools, the ‘Combat Forms’ category will be unlocked.
Though I must have died at least a dozen times last night alone, thanks to that, new abilities had been unlocked.
‘This is definitely…….’
It was a concept separate from skills.
Skills typically exerted their effects by being ‘used’ directly, whereas Combat Forms manifested as the culmination of experience the character had built up.
If you had to classify them, they were like the difference between active skills you invoked and passive skills that were always maintained.
Since this meant I’d gained yet another kind of skill I could ‘copy,’ it was truly something to celebrate with open arms.
Ordinarily, anyway.
‘I feel like I’m going to die…….’
No wonder Noel had been the first to speak up in concern.
After we’d returned from that banquet, things had felt strangely awkward between us, and I hadn’t been able to bring myself to say anything.
"……."
I watched Noel quietly as she pressed her lips together and looked away.
The moment I cut her off by insisting I was fine, instead of adding any more words, she immediately turned her gaze aside.
As if she didn’t want to exchange another word.
How should I put it?
Lately, she seemed to be deliberately avoiding any prolonged contact with me.
-Quest Info
◈ Fake Marriage
* You have been chosen as Lady Noel’s spouse. Maintain your contract with her to the end!
* A related incident will occur soon. (D-?)
Seeing that written here, together with her sudden change in attitude, made it clear something had definitely shifted in her mind.
‘I can’t figure her out…….’
Truly, I had no idea what she was thinking.
As I was watching Noel in silence, she let out a deep sigh and took off her uniform cap.
‘Yikes.’
Maybe I’d been staring too blatantly without realizing it. Just as I was about to flinch, thinking she might scold me, Noel calmly opened her mouth.
"Sir Aiden."
"Yes?"
"If there’s anything else I can help you with, please tell me. You’ve been unwell all morning, haven’t you?"
"……."
"If it’s something difficult to talk about, I’ll wait until you’re ready…."
……No.
I really didn’t understand her.
Most of the time she avoided any contact at all, yet in moments like this, she spoke as if it were nothing to offer her help.
‘Well, then.’
If there was something I could ask right now, there was.
"You said you could teach me swordsmanship?"
Hearing that, Noel’s eyes went wide as she repeated the question.
"Swordsmanship… Teaching you itself isn’t difficult, but what’s gotten into you? Weren’t you the sort who never cared about that sort of technique?"
"……I want to stay alive."
"……."
Noel returned a look that seemed to ask if I thought that counted as an explanation, but that was honestly the best excuse I could come up with after racking my brain.
Starting now, getting beaten to death by Meyer every night was going to be my routine. I needed something—anything to at least put up some resistance.
‘Besides, more than anything else….’
When I recalled a few of the terms used to describe Noel in the game, they were Lionhearted, the Empire’s greatest knight, and ‘Master of the Sword.’
She might not have been a monster who dominated the entire setting with swordsmanship alone like Meyer, who’d sliced off my head dozens of times last night, but her skill with the sword was still among the very best even by superhuman standards.
Now that I’d fulfilled the conditions to unlock the Combat Forms category, if I could learn from her, I had no reason to refuse.
"……."
As I sorted out those thoughts, I noticed Noel running a hand across her forehead.
How should I put it—she looked genuinely conflicted by my request.
"……Um, Sir Aiden."
"Yes?"
"When you say swordsmanship lessons… Do you mean you want personal instruction, one-on-one?"
"……Pardon?"
"In other words, are you asking if it will be conducted just the two of us?"
"……."
Well.
I hadn’t really thought that far ahead.
"……Does that matter?"
"It matters."
"……."
"It’s an important factor."
Watching Noel emphasize that twice as if it truly was crucial, I scratched my cheek.
"……If it’s that important, should we do it one-on-one?"
"……."
This time, Noel pressed her lips together and fixed me with a stare.
What was this about now?
"……You’re rather forward."
"……."
"I suppose I’m fine with it, for the moment."
"……Yes, well…?"
What was she trying to say?
While I blinked, puzzled by the question, someone kicked open the office door and burst in.
"What’s this. What’s this, what’s this? You two are having quite an interesting conversation, aren’t you?"
Noel’s face went rigid.
Aiden and she spent most of their time alone together in the office, and others respected that situation enough not to barge in carelessly.
Even Dame Stella, who served as Dame Noel’s adjutant, thoroughly kept her distance in that regard.
So, there was only one person who would fling the door open without so much as a knock.
“……Your Highness. I am speaking with Aiden right now. Would you please step back?”
“Hehe, come now. It’s not like we’re talking about just anyone. We’re talking about someone I’m serving as adjutant to, aren’t we? How could I leave?”
When Katya replied with a bright smile, Noel’s eyebrows instantly twitched.
If earlier her expression had merely hardened, now it was at a level that could only be called openly hostile.
‘……Looks like all the bitterness still hasn’t faded.’
It seemed those old feelings hadn’t fully resolved.
A subtle tension flowed between them, enough for Aiden to be certain of it in an instant.
“……Aiden asked me for this. Not Your Highness. This has nothing to do with you, so—”
“Oh, but there aren’t many who can rival me when it comes to handling the Holy Flame, you know? Don’t you think he’d be more interested in mastering a noble power like that instead of some outdated swordsmanship?”
Noel’s face grew even more severe than before.
Then she placed both arms on the desk and propped her chin on her hands.
The look on her face was the same deadly seriousness she only showed before entering a fight.
“Princess. I believe you ought to be grateful I didn’t take you to court for the trouble you caused before.”
“……Hmm?”
“I would prefer you not meddle in our affairs any more than necessary. I can’t allow Aiden to get caught up in pointless complications.”
“…….”
Katya gave a wide smile at those words.
But her eyes were not smiling at all.
Seeing that expression, Aiden felt an involuntary chill crawl down his spine.
“You can’t even decide how you want to act, but you still want to monopolize him, don’t you?”
“……What did you say?”
“Nothing at all?”
Katya tilted her head as she spoke, and sparks lit in Noel’s gaze.
“……Fine, then.”
She growled as she rose from her seat.
“If you’re going to be so arrogant, then I suppose that means you’re confident you can be more helpful to Aiden than I can.”
“Hmm—?”
“Let’s find out. Which of us is better suited to be his ‘instructor’.”
A declaration followed, as if to lay down a challenge.
“The one who loses won’t interfere with whatever the other chooses to do with Aiden.”
“…….”
Katya’s expression twisted.
It was clear she hadn’t expected Noel to come at her so directly.
“……You say the most amusing things.”
Katya let out a sigh and spoke.
“Be ready to lose disgracefully, Lionhearted.”
“I could say the same to you, Your Highness. You’ve had things far too easy all your life just because you’re royalty, but this time won’t be so simple.”
“You’re the one who’d better be ready to taste the bitterness of life—”
“…….”
Something.
This was turning into something much bigger again.
Aiden thought that to himself with a cold sweat running down his back.