The Protagonist’s Party is Too Diligent – 69
EP.69 Deal (3)
In the seventy years of Sword Saint Frederick’s life, among all the people he had encountered, the child standing before him was the most peculiar.
For one, he hadn’t felt her presence at all as she entered.
He knew from the sound of footsteps outside the door that there were two people approaching. Although he could usually gauge the nature of a person from their footsteps, identifying the exact individual was far more challenging. Of course, if it were a familiar sound, it would be a different story. There could be people with similar gaits, but no one walked exactly the same.
The first set of footsteps, the ones coming from behind, belonged to one of Frederick’s few disciples. This disciple had once come to learn swordsmanship, stayed long enough to master about half of it, and then declared, “This should be enough to be useful in real combat,” before leaving the mountain on her own whim. She was a foolish disciple, one with immense talent who had she completed her training, might have inherited the title of Sword Saint. But her ambitions didn’t lie solely in the sword.
She would occasionally drop by for a visit, and each time she did, Frederick would throw a bowl, an ashtray, or a jar at her. Not that she had ever been hit—he never intended for her to get hurt in the first place.
But then, who could the owner of the other set of footsteps be?
These steps were less sprightly than his disciple’s. Rather, they were heavy, as though weighed down by fatigue. Yet they also carried a strange sense of determination, a steady confidence, as they never once faltered.
“Hmm.”
Frederick grew even more curious when he sensed the approach of those footsteps near his cabin. There was a distinct moment, almost as if the person had crossed an invisible threshold, where their steps suddenly became clearer, more pronounced.
To be honest, Frederick found it rather intriguing. Judging by the sound, this person would likely arrive at the door before his disciple, and they would probably be the one to open it.
Frederick grabbed a small basket from the table. It was light, empty, and even if it hit its target, it wouldn’t cause any real harm. But given the basket’s size, if the person was standing in front of the door, dodging it wouldn’t be easy.
With the basket in hand, Frederick prepared himself and waited.
“Hmm?”
The footsteps stopped—just one step away from the door.
To be precise, they halted just before reaching the door, as if the person beyond somehow knew that the Sword Saint was holding something, waiting to throw it.
And then the door opened.
There was nothing beyond the door.
“…Don’t just stand there, come in.”
Frederick said after waiting a few moments. Only then did the figure step in—a child, too young to be called a woman yet. Perhaps among the nobility, her age might still provoke questions, but to Frederick, who had lived more than seventy years, she was no more than a little girl.
She wore fur clothing from head to toe, and her forehead was damp with sweat.
Had this child sensed Frederick’s presence inside the cabin and opened the door first?
Judging by her exhausted appearance, that seemed unlikely. Her upper body looked like it was fighting to suppress her heavy breathing. Despite her stoic face, it was clear she had exerted herself greatly on the way up.
More than anything, while the girl’s presence was noticeable, she didn’t exude the distinctive aura of someone trained in the sword. It was as if she had no aptitude for such things at all.
“Master, how have you been?”
His foolish disciple walked in, flashing an irritating grin and speaking with an easy, overly familiar tone. Frederick, whose mood had been soured, simply set down the basket he had been holding.
“What brings you here? And who is this child? Since you didn’t come alone, it seems you didn’t just come to chat as usual.”
“Well, I’ve got a favor to ask, among other things.”
“…”
As she spoke, her gaze shifted to the girl.
Oh…
In his 15th year of retreat, having grown weary of the world’s mundanities, Frederick felt, for the first time in a while, that he might have stumbled upon something interesting.
*
The girl’s peculiarity didn’t end there.
“So, you want to learn something from me?”
“Yes. I want to learn how to control energy. I know that through meditation, one can sharpen the mind and correct the body’s state. I’d like to learn that method.”
“Hmm.”
Frederick narrowed his eyes and stared at the girl. He thought that perhaps his gaze might intimidate her, but she didn’t so much as blink under the pressure.
To Frederick, it seemed the girl hadn’t perfectly concealed her aura. Rather, it was as if she was entirely incapable of projecting it outward. In other words, she appeared to have no talent for this sort of thing at all.
“You seem to lack talent.”
Still, he couldn’t definitively say that she had none. There was something about her that set her apart from the average child running around the world.
That careful step when she crossed the threshold—was that simply due to her personality?
“In terms of swordsmanship, that might be true. But I am confident in what I already know.”
“Oh?”
Her confidence felt strange. It wasn’t mere bravado. There was a firmness in her expression, as though she truly believed in something.
“Also, I’m not asking you to teach me for free.”
“A price, huh?”
Frederick looked at the girl in front of him. A princess, was it? Perhaps she was talking about money.
“If I needed money—”
“It’s not money.”
—I’d have been living far more luxuriously than I am now.
That line of thought was abruptly cut off.
This bold princess didn’t seem to be talking about money at all.
“It’s a story about the strong.”
“The strong?”
“Yes. Sword Saint, don’t you long for an opponent who is worthy of risking your life in battle?”
“……”
It wasn’t an incorrect assumption.
He didn’t have much time left, anyway. If he could find someone to cross blades with, there was nothing better he could ask for. But…
“……Are you talking about the Emperor?”
“No.”
Frederick’s guess was completely off the mark.
“One of the Emperor’s children is skilled with the sword. I’m sure even you, Sword Saint, would find satisfaction in facing him.”
The princess maintained direct eye contact with Frederick as she spoke.
“If you wish, I could arrange a meeting.”
“……”
Her eyes weren’t lying.
There was no deceit in her eyes.
Frederick glanced over at Jennifer, but she merely leaned against the wall, shrugged, and flashed a grin, as if thoroughly entertained by the conversation.
“Hmm.”
Frederick made a contemplative sound before finally saying,
“Very well. I was getting bored anyway.”
*
“……”
Does the princess have talent or not?
If asked, Frederick would still say, “She has no talent.”
However, there was also a strange feeling he couldn’t shake.
She certainly lacked talent. Her ability to learn anything new was no better than any ordinary person. Frederick felt there was little chance she would properly learn the art of meditation in just a day’s time.
However, apart from that—
The princess was already complete. To be precise, she came to meet the Sword Saint in an almost complete state.
It was as if she had spent months doing nothing but meditating, neither sleeping nor eating, focusing solely on mastering her mind. Before Frederick even had the chance to teach her anything, the princess quickly entered a state of calm, both physically and mentally.
In an instant, she restored her body from the fatigue of her hike, and her irregular breathing settled into a steady rhythm.
“……”
The serenity and composure she displayed, as if she was merely continuing what she had always done, exuded an almost divine quality.
And Frederick wasn’t the only one left speechless by this sight.
……Had she somehow pulled the future toward her?
It was an absurd thought, but that’s what crossed Frederick’s mind.
“……”
After a brief moment of contemplation…
“Hup!”
—he struck the edge of his hand down swiftly onto the princess’s head.
He didn’t strike with full force. But it wasn’t a playful swing either. If she hadn’t undergone any training, she would have been struck on the head and lost consciousness.
However, the Sword Saint’s knife-hand strike sliced through empty air.
The princess, who had been sitting cross-legged with her hands on her knees and eyes closed, managed to narrowly avoid the blow by slightly leaning back. Even though one should barely be able to sense the surrounding energy while meditating.
“Oh.”
The Sword Saint made a sound of admiration.
She had no talent.
But she was already complete. At this age. In fact, compared to when he was her age, she was far ahead.
So, was she hiding her aura as well? Had she already reached the level of a serene, mirror-like mind that even Jennifer hadn’t achieved?
If that were the case, there would have been no reason for her to come all the way up here to learn meditation.
Slowly, the princess opened her eyes. Her jet-black eyes looked up at the Sword Saint with a calmness that suggested she knew exactly what would happen next.
Her expression resembled that of the statues of Buddha he had seen in the East.
“Are you sure you don’t want to seriously learn swordsmanship?”
“I have no talent for it.”
She replied, standing up as if their business was done.