TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 176
The training with Hanna had begun.
One day. Two days. Three days.
Until the Day of Decision approached, I stayed in the capital city with Hanna, and every night, Hanna also came to the promised location and swung her sword.
Hanna followed along well.
Perhaps because she was used to grueling training, she participated without showing signs of strain, and even though her routine doubled in intensity, she accepted the start of training with a bright smile.
-Butler!
Whether the muscle pain from yesterday didn’t bother her, she greeted me energetically, and every time she stretched, her awkward expression from the soreness made me smile.
-Does it hurt?
-Ah… No…!
-Then we’ll push harder today.
-Eek! I was wrong!
Knowing what Hanna was striving for made me feel more attached to her. And seeing her efforts toward that goal was admirable.
If she had made clumsy efforts, it wouldn’t have been rewarding to teach her, but Hanna always gave her best. Despite already being a model student, her attitude of striving like an inferior student often made me want to teach her even more.
“Butler?”
Late at night, standing in the middle of the training grounds, Hanna looked at me and asked.
Why was I standing blankly?
Startled by Hanna’s small question, I trembled slightly and answered.
“Ah, my apologies. I was momentarily lost in the evening mood.”
“Pfft…! What is that?”
“Maybe it’s because my adolescence came late.”
“Puhaha! Butler, adolescence?”
“Yes, it’s the stormy period of my life.”
Hanna, holding her sword and sweating, burst into laughter as she looked at me. Whatever amused her so much, she smiled even at the smallest actions, and her response made me smile along with her.
It seems my brief distraction had made Hanna feel awkward. Feeling sorry, I took in the chilly air of the night and listened to Hanna’s question.
“Anyway, why did you call me? Is there something you’re stuck on?”
“Ah… I just wanted to ask if I’m doing it right, as you taught me, Butler.”
“I see.”
Nodding, I spoke to Hanna.
“Then let’s take a look. Let’s see if you’re doing well.”
“Yes…!”
Hanna gripped her sword.
Closing her eyes and taking a calm breath, a haze-like aura began to flow from Hanna’s hand.
A light brown aura.
It wasn’t an aura that felt powerful. It gave off a warm and ambiguous sensation. Rather than a fierce determination to defeat someone, it felt like an aura content to remain in this moment.
No explosive strength.
No overwhelming pressure that seemed capable of defeating an enemy in one strike. To be blunt, it didn’t feel like that at all.
With my arms crossed, I observed Hanna’s aura indifferently, wondering if the weapon that was Hanna’s aura could reach Mikhail.
This wasn’t the kind of ambiguity I had hoped for.
I had given Hanna a challenging task.
I had asked her to create the strongest attack she could muster. A secret technique, so to speak. For those who live by the sword, having their own secret technique is essential.
Mikhail, for instance, had the secret technique called “Flash,” and Ruin had “Explosion.” Similarly, I had asked Hanna to create at least one secret technique of her own.
Though, admittedly, the request itself had been ambiguous.
While Mikhail and Hanna’s skills were similar, their orientations were different.
Mikhail pursued unilateral justice.
Hanna yearned for recognition.
Though I didn’t have such grand aspirations, most swordsmen imbued their swords with their desires.
If I had to describe it, it would be something like the determination to defeat the enemy before me, no matter what. It’s probably fair to say my will was to swing my sword with the intent to kill, regardless of who the opponent was.
Usually, the primary emotion is the desire to protect a precious person, but perhaps because I enjoy life, I found it more comfortable to wield my sword with simple purposes rather than heavy emotions.
To put it negatively, it could be called killing intent. To put it positively, hmm… perhaps subjugation would be a better term.
Aura fluctuates and transforms according to the swordsman’s emotions.
The way aura is utilized changes depending on the emotions contained at the tip of the sword, and it fluctuates and transforms according to the weight of those emotions.
I quietly observed Hanna’s aura. Then, shaking my head, I spoke to Hanna.
“Miss Hanna.”
“Yes.”
Hanna, focusing intently, was staring straight at the tip of her sword. The sweat trickling down her forehead, like beads, attested to her sincerity, but I couldn’t offer her warm words.
What I intended to teach Hanna during this period wasn’t the details of swordsmanship or tips for victory, but rather the “way of utilizing aura” and creating her “own secret technique.”
Aura was the weapon that could enable rapid growth in a short period, and fragmentarily, it was also the means for a swordsman to achieve steady growth. That’s why I wanted to teach Hanna about it.
Unfolding my crossed arms, I spoke to Hanna.
“It’s wrong.”
“What…?”
“Everything, from one to ten, is wrong.”
Hanna looked at me with trembling eyes, unable to understand what was wrong.
Was it the way she held her sword? Or the direction of her stance? Searching for fundamental errors, Hanna looked at me with the eyes of a student who didn’t know the correct answer.
Walking toward Hanna, I began to draw the Tirbing from my waist.
With a “Sreung,” the blade was unsheathed, and a cold breeze emanated from it. It brushed against Hanna’s cheek, feeling too heavy to be air created by the night and too chilling to be a mere current of wind.
Taking a small breath, I spoke to Hanna.
“Ordinary swordsmen possess something called will.”
“The will to kill the opponent before them, for example….”
A heavy, resonating sound cut through the empty space, spreading magnificently.
Hanna flinched, her shoulders trembling as she stared wide-eyed at the space where the sword had passed. Without concern, I swung the sword once more.
-Sreung.
“Or the will to protect a precious person, for instance.”
-Sreung.
“In my case, I fall into the former category. ‘I must kill this person for my life to be comfortable.’ That kind of emotion. Hmm… it could also mean I want to protect someone. Since I’m included in that ‘someone,’ after all.”
“So.”
“Miss Hanna, what do you hold as you swing your sword?”
“Is it the will to protect someone? Or the earnest desire to win?”
On the pitch-black blade, a red aura began to form. The sword, imbued with chilling energy, exuded a sticky killing intent, staining the training grounds red.
It wasn’t a vast amount of aura.
Nor was it an enormous amount of mana.
Yet, the weapon imbued with aura, enough to draw a large line in the empty space, overwhelmed the atmosphere of the grounds even with a light breath.
“From what I’ve seen, Miss Hanna, there’s nothing visible. While the will to grow stronger is sufficient, where it’s directed, why you want to grow stronger… to put it bluntly, it’s nowhere to be found.”
“It’s a chronic problem of the academy.”
With a small smile, I spoke.
“I think it’s because too much focus is placed on achieving good grades.”
Hanna was likely denying my words internally.
What I meant was equivalent to saying she was wielding a sword devoid of substance. It was a denial of how earnest and strong the will she held in her sword was.
However, the reality that something was lacking couldn’t be denied. Hanna’s aura reflected that, and her growth had stagnated.
Changing small things wouldn’t lead to miraculous growth. The sword, as a weapon, wasn’t kind. A sword, being a weapon meant to harm others, was too cruel a friend to bother with trivialities.
So, I smiled at Hanna, who wore a stern expression.
“You don’t understand what I’m saying, do you?”
“No…”
Hanna spoke to me. She said she was sincere about the sword.
“Butler, I’m always sincere. I wield my sword because I want to become stronger and an upright person. You may not know, Butler, but I swing my sword with earnest feelings, and I believe my passion is stronger than anyone else’s. To say I lack will…”
Hanna gripped her sword tightly once more.
“To be honest, I can’t accept what you’re saying, Butler.”
At Hanna’s candid response, I nodded. I could clearly understand what she meant.
Passion for the sword. That’s a good emotion and a solid foundation for growth, I think.
“Hmm…”
But it’s not enough.
It’s an emotion that will end someday.
Because it was a goal that would eventually reach its conclusion.
“Watch carefully.”
I lightly gripped the sword in my hand.
The tip of the sword, slightly trembling in sync with the blowing wind, was pointed toward the empty space. In this moment, even the hair disheveled by the scattering wind and the falling leaves felt endearing.
I swung the sword lightly.
[Sharpening Sound.]
Everything was cut.
The falling leaves.
The blowing wind.
Even the tiny specks of dust scattering in the air lost their vigor and split apart as they stretched along the small blade.
Like soil soaking in water without any emotion, the serene spreading of the Sword’s Ripple slowly dyed the night.
Hanna couldn’t utter a word. No, it would be more accurate to say she couldn’t find the words to speak.
Because what she saw was a sword that surpassed Father’s, and for the first time, she thought it was an unreachable realm.
“This is…”
I spoke with a Small Smile.
“Did you see it?”
“…”
“This is how a sword should be wielded.”
“What on earth… No, how did you do that?”
“A Master should at least possess this level of skill.”
I called Hanna’s name and spoke.
“Sometimes, you see, a sword must carry the emotions of needing to kill someone or the emotions of needing to protect someone. If you only swing your sword while solely chasing Success, it’ll end blandly.”
Of course.
“What I’m saying might not be the Correct Answer, though.”
Hanna nodded like a broken person.
What exactly had she witnessed?
Where exactly was Ricardo’s End?
She couldn’t comprehend it.
As I sheathed the sword I had drawn, I spoke to Hanna.
“Miss Hanna, you can do it too.”
“…Me?”
“Yes.”
With words filled with certainty, I smiled.
“I will make you capable of it.”