Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 44

44. Haeju (3)

#44

The worn-out black iron sword had turned into a smooth La Mancha. Ronan swung his sword at the shadow that came right in front of him. Not randomly, but following the flow of water in the air.

squeak.

The shadow split in half. Chow! Darkness poured out like blood and poured over his face.

“■■…!”

“what?!”

Ronan’s eyes widened. It was a result that even the person who fired the sword was not expecting. The split shadow fell on both sides of Ronan.

‘That’s just…’

It was a much faster and more powerful slash than the previous speed. Riding on a strange current, the swordsman moved forward like a sailboat receiving a favorable wind.

I swung my sword in the empty air again, but it didn’t feel the same as before. The unknown flow was repeating disappearing and reappearing all over the field of view.

I’ll have to check it out later Thinking so, Ronan lowered his gaze. A split shadow was wriggling at my feet. Ronan asked as he stepped on the shadow.

“Why did you do that?”

No answer came back. The shadows began to slowly dissipate like ashes blown by the wind. Ronan spat on the floor and muttered nervously.

“Well…I didn’t expect it to be so easy to hear.”

The entire landscape within sight was disintegrating. Ronan closed his eyes as he watched his fingertips crumble into powder. My head was dizzy, it was like I had lost too much blood.

A shadow’s voice came from within my fading consciousness.

“■■ ■■ ■■■■. Ronan.”

“what?!”

Ronan opened his eyes. The blue sky disappeared completely and a dark interior unfolded before my eyes. The dry air was permeated with the smell of old paper and ink.

“…here is?”

When I narrowed my eyes, I saw letters written on the ceiling in the distance. It was Separachio, Secret’s office. However, all the lights in the study were turned off.

‘Have you heard of robbers…?’

Ronan slowly stood up and put his hand on the hilt. The muscles that had fought so hard were still taut. Then I heard someone’s voice from behind.

“Did you enjoy your trip?”

“Shit, it’s a surprise.”

Ronan hurriedly turned his head. Wherever Secret went, an old man with a rather strict impression was sitting in front of the desk. A small candle placed next to him dyed the old man’s face scarlet.

An old man wearing round glasses was scribbling on paper with a fountain pen. Ronan noticed that he was wearing the same clothes as Secret. Ronan let out a sigh of relief and removed his hand from the hilt.

“Huh…it looks like it’s night.”

“It is. It was a long year.”

“Why are all the lights off? What about Elizabeth? ”

“Shhhhh… over there.”

Secret put her index finger in front of her mouth and glanced back. When I turned my head, I saw Elizabeth sleeping curled up on the sofa. Judging by the fact that even the blanket was covering her, it seemed that quite some time had passed since she fell asleep.

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

She was vigorously twitching her hair in her mouth. Secret got up from her seat and lifted the blanket that had come down to her neck.

“You can go first, but he insisted on waiting. If it wasn’t for this kid, I wouldn’t have been able to cast a healing spell right away. Buy me something delicious later.”

“I guess so.”

Ronan nodded. My head was dizzy like the day after drinking too much. He washed his face dry and looked at Secret again.

“How long have I been lying down?”

“In a little while it will be time for the sun to rise.”

“Damn, I slept for a long time.”

Ronan spat out a curse. It was like spending almost a whole day in the world of images. Secret raised her glasses to her forehead and said.

“I’m glad though. Because Haeju succeeded.”

“really?”

“okay. Do you want to see that?”

Secret pointed to the floor of the study. It was the spot where Ronan lay on the magic circle.

All three magic circles drawn with chalk were discolored. Secret explained that the magic circle absorbed the curse that flowed out of her body.

“It must have been difficult, but thank you for doing well. you screamed over and over again I cried too. It’s a common occurrence during Haeju, but I was worried for no reason.”

“…I cried?”

Ronan hurriedly rubbed his eyes. There was still water under the swollen eyes. Could it be that every time he shuddered in the world of imagination, he also made a fuss in reality.

“Fat… embarrassing.”

Ronan sighed as he looked up at the ceiling, then looked back at Secret. There were many things I wanted to say right away, but what I had to say first was decided. Controlling his emotions, Ronan opened his mouth.

“Thank you, Professor. really.”

“Thank you. As usual, I just untied one knot.”

“But what exactly was the ban lifted?”

“Hmm…that’s probably what you’ll feel best about. Is there anything different from usual?”

“What has changed? …ah.”

After that, my eyes didn’t itchy anymore. Along with that fact, Ronan told me about the strange currents he saw in the mental world. Secret smiled benignly.

“Heh, it looks like you can see mana.”

“Is that oozing mana?”

“okay. I don’t remember it because it was in the distant past… It seems that I recognized mana in that form when I first succeeded in responding. Congratulations.”

Secret explained that the more sensitivity develops, the wider and more detailed you will be able to see mana. Ronan nodded as he watched the flow around Secret.

‘Did the last blow use mana unconsciously?’

Ronan remembered the blow that cut through the shadows. Originally, the mana that should have been cut was not cut, but rather, it gave strength.

The detailed principle was unknown. However, Ronan insinuated that it was similar to the fact that sawing along the grain made the work much easier.

‘It’s a good thing.’

Ronan laughed. Now that he could see mana instead of magic or aura, there would be many changes, not just combat.

Even though nine curses still remained on her body, she was glad to be happy. Suddenly Secret asked a question.

By the way, what did Ronan see there?”

“yes?”

“In your image world. I don’t think the process to Haeju was smooth.”

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s a bit long…well, so…”

Ronan recounted the experiences he had experienced in the world of images one by one. A willow tree that I did not remember. The quiet Nimburton. Until he ran into his childhood sister and his mother whom he had no memory of.

“Ho-oh… you mean the image of the forbidden festival was the hometown of the past? Interesting…”

Secret wrote down every word Ronan said, not leaving out a single note. It was in the middle of Ronan talking about the time he had just met his family.

“Wait, did you see yourself as a newborn baby?”

“yes? By the way.”

“Huh…? Are you sure you misunderstood someone else? Or something you created in your imagination.”

“no. I differentiate that much. It was definitely me.”

Secret’s eyebrows furrowed. He groaned like someone who had discovered a major flaw in his invention.

“What’s wrong?”

“It is so unprecedented. The world of imagery that originated from the curse takes on different forms, but they have one thing in common. The point is that the protagonist who roams the world is the person who has been cursed.”

Secret said that it is common for all sorts of unrealistic and terrible things to happen around a cursed person. Most curses come from malice.

But Ronan lay down and saw himself babbling. The scenery I witnessed was surprisingly realistic and calm, far from being malicious or unrealistic. The protagonist of the world he walked through was not himself.

“I felt it from a while ago… It seems that it is more like someone else’s memory rather than an imaginary world. Go on.”

Secret resumed her notes. After thinking for a while, Ronan continued with a voice that grew heavier. Hiding it anyway wouldn’t solve the problem.

“And…I saw my father.”

“father?”

“yes. I haven’t seen it with my own eyes… Judging from the circumstances or whatever, it was definitely my father. The curse I had to bear was my father, and it was my father who cursed me.”

Ronan explained the grotesque shadow he assumed to be his father. As the story continued, Secret’s face hardened.

“So to sum it up, you couldn’t see your father or hear his voice, but you could still feel his father’s emotions? Besides, did you witness the scene where the father in the form of a shadow puts a curse on you, a newborn baby?”

“Exactly.”

“Umm… You said you had no memory of your father before, right?”

“yes. Not at all. Originally, my mother was also the same, but this nobleman is on a different level.”

Every time I tried to think of the shadow’s shape or voice, my head hurt. It was as if only the part of his brain that controlled memories of his father had been cut out with a knife.

Come to think of it, I have never questioned the existence of my parents in my life. The part where Ronan’s memories begin, that is, in the past when it was recognized as ‘childhood’, the two of them did not already exist.

I should have asked Irill once or twice, but I don’t even remember that. Secret said.

“Hmm, first of all, judging from the information so far… it seems that your memories have been sealed.”

“Are memories sealed?”

“okay. It matches your symptoms too. It’s a convincing enough story if the person who cursed is the father. He sealed his memories in order to erase his identity and the fact that he placed a curse on you.”

So, has Erill’s memory been sealed? Ronan asked again.

“Then seeing me as a willow tree or a mother’s newborn baby…” “

It’s highly likely that your sealed memories and your father’s memories were mixed with the curse and realized. When you sealed your memory with a curse, part of your father’s memory was passed on to you. Magic that deals with memories is often like that.”

“…Why did you do that?”

“That I don’t know either. It’s hard to understand the thoughts of someone who puts ten curses on their children.”

Secret, who put down her fountain pen, added her words.

“I don’t even want to understand.”

Ronan laughed bitterly. The first one ended just like that. Secret explained that the two forbidden items that have been revealed so far are probably related to mana.

“Perhaps if you remove these two bans, you will be able to handle and feel mana just like everyone else.. I will contact you as soon as the research is completed.”

“thank you. I will go now.”

“Yes, it was a lot of trouble.”

Secret snapped her fingers in the air. Then the lights all over the study came on collectively. Elizabeth, whose eyelids twitched, stretched and stood up.

“Uh…is it over?”

“ok. Thank you for waiting.”

“Whoa, with this, Ronan-nim owes me a debt…”

Elizabeth let out a small laugh. It seemed that her purpose was to create a debt of heart to Ronan. At that moment, the hair from her mouth fell to her chest.

“uh…?”

Her dark-purple hair was tangled in several strands. Her face turned red when she saw her wet hair.

“Wait a minute. This is so…!”

“are you okay. I drool when I sleep too.”

“It can’t be that liquid! You really…”

“Ezebet. Do you know how to go back? I can’t open the door because I’m almost out of mana.”

“yes?”

It was the car that Elizabeth was trying to follow. Secret intervened at just the right time. Elizabeth, who belatedly found the opposite sex, nodded somewhat arrogantly.

“Sure. I was waiting for that in the first place.”

“Do you have enough mana left?”

“under.”

Elizabeth laughed and walked to the bookshelf without saying a word. She pulled out a total of ten books from the bookshelf attached to the wall. Then, he chanted an incantation toward the empty seat.

“Delphirim. to Luna. Kashipa.”

-Koo-gu-gu-gu…

Then the bookshelf slowly began to move back. Ronan frowned when he saw the narrow hallway that appeared soon after.

“It sounds like a really shitty place.”

“It’s not that students are reluctant to meet with me for nothing.”

On the other side of the hallway without decorations, there was only black darkness. Elizabeth opened the door and spoke triumphantly.

“Did you see it?”

“As expected, you are amazing, Elizabeth. It’s the skill of a senior.”

“It was nice to meet you, Professor Secret. See you in the next class.”

Upon hearing the compliment, Elizabeth smirked. Ronan somehow seemed to know how to deal with her.

The two entered the hallway holding hands as they had arrived. Ronan turned around to say hello, and his eyes widened.

“My body…”

“Hmm? Ah, it looks like the sun is rising.”

Secret laughed at the small hands. His body was shrinking and being swallowed up by his clothes. Secret waved her fluttering sleeves in greeting.

When Ronan walked down the aisle and turned his head again, Secret was back to being a full-fledged child. A young voice came out of his mouth.

“See you again.”

I thought the darkness was getting thicker, but suddenly my eyes brightened. Ronan and Elizabeth were not in a cabin in the woods, but in the middle of the Great Plaza of Phileon. Ronan, who let go of his hand, laughed as if he were stunned.

“You’re selfish until the very end.”

“Still, this is good enough. I heard that there are students who have been transferred to the lake.”

“her.”

As I inhaled, the crisp morning air filled my lungs. The sun was rising between the jagged spiers.

In the warm sunlight illuminating the plaza, Ronan could see mana in its natural state swaying like a wave.

“I owe you a lot, Elizabeth. thank you.”

“I’m glad I was helpful. Do you really have the brooch I gave you?”

“Oh that.”

Come to think of it, I forgot. Ronan rummaged through his inner pocket and took out a brooch. It was the first time I had come out to the world since I received it on the day of the entrance ceremony. Seeing the shiny brooch, Elizabeth smiled.

“Hehe, you always carry it in your arms like that. Even if you don’t care so much, the door to Akalucia is always open to Ronan.”

“No, I was just busy and forgot.”

“It’s okay not to hide it. Because not everyone can receive an invitation from a lion. I look forward to the day you visit the castle.”

It was a voice full of certainty that made me feel a little feverish. Elizabeth firmly believed that Ronan would become a member of Akalucia.

Come to think of it, a long time has passed since I received that offer. While planning her future route, Elizabeth turned around.

“Then I’ll just go. Say hello to Unni Adeshan.”

“OK.”

“Don’t forget what you owe me.”

Elizabeth left with those words and a smile on her eyes. My first impression was not very good, but I thought that he might be a better kid than I thought.

Ronan made his way back to the dorm across the still awkward Mana-drenched landscape.

Sheeta was sleeping curled up in bed. Ronan murmured, thinking of the bizarre texts wriggling inside his body even at this moment.

“Nine…”

My eyes kept closing. It was fortunate that the first class of the day, hunting, was in the afternoon.

Ronan fell asleep with his face buried in Sheeta’s feathers. In the darkness created by the eyelids, I could see red and blue mana whirling…

****

-Many…many…many…many….

Towards the front gate of Phileon when Ronan was just asleep. A carriage entered.

It was a splendid six-headed chariot pulled by six white horses. On the back of the carriage, the pattern of a knight stepping on a dragon was engraved. The wagon came slowly across the still awake grounds.

“stop.”

Arriving at the destination, the coachman pulled the reins. Next to the stopped carriage, the coffin of Navarredo, where Ronan lives, was showing off its majestic appearance.

“Im here.”

Soon after, the coachman who came running opened the door and a tall middle-aged man slowly walked out. The colorful costumes that covered the body in several layers, dark blue hair and neatly grown mustache were impressive.

The man who scanned the dormitory building with sharp eyes muttered uncomfortably.

“…Do you live in a place like this?”

“I was excited for a while, Duke. How have you been?”

At that moment, the space in front of the man was torn apart and an elderly gentleman appeared. His beard, down to his neck, swayed in the wind. Recognizing the old gentleman’s face, the man nodded.

“I’m fine, Kratyr. How is your magic getting higher and higher?”

“Would it be as dignified as Duke Heo? Schlieffen is doing well too.”

“It will be difficult. However, the building looks shabby compared to Phileon’s stature. The Grancia family will finance it, so do you have any plans to expand it?”

Instead of answering, Phileon’s headmaster Kratir smiled while stroking his beard. That was the meaning of the specification.

The man called the duke twitched his lips somewhat displeased, but didn’t express anything further. The purpose of today’s visit was not to improve student welfare.

“Thank you for listening to my unreasonable request. I don’t really have time on the weekends.”

“I understand. You are sitting in a very heavy seat.”

“I know at least that I did not give permission because of my position. Then can we meet right now?”

“Well, let’s send someone. It probably happened because he is such a diligent student.”

“No, you don’t have to. I will go up myself.”

With those words, the duke moved. A richly decorated longsword hung from his waist. One of Blacksmith Doron’s masterpieces. It was the Pale Road, a sword that held the bitter cold.

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