Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Peeping and a Bold Plan (1)

“Grandpaaa! Why do we have to go around dressed like beggars?”

I had once asked my grandfather that when I was young.

Looking at me, the corners of Grandfather’s mouth rose high, and he said this.

“There are many reasons, but first of all, doesn’t it look cool? If an old man in such shabby clothes was actually absurdly strong...”

“What part of that is cool? Wherever we go, people glare at us... I-I want to wear pretty clothes too!”

It was while I was having that pointless conversation with Grandfather.

Bandits suddenly descended on us, threatening Grandfather and trying to drag me somewhere.

Grandfather silently placed his hand on the sword he carried on his back.

After drawing his sword, Grandfather lightly cut down the bandits at a speed my eyes could not follow.

When he cut down the last bandit, who was cursing in confusion, and shook the blood from his sword, Grandfather’s figure was...

“Wo... wow...”

...incredibly cool.

From then on, I worked and worked to become cool like Grandfather.

I wanted to become a “strong person hiding their strength.”

It felt so thrilling to see everyone look down on Grandfather, only to tremble and treat him with utmost respect the moment Grandfather’s epithet, “Sword Saint,” came out.

My whole body tingled.

At some point, I had become “addicted” to that pleasure.

“Innocence Academy? Is there anything more for you to learn there?”

“There is a saying that there is no end to learning, Grandfather.”

“Ho... Very well. Attending the academy and learning a little more about the world would not be bad.”

“In exchange, could I enroll quietly? I do not want to gain honor for free without proving anything, simply by relying on your halo, Grandfather.”

“Hmm... That is not wrong. To think you would come to think so deeply... You’ve grown a great deal before I knew it, Kaen. Since the world does not know that you are my successor, nothing much should happen.”

And so, after begging and begging Grandfather, I finally managed to enter Innocence Academy.

Innocence Academy.

I judged that this place, where skilled people my age gathered, was very suitable for giving me that pleasure.

During the class placement exam, I deliberately fell at a moderate rank.

“My sword... I dropped it... Kuh. This was a mistake!”

Looking back on it now, the acting I showed around the time I needed to lose the exam was excellent.

Thinking things had gone well, I returned to my seat in a good mood and was watching the placement exam.

After “Student Eisel,” a strong person who displayed all her power without hesitation, unlike me, “that guy” appeared.

A nameless blind man who appeared out of nowhere defeated Amon Caligus of the continent’s four elemental families.

Naturally, I heard the surprised students murmuring.

“Amon lost?”

“Wow. That Caligus lost?”

“How did he break the gauntlets?”

I did not know about the other students, but I saw it clearly.

Dispel. And with only a single sword at that.

That guy broke Amon’s magic with his sword.

What was even more shocking than that was that I could feel nothing at all from the swordsmanship of that blind man named Zeto.

There was something empty about his sword.

Only then did I realize.

“...Could he be hiding his strength too?”

It was clear that he had not hidden his strength completely, and had revealed it to some extent, but he had not shown everything.

There was no way he could perform dispel so easily with that dry, ordinary level of swordsmanship.

I could say this because I had seen Grandfather break magic. People did not know, but Grandfather could also dispel with his sword.

I had tried to learn it too, but... it was not that easy.

I grew impatient.

A powerful rival had appeared.

“Originally, I planned to draw attention from people by rising sharply from Class C to Class A during the main exam...”

My plan had gone wrong.

After that, I decided to watch every single one of his movements from far away.

Since he was a blind man with his eyes covered by white bandages, surveillance was easy.

When I examined him closely, he was truly vicious.

He was worse than me.

In the middle of the night, I went to the training ground and saw him doing the training I had done when I was six. I could not help but be impressed.

“How does he act out such awful mana operation? And no one is left in the training ground, so why is he still acting?”

Considering his level, his ability to handle mana must be beyond that as well.

Even I can draw out sword aura, so there is no way someone who can dispel with a sword earlier than me cannot draw out sword aura.

“I simply cannot understand it.”

After watching him for several days.

Only then did I fully grasp him.

“He entered Class A and showed the edge of his talent, then intends to surprise people by growing even further through effort?”

A hollow laugh came out.

As I recited my evaluation of him, chills ran over my entire body.

A blind man whose eyes had gone dark.

And yet he walks well and even handles a sword.

Here, he gives the first layer of mystery.

“Cruel bastard...”

He intended to use even his weakness and deficiency as part of his concept.

During the class placement exam, which could be called the students’ first impression of him, he briefly showed a high realm and entered Class A.

It meant he would emit an even brighter light within Class A, which was already shining brightly.

He deliberately revealed his poor parts as well, emphasizing that he was actually nothing special, then showed that he could grow even further from here by saying he had obtained strength after hard effort.

“...How can someone be this陰暗?”

On top of that, he spends every day flirting with female students his age, all while exuding some inexplicable ease.

“Whew...”

Today as well, I was watching him from far away. Each time, I hid myself so I would not be discovered.

But lately, I kept feeling as if my presence was being noticed by him, who “should not be able to see.”

Even while talking with Student Eisel, his head occasionally brushed past the place where I was.

It looked like an ordinary turn of the head, but for me, knowing his skill, that action did not look so simple.

“Why...? My ‘Shadow Erasure’ should have been perfect.”

“Shadow Erasure” was a technique I had created on my own.

Erasing one’s presence and hiding the body as much as possible.

It looked simple, but it was by no means an “easy” technique.

“Strange... Then does his true skill surpass mine...?”

If so, the story changed.

Even if I entered Class A during the main exam, if that guy likewise planned to properly reveal his strength during the main exam... he might steal all the attention that should be focused on me.

As a rule, strength is coolest when hidden, then revealed.

That guy chose to appeal by hiding it, then becoming stronger through effort.

It could be seen as simple, but because he was blind, I thought it might be a method capable of drawing out an even stronger reaction.

“If that happens, then surely Grandfather’s swordsmanship...”

The moment I used Grandfather’s swordsmanship, it was safe to say I would definitely draw attention.

Because I was the Sword Saint’s only successor.

Because of that, my name might spread widely through the world.

“...But.”

No matter how I thought about it, using Grandfather’s swordsmanship should only be for emergencies.

As I watched that guy converse with Student Eisel while wearing a sly smile, I sank into deep thought.

“What method could draw people’s attention more strongly than him...?”

***

After training at the training ground until late, I came out and ran into Eisel.

I was walking together with her for a while, talking.

But lately, I often felt as if someone was continuously watching me.

“Is this the influence of Keen Senses leveling up?”

Because of that, I naturally turned my head and checked places where someone might be watching me.

“That is...”

I had not discovered it until now, but this time, I saw someone.

What entered my sight was a person far away, hiding behind a tree while watching this way.

Their hair color was somewhat unusual, so even at night, it stood out easily from afar.

“Pink hair? If it’s pink hair... there should only be Kaen...”

Kaen.

She was also a major character in this game.

But it was not yet the timing for her to step forward, so I had not paid much attention to her.

Kaen was the one and only successor of the Sword Saint.

She had grown up under the Sword Saint and learned his swordsmanship.

Since she called the Sword Saint Grandfather, I naturally thought she was his granddaughter, but later it was revealed they were not related by blood.

Even so, she was a woman with terrifying talent for the sword, enough that the “Sword Saint” of all people had personally taken her in as his successor.

If there was one problem with such a perfect Kaen, it was that she clung to her concept to a terrible degree.

In all sorts of works of fiction, one often sees characters who are strong yet live while hiding their strength. The kind commonly called “hidden power losers.”

In the game, she was exactly that type of character.

Usually, these characters hide their strength due to some story, then reveal overwhelming power when forced into unavoidable circumstances.

She was a little different.

Kaen was quite the... so-called “attention seeker.”

The reason she hid her strength was to receive a lot of attention from people.

In particular, I remembered that she liked the unique thrill of the situation reversing when hidden strength was revealed.

Kaen was even a very calculating person.

She tried somehow to produce situations she thought were cool.

During the class placement exam, she deliberately dropped into Class C, which could be considered a middle position, then showed her ability during the main exam, when classes could change, and entered Class A.

Why was someone like her watching me and Eisel?

“...So how was the exchange group?”

Eisel, who was walking beside me, asked.

“It’s just... well, I’m learning well?”

“What are you learning?...It was the Medical Technology Exchange Group, right?”

“I ended up learning acupuncture. I’m glad it seems to suit me fairly well.”

As we talked about the exchange group, Priscilla in her underwear flickered before my eyes, and my face grew hot for no reason.

“Ahh... acupuncture... How unusual. I am very curious about the process by which you, a blind man, learned acupuncture.”

Eisel narrowed her eyes and spoke to me in a thoroughly lowered voice.

“Uh... well... she taught me kindly. Haha...”

I laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of my head.

If I told the truth and said I learned by directly feeling her body, it seemed perfect for Eisel to find it strange.

“...Enough. There’s a cafe I know nearby, so come with me.”

I thought we would each go our separate ways like this, but suddenly, Eisel suggested that we go to a cafe.

“A cafe? Did Eisel have a cafe she liked separately?”

I had questions, but it was rare for Eisel to be the one to suggest something first.

“Sounds good.”

I nodded and accepted her proposal.

The cafe I came to with Eisel had a fairly atmospheric and well-decorated interior.

Even for me, it was my first time coming here, since I did not know every shop in the city.

Eisel and I entered the cafe and took seats at a suitable table with no people nearby.

“I’ll go place the order. Last time, you decided the menu. Coffee is fine, right?”

Eisel mentioned what had happened at Herald’s shop and rose from her seat.

“Coffee... yes, that’s fine.”

Coffee late at night felt a little odd, but since I was thinking of going outside the academy again in a while, it did not particularly matter.

Once I had the object containing memories, I could entrust the commission to the blacksmith.

“How long will it take?”

As I briefly sank into thoughts about the cursed blade, Eisel soon brought two cups of coffee.

Eisel pushed one cup of coffee into my hand, which was resting neatly on the table.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.”

Eisel immediately took a sip of coffee and said that.

I did not really know whether she liked coffee, but since I was being treated, I drank the coffee without complaint.

“...”

“...”

We did not exchange conversation while continuing to drink coffee.

There were often times like this with Eisel.

An atmosphere where conversation was not frequent, but both of us were satisfied simply being together.

Well, I did not dislike it.

Around the time I was finishing the coffee, my body suddenly began to feel heavy.

“...What is this?”

My head, which had been still, tilted slightly.

My will had not been involved in it.

When I sensed something strange and was about to ask Eisel a question, she opened her mouth first.

“Did the coffee... taste strange, perhaps?”

“The taste of the coffee...?”

It was just ordinary.

The coffee tasted bittersweet.

“There’s alcohol in this coffee. Fascinating, isn’t it? It’s my first time seeing alcohol mixed into coffee too. You can barely taste the alcohol, and it was good.”

At Eisel’s answer, my head began throbbing. I had no memory of drinking alcohol at all since becoming this body.

“Alcohol...? You should have told me that beforehand...”

My head swayed rapidly, then struck the table.

—Thud.

“I... might be weak... to alco...”

I could no longer continue speaking.

My consciousness...

felt like it was growing distant...

***

“Ah, so you were weak to alcohol... Did you really fall asleep already...?”

I directed a question at Zeto that would receive no answer.

Before my eyes, he was visible, his head swaying before he collapsed onto the table.

I poked Zeto’s shoulder with my finger.

“Hah... In that case, I’ll have to take you back to the dormitory ‘because there’s no helping it.’”

At the thought that my plan had succeeded, a smile escaped me on its own.

“Heheh.”

You’re still weak to alcohol.

Zeto.