Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Master (2)

[ Why... are you taking... a precious object of the dead...? ]

Sierra’s shy yet clear voice rang inside my head.

First, stay calm.

Putting aside the fact that I could see her, Sierra might not know that I could see her.

“Whew... Shall I get going now?”

I muttered to myself as if for Sierra to hear, and tried to pass by the woman standing before me.

In the end, she was nothing more than a soul, so I thought contacting me would be impossible.

However, the moment I tried to pass through Sierra’s body.

—Soft.

My head, which had tried to pass through Sierra, touched her chest. Because she had been floating in midair, my face and the chest she was thrusting out were at the same height.

Flustered, I could not even move my head, which was buried in her chest.

[... ]

“...”

Silence continued in that state.

I could touch her. A soul, in other words, a ghost, could be contacted.

Something had gone very wrong.

I had never been held in a woman’s chest, but I could tell at once that the sensation felt by my face was not much different from that of a person.

[ Wh-what... are you doing right now...! How insolent...! ]

Sierra’s trembling voice, as she covered her chest with both arms, rang loudly in my head.

[ I noticed long ago that you can feel my existence... Stop your clumsy acting. ]

Only after hearing Sierra’s answer did I come to my senses and take one step back.

“The situation is tangled.”

I had tried to take the object containing Sierra’s memories. Without her permission, at that.

For whatever reason, she was in a state where she could make contact with me.

Fighting was not an option.

Even if I fought and won, problems would arise when I tried to make the contract together with the seal.

I needed a calm response.

First, I had to know from where to where Sierra knew.

[ How truly strange... A blind man who cannot see crossing the boundary of life and death... ]

Sierra flew through the air, circled around me, looked me over, then opened her mouth.

Judging by the fact that she did not mention the lamp, it seemed she had not seen what happened in the cave.

[ Why are you giving no answer...? I asked why you laid your hand upon my object. ]

Sierra, who had been circling around me, cupped my cheek with a cold hand as she spoke.

Why had I laid my hand on the object of a dead person who had died decades ago?

How had a blind man who could not see reached that cave, difficult to find in this bamboo forest where few footsteps ever came?

I must not become hostile with her.

I must not begin my relationship with her from a position similar to that of a mere grave robber.

From now on, I had to handle her well.

“...This is bewildering. I thought for a moment that I had gone mad and was hearing nonsense, but...”

[ I am no ‘fiction.’ I clearly exist here, on this land. ]

Sierra’s confident voice rang inside my head.

I took the pendant from within my clothes, showed it to her, and continued speaking.

“If you mean an object... are you referring to this?”

[ Yes. It is my precious object, and the object to which my soul is bound. Why are you trying to take it... ]

“Then the person before me is Lady Sierra.”

[ From the look of your youthful face... how do you know my name, when I should be nothing but a person of the distant past to you? ]

“Even if it is the past, reputation built up over time is passed from mouth to mouth. I have been searching for Lady Sierra all this time.”

[ Searching... for me...? ]

As the conversation progressed, Sierra’s eyes filled only with questions.

I was flustered because nothing like this had happened in the game, but if I thought of it as the influence of the “blindfold,” it was not unreasonable.

Since it was a Legendary-grade item, it would not be strange for it to have some more hidden effects.

Its very name was the “Blindfold of Piercing Insight,” after all.

However, what mattered was that I knew the future, and I knew the past. I knew information about countless people living in this world and information about countless incidents.

If her soul continued to speak to me even after entering the cursed blade, and I had to converse with her...

Explaining myself one by one whenever she found my actions suspicious would be extremely troublesome.

It would be more convenient in the future to make her think of me as a mysterious person she could not understand.

“...Lady Sierra, after suffering countless defeats against the Sword Saint, you vanished. I thought you had entered closed-door training. To defeat the ‘Sword Saint,’ and to create swordsmanship that could defeat the Sword Saint.”

[ That... that should have been something I told no one... ]

Sierra wore an expression of chilling surprise.

I could not answer her question.

It was easier to let her think whatever she wanted on her own.

And there were still many words remaining that would be even more shocking to her.

“However, no matter how much it was closed-door training... vanishing for decades would be impossible. I vaguely realized that Lady Sierra had died. Though I did not know you would be able to speak to me like this.”

[ I cannot follow this conversation... You know my name, know where I was... What on earth are you...? ]

Sierra, looking dazed at my words, asked.

I had no choice but to play it smooth with her.

“My name is Zeto. I came all this way because I wanted to become Lady Sierra’s ‘disciple.’”

[...Disciple...? ]

“If it is swordsmanship created to defeat the Sword Saint, swordsmanship made to defeat the greatest swordsman on the continent... I thought that swordsmanship might be the strongest swordsmanship.”

Of course, when Sierra’s soul was placed in the cursed blade in the game, I did not learn such swordsmanship.

I think it was because the swordsmanship she had been creating was just before completion, not actually complete.

But there was a difference between the game and reality, was there not?

It had been the same with Emilia.

To treat Emilia, acupuncture skill level 5 had been required, but because I remembered the process of treating her, I had successfully treated her with only level 3.

I bet on that.

That I had come here to obtain the strongest swordsmanship she had been unable to complete, which had not even existed in the game.

That this unknown, mysterious man who had suddenly come to her was doing this to obtain the strongest swordsmanship.

I needed to deceive her.

[ You are a suspicious one... Then what of the object containing my soul...? ]

“I intend to make a cursed blade containing Lady Sierra’s soul. Since Lady Sierra has already become one of the dead, I thought there might be no other way for me to learn your swordsmanship.”

[ A cursed blade... yes, if it is that cursed blade I know, then it would certainly be convenient for passing on swordsmanship... In my current state, contained in the pendant, there should be a limit to maintaining my form... ]

Sierra knew what a cursed blade was.

Perhaps cursed blades had been more common in the past than now.

[ However, I do not remember saying I would accept you as my disciple. ]

Sierra said that, crossing her arms and making a prim expression.

Her words were entirely correct.

But I knew her story.

I knew what she wanted.

I cast the bait.

Originally, this was a deal I would try throwing out when making the contract, but I thought it would not be bad to consider this as making the contract in advance.

“...Lady Sierra. Would you not like to see the Sword Saint defeated... by your swordsmanship?”

[ The Sword Saint... defeated... by my swordsmanship...? ]

At my meaningful words, Sierra’s eyes narrowed.

Sierra had been strongly obsessed with the title of Sword Saint.

She had worked all her life.

To become the greatest swordswoman on the continent.

However, she had not achieved it.

After suffering countless defeats against the Sword Saint, she entered closed-door training to create swordsmanship that could defeat him, but her long illness worsened, and she died just before completion.

With that becoming her grudge and preventing her from leaving the surface, I could not imagine she would easily refuse this proposal.

“Of course, the most certain and best method would be for Lady Sierra to defeat the Sword Saint yourself. But... how can you accomplish that with the body of the dead?”

[... ]

Sierra’s number of words rapidly decreased.

She knew it too.

It had now been decades since Sierra became one of the dead.

She must have seethed for decades.

She must have yearned for decades.

“The ‘Demon Swordsmanship’ used when handling a cursed blade is also swordsmanship meant to honor the soul contained within the cursed blade. I will honor Lady Sierra’s grievance.”

I approached her and declared my aspiration.

“I will become your disciple, and with your swordsmanship, I will defeat the Sword Saint.”

[ My disciple... with my swordsmanship... defeats the Sword Saint... ]

Sierra slowly chewed over my words.

To her, there could be no sweeter offer.

[ Then, the Sword Saint... is the ‘Sword Saint’ I know, correct? ]

Sierra was asking whether, over the passage of time, the Sword Saint had changed to someone else.

“He is old now, but he is still the Sword Saint.”

Soon, Sierra’s eyes changed, and she circled around me, examining me here and there.

[ I desperately wanted to defeat the Sword Saint. It was truly bitter that I had no choice but to fall ill and die without defeating him... ]

Sierra looked back on her past as if full of resentment.

Now everything depended on her.

Unexpectedly, before I had even made the cursed blade, we had come to exchange a deal over what each of us wanted.

“If this falls apart here, sealing her will be impossible too. Then I will have to give up on Sierra...”

[...What did you say your name was? ]

At that tense moment, Sierra stood before me and asked my name again.

“I am Zeto.”

[ Zeto... I will remember it. However, I know that many rare materials go into a cursed blade. Have you prepared all the materials? ]

“I have obtained all the materials. It is a situation where I only need to entrust the creation to a blacksmith.”

[ Ho... My first disciple seems quite capable. ]

“First disciple... Does that mean you will accept me?”

I asked Sierra in a voice filled with joy.

[ It is true that you are a suspicious person... and it is also true that your identity is impossible to know. However, that if not for you, there would be no one who would come all this way to relieve my resentment... is also true. ]

Sierra’s calculations were quick.

Certainly, as she said, if I had not come, her death would have been forgotten for a very long time.

[ I have desired it so desperately. Only the day when I could defeat the Sword Saint. Therefore... I will accept your proposal. You will defeat the Sword Saint in my stead, and I will give you the swordsmanship that can defeat the Sword Saint... ]

Sierra said this, approached me, and embraced me with a bright face.

Then she whispered into my ear.

[...I will teach you Sierra Style: Rebellion Against Heaven. ]

Her voice ringing in my head sounded even more alluring.

Sierra Style: Rebellion Against Heaven.

It was the name of the swordsmanship I would learn from her through Demon Swordsmanship.

[ However...! Unfortunately, Rebellion Against Heaven is not yet complete. So you must complete it together with me. ]

Sierra said this and smiled at me.

It was the moment my “fake” master became my “real” master.

[ By the way... Disciple, do you know how to handle a sword...? ]

The question came from Sierra, now wearing a serious face as she carefully watched the bandage around my eyes.

I thought that question came far too late, so I laughed it off loudly.