Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Maintenance

After returning to the dormitory, no matter how much I spoke to Sierra, she did not answer.

And so, I searched for a way to cheer her up.

She was inside the cursed blade, ignoring my words... so the method I came up with was maintaining the cursed blade.

In this situation, where my master had become a cursed blade, caring for the sword might be true filial piety a disciple could offer.

With that thought, maintenance of the cursed blade began.

I carefully placed “Sierra” on the bed and prepared the oil bottle and several clean cloths that the blacksmith Daidros had given me.

And so, the maintenance began.

—Shing.

First, I separated the sword from the scabbard.

When I examined the blade closely, even though I had cut down many monsters in the Labyrinth, there was no particular grime or rust visible.

It was because Sierra was an exceptionally well-forged sword.

If one were to be strict, it did not seem to need maintenance.

Still, I had to maintain it.

Hoping that this, at least, would improve Sierra’s mood.

Then I tapped the oil bottle against the blade, letting droplets of oil fall onto it.

I flipped it over and repeated the same work. Just as Daidros had said, the oil did not run off easily.

The blade looked rather drenched.

Judging that I had applied enough oil, I cut my palm and let blood flow, then let drops of blood fall onto a clean cloth.

Daidros said this was a method he had devised personally.

It seemed to be because of the unique property of vampiric iron, which took in blood.

Holding the cloth soaked sufficiently with blood, I wiped the blade clean.

—Ssssh.

From top to bottom.

From the handle to the tip, slowly and gently, I stroked upward.

Because I did not know how many times I should do it, I kept repeating this work.

As I cleaned the sword, strangely enough, peace came to my heart.

Occasionally, when I swept along the blade, the cursed blade hummed and I felt a faint vibration, which flustered me, but even with that happening, Sierra showed no sign of coming out from the cursed blade.

“Sierra,” having absorbed enough blood and oil, looked beyond glossy, holding the moonlight falling through the window and gleaming brilliantly.

Perhaps because I had shed too much blood, I felt slightly dizzy, so I spread a clean cloth over the bed and placed the cursed blade Sierra atop it.

“Should I rest for a moment?”

Dragging my tired body, I sank down beside the cursed blade and rested for a short while. Only then did purple demonic energy begin flowing from the cursed blade.

Soon, Sierra’s entire body emerged from the cursed blade.

[ Why are you not maintaining me further...? ]

That was Sierra’s first words after appearing for the first time in a while.

Her face dyed red, Sierra could not even look properly at my face.

“...Shouldn’t this much be enough?”

I answered Sierra like that and stroked the blade with my finger.

A little red, oily liquid stained my finger.

[ Hngh... Y-yes, I see... ]

“Ah, come to think of it, Master, you said your senses were connected to the cursed blade, so you were sensitive. Was it perhaps uncomfortable when I was maintaining it?”

[...Strangely enough, it was not uncomfortable at all. It is fortunate I have a disciple good with his hands. ]

Sierra’s voice, sounding pleased with blush filling both cheeks, rang inside my head.

Since I had never maintained a sword before, I had only roughly followed what Daidros had explained, but fortunately, it seemed quite satisfactory.

“What did it feel like?”

Because I still could not quite grasp what it meant for her senses to be connected to the sword, I asked Sierra.

[ Mmm... Mm... Yes, if I had to compare it, it was similar to a “massage”... ]

Sierra hesitated for a long while, then answered carefully.

“...A massage?”

Because I was puzzled, I ended up returning her answer.

“Oil... massage...”

It was hard to imagine that thoroughly soaking a sword in oil and wiping it with a clean cloth was similar to a massage.

“Oil... massage...?”

Only after changing the words did I feel I might understand why her face had been red.

“Ahem, in any case, I am glad your mood seems better.”

I cleared my throat for no reason and continued speaking.

“More importantly, Master, I am curious whether truly nothing happened last night.”

At my question, Sierra swept the back of her hand over her forehead as if she did not even want to remember, and opened her mouth.

[ Anything else, haa... Nothing very major happened. Just as that medical officer said, that Eisel girl merely clung to you a little in her sleep. ]

“Did I perhaps mutter anything strange?”

[ I do not know about that. You were sleeping peacefully as if dead. ]

Only after hearing Sierra’s words could I let out a sigh of relief.

“Huu, then my shirt...”

[ I had much to say about that very matter. Last night, you suddenly rose and began undoing the buttons of your shirt, so I thought you had awakened. Yet afterward, no matter how many times I called you, there was no answer, so I wondered if you were teasing me... It seems that was not the case. ]

“Ah... So that happened...”

I quietly listened to Sierra’s grumbling as she frowned.

From her perspective, it probably could have felt that way.

“Did I undo it because I felt stifled?”

It was fortunate that things passed quietly without incident between Eisel and Priscilla.

More importantly, Eisel’s behavior bothered me.

These days, I felt as if I was running into her unusually often, and there were some points that did not sit right.

She knew I was weak to alcohol, yet she urged me to drink.

For what?

Just to play a mischievous prank?

“After we sat on the bench and had that small conversation, it did feel as if the distance between me and Eisel suddenly shrank.”

I could accept any number of pranks, but if she crossed a line beyond that, it would be troublesome.

Did we not each have secrets we wanted to hide?

It was a special situation.

Perhaps now might be the time to put a little distance between us.

She had been a regressor for a long time.

She was clumsy at growing close to people and forming bonds.

So perhaps it was better for my foot to be on the pedal controlling the speed of our relationship.

“Hmm...”

[ Are you worrying about something? I heard about the sparring match with Kaen from inside the cursed blade....From the looks of it, avoiding the sparring match seems difficult. ]

As I lay looking at the ceiling and murmured to myself, Sierra approached my side and spoke languidly.

Since the sparring match with Kaen was already tomorrow, I had been about to discuss it with her, and if Sierra already knew the situation, the conversation would be easier.

“Master, you said Kaen was no ordinary person.”

[ I did, but in my eyes, she was not an ordinary Class C student. ]

“What do you think would happen if I used Rebellion Against Heaven from the very start of the sparring match?”

[ You mean Chapter One... ]

Sierra seemed to understand my words right away and turned her head briefly in thought.

Soon, Sierra’s voice rang out.

[ You said there would be many eyes watching, yes? ]

“Yes, I expect at least some students will gather.”

[ Rebellion Against Heaven was made from the beginning to face swordsmen with extraordinary mastery over swordsmanship... Experience it for yourself. ]

As Sierra said this, her gaze was filled with certainty.

“You will absolutely win.”

Her purple eyes were saying exactly that.

Since it was the certainty of none other than Sierra of the Purple Moon, my heart became much lighter.

“It feels like I have excess blood somehow... Should I maintain you a little more, Master?”

I looked at Sierra with a smile spread fully across my face and opened my mouth.

Because her Rebellion Against Heaven made everything feel so much easier, I felt I ought to repay her.

[ N-not now...! ]

Even though I said I would do something good, Sierra stammered and fled from me.

[ I said it is all right...! ]

However, the cursed blade still lay alone on the bed.

“You don’t need to refuse. Thanks to the bracelet, I have recovered completely.”

I approached the cursed blade as I said this.

It seemed the night would grow even longer.

***

In the end, I could not maintain Sierra any further.

Sierra grabbed my arm and stopped me, and while struggling with her like that, I fell asleep.

Even though her disciple said he would do something good, she made such a fuss.

For some reason, when I maintain Sierra, my mind calms, so I feel as if I am being healed along with her.

After Edward’s class ended, I went straight to the sparring arena.

Class A’s classes ended a little later than the classes of the other classes.

Well, it did not matter, since for once Edward’s class had raised my experience by half the required amount.

Perhaps because I had arrived late, as soon as I entered the sparring arena, I saw a large crowd waiting for the sparring match.

The murmuring of the people filling the wide arena until it looked cramped filled my ears.

“How did this many people gather?”

I spoke to Yuri, who had entered the sparring arena with me.

Eisel had disappeared as soon as class ended, perhaps because she had urgent business, so I came with Yuri.

“Who knows... I think I see a lot of seniors too.”

As Yuri said, when I looked around the sparring arena, I saw that the audience was not limited to first-year students. There were many senior students as well.

“Maybe it’s because there haven’t been any special events.”

Since it was still early in the semester, there had been so little going on that one could call it dull.

In the middle of that, a newcomer who had made an impressive showing in the Labyrinth stepped forward to spar, so it was understandable that many students with nothing to do had gathered.

“He really has his eyes covered.”

“I told you he’s blind.”

“How does he handle a sword looking like that?”

“It’s been a while since we watched students who use swords clash directly.”

I heard nearby seniors conversing through the gaps in the crowd.

Most of the people here probably held a similar level of interest as them—curiosity, nothing more.

“The instructors are here too?”

Suddenly, Yuri said this after spotting the three first-year instructors among the students.

I had no idea why they were here.

Especially Edward. Did he run over right after class ended?

Reina was scooping up soup from somewhere.

As I looked carefully, I saw the owner of Cranber Soup, the shop that sold soup.

“How far did she spread this rumor...?”

Right then, I saw Kaen, who must have been spreading rumors like a fish in water, standing in the center of the sparring arena.

Beside her was the staff member who would conduct the sparring match.

Then I walked toward Kaen with confident steps.

[ The number of spectators seems suitable for revealing Rebellion Against Heaven for the first time. Yes... it should be at least this much. ]

Sierra, who had been floating around the sparring arena and looking over the faces of the people, sounded satisfied.

“Is it all right for the sparring match to end instantly when so many people have gathered?”

It was not as if they had paid money to enter, so it was not a major issue, but it still bothered me a little.

I had no intention of dragging out the sparring match.

When I approached Kaen, the sparring arena staff member standing between us began the explanation.

“This sparring match will be conducted within illusion magic. You must not possess any item that may interfere with the magic, and since this is not an official match, there are no penalties or rewards for victory or defeat.”

All sparring matches within Innocence Academy were held inside illusion magic.

It was Juliut’s work.

According to the past I learned in the game, before Juliut became headmaster, they would place protective magic and such on the students’ bodies and spar.

Juliut’s illusion magic was overwhelmingly close to real combat, and instead of a staff member having to place protective magic on every student, the method was simple: infuse mana into a prepared magic circle.

“...Any objections?”

After reciting the basic explanation that had to be given before sparring, the staff member looked between me and Kaen and asked.

At the staff member’s question, I decided to make one suggestion.

It was purely improvised.

“You said there are no penalties or rewards, but would it be all right to make a verbal ‘promise’ through discussion? Just for fun.”

“...There is no issue with that. However, it will hold no effect or coercive power.”

The staff member said this and looked at Kaen.

“...Is there something you want, Student Zeto? The cake you bought me yesterday was delicious, so I will at least hear you out.”

Kaen seemed to have already decided to throw away her act, because her tone had changed slightly.

“I repeat, what happens here holds no effect or coercive power. Please keep that in mind.”

The staff member, with a serious face, emphasized again that there was no coercive power.

I was Class A, and Kaen was Class C.

From the staff member’s perspective, I might have looked like a somewhat malicious elite.

“But will that really be the case?”

Unlike the instructor’s words, even if this promise had no coercive power over anyone else, it would have coercive power over Kaen.

I did not think Kaen could easily break the Sword Saint’s teaching that one must always keep promises.

Since I had obtained Kaen’s agreement, I told her what I wanted.

“How about granting one wish?”

“...A wish?”

Kaen frowned at my words and asked again.

“A suitably light wish.”

“...Fine. My wish may be harsh for you, though.”

Kaen maintained cold eyes and answered that way.

Unfortunately, I was not curious what her wish was.

Because no situation would arise where I had to grant her wish.

As Kaen and I spoke about something the spectators could not even hear instead of sparring as we were supposed to, boos poured from the audience asking when we would fight.

“...It seems the two of you have spoken enough, so I will proceed. Ah, the instructors requested that the transmission screen be changed to the largest one. Is that all right?”

Unable to withstand the boos, the staff member proceeded hurriedly.

Perhaps it was natural, given that this many spectators had gathered.

“No issue.”

“I have no issue either.”

“Then.”

After hearing our answers, the staff member placed his hand on the magic circle on the floor.

Kaen’s head was turned toward me, but I could feel that she was not looking at me.

She was feeling the gazes of the audience surrounding her.

The blush on her face made it obvious at a glance that she was terribly excited.

“Considering Kaen’s trait...”

At first, she would act as if she was losing a little with the skill of an ordinary Class C student.

After that, she would seize a good timing, reveal her strength, and reverse the situation.

That would be when her pleasure reached its peak, and for the finish, she would cut me down with a movement she thought was cool.

Unlike when I did not know her intentions, now that Kaen had become nothing more than an ordinary “hidden-power loser,” she was already in the palm of my hand.

Just before I was drawn into the illusion magic, I looked at Kaen in front of me and smiled.

Life does not flow only as one wishes.

That would be true for Kaen too.