#32
When I sat on the bed, the sword sighed deeply once more. It seems like it wants to dig a hole in the ground with its sighs.
“You went through all that chaos and you still want to move around?”
“No, I’m not injured anywhere.”
“Even if you’re not injured. This must have been your first time seeing magical beasts.”
Suddenly, I recalled the fear I hadn’t even been conscious of. I was truly powerless before the magical beasts that attacked without reason. To me, who had never seen or defeated magical beasts, they felt like natural disasters that I couldn’t stop with my own hands.
The fear that had been calmed by Persis began to envelop me again.
“What are you trying to find out by going out? I heard you were even late to evacuate this time. What were you doing standing around there?”
I couldn’t refute the sword’s harsh words. No matter how worried I was about Iria, staying still there was, as the sword said, a foolish action. With no abilities to speak of, I almost put Yutis in danger while worrying about others.
It’s fortunate no one was hurt. It was a situation where losing an arm wouldn’t have been surprising. Of course, with Yutis’s real skills, such a thing wouldn’t have happened.
“How did you know about that?”
“Well, well…! I, I have ways to know everything! There’s nowhere I can’t see!”
Does it have some kind of clairvoyance ability? The more I learned about the sword, the more hidden powers it seemed to possess. That’s probably why the Duke used this sword to do those things.
Would the sword in my hands change like that when it meets the Duke? Or does even this sword actually harbor a desire to overturn this world? It’s not called a demonic sword for nothing. It might pretend to care for me in front of me, but its true intentions could be different.
“Ah, really. Do you want to know that badly?”
The demonic sword spoke with a somewhat softened voice.
“Huh?”
“Don’t make that face! Fine. I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you.”
My emotions must have shown on my face. This isn’t good. I touched my cheeks without saying anything.
“Just rest today, and tomorrow. Tomorrow I’ll take you to the scene of the incident.”
“All the way there?”
“I need to see it directly to know if it’s a magic circle or what. I’ll find out for you tomorrow. Today, you rest. Got it?”
I felt the weight of the sword in my hand. I couldn’t fully trust this sword. I knew how this sword would be used in the future and that I would have to become a sacrifice to properly utilize the sword’s true power.
Nevertheless, I find myself hoping for a different future. I think that the sword I know and the sword in my hand might be different. Even knowing that I shouldn’t be swayed by momentary kindness, my heart doesn’t follow my mind.
“Answer.”
“Yes. I understand.”
My lips uttered the answer it wanted. Though I didn’t say it directly, I could feel the sword’s satisfaction. Maybe I could rely on this sword just a little. Trusting it briefly shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
What should I do with this weak heart that suddenly emerged? School life has just begun, and I’m already worried if I can endure well going forward.
* * *
Though we hadn’t been apart for long, the sword asked about how I’d been doing, curious about everything. The entrance ceremony, the journey to school, the difficulties, even the emotions I felt. It wanted to know everything and questioned me thoroughly.
Due to the sword’s endless questions, it felt like I’d left the Duke’s mansion a month ago. After answering each one, I realized the sun was already setting. Just as I was about to wrap up and go for dinner, I heard someone knocking on the door.
When I opened the door and went out, Yutis, who had changed into comfortable clothes, was waiting for me.
“It’s dinner time.”
“Ah, yes.”
I hadn’t thought Yutis would come to fetch me just because dinner time was approaching. In the original story, Yutis never went near Andelion. He disliked Andelion from the start, so it was a natural attitude. So even though we were in adjacent rooms, I thought Yutis would ignore me at school.
Yutis easily shattered my expectations, urging me with his expression to come to dinner. Since he had come all the way to get me, I couldn’t refuse. After gesturing to the sword that I’d be back, I went outside.
“You haven’t changed your clothes yet?”
Unlike Yutis, who had changed into comfortable clothes, I was still in my school uniform. Due to what happened in the morning, I wanted to soak my tired body in hot water, but I had too many thoughts to properly wash. After organizing my thoughts somewhat, Kara had appeared with the sword, so I hadn’t had time to change.
“I’ll wash up after eating.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
Yutis’s words grated on my nerves. He was a student at this school. There was no need for him to work as an employee of the Duke’s household here.
Now I understood why he had knocked on my door. He seemed to think that looking after me was his job. I’m sure I clearly told him he didn’t need to do that at school, but Yutis had completely forgotten my words.
When I stopped walking toward the dining hall, Yutis also stopped and looked at me.
“I’ll take care of my own business. There’s nothing I need to ask of Yutis.”
“Young Master.”
“It’s Andelion.”
I needed to address this from the start.
“I’m just Andelion, attending the same school as Yutis. In this school, Yutis is not an employee of the Duke’s household, but simply Yutis.”
After I said this, Yutis closed his mouth. I wondered if I was asking too much of him, but I needed to change the relationship between Yutis and me somewhat. My desire for Yutis to live freely at this academy also contributed to this.
Yutis’s clean face suddenly contorted. I wondered what part of my words displeased him again. But I had no intention of backing down even if he reacted that way.
“I understand, Andelion.”
I didn’t expect him to listen to me right away. My face froze in surprise at Yutis calling me by my name.
“As a classmate attending the same school, let me ask: is there anything I can help with?”
“Huh?”
“Surely you wouldn’t say that even classmates at the same school can’t ask such questions?”
As he said this, Yutis slightly raised the corner of his lips. It was clearly a smirk. Classmates can ask each other for help. He was right, but that’s not what you mean by saying that now.
I wanted to refute him, but I was at a loss for words. As if seeing right through my thoughts, Yutis’s smile deepened.
I had to restrain myself from shouting, “Fine, you win!”
“No, there isn’t!”
After shouting sharply, I walked past Yutis. Even if he disliked me, I had never disliked Yutis, but today I found him a little annoying. Come to think of it, Yutis often teased Iria in the original story too. I recalled Yutis sneering, asking if she could handle it.
At those times, Yutis showed a different expression from his usual cold demeanor.
I slightly turned my head to check Yutis’s face. Back to his usual expression, he looked at me with straight eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing. Nothing at all.”
The sense of discomfort I had felt suddenly disappeared completely. No matter how I looked at it, this was the Yutis I knew. I headed to the dining hall, listening to Yutis’s footsteps following behind me.
Upon entering the dining hall, the few students were already eating. The dormitory dining hall operated in a way where staff would approach you at your seat to take your order. The tables were arranged in rows like a regular restaurant, with each table able to seat four people.
Since nobles also used this dining hall, it seemed to have been designed like a restaurant for their convenience. However, most of the people currently here were students of lower ranks. Since most nobles had gone home, the people who would come to the dining hall were predetermined.
Yutis and I sat at a table somewhat apart from others. Then the menu on the table lit up and opened by itself.
The menu at this school’s dining hall wasn’t fixed. I had read in the game description that the menu changed daily, and everything was delicious.
Since the menu changed, they couldn’t use the same menu card. In modern society, they might use devices like tablet PCs, but in this world, science hadn’t properly developed. Instead, this world had magic. The brightly glowing menu was filled with words written using magic.
Today’s dishes and the foods provided as basics. It offered convenience by listing each small element inside so that one could choose according to taste and preference.
“What would you like to have?”
Yutis asked. I was about to say I’d order myself, but fearing he might come back with “What’s wrong with classmates doing this?” I simply stated the food I wanted to eat.
“I’ll have the meat stew.”
Just then, as if it were the most natural thing, Rikin sat down next to me and shouted what he wanted to eat. I have no idea where this man suddenly appeared from.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
