NOVEL NEXT Chapter 64
I gazed at Fabiana, who was smiling widely for some reason, and couldn’t help but wonder what was making her so cheerful.
“…Well, do you have some good news or something?”
“Hehe… Ah, I’m sorry.”
“No, there’s really no need to apologize…”
As I shot her a sideways glance, Fabiana opened her mouth first.
“Eliaernes.”
“Yes?”
“Hehe, um… you’re seventeen this year, right?”
“Yeah, that’s correct.”
“Then… why on earth are you sending messages like that?”
“…Messages?”
I tilted my head.
How did I even send the messages?
I thought I had sent them just fine.
I didn’t want to seem rude by sending a cold message, so I added a smile here and there.
Since I didn’t really know how to space properly, I just filled it with dots… Was that weird?
“Oh my goodness. You really don’t know what’s wrong, do you?”
After laughing heartily, Fabiana widened her eyes and trembled her lips.
“Eustetia Duchy isn’t some corner of a rural village… It’s absolutely hilarious.”
“What… was there something wrong with my message?”
“Wrong, wrong? There was nothing wrong. That’s right. No problems at all. It’s just… HAHAHA! It’s just that it sounded a bit like the old professors at the Academy.”
Old professors…?
If my tone was like that of the old professors, shouldn’t that be a sign of maturity?
“But… what’s so funny about that?”
“…Haven’t you ever exchanged messages with other students?”
She fired a question back at me.
That was the kind of answer I hated the most.
My eyes instinctively narrowed.
“…No.”
Despite such rudeness, Fabiana simply smiled broadly and nodded.
“Okay. If that’s the case, it would be better to hear it from someone else than me. There are many other things we can talk about.”
I felt a bit uneasy and grossed out, but since I also had a lot to say, I nodded helplessly.
“Right. First… we should get something to drink.”
Fabiana got up from the pile of papers that made me lose my mind just by looking at them.
“I don’t enjoy tea. So, there’s nothing special in my room. How about you just drink whatever they give you?”
“I don’t particularly care either… but will the princess be making it herself?”
“Do you not trust my skill?”
“No, I was just thinking about how much it might be worth if the First Princess personally made tea to sell outside.”
“Even so, you won’t be able to replace the weapons you smashed in the museum without a trace.”
“Hmm…”
I absentmindedly scratched my cheek, trying to recall.
“Are… are they really that expensive?”
“They are things that cannot be priced.”
“Then they seem quite cheap for that.”
I subtly shut my mouth under her sharp gaze.
After staring sharply at me for a moment, Fabiana breathed out a chuckle, shaking her head as she put on a boisterous smile again.
“Even so, compared to the value of my life and my sister’s, they are nothing but dust. So don’t worry too much.”
“Hmm… then I won’t decline and will just sit.”
“You should know a little restraint to be a noble.”
“I’m not one to refuse what is offered by my superiors.”
“You’re quite the spoilt young lady.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Fabiana laughed as if my cheeky reply didn’t bother her at all, leaning back into a large couch while handing me a lightly reddish… perhaps black tea?
“Eliaernes. You and I have many things we’re curious about concerning each other, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s best if we exchange questions one at a time.”
I shrugged and took a sip of the black tea.
“Ugh…”
It was extremely bitter… gritty, and bland.
The kind of taste that made my face scrunch up instinctively.
“You have a taste of discontent on your face.”
“Can I be honest?”
“Sure.”
“It tastes like crap.”
“Well, since it has herbs in it, it can’t be anything but crap. By the way, you seem to be in pretty bad shape, so just shut up and drink it all.”
Herbs… If it has herbs in it, that changes things.
But… what is this…
“Hmm… there seems to be some kind of sediment at the bottom. Is there something wrong with this?”
“Are you perhaps trying to assassinate my benefactor?”
Fabiana giggled as she sipped a different colored tea that looked nothing like mine.
The scent and flavor seemed completely different.
“Then why, Princess, do you drink something different?”
“I dislike that utterly foul tea.”
“…And I?”
“Are you really going to refuse the tea given to you by the First Princess of the Empire?”
“Ugh.”
Leaving Fabiana behind as she chuckled, I dumped a handful of sugar cubes into my cup.
Then I stirred it randomly with my finger and sucked on my finger.
Hmm, now it’s somewhat bearable.
After a few more sips to quench my throat, I looked back at Fabiana.
“You can go first.”
“Okay. Then I’ll ask.”
A mysterious smile crept onto Fabiana’s face.
“Why don’t you use weapons?”
“Is this a personal question?”
“Personal… hmm, yes. It’s better to leave it as a personal question, considering you don’t seem to care much about the Empire’s political situation.”
It means I don’t want to get involved in the filthy power struggles of the nobles.
That’s not such a bad condition.
While I was pondering how to answer, Fabiana spoke first.
“In my eyes, Eliaernes, it seems that you’re not just not using weapons but rather that you can’t use them. Am I wrong?”
Her piercing words made my eyes blink.
“The weapons in the Arant Museum have fascinating histories attached to them.”
As she spoke, Fabiana pulled out several sheets of paper from the piles behind her.
“The Fallen Sword. A sword of the Order of Holy Knights that was active 400 years ago and is imbued with divine power.”
That was the sword wielded by the old man who would always stubbornly refuse to accept his defeat by me.
And the reason it’s infused with divine power was that I won a bet against Luna and got the enchantment.
In the recent battle against the demon race, I had some fun thanks to that enchantment.
“The Unyielding Shield. A shield that the commander of the First Imperial Knights, known for his bravery 400 years ago, never let go of until he died.”
That old man was always hiding behind his shield because he was cowardly. Of course, being cowardly meant he was exceptional in defense.
He didn’t drop the shield until he saw the Legion Commander and had his heart stop with fear, unable to defend himself.
In the last battle, it became quite the headache when the demon race invaded, but thankfully it was smashed to pieces by Hakal’s siege weapon.
“The Beast Bow. A bow used by a great warrior of the Beastmen 400 years ago. When it shoots magically crafted arrows, it was named for the way it pictures the horns of a dragon.”
It wasn’t the magic that was crafted; it was just that those arrows were made from the branches of the World Tree, so they were exceptionally sturdy.
And without the arrows, it would just be a slightly sturdier bow. I was quite flustered when I held it.
“And the Piercing Lance. A spear that can pierce through distances. No matter how far, it can hit its target without fail. It was wielded by the mercenary king of the time 400 years ago.”
It didn’t really pierce the distance; it just moved quickly according to the ideation of the person wielding it.
It moves incredibly fast.
To the point where the wielder can’t even control it.
So when I held it, it was just an ordinary spear.
Thus I simply hurled it away and broke it.
“And finally, the Blood of Dragons Staff. This is a staff imbued with the blood of a noble dragon. It also belonged to the ancestor of Sedil Mershdoff, the current dean of Karela Academy, who was a great mage 400 years ago.”
It wasn’t the blood of a noble dragon; it was from a regular dragon.
So there really was no blood to collect.
Yet the reason it was named ‘Blood of Dragons’ was…
When all weapons had shattered and I couldn’t continue the battle, I snagged that old man’s staff and smashed it into the head of the regular dragon.
I really worked hard swinging it back then.
It was so sturdy that it was tougher than the regular dragon’s skull.
During that time, people murmured something obscure, which I think was something about ‘blood of dragons’.
Of course, it broke in this last battle.
“The weapons representing the Arant Museum… are roughly these. All these grand historical weapons shattered the moment they passed through your hands. Upon witnessing that, I came to a single conclusion.”
Fabiana’s platinum eyes locked onto mine.
“It seems your mana has the property to destroy all weapons. That’s why you can’t use them. Is my guess correct?”
It’s accurate.
Of course, it’s not entirely correct.
There are other reasons, but if I had A-Space Pocket that Paulo was carrying, it would somewhat solve the issue.
The weapons with names like that only broke after I swung them about a dozen times.
So if they were high-grade weapons, my mana’s inherent problem could also be resolved.
That’s why my mana isn’t the fundamental reason behind why I put down the weapons.
The real reason I put down weapons was that the limits were clear, and the peaks I could reach by using weapons seemed ridiculously trivial.
Of course, now it’s much stronger to use weapons than to fight bare-handed.
Even though I’m technically a half-demon, I can still smash demons without getting hit.
In that process, I received a lot of help from the magical effects and enchantments attached to the weapons, but even without those, I could take down demons.
However, that’s as far as it goes.
I can’t kill a Legion Commander.
So naturally, I can’t kill the Demon King either.
On the other hand, if I hone martial arts…
If I could refine my talent to the point where even I could be shocked by it, then I’m sure I’d become stronger than my former self.
I might even be able to kill a Legion Commander, or perhaps… perhaps even the Demon King.
And that’s why I put down the weapons.
Now, I have no companions.
The guys I met in my past life. The ones who filled my shortcomings and watched my back, sides, and front.
Of course, I think they’re alive somewhere.
But I can’t be certain.
So… I am not in a position to debate it.
Whether it’s magic, martial arts, or anything else, I need to obtain every means of becoming stronger.
In that manner, I put down my weapons.
I chose the path that would make me the quickest and strongest.
So…
“Actually, it’s not that I can’t use them. It’s that I choose not to.”
That’s my choice.
“Eliaernes. I don’t know what your objective is, but if you want to get stronger through using weapons, I, Fabiana de Herman, the First Princess of the Empire, will have your back.”
Fabiana, chuckling, tilted her teacup.
“I’ll help you endure your mana, and provide you with various options so you can take new weapons even when they break.”
“…N-no, I don’t need it.”
“Are you serious?”
“…Yes. I… am. Bare hands are stronger.”
“Choosing bare hands even though you can use weapons is practically akin to giving up your humanity, don’t you think?”
That statement is right a hundred times over.
Even I had said the exact same thing in my past life.
But now… I’m in a position to refute that statement. Damn it.
“…The body trained to its extremes is sharper, heavier, and harder than any weapon in this world.”
“If you train with weapons to the extremes, you can become sharper, heavier, and harder than that. Moreover, Eliaernes, you don’t just use any weapon, do you? Therefore, you surely would become twice as strong.”
“No, those weapons break too, don’t they?”
“Rarely made weapons don’t shatter easily. And those are made to slice through the body of the opponent, so they could easily slice, break, and tear through a human body.”
“…My trained body can surpass that.”
“Martial Artist. I hold a great respect for those who have reached high levels in martial arts. It can’t be helped. Those martial artists lose their limbs before they reach the 6th Rank. Be it arms, legs, they can find it hard to keep all their limbs intact. There are humans who surpass the 6th Rank with all their limbs intact. If you were to meet such martial artists… it would be a terrifying battle. Thus, I respect martial artists and fear them.”
There’s no denying that Fabiana is correct.
To rise through the ranks, numerous battle experiences are necessary. A martial artist who has navigated those experiences bare-handed cannot be weak.
This is a part I must admit.
The bodies of high-ranked martial artists are, how should I say…
Even with the same superhuman physique, they travel a different path.
Ariana was like that.
Her wounds healed quickly, and no matter what she picked up, she wouldn’t get a stomach ache. She could digest poison.
So naturally, she wouldn’t fall ill or gain weight, becoming incredibly sturdy.
Eventually, she could even squash adamantium with a mere pinch.
“However, you can become faster and stronger more comfortably if you wield weapons. That is the nature of this world.”
…She keeps hitting me with the right arguments until I find my words running dry.
“Even so, are you choosing to walk the path of martial arts?”
“…Yes.”
“Surely… it’s not a bad choice. I felt it when I blocked your punch, which you aimed to smash Shivria’s skull. Your talent is chillingly impressive. But I also feel that your talent for weapons is just as great. Is there another reason you’re inclined towards martial arts?”
It’s not a question that necessitates a response.
However, thinking about the question I would throw next… it might not be such a bad choice to match Fabiana’s feelings.
“…I, uh, greatly respect and admire Ronan Luzarack. I think he’s… a wonderful person. So… yeah. I want to be a cool and strong martial artist, like Ronan…”
Darn it.
What on earth am I rambling on about?
I painted my own face… No, it’s true.
In my past life, I often did this nonsense.
Wait? This isn’t nonsense.
I was actually strong. Speaking of strength, why is this nonsense? I’m just stating facts.
But right now, I don’t know why… I feel a bit strange.
It might be because I’m talking in front of a much younger descendant… a kid.
Perhaps it’s because the name Ronan is included in my praise for the martial artist?
It feels incredibly… embarrassing, shameful… and just plain awkward.
“Hehe… it seems you won’t bend your will.”
“It’s not stubbornness…”
I clenched my teeth and fanned my suddenly flushed face before lowering my head.
“Alright. If your choice is such, then so be it. That’s fine. Now it’s your turn. You can ask me anything.”
Exhaling a sigh while moistening my throat with the tasteless tea, I asked.
“Do you know the whereabouts of the Sacred Sword Humble and the Sacred?”