The Sword Demon Tears People Apart

After Colwhir’s duel ended, there were no more duels of students he knew, so Zeron returned to his quarters.
And he was immediately led by Luna’s hand to the bathroom.
“What… This is too sudden?”
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not that kind of thing, so don’t make that expression.”
“It wasn’t? I thought…”
Zeron obediently let himself be guided by her hand and sat in a chair in front of the mirror.
When did she bring the chair here?
Looking around, nothing else seemed different besides the chair.
Curious about what she was planning to do, he sat quietly waiting. Luna, who had stepped out briefly, returned with her hands full of various items.
Scissors, clippers… hairdressing tools?
“Are you going to cut hair?”
“Yes.”
“Mine?”
“Of course. Whose hair would I cut otherwise?”
“You know what?”
When he asked seriously, Luna stared at him blankly.
A hint of confusion tinged her expressionless face.
Did she think there was some reason he kept his hair long?
If so, that’s unfortunate.
“People die if you cut their hair.”
“…I’m the fool for listening.”
Zeron chuckled and looked in the mirror.
His hair had definitely gotten quite long.
In the past, Elena used to cut it for him.
For some reason, he felt a bitter taste in his mouth and fidgeted with his hair.
Fortunately, his hair covered his expression, so it wasn’t noticeable.
“But why cut my hair so suddenly?”
“Because I’m tired of looking at it.”
“What does my hair have to do with you?”
“Consider my position of having to see you every day.”
As she spoke, Luna’s scissors moved like lightning, cutting his hair without hesitation.
…A whole handful.
“…Hey, you have cut hair before, right?”
“I’ve read relevant books, so it’s fine.”

“Oh… shit.”
Fortunately, she cut it decently.
*
The next day.
Zeron headed to the duel arena, shaking his head that felt strangely light and awkward.
He didn’t care about the other duels, so he planned to watch only the kid’s duel today and then go hunt those Void things.
He had given up because there was no way, but if he could fix his body, that would be good.
“Oh, kid.”
“…What? You cut your hair? Now you finally look a bit human.”
“People die if you cut their h…”
“What’s the occasion? You refused to cut it even if it killed you.”
Her response was smooth, probably because they’d lived together for 17 years.
Zeron was newly impressed.
“No, I was just forced to cut it, sort of.”
“Forced? By whom? You’re not the type to cut it just because someone tells you to.”
“The maid. Do you know Lunalind?”
“Hmm… a woman?”
“Would a maid be a man?”
For some reason, he grabbed the cheek of the kid who was looking at him with narrowed eyes.
Then, that heavenly sensation of it stretching.
“…This is really amazing.”
“Wha’…! Let go…!”
“Your cheeks are better than most women’s breasts.”
“P-pervert…!”
When he gave a thumbs up, the kid backed away in shock.
It hurt a little to be looked at like she was seeing a multi-legged bug.
“Anyway, do well.”
“I’ll do well without you telling me!”
“Oh my, sulking again.”
“Anyone can see that you’re the one…!”
As he played around with the chattering kid, her name was called shortly after.

Probably because she was in the upper ranks, it seemed they were giving her some preferential treatment.
There was nothing wrong with that, so he patted her back to cheer her on.
“Do your best. It’ll be hard to win though.”
“Oh, really…!”
The kid walked away, huffing.
Even so, she kept glancing back as if concerned about him, looking like a hamster.
Zeron smiled as he watched her retreating figure.
It really would be hard for her to win.
He wasn’t saying it to tease her, but was sincere.
Ed was his name, right?
That gloomy brat was no ordinary opponent.
“Well, he’s not as good as I was in my prime.”
If I had met him when I was young?
He would have become E/d that very day.
Zeron chuckled as he waited for the duel to begin.
Even defeat would be good fertilizer for the kid’s growth.
He just hoped she wouldn’t be too discouraged.
Zeron’s eyes followed Medea’s retreating figure.
*
“I lost…”
“Oh, you did.”
“I said I lost…”
“Oh dear.”
“Waaah!”
He grabbed the kid who was about to start jumping around.
“W-what!”
“Wow, well done our little kid!”
“Put me down!”
He spun her around like an airplane, and she seemed to love it.
Her face was red with joy, making him feel proud for some reason.
“Hmph… okay. Let’s go.”
But he was perplexed that her mood seemed to have genuinely improved a little.
Zeron smiled and followed her.
The duel itself wasn’t much.
The kid just shot her gun, the brat blocked with his sword and charged, finally the kid tried to counter with her sword while aiming for openings with her gun, but it ended instantly with a sword at her neck.
It wasn’t overwhelming… but the difference was quite noticeable.

“I’m going in.”
“Alright. Oh, by the way, I won’t be at the Academy for a while, so don’t look for me.”
“Huh? Where are you going?”
“I have something to do. If you’re really curious, ask your dad.”
“I’m not, okay?”
The kid turned her head with a huff and walked towards the dormitory.
Zeron added one more thing, his smile gone:
“Don’t go outside the Academy. It’s dangerous.”
“…Okay.”
As he stood watching until the kid disappeared, someone crept up behind him.
Sneaking up behind someone with a knife is asking to get stabbed.
But not wanting to cause trouble, he turned around calmly.
“So, what do you want?”
“Ah…! You caught me!”
It was Professor Ping-chaeng.
She scratched her head with an awkward smile.

“I just saw Instructor Zeron at the duel arena!”
“Is it okay for a supervisor to leave like that?”
“I was a supervisor yesterday, so I’m off today!”
“Oh, is that so? Take care.”
He waved his hand casually and started walking.
He took out a cigarette from his pocket and was about to light it when,
Click-, click-, click, click, clickclick, clickclickclickclickclick-!
Seeing her struggling to light a lighter next to him, he couldn’t help but speak up.
“…What are you doing?”
He sighed and snatched the lighter.
Click-, the flint sparked and the flame lit easily.
“Here.”
“Oh, thank you!”
Professor Ping-chaeng smiled brightly and held out the lighter to Zeron.

Wondering what she was doing, he watched as,
“Hurry! The flame will go out! Aren’t you going to light your cigarette?”
Seeing her looking at him with round eyes, he suppressed a sigh and brought his cigarette to the flame.
Sizzle, the cigarette lit up and glowed red.
Zeron exhaled… and asked irritably:
“So, why are you doing this?”
“Huh?”
“Why do you keep acting friendly?”
Professor Ping-chaeng’s eyes widened as she looked up at him from about chest level.
It was pathetic.
Every time he saw this woman, he felt uneasy about how she smiled while harboring such killing intent inside.
“Well… because I want to be friends?”
“Why? Why me specifically? There are plenty of people.”
“Because you’re the most similar to me. Yes, definitely. You can understand me. No, only you can.”
Professor Ping-chaeng’s eyes sank.
As if all her usual, unusually cheerful demeanor was a lie.
“Hmm…”
“So, Instructor Zeron!”
But as if nothing had happened, Ping-chaeng returned to her usual demeanor and closed the distance.
Feeling uncomfortable, he stepped back, but she persistently closed the gap again and asked:
“Do you remember my name?”
“Adelia de Politan?”
“Hmm… Close! It’s Iris de Polwhiang! Please remember it from now on?”
I’ll be going now since you might dislike it if I bother you more!
With those words, Ping-chaeng hurried away.
She was truly an unsettling woman, like the wind.
*
“Luna.”
“It’s Lunalind.”
“I’ll be going out, so take care of the place.”
“Shut up.”
Leaving Luna’s affectionate send-off behind, he started walking.
His belongings were five bottles of alcohol, two cartons of cigarettes.
And three swords.
The jingling sound he heard with each step put him in a good mood.
“The closest place is… here?”
He examined the map David had sent through the communication device.
It would take about five days on horseback.
Since he had classes in exactly a week, going by horse was impossible.
So he runs.
Zeron’s feet were faster than a horse.
Thump-, with a light sound, Zeron’s body shot forward.
As he watched the scenery blur past, the smile gradually faded from Zeron’s lips.

Anyway, from now on, he’d be in a foreign land where he knew no one.
There was no need to deliberately keep grinning.
Zeron just ran silently.
Occasionally, when pain coursed through his body, he drank alcohol straight from the bottle as he ran.
After a day and a half like that.
Feeling his body starting to strain, Zeron entered a nearby village.
It would be crazy to confront an enemy of unknown strength in his current condition.
Ding-, as the inn’s door opened with the bell’s sound, numerous gazes flew his way.
Perhaps because it was a small village, their wariness was quite thick.

“Hey, you outsid…”
Crack-!
The face of an unknown man was slammed into the table.
Leaving the dripping blood behind, Zeron approached the trembling innkeeper and held out a silver coin.
“Keep the change, just give me a room for the night and meals.”
“Y-yes…!”
He took the key handed to him and climbed the stairs.
His chest area was throbbing, so he took out a bottle of alcohol and put it to his lips.
The alcohol burned his throat as it went down, making his stomach feel hot.
Not yet feeling drunk, he put a cigarette in his mouth.
“Whew…”
He opened the window, leaned on the windowsill, and exhaled smoke.
The small village had nothing to see.
At best, the sight of a cow lazily walking was all there was to look at.

How long would it take to slit all their throats in a village this size?
10 minutes? 5 minutes?
He stopped pondering midway.
He had no intention of actually doing it.
…Not yet.