Chapter 234
Callios asks, "Do you feel anything?"
"The magical pressure feels lighter than before."
I was dumbfounded by the sensation, as if I was holding a different sword.
"On this side, the magical pressure feels stronger than before."
When I measured the duration of the magic sword, it had greatly increased. I could maintain it for nearly 15 minutes.
Despite consistently training my body all this time, my ability to maintain the magic sword had only increased very slightly. After learning Callios's training method, it almost doubled.
I now finally realized that controlling the magic sword depended on the mind, not the body.
"As you become more familiar with the magic sword, you'll learn how to concentrate its power more."
"What does concentrating mean?"
"It means delivering a more powerful strike by pushing yourself."
In other words, a finishing move. For Priscilla, it would be the cold storm, and for this sword of light, it would be the sword wave.
Callios's instruction didn't end there, "Detecting killing intent is more important than any swordsmanship. It will give you an advantage no matter what type of opponent you face, be it magic creatures or humans. For now, you might only be able to distinguish friend from foe, but as your senses become more honed, you'll be able to read your opponent's movements."
His explanation made it sound like an invincible technique, but he added that there were limitations. For example, he said that those who kill humans as easily as eating could kill without emitting killing intent because it was such a familiar act for them.
The sense for killing intent was more useful when dealing with magic creatures than humans.
Callios occasionally threw the harpoon he had carved himself at me to test me.
"You're reacting. You've definitely grown."
There was progress. However, when Callios suppressed all his killing intent, I could only vaguely sense discomfort, so it was far from being useful in actual combat.
"How far have you progressed in Zeldan Hart's test?"
"I've completed the second stage."
"Do you know there's someone in the Empire who achieved the 2nd stage faster than you at the same age?"
"...Should I care about that?"
"That fellow possesses one of the four great magic swords. Now, you should care."
"..."
"Don't you want to surpass that person?"
"Isn't that your ambition, Professor?"
"It's all for your own good."
I slightly opened my eyes while meditating and glanced at Callios. His eyes were full of enthusiasm and greed.
"You want me to surpass them."
"No, beyond surpassing, I want you to kick that idiot's butt."
"Then why don't you do it yourself, Professor?"
"How can an adult interfere in children's fights?"
"Aren't you trying to use me in an adult's fight?"
Callios paused for a moment and took a breath.
"No, this is related to your friend Azelis. And someday, it will become your business."
My mind, which had found stability through meditation, became clouded again.
What does he mean, it's related to Trisha?
"What do you mean?"
"You'll naturally find out when Azelis awakens her abilities. There's no point in knowing now if anything, it would just fill your emptied head with something again."
"..."
"Don't take it too seriously. Just think of it as preventing Azelis from biting her tongue and dying."
Callios was right. I was already confused enough. If I heard a few more words here, I'd be thinking about it for the next week.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Awaken to killing intent. The third test of Zeldan Hart is related to that."
"Didn't you say it would take years?"
"But you've done it, haven't you?"
"..."
"And, what's your next schedule?"
"I have a field trip to Claridium scheduled."
Callios stroked his beard disapprovingly.
"It'll take ages just to get there, won't it?"
"I heard it takes a little over a week by carriage."
"Can't you rent a ship?"
"The Art Club’s budget is nowhere near enough."
"Hmm..."
Callios stroked his beard with a contemplative expression, looking into the distance.
"Should I cancel?"
"No, go and empty your head more by mingling with people. Instead... let's see. You'll have to give up on the final evaluation."
"What?"
"What's the point of getting good grades? There's a place we need to go together. It's too peaceful here. Isn't it a beautiful place where people laugh and chatter everywhere? It's the worst for understanding magic creatures, survival competition, and killing intent."
"..."
An ominous smile spread across Callios's lips.
"If you want to become stronger, you naturally have to go to hell."
***
The day before departing for the Claridium field trip, the Art Club members gathered in the greenhouse for a final check.
Georgia, the Art Club’s advisory professor, stood with her hands behind her back and delivered announcements, "Those of you from the Magic Engineering or Alchemy Departments, if you have any decent works you've made yourself, bring them along. You might get a proper evaluation in Claridium, and if they're good, you could make a lot of money by putting them up for auction."
The members murmured for a moment, seemingly tempted by the prospect of making a lot of money. One student raised their hand and asked a question, "Can we sell other things too?"
"If you have any artifacts or trophies you want to sell, feel free to bring them. They'll give you the highest prices there."
It was an enticing story.
Let's see. Do I have anything I could sell? Mask, cloud iron bracelet, Priscilla, sapling sword, and... magic defense artifact. I can't sell any of them.
I wondered if they'd deal with crafts I had made.
While racking my brain, I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.
I had one precious potion. It was the “Love Potion” I got as a reward for ranking first in the circulatory system evaluation.
I didn't have any particular use for it, so I might as well put it up for auction when we get there.
"I'll only escort you to the Rigved dock. Once you're on the ship, Haley will be in charge, so listen to her well. Don't cause any trouble unnecessarily. We're loading the luggage today, and if we find any alcohol during the baggage check, it'll all be confiscated. Do you know what the waves take first? Drunk sailors. If you fall like that, we won't even be able to find your body. Understood?"
The members answer with bright voices in unison, “"Yes."”
"If you suddenly hear singing on a foggy day, cover your ears. You know, right? Sometimes sirens with exposed breasts use their songs to bewitch and snatch handsome men. I'm so worried because our Art Club boys are so handsome."
One female member said, "The sirens will just pass by our ship~"
At this, the female students burst into laughter.
Georgia shook her head as if disgusted.
"Ugh, you vixens. Don't fight unnecessarily, and when you arrive in Claridium, a graduated senior will guide you, so listen well. Understood?"
"Yesss~"
"I'll give each of you an emergency Stitch, so send it if something urgent happens. Don't leave your Stitch marker anywhere, always carry it with you."
"Yesss~"
One member went around distributing Stitches one by one.
"Alright. Make sure to come to the Rigved dock by tomorrow morning without fail. That's all."
Professor Georgia finished her talk and left.
As everyone was leaving in a rush, Haley grabbed me.
"First-year, stay for a moment."
"..."
After waiting for all the other members to leave, she said, "Since you're strong, help move the luggage. And while we're at it, let's go to Rigved once for a check."
"Senior, but what do you mean by ship? Weren't we supposed to travel by carriage?"
"I don't know either. They say an anonymous wealthy person from the Empire is sponsoring us and providing a fast ship."
"...Who?"
"They wouldn't tell us? Professor Georgia did hint that it's a really amazing person, though."
"If it's from the Empire, isn't it a sponsorship for you, Senior?"
"I'm suspicious too, but there's no specific mention that it's because of my name..."
"Let's go for now."
Haley and I came out of the greenhouse. Just then, I noticed something suspicious near the garden trees and stopped for a moment.
"Senior, just a moment."
"Oh. What is it?"
Something was slightly protruding from behind the hedge along the path. More precisely, it was a blonde crown. So familiar...
"Can I go check for a moment?"
"Sure, go ahead."
I carefully approached the garden trees and looked down. And I made eye contact with Luna, who was crouching and hiding.
Luna's eyes shake greatly.
We stayed like that, fixing our gazes on each other, for a few seconds of awkward silence.
"Luna?"
When I called her name, she lowered her head and fiddled with the soil, pretending to be busy.
"There was... a m-mushroom here..."
"Luna."
When I extended my hand, she accepted that she was in an inescapable situation and took my hand.
She covered her face with her free hand, perhaps out of shame. Then she stood up and came over the hedge garden.
"Luna. Why are you hiding in a place like this?"
Her face was so small that one hand almost completely covered her facial expression. I slightly stretched my neck to look at her face from the side. Her cheeks were flushed red and her eyes were tightly closed.
Conscious of my gaze, Luna half-turned her body away from me.
"I was... looking for mushrooms..."
"Why have you been avoiding me lately?"
"Damian has a girlfriend now... I can't bother you when you're having a good time."
It seemed some novel rumor had been circulating somewhere that I had a girlfriend.
"Who said that?"
Luna struggled to continue speaking, "I know about the date... and spending... spending... a n-night together at the mansion..."
From the perspective of someone who didn't know the circumstances, it was certainly something that could be misunderstood. I slowly refuted her words, trying not to sound aggressive.
"It was the same with Trisha, and with you too, Luna. What happened then?"
"The underwear..."
"There was nothing that fit, so I borrowed some from the professor. That's all."
"And..."
"And?"
"You promised... not to neglect me..."
"That's right."
"..."
Wasn't this the first time Luna had expressed her disappointment? I had only seen her quietly accepting things until now, so I was rather glad to see this side of her.
Yes, a human should be able to make demands and get angry too.
"I'm going to Claridium, is there any souvenir you want?"
"..."
I could roughly sense it from her behavior and atmosphere. Luna was expressing her disappointment through silence.
"I'm going to buy something for all my friends, but if you don't say anything like this, there won't be anything."
"...A sailship."
"What?"
"A sky sailship."
What could that be?
It was the first time I had heard of it. I almost asked if it was expensive without realizing it.
"Alright. I don't know what it is, but I'll bring it even if I have to grab the market by the collar."
"...Okay."
"Take care while I'm gone."
The hand covering her face slowly comes down. Luna glanced at my face and then lowered her eyes again.
"...Have fun, Damian."
After finishing the conversation, I turned to rejoin Haley. Then, suddenly remembering something I hadn't asked, I turned back to Luna and said, "Luna, the white crows... are they yours?"
"..."
For some reason, she was silent again.
"They're not?"
"Where did you see them?"
"Recently, while playing."
"...My spirits were destroyed once during the special club competition and are still recovering."
"..."
It seemed like she was strangely denying it even though she sent them. There was no one else who handled spirits like Luna, was there?
I should just pretend to believe her.
"I see."
Luna, her disappointment resolved, gave me a shy wave.
I returned to Haley, who was watching me with her arms crossed.
Haley said, "You're in a tough spot too."
"Why?"
"There's a saying in the Empire. Once you fall for a blonde, you can never go back."
"...Let's go."
***
I rode in Haley's carriage towards Rigved. The body was golden, the wheels were golden, and because of that, the gazes of passersby on the street were particularly focused on us.
We stopped the carriage in the square and walked through the market near the dock.
They said it would take a little less than three days to reach Claridium even by ship. Because of this, Haley decided to prepare snacks under the pretext of emergency rations and books to read on the way.
"Try this."
Haley tore off a piece of jerky and forcefully pushed it into my mouth.
"This is made by drying beef and applying Tonberry sauce every eight hours, you know? It takes a lot of effort so it's expensive, but the taste is killer."
"...It's good."
Haley chewed the jerky and said to the merchant, "How much for a box?"
"Twenty silver coins."
"It was fifteen before. It's too expensive. Can you lower it a bit?"
Haley was surprisingly good at bargaining, unlike a preciously raised young lady.
Like that, we bought jerky, dried fish, cheese, wine, and a few books that would get us disciplined for indecency if caught in Eternia, and moved to the front of the dock.
There, our luggage carriage that we had sent ahead and a unique sailship were waiting.
What caught my eye was undoubtedly that snow-white, sleek-hulled sailship.
"What is... that?"
"The Golden Swallow Ship. It's a large, fast ship made by the Empire's magic engineering masters. It has a magic propulsion system attached, and it's incomparably stronger and faster than wooden ships."
It was really made of a material that looked like marble, not wood. True to its name of swallow, the hull had a streamlined yet flexible curved shape. It was hard to imagine how much effort went into carving it. It felt like looking at a huge stone sculpture.
The mast and banner with the Empire's crest flutter proudly in the wind. The Empire wasn’t an empire for nothing.
I was lost in admiration for a moment. I wasn't the only one. Passersby at the dock had already stopped to look at it.
"There's a saying that if the Golden Swallow Ship collides with a reef, the reef would sink. Should we try ramming it?"
"...Why did they provide something like this to us?"
"That's what I'm saying. Why? This is something you can't rent even if you give them a bundle of money. I want to know too. I feel like I want to go and bow down to them."
"..."
An old man stroking his white beard came to mind, but it couldn't be, right?
"We shouldn't be doing this now."
"But we have nothing to do, Senior."
We came with the excuse of moving luggage, but the sailors were already in the process of moving the Art Club’s luggage to the deck.
"That's not it, you dummy. Come here."
Haley went up to the deck, opened Zenia's luggage box, and took out clothes including underwear to create space. Then she stuffed the forbidden novels and alcohol inside.
So this was the real purpose.
"Did you tell Senior Zenia about this?"
"No! But there's nowhere else to store them, and Zenia will like it too, right?"
"..."
These seniors. Their way of thinking is really something else.
After moving all the contraband items, she handed me a piece of parchment.
"First-year, check this list against the luggage boxes that have been loaded and see if anything's missing."
I checked the luggage one by one as the sailors moved them, as Haley had ordered.
And not long after, I discovered something strange.
"Senior Fabella's luggage is missing."
"Ah, she can't come."
"Why?"
Haley sighed deeply and said, "I don't know. A few days ago, Professor Candinella took Fabella away after class, and since then, we haven't seen her face. When I asked Professor Georgia, she said Fabella won't be able to come for a while."
"..."
"It's strange, isn't it? Fabella was really looking forward to this trip. She even bought new clothes and everything."
I felt a slight unease at Haley's words. It was unusual for a student to suddenly disappear like that, especially right before an important field trip.
"Did something happen to her?"
"I hope not. But it's not like Fabella to just vanish without telling anyone. I'm a bit worried."
As we were talking, a commotion started near the ship. We turned to see what was happening.
A group of students from our club had arrived, chattering excitedly as they approached the Golden Swallow Ship. Their eyes were wide with wonder as they took in the magnificent vessel.
"Wow, it's even more impressive up close!"
"I can't believe we get to travel on something like this!"
Haley clapped her hands to get everyone's attention.
"Alright, everyone! Let's start boarding. Remember the rules we discussed earlier. No wandering off alone, no causing trouble, and absolutely no alcohol on board. Got it?"
A chorus of "Yes, Senior!" rang out from the group.
As the students began to board, I noticed Trisha among them. She was hanging back a bit, looking uncertain. I caught her eye and gave her a reassuring nod. She smiled back, seeming to relax a little.
Haley turned to me. "Fitst-year, can you help make sure everyone gets on board safely? I need to do a final check of the supplies."
"Sure, no problem."
As I helped guide the other students onto the ship, I couldn't shake a nagging feeling in the back of my mind. Something about this whole situation felt off. The sudden disappearance of Fabella, the mysterious sponsorship from the Empire, and now this incredibly luxurious ship...
I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. Maybe I was just being paranoid. This was supposed to be an exciting field trip, after all. But as I looked up at the gleaming white hull of the Golden Swallow Ship, I couldn't help but wonder what adventures—or dangers—might lie ahead on our journey to Claridium.