What had James done to end up here? What did those magic words mean? Blade hadn’t the foggiest idea.
“H-he’s just there for decoration,” Eliza argued, blushing. “A piece of experimental equipment. I mean, no matter how you slice it, he’s barely human, much less a member of the opposite sex!”
Huh? Why was she talking about the “opposite sex”? This conversation was quickly taking a strange turn. Oh well.
“A-anyway! If you’re that curious, why not just ask everyone directly?” Eliza suggested.
“Huh? You want me to go up to people and ask, ‘Did you know I’m an ex-Hero?’ Isn’t that kind of a bad idea…?”
Even someone who didn’t know would figure him out if he asked them something like that. Blade wasn’t too sure about this course of action…
“What are you, stupid? Just…casually work the question into some idle chitchat.”
“Work it in…? How?”
“You figure it out. I’m busy. Now go! C’mon! Get out of here!”
Eliza promptly kicked him out. Blade, taking the cue, made his escape before any coffee mugs or beakers came flying at him.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Please, make yourself comfortable.” The handsome man generously welcomed Blade in. “It’s pretty rare for you to visit.”
“Is it?”
Blade felt like he stopped by Clay’s dorm fairly often. He paid visits to a lot of different people, but among the guys, he got along best with Clay and Kassim.
“Oh, where’s Kassim?” he asked.
“Ah, him? Well, you know…given the current time…he’s probably out doing that.”
“‘That’?”
“Yes, that.”
Blade didn’t know what “that” was, but he assumed it was probably some kind of training.
Clay brought out some refreshments. It wasn’t like the girls’ gatherings, resplendent with fragrant teas and multiple snack options in a perfectly arranged spread. Instead, there was only one kind of tea in the pot and a single variety of snack, though there was certainly a whole lot of it. After nibbling on some and washing it down with tea, Blade got down to business.
“So, Clay… You know how there’s a Hero, right?”
Eliza had suggested he work the question into some chitchat, and this was what he had come up with.
“This is rather sudden,” Clay said, taken aback.
No! I failed! Didn’t I “work it in” properly?! Blade wasn’t sure what his next move should be. He felt like he had tripped and fallen flat on his face at the very start of a race.
“That’s right, the Hero King…,” Clay muttered, looking into the distance.
“Huh?”
“He came to visit us some time ago, didn’t he? He taught me so much…”
“Huh? What?” Blade waved his hand in front of Clay’s face. He seemed to be gazing at another planet, his focus far away from this one.
“I do hope the Hero can come back to train with me again sometime…”
“Yeah, right,” Blade said without thinking. That was a one-time special favor. The king had begged him, sniveling and crying, so he’d reluctantly agreed. He hated to see the king kowtow to him like that, so it was a very, very, very special favor—truly once-in-a-lifetime. Never, ever again.
“Oh, no? Hm, not even one more time?”
“Nope,” Blade said firmly.
“No chance at all?”
“None,” Blade replied, a hard conviction in his voice.
“None, huh…?” Clay was visibly disappointed. “Well, if I ever get the chance to have him train me again…I’d love to learn Dragon Eater, the second of the dragon-destroying skills…”
The Hero had shown Clay a move or two when they last trained. Clay had gotten to the point where he could launch Dragon Smasher, the most beginner-oriented of the set. But even then, it was incomplete. That was the first of the dragon-destroying skills, and Dragon Eater was the second. Blade used that skill a lot, and in his eyes, anything of that level or higher could be employed in actual battle. Dragon Eater was a move that consumed little spirit and could be shot rapid-fire, making it great for keeping foes at bay (that was how people appraised it in the Hero business, though. For regular people, it was considered a siege-level technique).
“I’ve mastered the first technique of the set, you know, and I’d love for the Hero to see it in action. That’s why I think it’s about time I learned the second, so…”
Sorry, but no can do.
Before Blade could teach Clay the second skill, the swordsman would need to truly master Dragon Smasher. Right now, he was letting it shoot out and explode way too soon; he needed to build it up before properly unleashing it, thereby boosting its force several times over. At the moment, he was just wasting spirit.
“Oh…? Where are you going, Blade? Weren’t we talking about the Hero?”
Blade waved and left the room. He had achieved what he set out to do. Clay was on the no list.
✦ ✦ ✦
Next on Blade’s list was Kassim. Clay had said he was out doing that, which Blade assumed was some kind of solo training. But when Blade went to the Proving Ground, Kassim was nowhere to be found. He probably should have asked Clay for more details.
“Oh, hey! Sophie! Do you know where Kassim is?”
There was one person there, however—Sophie. There was no need to ask her, of course. She knew Blade was an ex-Hero.
She raised an eyebrow and stared back at him. “…Kassim?”
“Yeah. Kassim.”
“I believe he’s doing that right about now.”
“Oh, that…?”
She’d used the same phrasing as Clay. Where could Kassim be, and what kind of training could he possibly be doing?
“……”
Sophie turned to face the wall, but she wasn’t looking at anything in particular. Instead, Blade could tell her mind was focused on something far, far away. Sophie had a keen sense for subtle, distant presences, a sort of natural talent that even a former Hero couldn’t match.
“…He is there,” she stated softly. “In the usual spot.”
“All right,” said Blade. “The usual spot” didn’t give him much to work with, but he waved to Sophie and resolved to simply walk in the direction she’d indicated and see what happened.