The day after the lottery for the Sword Master Festival’s knockout stage, I decided to go to the Practice-Swing Club for the first time in a while.
“Hey, look! Allen came…!”
“It’s actually him! He’s here in the flesh!”
“Allen! Good morning!”
I casually waved to the new first-year members in response.
Wow. We have so many members now…
Over thirty new students had joined the club—despite the fact that I’d done zero recruiting—pushing our numbers over one hundred and fifty. This put us above the Swordcraft Academy as the largest club at Thousand Blade. We allowed members to join other clubs too, which probably contributed to how easily people signed up.
Well, the size of the club lets me borrow great spaces like this, so I’m not complaining. We’d only been able to use a corner of the schoolyard when I formed the club, but our growing size gave us access to other facilities. Now we had permission to reserve the gymnasium and full schoolyard.
And by chance, I had ended up coming on a day when we had the schoolyard reserved for the entire day. I’d practically been skipping with excitement as I walked to the club.
Lia and Rose weren’t here; Lia was speaking to her Spirit Core in the Soul Attire Room, and Rose was training in the forest.
…Sweet, this is a good spot. I secured an area without many people around and exhaled deeply.
Man… It felt like today would never come. I had been so busy with the Student Council the last two weeks that I’d barely had any time for practice swings. I did get in five or six hours after returning to the dorm every night, but that wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy my desire to swing my sword.
To be honest, I was at breaking point. I was probably a few hours—no, minutes—away from developing serious withdrawal symptoms.
…Let’s do this.
Hands trembling, I drew my sword. The feeling of the handle in my palm and the sound of the blade scraping against the scabbard sent pleasure coursing through my body.
I assumed the middle stance, raised my sword, and swung it down as hard as I could.
“Hah!”
…Nothing beat this. The first practice swing always felt the best.
“Yah!”
Actually, scratch that. The second practice swing was just as good.
“Hya!”
My body had warmed up by the third practice swing, making it also indescribably pleasurable.
There was nothing in this world more addictive than practice swings. I was incapable of performing just one to clear my mind without getting stuck in an endless loop of pleasure.
…Ahh, this feels so good…
I swung my sword under the clear blue sky, my mind free of intrusive thoughts. Was there any greater joy in the world than this?
Ha-ha… Ha-ha-ha…
Joy swelled from the depths of my heart, and I reveled in it. Time lost all meaning as I continued to swing my sword. My hands grew steadily warmer on the grip, my arms grew pleasantly tired, and I developed a nice tension in my back. If only this moment could last forev—
“Hey! Maggot!”
Someone yelled from behind me, snapping me back to reality. I turned around to see Claude, who was visibly upset.
“Huh? Claude? When did you get back?” I asked. She was supposed to be in Vesteria for at least ten days.
“That’s all you have to say?! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been trying to get your attention?!” Claude yelled.
“S-sorry. I didn’t notice you. I was too immersed in my practice swings.”
“Good lord. Do you really have to focus that hard…?”
“So do you need something?”
Claude hated my guts. What would compel her to approach me like this?
“…I have something important to tell you, maggot.”
“You do?”
I cocked my head, confused.
“It’s about Lia’s health,” Claude said, her expression serious.
“Lia’s health?! What about it?!” I asked, shocked.
“Shh! Not so loud!” Claude put a finger to her lips and quickly looked around. “Too many people can see us here. Follow me.”
“Okay.”
I followed Claude through Thousand Blade’s expansive campus.
“…Umm, where are we going?” I asked.
“I’m about to give you information regarding the health of a member of Vesteria’s royal family. Do you really think I can do that where anyone could hear us? I have a special place prepared, obviously,” Claude responded.
“H-huh…”
It was easy for me to forget that Lia was a princess of Vesteria. Information about her health would be a state secret.
We continued to walk in silence.
“Here we are,” Claude finally said.
She’d stopped on a perfectly ordinary road on the edge of Thousand Blade’s campus. There was a grove to the right and a hedge to the left, and I could hear birds chirping. True, there was no one around…but if someone happened to walk this way, they’d be able to hear everything we said.
“Here? Are you sure?”
“You’ll see why I brought you here in a second. Just stand there and shut up,” Claude said rudely.
She kicked one of the brick blocks below the verdant hedge—and it slid to the side with a grinding noise to reveal a staircase leading underground.
“Whoa…!”
“What are you so amazed by?” Claude asked. “It’s just an ordinary secret passage.”
“Can you really call a secret passage ‘ordinary’…?”
Now that I thought about it, there was a hidden passage in Liengard Palace, too. They must be popular among royalty and their associates.
“Follow me,” Claude said, jutting her chin forward and starting down the staircase. I followed her until we reached a room that was about ten square meters in size.
“This room is as small as a pigsty, which is still bigger than you deserve,” Claude said.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I said.
We wouldn’t get anywhere if I responded to each of Claude’s insults. It was best just to let them slide.
“Tch, you’re always such a drag,” she muttered. “It still boggles my mind that Princess Lia fell for you…”
“…?”
I wasn’t entirely sure what she’d said, but it didn’t matter right now. I didn’t want to waste any more time getting to why she brought me here.
“So…what did you want to tell me about Lia’s health?” I asked.
“I want to start by asking you a question along those lines. Have you noticed anything off about her condition recently?”
A couple things came to mind right away. The first was the warning that Sebas had given me in January when we’d been fleeing Berios Castle after rescuing Shii: “Keep an eye on your dear friend Lia Vesteria’s condition.”
Lia had grown visibly flustered when I asked her about this.
It’s clear she’s hiding something about her health from me.
Lia had also asked me an ominous question on Valentine’s Day: “What would you do if I told you the course of my life was determined by a god and that I couldn’t escape my fate?” I could clearly remember the deep sadness in her eyes as she’d said that.
It must be something serious.
Claude clicked her tongue in annoyance. “Hey. Answer me out loud, will you? Is there anything about her health that’s stuck out to you?”
I gave her a simple explanation of what Sebas and Lia had told me.
“I see… About that…” Claude furrowed her brow in thought, then gave me a stern look. “Princess Lia has a serious illness.”
“Huh…? But… Wh-what do you mean?!”
“Calm down,” she said, her voice level. “I can’t give you any details, but…Princess Lia has been dealing with this illness from the moment she was born. It’s not immediately life-threatening.”
“Okay…”
I felt frustration and relief in turn, jumbling my brain.
“His Majesty has been trying to find a cure for her condition for years… Yet despite all his efforts, we haven’t been able to make any progress,” Claude said.
King Gris loved Lia more than anything in the world. Knowing him, I was sure he was doing everything in his power to save her.
“This should go without saying, but only the royal family and a very limited number of close subordinates know about Princess Lia’s illness. You can’t tell a soul about it,” Claude said.
“I understand.”
“Also…I need to warn you just in case, but don’t start asking her any stupid questions. Princess Lia is intentionally keeping her health issues under wraps.”
“I won’t, of course.”
Lia had chosen to keep her illness to herself, so it would be rude of me to start prying. There wasn’t anything I could do anyway; Zeon’s darkness had tremendous healing capabilities, but it was only effective on external wounds and curses. It couldn’t cure illnesses.
“Anyway, report to me immediately if you notice anything abnormal about Princess Lia’s condition,” Claude said.
“I don’t mind doing that, but…you’ve been spending a lot of time in Vesteria. How can I contact you if you’re out of the country?” I asked.
“You really are slow, aren’t you? I haven’t actually been absent because I’ve been going back to Vesteria. I’ve been in this room using the academy’s security cameras to observe Princess Lia. I’m giving His Majesty regular updates on her health via radio.”
“Huh? Security cameras?”
I followed Claude’s gaze and noticed a great number of LCD screens on the wall. It was clear that she was telling the truth and that she’d actually been using this room to observe Lia at all times.
“You’ll find me in this room morning, day, and night. If anything happens, come right here,” Claude said, turning away as if she had nothing left to say to me.
“Umm, do you mind…if I ask you a question?” I said.
“What is it? If it’s something stupid, I’ll gut you like a fish,” Claude threatened, glaring daggers at me.
I didn’t cower. “What you just told me is a national secret, right?”
“Obviously.”
“Why did you decide to tell me something so important?”
“…”
Claude thought for a second, clearly perturbed, then sighed in resignation.
“…You’re a disgusting, irredeemable maggot. You sank your poisonous fangs into our beloved Princess Lia, and as if that wasn’t enough for you, you also peeped on me as I got out of the shower and saw me naked. You’re a man of untold evil and carnal lust, Allen Rodol.”
“Uhh… Sorry about that.”
There were a few things I wanted to say in response, but there was no denying I’d seen her naked.
“However…as I told you during one of our duels, you have respectable qualities as a man. You saved Princess Lia from the Black Organization, retrieved Lady Shii from Ronelia, and protected the Empress from a demon. You’re chivalrous, brave, and a truly formidable swordsman.”
“Where are you going with this…?” I asked.
“Grk… Don’t make me say it! I’m betting on you, okay?! Only the tiniest amount, though!” Claude shouted, holding her index finger and thumb as close as possible without them touching.
Even I could tell she was just trying to hide her embarrassment.
“Anyway—as Princess Lia’s knight, I command you to protect her with your life. I’m counting on you… Allen Rodol.”