Luke had to be happy. That was the most important thing. It didn’t matter what needed to be sacrificed in order to make that a reality. Claude never wavered in that, even as he began to rekindle the spark of ambition within his heart.
However, he had made one genuine and unfortunate mistake, which was Luke’s engagement to Alice. He tended to lose his cool when it came to matters involving his son and had jumped the gun. The moment he saw Luke’s face, he realized his mistake, but he could say nothing to rectify it. It was too late for that, but he was also not such a fool that he did not understand why Luke never complained to him at the time.
I won’t make that same mistake again, Luke!
Thus, Claude was determined that, no matter what, he would never cause Luke to make that face at him ever again. Yolande, of course, was well aware of the great love that Claude bore for his son, but it was only now that he realized the true extent of it.
I can’t believe it… Why would he go so far…?
It was that day that Count Lennox realized that the depth of Claude’s affection knew no bounds. This man’s doting nature meant that he was ready to discard anything and everything for the sake of his son.
2
JUST AS THE MORNING LIGHT BROUGHT THE night to a close, so, too, ended the silent symphony of blows that had shaken the air for the past several hours.
“Morning already, huh…”
Luke was a bit startled to discover this fact. He’d been so completely focused on nothing but swinging his sword that he lost all sense of time. It was only when he was training like this that he didn’t have to think about any of the other things that irritated him. He could focus entirely on the weapon in his hands—a brief respite. With his mind under constant assault from unexpected events these past few days, Luke felt he needed more time with the sword.
This weapon is blunted, but at times, it looks like it really could cut through anything.
Luke looked down at the sword, still holding it in both hands. It was expertly made, but it was ostensibly useless for combat. It was, after all, only a replica for training purposes.
Alfred taught me that finely honed swordsmanship could make a man sharp, even without a blade in his hands. But this is something else…more distinct…
It was there that Luke’s thoughts ceased.
“C-cold today, isn’t it, Luke?”
An unexpected visitor approached him.
Someone else was there that day to train with the sword.
“What are you doing here, Abel?”
Luke’s concentration was so intense that he didn’t admit a single scrap of unnecessary information. His concentration was so great, in fact, that it would be a difficult feat for any normal person to ever reach his level. That is why Luke did not realize that Abel had been there all along, standing some distance away from him, also practicing with the sword.
“Huh? I’ve been here all night…”
Luke said nothing.
“Y-you didn’t see me, then…”
Abel seemed disappointed at Luke’s response, or lack thereof. It was depressing to find out how little impact his presence made, but even so, Abel was determined to interpret Luke’s actions in the most charitable and convenient way. Surely his reaction was rooted in honesty, not malice.
Luke really is a hard worker. I guess all I can really do is try my best…so I have to make sure I put in at least as much effort as him, no matter what!
Abel wanted to beat Luke someday, but his feelings of admiration were just as strong. He looked up to him and the pure, immense strength that he possessed.
“…What’s that gross look in your eyes?” Luke sneered. “You’re irritating me. Get lost.”
“D-did I really have a weird look in my eyes?!”
Luke treated Abel with the same disdain as he always did, and yet he could not shake him off. Worse still, Abel kept approaching of his own accord—a fact that was disturbing to Luke in a way that was quite difficult to express. Luke turned on his heel to return to his room.
“Ah, wait up, Luke!”
“…”
Abel made to follow immediately.
“Um, Luke… There’s this event that the empire holds every year, apparently…have you heard about it? The Sword Saint Festival.”
“…”
“I just recently heard about it from my master, so I don’t know the details…but I hear they gather master swordsmen from all over the world, and they compete to find the best! It sounds super exciting, right?!”
“…”
“S-so…how about it? Want to go and watch it with me? Uh…I think it’s going to be held on the—huh? Are you listening?!”
“…”
“Um…L-Luke? Do you want to go to the festival tog—”
“You’re so annoying.”
Luke picked up the pace in the hopes of getting away from Abel—who persistently trailed close behind and continued to talk to Luke, despite the other boy ignoring his every word. Luke knew about the Sword Saint Festival, of course. He was even considering participating in the event, but of course he had no intention of telling Abel that.
3
IT WAS IN MAGIC TRAINING AREA THREE THAT I finally found myself facing off against Luke.
“What’s wrong?” he taunted. “Hurry up and cast, Lloyd.”
It took me so long to complete this new spell…and there’s nobody else I’d rather show it to first. It ain’t like I think I’ve caught up to him…but I’ve come a long way, and I wanna know how much further I’ve got to go.
“If you’re sure you’re ready for me.”
“Mwa ha, you worry for my safety? Don’t get so cocky.”
Luke’s words sparked anger deep inside of me—but that was all. A chill ran through my whole body and gripped my heart. Goosebumps formed all over my skin, and my legs felt weak. I was only facing down one of my classmates, but I felt the sort of dread I’d probably feel if I were facing down some great monster.
Can’t lie to myself. Deep inside, I know it already. I can’t beat this guy…
Ha ha!
Man, he’s so freakin’ cool. Strong guys are so damn cool! I love how simple this academy is. It’s all so easy to understand that even an idiot like me can get it—those with power are at the top, and that’s it. Really feels like this is where I belong.
“Here goes, okay?”
“Sure. Do it.”
I lost in my rank duel against that ice girl. She’s awful, that one. She knew I had confidence in my firepower, so she kept her approach simple to twist me into submission. My flames are never gonna beat that girl’s ice…not yet anyway, so long as I’m just shootin’ like an idiot. But fine, I can accept that I’m not as good as her just yet. I ain’t givin’ up on gettin’ my revenge with pure firepower, but I figure this is a good opportunity to try somethin’ new. Besides, I can’t brute force the duel that comes after I beat her, anyway. I know I can’t win against Luke just by firin’ off simple spells.
That’s why I made this one. It’s not a big area attack or nothin’ like that, just real narrow. I don’t let my mana spread, I concentrate it all into a single dot, then let it go.
“Searing Flash!”
A single, thin stream of fire shot straight toward Luke at incredible speed, threatening to incinerate him right where he stood.
This spell’s all about precision. I made it to target a single point, blast a hole through thick walls. Luke’s Dark magic absorbs everythin’ it touches…but there’s gotta be a limit to the amount of mana that he can take in at one time.
“Dark Barrier.”
Luke deployed a defensive spell, as expected. My flames ran straight into his shield of darkness—and pierced through, grazing his cheek.
“Brilliant,” he remarked.
“Ha…ha ha! All right!!”
I couldn’t help but raise my fist and yell out in joy.
I did it! It really worked! My flames pierced his darkness! Seems like the barrier took a lot out of it, though—it was super weak after it made it past the wall. Guess I ain’t properly concentrating it yet. Ah, there’s a million things I still gotta work on, but this is a huge step forward!
“Hmph, I see. You concentrated your mana into a single point, then. Simple, but effective. That’s some good magic work… The mana density is what’s most critical.”
“Amazin’! I only fired the thing at you once, but you already know so much abou—”
“And by creating a link to Detect Mana I could reduce my barrier’s redundancies and focus its size to create a denser shield,” Luke muttered to himself cryptically. “Mwa ha…Dark Blessing could also incorporate this technique.”
“Huh?”
I had no idea what Luke was even saying.
“Come. Once more.”
“Wh-what did you just say?”
“Fire that spell at me again.”
“Uh…all right.”
Confused, I did as he asked.
Gotta do what he says—he’s stronger than me. The flames might’a been weak when they reached him, but my spell touched Luke. It made it to him—didn’t it?
“Searing Flash.”
“Dark Barrier.”
The spell I used was identical, but the results were like night and day. My Searing Flash was swallowed up by the darkness, disappearing into the black shield without a trace.
“Huh? H-heh…ha ha ha!”
For some reason, I found myself laughing.
Seriously, what the heck was that thing? The first time I saw Luke’s magic, I knew he was a monster, but…I-I mean, I really thought I made progress here, but it looks like I was wrong. All my hard work and effort, and he overcomes it all in an instant, just like that…?
“Hmph, I knew it. Okay, I get the gist. This is how your magic works, right?” he said, raising his hand. “Darkening Flash.”
I sensed mana gathering in Luke’s fingers…mana just like mine.
No way.
In the next moment, a flash of concentrated darkness grazed my cheek and left me speechless.
Finally, I found my voice.
“Ha…ha…ah ha ha ha!! You’re freakin’ awesome! Seriously, man, that was so cool!”
All the conflicting emotions welling up inside of me mixed together and, for some reason, ultimately burst out as laughter.
Yeah…he’s on such a different level from me, I don’t reckon I’ll ever catch up to him! Man, that was so wild! He’s just so damn cool.
Makes me think, though… I feel it in my bones, somethin’ deep inside telling me that I shouldn’t even try to be like him.
Ever.