Chapter 36
“Huhk…….”
[0:59:08]
“Eu, ah……!”
[0:59:56]
“Just a bit more!”
[1:00:00]
“Waaaah!”
“I almost died for real.”
Arius and Daphne looked at the artifact displaying 1 hour and collapsed right there.
“Hoo, ah, I really feel like my heart is going to burst out. Wow, waa…….”
Arius felt his heart pounding and tightly closed his eyes before opening them.
The world felt like it was spinning, and his stomach was nauseous.
“Drink the potion.”
Daphne poured the potion into such Arius’s mouth.
“Kek!”
It got caught in his throat and he choked, but once the potion went in, he could breathe somewhat.
Arius turned to the side and looked up at Daphne with a blank expression.
“Daphne, you seem really amazing……. You’re three years younger than me, but you did as much as I did…… A kid who was just lying down until recently…….”
“Did you just realize I’m amazing?”
“It would be better if you just kept your mouth shut…….”
Even though he said that, Arius respected Daphne.
Not only did she endure the same training despite being three years younger, but she seemed to have much more energy left than him, who was completely exhausted!
Daphne still looked very unwell. Because even after drinking potions, she had vomited blood a few more times. The day before yesterday, she even collapsed once.
So Arius subtly thought that Daphne wouldn’t be able to accomplish it within the ‘10 days’ she mentioned.
But he was wrong.
Daphne did it.
‘Was Daphne originally like this?’
The old Daphne was a kid who couldn’t even wait for tea to brew and would throw a fit, so when did she develop such persistence? It was astonishing.
“Hoo, hoo.”
Regardless of what Arius was thinking, Daphne continued deep breathing to calm her boiling breath.
The tenth day.
They had completed all the training amount the hero mentioned.
Now they should be able to learn swordsmanship from him.
Daphne quickly lifted her head and looked around.
Because Polin had been watching over us until morning, she thought the hero would come around now.
“……!”
As expected, Daphne’s thought was correct. Daphne shouted toward the blond-haired man who entered her view.
“Hero!”
Daphne’s bold shout contained the sense of accomplishment of having finished the assigned homework. Noticing this, the corner of Heros’s lips curved up into an arc. Heros didn’t even notice his own expression.
“You really did it.”
Polin, standing next to him, made a disgusted expression and shook his head.
“sir Arius is one thing, but even the young lady did it. Isn’t it a stamina enhancement potion instead of a recovery potion? It doesn’t make sense?”
Since Polin knew well that it was a training amount even adults would find burdensome, Daphne’s success was even more amazing to him.
Because not long ago, she was a kid who would collapse and vomit blood at the slightest thing.
“She must have endured.”
Heros replied shortly and approached Daphne and Arius.
“Why are you coming so late! I called you earlier!”
“So I came.”
“So I’m saying you’re late!”
“I said I came.”
“…….”
Ha? Daphne half-opened her mouth, then immediately exercised superhuman patience and swallowed her curse.
Be patient. The opponent is a friend’s grandson. Don’t fight childishly.
Having thus recalled her friend Bertio in her mind, Daphne cleared her voice.
“As you can see, I succeeded.”
“I see.”
“Teach me swordsmanship!”
“Got it.”
A simple request and a simple reply.
Anyone hearing it would think it’s a strange conversation.
But it seems only Arius and Polin think it’s strange.
Ignoring Arius and Polin exchanging glances and nodding, Heros flicked the stick he was holding and said.
“Starting tomorrow, I won’t be at the mansion, so I’ll teach you a sword technique you can practice until I return.”
“Good. I’ll train to the point it’ll surprise you.”
“It won’t be easy.”
“That might be for you!”
Daphne snorted and followed closely behind the walking Heros.
Both having bright yellow blond hair, it looked just like a mother duck and a duckling.
Arius, who was blankly staring at them walking closely, scratched the back of his head.
Since the training with Daphne was over, Arius could now return to the knight order as usual.
The knights are also training the sword technique Heros taught, so there shouldn’t be much difficulty in learning it.
But he couldn’t help feeling regret.
If I could learn from Father too……! He had that thought but soon shook his head with a bitter smile.
‘I’m not his biological son. It can’t be helped.’
How could he teach the family’s secret swordsmanship to an outsider?
No matter how much Heros is a hero for all people, that wouldn’t be possible.
It was then.
“What are you doing, Arius?”
Daphne, who was ahead, turned back and said.
“……Huh?”
“Why aren’t you following?”
“Uh…… Am I going too?”
As Arius stood blankly, Daphne’s face crumpled up.
Daphne hopped over and pulled Heros’s sleeve hard.
“Are you going to leave him behind? Aren’t you teaching him? He did the same as me?”
“Uh, young lady?”
The one who stepped forward first at those words was Polin.
Polin thought that his biological daughter Daphne and the adopted other children couldn’t be on the same level.
Not because Polin was particularly bad, but everyone would think that way.
Because Arius and Vipera were originally from an orphanage.
“First, let go of the hand. The young lady and the young master are a bit differ…….”
“Isn’t he your child?”
But Daphne was unyielding.
“Is it okay to discriminate against your child like this? Did your master teach you that way?”
Daphne, thinking she was asking calmly, was literally on the verge of exploding.
Because anger boiled up at the thought of worthless beings doing worthless discrimination.
If you adopt a child, you should raise them as a real child! If you discriminate so openly, how hurt the child would be!
Damn it. A guy who doesn’t even resemble Bertio’s toenail, calling him grandson and pampering him. I must be crazy! I’ll
completely wreck……!
“I never said I wouldn’t teach him.”
What cut off such Daphne’s anger was Heros’s calm words.
Heros tilted his head with an expression as if he was truly innocent.
“I never said not to follow.”
“G, Your Excellency?”
Polin gestured no and called Heros, but Heros lightly ignored his pressure.
“Let’s go together.”
“…….”
Arius, who was standing blankly unable to follow the conversation well, realized this situation was real only when he saw Daphne extending her hand toward him.
Father thinks of me as his child too.
I can learn too.
Arius’s face brightened up.
“Yes! Thank you!”
Watching Arius run over and tightly grasp her hand, Daphne smirked.
‘Should I say he resembles Bertio’s toenail at least.’
Let’s say toenail dirt level.
Daphne followed behind Heros together with Arius.
***
There are many mages in the world, and many swordsmen.
Only the outstanding among them display their own magic or swordsmanship, and pass it down through descendants for generations.
The swordsmanship of the Archion Grand Ducal family is also in the same context.
“The sword of Archion is the universe.”
Having arrived at Bertio’s birthplace, Heros lifted the stick he had used to support his body and pointed it at Daphne and Arius’s faces respectively.
“It’s also called the Galaxy Sword.”
Containing the universe in a sword is the arrogance and hubris of a mere mortal human.
However, he is Heros Archion.
A sword master who reached 8 stars at the age of 15 and received the sword’s recognition.
A great swordsman who seized the hero title with the permission of the supreme emperor.
Because he was creating a path no one had ever achieved, the universe coming from his mouth is by no means something spat out by ‘a mere human.’
“The universe is something too distant for humans. Something visible but unreachable. Therefore, something craved even more. Thus, you must draw your own universe in your mind and continue the sword trajectory.”
That…….
What bullshit is that.
What does drawing the universe mean.
Daphne thought this was some bullshit, but the Arius sitting next to her seemed different.
Wasn’t he perking up his ears as if he wouldn’t miss a single word.
“The universe embraces the birth of all things and the end of all things.”
So what does that mean.
“To fully contain the universe in the sword trajectory, you must feel the birth of the universe, learn growth, and accept even death. Do you understand?”
“Yes!”
“…….”
I don’t understand.
Daphne smacked her lips and rolled her eyes.
“Hey hey. Arius.”
So Daphne leaned toward Arius and whispered.
“Do you understand what the hero is saying?”
“Huh?”
Arius tilted his head.
“Right? You understand, right? Why, you don’t understand?”
At the too casual reply, Daphne unwittingly bluffed.
“Ah……no? I understand too! I understood everything!”
“Ah ha. You were worried that I might not understand. No, no. I understood everything. Father explains really well. He doesn’t need to tell us such basic things. Ah! I’m so excited!”
“…….”
Ah, what do I do about this.
Right now I feel extremely stupid.
Clearly, what I learned from Bertio before wasn’t like this.
It seems like he only taught swinging, slashing, and stabbing. It seems there was no secret sword technique or anything.
Leaving the still confused Daphne behind,
Heros opened his mouth again.
“Since you two can’t activate sword aura yet, you can only learn the basic 1st form. When you can handle sword aura later, I’ll teach the forms after that.”
“Sword aura……!”
Arius clenched his fists tightly and his eyes sparkled. It seems he was thinking that someday he wants to manifest sword
aura too.
‘Yeah. I understand sword aura.’
Sword aura, that sort of thing. Daphne can manifest it quickly once she regains her original power.
So she just needs to learn the 1st form or whatever first.
“I’ll show you a demonstration.”
Heros lifted the stick.
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By Anna 💓
