bookpub Chapter 392
Chapter 392
Chapter 392
During the replacement classes, I trained to get accustomed to the power of the Alsbringer.
Everyone in the Royal Class knew that I was Alsbringer’s master, so I could summon it at the training grounds whenever I wanted to. However, since Alsbringer was sharp enough to separate flesh from bone upon contact, I agreed to use it only at the high-level combat training grounds and not the regular training grounds.
After all, my opponent would be using a practice sword, which would be sliced apart or shattered when it came into contact with the Alsbringer.
Although I was busy with training, I still attended regular classes and had some free time. I pondered ways to make a name for myself on the continent and become recognized as Alsbringer’s master, but I had yet to come up with a suitable scenario.
Charlotte’s life went on without any significant issues. However, every time she encountered me, she looked as if she was about to cry. I could feel her gratitude towards me, mixed with overwhelming guilt.
“Why are you eating so heartily?” I asked, staring blankly at Lucinil as she munched on a crepe while we walked down the main street.
It was just the two of us. Lucinil had been pestering me to take a walk, so I brought her out for one. I wasn’t surprised that she was eating, since Eleris had mentioned that she could eat too. But why was she eating as if the food was wonderfully delicious?
“Don’t you know I’m a special sort of existence, Reinhart?” she said.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m not a typical vampire; I’m a homunculus. My physical traits are naturally different from humans, and even from regular vampires.”
“Could you speak a bit more quietly?”
“I’m casting real-time noise cancellation on certain keywords, so there’s nothing to worry about. Anyway, I can make adjustments to my body through magic. Didn’t you notice that I easily managed to pass through the Temple gate? I can taste things as well; they just won’t fuel my life force.”
Lucinil was different from typical vampires in many ways. She was a homunculus, a life form that did not exist naturally, who had been turned into a vampire. Ultimately, it seemed that Lucinil, a homunculus vampire, functioned more like a living being compared to other vampires.
“By the way, do you feel uneasy about having Alsbringer?” she asked.
“I’m of the mindset to use whatever I can,” I replied.
“Hmm. That makes sense, since you said you don’t have any memories.”
Lucinil seemed a bit concerned that I might feel uncomfortable about holding the relic that had killed the Demon King in my hands.
Lucinil suddenly turned pale. “Ugh, I feel nauseous. I think I’m going to throw up,” she said, and dashed to a nearby public restroom.
‘She was happily eating the crepe just now, but now it’s suddenly making her feel like throwing up?’
The more I got to know Lucinil, the stranger she seemed.
A moment later, Lucinil walked back to me with a haggard expression, wiping her mouth.
“Didn’t you almost finish the whole thing? Why did you throw up all of a sudden?” I asked.
“I have to eat what I want to, even if I know it’ll make me throw up. I manage my expressions well in front of the other kids, so don’t worry about that.”
That sounded like an alcoholic’s excuse.
“Anyway, I’ve shared with the council that you’ve been chosen by Alsbringer. And just so you know, the dungeon construction seems to be going smoothly.”
It turned out she hadn’t called me out just because she was bored, but to update me on the current situation.
“By the way, the Magic Research Club kids seem a bit strange,” she said.
“Strange? How?”
“You guys made those “things,” didn’t you? Those ridiculous things.”
Lucinil seemed to have found out about the Power Cartridge and Moonshine.
“I don’t care how talented they are. How could they create those two things that even I wouldn’t know where to begin conceptualizing, and in just a few months? From what I’ve seen of the research, they don’t seem to have any flaws either.”
Even though the Royal Class was said to be full of extraordinary students, Lucinil did not seem to believe it even after seeing the results with her own eyes.
Two items that would astonish even a Vampire Lord, one who was recognized as a great mage and had studied magic for ages, had been created by students in a high school club. Of course, Adelia and Cristina both possessed exceptionally extraordinary talents, and the students of our year in the Royal Class were particularly outstanding.
Moonshine and the Power Cartridge... I wasn’t sure how she got to see the research materials, but Lucinil seemed to realize that the Magic Research Club wasn’t just a place where kids gathered to discuss magic tricks.
“I understand why you want to keep the results a secret, but... it feels a little wasteful.”
Lucinil seemed to know that I had decided to hide the results to avoid them being targeted by Cantus Magna, which would cause severe problems for the kids. Although I hadn’t explicitly told the new club members to keep it a secret, I realized I needed to ensure that the kids kept their mouths shut more effectively.
“And you know that girl, the one with the cute pigtails?”
“You mean Harriet, right?”
Reinhart had turned the silver-haired girl into someone who couldn’t live without him as soon as the semester had started.
‘Why on earth? For what reason?’
Vertus’s mind was tangled with confusion.
Reinhart was Ouen’s Champion, the one chosen by the Alsbringer, soon to be engaged to Charlotte and a prospective son-in-law of the imperial family, the winner of the cross-dressing contest, and he had a fetish for silver hair.
Without realizing it, Vertus had grabbed the shoulders of the silver-haired junior, who tilted her head in confusion.
“Be careful of Reinhart.”
“Sorry? Uh... what was that?”
“Just be careful, alright?!” Vertus said sternly to the suddenly bewildered Lucinil.
Lucinil nodded her head vigorously in confusion. “Uh, o-okay...?”
***
The most important task at hand was luring Cantus Magna into the dungeon in the Dark Land that we had created in collaboration with the Black Order.
On the personal front, I had to figure out how to proceed with my engagement to Charlotte and how to explain it to the others. It seemed likely that I would have to follow through once I received a sign from the emperor, but the emperor had not yet summoned me.
The Magic Research Club’s projects had been sealed away after yielding results, but the club itself had not been disbanded. Everyone seemed to be coming up with new ideas for projects that were innovative but not too dangerous.
Even without any projects, Louis Ankton was still able to share his magical research results with the others, helping them improve their skills.
Ellen and I were receiving combat training from Sabioleen Tana that went beyond pure swordsmanship. Thus, despite being on thin ice that could break at any moment, we were having a relatively uneventful first semester. Of course, it wasn’t the same as when we’d been in our first year.
My regular routine was to spend weekends sparring with Ellen at the training grounds, or if not, I would check in on the progress of the Magic Research Club’s projects. However, as second-years, several conditions had changed, and our routines had also shifted slightly.
Tana, having mostly stepped down from her duties as the leader of Shanapell, dedicated her time to training us. However, she couldn’t abandon all her responsibilities and returned to the imperial palace on weekends to attend to her Shanapell duties.
She was already running a tight schedule, and it seemed even tighter now. Even though she was a Grandmaster, I worried she might collapse from overwork.
During the weekdays, under Sabioleen Tana’s guidance, we trained at the high-level combat training grounds, and Ellen and I used the facility on our own on weekends. The high-level combat training grounds were quite a distance from the dormitory, and Ellen and I were laser-focused on crossing swords while we were there.
The intensity and roughness of the combat was much higher than what we would usually go through at the regular training grounds. Ellen wielded Lament, while I alternated between Alsbringer and Tiamata.
She could have used Lapelt as well, but it just wasn’t feasible as the wave of fire emitted from it would throw me off balance and send me flying before my sword could even touch Ellen.
It was impossible to penetrate the power of Lapelt, which acted more like an automatic interception system than a constantly-activated shield. Therefore, Ellen used only Lament, and I alternated between my two relics, as we crossed swords all day long.
Clang! Clang!
If I had been up against Ellen from the year before, I would have won. However, with both of us having a year of growth, I was still no match for Ellen. Just as I had become much stronger than before, Ellen had also become incomparably stronger than her past self.
Bang!
Ellen used my force against me, grabbing my sleeve and flipping me over, pinning me down as if preparing a joint lock, and pointed her sword at my neck.
“You’re dead.”
“... It doesn’t matter since I’ll just be teleported away anyway.”
“... True.”
Here, we could attack each other with full force, slashing and stabbing without concern. However, after a year of facing each other, we had developed habits. Ellen often stopped when she achieved a completely dominant position, as it had become a habit for Ellen to stop just before delivering a decisive blow.
We were so close that I could see Ellen’s sweat-drenched hair and hear her slightly ragged breathing, but being this physically close was no longer awkward for us.
Ellen looked down at me as she continued to pin me, and muttered absentmindedly, “You smell like sweat.”
“... Do you think you don’t?”
“...”
At my retort, Ellen stared at me blankly, then suddenly stood up.
“I want to shower.”
‘No, no! I take that back! You don’t actually smell like sweat!’
I regretted my habit of reflexively reflecting words back to the one who first said it.