Chapter 15 – Wishing to Grow Closer (5)
“What are you doing?”
Her voice, void of emotion, carried a chilly undertone.
She emerged into the hallway, striding purposefully toward me. The sweet scent of her sweat wafted up from the wide-open door. Now that I saw it, her cotton shirt was soaked and clung tightly to her skin.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“What were you just doing?”
Considering Sansuyu’s status was higher than I had anticipated, I responded with respect as my default tone.
“I apologize.”
I bowed my head.
Imitating someone else’s swordsmanship is a disrespectful act, and it wouldn’t be surprising if she killed me under the pretext of preserving confidentiality. Moreover, the Cornus family, to which Sansuyu belonged, was one of the most prominent in Korea.
In short, I was in the wrong.
With my head still bowed, I awaited her response.
“Why are you apologizing?”
Her reply was unexpected.
“What?”
As I unwittingly questioned, Sansuyu tilted her body towards herself, head lowered, seemingly unconcerned with my response.
“Just now.”
…Just now?
I slightly lifted my head.
‘!!!’
At that moment, I couldn’t help but stiffen in shock. Before my eyes, an enormous pair of breasts showcased their overwhelming presence.
E? F?
Considering the bandages and sports bra she wore, it must be even larger. Could this be a level of motherhood surpassing the World Tree itself? Truly, the title of “World’s Mightiest Bosom” was well-deserved.
“Answer.”
Sansuyu spoke again, as I was at a loss for words. Her voice revealed no emotion.
“Did I just mimic your sword technique?”
“You mimicked it?”
“Ah, yes. I apologize. I knew I shouldn’t have, but it looked so impressive…”
Sansuyu crossed her arms beneath her chest and gazed at me with an empty stare.
“Show me.”
“What?”
“Just now.”
Does this mean to demonstrate what was done earlier?
Initially, it was her swordsmanship, so she willingly assumed a ready stance.
“This.”
As she searched for her missing sword, Sansuyu offered her own. The hefty wooden sword felt as if it had been made specifically for her.
It was probably a training sword exclusive to Sansuyu.
“Then I shall proceed.”
“Alright.”
Was he always that devoid of emotion?
‘Indeed, he was the one who used to sit alone in class.’
To put it kindly, a flower on a cliff; to put it less kindly, a beautiful, busty loner.
In fact, wouldn’t it be more accurate to say she was transcendent from the mundane world rather than using such descriptions?
With that thought in mind, she swung her sword.
– Whoosh!
Her stance remained undisturbed.
Regardless of power, her talent and faith in the sword were unmatched by anyone.
She pivoted her left foot back and, in the initial stance, added elasticity to her movements with the strength of her waist.
When approaching, be unwavering. When retreating, leave no regrets.
In that movement, devoid of even a trace of magic, she couldn’t replicate her own unique petals, but it exuded a poise befitting her.
“Sigh, hoo.”
A breath that clears the mind, a sword that stretches straight away from its embrace.
Not a single muscle was unused in that elegant posture. She likely knows that better than I do.
There are aspects that require reinforcement here, but I decide to let them rest for now.
After all, what I needed to demonstrate was her swordsmanship.
– Chuck.
The finishing position.
Sansuyu’s expression remained as steadfast as the first time.
The only difference was that her eyes were slightly larger than before, and her bright yellow eyes shimmered with light.
“How?”
“Pardon?”
“How did you do that?”
“I could do it by watching.”
I conveyed the truth rather than a deception.
Sansuyu listened attentively to my words and tapped her forearm with her fingers, maintaining her arms-crossed stance.
“What about magic power?”
“Well… I don’t have any magic yet.”
“Why?”
Is she asking me here?
The conversation with her, which I thought I had a rough grasp of, suddenly came to a halt.
Is she asking why I don’t have any magic?
“I’m not sure. It might happen soon.”
“Really?”
Sansuyu extended her hand, seemingly uninterested. Not understanding her intention, she lightly furrowed her brow as I continued to stare blankly.
“Sword.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Follow me.”
“Yes?”
Sansuyu turned her back towards the training room she had been using and gestured for me to follow.
“Quickly.”
Upon entering the room with a wooden sword hanging on the wall, the sweet body scent from before enveloped me.
It was a bit disconcerting that her body odor was fragrant, perhaps due to her being a tree.
– Clank.
Sansuyu, who switched the training room to sparring mode, assumed her stance. There was no sign of her attempting to summon magical power.
[5!]
[4!]
[3!]
As the countdown continued, I also adopted a stance and steadied my breath.
My swordsmanship already had a defined structure.
The epitome of the basics.
A wooden master’s sword, which had integrated tens of thousands of sword techniques using deep learning technology.
I trust my body, adept at improvisation, and entrust myself to an honest sword.
[2!]
[1!]
*Beep!*
Sansuyu’s body surges forward. Agility is around mid-5 or higher. Her sword, resembling a swift blade, flies like a dagger aiming for my shoulder.
Wood Carving Swordsmanship, Type 1: Leaf Pruning.
*Swoosh!*
Having seen my teacher’s most frequently demonstrated stance, I perfectly deflect Sansuyu’s smooth and quick strike.
“!”
Sansuyu, who slightly narrows her eyes, seamlessly steps into the second stance. A faint image of petals is etched behind her.
I emulate the strike I had seen before and show her the same move.
Stepping backward, I use my body’s elasticity to make the sword’s trajectory unpredictable.
However, this swordsmanship doesn’t align with the shape of the wooden sword I’m holding.
In my grip is a dark brown wooden sword made of black ebony wood. It’s a sturdy sword crafted from the heartwood of a tree resembling a persimmon tree, native to Southeast Asia.
Length: 102 cm. A mass-produced product adhering to standard specifications.
As I observed, I realized.
The swordsmanship employed by Sansuyu was designed for a lightweight thrusting sword, not a crude one like this.
‘Perhaps there were no training swords available.’
She and I assumed nearly identical stances.
In that case, it’s time to introduce a change here—a sort of adaptation.
– Woodeuk.
Her muscles, caught off guard by the abrupt shift in posture, let out a faint cry.
I forcibly adjusted to the shift in weight and force.
My swordsmanship is like a vast dataset acquired by a wooden puppet.
As such, it is excessively orthodox and easily predictable.
But this is different.
A new form of swordsmanship, born from my own hands molding Sansuyu’s unique techniques.
– Chae-ae-liquid!
Two swords intersect before us.
“…!”
Astonishment incomparable to moments before filled Sansuyu’s eyes.
Inwardly, I yearned to witness that emotion.
Until now, I had cultivated my potential by sacrificing charm and various stats, and here was the reason.
Wood Carving Swordsmanship, Type 3: Pruning.
*Paang!*
After unleashing a single technique, we both dropped the swords we had been clutching, falling silent.
“…”
“…”
Neither of us had won.
Neither had sustained enough damage to forfeit the match.
Instead, the swords we had been wielding lay in pieces.
“You.”
Cornus stared at me with a hardened expression.
As I shifted my foot slightly, I stepped on wooden splinters. Such destruction couldn’t be achieved with normal force. Unbeknownst to her, Cornus must have manifested her magical power. The petals I had witnessed were a clear indication of magical energy.
‘In that case…’
How had I managed to withstand her sword strike? The answer could be inferred from Cornus’s wide-eyed expression.
Magical Power: 1
Magical power… had increased.
“Liar.”
Sansuyu fixed me with a glare, her mouth pressed shut. Her emotionless face paired with her unyielding demeanor was somewhat endearing.
“It’s not a lie. It’s just that, moments ago…”
“Moments ago?”
“I’ve just awakened my magic.”
There was no need for an explanation. After all, it was the power that came with a potential of 20.
I was the one who, with Luck 10, had obtained a legendary artifact. How much more so with 20?
“……”
However, Sansuyu seemed unconvinced by my answer.
As she strode out of the training room, she whispered to me.
“Every day at 6 o’clock, except weekends.”
“Pardon?”
– Thud.
She left before I could even respond.
Sansuyu glanced at me through the glass wall and exited the room.
6 o’clock every day, except weekends. Was she telling me to come at that time? To have a proper showdown, or something along those lines?
‘This is…’
A chance to be friends!
While I was smiling contentedly, Sansuyu suddenly walked back, opened the door to the training room, and asked,
“Do you have anything else to say?”
Sansuyu remained silent.
As though embarrassed for returning so quickly after saying they’d see, she lowered her head and began to pick up the fragments of wood.
Ah, cleaning.
Sansuyu, who had been quietly watching, finished cleaning up the trash and left the training room once more.
– Zing.
She glares and flees.
Chuckling to herself, she looked at the floor only to find it completely devoid of garbage. Whether it was intentional or not, she had also cleaned up my mess.
“Quite likable, this one.”
As I noted her name in the mental gallery within my head, I returned to the dormitory. I had decided that she would be my next friend.
* * * * *
The Cornus family had been renowned for their swordsmanship for generations, having produced numerous World Tree guards throughout their lineage.
The swordsmanship passed down from their ancestors was considered the finest,
and every person who inherited that extraordinary sword became a remarkable figure akin to a fortress.
Sansuyu was both the eldest daughter of the Cornus family and a promising talent.
She had awakened her magical powers from an early age,
Cornus exhibited exceptional talent in swordsmanship and honed her magical abilities to a level that others could not disregard.
Consequently, she blossomed amidst the embrace of keen interest. At the feasts of the wooden folk, she was lauded tirelessly, and she partook of an elixir that rivaled the finest delicacies of the mountains and seas.
As a result, her accomplishments soared naturally. Everyone showered her with praise.
– You’re doing remarkably well.
– At this pace, continuing our lineage will be effortlessly achieved.
– You shall undoubtedly receive the World Tree’s grace.
No one ever considered that such adulation could turn into her bane.
The poison of praise, if administered judiciously, is as potent as a bountiful elixir; however, when excessive, it can become a burden that ensnares the recipient.
Cornus had always struggled. The inexplicable weight pressing upon her shoulders. The fear that one day, she might betray them all.
Having garnered an abundance of attention throughout her childhood, at some point, her psyche had been shattered.
Her emotions remained dormant, only stirring in response to significantly intense stimuli.
How excruciating it had been. Yet, ironically, that pain had long been forgotten.
“Please, have a seat, miss.”
“Mm-hmm.”
In front of the training hall, Cornus gracefully settled into the black sedan that had been waiting for her. The cadets strolling down the street gawked at her composed and elegant demeanor. She was truly a noble.
“What lessons did you have today?”
“I sparred with Jung Si-woo during the afternoon practice.”
“Really? How was it?”
Jung Si-woo.
He was an exceptional man.
His swordsmanship always surpassed hers, and even his magical prowess and abilities equaled those of her own, despite her imbibing all sorts of elixirs. Perhaps that was why her heart always quivered during their bouts.
It was a mix of resentment and jealousy.
However, realizing such emotions had come too late; she could only hazily surmise that they were just one of the many stimulations she could experience.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Perhaps.”
She couldn’t be certain if it was truly enjoyable.
Even jealousy was merely a stimulus to her.
Suddenly, an image of a person flitted through her mind.
“…But Miho.”
“It’s Jiho, Miss.”
“Our family has a unique swordsmanship. Can one learn it just by observation?”
“What are you talking about? That’s impossible. If it were possible, our family’s sword techniques would be all over the internet by now.”
“I see.”
A man with a mask inverted. His name unknown.
He instantly recognized her swordsmanship and quickly made it his own, using it to his advantage.
That was a feat even she, hailed a genius, couldn’t achieve.
– Thump!
At that moment, something stirred within her.
Envy and jealousy.
However, this time, it wasn’t a pleasant sensation; rather, it was a harsh, indescribable feeling.
If Jung Si-woo’s jealousy evoked a desire for self-improvement,
Lee Si-heon’s jealousy was a debilitating, bitter kind.
‘Si-woo? He’s different.’
Lately, only two people had managed to elicit emotions from her.
Yet, she lacked the discernment to determine whether her feelings for Si-woo and Si-heon originated from the same source of jealousy.
But one thing was certain: the emotions she felt for Si-heon were stronger than those she had felt for Si-woo.
She found herself overshadowed by the talents of these two individuals.
As this realization dawned on her, her heart became heavy with emotion.
She was always meant to be at the forefront, but that was not the case.
“D-ho.”
“It’s Ji-ho, Miss.”
“I’m sorry. The honor of our family…”
“What are you talking about, Miss? No one will look down on you just because your rank has dropped a little.”
Cornus lowered her head.
Ji-ho gazed at her with a mix of sympathy and a bitter smile, then made a suggestion.
“How about making some friends?”
“Friends?”
“Yes. There’s much to learn from friends as well. Perhaps they could even help you overcome your long-standing problems.”
Cornus touched the corner of her mouth as memories resurfaced.
Friends.
In the places where people gathered, the cadets were always smiling.
Should a friend always be by one’s side, offering a smile?
Can I even smile?
“…Friends.”
I resolved to give it a try.
After all, Siho’s words, who had been with her since childhood, were never incorrect.
“Thank you, Jihoo.”
“It’s Jiho, my lady. Let’s begin by memorizing the name.”
Throughout the journey to the detached house, Suyu gazed vacantly out the window.
On the sidewalk across the way, cadets holding snacks in both hands chatted cheerfully with one another, grinning from ear to ear.
A tingling sensation washed over me.