254 – Swordsmanship with a Fateful Encounter -1-

Today, too, was sunny at the young lady’s estate.

Returning to the estate after a long time, I looked at Gomtang playing with Hans in the doghouse and muttered in confusion.

“What’s this?”

I had secured a decent hideout in the back mountain, yet why was he living in a doghouse?

I tilted my head, looking at Hans’ food bowl next to Gomtang. Thankfully, he wasn’t eating dog food, but I couldn’t understand Hans’ choice to endure hardship.

He was supposed to be an important villain in the novel, after all.

-Ha-ha-ha-ha!!! Strength…! I can feel the power!

Hans, showing an incomprehensible demeanor, pushed his rear into the doghouse and looked up at me.

“Have you arrived?”

“Ah… Yes.”

“It’s been a while, Master.”

“Why does your title for me change every time?”

“My apologies. If it’s uncomfortable, I’ll change it to ‘Lord.'”

“No, that’s even more uncomfortable.”

Hans stood up, brushing off the dust, and smiled brightly.

“Has anything been amiss?”

“Yes.”

“Is there someone you wish to kill, or has anyone committed blasphemy… I mean, picked a quarrel with you?”

“No, there hasn’t been. Ah… there was one person, though….”

Hans leaned in with madness in his eyes.

“Who is it?! Who dares to blaspheme the sacred?”

“Wolfgang… no, hasn’t your title for me changed again, Mr. Hans?”

“Wolfgang… Wolfgang… Understood.”

Hans nodded cheerfully, jotting down the name Wolfgang in his heart and looked at me again with joy.

“Is there anything else?!”

“Yes.”

“It’s a pity.”

I offered an awkward smile and spoke to Hans.

“Has the mansion been alright?”

“No intruders, and I’ve done all the cleaning.”

“You could have rested.”

“It’s the joy of my life.”

Hans had turned quite peculiarly.

Hans carefully entered the doghouse, peeling off Gomtangi who was nibbling at his hair, claiming there was urgent work to be done.

After bidding farewell to Hans, who seemed to be digging into a tunnel deep underground within the doghouse, I greeted Gomtangi, who was scratching his head with his hind paw.

“Gomtangi.”

-Gom.

“Do you like your roommate?”

-Gomgom.

Gomtangi nodded affirmatively, a big-headed bear who seemed to understand well. He might think of Hans as emergency rations, but I decided it was better not to dwell on it.

“Then, guard the house well. I’ll bring the lady back.”

-Gom.

“Why?”

Gomtangi ambled over and clung to my ankle.

Gomtangi, true to being a companion bear, carefully bit my ankle and nudged his head forward. Honestly, it was frightening, as if I might be eaten.

Gomtangi looked at me as he laid down a letter he had been carrying in his mouth.

-Gom.

Having fetched a white envelope from somewhere, Gomtangi urged me to open it quickly by pushing his head forward.

‘You’re scary, so keep your distance.’

With an awkward smile, I picked up the letter and gently stroked Gomtangi’s head, smiling faintly.

“Did a letter arrive?”

-Gom.

“Who is it from?”

-Gomgom.

Indeed, the words of animals are beyond understanding.

I gently stroked Gomtang’s head and then carefully unfolded the letter.

It smelled of flowers.

The scent of flowers I had recently encountered in the capital was faintly emanating from the envelope.

Was the name of this flower Edelweiss? It wasn’t flashy, but it had a refreshing floral scent. It probably was.

The subtle fragrance wafting from the envelope allowed me to instantly recognize who had sent the letter.

“You’re quite hasty.”

With a face full of curiosity, I cautiously spread open the letter.

[Hello.]

My name is Misa, whom you met last time. I hope this sudden letter doesn’t startle you.

I apologize for showing you an unfavorable side of me last time. I can’t go into details, but thanks to Mr. Ricardo… I received a lot of help.

-Excerpt

The swordsmanship guidance you mentioned last time. May I receive it?

The letter was filled with elaborate greetings and the place to send a reply. The handwriting was exquisite. Unlike others, truly exquisite.

I nodded slightly as I read the letter.

“It seems urgent indeed.”

Could it be because of that?

The Academy disappearance case.

I wondered if the student council, having grasped the thread of the consecutive disappearance cases, had sent the letter in haste to start their adventure.

There had been an attack by the archbishop at the Academy recently, so I thought they might be seeking to replenish their forces by learning from me. Otherwise, Mikhail wouldn’t have come to seek my teachings.

Rowen may have been a mentor, but he wasn’t someone with an abundance of time, and I thought there must have been many shortcomings in improving skills alone.

“Hmm…”

Understanding Mikhail’s situation, I nodded slightly. Then I crouched down in front of Gomtang and asked.

“Gomtang, do you happen to know how to write?”

-…

“I’m quite bad at writing, you see. I don’t think it’s right to ask the lady, so could you write on my behalf, Gomtang?”

-Gom?

Gomtang looked at me with a pitiful gaze, as if looking at one of his own kind. The second-generation Gomtang, who had never received such a request that transcended the limits of his species, scratched his head with his hind paw and yawned.

-Gooom~

“I’ll give you meat.”

Gomtang nodded and plopped down on the ground. Sitting on the dirt with his hefty behind, Gomtang gestured to me with his well-shaped front paw.

“What?”

-Bear.

“Ah, can you pass me the pen?”

-Bear Bear.

“Thanks, I’ll give you lots of snacks later, big bro.”

-Bear Bear.

Indeed, whose pet… no, companion bear it was, I couldn’t tell, but it was a smart one.

Gomtang, with a pen wedged between his massive paws, moved his wrist. The pen was too small to hold with his paw, so Gomtang used just two toes to write.

As Gomtang concentrated, furrowing his brow, I too clenched my fist and focused on his paw movements.

“Tomorrow at two in the afternoon.”

-Bear Bear Bear Bear Bear Bear Bear.

“Please come to the plains of the Hamel mountain range.”

-Bear Bear Bear Bear.

Gomtang wiped his snout with his front paw and showed me the piece of paper.

“Oh…!”

[Bear Bear Bear. Bear Bear Bear Bear.]

“Oh….”

It seems I asked too much of him.

I stroked Gomtang’s head, knocked on the doghouse door, and called for Hans. I should have done this sooner instead of overreaching.

“I’m hungry, Ricardo!”

Hearing the young lady’s voice over the wall, I handed the paper to Hans and left.

The Academy disappearance case.

‘…It won’t be easy.’

I wasn’t confident that Mikhail could handle the episode where he first sees the apostle.

***

Under the warm sunlight shining on the Hamel mountain range plains.

Mikhail, arriving an hour earlier than the promised time, brushed his long hair back, trying to soothe his anxiety.

Wouldn’t it be strange since it was grown by magic?

Is my makeup odd?

He worried if they would dislike him.

One thing’s for sure, he hates the name ‘Mikhail’.

Mikhail sighed deeply as he looked down at his sword. It wasn’t his usual weapon, but a smaller one that Ricardo had mentioned.

He gripped and released the unfamiliar hilt of the sword repeatedly.

‘Can I do this? Is deceiving that kid really the right thing to do?’ Mikhail wondered, bowing his head under the blazing sun.

“…I hate it.”

Mikhail hated lying.

The weather was fine, and his body felt light, but his heart was heavy. His heart raced meaninglessly, and he felt good about seeing that boy.

“Why am I like this… Get a grip.”

A wave of emotions he couldn’t understand washed over him. Was it excitement or fear?

He had cried countless times in the past days. Locked in his room, he recalled the words he had spoken, how he had ignored his advice, and spent the nights in tears.

“Please, listen to me.”

“Why should I listen to you, to become someone like you? Isn’t that what you’re saying?”

“It would mean less work for me. I hate working overtime.”

His fist clenched tightly.

He realized how sharp the words he had said to Ricardo over the years had been, like daggers.

If only he had spoken a bit more kindly.

If only he had listened to him just once.

He wouldn’t be in this situation.

With that thought, Mikhail bowed his head and swallowed his sorrow.

From afar, someone’s murmuring reached him. It was a small voice, but it clearly pierced his ears, carried by the forest wind.

“I should be visible from here.”

It was Ricardo.

He was walking towards him, cutting through the grass to make his presence known.

There were still 40 minutes left.

Ricardo approached with light steps, his usual red hair shining.

He walked towards Mikhail with a carefree smile.

His fist clenched again.

It tightened more than when he was alone, so much that he thought he might hurt his palm.

“If you make such a face…”

I tried not to cry.

“How am I supposed to react when you look at me like that…”

The boy’s bright smile tightened the grip on Mikhail’s heart, making it almost impossible to breathe.

“What do you expect me to do…”

My chest tightens.

Ricardo looked at me and smiled brightly.

“Oh? Miss Misa!”

He waved his hand lightly and walked slowly towards me, hastily sheathing the sword he had been holding in his right hand, and approached with a pace that was neither slow nor fast.

“How long have you been here? It’s quite hot today.”

“…”

“You must have caught the heat. You can’t seem to speak.”

The way he raised his hand above my forehead to create shade was so sweet. Mikhail closed his mouth, harboring selfish thoughts and feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt.

Ricardo, creating shade over Mikhail’s head with his hand, said in a caring voice,

“Shall we sit in the shade and rest for a bit?”

Mikhail cautiously opened his tightly shut mouth and said,

“Um…”

“Yes?”

“By any chance…”

“By any chance…?”

“The sword I brought.”

“Yes?”

Mikhail showed the sword to Ricardo and said,

“Did I bring it properly? I brought a different one than the sword I usually use.”

Ricardo nodded with a bright smile.

“It’s perfect.”

“…Is it?”

“Yes.”

Ricardo, with the brightest smile he had shown so far, said to Mikhail,

“The sword fits your physique perfectly.”

Ricardo thought to himself.

“At last, you’ve brought it.”

Ricardo felt a sense of relief piercing through the frustration that had built up over a long time.

And he pondered.

He pondered with a bitter smile how to speak of Mikhail’s mother.