Training

“…Now this is a curious sensation.”

Aiden said it as he looked around at the bleak, featureless view with not a scrap of background to it. Meyer, sitting across from him with his chin propped in his hand and an air of complete indifference, cackled as he answered.

— Everyone’s like that the first time, I suppose.

A space built out of someone’s ‘head’ is called a Mental World, and the place where Meyer and Aiden now sat was exactly that kind of space. Aiden eyed the bracelet fastened around his arm sourly.

…Effects like these had to be what made a thing like this possible. On its own the bracelet was nothing but an old relic with no effect whatsoever, yet simply because Meyer’s soul had been put into it, it now looked plastered thick with every sort of effect.

Just how much of a monster is this guy?

When Aiden sent him a look loaded with exactly that question, Meyer, his neck still craned forward, ran his eyes up and down over him. Under that searching gaze, Aiden’s body shrank back of its own accord. He had not felt it much facing the spirit body, but now that they were face to face, he was certain that this was no ordinary human after all. One word described the man in front of him perfectly.

…A predator.

Humans who stood in a different ‘domain’, so far removed it felt like another species. If he had to name others who gave him a similar feeling, it would be Noelle, perhaps, or Katya.

But set even against humans like those, the air on this side was plainly, decidedly.

Frightening.

Noelle and Katya, out of consideration for him, kept that aura hidden away most of the time; Meyer had no intention of hiding anything in the first place. Merely standing in front of him was enough to make Aiden shrivel up, and the pressure the man gave off was particularly strong, even next to those two.

Should I be calling it lucky that I’m learning how to fight from a person like this…?

The condition Aiden had put forward the other day was that he would tread, in this man’s place, the ‘realm’ Meyer himself had never reached. This was one of the stages toward it: every night, in a Mental World unfolding inside Aiden’s ‘dream’, he would receive one-on-one guidance and correction. In a world built inside someone’s head, after all, nothing that happened would have any effect on the real one.

— So, about that condition you put forward. Let me ask you a few things before we start.

At the words spilling out of Meyer’s mouth, Aiden’s face turned serious.

— Let’s be honest. You’ve got nothing.

“…”

— I get that you can handle multiple supernatural powers, but set all that stuff aside for now. You’ve never once fought anybody yourself, have you? Give me one kitchen knife and I could kill you ten times over in three seconds.

One thing was certain about this man: he had no talent for empty flattery.

— And here’s the more serious part. You don’t even look like you particularly want to be doing this.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

— I’m saying you don’t welcome fighting itself. You’re the sort who bolts first the moment things look like turning rough, aren’t you?

Good grief.

“Does becoming a ghost get you mind-reading on top of everything else?”

— I’m the one who established more than half the methods of operating supernatural powers on this continent, you snot-nosed brat. You think I’ve taken on only one or two disciples? Say ‘click’ and I get ‘clack’.

Aiden did know that much to be true. The Knight of Dawn was a hero on a continental scale even now, and on top of that, most of his tales of valor were the ‘scaled-down’ versions.

…In that sense, the verdict Meyer handed down after examining Aiden from every angle came as something of a surprise, at least to Aiden.

— …So how the hell does a guy like that end up holding supernatural powers like these?

“Sorry?”

— I’ve seen plenty of guys who use multiple supernatural powers, but a guy who’s ‘mixed’ one power into another is a first. How did you do it? Did you run a con on the gods or something?

“…Is that really so remarkable?”

— Is that really so remarkable, he says? Is that really so remarkable…? You absolute son of a—

Meyer had plainly forced a filthy curse back down below his vocal cords, and after a moment he let out a long sigh and went on.

— Supernatural powers are the gods’ own exclusive domain. How does it make any sense for them to mix? What’s more absurd is that no disaster has broken out around you up to now. No, hah—

“…I have heard that His Majesty the Emperor is hard at work keeping my information hidden.”

— The very idea that you can contain something like that just by suppressing it is nonsense. It’s just proof that this age’s understanding of supernatural powers goes no further than that. In my day you might have been caught and dissected alive by now.

…Honestly, even after being told that, he could not really see what was so remarkable about it. He did at least understand that he was lucky not to have been born in Meyer’s era.

Aiden scratched his head. Well. He had never imagined being praised so highly out of nowhere.

— Well, fine. With this much you won’t be short of force wherever you go, at any rate. The methods of operating supernatural powers can wait until a long way down the line.

“I can learn it later, you say?”

— To be precise, I need to do some research on you too. This is a first for me as well. There isn’t much I can teach you right away.

…That was another situation he had never imagined.

But.

“…Isn’t there anything else at all?”

For a man who needed to raise his specs by even a single point right now, there was nothing for it but to press Meyer.

…The problem was that the main quest had come striding up close again. The very reason he had to get stronger fast, by fair means or foul, was closing in on him by the moment.

— Hmm…

Meyer scratched his chin at the demand and glared at him.

— It’s not as though there’s no method at all.

“Really?”

Aiden brightened into a smile, and Meyer gave him a light nod in return.

— To start with, shall we have you die a few times? Nice and easy.

Then he drew his hand across, level, in a motion with no force behind it, closer to an idle wave.

And.

…Aiden’s head, caught in its path, flew off whole.

“…?”

The severed head shot up into the air. The body crumpled to the floor. Blood spouted up like a fountain. His vision went black. He was dying.

“—?!”

And then, when he closed his eyes and opened them again, the sensation vanished in an instant. Gasping, Aiden checked himself over. His head was still attached, perfectly sound.

But.

…Just now.

He had, beyond any doubt, died once. The feel of his head being lopped off and rolling across the floor a moment ago was still vivid.

— It’s a false sensation. Dying in the Mental World does nothing at all to your body in reality. And you can ‘come back’ like that.

Meyer tossed the words off casually at Aiden, who was pouring with cold sweat.

“What, what the hell was that just—”

— Frankly speaking, you’re in a state where you aren’t even standing at the starting line. Getting used to the violent situations themselves, the ones with blood and flesh flying, comes first.

Meyer spoke amiably, loosening up his body all the while. His voice had something close to the kindly air of someone walking a beginner through things one step at a time, but the words that followed were nothing of the sort.

— Then you’ll just have to keep dying while you fight.

“…”

— Getting used to fighting ‘itself’ comes first. We’d better arm that peace-rotted spirit of yours in a hurry, hadn’t we?

“…Hold on a moment, Sunbae. Is that actually cor—”

— Theory, technical instruction — right now, this looks like the most efficient way there is…

Meyer carried on, the enormous smile still plastered across his face.

…By now, though, that affectionate smile had come to look to Aiden like nothing less than a devil’s.

— …Survive by whatever means you’ve got, junior.

The instant that sentence ended, a second death fell upon Aiden.

“…Aiden.”

The voice came at him out of nowhere, and Aiden started upright.

“Are you all right…?”

Noelle asked carefully, studying his face. No wonder: his face was gaunt, he had gone deathly pale, and all day his mind had seemed elsewhere. He could not bring himself to tell her Meyer had tormented him all last night, though.

“If you are unwell, do go to your bedchamber. There is no particular need for you to be out here in the office…”
“…I am fine.”

And it was true that nothing was wrong with his body. It was simply that the memory of being slashed to pieces by Meyer all last night was too horrific.

…What a damnable fellow.

With that thought, Aiden glared at the window floating up in front of his eyes.

He had died more than a dozen times in that one night alone, but perhaps thanks to that, a new ability had opened up.

This is definitely…

Combat forms were a concept kept separate from skills. A skill normally took effect when it was directly ‘used’, whereas combat forms emerged as an ability out of the sum total of the experience a character had built up for themselves. Put another way, the difference was the one between an active skill you trigger and a passive skill that runs at all times. Here was one more kind of skill he could ‘copy’, so he ought to have welcomed it with open arms. Ordinarily, he would have.

I think I’m going to die…

Small wonder Noelle had been the first to voice her concern. Ever since the banquet, things had been somehow awkward between them, and neither of them had been able to bring anything up.

“…”

Aiden twisted his mouth slightly and gazed at Dame Noelle, who was keeping her lips shut. The moment he had cut her off by saying he was fine, she had looked sharply away instead of adding anything more, as though she had no wish to exchange another word. How to put it. Or rather, lately it felt as though she would only let him get so close.

Judging by what was written here and that abrupt change in her attitude, something had certainly shifted in how she felt.

There’s no telling…

He really had no idea what she was thinking.

While he was turning that over and gazing at her, Noelle let out a deep sigh and took off her uniform cap.

Yikes.

Had he stared too hard, without any restraint? As he flinched, wondering whether she would get angry, Noelle spoke, quite calmly.

“Aiden.”
“Yes?”
“If there is anything else I can help you with, please say so. You have been in a poor state all morning, have you not.”

“…”

“If it is something difficult to speak of, I am willing to wait…”

…No. Truly, the more he saw of her, the less he understood. Ordinarily she avoided contact altogether, and then at a moment like this she offered to help him as though it were the most natural thing in the world.

Well, then.

If it came to asking a favor right now, there was one.

“You are asking me to teach you swordsmanship?”

Noelle’s eyes went round as she repeated his request back to him.

“Teaching you swordsmanship… is not especially difficult in itself. But what has brought this on? Were you not someone who paid little attention to that sort of technique?”

“…Because I want to live.”

“…”

The look Noelle gave him said ‘you call that an answer?’, but it was an excuse Aiden had squeezed out by racking his brains as hard as he could. From now on, being beaten half to death by Meyer every night was set to become his daily routine. Surely he needed at least one thing to resist with…

And, more than anything else…

Among the epithets the game had given Noelle were the Lionhearted, the Empire’s greatest Knight, and ‘Master of the Sword’. She might not match Meyer, the monster who had steamrolled the whole setting on swordsmanship alone and lopped Aiden’s head off dozens of times last night, but her skill with a blade ranked at the very top even among superhumans. He had also met the conditions for opening the Combat Forms category, so as long as he could learn from her, there was no reason to decline.

“…”

As he was putting those facts in order, he caught sight of Noelle sweeping a hand over her forehead. Somehow she had the air of someone thinking his proposal over deeply.

“…Erm, Aiden.”
“Yes?”
“When you say instruction in swordsmanship, do you mean receiving guidance one-on-one?”
“…Sorry?”
“…That is to say, I am asking whether it would be conducted just between the two of us.”

“…”

Well. Aiden had never given that much thought either.

“…Is that important?”
“It is important.”

“…”

“It is an important element.”

Seeing Noelle stress it twice over as though it genuinely mattered, Aiden scratched his cheek.

“…If it’s that important, shall we do it one-on-one?”

“…”

Now it was Noelle’s turn to clamp her mouth shut and glare at him. What on earth was this?

“…You are rather forward.”

“…”

“For my part, I have no objection, at least.”
“…Er, what…?”

What was she trying to say? Aiden was still blinking over the question when someone kicked the office door open and came in.

“What’s this. What’s this, what’s this, what’s this. You’re having an interesting conversation, aren’t you?”

Noelle’s face hardened.

She and Aiden spent most of their time in the office almost entirely alone, and others respected that and never carelessly came inside. Even Dame Stella, who served as Dame Noelle’s adjutant, kept strictly to that line. Which meant only one person would fling the door open and walk in without a care and without a single knock.

“…Your Highness. Aiden and I are talking at present. Would you withdraw?”
“Oh, come now, you’re talking about none other than the person I’m serving as adjutant to, aren’t you? How could I?”

Katya answered with a beaming smile, and Noelle’s brows drew sharply together. A moment ago her expression had merely hardened; now it had reached a level you could outright call menacing.

…Looks like the bad blood hasn’t all drained away.

It seemed the old grudge between them had not been fully put to rest. A current ran between the pair, subtle, yet plain enough for Aiden to be certain of it at a glance.

“…Aiden made the request to me. Not to Your Highness. It is a matter that has nothing to do with you—”
“Oh, but there aren’t many people who can match me where handling divinity is concerned. Wouldn’t that fellow be more interested in handling a noble power than in some antique like swordsmanship?”

Noelle’s expression turned a notch more menacing. She set both arms on the desk and propped her chin on them, wearing the kind of serious look she showed only before a battle.

“Your Highness. If only because I did not take your earlier escapade to court, I rather think you are in a position to be grateful to me.”
“…Mm?”
“I am saying I would like you to refrain, where possible, from interfering in our business. I cannot have Aiden dragged into tiresome affairs for no reason.”

“…”

Katya grinned at that. Her eyes, though, were not smiling in the least, and the intent in her expression was plain enough that Aiden, merely watching from the side, felt a chill run down his spine for no good reason.

“You can’t even settle on your own attitude, and you still want him all to yourself?”
“…What did you say?”
“Nothing at all?”

Katya cocked her head as she answered, and sparks flew from Noelle’s eyes.

“…Well. Very good.”

She growled the words as she rose from her seat.

“Since you are being this arrogant, you must be quite confident that you can be of help to Aiden.”
“Mm—?”
“Shall we put it to the test, then? Which of the two of us is better suited to be his ‘instructor’.”

What followed sounded like a declaration.

“The loser does not interfere in anything the other does with Aiden.”

“…”

Katya’s expression twisted. She had the look of someone who had not expected Noelle to come out this strongly, this openly…

“…You do say interesting things.”

Katya gave a short, breathy ‘hah’ as she spoke.

“Better get ready for an ugly loss, Lionhearted.”
“That is my line, Your Highness. You seem to have had altogether too easy a life on the strength of being royalty, but this time it will not be so simple.”
“You’re the one who should get ready to taste life’s bitterness properly this time—”

“…”

Something.

Things were blowing up again.

Aiden broke out in a cold sweat, unable to keep from thinking it.