Break Out (2)

“……”

Thud! Ma Hana, who had fallen on her butt, blankly stared ahead.

‘…What in the world?’

Was what she saw really true?

She fumbled through her memory, recalling what she had just witnessed.

‘…A single strike.’

With a single strike, the head of the Silverback was severed.
And very cleanly at that.

Around the corner of a tree. The severed head of Silverback was bleeding out.

The smooth cut surface, without any deviation, was explaining how sharp the object that had cut it was.

The most spectacular thing was the expression on the Silverback’s face.

It died with its eyes wide open, staring blankly.

‘…It didn’t even react.’

It meant it went to the other world without even realizing it was dead.

Ma Hana briefly remembered an old story her father had once told her.

“…It’s said that even death itself fails to recognize the sword of a swordsman who has entered the first rank.”

Yu Seha.

Does this mean he possesses such skills?

‘…I don’t think that’s the case.’

After all, I could see every movement of the sword he wielded with my own eyes.

However, whatever it was, the ‘sword’ he just showed was not something a person who wanted to drop out like her could dare to evaluate.

Ma Hana looked at Yu Seha with admiration.

She gulped dryly at the sight of his back, frozen in the posture of having drawn his sword with both hands.

She slowly approached and carefully opened her mouth.

“…Um, are you… okay?”
“Ah, yes, I’m fine. Rather, are you okay, Miss Hana?”
“I-I’m fine thanks to you.”

Yu Seha looked down with slightly flustered eyes.
There was genuine concern in his eyes.

Seeing such innocent eyes, it was hard to believe that this was the same man who had delivered a terrifying blow moments ago.

‘And with that…’

“…Aren’t you going to do anything? Why are you just frozen there…?”
“Th-that’s because…”

He stuck out his tongue slightly in embarrassment as he continued his explanation.

“I-I’m frozen…”
“…Huh?”
“M-my muscles have stiffened and they won’t move. I’m sorry, but could you please, please loosen them up…?”
“…”

Kneading.
Rubbing.
Wriggling.

Ah, this is it.
Mm, this is it.
Shhh. Ah, this is it.

‘This must be heaven.’

I barely managed to hold back a grin that threatened my ascension to the heavens as I glanced down.

“Meow, meow, meow.”

Ma Hana.

Our adorable little Meowi was diligently massaging my arms and legs here and there, with her hands neatly rubbing together.

With hands like tiny ferns, doing her best in her own way… I mustered all my strength to suppress the involuntary smile threatening to make its way to my lips.

‘…I never thought I’d see this scene so soon.’

The kneading that cats often do!

In “Gonis Archive Life,” becoming friends with a ‘cat’ attribute character sometimes triggers this special event.

In my case, having been close with a kitty for a long time, I even owned a special illustration for kneading, accompanied by the line, ‘Sh-shall I give you a massage?’.

“Hehehe…”
“…Hey. I get that you played a big role, but can you not continue with that creepy laugh?”
“Hehehe…”
“…Sigh.“

Moon Bora, who was making an ice pack next to me, looked at me with a sour expression.

She seemed to be saying, ‘What’s with this creep?’

Definitely a valid thought from her side.

But it couldn’t be helped!

To see this so vividly with my own eyes, and even to receive a massage directly from my favorite character, whom I’ve adored for five years.

How could I, as a ‘Supervisor’, not be moved?

‘Ah, I can’t resist this.’

Five minutes later.
Only then was I able to loosen my stiff body and barely move my fingers.

There had been something noisily bothering me in front of my eyes since a while ago.

Oh, leveling up was good news. Especially the fact that the most commonly used strength stat increased by 1 was more than encouraging.

‘It’s a bit disappointing that the [Swordsmanship] trait didn’t increase.’

No, it would be greedy to not be satisfied with the first successful attempt.

Anyway, it was my first time using a [Skill], and I ended up exerting too much power.

Especially since I didn’t expect Yu Seha—this guy’s body to be so frail to deal with.

I even strengthened it with paid currency, but I never dreamed I’d get full-body muscle pain after just one strike.

I guess I’d have to use less strength next time.

‘But [Flowing Slash]… It’s better than I thought.’

An exceedingly ordinary explanation.

Even in ‘GAL’, they threw it to me as a basic skill, thinking I wouldn’t be able to learn [Transferring All-rounder]… but it was more powerful than I had expected, making a mockery of my prediction skills.

‘Is it indeed [The Song of the Sword]?’

‘I might be able to use it as a main skill,’ I thought, when suddenly…

Ma Hana, who seemed to have finished the massage, stopped moving her arms and looked down at me.

“Um, I… I know it’s a bit late to say this, but…”
“Oh! Do you have something to say?”

At my question, Ma Hana fidgeted with her fingers, seemingly embarrassed to say.

“Th-thank you. Thanks to you… I survived.”
“Ah, yes! No problem! It’s only natural for a dealer to do that.”

And then, she continued with the next question.

“Um… But…”
“Yes, yes.”
“Earlier… Didn’t you shout ‘Meowi’? That’s actually my nickname… I was wondering how you knew…”
“…Ah.”

I was startled for a moment.

Thinking back, didn’t I shout ‘Meowi! Trust me and run this way!’?

‘…What a fool I was!’

I pondered what excuse to make, but fortunately, there was no need to intervene as she spoke,

“Ah, you must have heard it from the staff member earlier?”
“…Oh, yes?”
“My father… has been coming to this guild for a long time… Most of the staff know him.”

I hurriedly agreed with her as she scratched her cheek.

“Ah, yes, yes! That’s right. I’m sorry… for suddenly calling you by your nickname like some shady guy…”

At my words, Ma Hana waved her hands and hastily denied it.

“No, not at all! It was actually nice… cause recently, there are hardly any people who call me by that nickname…”
“…Ah.”
“So, if you wish, you can call me that.”

At the end of her words, Ma Hana smiled broadly.

I was utterly dumbfounded by her appearance.

‘Good heavens!’

A pure smile accompanied by cheeks not yet free of baby fat.
A flush that couldn’t be hidden even with a scruffy face of exhaustion.
The embarrassment evident in the tails that swayed this way and that, and the cherry on top, was the cat ears that fluttered gently!

I couldn’t accept that such an adorable creature existed in reality.

‘Argh!’

Looking at her, I unknowingly dropped my head sharply.

Meanwhile, Moon Bora, who was applying ice packs here and there on Yu Seha’s arms and legs, quietly thought to herself.

‘…Yu Seha.’

A man who was granted a “Class” that overflowed for someone known as [Sword Saint].

He was thought to be nothing more than ridiculously handsome guy by birth, and even luckier than that.

She decided to revise her assessment.

‘…It was truly a strike that made my whole body shiver.’

Probably, the technique he used was one of the ‘Select Skill Trees’, [Flowing Slash].

She was certain because she had seen other hunters use it a few times.

However, its power was incomparable to what she knew.

Not to mention the speed, and even the sharp flow that was distinctly felt.

It was truly a strike worthy of the name ‘Sword Saint’.

But her question remained unanswered.

Was it really, truly, just because he was a ‘Sword Saint’ that he had such power?

Moon Bora was the second daughter of the distinguished Moon family, known among the hunter clans.

Having attended numerous gatherings of famous ‘hunters’ since her childhood, she was fortunate enough to have clearly seen the power of another [Sword Saint] with her own eyes.

And not just any mediocre figure, but an absolute powerhouse recognized by everyone.

One of those known as the top ten.

‘…Sword Emperor.’

Commonly referred to as the ‘Plum Blossom Sword Emperor’.

She, who inherited the essence of the lost ‘Plum Blossom Sword’ and the class of the Sword Saint, danced gracefully as if performing.

Yet, it was a calm… long-lasting dance of the sword.

It was said that the Sword Emperor possessed an Epic-grade skill known as the [Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique].

‘There’s no doubt about it. It must be a technique combined with the [Heavenly Fig] skill tree.’

However, what Yu Seha used was the complete opposite—a swordsmanship technique that delivered an extreme, decisive strike.

‘…Of course, there’s no rule saying a Sword Saint can’t use sword drawing techniques…’

But the chilling sensation that Moon Bora felt was undoubtedly ‘something’ that transcended the concept of [Skill].

Just like the unidentified plum blossom petals she had seen from the Sword Emperor.

‘…What exactly are you?’

Moon Bora silently observed Yu Seha.

Then, as Yu Seha, who was sitting, seemed to be shocked by something, suddenly flinched and then hung his head low.

‘Could it be a sudden mana shock…?’

Ma Hana, who was next to her, also panicked and grabbed Yu Seha’s shoulder.

“Mr. S-Seha! Are you alri–”
“Miss H-Hana! J-just one more time!”
“…Huh?”
“Th-that expression just now! Could you make it again after the gate closes outside?”

Inside the gate, no electronic devices work properly.

Only some devices with artifacts added to them could possibly work.

Therefore, taking pictures was out of the question.

This was precisely why Yu Seha was in agony.

“Must collect, must collect! Gallery! Where is the gallery system?!”
“……”

Ma Hana looked at Yu Seha with a dumbfounded gaze.

And Moon Bora, who had been watching with a sour expression, thought again.

‘…Maybe not…?’

Yeah, it didn’t seem so.

Of course.

Logically, such an attractive pervert, who would have been socially buried… could not possibly be a person of significance like the Sword Emperor.