Ken yo, kaku katariki – 66
#09 – A Connection I Don’t Want To Break
“Teacher. Do you have a minute?”
Midday. I was petting Kuro after he had eaten until he was full, when Ms. Iria approached me.
Currently, we were not at the Count’s mansion, but at my house.
Yes, the Japanese style house that I had bought. The living room, to be precise.
Right now, this is where Ms. Iria trained.
This was because she felt bad about having me travel all of the way over there.
Not only that, but she apparently had some other skills, and would make lunch whenever she stopped by to train.
I felt bad for letting her do it, but it was so delicious. Even today, I thought she could open her own pasta restaurant. And so both Kuro and I had no objections.
Still, what did she want to talk about now? I wondered as I sat down in a chair.
“You told me earlier how you are training with magic arts…”
“Ah. Mr. Sylt introduced me to someone.”
“And you are going together with Ms. Aize?”
Hmm? Well, it was true.
But for some reason, there was something cold in Ms. Iria’s eyes.
“…Is there a problem?”
“No. Sorry, I was just a little jealous.”
“Jealous?”
She coughed and shook her head.
“…It is an amazing thing to be able to learn magic arts from Master Stelia. After all, she is one of the most well-known magic arts masters in the empire.”
“Seriously?”
She nodded.
Well that was a surprise. She looked like some kind of delinquent with emotional issues.
“Rosenkreutz, 8th seat of El Adeel. She is someone who can actually fight. Not only that, but she was selected at just twenty years old. And I’ve never heard anything about her teaching someone else.”
I could imagine. With that personality, she would not get along with anyone. Except for one person.
Regardless, Rosenkreutz was her name. But what about El Adeel…?
“It is like a title given to magic arts masters with notable achievements in the empire. As the title suggests, there are only twelve of them.”
“In other words, she is the 8th strongest?”
“No.”
Apparently, it was simply decided based on your contribution.
It had nothing to do with strength. Many of them did not even fight.
“She was called a genius since the beginning of the empire. When it comes to combat, she is definitely among the top ten.”
I see…
Mr. Sylt had some impressive connections. She might be the person I should avoid making an enemy of more than anyone.
“In that case…maybe I could ask her to teach you as well?”
But she shook her head.
“I’m sorry I brought it up. Right now, I need to focus on my sword instead of magic.”
Right. I couldn’t help but smile.
As if the old demons were gone, and to regain lost time, she was more determined than ever with her sword training.
With every day, she grew and became sharper. I was happy, as if I was seeing my own improvement.
I suppose this was what it was like to have an apprentice.
But her sword was her own sword, and different from mine. So she wasn’t really an apprentice.
Though, I did wonder why she had reddened a little. She then coughed and changed the subject.
“I’m sorry, I actually wanted to talk about something else. It’s about Ms. Aize.”
“Ms. Aize?”
“…Apparently, something is happening with her family.”
I raised an eyebrow.
She had won during the preliminaries in the tournament, and the Count and I had made threats. The marriage was called off.
However…the real problem was not resolved.
After all, it was her family that was the problem.
And so her goal was to win in the finals.
For that purpose, Ms. Aize continued to train.
However…
It was possible that things would move too quickly.
And she may be pushed to the brink.
“It might be strange for me to say this… But couldn’t your father do something about that?”
“Well…”
She paused and then shook her head.
“Her family is part of an opposing faction.”
There were three large factions among the nobles of the empire. Military, noble, and imperial.
The Count was part of the military faction. As was the man she had been engaged to. However, the Lilieth family was part of the noble faction.
“So she was going to marry someone from a different faction?”
“Yes. It can happen if the family agrees to it.”
Even if they are on opposing factions, they may still be on friendly terms with each other.
“Besides, Viscount Fobius isn’t completely from the military faction…”
He was like a bat, jumping from faction to faction and sucking nectar.
While he was disliked, he was still good at navigating through society.
That was why he had been able to survive for so long.
“He would need a very good reason to get directly involved with someone from the noble factions. For instance…if something happened to Ms. Aize.”
“In other words…he can’t do anything until then.”
Ms. Iria nodded. And then she continued with a serious expression.
“But if I know that something might happen, I will act. As a fellow student and friend.”
As an individual, not a noble.
There was an unshakable will in her eyes. I felt strength, that was reassuring. And so I nodded back.
“In that case, I will also do something. As her instructor.”
Even though that might not mean much to many people—it was still a connection.
And I did not want to break it. Or let someone else break it.
We shared this idea, and nodded to each other.
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