Chapter 207 : Turbulent Ribenia (5)
Chapter 207: Turbulent Ribenia (5)
The common room of the second-year Class Three dormitory.
The lively atmosphere that usually filled the room had completely sunk, to the point that it even felt chilly.
"As soon as the Special Task Force members join us tomorrow morning, Karbenna and the Special Task Force will begin jointly conducting wartime training."
Even as I continued explaining, I could clearly feel those emotions.
"Don't assume it'll be the same training you've done before."
"It'll be far more practical."
"And far more systematic."
It wasn't surprising that Erik and Francia didn't even blink.
They had already been through far too much.
What surprised me was the indifferent reaction of the other cadets.
The emotion in their eyes wasn't fear.
Nor excitement.
It was resignation.
I watched them silently for a long while before letting out a quiet chuckle.
"I understand."
"……"
"Unless you're a lunatic like me, nobody would be happy about stepping onto a battlefield while still in their mid-teens."
The atmosphere remained heavy.
Ignoring it, I continued.
"I may have said this before, but a battlefield is hell."
"It's a sea of flames."
"A path of thorns."
"Your comrades are being blown apart beside you."
"In front of you, desperate cries from people struggling to survive never stop."
"And the commanders in the rear keep barking orders without the slightest understanding of what's actually happening on the front lines."
"That's reality."
Even now, countless scenes remained vividly engraved in my memories.
Many of them were scenes of injuries.
And death.
Even for the completely insane me back then,
they had never been pleasant sights.
Eugene Carter had originally been the embodiment of arrogance and overconfidence.
He was the kind of bastard who would say things like,
"So you retired on a battlefield this easy? Pathetic."
Right to someone's face.
Yet even for someone like him,
death had been a terrifying memory.
After seeing too many corpses, I eventually grew numb to them.
When I had been addicted to alcohol and drugs, everything had felt hazy.
By the time I was freed from the curse and recovered most of my memories,
I had already steeled myself to endure it.
Even so,
it wasn't easy.
Not even with my naturally detached emotions.
Not even with the tremendous experience I'd accumulated on countless battlefields.
If even I had struggled...
Then these kids, who weren't even adults yet,
would naturally feel the weight of the battlefield far more heavily.
The recent death of their class representative must have made it even worse.
The faint smile disappeared from my face.
"If you're afraid..."
"You may run."
"Life is precious."
"If you're willing to abandon responsibility and honor in order to survive..."
"I won't stop you."
But even then.
Even so.
"If, despite your fear..."
"You still choose to fight beside your comrades."
"If you choose to protect those you love."
"If you choose to fight for the Ribenia Empire and its people."
"Then..."
"I promise you this."
"I will give you the strength..."
"...to protect those you wish to protect."
As my resolute declaration echoed through the room,
life slowly began returning to their expressions.
After looking around at everyone,
my gaze finally met Francia's.
Then I raised my voice.
"If there are any cadets who still wish to refuse participation..."
"Raise your hand now."
"I'll have an assistant instructor process your withdrawal from the Academy."
.
.
.
Naturally,
not everyone wished to participate.
Out of the thirty cadets,
eleven chose to withdraw.
More precisely,
eight requested temporary suspension,
while three requested expulsion.
After calling an assistant instructor to escort them away,
I left the dormitory.
Just as I was heading toward the Chairman's office to meet Michel—
"Instructor!"
Francia hurried after me and stopped me.
"Hm?"
When I turned around,
I found her standing there with her head lowered,
fidgeting awkwardly.
It was unlike her.
"Um..."
"If it's alright with you..."
She hesitated for a moment before seemingly making up her mind.
"...Would you like to train together again?"
She asked so suddenly.
"……"
So that was why she'd been acting so awkwardly.
Things had been so hectic lately that I hadn't even thought about anything like this.
Smiling faintly,
I replied,
"I thought there wouldn't be any need for more training after you'd already descended the mountain."
"Was I mistaken?"
"Descended the mountain?"
"That's impossible..."
The truth was,
there really wasn't much left for me to teach her.
Francia's accomplishments in swordsmanship were already in no way inferior to mine.
Her rigid training style and lack of experience were still holding her back,
but even those would be completely overcome after only a few more battles.
The blade that cuts tangible things—
Aura Blade.
The blade that cuts intangible things—
the Evil-Cleansing Sword.
Throughout the Empire's history,
there had never been a single swordsman who reached both realms simultaneously.
The same was true even throughout MAGA's history.
According to the game's setting,
only one swordsman had ever surpassed Francia.
A being whose realm had become so transcendent that he was ultimately granted divinity—
the Divine Sword,
Soldera.
By the current era,
Soldera had already lived three hundred years ago.
Naturally,
learning directly from him was impossible.
I knew the general route of his growth.
If the completion of a swordsman was becoming a Sword Master—
the Sword Saint—
then the Divine Sword was a Grand Sword Master who had transcended even the Sword Saint.
To surpass the Sword Saint and reach the Divine Sword,
one would inevitably have to attain the next realm—
the Formless Sword.
Unfortunately,
that realm had never once been properly described or portrayed in the story.
I had no idea how one reached it,
or how one prepared for it.
That left only one thing I could still teach her—
mana control when using high-output techniques like Aura Blade.
Even then,
she had already mastered the basic principles.
From here on,
only repeated practice remained.
So I answered honestly.
"You need a better master now."
"A swordsman greater than I am."
"To me..."
"You're still the greatest, Instructor."
Once again,
she joked in a way that wasn't like her.
But I remained firm.
"The world is vast, Francia."
"My experience and skill may place me within the top 0.01 percent in the world."
"But that's all."
"I wouldn't even make the world's top ten."
"But you're different."
"If you gain enough experience..."
"You have the talent to stand among the five greatest swordsmen in the world."
"...You're humble about yourself."
"And exaggerate when it comes to your student."
"Do I really look like the kind of man who says empty compliments, Francia?"
"That's..."
Faced with my unwavering eyes,
the light of anticipation gradually returned to Francia's face.
"It would've been nice if there were still a swordsman alive who could wield the Formless Sword."
"But even the lineage of the Sword Saint has almost disappeared."
"So finding your next master will probably take quite some time."
"So..."
"Until we find that master..."
"I'll keep training with you."
"Ah."
"We can't let ourselves grow rusty."
"Right?"
"...Yes."
"You're absolutely right."
For a moment,
we exchanged gazes filled with fighting spirit.
Then we headed together toward the training grounds.
Even for me,
sparring one-on-one with Francia required complete concentration.
I ended up consuming far more stamina and mana than I'd originally planned.
We trained through the middle of the night for nearly three hours with almost no rest.
Exactly at two in the morning,
we finally left the training grounds.
Dragging my exhausted body back to my private office,
I collapsed into bed.
When I opened my eyes again,
it was exactly eight o'clock in the morning.
Skipping breakfast,
I headed straight for the main building.
What awaited me there...
was something truly bewildering.
I clearly remembered the days when relations between the Special Task Force and Karbenna had been terrible.
I remembered the looks directed at me when I first returned and stood before the main building after being appointed an instructor at Karbenna.
Cold.
Frigid.
Filled with suspicion.
That was how Eugene Carter had been treated.
That was how people viewed the Special Task Force.
Later,
I stood at the center of the reforms.
By proving through results that neither I nor the Special Task Force were what they believed,
those hostile gazes had almost disappeared.
Because I'd experienced that,
I knew immediately.
The eyes looking at me now...
were even more hostile than on my very first day.
...As if they were looking at something utterly revolting.
'What the hell is this...'
Pretending not to notice,
I headed toward the Chairman's office as planned.
Inside,
Frederick,
Dale,
Michel,
and Walter were gathered together in discussion.
"If this is really true..."
"No, Director!"
"Isn't it obvious?!"
"It's a bluff!"
"Things aren't going their way, so they released some tabloid trash to manipulate public opinion!"
Walter was shouting at Dale with blazing eyes.
It was an incredibly unfamiliar sight.
Frederick and Michel also wore grave expressions as they stared downward.
Apparently,
they hadn't even heard the door open.
I had no choice but to speak first.
"What's happened?"
All four of them flinched simultaneously.
Even Michel.
That reaction alone was enough to make my anxiety intensify.
"……"
I quickened my pace.
As I approached,
I saw two different morning newspapers lying on the table.
The moment I read the headlines,
my expression changed just like theirs.
"...What?"
<The Bloodline of the Vladia Family Still Lives! The Ugly Truth Behind War Hero Eugene Carter>
<The Poison Hidden Behind the Pioneer... Eugene Carter: Madman or Spy?>
Our newspaper previously published an article questioning Eugene Carter's true intentions.
Eugene Carter.
The legend of Karbenna and the Special Task Force.
The youngest recipient of the Medal of Honor thanks to his countless military achievements.
The man who intervened between Princess Edel Ribenia and Chairman Michel Bernhardt,
bringing about their dramatic agreement.
At the time,
our newspaper expressed concern that personal ambitions might have been hidden behind that agreement.
As expected,
we have now obtained evidence proving that he is a descendant of the Vladia Family.
Below are the documents proving that he is related by blood to Mary Flos,
the Witch of Thorns.
.
.
.
With the successive deaths of His Majesty Emperor Ludwig von Ribenia and Crown Prince Abel,
the Empire now stands in chaos.
Only the two Imperial Princesses remain in contention for the throne.
Princess Edel Ribenia has promised reform and renewal through a series of unprecedented declarations.
Princess Rachel Ribenia, meanwhile,
has expressed concern over those reforms and vowed to preserve the Empire's traditional values.
Princess Edel currently enjoys overwhelming support from the citizens.
Princess Rachel enjoys overwhelming support from the nobility.
The unprecedented decision to elect the Emperor through a public vote has shaken the Ribenia Empire to its core.
The policy of guilt by association has been abolished.
No one should be condemned simply for being the descendant of a criminal.
But this concerns the Vladia Family.
The most heinous family in history.
For well over a century,
from the final years of the Kingdom of Rubea through the early years of the Empire,
they slaughtered countless citizens.
The same is true of his mother,
Mary Flos.
Throughout her childhood,
adolescence,
and even well into adulthood,
she concealed her brutal nature.
The result was that she became a serial killer—
a witch who butchered more than five hundred innocent people.
The fact that someone carrying such blood now stands at the very heart of the Empire forces us all to make a decision.
How much did Princess Edel Ribenia truly know?
If she knew all of this...
And still chose to embrace him...
Could that not be seen as a leader's complete lack of judgment?
Voting begins this Wednesday.
The choice is yours.