Chapter 20
Chapter 20
To the western part of Polfoardel, the capital of the Ribera Empire, there was the Bayern Academy, which boasted the highest level in the empire.
Commerce and people had gathered around it, and before long it had created yet another city within the city.
People called that district Beatrice’s Road, a name taken to honor the founder of the Bayern Academy.
And now.
“Ugh, what’s that smell.”
In the middle of broad daylight, a man with a shabby appearance was walking along it. His clothes were riddled with holes here and there, and the body exposed beneath them was so covered in wounds that it was hard to find a single uninjured spot.
The man moved his feet without caring about the people badmouthing him as they looked his way.
Passing the clock tower at the center of the plaza, the place he reached was a luxury inn called Haggis’s Comfort.
Because the Bayern Academy drew people not only from the empire but from all over the continent, the lodging business thrived around it.
Haggis’s Comfort was the finest among such inns. Naturally, it was not a place that suited a ragged beggar of a man.
Creeeak.
But he stepped forward without hesitation, opened the dark-brown wood door trimmed with gold leaf, and went inside.
“Welcome······.”
A clerk in the lobby approached with a bright expression at the appearance of a guest, but upon the stench that stabbed the nose and his shabby appearance, the clerk frowned.
“What is this, a beggar?”
From one side, a large man in charge of the inn’s security spat out harsh words as he looked at the man who had entered through the door.
“Hey, do you know what kind of place this is to come barging in? Trash like you should be sprawled out on the street over there.”
As much as Haggis’s Comfort prided itself on high-quality service, its guests were also expected to possess a certain degree of refinement. But in the man’s appearance, there was no refinement to be found—only stench and filth.
“Can’t you hear me?!”
The man sprang up from his seat at the beggar’s attitude of ignoring his words.
At the same time, the friends who had been playing cards with him also stood behind him, as if to add to the intimidation.
“If you don’t want to get beaten black and blue and thrown out, get out right now…….”
Thud.
The man approached right up to him, glaring with bulging eyes as he threatened him. But a single sharp sound of air being pierced rang out in the empty space, and the man rolled his eyes back and collapsed onto the floor.
“Charles!”
The fallen man’s friends rushed over with flustered expressions.
Some of them stayed wary, saying the man must have used some cowardly trick, but they saw nothing.
“You bastard!”
What followed was a predictable story.
The friends of the one called Charles rushed at the man, but not a single one even brushed a hair on his body.
Each time that small sound of air being pierced rang out like before, without fail someone would roll their eyes back and fall.
After knocking down everyone who had blocked him, the man approached the clerk with an expression that looked somehow refreshed.
“There should be a room reserved under the name Ostia.”
“…Pardon?”
At the clerk’s question, one of the man’s eyes twitched. Seeing those sprawled on the floor, the clerk must have sensed danger, because he quickly checked the reservation ledger, and soon found the name Ostia.
“It, it’s on the top floor, the fourth floor. There are three rooms—go in to the one on the far left.”
Taking the key the clerk handed over with trembling hands, he went upstairs, leaving the fallen behind.
The room was luxurious.
Compared to the imperial palace, it inevitably fell a bit short, but it truly seemed no exaggeration to say it was the best inn on Beatrice’s Road, exuding a clean yet splendid atmosphere.
Left alone, the man—no, I—let out a long sigh and examined my body.
As if to tell of the intensity of the past while, the clothes were barely maintaining their original shape. And beneath them, it would have been faster to count the intact places than the wounds.
I stripped off all my clothes and headed straight for the bathroom.
Perhaps it had been prepared in advance; it was filled with hot water, and after scrubbing away the dirt and grime from my body, I stepped into the bath.
“Haa…….”
An exclamation escaped on its own.
There had been a hot spring with fifty years of history in the neighborhood where I used to live, but this felt so good it could tell that place to get lost.
I stared blankly up at the ceiling. How long had it been since I last had this kind of leisure.
“That damn old man······.”
Thinking back to a month ago, curses spilled out on their own.
The Sword Saint had clung stubbornly to me after I refused his offer to become his disciple.
I had tried to undergo grueling training to achieve Sword Master before entering the academy, but whenever I tried to focus, he interrupted and ruined the flow every single time.
When I snapped once in irritation, he thumped his chest confidently, saying he would accomplish something as trivial as Sword Master for me himself.
To state the conclusion first, he failed decisively.
After a day or two, the Sword Saint, who had tried to draw out my awakening through sparring, suddenly wore a serious expression.
And the moment I saw that, I could instinctively feel it.
Ah, this is busted.
I had merely borrowed Leios’s body and drawn on his power; personally, my understanding of the sword was shallow.
The skill I had shown so far had been thanks to the status window and system assist, and the aid of the slumbering Tyrfing.
I tried to raise my level by any means, but the Sword Saint caught my condition as if by instinct, and from that point on, hell began.
“Your weak spirit is the problem. Your ki and body have reached the realm, but that twisted core is gnawing away at your body!”
The Sword Saint took me to his own territory.
It was located at the southernmost end of the empire; if one went on foot, it would be a long journey taking over a month, but borrowing the power of a court mage made everything happen in a mere five seconds.
I was dragged there without even being able to notify Parsi, so I made a fuss about going back, but that rotten old man of a Sword Saint ignored my words and locked me up in a wild mountain.
Why call it being locked up? Because that mountain was a monster habitat.
As I proceeded along the path, I would encounter monsters before even taking ten steps.
They were so tough that ones which withstood even my sword—already at the very top of Sword Expert—would appear from time to time.
The Sword Saint said it was because I was clumsy, but do you usually put someone through that kind of grind just because they’re clumsy?
Anyway, over the course of a month like that, I rolled around that wild mountain, honing my sense for real combat. I did not reach Sword Master, but I could say that I had adapted to this body to a degree that was almost complete, and that I had become able to use power befitting my realm.
A month had passed, and it was time to prepare for academy admission.
The Sword Saint seemed reluctant to let me go and dragged his feet, but not a chance.
Before he could try any tricks, I issued an order to the mage to teleport me to the capital.
In any case, I had arrived in that territory empty-handed and was leaving empty-handed. It was a shame to part with the sword I had grown used to, but money remained. It would not be as good as Tyrfing, but if I splurged gold coins, I would be able to buy a fairly decent sword.
However, because I had come out in such a hurry, I had failed to consider my ragged clothes and shabby appearance.
Fortunately, the Sword Saint had taken care of the minor details, which was why I was able to rest at an inn like this.
When I came out of the bathroom, my skin, now glossy again, greeted me.
Scars engraved upon it covered my entire body.
Heat flared up inside me once more, but blaming someone who was not here would only itch my ears.
“Finally, the academy.”
The stifling life in the imperial palace had ended, and at last the opening where the original story began had arrived.
The protagonist who, like me, had transferred from Earth.
And the supporting characters, each carrying their own stories, hoping to be found.
When read as a novel, many scenes would have been omitted and rushed through, but to me, every minute and every second was my own time.
“So that’s why I went through all that hardship.”
The protagonist and I stood on the same starting line.
Normally, it would never have been a fair fight against him, who possessed the cheat-like ability known as the goddess’s correction.
But the current me was already waiting for the moment to take flight, my two wings spread wide.
While the protagonist slowly adapted to life at the academy, I would already be advancing far ahead.
Terrifying, the monster that was me.
Knock knock.
“Hm?”
After bathing, just as I was lounging on the sofa in a robe to enjoy that languid feeling, a light knock sounded at the door.
There was no one who should be visiting, so as I approached it, the person outside, as if sensing my presence, spoke.
“Good day. I am Altar, the deputy manager of this establishment, Haggis’s Comfort. I would like to see you briefly regarding the disturbance earlier, if it would not be an imposition, may I have permission to enter?”
It was exceedingly polite speech.
By the disturbance earlier, he must have meant knocking down the guards who had tried to stop me.
Well, since the cause lay with me, I could not avoid responsibility coming my way.
“Please wait a moment. I’ve just come out of the bathroom, so I need to get dressed.”
“Take your time.”
When an affirmative reply came back, I returned into the room.
I had not noticed earlier, but several backpacks, seemingly prepared by Parsi, were neatly stacked inside.
I passed them by and picked up the sword leaning against one wall.
Schring.
“Long time no see.”
The well-maintained surface of the blade reflected my face.
The sword I had used while staying in the imperial palace was back in my hand after a long time. It looked sharp enough to cut cloth with ease.
“My apologies, I’m opening it.”
Returning to the entrance, I released the lock on the door.
A gap slowly opened, and the scenery of the corridor flowed in between.
"Still, if you openly let killing intent spill out like that, isn’t it hard to pretend you don’t notice?"
Swaeaeek-!
The moment the words ended, something surged through the opening between the doors.
‘Two in front, for now.’
Two swords that held not even a glimmer of light aimed for my neck and heart with sharp sounds of air being torn.
They aimed for vital points, as if professionally trained, and there was no hesitation in their movements.
‘But.’
They had misjudged my skill.
Clang-!
Before the blades closing in from two directions could reach me, I deflected them almost simultaneously.
Sparks flew from the violent clash, but without blinking an eye, I swung my sword at the enemies whose stances had collapsed.
Slash-!
There was only one cutting sound, but two bodies crumpled down to my left and right.
‘Assassins.’
Killers who specialized in assassination. I had read about them in many novels, but this was the first time I had encountered them after coming to this world.
They were so vicious that they did not let out a single groan even after being cut.
They died on the spot, and blood gushed from the wounds, quickly forming a pool at my feet.
At the sight of red flowers blooming atop the carpet, admiration spilled out on its own.
My eyes were drawn to those mysterious patterns, but unfortunately, they did not give me the leisure to appreciate them.
Paaaat-!
Through the wide-open door, five assassins rushed in at once. Up, down, left, right, and center.
Just before colliding with them as they charged along the walls with nimble movements, at the moment I tightened my grip on the sword, I could hear an alien sound.
Piiing-
It was faint, buried beneath the noise in the room, but it was clearly the sound of a bowstring releasing.
“······!”
The direction was behind me. Judging roughly, it was aimed at the back of my head.
It seemed difficult to block everything at once, so without hesitation I kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
With the powerful step I took, I drew in a breath. Then the blood throughout my body boiled, and white trajectories appeared before my eyes.
Slash-!
In a single exchange, the assassins who had been running along the walls fell to the floor.
At the same time, the arrow smashed through the window as it flew in, and with my mana activated, I reached out my hand.
Pak!
The shaft of the arrow was caught in my hand, trembling violently.
It must have been shot with tremendous force, because even while being held, it struggled desperately to keep moving forward.
“…How.”
The lone surviving assassin looked around in disbelief, his manner dazed.
“How else.”
I looked at the arrow in my hand.
The tip was impossibly sharp, and the shaft was intact without a single point of damage.
Pak!
And with all my strength, I hurled it.
The assassin threw himself aside with a gasp, but that, too, had already been accounted for.
Thud.
Pierced through the forehead by the arrow, he collapsed backward, blood gurgling out just like the other assassins.
“If you don’t know, then you die.”
It might be a pity for you, but I was no longer the me of a month ago.