Chapter 10 : Chapter 10

Chapter 10. Sword Beginner (5)

“Huh.”

The Knight, Fetel, let out a sound of admiration as he retracted the 「Road」 he had spread in all directions. Beyond the rising dust lay the boy, collapsed in a pitiful heap. Scattered beside him were the shattered fragments of his thin blade.

This duel had been Fetel’s clear victory. Yet the path to that victory had not been overwhelming. With a dazed expression, Fetel brushed his fingers along his neck. Crimson blood stained his fingertips. It was proof the boy had wounded him.

“Huh, huh-huh.”

The boy had not defeated Fetel.

But the boy’s sword had reached Fetel.

Such a thing should have been impossible. How could a mere 「Sword Beginner」…?

“If he had been a 「Sword Walker」 as well? No, even if he had been just a little more adept at handling Mana. Or if the swordsmanship he had mastered were a little more refined…”

If that had been the case, the boy’s sword might have struck deeper, more precisely, into a far more lethal point. Feeling a chill spread down his nape, Fetel looked at the fallen boy.

‘If I had not been a perfected 「Sword Walker」 capable of deploying a 「Road」, I would have been done for.’

The meaning was simple.

This frail boy, with that pitiful blade, possessed enough skill as a swordsman to kill an ordinary 「Sword Walker」.

Reaching that conclusion, Fetel muttered inwardly:

‘I truly feel as though I’ve seen a ghost.’

***

The very first thing the guest did at the bonfire was reveal his name. I learned for the first time that the gentlemanly Knight crouched before me was called ‘Fetel.’ Looking at Fetel as he gave his name so casually, I glanced at the blanket draped over me.

‘He’s taken care of me all this time.’

As expected, a gentleman. Instead of binding me with rope after our fight, he had covered me with a blanket and stayed by my side until I regained consciousness. Yet rather than gratitude, suspicion welled up in me. An old habit.

‘…Why did he do it?’

No matter what kindness he had shown, the fact remained that he had swung his sword at me. Even in defeat, I could not completely let down my guard against Fetel. I had to stay tense. After all, wasn’t it precisely because I hadn’t relaxed that I managed to deflect his first attack?

‘Thanks to fully digesting Needle, my senses have become sharper.’

I felt it instinctively. As I was now, I could move far more swiftly and precisely than before. And yet, no matter what I tried, I could not picture myself defeating Fetel.

The Knight before me radiated a presence like a fortress wall. Perhaps I could make a tiny scratch with my blade, but to bring it down was impossible.

“Don’t be so tense. When I swung my sword earlier, it was to disarm you. The will in your eyes was so fierce, I thought you wouldn’t listen to words.”

Sensing my wariness, Fetel spoke with a wry smile.

He gestured at his sword, which lay sheathed and resting beside the bonfire, and shrugged to show he had no intent to fight.

But naturally, I did not relax.

“Hmm. Whatever you’ve been through, you don’t seem like someone who will easily loosen up.”

“…”

“Well then, I should start with this story. If you listen, perhaps your wariness will ease a little.”

Fetel turned his gaze to the bonfire with a composed expression. Sparks crackled up from the flames, and involuntarily I flinched. Fully digesting the memories of the swordswoman Mary, I recalled her end—the sensation of being burned alive.

“I’m talking about why I came all the way to this nameless village in the middle of nowhere.”

Regardless of my reaction, Fetel took out a piece of smoked meat from his bundle and spoke on, his face calm.

And then:

“I will die soon. A month at most, they said.”

The words that followed were completely unexpected.

“I am terminally ill.”

***

Fetel poured out his story at length.

Separate from his clean swordsmanship, his speaking skills were poor. He repeated himself, rambled with disjointed details only he knew, and sometimes spoke so emotionally it was hard to follow.

Yet that made it sound sincere.

I could clearly tell the man before me was no villain but a good person, a Knight who had ended up with a tragic fate. In short, Fetel’s long-winded tale amounted to this:

‘A Knight who had been loyal all his life. But upon falling terminally ill, abandoned and left wandering, he came here.’

He resembled the protagonists often seen in novels about chivalry.

The difference was that reality was not a novel. Unlike the splendid heroes who overcame disease, gained wealth, beauty, strength, and fame, tragic figures in reality mostly met tragic ends.

Fetel would likely be the same.

The realm of 「Sword Walker」 was not lowly, but it was insufficient to make one the celebrated protagonist of all. It was not an extraordinary stage but the highest point an ordinary swordsman with moderate talent could reach after years of grueling effort. That was where Fetel had arrived.

He only explained at the very end why he had climbed his way to this remote estate and village.

“I wanted to die alone without burdening anyone. This village is nice. Moderately quiet, the sunsets each evening moderately beautiful, a place where I can have time to myself…”

“…”

“I am not afraid of death. It is the moment I can go to the side of the god I serve. I only wished, for once, to spend my final moments in my own time. I have never once leisurely enjoyed time for myself in my life. That is why I deliberately sought out this place without people.”

Perhaps he had grown sentimental near death.

Well, people with numbered days often do peculiar things.

But no matter how sincere his story seemed, I could not completely believe it.

How could I know Fetel wouldn’t suddenly turn on me?

“…Even after explaining all this, you’re still on guard.”

“I told you, suspicion is my habit.”

“That’s not a habit, that’s practically an illness.”

Fetel joked.

An illness—perhaps he was right.

I had been told countless times I had a suspicion disease.

‘…It wasn’t always this bad.’

My suspicion had become this persistent only because of Swordmaster Carlos. That day’s tragedy had made me a wearier human being. I could never go back. Never.

“Well then, if you must see it with your own eyes…”

Fetel exhaled and slowly removed his outer garment. In the firelight his chest was revealed—firmly built muscles.

And near the left chest, precisely near the heart, was something noticeable. A pitch-black spot. Just looking at it gave a sense of foreboding.

“High priests and healers who’ve trained all their lives say they don’t know what it is.”

“…”

“The one thing I know is that this spot is gradually devouring my organs. Now all that’s left is my heart.”

Fetel gave a bitter smile.

“My second heart, the 「Mana Heart」, has already been mostly consumed. And the moment my real heart is eaten, my life will end. Quietly, and alone.”

Fetel recited his fate calmly. It must have taken him a long time to become accustomed to speaking of his own end. With a faintly pitying look, I turned my eyes toward the empty air where Liam stood.

「Young descendant, at least you’ll never be conned or taken advantage of.」

Liam looked at me with a weary gaze.

What did he want me to do? I stared back at him until he finally gave me the answer I wanted.

「That Knight’s words are all true. The disease lodged in his body is devouring his intestines and muscles. Greedily.」

With that, my suspicion dissolved.

I turned my gaze back to Fetel.

He smiled awkwardly.

“Now am I good enough to be your neighbor?”

I nodded brightly as if I had never doubted him.

“Yes, more than enough.”

For some reason Fetel and Liam both looked at me with the same weary eyes.

And so, just like that, I gained my first new neighbor in this estate.

Though it would be at most for a month.

“I look forward to it.”

“I look forward to it even more.”

After shaking Fetel’s hand, I felt somewhat better.

Fetel was the kind of man one could like, someone who would not harm me and, should an unbearable intruder appear later, would willingly fight alongside me as a righteous Knight.

「You’re lucky.」

“What’s lucky?”

「Don’t pretend. I can see exactly what you’re thinking, young descendant.」

Ah.

「In at most a month, you’ll be able to eat a perfect Sword Walker’s sword. For free.」

Of course, I would not deny there were other reasons as well.

***

My new neighbor, the Knight Fetel, truly was a good man.

“If you ever need my help for the sake of your sword’s growth, come find me anytime.”

Fetel said he would gladly spar with me whenever I wished. He even added that if I sought advice about the sword, he would offer his humble opinions. It was a tremendous favor.

Normally such things would be done only for a reasonable price for a noble acquaintance.

“What work does a man with his death set before him have left to do? Honestly, I was getting tired of just watching sunsets anyway.”

Fetel laughed pleasantly.

“Besides, Young Master Arhan’s sword is fascinating. Or rather, should I say your heart is fascinating… Anyway, I think it will be a meaningful time for me as well.”

Though his smile was bright, there was also a shadow behind it.

“As death approaches, I find myself wanting to leave something in the world. And I thought if I taught Young Master Arhan something, my trace would remain a little more clear in this world. Somehow, I think you will leave your name in this continent’s history.”

When dawn broke, Fetel extinguished the fire and rose.

“I will not ask about the strange skill with which you wield the sword or that special heart of yours. Every human has their own circumstances. Moreover, asking first about circumstances the other has not revealed goes against a Knight’s honor. A Knight always waits proudly for the other to open their heart first.”

For Fetel, honor came before curiosity.

In that sense, Fetel was a different kind of person from me.

Perhaps more of an adult.

At any rate, that made Fetel an even more beneficial neighbor to me.

「Now your Mana Heart has settled and you have become a Sword Beginner.」

But that did not mean I could simply grin foolishly.

「Then to move to a higher place you must step to a new stage.」

The road ahead was still long.

「It is time to eat a new sword, young descendant.」

Once I had begun to climb, I could not stop.