Swordsmanship Class (3)
There was a reason why Zeke chose Soi Spoon and Iriel as the first in line for the swordsmanship class.
First, Soi Spoon.
The most important protagonist in this romance fantasy world and the girl with the most dangerous ability.
The ability to control the minds of others through food was a very dangerous ability that could lead to the destruction of the world, depending on how it was used.
One might think it was an excessive delusion with just bread, but Zeke knew from experience how dangerously Soi's ability could be used.
Especially Lost Hope.
‘If they find out, they'll be lining up to get her.’
For example, what if she were to put a short-term rage into the bread she made, and organize an army?
The act of simply eating the bread right before a battle. In other words, to satisfy hunger.
That alone was a factor that influenced war.
An army that fights without fear of death?
On top of that, if she could raise the level of liking to the maximum through food supply and brainwash them, she could organize her own personal guard who would only listen to Soi's orders and could not even think of betrayal.
Perhaps even more dangerous than the Demon King.
A queen from the dirt could be born.
‘It's even simpler than the brainwashing and hypnosis spells they use.’
The simpler the method, the better the utility.
If Lost Hope could have achieved such a large-scale brainwashing like Soi's ability, there would be no reason for them to hide in the shadows like cockroaches.
They barely managed to brainwash one person at a time, devoting time to each individual.
But being able to recruit them just by eating food?
‘Just opening a restaurant in the middle of the capital would make recruiting believers a piece of cake.’
What more is there to say?
Soi Spoon was already a guaranteed win.
The lost hope of Lost Hope itself.
She was the most promising prospect.
Perhaps even to the point of kidnapping if she couldn't be recruited.
Capturing hundreds of believers and sacrificing them, brainwashing them, and all that bullshit...
It would be hundreds, thousands of times more profitable to capture Soi and brainwash her, so her ability must never be revealed to the outside world.
‘Perhaps this child's unfortunate fate is mostly due to this ability... Maybe it will be revealed someday, but until then, I will raise her.’
Until then, Soi was in a state where she hadn't fully awakened to her abilities.
She could sell as much as she wanted, and the delicious bread could be passed off as a moderate mood booster, but...
‘I can't do that anymore.’
The drug-making ability that blossomed brilliantly with Iriel's case.
Zeke decided to teach her how to use it in secret.
‘Okay, let's sort out Soi first...’
The next person Zeke turned his attention to was Iriel Eustia.
The first kiss stealer. The red-haired villainess, the maniac of the Eustia family, the brainless, stupid princess, and so on.
Well, there were a lot of modifiers she had heard and experienced, but in fact, Zeke had little ill feelings towards her now.
She was stupid, but she tried to take care of him, and although her overly aggressive approach was often embarrassing, there was no reason for him to hate her for showing her affection.
It's just that he was careful because she was connected to the Eustia family. Now even that has been sorted out to some extent.
‘She gets along surprisingly well with Soi, so maybe she wasn't born a villainess.’
Perhaps something happened in the original story that caused a rift between them.
When Soi fed her the tear-soaked bread of a commoner, Zeke had activated his [Eyes of Judgment] to examine her soul.
Fortunately, the fate of death, which had soared from 40% to 80%, returned to a normal 1%.
But what made Zeke frown more than that was her soul.
Iriel's soul was originally covered in soot.
While she was bedridden after being directly hit by Zeke's liberation, perhaps as a reaction to the mental pain, the soot spread and turned black.
It was a situation where even if she miraculously woke up, a true villainess could have been born.
And as soon as Soi's bread took effect and went down her throat, it retreated as if it had been touched by fire.
If it had all been cleansed, he wouldn't have to worry about it anymore.
But Iriel's soul, which had looked generally dull gray, was half gone.
With the top of her head as the baseline, exactly half of it was divided into a transparent white, like Selena's, and the left half was divided into a dark black.
It seemed that Soi wasn't the only one who had changed from this experience.
‘But how do I teach her...?’
Zeke had some guidelines on how to handle Soi's condition, since he had experience dealing with Lost Hope before, but Iriel was a blank slate, even for him.
‘Hmm, there’s no choice but to test it out one by one.’
As Zeke called them over and just pondered blankly, Soi and Iriel, feeling awkward, looked at each other.
Zeke roughly nodded his head and opened his mouth.
“First, Soi.”
“Yes!”
“Take this.”
Zeke handed Soi two small, bead-like objects.
Soi accepted the beads and furrowed her brow.
“What is this?”
“Medicine.”
“……Me-Medicine? D-Don’t tell me it’s drugs?”
Zeke narrowed his eyes as if asking how she could say such a horrible thing.
“Get rid of drugs from your mind. It will be really dangerous.”
“…….”
‘No, but you were the one who told me I had a talent for making drugs!’
Soi glared at Zeke with resentment, but Zeke continued speaking calmly.
“It’s a poison that causes hallucinations.”
“Po-Poison! That’s worse than drugs!”
“That’s why I gave you the antidote.”
“……I’m here to learn swordsmanship, right?”
“I’ll teach you. But to teach you the swordsmanship that suits you, you need to get used to those kinds of drugs.”
What in the world is this person trying to make me into? Soi was suspicious, but decided to just listen for now.
“Your swordsmanship is Mad Dog Sword.”
“Ma-Mad Dog… Sword…? Why does that name sound like… ”
“Hmm, it’s a very cool swordsmanship.”
Zeke nodded, but Soi couldn’t agree.
Literally translated, it meant crazy dog. Wasn’t it a swordsmanship like a dog with rabies?!
‘Is it another commoner thing? Commoner?!’
It was strangely more unpleasant than being blatantly ignored.
She heard that Selena uses a pretty rapier and Iriel uses a dagger, so she couldn't understand why the sword she was going to learn had such a name.
“I guess you’re looking forward to it.”
So she gave the instructor a look that asked if that was really the best he could do, and this person was making her even more frustrated with those words.
For now, Soi decided to endure it once more.
“Anyway… why do I have to take this poison and antidote to learn that, that Mad something Sword?”
“If you learn that sword without controlling your ability, you will really live up to the name of the sword. You’ll be peeing on trees in the street…”
“Aaaaaah!! O-Okay! A-Anyway! So you’re saying I have to take this poison to help me control my ability…? Isn’t there any other way…?”
“Yes, you must have realized your ability this time.”
“Ye-Yes…”
“You’re not allowed to make bread until you get used to that medicine.”
“!”
Soi’s eyes widened.
“That’s not possible!”
“Hmm?”
“If I don’t make it…! My family…”
“I’m sorry, but now people could die from eating the bread you make.”
Zeke’s assertion was made with a cold face.
Soi gasped.
“P-People dying…? But, in Iriel’s case!”
“Yes, it could work out well like that. But can you always be in a good mood? You have to be able to smile no matter what hardships you face, and even if someone threatens or insults your family, you have to be able to hold the dough in a good mood even then. If you can do that, I won’t stop you from making bread.”
“…To that extent? My ability is…?”
“Yes. To that extent. There’s only one way. Listen to my class and become able to use that ability freely.”
“But if I don’t work…! And you can’t make any more bread either, Instructor.”
“Ah, keep making mine. I have to check the progress of your ability anyway, and I’m mentally strong, so it’s fine.”
Soi fell into deep thought about how to tell her family about this.
“Ah, come to think of it, it’s been a month now, so I have to pay you for the bread you’ve been making. Take this. It’s a gold coin.”
“…Are you trying to pay for me with one gold coin…?”
“Well, your sister would be happy. She would say it’s too much money to refuse.”
Soi imagined herself giving the gold coin to her family and telling them that she couldn’t make bread for a while.
Then, as the instructor said, she could clearly picture her older sister and mother’s faces as they solemnly said, ‘You are right, Instructor,’ and sent her away.
“Ugh…”
Soi chewed on her lip.
“Anyway, think about it carefully for now, and take the medicine when you’ve made up your mind.”
And Zeke turned his head to look at Iriel.
“Zeke… about that time…”
“It’s fine.”
Zeke quickly cut Iriel off.
She seemed to be about to bring up the lip-stealing incident from that day.
If she brought it up now, Zeke wouldn’t know how to react, so he decided to just gloss over it for now.
“O-Okay. Zeke, what should I do?”
“Well, you…”
Zeke trailed off and changed his gaze.
Without any warning, he hurled the bread at Iriel.
Fwooosh!!!
A fierce gale erupted, sweeping across the training ground.
Everyone’s mouths hung open and their eyes widened at Zeke’s sudden attack.
Except for one person.
Iriel, her red hair fluttering behind her.
She was the only one who remained calm, looking at the bread that had come right before her eyes.
“Did you get it?”
“Yeah, there’s no way Zeke would attack me. And I wasn’t scared at all.”
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