Emperor (2)
Selena appeared, her steps full of confidence.
But the moment she saw the scene before her, she froze as if turned to stone.
‘W-what is going on…?’
Her father was beaming at her, a wide smile plastered across his face.
Her mother was dabbing at her eyes, her expression overflowing with emotion.
Her older brother only offered a small smile, but Selena knew how much joy it truly represented.
Yes, they hadn't told her beforehand,
and it was so surprising she wondered if she was dreaming,
but she could understand her family being here.
And although she couldn't ignore the crowd of familiar nobles, the ones she seemed to have seen at banquets at some point, she decided to try.
However, there was one person.
One person Selena couldn't comprehend with her common sense.
Someone she never dreamed of seeing in this place.
She had only seen him once a long time ago when she accompanied her father, but how could she forget?
“Y-your Majesty…?”
“Oh, Selena. You've grown a lot.”
“...Th-thank you… Ah, no! Your grace is immeasurable!”
Selena dropped to her knees and prostrated herself.
‘What’s going on!? What in the world happened!?’
She had just barely finished an incredibly difficult task, one that nearly drove her to curse.
It was past the time for the sparring match, but she had rushed back, drenched in sweat, just in case.
And to be suddenly faced with the Emperor upon her return!
It felt as awkward as walking into her room to find a dragon lounging on her bed.
“Hmm… It seems you’ve been training hard.”
Oops.
Selena clenched her teeth in embarrassment.
Only then did she realize the state she was in.
She was far from the image of a refined princess.
Her hair was a tangled mess, plastered to her head with sweat that had dried and re-wetted countless times over the past few days.
The training clothes she wore hadn't been changed since she started the task.
And she had been eating and sleeping outside in them, so her appearance was truly a disaster.
The only thought in her mind had been to tell Zeke about her success as soon as she finished the task,
so she had rushed back in her training attire, without a moment to spare to check her appearance.
“I heard you forgot about meals and sleep to train. Is that true? Can I look forward to your performance?”
“Y-yes! Your Majesty!”
She answered instinctively, but a question arose in Selena's mind.
‘Hmm? But the sparring matches aren’t over yet, are they?’
Ah, it made sense if His Majesty had suddenly arrived.
It wouldn't be appropriate to continue with children's sparring matches while the Emperor was visiting.
“Then I shall take my place in the audience. I look forward to a good demonstration match, Sir Dios.”
“...Yes!”
Dios replied in a stiff voice.
“?”
Selena’s eyes widened.
‘A demonstration match? Instructor Dios?’
As a short preparation time was given,
Selena immediately headed towards Zeke.
Her father reached out from behind, his face etched with despair, but that wasn't important right now.
“Instructor!!”
“Yes, Selena. You completed the task. Truly excellent.”
“...Ah. You noticed… Hehe. It was really hard… Ah, no, that's not what I meant!”
Selena was momentarily lost in the straightforward praise before quickly regaining her composure.
“What is going on? A demonstration match…? Why is my family here, and the nobles, and even His Majesty, the Emperor!”
“Calm yourself, Selena.”
“How can I be calm when you’re so calm!?”
She was truly annoyed by his nonchalant demeanor, as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
Couldn't he have at least told her that other people would be present for the sparring match when he assigned the task?
“Do you even know what state I’m in right now!?”
“Hmm, you look beautiful.”
“...B-beautiful…?”
Zeke nodded.
“Yes, a truly splendid sight, reflecting all your hard work. Selena.”
“...E-even so…! My appearance right now…”
“Selena.”
“... .”
“Didn't you decide to become a swordsman, not a duchess?”
Ah.
Selena's mouth fell open.
Zeke was right.
What swordsman would be concerned with their appearance and adorned in beautiful dresses?
Rather, clothes soiled from diligent training were a badge of honor, proof of a knight's dedication.
“...My thinking was shortsighted.”
“No. I understand your desire to present your best self before so many eyes. But now, show them with your sword.”
“...But even then, my current physical condition…”
“It’s alright.”
“Is it really?”
“Yes.”
With those words, Zeke picked up the bread he had set aside and handed it to Selena.
“Instructor… This is…”
He was handing her the weapon he had been using.
Of course, the fact that it was a baguette was quite unfortunate from an outsider's perspective,
but such trivialities didn't matter to Selena.
A master passing down his own sword to his disciple.
What could it possibly mean?
"A-are you serious…?"
Her eyes shimmered with emotion.
It felt like Zeke was acknowledging all her hard work, and a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment swelled in her chest, bringing her to the verge of tears.
But Zeke's following words quickly dried them up.
“Yes. You'll cause chaos if you wield a real sword in your current state. And the same goes for a wooden sword.”
“...Um, so you're not giving it to me because you acknowledge me?”
“Acknowledge?”
Zeke tilted his head.
Selena glared at him for a moment before quickly composing herself.
“Ah, never mind. A-anyway! What do you mean? What will happen if I use a real sword?”
“Exactly what I said. You're too sensitive right now, having just finished the task. You'll unconsciously use that technique. No matter how much Instructor Dios dislikes it, it wouldn't be good for him to be sliced to pieces, would it?”
“Sliced to pieces?!”
Selena’s jaw dropped in shock.
What in the world had he taught her?
“W-will it be okay if I use this bread?”
“Hmm, at your current level, it would probably just be a graze.”
“...Alright. I’ll try.”
Selena received the bread from Zeke.
* * *
Phew—
Selena stepped into the arena, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.
The hardships she had endured flashed through her mind.
The training method itself was simple.
Cutting paper with a wooden sword.
Releasing mana made it easy to tear through paper.
No, even without releasing mana, anyone could do it with brute force.
KWA-THWACK—!
The paper in front of Selena split in two.
But Zeke shook his head as if it wasn't what he wanted, and lightly swiped with the bread.
Swish—
There was a clear difference between the paper Selena had cut and the one Zeke had cut.
Unlike Selena's paper, which looked like it had been roughly torn apart with force, Zeke's had a clean cut, as if sliced with a sharp knife.
‘With bread…’
Zeke’s prowess never ceased to amaze her.
How long would it take for her to achieve that level of skill?
“Of course, you’ll be able to do this much soon enough.”
Zeke said as if it were nothing.
“This is just the minimum requirement. What you truly need to achieve is this.”
Zeke stacked two sheets of paper this time.
And once again, he lightly swiped with the bread.
It looked no different from before, but
only the top sheet of the perfectly stacked paper was cut in half.
The paper underneath was completely unscathed, without a single scratch.
“To achieve this, you need the technique to release just the right amount of mana and maintain its sharpness.”
Selena gulped.
This technique was likely several times more difficult than she had imagined.
“...Instructor, do you have any hints?”
“I do.”
“...!”
“I found it easy when I did it neatly, cleanly, and with good sense.”
Selena glared at Zeke.
***
Thus began Zeke’s task.
Selena continued her training without sleep.
She was so dedicated that the maids and the butler came out to try and stop her.
“Lady Selena! You’ll collapse at this rate!”
“If the Head of the family finds out, we don’t know what will happen to us!!”
When various methods failed, they even tried to appeal to her sympathy, but
Selena's resolve was firm.
“I will become a knight.”
Selena dismissed everyone and ate and slept in the mansion's training ground.
Her concentration waned with each passing day, and blisters formed on her hands.
Countless paper scraps littered the training ground floor.
Cutting thin paper.
That was all it was.
Selena didn't give up.
“I can do it…!”
Selena's mana well had long since run dry.
Every time her mana replenished even slightly, she would raise her sword,
and meditate until it was fully restored.
Late one night, as Selena continued her training, her concentration completely gave out.
She was so exhausted that she would have collapsed if someone had nudged her.
Unaware of her physical state, she squeezed out the last of her mana and channeled it into her wooden sword.
“Ugh!”
With a jolt of pain, the minuscule amount of remaining mana enveloped Selena’s wooden sword.
And then
Swish—
The wooden sword swung weakly.
The paper in front of it split cleanly in two.
“...Huh?”
The paper slowly fell before Selena’s eyes.
“I-I did it…”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She couldn't count how many times she had wanted to give up.
“I did it…”
But she had done it. She had finally done it.
“I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Overwhelmed with joy, Selena tossed her wooden sword aside, raised her hands in the air, and let out a triumphant cry.
However.
Flutter—
Flutter—
…Flutter—
…Flutter—
The fluttering paper split from two pieces into four.
“Ah… Right.”
Zeke’s task was to cut only the front sheet of paper without cutting the one behind it.
But the paper before her eyes was in four pieces.
The paper scraps fell mercilessly to the floor.
A wave of disappointment washed over her, but
Selena gritted her teeth and raised her sword once more.
“Dammit…! Just you wait and see!”
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