Chapter 65

Chapter 65

The place where the Sparring would take place was an old Training Grounds in a corner of the mansion.

“Surely this place…… was your choice, Sohwi?”

“Of course.”

Standing opposite me, the fellow grinned innocently.

“There is no place more fitting than this!”

This was the oldest Training Grounds in the Jin Clan.

It was small in scale, bore the marks of time here and there, and was all the more deserted for it.

Perhaps the least popular Training Grounds in White Cloud Castle was the very place where I had first learned the White Cloud Sword Method from Jin Sohwi.

“That is true.”

I looked around for a moment.

I had been the one to choose this Training Grounds in the first place.

It had seemed quiet, unobtrusive, and quite suitable for training.

Then Jin Sohwi had come here and taught me.

A little later, Persica had come as well and trained together with us.

The old and worn Training Grounds was unpopular among the people of White Cloud Castle, so during our stay here, only the three of us had visited it.

“There really is no place like this.”

And now, countless people had gathered in that Training Grounds.

Elder Jin Baek sat under the shade.

The family’s chief disciples, who had trained with us, were there.

So were the servants with whom we had shared hardships while staying at the mansion, and even Lavina, who was picking at refreshments in a corner.

‘You are here too, Hyeollyeo.’

[Hm?]

And Hyeollyeo as well, who others could not see but who had come to be with me.

As I looked at the Training Grounds, now filled before I knew it with countless bonds, I felt an emotion welling up in a corner of my chest.

“Then are you ready, Junior Disciple-Brother?”

“Anytime, Senior Disciple-Brother.”

Watching us draw our swords at the same time, Persica shook her head as if there was no helping us.

Having appointed herself the judge, she stood between us.

“Who will win? It has to be Young Master Sohwi, right?”

“Of course it will be Isran! I still cannot forget how that fellow mastered a Cultivation Method in a single day!”

“This is a Sparring match that makes one’s heart swell……”

“Good luck, pretty boy!”

Excited voices from here and there tickled my ears.

Voices cheering for me, and voices cheering for Jin Sohwi.

Their words differed from one another, but the emotion contained within them was one and the same.

“Then, ready.”

Persica drew her sword.

Her silver Rapier was placed between the two of us.

Everyone held their breath and watched us.

Jin Sohwi’s eyes met mine.

“Begin!”

She withdrew her blade and retreated with lightning speed.

At the same time, my sword and Jin Sohwi’s Saber collided.

CLANG!

A clear metallic sound rang out.

The first exchange was a Form from the same White Cloud Sword Method.

A Sword Method symbolizing that we shared the same root.

And before we knew it, each of our Sword Methods had come to reflect the other’s habits.

Jin Sohwi wielded a cheerful Swordsmanship like the winding blue sky.

And I wielded Swordsmanship like the ever-changing flow of a Cloud Current.

Through our swords, we were sharing each other’s history.

“Ha ha! Not bad! I cannot believe this is the skill of someone who only entered the method a month ago!”

Jin Sohwi was smiling.

Because fighting me was enjoyable……Yes.

Because he found it truly enjoyable, his face was colored with unconcealed delight.

“Isran!”

Another exchange.

After trading a blow with me, he spoke.

“What do you think a bond is?”

“That is sudden.”

“Just answer me!”

“Well……”

People meeting people.

If one were to define it simply, that was probably what a bond was.

The exchanges continued.

Once again, our weapons collided.

[White Cloud Sword Method: Buddha Patriarch]

[First Form – Rising Cloud]

The blow that rose smoothly to cut upward was blocked by a Sword Strike that descended with strength.

[White Cloud Sword Method: Buddha Patriarch]

[Second Form – Gathering Turbulence]

CLANG!

Glittering sparks scattered as we opened the distance.

“It seems you have never thought about it.”

“……It is difficult to express in a single word.”

“I thought so!”

After laughing heartily, he spoke as if making a declaration.

“To me, a bond is ‘enjoyment.’”

He took his Stance.

I took mine in turn.

“A bond is sharing enjoyment! To compete, to come to know one another, and to become joyful together—that is life itself!”

“…….”

“I want you to know that feeling.”

At those words, my face went blank for a moment.

“You……”

“Did you think I would not know?”

“…….”

I see.

It seemed Jin Sohwi had already known.

That I knew how to feel, but did not know how to express it.

That I did not know what the emotion stirring my heart was.

“A human like you is like emptiness. You have a heart, but you do not know what it is.”

Those were words that pierced through something.

They struck through the greatest question that defined the person I was.

Yet although his words pierced me, they did not shake me.

Because they were not words meant to do so.

Instead, his words were giving me one answer.

“A human only truly grows when he fills his heart.”

Mana filled his sword.

His Core pulsed and emitted Mana.

“Accept ‘you,’ express ‘me,’ and paint your emotions. You must learn how to paint emotions onto that blank-canvas expression of yours.”

After meeting Jin Sohwi.

Although he had always said we should Spar, he had never actually requested a Sparring match.

I had never thought deeply about that behavior, but now I felt I could understand it.

He had been waiting for me to be ready.

As I learned many things, he had waited for me to become aware of the emotions that came with them.

“How did you feel while learning Martial Arts? How did you feel when you achieved something?”

“I……”

I placed a hand on my chest.

When I first moved my body after coming to this world.

When I learned the sword and shed sweat.

When I learned one unknown thing after another.

“……It was enjoyable.”

It had been enjoyable.

Although I had not consciously realized it.

I had certainly been smiling in each of those moments.

“I was enjoying myself.”

At that moment, I was finally able to see the scenery around me in its entirety.

Elder Jin Baek, sitting beneath the shade and laughing heartily.

The Jin Clan’s chief disciples, chattering noisily.

The servants, watching this place with shining eyes, and Lavina, shouting as if cheering.

Persica, smiling.

Hyeollyeo, watching with satisfaction.

And.

Going back a little further.

─Now!

Ishara’s.

Her shining smile.

─Smile!

I felt as if I finally understood the emotion that had run through all those moments.

Joy.

I had come to know that this was joy.

“I see.”

I was a human who did not know how to express himself.

Because I had never learned emotions, I had not even known what it was that made my heart tremble.

However, after meeting Ishara.

For the first time, I painted sorrow. I shed tears.

Sorrow was the first emotion I had come to understand.

Because of that, I would now be able to shed tears in moments of sorrow.

“Ha ha.”

And now, I was joyful.

I had learned what came “after” sorrow.

I had become able to express joy through my expression and laughter.

This was what Jin Sohwi had wanted to teach me.

“You bastard. You finally smile a little like a human being. You have no idea how frustrated I have been all this time!”

“Ha ha…… Ha ha ha!”

To communicate with another person, it was not enough merely to know.

To share a bond, one had to answer another’s expression with one’s own expression. One had to return it.

Jin Sohwi had conveyed that to me through the method called “Sparring.”

Competing with someone, showing each other one’s martial arts, and sharing joy.

That was the way he treated bonds.

A Thought-Force that wished to share the joy of “me” with “you.”

The Thought-Force of Joy.

“Thank you.”

I smiled and gripped my sword.

I took my Stance.

With the White Cloud Sword Method that was me, with my own Swordsmanship.

I prepared Secret Art: Ethrana anew.

I shared my sword, and I shared my memories.

At this moment, I was joyful.

THUMP—My Core pulsed greatly once.

Myriad Currents Bond Cultivation was responding.

The Mana that had always swayed faintly now began bouncing lively and bright.

‘So that was it.’

Mana was the manifestation of Thought-Force, and emotion was naturally contained within Thought-Force.

Why had my Mana been so faint and calm?

It was because the only emotion I could place within it had been sorrow.

However, now I knew joy.

I had become able to express it.

“How are you now, Isran?”

“I am—”

Now, I could say it clearly.

“Joyful.”

“Ha ha ha!”

He laughed.

As if this change in me was truly enjoyable to him.

“Remember that emotion!”

Our swords clashed.

More brightly. Filled with vitality.

“Why do we challenge the unknown? Because nothing other than that is enjoyable!”

That likely did not refer only to Dungeons.

As we head toward the end of the unknown, we form countless bonds.

The entire process of connecting and continuing onward is itself the unknown.

“With such emotions in our hearts, we must sink toward what lies below!”

To descend deeper, there were truly many things one had to carry.

“Now! Isran!”

“Jin Sohwi.”

Before I knew it, I was out of breath.

Sweat had dampened my clothes a little, and the cool breeze that blew gently chilled it pleasantly.

A dazzling flame of Sword Aura wrapped around my sword.

It sparkled and burned brightly.

“Come!”

Jin Sohwi unleashed his Swordsmanship.

The strongest Form he had learned at present filled his Saber.

[White Cloud Sword Method: Direct Pointing]

[Twelfth Form – White Sea Cloud Dragon Dance]

“I am coming.”

And so, I answered him without yielding.

With the strongest power I could unleash, I painted the emotion I had newly learned.

[Secret Art: Ethrana]

[Chapter Two – Fix Blade]

Then, our two blades collided.

The sword of violet flame released a single flash, while the silver Saber surged forward like a dragon dancing through a sea of clouds.

CLANG!!

A flash of lightning gleamed.

A single Saber blade was cut in half and flew into the air.

Jin Sohwi’s defeat.

My victory.

“I……”

“Ahahahaha!!”

Even though he had lost, the fellow laughed.

He was soaked in sweat, his hair was a mess, and even his weapon had broken, leaving him looking utterly unimpressive.

Yet Jin Sohwi laughed more freely than anyone.

“You are strong! I am completely satisfied!”

“Ha ha. Seriously, you are a once-in-a-lifetime madman.”

“Uha ha ha!”

Today, I learned another emotion.

I came to know the joy of “me,” and I learned the joy of “you.”

I had become able to paint laughter over my colorless face.

“Bah…… To think Jin Sohwi lost even at the very end……”

“I knew it! I told you Isran would win!”

“Kyaaah! Pretty boy, you were so wonderful!”

“Er…… Is the Young Lady of Lorentze not showing too much personal interest?”

Amid cheers from every direction, Persica approached.

With a faint smile, she planted her sword into the ground and declared,

“Winner, Isran!”

WAAAAAAAH───!!

“I will win next time!”

“Challenge me anytime.”

I planted my sword into the ground as well and faced my friend.

Now I knew what kind of expression I was wearing.

It was surely pure and gentle, blossoming softly.

A smile resembling White Cloud.

“Let us meet again!”

We gave each other a Martial Salute.

The Sparring was over.

***

That day, we left White Cloud Castle as planned.

Before heading to the Third Floor, there were matters we had to take care of briefly on the surface.

Persica and I. And Lavina, who had to return to the surface as well.

The return party consisted of the three of us.

Those who came to see us off were modest in number.

A few attendants, Jin Sohwi, and Jin Baek saw us on our way.

“Take these with you.”

Jin Baek gave Persica and me each a Jade Token with our names written on it.

“If you show that, you will be able to enter the Jin Clan’s mansion at any time.”

It meant he would give us rooms whenever we visited the Second Floor.

In effect, he was saying he would treat us as members of the family.

“Thank you.”

“I will treasure it.”

The two of us bowed our heads.

Lavina tilted her head.

“Umm~ Elder? Is there nothing for me……?”

“What have you done?”

“Urk…… I-I worked hard on rescue efforts too!”

“Tell that to the Temple.”

“Sniff……”

Lavina, who had received nothing, let her shoulders droop.

Considering that their families were not on good terms, and that she had been trolling since their first meeting, it was only natural.

“I will not tell you to farewell. As long as you continue entering the Dungeon, we will see one another countless times.”

“That is true.”

“You will not even say, as empty words, that you will enter my family. Tsk……”

“I only ever speak sincerely.”

Jin Baek clicked his tongue, but in the end, he looked at me and smiled faintly.

“Let us meet again.”

“Yes.”

After saying farewell to Jin Sohwi as well, we returned to the surface, ending our long expedition.

We exchanged the remaining Mana Stones for money, disposed of our miscellaneous items, and then settled the expedition at our usual corner seat in the Cafe.

“Uuuugh~ Today, I am going back and doing nothing but sleeping. I am tired.”

Persica stretched with a sense of relief.

It was probably because she had achieved much through this expedition.

“My family probably will not be able to say much about my Dungeon trips now.”

“Because you became 3-Star?”

“Of course.”

Of course, that was not the only reason.

She had defended White Cloud Castle against the Downfall Order and successfully saved people.

With achievements like these, her family would have no choice but to acknowledge her as a proper Adventurer.

“What! You two became 3-Star? When!?”

“A little while ago.”

Had she really not known?

Lavina, who was still only 2-Star, grew tearful.

Pushing away Lavina as she clung to me, I asked Persica,

“Will that man Elos be all right?”

“Gordon will cover for him somehow. For Ortanis’s sake, they will probably let it slide this once.”

The reason I had been able to gain ‘his’ assistance was entirely thanks to the Seal that Elos had given me.

So I had been inwardly worried he might be harmed, but fortunately, it seemed he at least had a fence capable of protecting him.

Above all, Lorentze’s master had remained quiet despite what had happened, and from what I heard, he had returned immediately after the battle ended without any particular hysteria.

‘I just hope he did not take his anger out on anyone innocent.’

We organized our respective schedules and prepared to part ways.

Of course, the same was true for Lavina, who said she also had to return once to Lorentze’s mansion to report.

Even though she pretended otherwise, now that the time had come to part, it was clear she felt reluctant.

Even if she complained all the time, she did not truly dislike Persica.

To such a Lavina, Persica said,

“Lavina.”

“……What?”

“Later, let us go to the Dungeon together.”

Lavina’s eyes widened.

“To the D-Dungeon…… with me? Truly?!”

“Truly.”

At the affirmation that followed, the corners of her mouth trembled.

She tried hard to hide it, but anyone could see she was delighted.

“H-Hmph! If you insist on asking me, then I suppose I have no choice!”

What an easy girl.

Her thoughts were so obvious.

Meeting each other’s eyes at the same time, Persica and I burst into faint laughter.

“Then see you again, pretty boy! Ah, right! Grátĭa! May your journey be filled with… uh… what was it again?”

“May your journey be filled with good fortune.”

“Anyway, that! Goodbye!”

How did a Priest know less about greetings than I did?

Whether she did or not, Lavina waved her hands wildly and returned with the Lorentze Knights who had come to meet her.

“See you later.”

“Yeah.”

Persica left as well.

Now I was alone, but it was still too early to return to my lodging.

There was somewhere I had to stop by before that.

“Then…… it is time to go to the Central Temple.”

I touched the sword at my waist.

Now, it was time to meet the Apostle of the Golden Rule.