Chrome Shelled Regios:Volume1 Chapter5
Chapter 5: Point of difference
This is my fourth letter but I still haven’t received yours. I’m beginning to worry that you haven’t been getting mine.
Honestly, I’m feeling a bit down.
What is it like to have a dream?
I’m beginning to understand that feeling.
I feel that……It's innocent and dazzling, like the something at the bottom of a cave. No matter how much you stretch out your hand, you can’t reach it. A place of deep despair.
The good friends I’ve made here shine from a place that I can never reach.
You also shine with light.
Back then, I didn’t understand why you could be so diligent and hardworking on such a boring thing. I was too desperate to live, and because of that, I missed the point.
What forced me to become like that? I was running away. It’s unsightly of me to place the blame elsewhere.
Now, I don’t find your goal boring. In reverse, I’m envious of you.
Can I still grasp hold of it now? Grasp hold of the thing on the very bottom, the unreachable…… the thing that might not even be there.
I’m struggling with whether I should send this letter or not. Useless content.
But I still think I should send this. I want to hear your opinion. Don’t complicate it. I just want to hear what you think.
I want to read your reply because of this letter.
Your dream is and has always been dazzling. Please don’t lose it.
To dear Leerin Marfes.
Layfon Alseif.
Nina walked in a brusque manner along the corridor, stamping the floor with force. A girl passing by, holding a pile of documents and looked to be a member of the Student Council quickly moved aside for her.
It was natural for the girl to be startled. Dust and soil particles were stuck on Nina’s forehead and cheeks. Her golden hair was dirty and messy, even her Military Arts uniform was in tatters. There weren’t many students who could walk around with that appearance, full of anger.
Nina was outraged. She wasn’t quite sure why she was incensed, but she was currently throwing a tantrum.
Unsuspicious of the anger inside her, she had stomped over here after the match, propelled by her emotion. Layfon had fainted when the siren rang out and was carried away on a stretcher. There wasn’t anything unusual with the flow of his Kei, so he must have just lost consciousness.
“Just what was that about?” Nina let out her words in resentment and pounded heavily on the door of the Student President’s room.
“Come in.”
Before the reply came through, she had already pushed open the door on her own.
Besides the bitterly smiling Karian, Vance was also in the room. Vance’s presence calmed her down. She halted her steps.
“Third year of Military Arts, Nina Antalk is coming in.”
“Please.”
Karian said that and then praised her.
“Congratulations for your first win.”
Nina’s brow furrowed. “…… Just what was that?”
“Uh? You mean?”
“Layfon Alseif. You know he’s not a normal person, don’t you?”
“Why do you think so?”
“This is all too strange. He really did well in the opening ceremony, but before his ability was confirmed, you transferred him into Military Arts and nominated him to join my platoon. During that time, there must be lots of people thinking you were just being blinded by his brilliant performance. But you didn’t take any action afterwards…… that wasn’t possible according to your personality.”
“But you accepted Layfon. Don’t you admire his performance today?”
“I’ve tested him.”
She had had Felli bring him to the training room and had tested his strength. She didn’t feel that the Layfon at that time didn’t want to show his true strength. She felt if he had more training, his strength could exceed that of their existing members’.
Though that judgement was totally in error.
The issue wasn’t that Layfon could become stronger after more training. He didn’t need training at all.
She saw Layfon’s true strength in the platoon match just then. Needle Kei and Whirl Kei…… he couldn’t have mastered that power in a short period of time.
Vance nodded in agreement. He glanced at the screen that was about to broadcast the fourth match, and turned her gaze back to Karian.
“You seem to know who Layfon Alseif is. Did you know of his identity before this match?”
Karian shook his head.
“It’s not that easy to obtain intelligence on other cities.”
The other two people in the room weren’t convinced.
“I only found out about him by chance,” he raised his hands in surrender.
“How did you two come to this academy?”
“On a roaming bus of course.”
“It’s a given to ride the roaming buses. We normally can only move between cities by riding the roaming buses, but what I mean is the route.”
“Route?”
“Yes. All the roaming buses eventually return back to the Traffic City Joeldem and then depart from there. Only the consciousness of Joeldem knows the correct positions of all the mobile cities. But sometimes a roaming bus might not come directly from Joeldem. It might go around to other cities before arriving here.”
Nina nodded. She had gone past three cities before arriving at Zuellni.
“Did you go past Grendan?” Nina asked.
Karian nodded. “I took three months to arrive at Zuellni. During my travel, I waited for a roaming bus for two weeks at Grendan. It wasn’t boring over there at all because of the numerous Military Arts matches being held. Fortunately, I saw a Heaven Blade successor match.”
“Heaven Blade?”
Nina glanced at Vance. Vance didn’t seem to know of it, so she waited for Karian to explain.
“That isn’t just a title for the twelve most excellent Military Artists in the Lance Shelled city, Grendan……. A certain special item also comes with that title, but as an outsider, I’ve no idea what it is.”
While listening to Karian, Nina thought of what could have happened.
Layfon was from Grendan. That was right. Since Karian rode the roaming bus to Zuellni for first year study, this meant he must have stayed at Grendan five years ago.
Five years ago? …… Layfon wasn’t even ten years of age!
“How was that possible……”
“I know there’re geniuses in the world. But even I was greatly moved by his performance. So surprised that I was speechless. I don’t have the talent in Military Arts, but everyone watching that match was all shocked by the scene.”
A kid, who might not even be ten years old yet, easily dragged the long sword around and defeated an adult.
“It wasn’t just men, everyone was overwhelmed and shocked. It was an extraordinary and rare reality. A kid could actually top the Military Arts world. I can’t forget that name. When I saw his name on the scholarship application, it wasn’t possible for me to miss it. For him to settle in Zuellni during this time is like a saviour’s been born. At the same time, I didn’t understand why he left Grendan and wanted to specialize in General Studies. No, I wasn’t surprised at his entering General Studies. He doesn’t need anyone to teach him Military Arts. Even so, I was still curious about the real reason behind his decision, so I investigated him, and that result came to my desk the day before the opening ceremony.”
“So……”
Nina swallowed, trying to remove the feeling of something sticking to her throat.
Right.
She suddenly realized why she was so angry.
She got it now. Layfon had never used his true strength in training. Never mind that. What was unforgivable was the fact that he deliberately lost to her when they first fought. He could have defeated her easily, but he chose to lose to her.
It felt like an insult to Nina.
Even so, the truth might not be what it looked like on the surface.
She suppressed her anger and pondered more calmly. Perhaps the excited Karian could calm her down further.
So what was Military Arts to Layfon? Perhaps he didn’t like it. If he liked it, even though he didn’t need any training, he’d have entered Military Arts.
(Speaking of which……)
She remembered. Didn’t he say that when they were eating supper at the Mechanical Department?
“Not Military Arts. I’ve already failed it.”
She had forgotten that soon afterwards, distracted by the Electronic Fairy. But thinking of it now, his words seemed to hide some deeper meaning.
Failed?
Just what was that about?
The Layfon who was a top Military Artist in Grendan. Just what mistake did he make?
“He……”
Nina almost perked up her ears by reflex.
She wanted to know.
But then, perhaps she shouldn’t be listening to this. If she knew, she might not let Layfon stay in the team. Perhaps she wouldn’t be able to forgive him.
Just when her heart was swaying this way and that, Karian continued.
“He had tainted the reputation of a Heaven Blade successor.”
It seemed that nothing good ever happened if he were to wake up in the clinic.
“I’m here again……”
Layfon woke up and realized what he had done. He held his head, hating himself.
He felt his head and found many lumps on it. No wonder it felt as if his head was in cramps.
“Ah……”
As he moaned, trying to escape the pain, his gaze moved to the interior of the clinic and saw something placed on the bench. Something that looked like a big basket and three female schoolbags. Then rowdy noises drifted near from the corridor, and the door was pushed open.
“Ah, Layton’s up!” Mifi said loudly with a paper cup in hand. Mei-Shen and Naruki were standing behind her.
“How do you feel? Are you all right? Speaking of which, you were incredible. You gave me such a scare.”
Layfon smiled sourly and sat up on the bed.
“I didn’t know you were that strong. The last two moves were amazing,” Naruki said.
Naruki said that because she was also in Military Arts. The bitterness on Layfon’s face deepened.
Noticing Layfon’s look, she changed her expression.
“…… So are you ok?”
Layfon took the juice from Mei-Shen. The juice wetted his thirsty throat. He drank from the cup as if to let the liquid seep through his entire body.
“Thanks. I feel much better.”
Mei-Shen’s face reddened. She lowered her head and half ran from the side of the bed to the long bench.
“…… Um, if you’re hungry, I’ve got bento……”
“Uh, thank you.”
Layfon got off the bed, made his way to the long bench and looked into the basket. It was divided into two sections. One held sandwiches; the other had something paper wrapped that appeared to be baked biscuits.
“I’m hungry.”
He hadn’t been eating since his stomach hurt from early morning. Looking at the basket, he now wanted to eat.
He took a sandwich and bite into it. Sensing the gaze directing at his face, he ate the sandwich in two bites and washed it down with juice.
“It’s delicious.”
Mei-Shen’s tense expression turned into a blossoming smile.
“Uh……”
Layfon hesitated, reaching out for more.
“We aren’t hungry. It’s ok if you eat it all.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just eat it all,” Naruki and Mifi said. Mei-Shen nodded. So he took another sandwich.
“I’ll go buy some juice.”
“I’m going with you.”
The girls’ sudden movements alarmed Mei-Shen.
“…… Wu, you two!” she protested.
“Don’t worry. We’ll buy your share,” Naruki said to Mei-Shen, who was waving at them in agitation.
“Ah, yes, yes. Your platoon’s going to celebrate the victory. We’ve been invited too.”
“Oh, ok, got it,” Layfon replied.
Recalling the match brought a shadow over him, but eating took priority. Naruki and Mifi left the room.
Now that they were left alone in the room, Mei-Shen had lost her calm. Sitting next to Layfon, she fidgeted and played with her fingers, her gaze darting around.
After finishing the fourth sandwich and settling his stomach, he noticed Mei-Shen’s peculiar behaviour.
(Ah, she must be shy?)
And he felt awkward and embarrassed. It was bad of Naruki and Mifi to leave her when they knew she’d become like this.
“I’m sorry for making you make the bento.”
“…… Not at all, this is th…… thank you.”
“Thank you?”
“…… You saved me.”
Recalling what he did in the opening ceremony, he shook his head.
“That was nothing.”
He wasn’t thinking of saving her. His body just moved on its own.
That was all there was to it.
“…… But, I was still saved.”
“Then I’ll genuinely receive your goodwill, but I’ve almost eaten it all.”
Mei-Shen laughed lightly at the joke. Feeling embarrassed, Layfon grabbed another sandwich.
“…… Lay…… ton. You’re strong,” Mei-Shen whispered as he finished up the last sandwich.
“No…… not at all.”
Even though he wanted to deny it, he knew inside him was another “him” who couldn’t deny himself. He understood he had extraordinary strength in Military Arts. He tried his all to hide it. He didn’t know how the Student President found out, but he thought he could solve this issue since Karian didn’t seem to have leaked the secret.
But he had dashed that hope in today’s match.
There must be a student here from Grendan. For those who thought they had mistaken him for someone else would now know he was a Heaven Blade wielder.
“…… You’re really strong. Like how you struck down those two instantly……”
The huge screen set in the audience section must have broadcasted his image.
“…… but, why didn’t you finish them before?”
The question he had been anticipating now lay before him. He noticed the smell of earth on his clothes. The people in the Medical course had dusted off some of the soil on Layfon before putting him in bed, but that wasn’t enough to clean the dirty clothes. While thinking of that, he remembered the pain in his head.
(I must have rolled too much on the ground.)
In the arena, Layfon had had difficulty thinking because of his head bumping here and there. He thought back to the scene of Nina receiving repeated attacks. Compared to his real strength, she wouldn’t have let her pain muddle her brain.
“I wasn’t planning on winning.”
He decided to be honest.
“I don’t care about the me who trained in Military Arts. I didn’t start training in it because I liked it. I didn’t have anyone encouraging me to study it. I learned it because there was a need.”
“Besides, Military Arts isn’t necessary to me anymore, so I’m letting go of it,” he said in small voice.
Mei-Shen watched him with wide eyes.
If…… if he was more used to it, he might have lost the match even more beautifully. That was how he thought, but he was unable to do so in battle. As long as he held a weapon…… even if he wasn’t doing his best, he always fought seriously. This had nothing to do with the strength of the opponent. He had no other feelings other than to fight seriously for the result of victory.
“I told you before that I’m an orphan, didn’t I?”
Mei-Shen nodded and moved away her awkward gaze.
“The Head of our orphanage was terrible with money, so he was always troubled by it. Looking at the dwindling food, I guessed the Head must be losing money again, so I was always afraid that one day, there might not be food at all.”
At that time, he encountered the skill of katana.
“I was told I had the talent for the katana, so I decided to make money with it. I participated in all kinds of matches and won lots of prize money……”
And before he knew it, he had become a Heaven Blade successor.
Perhaps, for people who dreamt of becoming a Heaven Blade successor would be outraged by his words. To him though, this was his truth. This was the level of value that the title “Heaven Blade” held for him. It was only a part of the process to reaching his goal.
“The situation at the orphanage improved because of the prize money. Everyone was grateful to me.”
“…… So you then decided not to train in Military Arts again?”
“Yes, since there was enough money. Unfortunately it isn’t enough for my school fees. That can’t be helped, so I’ve to earn money through some other means.”
“…… Don’t you miss it at all?”
Layfon smiled naturally and nodded. “Yeah, but I still haven’t found out what I want to do……”
“…… You’ll definitely find it,” Mei-Shen said in a light and shy voice. She hunched her shoulders, her body seeming to become even smaller.
“But……”
Looking at the floor, she added. “…… You were incredible…… in the match…… but you were a bit cunning.”
“Huh?”
“…… Why did you win if you’ve decided to lose the match?”
“……”
He wanted to say he couldn’t think properly because of his bumpy head, but on second thought, he swallowed the words. It wasn’t a good enough reason, besides, he didn’t want Mei-Shen to know more about it.
“…… Layton, you’ve your own way of thinking. I don’t know much…… about winning or losing matches…… but, if you’ve decided to lose, I think it’s better to lose the match. It’s not so good to change halfway through…… About finding what I like doing, I can’t properly explain why I like making savories. I don’t know how to discover an interest, so can’t give you any suggestion……”
She paused as if to take a deep breath, and then continued, “But the Lay…… ton at the opening ceremony was cool. I want to see the Layton back then.”
Her face was all red. Then she added lightly. “Sorry.”
Layfon remained silent, and could only shake his head.
Afterwards, he chatted a bit with Naruki and Mifi. They all decided to part ways before tonight’s celebration party.
Back in the dormitory, Layfon took off his dirty clothes and went to have a shower.
Coming back to the room, refreshed, he looked at the paper bag on the desk.
In it were Mei-Shen’s biscuits.
“I don’t really like sweets.”
He had taken the package with him without opening it, not wanting to refuse her.
Now he opened the paper bag. The sealed off sweet aroma rushed out to pat his nose. He wasn’t sure why, but it smelt like Mei-Shen. The image of Mei-Shen surfaced in his mind. Because of her passion in sweets, she was doing a job she wasn’t good at. He recalled how she peeked at him eating sandwiches, her face lowered and pink.
He popped a biscuit into his mouth.
“…… So sweet.”
Of course.
But he didn’t hate the sweetness on his tongue. It was good for the body to eat something sweet when tired.
“Ahah……” Holding the bag in one hand, he fell into a sitting position. He brushed aside the hair falling across his eyes, and gazed at the floor.
He had lied to Mei-Shen.
To put it correctly, he had hidden from her things that would disadvantage him in her eyes. This way, nobody would get hurt.
But he resented himself for only wanting to maintain his good image.
Either way, his pretense had been exposed. He was useless in the match. He didn’t plan on winning, but the other half of him had taken action for victory. It seemed as if he was hiding his real strength so to hoard the spotlight in the end.
Besides, what could he do after winning?
Go back to train in Military Arts?
No.
Well……
“Just what do I want to do?”
Who knew how many times he had asked that question already? But he still had to ask. What had he got besides Military Arts?
Could there be anything else for him to do?
Nothing. He just wanted to be doing something. He walked on a path with no dream and no obstacles. All he wanted was to try walking on a path by relying on himself.
He hadn’t even decided on where to go.
And he came to Zuellni for that purpose. But the situation of the Academy and the Student President who knew of his past were refusing him the expectation of discovering his interest.
Layfon grabbed another biscuit. Mei-Shen probably knew he didn’t like sweets, so she had made them with less sugar. They tasted nice.
Her consideration pained him. It reproached him.
What was he like, the “cool Layfon” in her eyes?
“So sweet, it really is……”
He ate another biscuit.
The day after the platoon match passed by smoothly. It was now night time.
Naruki walked near the fighting arena with a torch in one hand. On her breast was a City Police badge. A baton hung from her harness. She was patrolling with a Military Arts senpai.
“Is that first year in the 17th platoon your classmate?”
“Yes.”
A wry smile crossed Naruki’s face at the curiosity of her senpai.
A great number of people had moved over to the busier part of the city at night, so the surroundings of the arena were quiet and empty. Some people would use this chance to carry out activities here, such as lovers doing something indecent, and students in alchemy and construction conducting illegal experiments.
Still, this patrol was a leisure job.
Senpai told her of what the alchemy students did here and how students from the mechanical course used their machines for underground gambling matches. And somehow, the conversation came to focus on Layfon.
“He’s amazing. No that many in Military Arts can reach his level. Just who is he?”
“Who knows…… he doesn’t talk much about that.”
It was more like Layfon himself didn’t want to talk about his past. His unenthusiastic expression was all the answer that people received for the various questions that they threw at him yesterday in the celebration party.
“I just know he’s from Grendan.”
“Grendan? Ah, I see. But not everyone knows Military Arts even in Grendan. Ah, speaking of which……”
“What?”
“A Military Artist came here from Grendan last year. A good-for-nothing. What an absolute horror in group training,” she said, trying to suppress her laughter.
“…… What was so horrible?”
“Oh, I haven’t finished. If one’s entered Military Arts course, one should have trained in the basics of Internal type or External burst type Kei, right? That girl kept boasting about her Kei and how it was just a basic level in Grendan, but in real combat, she couldn’t even reach the lowest level. The other girls finished her off so easily. She ended up withdrawing from the course after only half a year. We all thought Grendan wasn’t that great, but after watching yesterday’s match, it really isn’t just all talk about Grendan.”
“Are there few students from Grendan?”
“Well, I only know that girl from Grendan. Grendan seems to have moved very far from Zuellni in these few years. Isn’t it safer to go to a closer Academy City? So I don’t think students from Grendan would come all the way out here. Perhaps that girl thought she wouldn’t have to use Kei if she went to a place far away from Grendan,” senpai giggled.
Naruki sank into contemplation. Couldn’t the example of the female student fit Layfon?
It made more sense to enter an Academy City closer to home. This minimized the potential danger for spending too much time on a roaming bus. It was impossible to know the exact location of a city, but the Traffic Department was able to speculate its location through the whereabouts and number of traveling days of various roaming buses. Even Naurki and her friends used the information from the Traffic Department to narrow down their options and finally picked Zuellni.
(Did Layfon deliberately choose a far away Academy City?)
She thought so. So he chose this place because it didn’t have as many people from Grendan? She didn’t understand, but this speculation felt close to the truth. For him who was hiding a secret, he wouldn’t have wanted people near him to know it. So he purposefully picked a distant place.
If so……
“Um?”
“…… What’s it?” the senpai turned around, as Naruki had been deep in thought and had lagged behind.
“No. Nothing," Naruki shook her head and ran to catch up with her.
If so…… was there an issue with Layfon? No. Not at all.
As long as a person lived, he had to have experienced a sad or embarrassing past that he wanted to wipe clean. There was nothing wrong with escaping the place where he kept recalling his bad memories.
(Ah, but this depends on the situation.)
The person she was worried about wasn’t Layfon, but Mei-Shen. Obviously, Mei-Shen liked him. The closer she got to him, the more possible she’d come into contact with the truth he was hiding. No, maybe she had already touched it. If the two were to be together… Naruki didn’t want them to develop a distant relationship of being afraid to touch each other’s wound.
What would Mei-Shen do?
(If it’s her……)
No problem. Sure, but Naruki couldn’t think like that.
(Perhaps she’ll be pretty down.)
This was worrying.
From little, Mei-Shen had always hidden behind Naruki, the tallest of the three who also knew how to fight. Nobody bothered with Mifi. Mifi liked to use the fastest means to grab hold of the other person’s secret and use it to avenge in the evilest possible way.
Mei-Shen grew up being protected by them.
But she wasn’t just being protected.
Both Naruki and Mifi fell under the charm of Mei-Shen’s savories. They wouldn’t dare lift their heads before her if they played over the line. Mei-Shen wouldn’t make any sweets for them. But even so, Mei-Shen rarely left the small circle to contact with the outside world. Her assertive action of working in the coffee shop was a great improvement. However, this wasn’t enough to build a relationship with someone outside their circle.
Naruki was really worried.
(Um, what should I do? Maybe I should interrogate the truth out of Layfon? Mei-Shen might really fall into despair if it’s a hard truth. What should I do? He’s weak in personality. Perhaps it’s better to use my authority as a City Police? Just make up some evidence to threaten him and arrest him?)
Deep in thought, Naruki had been walking slowly. The senpai strolling ahead of her turned back to look….
And at the same time……
“Whhaaa……” she lost her balance and fell onto the grass.
The ground was shaking.
“What’s it?”
The intensity of the tremor made Naruki kneel down. The trees lining the road and the buildings around them clamoured. The streetlights shook violently, as if they could fall down any moment. The light jumped.
“Whwhwh….. What’s happening?”
Senpai grabbed hold of one of the streetlights. It seemed to be her first time experiencing an earthquake.
“This is an earthquake. The cause could be an uneven ground or the city not having a firm foothold……”
“Oh? …… I see.” It took a while for senpai to comprehend her meaning.
It was easy to forget this truth while living a normal life in the city. Zuellni was moving continuously.
When Naruki was very young, an earthquake of greater magnitude than this had occurred in her city because Joeldem was trapped in the ground with a weak crust. The earthquake caused huge damages.
When the shaking gradually eased, Naruki stood up. It didn’t look like there was a fire anywhere. She couldn’t hear the racket from the residential district as it was a bit far from here, but things must be chaotic over there.
She thought of Mifi and Mei-Shen. They should be sleeping in the dormitory.
“I hope there aren’t any accidents.”
And the shrill call of the siren dashed her hope.
She was in a bad mood from yesterday because of Layfon hiding his true strength……
They were cleaning and painting the tubes to prevent the growth of rust in the Mechanical Department.
Holding the painting can and the brush, Layfon focused his entire concentration on the sound of the moving gears behind his back.
Nina was silently cleaning a tube.
To Layfon, the sound of her brush against the tube was reproving him.
“Ah.”
Nina didn’t react to the sound he tried to suppress. Layfon’s stomach hurt.
(What did I do wrong?)
He thought of the possible reason.
Nina had been acting strange since yesterday’s celebration party. Putting Felli aside, who was absent, both Sharnid and Harley greeted him. Nina was the only one who didn’t look like she wanted to talk to him. All she said was “thanks” and then she had gone to sit by herself.
She must be angry of his hiding his true strength.
This had to be the only reason. Even he could understand her unease. Someone with a lukewarm attitude actually exceeded her in her best area. It was like he was mocking her hard-won accomplishments.
“Excuse me……” he called to her. Her brushing movement stopped.
“What?” she said without looking at him.
“Are you angry?” he blurted out.
(I’m an idiot!)
He could have said something better.
“…… No.”
He thought she’d have roared at him, but all she did was deny in a low voice.
“There’s no reason to be mad, but……” she sighed, lowered her shoulders and turned around.
Her gaze didn’t directly touch his.
“I regret letting you enter the platoon.”
“Huh?”
“I was deceived by the Student President. I was satisfied to have you as the platoon match was close and we still lacked members. You took my Kei directly, so I thought if you trained well, you would become an attacker in the platoon. Even if we lost the match, you could become stronger somehow, before the real Military Arts Competition.
But your real strength is way beyond my calculation.”
“No……”
“Was the Student President lying when he said you’re the successor of Heaven Blade?”
Looking embarrassed suddenly, Nina moved her gaze further away from him.
“Did he tell you?”
“Yes,” she nodded.
“He told what he knew, and all I can do is pray it’s not true.”
Her eyes, questioning him yet wishing for something, made him release the breath he was holding. He felt debilitated, as if a certain tension was suddenly cut away, the weight of his body disappearing into thin air…… the emotion of despair.
(Everything’s ended……)
Just what had ended? What he had left behind in Grendan had returned to him. What he had been running away from had finally caught up with him.
“Tell me it’s all a lie,” she pleaded.
Yet, she didn’t think the Student President had lied to her.
Wolfstein…… from the moment when he knew of the twelve Heaven Blade successors.
Everyone had been reproving him, saying it was wrong, yet nobody had taken care to explain just how wrong it was. All they did was reprove him.
His stiff expression relaxed.
Yes, his old self had returned.
Nina’s face turned frosty. She must have obtained her confirmation from his look.
“Was it true?”
“Yes,” he nodded.
“I participated in underground matches in Grendan, tainting the reputation of Heaven Blade and was exiled.”
He watched with indifference as the muscles on her face twitched.
“Why?”
“To earn money.”
He trained in Military Arts for that purpose and won again and again.
But the prize money of normal matches was too little.
As a result of unbroken victories, he had become a successor of Heaven Blade to serve under the Queen of Grendan, Alsheyra. But his salary was still too small and the special scholarship he obtained still was too little.
“I needed a lot of money for the many children in the orphanage.”
The money he had was enough for himself or just a normal family.
But there were too many orphans. The money he earned wasn’t enough to provide for their education and living. His Master wasn’t the only one managing an orphanage. Layfon needed money to give to his comrades, for all the numerous orphans in Grendan…… and what he was earning wasn’t enough.
He could have just earned enough for the orphanage he lived in, but he felt he needed to provide for all the orphanages. He didn’t know why either. Perhaps, all the orphans were his comrades.
So he wasn’t earning enough.
“And at that time, I found out about the underground matches.”
Nina’s expression swayed.
She probably thought what he did have tainted Military Arts. Many people thought of Military Arts as a sacred art to defend a city from outside enemies. This viewpoint was deeply rooted especially in those who lived as a professional Military Artists.
The sacred Art must not be tainted by human desires.
But in reverse, because it was sacred, people wanted to taint it. The students gambling secretly in the platoon matches must be immersed in the festival-like atmosphere and committed their illegal act.
But compared to the students, there were people who wanted to do such thing with clear-cut intention. Perhaps they weren’t satisfied with the normal matches that began and ended ceremoniously in the spirit of sports. What they fell for were the mad and bloody fights.
And because of this reason, the underground matches offered huge prize money.
And Layfon found out about it. He contacted the people who organized such matches. Using the threat that came from the authority of a Heaven Blade successor, he suggested that they could advertise his unbelievably strong power. It was easy to tell who would have won in a normal match, but it was another matter to watch a Heaven Blade successor fight without holding back.
He used his Kei as if he was in a show, and through that, obtained money from the audience.
“But I couldn’t keep that up for long.”
It was difficult to shut people’s mouths. The rumour of his deed spread widely in Grendan and eventually reached Queen Alsheyra’s ear.
“And so I was exiled.”
“And of course,” Nina said, as if to let out all the anger and irritation inside her.
Nina’s outrage was the same as the people’s at Grendan, including Layfon’s Master, the other Heaven Blade successors and even his comrades – the orphans.
Even so, he still didn’t understand.
“Why is it a given?”
“What? You……”
“Kei is an important treasure for humanity, striving to survive in this world. Because of it, the orphans and I didn’t have to worry about food. Why must people make a bad name out of it?”
He truly couldn’t comprehend.
“The Queen exiled me because a certain Military Artist was threatening me.”
“Threaten……?”
She probably didn’t know of this.
“That person wanted to participate in a Heaven Blade match. He showed me the proof of my fights in the underground matches and threatened to spread it around unless I lost to him purposefully and let him have the Heaven Blade.”
There were twelve Heaven Blade successors. The only way to get that title was to either defeat a successor in a Heaven Blade match or win the numerous matches after the death of a successor.
The blackmailer had a way other than Military Arts to win a match, and he used it to threaten Layfon. But Layfon didn’t accept the deal. He couldn’t abandon his title as it was his key to the underground matches, to fight as a Heaven Blade successor.
So he tried to kill the other person. His secret would be safe if this person died.
He planned to win with one strike. He had that confidence. Once his opponent got careless, Layfon would deal out a fatal strike and finish him off.
But, he failed.
His one strike only managed to severe his opponent’s arm, and the match ended as his opponent was unable to keep fighting.
And then the news of Layfon’s deed in the underground matches spread.
“I don’t find him despicable,” he said to the speechless Nina.
“He was only doing everything he could to obtain what he desired. But he got careless in the end. That’s all there is to it.”
To Layfon, the way he finished his opponent was naïve. One must fight desperately to survive, but the level of desperation he showed in his method was meaningless. At that time, there were still things driving him to act that way solely for the purpose of survival. And as such, he wasn’t angry with the Student President. Karian’s attitude of manipulating things and people to ensure Zuellni’s survival was the same as Layfon’s.
But Karian’s concern on what Layfon had abandoned made him revisit the feeling he had in Grendan all over again.
“And that is me. Do you find me despicable?”
Everyone in Grendan reproved him for being base.
Was Nina the same? He waited for her reaction with a neutral expression.
He felt pain as of his heart being torn apart. The pain was an illusion, but he had no way of shaking it off, so he could only suffer it.
Why was he feeling this kind of pain?
No. He had already experienced it before – the punishment that Queen Alsheyra had passed down to him. All the Heaven Blade successors served her, so Layfon could only surrender to her judgement.
All the Heaven Blade successors, officials and his Master watched him as his punishment was dealt out. Their gazes were cold and icy.
The pain jolted him back to reality.
“You…… are despicable,” she said.
And then the ground shook violently.
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