Episode 025.
S-Rank Swordsmanship.
In this world, the meaning of that rank is clear.
Only a handful of Swordmasters across the vast continent can wield it to hunt Lord-class monsters,
or it's the very essence of mythical martial might said to have been used by legendary heroes to pierce a Demon Lord's heart,
or sword strikes that thousand-year-old dragons swat about for amusement...
Honestly, what more is there to explain?
It just means it's an insanely badass sword technique.
Just B-Rank swordsmanship is enough to draw crowds willing to pay a fortune to learn it,
so S-Rank?
Need I say more.
"Heh heh... S-Rank, heh heh..."
Peurisia kept muttering to herself as she organized wooden swords in the corner of the training ground.
Her motivation seemed to have skyrocketed after hearing about S-Rank swordsmanship.
The founder's intentions or whatever... the righteous spirit of Huashan or whatever...
Rather than the boring, pedantic history of swordsmanship,
[S-Rank Swordsmanship]
That single phrase settled everything.
'Well, her motivation is certainly assured.'
In fact, the Flaming Plum Blossom she wielded was easily A-Rank in terms of destructive power alone.
Though it was as far removed from the orthodox Plum Blossom Sword Technique as Andromeda,
if it incinerates monsters and saves people in actual combat, isn't that the righteous spirit of Huashan itself?
Beyond the blue sky,
I could almost see the ancestors of Huashan vanishing beyond the clouds, saying, "Yes, that's good enough..."
Please achieve enlightenment and rest in peace now.
Having changed into casual clothes, Peurisia stared intently at me.
"……."
"Why?"
"Ah, i-it's nothing!"
Lately, I've been oddly making eye contact with Peurisia a lot.
It doesn't seem like she's doing it on purpose,
but during training or while moving, I'd feel her gaze, and when I turned around, she'd hurriedly look away or fiddle with the hem of her clothes.
I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or something else.
I can feel her gaze even now.
'Does she want to learn more swordsmanship?'
If so, I'm delighted. A disciple overflowing with motivation is the most gratifying thing for a master.
And it aligns with my goals as well.
The stronger Peurisia becomes, the easier recruiting the next comrade will be, and the shorter the Demon Lord's remaining lifespan becomes.
If not that, perhaps as a noble lady, she dislikes my attire or etiquette.
The etiquette of this world, completely different from the Central Plains or modern times, is frankly something I can barely mimic.
"Let's call it a day. When you rest, rest properly."
"Yes—! Aaah!!"
Peurisia, who had been scurrying over, seemed to trip over her own feet and nearly slammed her head into the ground.
Well, she nearly did.
Reflexively, I snaked my arm around her slender waist and held her up.
"You should be careful. Didn't you overdo it today?"
"Shifu, th-thank you..."
Perhaps embarrassed, she couldn't meet my eyes and hung her head low.
Was she very embarrassed?
Her face flushed red like an apple.
Of course, that only lasted a moment.
By the time we'd gone up and down the stairs a couple of times, Peurisia chattered away about this and that as usual.
"It's Count Gondor—word has come that the Church will soon begin their heresy inquisition. Rumors abound that he will never see sunlight again."
"Good."
He reaps what he sowed; I even gave him a chance.
Kill all the people and turn the eastern kingdom into one of animals and humans...
I should stop here.
It's not an ambition worth recalling.
"But Shifu... how in the world did you master such S-Rank swordsmanship?"
S-Rank swordsmanship, huh.
Honestly, I'd need a proper evaluation to know the exact rank, but Peurisia already seemed convinced by my words.
Though even an ordinary person could tell it wasn't normal swordsmanship, so it's not strange...
An old memory surfaced, and I smirked.
"I learned it. From my master."
"Your master? Shifu's master? What kind of person were they? Could it be the legendary first-generation Swordmaster?"
"Well. He was a strange person."
A truly strange person.
An eccentric through and through.
Had he not been, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to save me—dying and of suspicious origins—and even taught me martial arts.
In any case, thanks to my master, I was able to return alive from the martial world. This time will be no different.
"Enough chatter. Starting tomorrow, we'll have even harder training."
"Ugh...!"
"Peurisia, you still don't know the true value of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique. You haven't even realized it's S-Rank."
"……."
"But don't worry. I'll help you."
At my firm words, her expression relaxed as if relieved.
While climbing the stairs, something seemed to spark within her; her eyes lit up, and she waved her hand up and down vigorously.
"Knight—no, Shifu! I think I just felt the aura of an S-Rank... You should feel it too!"
"Aura?"
There was no way she'd developed insight she lacked just minutes ago in a matter of minutes.
But with a proficiency boost of fifty times,
and with the master-disciple bond strongly connected now,
I couldn't deny the possibility that she had gained enlightenment in real-time.
As her master, I couldn't afford to miss my disciple's awakening.
With a serious expression, I drew close to her.
Then,
Peurisia grabbed my hand and forcefully placed it on her left chest, near her heart.
"......?"
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
There didn't seem to be anything particularly special.
Just normally...
No, just her heart beating excessively fast.
When I looked at her with a puzzled expression, Peurisia, her face dyed red, stared at me and whispered:
"My feelings for you, Shifu, are S-Rank..."
"......?"
My thoughts froze for a moment.
What is this.
Training together every day, eating and sleeping together with Peurisia, the distance between us had grown too close before I knew it.
I'm not sure if this is a good thing, but if we grow too attached, it'll hurt when we eventually part ways.
"……."
"Oww! Shifu! That hurts!"
At the sudden pain, Peurisia screamed and stepped back. With one cheek red and swollen, she glared at me, tears welling in her eyes.
"What are you doing! That was a once-in-a-lifetime confession from a maiden...!"
"You said your heart is S-Rank, so this much should be nothing."
"Hmph! That may be true, but..."
I suppose I've indulged Peurisia's childishness too much.
She was in urgent need of mental discipline.
"If you have time for idle thoughts, shouldn't you go practice more?"
"Ehh... Ow...! My head... suddenly hurts..."
She put a hand to her head, staggered, and soon scurried away inside.
Watching Peurisia instantly return to her usual pace, I let out a small sigh.
Though she likes to play around like that,
her skills were already such that few in Artem could match her.
Just the day before yesterday, I had her officially spar with Geuran,
and the result was Geuran's complete defeat.
The guy grumbled, asking where such a monster had popped out from, so I bought him a drink and sent him back.
'Starting tomorrow, we'll do some real combat, and once she obtains the title of Sword King, that'll be it.'
I've already decided on the next comrade, too.
The distance is quite far,
but since I made Peurisia my disciple in an instant, I have plenty of time.
**********
"Next."
At that, Peurisia's sword drew an arc.
Before learning the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, the nuisance of a mage who boasted a 10% accuracy was already long dead.
Wreathed in flames, the blade struck its target directly, so the accuracy was 100%.
Furthermore, with her Strength A modifier, a mere Goblin Warrior was transformed into a charred lump in a single strike.
Missing when stabbing up close with a sword would be the stranger thing in the first place.
"Hey, hey! My lady... just how much stronger have you gotten?"
"At this rate, you could become a C-Rank adventurer in no time."
"Tanaseu, aren't you a genius at teaching? How did the young lady become like this..."
"Hmph! Now you understand how amazing my Shifu is!"
Jack, Geuran, and the others who had come out on the quest together clicked their tongues in admiration.
For some reason, Peurisia placed both hands on her hips and puffed out her chest.
Her growth, finishing off hordes of monster requests in mere days, was enough to shock veteran adventurers.
Leaving behind Jack's hollow muttering, we soon headed deep into the quest area.
This time, our target was a horde of Poison Mantises.
"Ugh! We won't last long!"
"That's enough."
The moment I slew one mantis and moved to cut down a fourth,
"Damn! It's an Earth Spider!"
"Damn it! So that's why the Mantises came near the village!"
As several enormous Earth Spiders feasted on the Poison Mantises, one of them leaped toward the priest in the rear.
"Peurisia!"
At my shout, Peurisia immediately reacted and stepped in front of the priest.
However, in that moment, Peurisia's body began to tremble violently.
"......!"
She squeezed her eyes shut.
'Crap, is it trauma?'
I thought she'd overcome it since she easily hunted small spider monsters,
but having such a gigantic one fly at her seems to have triggered her old fears.
"Geuran!"
"Tch!! On my way!"
I fiercely cut aside a mantis and quickly stepped forward.
The distance was short, but I figured I'd have to sacrifice at least one arm.
As I resolved myself and leaped in,
Fwoooosh!
An enormous pillar of flame surged from Peurisia's body.
[Passive: Guardian of Flames]
'It shouldn't activate when she's unconscious or in a state of panic.'
Or perhaps there was another reason.
With her Flame Affinity S, a massive wall of fire perfectly split the space between the Earth Spider and the priest.
Confused by the sudden heat, the Earth Spider faltered and retreated, and I didn't miss that opening, piercing its head.
"Kiiiiieeeeek!!"
"Kill them all!!"
After finishing off the Poison Mantises as well, I approached Peurisia.
"......Shifu."
She gripped her sword with still-trembling hands and hung her head.
"I-I'm sorry... I tried to move, but my body wouldn't listen... I thought I'd overcome it for sure, but I'm pathetic..."
"……."
"I wanted to become a knight like my mother... Someone like me has only brought shame to the name of the Plum Blossom Swordsman..."
I placed my hand firmly on her drooping head; she looked on the verge of tears.
"No, you did well."
"Huh?"
"Didn't you stand your ground and protect the priest admirably without fleeing in terror? Peurisia, if you had dodged, that priest would be dead."
"……."
"Overcoming trauma immediately is the stranger thing. You are doing more than enough."
"...But I was scared..."
"Courage isn't about not feeling fear—it's about moving forward even when you are afraid."
"……."
"You really did well, Peurisia."
"Hmph! Is that so? Since Shifu praised me, I shall work even harder from now on!"
Her wilted expression brightened in an instant.
Then the priestess approached and bowed deeply to her.
"Thank you. Peurisia, thanks to you, I survived."
"Ah, not at all! I merely did what any knight should do!"
From behind, as Peurisia shyly adjusted the sword at her waist, I faintly felt as though I could see her mother.
Now, she truly possessed the spirit of a knight.
Ding!
++
[The bond between master and disciple grows deeper.]
└You may obtain a clue for the Fated Weapon.
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