Chapter 34: Alicia Arden (3)
JLMfIlXIn front of me was the powerless corpse of the bisected black mage. Behind that corpse was the remains of a huge sword slash that made the entire forest look as if it had been cut into two with a sword.WQJOFs0
DanWRGAh, we couldn’t even hide it at this point. It was clearly a Domain Severance. It was evidently something that could only be pulled off inside the Domain by someone walking down the path of sword.Tht53S7
DBqe…Umm.PI0lb
SMqDude, how come… you’re using that already?TvSt
LNToSlLike, I wasn’t expecting her to use Domain Severance at all. I just thought… she would use Crushing Steel or Three Paths of One Sword…SsU7Vip
Ce9UZIf you use Domain Severance here…F6Y0Rw
flR90“What in the world just happened?”ezycH9O
uusls7sNo!o3eDiyP
2m3“Oh my gosh! The forest got cut into two?! How is that even possible?”Y9B4
ALH“I’ve heard of this before! So that’s the legendary ‘Domain Severance’ of the Sword Emperor!”TLZtU9
INNPlease don’t!TIYjsg
JyUpJCz“Ohhh! Does that mean that young lady would become the next head of the Arden family?”8HpJDi
Yn5fTi“Of course! Domain Severance is the strongest move that no-one could use until now except for the Sword Emperor!”SuNlIu
3T5DNo. Don’t do that. We can’t let everyone know that already!nE5MSRI
iOhPVZ“Mr. Korin! I did it! I did itt!”Zm9wNk
2jWz5Why does nothing go according to plan?koBW
NZAqg****UEFrYoR
rNPM｢Breaking News! The Nightmare of Haze! The infamous Knight Killer John Doe! Defeated by the successor candidate of the renowned swordsmanship household, the Arden family!｣kL7QX
VM9D｢Who exactly is Alicia Arden, the beautiful knight who defeated the Grade 1 black mage?｣p4R7
7oAyttr｢“We can finally talk about it now!” Agents of the Arden family state how Alicia Arden had always been the true genius of—｣qq8J
DXk4m– Grip!VJpzKh
5xdI clenched on the morning newspaper that was placed at the door of the hospital room to the point it got ripped.ze2Xi
L7gTtAhh, it had been a while!Oa1
xIUtbMTBut it wasn’t long enough for me to forget how it felt for everything to be fucked up so badly!3l4Q1V
fURqgAThe reason there hadn’t been any proper competition between the successor candidates of the Arden family until now was because one side had been overwhelmingly greater than the other.VqELD
XoMkAlicia Arden could never defeat Lunia Arden even if she was to be born again.SxDs
l1OXs6Popularity, followers, capability… Lunia Arden had always been at an absolute advantage over her, but that single recent action started shaking the firm position and hierarchical status of Lunia Arden.gsT
Wv1DvDomain Severance.WUuwEWh
bopDfIt was the killing move of the Sword Emperor. Alicia would now gather the eyes of a lot of people after re-enacting that legendary attack of the master of swords.qJCmC
3kqNMNZLet me say this again.CkD
NRox2The fight for hierarchy in a group of beasts was brutal. The candidates had to repeat struggle upon struggle and wash blood with blood until they found themselves a leader.6xsxv4w
K6Wmm00That was no different for Alicia and Lunia.pfF
2Lu7What would happen if Lunia, who had practically been the only successor of the family, suddenly had her position threatened by another candidate?wBazf
W68XrC‘The Five Swords would move immediately at the very least.’oeIctXP
k2NhdyaIt was the same back in the game. They were the loyal followers of Lunia Arden while at the same time having their families’ interests aligned with their loyalty.NDX2b
YN6LyTheir mindset was similar to that of a delinquent, and as long as Alicia had her eyes on the successor position, they would ruthlessly try to stop her.DX61Z
GqdyWith Alicia’s current skills, it was hard for her to win against the Five Swords. She would be broken from their cooperation.OxJkKq8
wbBo1qIt was the climax of the character scenario plot of Alicia Arden – ❰Sword Challenge❱.G6UBN
fyJzPyThe traditional pretext was that five swordsmen at the level of an instructor would test the skills of the future captain of a sword squad but… the Sword Challenge of the Arden family had long turned into a legal elimination method of potential competitors.l2zw7
I61FdYWOriginally, it was an event that was supposed to arrive after enough level ups and Alicia increasing the proficiency of her swordsmanship skills but…. It would probably start immediately in the real world as soon as the conditions were met.3jGlT
XYu“Mr. Korin. Would you like some honey bomb candies?”DDK
E6F3Oblivious to the alarm bell ringing in my mind, Alicia recommended me a candy with a bunch of candies in her mouth and bulging cheeks.IxiB
BEUzhWn“That was actually not that bad! Just a bit painful!”yefBi
W1JBpLast night, we went straight to the first aid rooms of the Academy after coming back from our mission. There weren’t that many problems for me because of my regeneration ability, but the problem was Alicia – her right arm was still bandaged.8qUVKYf
aacThe side effect of Domain Severance… Any movement inside the Domain was tremendously burdensome on the body. An average knight would have their body ripped to pieces from taking half a step forward within the Domain. Even though it was a very powerful skill, it came at a cost.HDG26
QZdR“When do you think you’ll be back to being fit?”8a7oei
ZRC“Nnn. They said one or two more days should be okay with some potion.”QgZc
WUOeyTWe didn’t have time. It actually would have been better for her to buy some time by staying at the hospital if the injury was bigger but…518
P3pLeaving the worries aside, I also had a different question for her.dZmR4Ta
nVdJv“Anyway, what’s the secret?”YVms
X9HG“Sorry?”L6Zf
irAr“You know, Domain Severance. Looking at the Domain with Eyes of the Boundary shouldn’t mean you can immediately use it though.”2Cxo9B
v3h2hRL“…usted me.”RNvP47s
FWTJnlJ“Hnn?”RVe1o
PfqrWWhen I asked back, Alicia replied with a ticklish voice while scratching her cheeks out of embarrassment.9lm52er
aVa“It’s because you trusted me, Mr. Korin, that I could do it.”bTdl4X
X5Ss“…”JYOjbEO
btOwEXUmm… So was she saying a super optimistic mindset like, ‘I can do this!’ was all she needed to use Domain Severance?JOPFg
CdN“Hehe. So I tried and it worked.”JmKU
2d5T, this…! This is why I hate geniuses…!zIySI
pIch8g“Haa…”uiFaU
DlTPk“Mr. Korin?”vpElxtx
D41wtgTI could faintly understand why Lunia would be so upset. Anyone would find it unfair when looking at someone with such exceptional talents.yVV5WJu
c0n8– Knock knock! A visitor.BAJKEBO
ZiX9That was when someone came in after opening the door.42MA
a4YwRk7“Korin!”2BIv1M8
B8rKfGIt was Marie. She was wearing an adorable white dress while carrying a straw basket. How many potatoes would be inside that basket, I wonder?RD4
jwTAPb“Senior Marie.”Gxk8b
3FOq“I heard you defeated the murderer, John Doe! Are you alright?”EMhidzz
fZSsvU“We were unlucky.”IQIPQML
VnZQTuoAlthough the encounter had been somewhat intentional, I glossed over it as Marie suddenly raised her voice.vAgibMu
EnH“Are you really alright?!”EjeSxl
XeCGRY“Uhh… Yeah. I am.”edw6
jUS“I can smell… blood though.”xQqwlQu
RqtZ“Blood? Ah…”yD0ZyG
rlb7I was inside the Crimson Haze so I probably did bleed quite heavily, and it was natural for me to stink like blood considering how it had been sucked out of my entire body.LIBSC
SUze0It had all been recovered thanks to my regeneration ability but it seemed that she could still smell the leftover scent.Zwsu
CF87K“You know how I have the regeneration ability, right? This much is nothing.”d7W
lUqtsVZ“But still…”kLs
0bKMMarie muttered with a teary voice. She was such a nice girl that she was concerned about a lot of things.fY4W8J
WuCyzfAfter a while, she discovered Alicia who was lying down next to me and spoke to her.NH4j11
usOMFh“Oh right. I am Marie Dunareff, a 2nd year student of the Magic Department.”t7rVz
Iiy“Ah yes, nice to meet you, senpai. My name is Alicia Arden. I am a 1st year student at the Knight Department.”gZtNF
z1IUrxD“Ohh~ So you’re that Ms. Arden! I saw you in the newspaper! It was amazing! Didn’t you get a lot of injuries and stuff though?”uDzb2
QvU“Sorry? Umm, not really?”mdu
Orh“You should still get them checked! You never know!”qnRQTp
q71oGEv“Ah, yes… Thank you.”2B2
231BLKcAccepting the advice of the cheery senior, Alicia gave a nod.TR4g
YT9G“Well then, Korin. Have you had lunch yet? Should we eat together?”35BP
Y7l“Ah, actually. I have something to talk about with Alicia.”FP94
rhDP“…”TIr
rVHMI had to discuss the future events with Alicia, because she was completely oblivious to the things that would happen from now on.LOHa
B8MFYShe had already acquired Domain Severance, which she was supposed to learn at the final stages of her growth as a swordsman. There was no way Lunia Arden and the Five Swords would leave her alone considering how symbolic that ability was.7WVBRP
3an“Hnnnn…”Zz7zMt
6YEBrMarie squinted her eyes and turned to Alicia.lp8BlOO
aauGk“What is it about? Maybe we can do it together?”YnC5s
dYhB“No. It has nothing to do with you, Senior Marie.”qQzHu
F0IOQiIt’s not something Marie could help with. Wait, actually… Maybe she could?JXmxb
uej0h1“It has nothing to do with me, huh. I see…”aq6v
iNxFor some reason, it felt like I was being pricked by her sharp voice. The smile on the face of the ever-smiling merchant Marie was slowly starting to vanish.q8ypv
K2PRt“Are the two of you very close?”ajS0azQ
wDYq6kj…Why was I suddenly feeling a chill down my spine? Was it because my blood had been sucked out inside the Crimson Haze?Rtz
vvVTcIt seemed that I wasn’t the only one who felt that chilliness.j5Na
aGFS“He’s my benefactor!”5KIM3
t0y“Nnn?”oXipsD
q3CG“I would have died if not for Mr. Korin! He is my second benefactor!”wLC0aq
UTATActually, the first was also me but, anyway.Js9Wbg
xcV“I see…!”X4jsWYm
emjzrAs if she could empathize with that statement, Marie started showing a bright smile on her face again.bxJW
GcCa“So, are the two of you close?”8N2U
xq2uHowever, the air was still rather cold.z8xv
3scpy“…”az2
mnO“…”jgJ
M1pWas this how it felt to be a rat in front of a tiger? I had an instinctive feeling that I had to choose my words carefully.XurSIM
7i1– Tung tung!UduTat
vbLMReThat was when a sudden thud echoed from the window. We nonchalantly turned to the side and flinched with a gasp.yvri4FV
jEos“…Open.”rHVj
IIGJI5Hanging outside the window was Hua Ran in her chained nun clothes with a bunch of talismans, glaring at me over the window.zyW15
XIHXRA…Isn’t this the 6th floor?pdWwaE
sEndC“Alicia!”OpDrv
eqY“Y, yes!?”XXsDjqv
ZHWr6“Open it for her! Hurry up!”hVuQ
36Ts“Y, yes sir!”VpXtRLq
AAnwOnAlicia, who was next to the window, hurried over to the window and pushed it wide open. Hua Ran hopped into the room and softly landed on the floor like a cat.Qt3G
FTMO“Uhh…”8c4
X6YEAlicia gulped after seeing her like an intimidated mouse.lQj
0UjS2s“Hello junior?”y3vZ1F9
QPz“…”VSJ
TJybUnexpectedly, Marie greeted her with a bright smile. Both Alicia and I were rather freaked out by Hua Ran jumping up to the 6th floor from outside, but it seemed that Marie didn’t find it strange as a Unique-Grade herself.7a7I7
7OkThe room became silent so I opened my mouth with a question.7lbH
jtp7M“Why are you here?”o5MkqK
CZydU0“Meal.”bwlE4X
ntVDWNg“…”4xGvoT
cIk“Meal.”3uoO9x4
L437“No, wait. Didn’t I buy you one last time?”ZcNu
C9v“Raw fish.”cral
REIQJ“Ah…”TIx
Z2Gg6So you mean sushi!!jiaV
3n1PhBWIt seemed that she still remembered the thing we talked about when I was buying her fish last time.z5g
8xExWBut it’s not like I promised her I would buy it or something, right?vtnz
RBvPSyE“Umm… Now is not a great time. How about you ask Professor Josephine to go with you?”H6H
BB6xM6“…She said no because of parasites.”l7O
aiVcr9W“Ah…”P4KGX1p
rO1NpEven though there were all sorts of dishes in this world ranging from stews to kimchi, it seemed that there was still some repulsion against raw food.aPB2XR
6RqIt was especially more true for Lady Josephine considering her age…4Ns
ZHy“Korin,” said Marie.oEvA
LwsR“Umm… yes?”sXl5
9jkEH6M“Did you buy Junior-Hua-Ran a meal?”gRY
BRjsaW“Uhh… I did buy her once.”VaV
G9dwUK“Oh~ I see. You have a lot of friends, don’t you?”tvNUO
quizRPmWell, it was true that I had a lot more friends in this iteration.7M9V
qiTi3GThe standard group was with Jaeger and Lark. Sometimes, I would teach Yuel Ogham letters at the library and receive expensive mushrooms from the forest in return.E98L79
GR8YXHIDorron was a weekend member. We would do a mission together if there was something that paid a good price.eh5ga
WEo5FOn the other hand, Kranel was a bit of a shy bloke and we played together once or twice a week.F5t5si
o0jF3Kyaah~! What a success at making friends this time compared to the last iteration? I’m finally getting rewarded for my constantly terrible school life after reaching my 3rd one.xvZb
pHf“Umm… Senior Marie?”K9GdYFz
zMWYP“What is it? Junior?”1tWal
ijG“I have a ticket for a restaurant in the city called ‘Holy Panda’. Would you like to go together?”z5Cg
R1S2HeG“Hnn?”wKi1Rg
RlCTglp“I heard it’s famous for Eastern cuisine.”OdSTP
ME905IActually, Old Man Haman had come looking for me after the interim exam. He asked me if I defeated the elemental body on that day and suddenly gave me a ticket for a fine dining restaurant!HvwG
ngP5IxyIt was such a luxurious place that I wasn’t keen on going by myself, so it would be good for both of us if I went together with Marie.UMwG
04XLf0Alicia reacted first instead of Marie.zDM
ogoASK“Mr. K, Korin. W, when you say Holy Panda, do you mean one of the three big restaurants alongside Creamcycle and Everglide Jade Black?? Where do you have to pay a gold coin for each meal?”7ykA2
WMGg“Do you know that place, Alicia?”v1HnsPS
edpn“Of course! It was in the monthly Merchelin guide magazine. And it’s also famous for being one of the best restaurants for a date!”8Urtj
fEze2“Date…!”0CNYzy
k17bQjMarie gasped as if she had trouble breathing. It seemed to be a really famous restaurant.xHfWglX
PpbdrActually, I used to go to these places quite often in the last iteration as well.5Fb0YkZ
S09FbUWith Mr. Park, that is.uL8vg
sovW6…How did I not notice it until the last moment?rX5jHMy
5DCQLThe room stayed silent for a while.RyaWgjz
b3hyE“…”kEsaYI
sGjt7zO“Senior?”hdW
X0IIt was strange how silent Marie was. Her cold gaze was long gone and was replaced with trembling eyeballs and a gulp that was so loud that I could hear it from a distance.i05Fzq
Uep“S, shall we? Okay! I’ll get prepared right away!!”4o9SL
3rk20Gn“It doesn’t have to be right now…”8iMeJ
BOi“GreatToSeeYouAreWell,Korin! Let’sMeetAgainAtNightForDinner!”guco
IMLhGSwish! After saying a bunch of stuff in one go, Marie dashed out of the room. You weren’t supposed to run in the corridor though.Fxl6jc1
cZzt2g“Well then…”Jycu9Yl
4azksuI was about to explain how we should approach this upcoming bomb, but that was when a loud thud reached us from the corridor.wW3IIww
NFiWu– Tap tap tap tap tap!xNnXzi
XqAk– Kwaang!sDfdaz
ubgKc1A“Korin!”ImREhf
N3LnLhWith a flushed face that signified the distance she had run, Marie gasped while handing me a glass bottle.yeSoRrQ
85nPhy“This! Elixir! I made it myself! It’ll be very good on wounds!”hml
idpt“Umm…”y0oTZfC
AYGBLike, I was fully healed and I didn’t need it though – I was about to say that but Marie immediately began rushing down the corridor again.BvFNmk
jxR– Please don’t run in the corridor!IPpZmgB
IFGqd– Hukk! Sorry!jhDopk5
9IiMarie was gone while a pinkish elixir was resting on my hand.d28l1J
GRPfN“…Isn’t this super expensive?”Ajq1
ZQozbEjAn elixir was something that boasted of having 10 times the effectiveness of normal potions. This specific one… was probably made by Marie extracting her own blood.32FW8m
th996“Alicia. Pour this on your right arm.”UXdTDPk
TQnfu“Sorry? I, is that okay?”e6L
467“I’ll be leaving very soon so it’s okay. We have to fix your right arm first.”4NaV
6taK7Su“I, I’m not sure if I can take this though…”mjZxpAu
7oqZiBLAlicia murmured while glancing at the corridor.Ci6yjL
czTxg“It’s okay. Senior Marie is a nice person.”niS
6aiz“Then… Thank you very much.”9THO
DeE521“…What about my meal?”bcchoav
mzwPHua Ran… do I owe you fish or something?cTAe7Ca
GUv3ZX“Okay. I’ll bring you to a sushi place next week and buy you as much as you want so let’s do something together before that.”mHNN
Bn05Rr“…What is it?’r7TQT7C
L2kIThen, I started explaining about the current situation.Nnfubm
JUgI explained how Alicia’s sister was a very scary person and how her loyal subordinates would soon come and try to crush Alicia.cFZCdq
MgbkvbThe culture of the sword clan, Arden – ‘Sword Challenge’.lyZ
cFmuObI told Alicia about ‘Sword Challenge’, which was the tradition of the Arden family.nDd
EsK7atHer face started turning pale throughout the story and she finally understood her current status – how she personally stepped into the fight for hierarchy between beasts due to using Domain Severance while defeating John Doe last night.Vo77Lh
TnQHW“W, what should I do?! I’ll die if I fight Sister! Actually, I won’t even be able to win against the Five Sword sisters!”kIVa
Z6ZGWeAlicia said while shivering from fear. Since she was now in the realm of the Domain, it should be possible for her to defeat one of the Five Swords, but it would be a different story if it turned into a group fight.Dwei8
z06X9z“We do have a way out, but there is a condition.”kdcC1
7NNynSz“C, condition? Anything is fine. Please let me live!”TNVc
15f76N“From now on, whenever I say we should defeat a demonic beast or go train together at the training rooms, you need to come without any complaints. You’ll be a so-called fixed member of my party.”DrSE
UAMJcYC“Is, is that all?”BWES
MjQNOVFIt was actually very important. You see, your job now will be to go around with me defeating Unique Grades.qql2
77uMAlCKing of Iron Mountain was an especially harder boss to defeat without her help.yHv4P
5TGplHQAnd of course… there was no need to talk about that yet.wr5FC
uGXx“So, what’s your choice?”2f17l8
rnSHN“I, I will swear loyalty so please help me!”LeNtO0y
tlU“Good. I have received thy pledge of loyalty.”vDU3A1
v8DwNow, it was time to talk about our plan. Leaving aside Lunia Arden, it was a fact that the Five Swords would be coming at us.NgiDD
I8tFIf there was no way around something…waHd
cqij“There is something I learned when I was in the military… I mean a camp.”GlC
5ngEIt was a 2-year-long camp. And rather than learning, it was something we had to scream out every time we were doing a squat.8fDd
nMxbR“If there is no way around it, enjoy it.”oWV
XZKG3yQ“W, what do you mean by that?”BZH
UsfKoI gave the ignorant Alicia a grin and opened my mouth to enlighten her.NTnsM9P
U99Joc“We shall strike first.”xLDNjZO
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