*WARNING, descriptive imagery this chapter.*
Ella’s swordsmanship is at a respectable level.
She only started learning swordsmanship a year ago at the age of 15, but already she’s much better than Celeste, who is considered a genius on Earth.
Though, that’s only when it comes to her swordsmanship and not her physical ability.
Also, in terms of her control over the sword, it’s superior to even me because she has a SS+ rank skill.
In order to teach Ella, I would have to show my sword, but I didn’t want to, so I asked some young knights to spar with her.
“Don’t hold back when you’re sparring with the princess.”
So, I just pretended to diligently teach while watching them spar.
“Ahem. Your posture is good, but the pose is a mess.”
Sometimes, I would even mix jargon because I’m pretending to be a teacher.
Of course, If I lie poorly, I might get caught, so I had to mix knowledge from other worlds.
Later, we arrived at a waterfall deep in the mountains.
It wasn’t very difficult getting here with a dozen knights escorting us.
Shaa!!
Currently, Ella and I were sitting on a rock letting the waterfall hit our backs.
It’s my first time doing something like this, and it’s more painful than I thought.
“Er, hm.”
Ella, who was getting hit by the waterfall, frowned.
Why am I doing this?
It’s to kill time with useless lessons.
In the first place, I can’t teach her swordsmanship whose talent is better than mine.
Besides, it would be stupid to train an enemy I have to kill.
So, I used the ‘waterfall and meditate training method’ found only in novels.
‘Young miss. Swordsmanship isn’t just about holding a sword.’
‘So, then what?’
‘I used to wield a sword mindlessly. But at one point, I reached a bottleneck. That’s when I realized. I didn’t have a good enough foundation. So I had no choice but to start over again on a different path I once took.’
‘Then…’
‘Front now on, I will teach you the Three Trinity method, namely, the heart, body, and spirit.
What I said was about 0.0002% honesty, but what if a teacher told you to do something impossible?
There was no reason for her to question me, an instructor.
So, I was just killing time by getting hit by the waterfall without any purpose.
“…Ah! I think I just grasped something!”
[Protagonist Ella has gained an enlightenment.]
…Isn’t this crazy?
I underestimated the protagonist.
I didn’t know that it’s possible to gain enlightenment just by doing the simplest things like looking at fallen leaves or picking up a pebble.
That’s why I can’t be careless around the protagonist.
Luckily, Ella’s level didn’t go up.
However, her sword has become quicker and more efficient.
Unlike my mixed feelings, the mansion went wild.
It was a very unique training method that everyone became interested in.
The world view of this world is that even a swordsman can cut down witches.
Even among the most veteran of swordsmen, this ridiculous waterfall training method was something they have never seen in their life, and they thought it was impossible.
In the first place, Ella was going to have the ‘protagonist correction’ eventually anyways, so gaining enlightenment after being hit by the waterfall did just that.
Though, it wasn’t without a benefit to me.
After roughly proving I was a master swordsman, my reputation was cemented, but now it has increased even further after Ella gained enlightenment from my unusual method.
“Sir Seodam, the training method you did…Could you please teach me?”
Erache had mentioned that another master swordsman hasn’t come by in over 10 years.
No wonder he asked to spar with me soon after our meeting.
“Just go…take off your shirt and get hit by a waterfall…”
“Oooh. Thank you!”
To be honest, lying to an honest person like Erache pricked at my conscienceless, but I couldn’t stop now.
“Haap!”
Thwak!
A wooden sword struck, making an incredible loud noise, and then a knight fell down.
Even a decent adult male knight couldn’t beat Ella now.
Her swordsmanship is quite interesting, but I wasn’t at a level where I could just copy it.
Swordsmanship isn’t just about the movements, but also the time in between when you breathe, which has to be learned.
Although I won’t be able to bring out its full potential, I could imitate it to some extent.
‘How a woman with a small build overcome her enemies.’
‘How to overcome the relative lack of strength and speed.’
Ever since I gained the swordsmanship talent, just looking at the sword made me happy, so it wasn’t odd for me to watch Ella’s swordsmanship.
Even I, an enemy, was impressed with her progress, so what about the people here?
“Oooh, as expected, young miss. You’re amazing.”
“You won again!”
Maids behind the scene were uttering exclamations of admiration.
I have a good memory of people’ faces, and I know what these people have been through.
A young maid with short hair and freckles.
She is suffering from a major trauma after seeing the last witch split her parents in half right in front of her, and is struggling every day inside this mansion.
A middle aged maid dressed in puffy clothes.
Her husband participated in the war as a mercenary to kill the last witch, but he never returned, and now she’s serving princess Ella.
A maid in her twenties with smooth brown hair.
She lost her whole family to the last witch, including her left eye and three right fingers.
No one wanted a disabled maid, and it was princess Ella who kindly took her in.
Honestly, I have mixed feelings about it all.
Killing Ella is a foregone conclusion, but I felt quite uncomfortable that the hearts of those here will be torn.
Then again, I don’t have the time to care about any of that.
After all, witches are absolute evils in this world.
They…just don’t care about human lives.
It’s that simple.
It’s like a child burning ants with a magnifying glass out of curiosity.
Witches are driven by that same curiosity.
‘What? You committed suicide after I boiled your newborn baby alive and fed it to you? Wonderful.’
‘Aye, I can’t feed you your own heart now after cutting open your belly…none of your bodily functions are working!’
‘Why? Why do humans suffer more when their loved ones are tormented? Are their nervous systems connected? Maybe? That’s a different thing, isn’t it?’
It’s naive evil.
Humans spent years in hellish agony, tormented by the pure curiosity of the emotionless witches.
Eventually, humans took up arms and martial arts rapidly grew because of the geniuses who stood up to survive.
After thousands of years of war, humanity finally exterminated the witches and the era of peace arrived.
Only I, a person not from this world, knew that a witch is still alive.
Weekend.
Ella is still training, and I’m still feeding her nonsense.
When Ella was about to leave, someone came.
Haren Almus.
The eldest daughter of Duke of Almus, a genius at the stage of professional swordsman.
“Long time no see, Ella. You seem to have changed a lot.”
“When I think about my past self, I feel ashamed.”
Their encounter was so tense you could hear a pin drop.
Since forever, Haren and Ella have never been on good terms.
Born to the Almus house, Dame Haren Almus, is cold-blooded and had a stronger heart for the sword than anyone else.
And since Ella had lived a disappointing life since an early age, revealing her wild temper without even thinking of holding a sword, Haren Almus hated her to the core.
Because of this, Haren had always ignored Ella, and Ella was so terrified of her that she would tremble like a frightened rat every time she faced Haren.
But, it was different now.
Ella Almus and Haren Almus faced each other resolutely.
“…Recently, your eyes have changed a lot.”
“All I can do is to face the world proudly.”
“Yes. Excellent. I’ve been watching for a while, and your swordsmanship is very sincere.”
“I’m flattered. It’s lacking compared to you, big sister. I’m just lucky to have a good teacher.”
“I’ve heard rumors about such a teacher. A very unique person came this time.”
When Haren looked at me, I bowed appropriately.
She came up to me and placed her hand in front of me for a handshake.
“Thank you for teaching my poor sister. I heard you’re a master swordsman, but that you’re a very unusual man.”
Haren’s personality is quite different from what I heard from the maids.
The one in front of me is so talkative and not as coldhearted, much to the surprise of even the other servants nearby.
“This is the only talent I have, and I’m glad I could help her.”
“Huhu. You’ve reached the level of master swordsman, yet you’re humble.”
Haren, who briefly greeted me, turned her attention back to Ella.
“I see that you are taking a break now, what are your plans for the rest of the day?
“I was going to go to the church to pray.”
“Oh my. If so, let’s go together.”
Haren seems to like the Ella who has changed for the better.
It was a common development.
A prodigal noble who made a 180 degree change in personality, and of course the people around them.
A change that is even welcomed by the family.
This is also a cliche.
“Yes, let’s go now.”
After some brief preparations, Haren, Ella, and a few attendants headed for the church.
It’s to worship Alethea Empire’s state religion, ‘Goddess of War and Victory Alacia.’
Following them, I looked at Haren’s back.
Haren Almus.
She also has a tragic story, losing her mother to the last witch.
Which led to the setting of the Duke killing the last witch for killing his beloved wife.
The church was also built by the Duke of Almus, so it was a considerable size.
The Duke’s children would regularly come to pray.
I’m an outsider, so I took a proper back seat and pretended to pray.
A sacred song flowed, and a man dressed in black, who I think is a priest, came out to talk.
It was boring.
“Everyone, let go of yesterday’s worries and look to the brighter future.”
As soon as the priest finished speaking, Ella burst into tears.
The sound was very small, but the place was so quiet that everyone could hear it.
Haren with a sullen look asked Ella.
“What’s the matter?”
“…Nothing. I’m so sorry for what I’ve done, I’m ashamed, and I’m sorry for everything. So…Heuk, hu…I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“…!”
Haren had a surprised look on her face, and at that moment.
The Client spoke.
< The protagonist, Ella, is slowly awakening emotions. >
Ella.
Having lived as a witch her whole life and never feeling any emotion, she remained calm until the moment of her death when she was pierced by the sword of the Duke.
Revenge?
She didn’t have such thoughts.
She just died because she was weak, she thought.
Also, she doesn’t even know why the Duke killed her.
That’s all.
After being reborn in Ella’s body, she discovered joy and sorrow.
She felt happy when people around her recognized her, and she also became contemptuous of her past self.
How many have she killed so far?
What terrible things she had done.
‘Front now on, for everyone, I will live a life of atonement!’
That’s the overall plot of the protagonist, Ella.
…Also.
“Really, heuk! I’m really sorry to everyone…”
“Oh no, oh young miss…”
“I can’t even remember being bullied by the young miss.”
“You’ve grown so pretty and upright.”
Somehow I felt a lump in my throat when I saw people sympathizing.
That wasn’t an apology for Ella.
She is apologizing for what she had done in the past as a witch, not for what the former Ella did.
Nevertheless, the people around me fell into a delusion, and they all got emotional by her tears.
In no time, the church became a sea of tears, and Ella apologized to everyone until the last minute.
However, if she is really sorry, she has to reveal the truth.
How many people have been affected by her curiosity?
She’s trying to rationalize herself by apologizing to them without even thinking of revealing her identity.
‘Because I’m truly sorry. I’ll live a life of atonement and self reflection.’
She knows.
If she reveals the truth, what would happen?
She is afraid.
Because she wants to protect her image even though she says she’s sorry.
She’s deceiving everyone.
Empty words are not enough.
Apologizing by deceiving everyone is not an apology but a deception, and it is neither an apology nor an atonement at all.
“Everyone, from the bottom of my heart, I’m sorry…”
I listened silently without saying anything.
In fact, it doesn’t matter whether Ella apologizes or not.
Seeing the apologies mixed with pretense and sincerity, I just thought of a way to hunt her.
‘You’re sorry?’
In that case, I’ll help you make a real apology.
Late night.
On this night when everyone is deep asleep, Seodam had settled atop the highest hill near the mansion.
It’s different from my original plan, but it’s time to start hunting.
Chikchik!
The point of shooting afar is to kill someone.
But my shotgun isn’t great for that.
The reason why I took out my mega shooter is for another reason.
After installing an ‘Aether Discharge’ on my mega shooter, I brought my eye to the scope.
The distance is quite far, and the cool wind blew, but my scope automatically zeroed in on the target.
In the past, snipers had a hard time and would have to read the wind and such, but now that modern science has developed to such an extent, it wasn’t necessary.
In fact, if my goal was to shoot, it might be better to have a sniper rifle that focuses on a single target, rather than a shotgun that explodes in a wide area, but in the first place, I have no intention of hurting her.
Only, it’s important to leave a trace of the damage.
Whiiriing…!
The wind swept through Seodam’s hair.
Holding my breath for a few seconds, I pulled the trigger.
Bang!!
An earth shattering roar.
Clink, boom…!
Ella’s bedroom was caught up in a massive explosion.
It took less than a second for the knights to react.
“What happened, young miss…!?”
The knights quickly opened Ella’s bedroom and entered.
It was a mess.
Everything in the room was in ashes, and the bed was half blown away.
However, Ella was fine.
“Ah…I’m fine, don’t worry.”
Before long, Haren Almus, in her pajamas, came in holding her sword.
“Ella! Are you all right?!”
“Sister…!”
Touched by the fact that she, who had always been cold, came running as soon as she heard the explosion, Ella quickly ran into Haren’s embrace.
Haren also stroked Ella’s head with a sigh of relief at the fact that she was safe.
“It’s alright. Don’t worry. Zetsu, Kalmer. Launch a search party now!”
“Yes!”
After ordering the guards, Haren stroked Ella’s head, who was still in her arms.
Then, she suddenly noticed something strange.
‘What…this…?’
The bed where Ella would have been lying, was cut into a semicircle.
Everything inside the room was in ashes except the three meter semicircular bed, and only the place where Ella was lying is unscathed.
‘It’s semicircular…?’
Haren suddenly had an incredulous thought.
An unscathed semicircular area.
That…Doesn’t it resemble something from the race that no longer exists in this world?
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