“…”
“…”
A path leading to a small training ground.
Quiet. Bleak. Awkward.
All the way there, Julia kept her lips tightly sealed, saying nothing.
If I glanced back to check if she was following, whoosh. She turned her head away from me.
I’m going to go crazy.
This time, thankfully, she isn’t pouting, but she still avoids me.
‘Does this mean she doesn’t completely hate me?’
At least she tried to hold my hand.
So, she doesn’t hate me enough to want to kill me?
Is that even possible? Even after seeing this face?
I was a bit puzzled.
‘Maybe the effects of the skill, Fate of the Villain, aren’t as strong as I thought.’
At first, I believed the effects of the skill were absolute.
Since everyone I met would frown or tremble in fear.
So, instead of showing direct kindness, I mostly hid my goodwill under the guise of self-interest.
I understood that people saw me through a villainous lens, like a filter they couldn’t avoid.
But recently, it feels like that filter is starting to lift.
At least for those who have known me for a long time.
Maybe I can avoid a bloody future.
Just as that hope was growing, from a distance, a familiar face came running.
“Mister! You’re here! But you both seem awkward! What happened? Is that it?”
“Oh, no!”
Julia quickly denied Charlotte’s sharp observation.
But if Charlotte is here, does that mean the performance test is over?
A bit of disappointment washed over me.
“Was the performance demonstration successful?”
“Oh! We haven’t started it yet!”
“What? Why not?”
“Well, because you weren’t here.”
“…?”
Charlotte tilted her head, puzzled as if she didn’t understand why I was asking something so obvious.
I’m the one who’s puzzled here, you punk.
“Didn’t Sylvia tell you I would be late?”
“She did. But she didn’t say you wouldn’t come, just that you’d be late. So, of course, we waited! I really wanted you to see it, Mister.”
“What about the audience? I heard a lot of people gathered to see the performance test.”
“Everyone left!”
“…”
Of course.
If you make people wait over two hours after saying it will start, anyone would leave.
Though it was absurd, Charlotte was simply cheerful.
Her face seemed a bit red, too.
“It’s even better that we can do it just among us without any distractions!”
“…”
[The Evil God, ‘Kali’, nods in agreement, saying our dark knight’s words are perfectly right.]
Since I had no particular complaints, I decided not to say anything.
Together with Charlotte and Julia, we entered the small training ground.
There was no ceiling, just a fence separating the inside from the outside—a shabby facility.
But that’s what made it perfect for testing the power of the Super Super Strong Sword.
Anything like a ceiling would get destroyed quickly anyway.
“How will the performance test proceed?”
“First, surround the Super Super Strong Sword with Little Flame…”
She means Aura.
“We’ll measure the mana consumption and destructive power. Then we’ll enlarge Little Flame…”
Again, she means Sword Aura.
“We’ll keep enlarging it, measuring the mana efficiency at each size!”
“Oh, I see.”
I expected something haphazard.
But it was surprisingly scientific and practical.
Mana efficiency is crucial too.
It’s like the fuel efficiency of a car.
“Alright! Let’s start!”
Charlotte drew the Super Super Strong Sword.
With a buzzing sound, a purple flash ran along the blade.
Aura. The flame proving her as a Sword Master was burning in her hand.
With a determined look, Charlotte raised the Super Super Strong Sword.
She aimed at the empty ground.
And then…
“Rumbling Thunder!”
… With an embarrassingly awkward incantation, she swung the sword.
The Aura slashed through the air in an instant.
I thought it would cut through the small rock ahead since the Aura was small.
“Eh?”
“…Huh?”
The aura emanating from the sword’s tip grew larger and larger.
Not just larger, but it was now rising skyward as if to pierce the heavens.
Charlotte, startled, froze.
I quickly shouted.
“Slash down, Charlotte! It will keep growing until you release it!”
“Y-Yes! Rumbling Thunder!”
Only then did Charlotte move.
As the sword slashed down, a massive purple flash filled the sky.
Then, Bang!
An enormous strike hit the ground, sending a huge vibration through the area.
“Ugh, cough cough!”
The dust slowly dispersed.
What appeared before my eyes was…
Charlotte sprawled out, and the ground in front of her was split like a canyon.
“Wow. I didn’t mean to release something this big…”
“Charlotte.”
“I-I’m serious! Before, I could keep the small Little Flame!”
“I know. It was probably the spell.”
“The spell?”
“Or rather, the skill name. The moment you gave it a name, ‘Rumbling Thunder’ stopped being just words. It became a skill name with its own properties and power. That’s why it released the same output as when you first invoked it.”
“That’s what happened…!”
Whether it’s a magic spell or a sword technique, the concept is the same.
It’s deeply ingrained in a person’s subconscious, repeating the same routine.
In Charlotte’s case, ‘Rumbling Thunder’ likely became a technique that draws all the mana in her body to release as aura.
As a result, she’s lying on the ground, smiling cheerfully despite her mana exhaustion.
“I almost said ‘Rumbling Thunder’ by mistake before… That could have been really bad…”
“…Now that you understand, be more cautious.”
I felt a chill down my spine.
A technique that could split mountains and turn plains into canyons was almost used in my territory?
Still, it was fortunate we realized it before any accidents happened.
I couldn’t bring myself to scold Charlotte, only let out a sigh of relief.
‘To think she’s already handling the power of spells. Her growth is faster than I expected.’
Techniques that empower words.
Julia uses them in the form of commands.
Charlotte uses them as spells.
They use them as if it’s nothing.
But embedding power in words is a realm only skilled magicians or swordsmen can achieve.
Even considering I helped them awaken, their growth speed is astonishing.
“I’ll be careful… But I can’t move… Could you help me up…?”
“You sound like you’re about to die, having exhausted all your energy.”
“Ugh, please don’t say that…”
Charlotte blushed with embarrassment.
I still couldn’t forget the pitiful expression she had when she acted like she was on her deathbed, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
As I picked her up, I noticed her body was unusually warm.
“Charlotte. You’re burning up.”
“Hehe, I know… I moved a lot, so it’s natural to get hot…”
“No, I mean you’re abnormally hot.”
[The Evil God, ‘Kali’, seriously recommends checking our dark knight’s temperature.]
I gently placed my hand on Charlotte’s forehead.
I quickly realized her temperature had spiked, and she was covered in a cold sweat.
Damn it, she’s actually sick.
[The Evil God, ‘Kali’, is panicking, saying our dark knight is dying!]
“Sylvia. Call a physician. Hurry!”
“Yes!”
It quickly turned into an emergency.
“It’s just a light cold. With plenty of water and rest, she’ll recover soon.”
“Nonsense. Does she look like someone who would catch a cold? And in this heat? If you don’t want to turn me into an enemy, you’d better examine her again thoroughly.”
“It really is just a cold… Please, trust me, Count…”
As I glared at him, the physician, almost in tears, took Charlotte’s temperature again.
At times like this, the Fate of the Villain skill is quite handy.
The physician spent a long time examining (or pretending to examine) her again, then finally bowed his head, trembling.
“I swear… It’s definitely a cold… I swear!”
“Hmm.”
“Why would I lie to you, Count? If I’m wrong, you can have my head…”
“Hmm.”
“I-I’ll even offer my family’s lives as well…”
“Alright. You may go.”
“Thank you!”
I tossed him a coin worth about 1 million Lark and sent him away. Just a cold?
I still found it hard to believe.
In this summer, for the normally robust Charlotte?
“He is a reputed and skilled physician. It should be fine to trust him.”
“…”
It does seem like a cold to me too.
Her fever is mild, so it’s not serious.
She’ll probably be fine after a good sleep…
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ strongly demands that you watch over our dark knight all night since you do not sleep!]
I nodded at Kali’s demand, deciding it was better to keep an eye on her just in case.
Pulling up a chair, I positioned myself at the head of Charlotte’s bed.
“Uh, uh…”
“Is she dreaming?”
Charlotte, who had fallen asleep, was tossing and turning, making small sounds.
She might be having a nightmare.
I touched her forehead again, reassured to find her fever had not worsened—it had actually gone down a bit.
Just then, Julia poked her head through the door.
“Is Charlotte… okay?”
“The doctor said it’s just a light cold. She should be fine. Has Charlotte ever been this sick before?”
“No, not really. Sometimes she’d get a cold after playing too much, but nothing serious.”
“…”
That ruled out the possibility of a chronic illness.
Thank goodness.
I was worried when someone so healthy suddenly fell ill.
“You should get some sleep too. Do you need my hand to fall asleep?”
“No, I think I’ll be okay without it. Just take care of Charlotte for me.”
Julia left, coolly turning on her heels.
Could she really sleep well?
I wasn’t entirely convinced, but for now, Charlotte needed my attention.
“What’s the issue here? Did someone among the staff catch a cold and pass it to Charlotte? I’ll need to identify anyone sick and make sure they don’t come to work.”
[The Evil God ‘Kali’ cheers at your wise decision.]
Of course, they’d be given paid leave.
‘I should get a book.’
Maybe I could catch up on some reading while I watched over Charlotte. Just as I was about to move my chair and get up…
“Don’t… go… Mom…”
“…”
Swish.
Charlotte’s small fingers grasped my sleeve.
Her hands, covered in calluses from wielding the sword, held onto my clothes with a desperate grip even in her sleep.
I sighed deeply and sat back down.
“I’m not going anywhere, so please sleep well.”
“Sob.”
I had almost forgotten, in her bright and cheerful demeanor, that Charlotte, too, was an orphan who had lost her parents.
I wiped away a tear that had escaped down her cheek and held her hand tightly.
She stopped whimpering, and the grip on my clothes loosened as her body relaxed.
“Haa. You both are so troublesome.”
What should I say?
It wasn’t the kind of trouble I minded much.
Tonight was going to be a long one.
