Act 48

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Alphas Mayfield

How could she forget that name? Linne felt her mind reel.

Three years ago, an anomaly occurred in the peaceful Londebell family. That scene still clung to Linne’s brain, tormenting her.

The mansion, eerily silent.

The butler’s body, stained with red blood.

The cold gleam of a sword.

Her father’s last… appearance, telling her to flee.

Linne looked at the perpetrator of that ‘anomaly’ with eyes trembling as if they were experiencing an earthquake.

She wanted to rush at him and plunge a knife into that detestable face, but she barely maintained her sanity, remembering the words of her master, Hayden Reich.

– Linne, if you encounter a member of the clergy above the ‘Monsignor’ rank, retreat and call for reinforcements.

Hayden Reich’s advice was perfectly logical. Facing a rank above ‘Monsignor’ alone, one couldn’t guarantee the outcome of the fight. It was only sensible to withdraw and seek help from others.

‘…But my feet won’t move.’

However, Linne found herself unable to move, torn between the thrill of finding the beast and the fear of facing a formidable opponent, worried he might disappear if she went for help.

‘What to do, what to do.’

After a moment of hesitation, she decided to follow him. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have made such a reckless decision, but the overwhelming desire not to lose sight of her enemy prevailed.

Yet, contrary to her determination, a primal fear of Alphas’s strength began to dominate her body.

‘No! This won’t do! With this weak mindset, I can’t avenge my father.’

Strengthening her resolve, Linne started to follow Alphas.

Although she wanted to draw her sword and attack immediately, a sliver of reason held her back.

‘Why is he here?’

Suppressing her boiling anger as much as possible, Linne began to stealthily follow Alphas. He continued walking, passing the outer garden of the main building.

‘Where is this…’

Eventually, he stopped at an annex on the outskirts of the academy. It was a place seldom entered due to its dilapidation, restricted to authorized personnel.

‘What could his purpose be?’

Unable to discern his intentions, Linne was drawn into the annex where Alphas had disappeared.

“Stalking? You’re making it too obvious.”

Startled, Linne found Alphas waiting for her. His expression, indicating he knew everything, naturally led Linne to draw her sword from her waist.

“Seeing the uniform… you don’t seem to be a knight sent by the Crypart family. Do you know me?”

Know him? How could she not?

“Three years ago, at the Londebell mansion…”

Provoked by Alphas’s smug remark, Linne responded with a voice trembling with rage.

“Hm? Londebell… Ah, wait… Oh!”

After a brief moment of thought, realization dawned on Alphas’s face, gradually replaced by a sinister smile.

“Thought your face looked familiar. Derain Londebell’s little parasite of a daughter, weren’t you?”

Ignoring the vile voice, Linne took a stance as if ready to charge with the sword she had drawn.

“Have you come for revenge?”

Despite her menacing aura, Alphas’s expression and tone remained unchanged.

“It would have been smarter to pretend you didn’t see or to file a complaint with the knights. Such a pity. Life is precious, after all.”

As his last words fell, a mana that constricted Linne burst forth from him. Linne activated the mana within her, struggling to counter Alphas’s oppressive force.

“For your age, that’s impressive.”

Observing her resistance, Alphas sneered and continued his taunts.

“Why not just walk away? Just like you did on the day Derain died, peeking through the window.”

“Just… die!”

Linne mustered all her mana to break free from Alphas’s grasp and charged at him.

“Heh, still a greenhorn, I see.”

Boom!

With a casual swing of his fist, Alphas sent Linne flying faster than she had charged, crashing into the opposite wall.

“My eyes didn’t deceive me. Your aura is decent compared to your peers. But you’re still far from ready. Keke. Maybe it’s time to train you to listen better.”

Alphas glanced at his slightly scratched fist and frowned, but soon approached Linne with a sinister smile and a look of disbelief on her face.

***

Linne’s expression, shocked by my blunt words, stirred an unwarranted feeling of guilt in me. Normally, Linne would have scoffed at my evaluation or not cared much about it.

That doesn’t mean I plan to retract my statement or personally apologize. Surely ‘Julian’ would have spoken in such a manner. The idea of apologizing was out of the question.

‘It wasn’t wrong, after all.’

Though it was an unintentional slip, my assessment of Linne wasn’t baseless. Her posture, breathing, and stride showed improvements in swordsmanship, but the critical issue with her ‘aura’ remained unresolved.

The same problem I noticed in the slums.

‘A higher-than-average mana pool’

Because of this, Linne faces the issue of depleting her internal mana rapidly if she handles her aura in the usual manner.

Her master and Sword Saint ‘Hayden Reich’ should be resolving this issue. After all, addressing a disciple’s problems is a master’s duty.

“Well, she’ll figure it out. I don’t think it’s my problem to worry about.”

Though I spewed those careless words, Vice Principal Allom Chornie approached me as I was preparing to leave the academy grounds after completing some routine administrative work related to the ‘Closed Eyes Mission’.

“Indeed, having Sir Julian, a distinguished knight from the royal agency, overseeing management, it seems the students are not dissatisfied with the results of this exam.”

It was an exam evaluated by ‘Julian’. Disagreeing would mean outright denying my opinion.

“Haha, if they were of the caliber to be discontent, they wouldn’t be students but undergoing the formal knight induction process.”

“That’s true indeed!” Allom burst into laughter.

“However, I know it’s none of my business, but…”

“Yes, what is it?”

“That… Taking on this duty instead of celebrating the victory day, I wonder if it’s causing any inconvenience.”

I seem to recall hearing something similar before.

“Though it hasn’t been openly discussed, it appears there are those within the royal court who question Sir Julian’s actions.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, even considering Master Hayden showed his face, the fact that his disciple… *cough*”

Vice Principal Alrom, attempting to mention the Sword Saint’s name, coughed and glanced around, probably aware that most citizens are familiar with the relationship between the ‘Sword Saint’ and the ‘Smiling Executioner.’

“It’s fine, I’ve long resolved any conflicts with my master.”

“Ha, haha! Well, that’s a relief!”

Though I said that, I’ve actually never exchanged a single word with the ‘Sword Saint.’

‘Not attending turned out to be the right choice.’

Hearing Allom’s words, I realized not attending this year’s victory celebration was a wise decision.

“I’m glad you’ve resolved things with Master Hayden.”

“Yes.”

“Ah! Speaking of which, wasn’t Linne Londebell the only one who objected to your evaluation in the practical exam?”

Alrom pulled a document from his coat, and I caught a glimpse of ‘Linne Londebell’s name on it.

“She received the highest grade, ‘Le Meillure,’ but it’s noted here she requested a correction to the evaluation you made.”

He continued, his expression somewhat troubled.

“It’s disappointing. I was hoping there would be no objections to the exam results this time.”

“Would you hand me that objection form?”

Allom looked surprised at my request but handed over the document without protest.

“I’m in charge of this, so I’d like to handle it cleanly.”

“Handle it… do you mean?”

“Yes, I’ll make sure Linne Londebell is satisfied with the explanation. That way, there won’t be any objections to this test.”

“Oh, oh…”

Allom, impressed by my words, bowed repeatedly and then moved on.

‘An objection form… I shouldn’t have to worry about this.’

I had prioritized my role as an academy instructor over attending the celebrated ‘victory day,’ where the famous ‘Sword Saint’ had made an appearance.

‘Creating a stir now would just give them an excuse to criticize.’

Avoiding the victory celebration was not about dodging the Sword Saint or attracting the royal court’s scrutiny.

‘First, I need to find out where Linne is.’

With that thought, I closed my eyes and concentrated all my nerves on my mana veins.

Using ‘mana sensing,’ a technique I’ve frequently used, I aimed to expand its range to detect Linne’s presence within the vast Bayer Academy.

‘…No, I shouldn’t get my hopes up.’

Given the vast expanse of the Bayer Academy, finding one person’s mana is akin to searching for a needle in a desert.

“Hmm?”

Contrary to my expectations, detecting Linne’s mana within the academy grounds wasn’t difficult.

The aura I had observed during the recent practical exam was unmistakable.

The familiar sensation of mana detected by ‘mana sensing’ was indeed Linne’s.

‘If she’s at that location… the annex, then?’

Having a rough idea of where she might be, I made my way there.

***

‘Linne Londebell, you haven’t changed at all since then.’

That single phrase vividly resurfaced in Linne’s fading consciousness, dismissing all the grueling efforts she had made.

“How impressive for your age, surpassing the aura of an average knight. But your stamina is pathetic.”

Facing Alphas, who echoed Julian’s sentiments, Linne could only tremble, feeling inadequate.

‘Is this really the extent of my capabilities?’

She had been a fool, intoxicated by the label of ‘genius’ others had bestowed upon her.

“Don’t try to get up. I’ll make it easy for you soon.”

Thud!

Linne, with shaking legs, attempted to rise, but Alphas would not allow it. With a brutal kick, he sent her sprawling and pointed his sword at her face.

‘With my enemy right in front of me, I can’t do anything.’ Tears of regret streamed down Linne’s face for her powerlessness.

She should have trained harder.

Swung her sword one more time.

‘I’m sorry, Father.’

Through her tears, she saw the gleaming sword.

“Let’s end this.”

Incapable of even holding a sword, let alone respond to Alphas’s taunt, Linne was utterly broken.

Perhaps it’s easier to just give up.

The late start in swordsmanship. Memories of sleepless nights and swinging her sword twice as much as others in a desperate attempt to catch up.

‘It was all futile.’

-Is that all you amount to?

Julian’s voice, like a hallucination, ignited a fire within her. 

‘I can’t die like this!’

A compulsion to avenge her father and the anger towards ‘Julian’ mingled, propelling her fading spirit to rise.

How pitiful would her father in heaven find her now?

And the image of Julian sneering, ‘So that’s as far as you go.’

‘I… hate that!’

While the drive to avenge her father was strong, equally potent was her disdain for the despicable image of Julian.

The insolent man who dared to confront his mentor with a sword.

The emotionless blade that could kill even an infant if ordered by the royal family.

The ruthless ambition that would abandon a comrade for personal gain, evoking no admiration.

And yet, he was incredibly skilled.

Surely, he would mock her current state.

‘You’re in a sorry state, aren’t you?’

“Such a sorry state. If this continues, you’ll tarnish not just your own reputation but mine as well since we’re from the same academy.”

And there, at the entrance of the annex, stood the despised sly-eyed Julian.

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