Chapter 29

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Thank you so much for the Ko-Fi support Shipadee (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

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The effect of spending an entire day in bed was outstanding. Vivian’s condition improved noticeably the very next day. The headache went away, and the prickly sensation in her throat also subsided.

It was while eating breakfast that Vivian remembered Roger who had visited her late last night. Something she had forgotten that felt so far away, like a dream, suddenly popped into mind. Because of that, while she was eating soup, she felt sick and coughed heavily. She guessed that her face was probably redder than it was while she laid in bed yesterday.

Hamel misunderstood that she had not yet fully recovered from her cold and brought her medicine.

“Are you really okay? How about taking a break today as well?”

Despite Hamel’s worrying, Vivian waved her hand. Vivian’s job was to eliminate cracks, and cracks are a phenomenon that you never know when they will appear. She was not a bird that needed constant supervision.

Most of all, Hamel worries too much.

“I’m really okay now. I am not a child.”

She poked Hamel, who looked at her like a little child. Vivian put on the robe she had given her. Vivian, who came out of her room, met Roger on the stairs going down to the first floor.

“Are you all right?”

He asked, standing four or five steps below Vivian. She didn’t know why their eye level was the same even though there was a clear difference between the steps they were on.

“Yes… Thank you for last night.”

In truth, Vivian was a little uneasy. She thought she might’ve said something to him right before she fell asleep. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember what it was.

‘What the hell did I say? Did I say something strange? Could I have talked about the dreams…’

Vivian was worried that she might have inadvertently brought up the story of her dreams. Whether or not Roger knew her worried heart, he calmly offered her something from him.

“This.”

Vivian looked at him with bewildered eyes as she received what he handed her. The heavy thing that filled her hand was a scabbard.

“A sword…..?”

“Since you’ve already learned it, it’s good to have a weapon that suits you.”

Vivian opened her mouth when she realized that he had really gifted her a sword. She unwittingly gripped the handle and pulled out the sword. The sound of the blade scraping its sheath could be heard, and a shiny silver blade appeared.

“Since it has been reinforced with magic, it’s capable of inflicting damage even on beasts.”

“Magic?”

“Yes. All of our Knights’ swords have magically reinforced swords.”

Vivian held the sword that was said to have been magically reinforced in front of her and closely observed it. As she lowered her gaze, the sword’s handle caught her eye. It appears that extra attention was paid into making it as it was unlike any other sword she had ever seen. 

A tree trunk was skillfully decorated, wrapping around the handle, as if it was specially made for her and the ability she had displayed.

“When did you do this?….”

Vivian was stunned by his gift she hadn’t even thought of.

It was easy for her to get a sword. All she had to do was find a weapon shop and buy one.

But reinforcing magic on it was not an easy task. This is because magic is a noble and rare power in this day and age. Just like Vivian’s spirit art. Since the number of wizards itself is small and magic is such a mysterious power, it must have been quite difficult to find a magician. Vivian could not help but be amazed when a sword that must have been made with such effort suddenly appeared in front of her.

“I left the production in the past, and it was finished, so it got here yesterday.”

“It was.….”

“It was when Lady started swordsmanship.”

That was at least two weeks ago.

What if she started swordsmanship and quit because of a whim? Vivian almost stuck her tongue out at his reckless and daring determination.

“Anyway, if you’re giving it to me, I will be happy to receive it. Thank you, Sir.”

Still, it was not polite to refuse the gift prepared with so much consideration, so Vivian readily accepted the sword. Above all, the length and decoration of the sword was exactly to her taste, so she liked it quite a bit.

“Are you planning to visit the city walls today?”

Vivian nodded her head.

“I will accompany you.”

At his brief addition, Vivian glanced down at the sword in her hand.

“Then… Would you like to go down first? I’ll leave this sword in my room.”

It was rather dangerous for her to carry a sword in haste as she hadn’t even been able to properly lift a wooden sword yet. Most of all, she had spirits that were more powerful than her swordsmanship, so she was fine without a sword right now. In response to Roger’s answer, Vivian went back up the stairs she had been coming down from.

Vivian entered her room and slowly moved her eyes as she contemplated where to put the sword. Then a brightly colored wardrobe caught her eye. Vivian walked over to the closet and opened the door. Vivian, who moved her clothes to one side to make room for the sword, accidentally dropped a hanger.

“Ugh.”

The hanger hit the bedpost and bounced off the bed. Vivian put the sword down on the bed and bent down to take out the hanger. It was dark under the closet where light did not pass, and it was difficult to distinguish objects.

“….. ?”

Vivian was waving her hand to get the hanger out, but stopped as she held something.

It wasn’t the hanger.

“What is this?”

Vivian pulled out what her hand caught and swept away her tangled silver hair. Now in better lighting, she could see that it was a piece of paper.

However, it was not the paper that caught Vivian’s attention, but the strange geometric shapes drawn on it. Looking closely, the paper seemed to have been torn in half and one side was uneven.

Vivian frowned and turned the paper back and forth.

“… Isn’t this a magic summoning ceremony?”

Vivian wasn’t well versed with magic, but she knew that these unusual shapes and unknown language were used to invoke magic. And the fact that the magic is activated only when the paper on which the magic formula is drawn has to be torn in half.

She scanned the paper with calm eyes. The first thing that caught her eye in the unrecognizable picture were two circles, the suspicious language, and the moon pattern surrounding them.

Vivian unconsciously caressed the paper that was torn in half. In an instant, she felt a tingling sensation as if her fingertips swept a needle. She was surprised and her hand reflexively let go.

However, the stinging pain that had already passed through the hand once spread throughout her body and then disappeared without a trace. It happened so quickly that Vivian was embarrassed and blinked her eyes, then touched her chest, which stung like she had swallowed a needle.

“Lady? Didn’t you already leave?”

Hamel opened the door and entered.

“Uh? Ah. I have something to leave behind.”

Vivian lifted her hand from her chest and pulled out the hanger one step later. Vivian, with the scabbard in her closet, looked down at the paper and then picked it up.

“Hamel. Could you please throw this away?”

“What is this?”

“I do not know either. Someone who used this room must have left it.”

A piece of paper whose purpose was unknown fell into Hamel’s grasp. Vivian left the room leaving a greeting. A vague ambiguity followed, but it quickly disappeared like a hazy mist.

***

After the commotion due to Vivian’s flu, a quiet week passed.

Since the cracks did not appear, the demonic beasts did not appear as well, so it was quiet outside the wall. It was like the calm before the storm, but it was also like the peace that the West will one day achieve. Thanks to this, the Knights of Eckhart and Vivian, who came to exterminate the demons, had a quiet day.

During that time, Vivian learned the unfamiliar swordsmanship and became quite close to the Knights of Eckhart.

“Wow! Interesting!”

Tainy went mad when he saw the root of the tree protruding from the ground. He was waving his hands wildly, like an excited young child seeing something for the first time in his life. When the root of the tree bent to the right, Tainy turned to the right as well, and when it bent to the left, Tainy also turned to the left.

A tree root that had only been buried deep in the ground and then protruded had a strange appearance. It was this same ability that stunned Hamel and Vivian’s parents upon first sight. Tainy’s reaction to Vivian’s ability, which was very different from them, was interesting. Tainy went to get a sword, saying that he wanted to fight the tree root that Vivian had pulled out.

Enka shook her head as if she couldn’t stop him.

“I’m sorry, my lady. He has a tendency to be impatient when he sees strange things..”

Enka apologized instead of the excited Tainy. Vivian found out a few days ago that Enka and Tainy, who were previously on death row, were childhood friends. That was why they were close friends even before they joined the Knights’ Order.

Recalling that they were on death row next to each other, Vivian thought that maybe they shared something deep in the past.

“It’s okay. Sir Tainy was surprised to see me from the beginning. I thought it would be okay if I showed my ability.”

It was Tainy who expressed curiosity about her spirit magic from the first time they met.

At Vivian’s kind reply, Enka smiled as if thanking her.

She said, “I heard that the Captain gave you a sword.”

“That’s right. I haven’t used it yet, so I put it in my closet…”

“If it’s my lady, even without a sword, she’ll still be strong.”

At Enka’s praise, Vivian scratched her cheek and smiled shyly. It was pretty embarrassing for her to be recognized by her peers whom she considered strong, apart from herself. Although Vivian was not as brazen as Gray, her mentor, who said that she should live with pride as the only spirit magician in the Empire.

‘By the way, did the Master receive the letter?’

It’s been a week and a half since she’d written to Gray. There were no signs of a reply coming. In fact, she was frustrated because she had no way of knowing whether he had received a letter or not.

“I see, my lady. Are you going with the Captain tomorrow?”

“Yes?”

Recalling the letter she had sent to Gray, Vivian came to her senses at Enka’s words and widened her eyes.

“Where are we going?”

In addition to the sudden change of topic, Vivian tilted her head at the topic she had no way of knowing.

“It seems that the Captain hasn’t told Lady yet.”

Enka rubbed her chin and explained calmly.

“Since he had time to spare, the Captain said that he was going to visit the estate tomorrow. He said that he recommends my lady to accompany him….”

After Vivian replied that she had not heard anything, she got up. It was several hours later when she heard the offer directly from Roger.

“I plan to visit the estate tomorrow, would you like to accompany me?”

Roger, who came to her room, suggested. Vivian came up with the answer she had been thinking of since the moment she heard Enka’s words.

“It would be nice to go with you… But what if a crack appears while we are away for a while?”

“I’ve informed the soldiers to tell me immediately by sending a signal if a crack appears.”

Roger had taken care of her concerns in advance.

“Well then.”

Vivian nodded at his answer. After all, there was nothing urgent in this quiet and spacious mansion. Relaxation tends to produce more boredom than one would expect, so his suggestion seemed to be a change of heart.

[TN/N: Guys, since I have been busy with studies, chapters are a little late. But I am trying my best and my editor too. ]