Chapter 9: Dojo

“…Stop.”

Philia, who had been calm until then, showed a lot of emotion today.

To be precise, was it because her patience had reached its limit?

“No, why on earth… hah.”

A frustrating, yet complex feeling that she couldn’t confide in anyone about.

After pointing out Ian, Philia kept telling him to demonstrate his swordsmanship, but naturally, there was no further change.

Rather, Philia felt dizzy from Ian’s swordsmanship, which was swung even more ‘thoughtlessly’ than when he first held the sword.

‘Is it because Ian didn’t receive proper instruction? But, even so…’

A swordsman capable of god-slaying possessed only this much talent?

This was, at best, the level of a knight’s page.

No, frankly, it was a talent that barely scraped by as a mercenary.

He was not a genius, nor even an ordinary talent.

Rather, it was a talent closer to dullness, one that would never achieve greatness if he held a sword.

If someone claimed he would slay gods in the future with such talent, everyone would surely laugh.

‘But, it actually happens.’

Philia herself had experienced it vividly, so she knew well that Ian’s ‘strength’ was almost incomprehensible.

Therefore, she couldn’t help but be even more puzzled by the mismatch between his strength and talent.

‘For now, let’s call the captain of the family’s knights and have him train Ian. It’s not too late to judge then.’

Philia calmly made contingency plans, but within them, there was a trace of anxiety.

‘Ian must become stronger…’

Clench-

She unknowingly bit her nails.

Philia thought of herself as mature and rational, but in reality, she was a human with many flaws.

Even before regressing, as a ‘host’ of a demon, she had easily obtained what she wanted.

She had rarely felt human agony or responsibility.

In the early days after her ego awakened, she lived with guilt, but after meeting Ian, even that guilt faded and was completely forgotten.

The problem was, when the object of her dependence, Ian, disappeared, her mental state became extremely precarious.

‘What should I do…?’

When the most important part of her plan, Ian’s ‘talent,’ couldn’t be used, Philia panicked.

At that time, she had followed whatever Ian decided, and since it was ultimately the ‘right’ direction, there were no particular problems.

Philia had thought that by accompanying Ian, she too would think wisely like him and be able to overcome any crisis… but reality was colder than she thought.

“…I don’t think the path of the sword is right for me.”

Seeing Ian spouting nonsense with a dazed expression, Philia felt an urge to tell him everything right away.

How great he was, what magnificent feats he had accomplished.

She wanted to tell him immediately, but Philia forcibly suppressed that urge.

‘It’s still too early for the current Ian.’

Since even his talent seemed uncertain, telling him about future events was premature.

‘Three years. Within that time, I absolutely must raise Ian to his previous level.’

If history had proceeded as originally, there would have been about five years left until the destruction, but in the current world, where all sorts of ‘regressors,’ including Philia herself, were rampant, the destruction would surely come sooner.

‘And even if, Ian doesn’t become stronger…’

At that time, Philia also had to make a decision.

A decision to eternally bind Ian to her ‘flower garden’.

***

In front of Philia’s door.

Lucy was waiting for them, her face flushed.

When their ‘time of pleasure’ had surpassed a good three hours, Lucy started to get anxious.

‘Is Ian’s stamina that incredible? That’s why the young lady… Hmph. What am I thinking.’

Lucy shook her head from side to side, gradually regaining her senses.

‘Right. I must have misunderstood. Why would the young lady, of all people, get involved with Ian?’

Lucy thought her delusions had gone too far.

Creak-

The door opened, and the faint smell of sweat stimulated her nose.

‘Huh? Why does it smell like sweat?’

At that moment.

Ian walked out of the room, looking exhausted.

Anyone could see he had done some ‘strenuous work’.

‘N-no way? For real?’

Lucy’s eyes widened, but it didn’t register in Ian’s already exhausted eyes.

After Ian left.

When she cautiously entered the room, Philia was sighing inside.

A look of ‘dissatisfaction’ that anyone could see.

“……!”

Lucy’s delusions began to run wild again.

***

“Hah, just go back for now.”

With Philia’s sigh, I was given my dismissal.

‘Oof, my arm.’

Perhaps because I had swung the sword so much, my arm muscles ached.

At first, I found using the sword quite fun, but perhaps because of Philia’s cold attitude, I felt a little intimidated and it seems I couldn’t show proper swordsmanship.

‘She said I had too many distracting thoughts, so I just swung as my instincts told me…’

Naturally, ‘thoughtless’ swordsmanship was weaker.

The more I swung the sword, the more Philia’s expression soured in real-time.

By this point, anyone who wasn’t a fool could tell that Philia had some kind of expectation of me.

‘Judging by her reaction, she seems quite disappointed, but I don’t know what she’s expecting.’

To show achievement in swordsmanship, it’s almost impossible to do so in a short period, especially ‘without instruction’.

Even a genius overflowing with talent needs at least the basics.

But she just recklessly ordered me, who has no particular talent, to use a sword, so it’s truly frustrating.

‘Is it that I’m so good with a sword in the future that she’d order such an absurd thing?’

Having lived my whole life without really feeling like I had any talent, I understood it even less.

I wish Philia would just clearly tell me everything that happened in the first playthrough.

There’s only one reason why I don’t ask Philia about the first playthrough.

It’s because of my ‘hunch’.

‘I don’t know why, but I feel like something dangerous will happen if I bring up anything related to regression.’

It was a hunch that had saved me in critical situations, so I trusted it quite a bit.

And perhaps there’s a separate reason why Philia doesn’t talk about regression.

‘There might be some restrictions on regression itself… For now, let’s not show that I’ve noticed until Philia brings it up first.’

Just as I was walking, massaging my aching arm.

–Meow.

“Huh?”

Something small blocked my path.

‘A cat…? There shouldn’t be anyone raising cats inside the castle, though?’

Occasionally, a few maids would feed stray cats, but they wouldn’t bring a cat inside the castle.

“Did it sneak in over the wall? It’s cute, though.”

At first glance, this creature, which looked like a kitten, seemed quite cute.

Fluffy gray fur, blue eyes.

And a small horn in the middle that stood out.

‘A horn…? Why does it have a horn?’

Naturally, an ordinary cat wouldn’t have a horn.

–Meeeooow!

The creature cried out at me and then suddenly jumped.

Thump-

For a moment.

I was startled and caught it immediately, but it kept struggling with its small limbs.

Watching it desperately unleash its kitty-punches, I thought it was cute, but seeing the horn in the middle, it didn’t seem like an ordinary cat.

‘A demonic beast…? But it’s too small for that.’

According to ‘Haelan Chronicles,’ demonic beasts are usually born with special horns.

Since ancient times, only a very small fraction of animals have awakened as demonic beasts through mana, and most demonic beasts inhabit the Deep Forest in the eastern part of the continent.

The size of demonic beasts surpasses humans even as cubs, and some high-ranking demonic beasts can even transform into human form.

This creature’s size aside, it’s logically impossible for a demonic beast to invade the castle, so I thought it might just be a product of crossbreeding.

‘The parents could be different species. For now, I should take it outside.’

I couldn’t just leave it inside the castle, so I planned to release it outside.

***

–GRRRRRA!

In front of the bellowing Behemoth, the man did not stop his sword.

A repetition of slashes that reached a state of selflessness.

Each slash was enough to crack the world, but to Behemoth, it was merely a shallow scratch.

A despairing gap.

But, it was familiar to the man.

Both facing limitations every time,

And breaking through the walls of those limitations.

‘Combine.’

He forcibly fuses all the swordsmanship principles he has accumulated so far.

The integration of sword styles was normally, of course, impossible.

The principles of martial arts often overlap or conflict with each other, so how could they all be combined?

A haphazard entanglement would only aggravate the confusion of swordsmanship.

It was impossible for the power to become stronger.

A realm that all who use the sword dismiss as impossible.

However, the man could do it.

He forcibly shatters the wall that should have blocked him.

One Sword, Ten Thousand Waves.

With a single sword, he shatters all things.

Slice-

In an imperceptible realm, Behemoth’s massive horn was severed.

The beast of disaster, for the first time, felt the emotion of ‘fear’ instead of appetite.