Doggone Academy

Chapter 55 Making Inquiries

Am I to understand that someone is already acquainted with me? Even among all of Eternia’s students, those who know me well enough to recognize me can be counted on one hand.

“Could it be… Are they in the same year as me?”

Ella wore an expression full of meaning and difficult to interpret.

“Know this – I was simply asking about you. I can’t share more because of certain reasons, and there is no need to rush ahead before the entrance ceremony.”

“Understood.”

That someone knows who I am is enough for now. Yet my unnecessary inquiry has only served to stoke my curiosity further.

“I must be going. Rest well.”

Ella took my mask and finally left.

Feeling the tension leave me, I stretched out languidly in the chair.

Then I examined the pendant given to me by Ella without much thought.

A diamond-shaped piece of silver with a white crystal of unknown nature embedded within it.

To think that this could save my life. It feels as if it’s a warning about an impending day when I would encounter a Black Sorcerer.

Black Sorcerer. The term, touted as the most dangerous in the world, doesn’t quite hit home. It’s like how a vast fortune can feel tangible but the notion of unimaginable wealth doesn’t quite register.

Why Silveryn had not mentioned anything about Black Sorcerers to me was also a mystery.

I put the pendant around my neck.

It feels strange, as my collection of accessories seems to be growing one by one.

Silveryn’s ring, Erzebet’s enchanted bracelet, and now Ella’s pendant. Should it grow anymore, I might look as though I were a frivolous young lord fond of extravagance.

In the midst of my musings, someone knocked on the door.

“Yes, enter.”

A young male servant came in.

“Mr. Damian, I’ll show you to your room,” he said.

I quickly packed my things from the table.

Rising, I followed the servant’s lead into the corridor.

Halfway there, the servant asked cautiously.

“Do you not require the hot springs?”

“I’d like to rest for now. Perhaps another time.”

“Do not worry, for the hot springs have a private room. Feel free to use it whenever you wish, without concern for onlookers.”

And with those words, we arrived at the door of the guest room.

As soon as I grasped the door handle, somebody popped out as if to surprise me.

“Surprise. Look here. Isn’t it beautiful?”

Liria, wearing a new dress, briefly lifted the hem for effect, pulling a pose of pride.

Myself and the servant were taken aback, stopping in our tracks standing before her.

It seemed Liria had been waiting in the room just for me and hadn’t expected a servant to accompany me. She froze completely.

Liria wavered under the bemused stares of the two men, her cheeks flushing as if she had dipped her face in the hot spring waters.

The servant gave a staged cough, regaining his composure before speaking.

“I shall return later. Enjoy your time.”

“…”

***

Rigved was surrounded on three sides by mountains, so skies were often cloud-laden, the sun scarce, and for three months of the year, there would be rain.

Dusk fell, and a fine rain began in Rigved. Sion adorned her robe, avoiding carriages as she crossed the intersection.

She then stopped in front of the entrance to Filin’s smithy, a place she had visited in search of a magic sword just before her entrance exam, where she also encountered the man in the mask for the first time.

She had replayed the fight on the summit of Eternia in her head countless times. No matter how many times she reconsidered it, the peculiar alien feeling surrounding that man, whether due to the sword or the fight itself, could not be dismissed.

Sion, with her wealth of experience and skill honed, had never seen such a strange sword nor such a manner of fighting.

Sion opened the door to Filin’s smithy, and once she removed her hood inside, all the men who were admiring the swords affixed their gaze on her. Clearly, they recognized Sion.

She had become even more famous since the Eternia entrance examination.

To Sion, who saw no value in fame, this attention was nothing but bothersome.

As she approached the owner, he acknowledged her presence. Clearly, he remembered Sion.

“I had no idea I would see you again so soon. What is the matter?”

“I need a place for a quiet conversation.”

The owner, silently running his fingers through his beard, knew Sion’s master as well.

“Hmm, follow me.”

He motioned for Sion to follow him through the shop with a flick of his finger, leading her to a small parlor. Once they were inside with the door closed, the owner asked,

“What issue is so important that it requires such discretion?”

“I’m searching for someone.”

The owner pressed his lips together without a word.

“It concerns a man who was here around the same time as myself on a previous occasion.”

Even without going into detail, it seemed the owner instantly understood who Sion was referring to.

“Do you know of whom I speak? Is there a problem?”

“There’s a debt I owe from the entrance exam. I need information about that man.”

Reaching out, she then presented a purse.

“I’ll pay for any information.”

The owner looked at the purse, his expression souring as if he was insulted. Arms crossed in a defensive stance, he declared,

“This is armorers, not an information broker. Though I don’t know what this is about, the man you’re asking about is as significant as yourself. Unless this is regarding a purchase of arms, please leave.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Sion unfastened the magic sword Sibelyn at her waist. Its hilt was wrapped in bandages and the scabbard sealed with special enchantments to prevent the magic from leaking, but the owner recognized the magic sword at once.

“Then, let me inquire about something different. I have heard that there are various magic swords in the world. Certainly, there is no one in Rigved who knows more about swords than you. Is there a sword that holds even greater power?”

“I’m unsure why you’d ask such a thing, but your sword is among the finest I know of, accompanying your master in his golden days. What else do you wish to discuss?”

Sion’s true intentions were surely lost on the owner. The luminous sword she carried had planted deep feelings of jealousy in one corner of her heart and awe in another.

“Like all swords, each has its match, and there will indeed be those it can best due to compatibility. But are you asking about swords of a higher breed, something akin to the legends and myths? If you feel your sword is insufficient, perhaps it is not the sword but rather how it is wielded.”

“…That will suffice, thank you.”

With the conversation at an end, Sion exited the parlor. She had not acquired the information she came for, and the identity of the man remained an enigma.

As she attempted to leave the store, a group of men, who had been staring hard at Sion, blocked the exit.

A handsome man, evidently their leader, reached out to offer a handshake.

“Never thought I’d encounter you here. The name is Philip – I shall be enrolling in Eternia this term. You must be aware of my family. I am the firstborn of the noble house of Chase…”

With an air of tedium, Sion interrupted him.

“Scram.”

“What?”

The nobleman’s pride was visibly shattered as he forced a twist upon his lips in effort to maintain composure.

“No matter how good you may think you are…”

Sion uttered coldly.

“Didn’t you hear? I said scram.”

It was obvious, even without a test of skill, that none of the men blocking her path had the wherewithal to withstand even a single strike from her blade.

For Sion, wielding poor skill, no amount of wealth or prestigious lineage could hold significance in her eyes.

In the face of true monsters, trust lies only in the sword one bears.

The man Sion sought in Eternia had to possess specific traits: his hair must be the shade of deep red, he must wear a mask, and on his belt, a wooden sword should hang. Any man lacking these traits bore no interest for her.

“I never knew you had such a distasteful personality,” Philip grumbled under Sion’s oppressive aura, finally stepping aside.

***

“Congratulations, Miss.”

Lilith’s personal tutor, who had been instructing her in magic, quickly journeyed up to Rigved upon receiving her letter to join her for the evening meal.

“Thank you, Professor Colby.”

“With the performance you’ve shown on the entrance exam, you can certainly expect high marks.”

It was a moment to be savored. The dream of entering Eternia was now assured. Should her fortune continue, magics department salutatorian was within reach.

But something troubled the corner of her mind. Despite quick thinking that saw her reach the midsections of Grace Mountain swiftly, none of the high marks she achieved owned anything to Lilith’s individual feats.

She had merely shadowed a figure and followed the path he had carved, before Plantara had the chance to restore it.

The joy of such success came mixed with a touch of unease.

Is it right to accept such favorable results, possibly unwarranted?

Reaching for her handkerchief to dab her lips, Lilith stopped short.

It was the same piece she had used to wipe the blood of that man during the entrance examination. The stains, reminiscent of deep red wine, remained vividly present.

Washing it with rainwater in a cave had made no change. She could have used chemicals to erase the blemish, but refrained.

She could not explicitly articulate her reasons even to herself. Known for prizing cleanliness, for this one, she made an exception. Beholding those stains inspired an indescribable sensation – one not entirely unpleasant.

Upon seeing the handkerchief, the servant blanched and approached Lilith anxiously.

“Miss, if you entrust it to us…”

“No, leave it be.”

As she placed the handkerchief back into her pocket, her private tutor voiced his puzzlement,

“Isn’t that a handkerchief you are fond of? How did it come to be so…”

“Yes, I am quite attached to it. Don’t worry. It’s not my blood. It belongs to someone who helped me.”

Professor Colby, observing Lilith’s expression closely, remarked,

“The fact that you’ve chosen to preserve the stain suggests you harbor some fond feelings for this person.”

Lilith chuckled mirthlessly.

“Well, perhaps. But it’s a bit more complicated than that.”

She quickly shifted the subject.

“Ah, but more importantly, have you ever seen a sword shining, Professor?”

Professor Colby gently caressed his beard with his fingers and replied,

“Shining swords are quite common in the world.”

“But I mean a sword that shines entirely white, seeming incredibly mystical and powerful…”

“That would likely be an enchanted sword.”

Yet, the sword Lilith recalled from memory differed significantly from any enchantment.

“It feels different… Like… the light is almost flying, that mystical kind…”

The sword of light that Lilith had seen possessed a pure aura, one that seemed beyond the craft of human hands. Yet, she found no words to convey the sensation accurately.

“Never mind, it doesn’t matter.”

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