Chapter 10

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: A Peculiar Reason
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#10

"What's that sound?"

The hesitation was fleeting. Lucy fumbled for her overcoat, then gathered her long, flowing hair and wrapped it around her neck.

It was autumn and relatively mild, but the mornings and evenings were chilly, just like any other season. She pulled on her gloves, slipped her feet into her boots, and finally, with her hat on, she stepped out of the cabin.

"Ugh, it's cold."

A faint white light was beginning to crest the horizon, and the darkness that had filled the sky was slowly receding from its glow.

Waving her hand through the white puff of her breath, she turned in the direction of the sound.

The sound grew closer with each step. A dull thud, as if something was being struck, rang out intermittently, along with the *whoosh* of something slicing through the air.

What on earth could it be?

Clasping her hands together, she cautiously rounded the corner of the house. There, to the west of the cabin, in front of the shed where the firewood was stacked, she discovered the source of the noise.

Walter Hyverge was swinging a sword in front of a pile of firewood.

"Grand General. What are you doing out here at this hour?"

She was so dumbfounded that she could only gape for a moment before forcing the words out.

Walter, who had been about to bring his sword down, glanced over, saw Lucy, and stopped.

"You're awake, Your Highness."

Walter twirled the sword with a flick of his wrist, gave the blade a cursory glance, and then plunged it into the ground.

For a moment, she was almost impressed by the fluid, economical movement.

"It seemed we were low on firewood, so I was splitting some logs."

Lucy stared at him, speechless.

A man splitting firewood with a sword instead of an axe. And not just any sword, but *that* famous sword!

That wasn't all. Walter was fearlessly shirtless in the cold.

His well-muscled chest was drenched in sweat. Aesthetics aside, it was the perfect way to catch pneumonia once the sweat cooled.

Staring at his heaving chest, Lucy stammered.

"The axe is over there."

"I'm aware."

"You'll catch a cold dressed like that."

"I've trained in colder places than this without issue. Please don't worry."

"No... It's just, it's a little embarrassing. I'd appreciate it if you put on a shirt."

Only then did Walter look down and realize his state of dress. Lucy, glancing around, spotted his clothes on a pile of dry branches and quickly handed them to him.

"It seems I woke you. I tried to be as quiet as possible, but I apologize if I was too loud."

Dressed again, Walter rubbed the back of his neck and approached Lucy.

Lucy gestured for him to sit on an unsplit log she had set upright. Telling him to wait a moment, she ran back into the cabin and returned with warm mushroom tea.

"Here. This will warm you up."

Walter was about to refuse, but seeing Lucy's displeased expression, he meekly accepted the cup.

Beyond the rising steam, the sun had now fully risen, announcing the dawn with its brilliant light. Walter narrowed his eyes against the unfiltered sunlight and tilted his cup.

Lucy pretended to watch the sunrise, but her eyes darted over to study him.

She'd thought it when they first met, but he truly had the looks of someone who didn't belong in the military.

His softly waving hair, his long eyelashes that cast deep shadows, and especially his large, clear eyes—they gave him an air of someone who couldn't even harm an ant, let alone a person.

Most of all, unlike other soldiers who carried a rough aura about them, he exuded no particular atmosphere or presence.

No matter how she looked at him, he just didn't seem like a soldier.

Feeling a strange mix of suspicion and fascination, Lucy watched him quietly for a moment before stifling a dry laugh and dismissing the thought.

Didn't seem like a soldier?

His disciplined movements and silent footsteps were a testament to his life. Though born a genius, he had trained relentlessly to become a man who could even conceal his presence.

And then there was that sword.

She couldn't even begin to imagine what else he could be, if not a soldier—a man who had become the master of a sword so legendary it was considered a myth.

"Is it okay to just leave your sword stuck in the ground like that?"

The sight of the sword planted in the cold, frozen earth like a toothpick seemed rather pitiful. Despite her worried question, Walter nodded with a composed expression.

"The blade won't be damaged, so it's fine."

"I've heard it's a very unusual sword, but still. What if someone steals it while you're leaving it around so carelessly?"

"No one but its master can easily handle it, so it's fine. But if it bothers you, I'll retrieve it."

Sipping his tea, Walter extended his right hand. With his palm open, he flicked his wrist, and the sword stuck in the ground began to tremble.

*Fwing-!*

It flew through the air and landed perfectly in his hand.

"...Uh..."

Lucy's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between Walter and the sword.

She'd heard it called a demon sword and a legendary blade so many times she thought she'd be prepared, but seeing it in action left her too stunned to speak.

Having secured the sword, Walter finally looked at her and offered an embarrassed smile.

"I apologize if I startled you."

"The sword... it just came back on its own? How... uh, well. That's really amazing."

"It's quite convenient, as it returns on its own even if I toss it far away. It has many little tricks, but personally, I find this to be its most useful feature."

"It has other tricks?"

Walter, who had fallen silent in thought, drew the sword again.

He set down his teacup, stood up, and glanced around before picking up one of the logs he had split and stepping back.

Watching the log with a careful eye, Walter suddenly tossed it into the air without any warning.

The log flew straight up, lost momentum, and then began to fall back down along the same trajectory. Just as it was about to plummet onto Walter's head.

"Hah..."

A bluish light enveloped the blade, and at the same time, the log stopped in mid-air.

Walter slowly reached out toward the log. With a light tap, he nudged it aside.

The log remained suspended in the air.

"...My goodness."

So this was why they called it a demon sword.

Lucy stared, mesmerized, without blinking. Walter slowly turned his head to meet her gaze, then pushed the hovering log a little further to the side.

"It drains my energy, so I can't use it for long, but it's excellent for boosting the soldiers' morale."

The blue light on the sword vanished in an instant, and the log fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Walter kicked the log back into the air with the tip of his boot and caught it effortlessly. Then, with a nonchalant expression, he sat back down next to Lucy.

Wondering how to react, Lucy decided to follow her instincts. She began to clap, applauding him.

"Wow! That's incredible. Truly amazing. How on earth... what... uh..."

"Are you asking about the mechanism that allows it to stop objects?"

When she nodded, Walter furrowed his brow and hummed thoughtfully.

"I focus my mind on the sword and project my energy. It allows me to temporarily stop objects or living things nearby. Of course, it doesn't work over a wide area—only within a radius of about three meters."

"..."

That's a completely broken ability.

Lucy murmured to herself, fiddling with the corner of her mouth.

"That's insane... No, does that mean you could charge into an enemy camp all by yourself? Say, to take the enemy commander's head?"

"Unfortunately, it's not that useful. Three seconds... five at most. Any longer and my energy becomes unstable."

Her mouth agape, Lucy nodded slowly. "Ah..."

Despite her accepting gesture, she hadn't really understood a thing. The wondrous scene from moments ago was all that filled her mind, leaving her unable to recover from the shock.

Besides, talk of 'focusing your mind' and 'projecting energy' sounded like something straight out of a fantasy, so it didn't really register.

The only thing that was certain was that titles like 'legendary master' and 'reincarnation of the war god' were no exaggeration.

So this is why the Crown Prince was so wary of Walter Hyverge.

"You're amazing. Truly."

"You're too kind."

"Not at all. For someone with such martial prowess to also possess a talent like this... frankly, you're too good for Parnas."

Even though he was born in a small kingdom like Parnas, his fame had spread across the continent. If a man like Walter had been born into a powerful family in the Empire, the course of history might have been different.

That's right.

He might have even overthrown that detestable Crown Prince and started a new dynasty.

But that was just a hypothetical. Walter now represented Parnas, and he was urging her to take the throne. An ambiguous smile, neither pleasant nor unpleasant, touched Lucy's lips.

"Grand General."

"Yes."

"I've been thinking about what you said yesterday."

Her voice trailed off as she looked down at the teacup in her hands. She swirled the now-cold tea, carefully choosing her words.

"I just can't understand it, no matter how much I think about it. Why are you trying to put me on the throne? I have no foundation, and my legitimacy is weak. It would be impossible to persuade the lords."

"You are clearly of His Majesty's blood."

"I'm sure you know that reason isn't enough to convince even me."

Walter stroked his chin, lost in thought. After staring at his feet with an impassive expression, he brushed his thumb against his lower lip and began to speak in a serious tone.

"It was a decision I came to after much consideration, but I'm struggling to find the right words to explain it. To put it... my way, I suppose it's because I quite like this situation, where you are engaged in illegal activities."

...What did he just say?

Unsure how to respond, Lucy let out an unconscious, "Ah..."