Chapter 403 - An Unbeatable Opponent
After making the rounds to the artisans and putting in the necessary crafting requests, I finally logged out. I closed my eyes, thinking, “Now I can finally rest,” and when I opened them, it was night.
I’d set an alarm so I didn’t oversleep, but it felt like I’d just experienced a genuine time warp. I couldn't even recall when I’d fallen asleep; it was basically like I’d passed out.
Well, it was obvious that the fatigue was mostly mental. Even though the great and mysterious technology of the Virtual Brain shoulders most of the burden, there's no way the mind is immune to the principle of sickness starting from the mind.
Even after a few hours of napping, the exhaustion and sleepiness lingered. As expected, Sora-san showed no signs of reappearing in the virtual world, so after I finish my last task, I'll go back to sleep too.
An indispensable, important task—yes, today is Saturday.
“Hee hee, it seems I have a companion for staying up late again.”
“I did my best. Please look forward to it.”
While deftly tending to [Samidorizuki], my master listened to my victory report, smiling softly and happily.
As for me, I tried to maintain a poker face, but inwardly I was biting back a grimace of embarrassment. For some reason, whenever I report something to Ui-san, I always adopt this strange, hype-focused storytelling tone. I have no idea why.
I feel like a kid telling my parents about a field trip. It’s embarrassing.
“So, um… about that. I already mentioned it, but…”
What I was trying to bring up again was the matter of [Samidorizuki], which was now in her hands.
I don’t regret entrusting the sword to Irori to help him, and I was certain even without asking that Ui-san would forgive me.
However, I don’t regret it, but I do regret it. In the end, no matter how much I tried to act cool, it was because I myself didn't want to part with it, in any form.
I felt a self-imposed guilt for letting go of the sword I had received as a ‘proof,’ even temporarily. Therefore, the apology I was about to offer was for my own satisfaction—and therefore,
“If you’re talking about the sword, how you use it is for you to decide, Haru-kun.”
This is the person who would cut down such unnecessary thoughts with a single stroke.
“If you need to know ‘what I think,’ then I would say that I am overjoyed it could be of help not just to you, Haru-kun, but to Irori-kun as well… That’s about it.”
Anticipating my every move, my master, who is fundamentally kind yet merciless, won't allow any spoiled, backward-looking sentiment. The smile she gave me remained as gentle as ever.
“…Haha, how embarrassing.”
Truly, in so many ways.
When I talk to Ui-san, I’m reminded every time that I’m still just a novice—and yet,
finding even that pleasant is one of the bad things about this person.
“Hee hee… There, all done.”
“Thank you very much.”
The maintenance was finished, and the jade blade, now shining even brighter, was returned to me.
What Ui-san uses to maintain [Samidorizuki] is a full set of tools I recognize from somewhere as a ‘Japanese sword maintenance kit,’ complete with oil and polishing powder.
I still don't even know the proper names for each item, but my master has personally forbidden me from ‘studying’ them, so I have no choice.
As the owner and her disciple, I thought I should at least be able to maintain my own sword… but to that notion, the Sword Saint said this:
My role would disappear, so no.
That’s just like you, Master.
“Haru-kun.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you as well. Knowing that you cherish the gift I gave you… makes me very happy, too.”
“That’s really just like you, Master.”
“…Yes?”
I foresaw a future where she would tilt her head in confusion, so I averted my eyes to avoid the heart-stopping move that I wouldn't be able to look at directly.
“I don’t quite understand, but… Well then, Haru-kun, would you please show it to me now?”
“…Show you what?”
“Hee hee.”
“…”
Whoa, the pressure.
“I may not have participated in the battle, but as your master, I believe I have both the duty and the right to witness my disciple’s ‘growth.’”
“Seriously…? You’re going to pull the master-privilege card here?”
“I am. And if necessary, I will again—”
“Okay, I get it…! I get it, so please put down the wooden sword…!”
I was planning on showing her sooner or later, and it’s not like I intended to refuse. I just wasn’t mentally prepared yet, and it would only increase my embarrassment—so be it.
“Hah… It changes quite a bit, so you should prepare yourself too—[Trance].”
I activated the skill that, in this virtual world, only a hundred and ten people currently possess.
The effect was instantaneous. A magic circle unfolded around my avatar, bathing my entire body in its white light… and then, like an eggshell, it cracked with a soft snap.
As the light scattered with a faint sound, my transformed body was revealed.
According to the girls, long ‘hair’ in this world isn't as heavy as it is in reality… but even so, there’s enough of a difference from my main avatar to feel strange.
Every time the long side-tail, which reaches down to my waist, sways, my attention gets drawn to it. I wonder if my body will ever get used to this.
But that aside,
“Well… this is a surprise.”
“I should think so…”
Even the great Sword Saint surely never dreamed that her disciple would transform into a girl (a white-haired, blue-eyed beauty).
Her blinking gray eyes were opened wider than I had ever seen them, perfectly round.
Blink, blink… with those wide eyes, she stared, and stared, and stared at my ‘form,’ which I really wished she wouldn’t scrutinize so much.
“…S-So, uh, well, since I’m a bit tired today, I think I’ll get some rest ear—”
“Haru-kun.”
“Yes.”
I had a bad feeling—so I tried to make a quick exit, but my words were cut off. For the record, Ui-san rarely ever interrupts people.
Which means that for her, something ‘extraordinary’ is happening right now, and as her disciple, I can’t very well ignore my master’s major event.
In other words, I can’t defy her.
“You see, I have a dream, though it’s a bit embarrassing to say.”
“A dream?”
“Yes—a dream I’ve wanted to fulfill if I ever got a female disciple.”
“…W-Well, that’s unfortunate, in a way. I’m a man, after all, so I’m sorry I can’t be of any help.”
“I believe I told you before that the things I want to do for you are the same things my grandfather did for me…”
“…”
This is bad, she’s in full Sword Saint mode.
She's smiling so brightly, she's not listening to a single word I'm saying…!
“When I was a child, there was a time I let my hair grow out.”
“…Yes.”
“My grandfather would often have me sit on his lap and comb it for me.”
“I see…”
“Haru-kun.”
“Yes.”
“Given your height, having you sit on my lap would be difficult, so please come over here.”
She moved a cushion to the edge of the veranda, patting it softly, and urged me to sit, advancing the conversation without leaving any room for argument.
She herself knelt behind it, looking ready to go, but I still hadn't agreed to her reques—
“Haru-cha—”
“I get it, I’m sorry, just please spare me from that.”
The power balance was hopeless; the outcome was immediate.
On a Saturday, during the peaceful respite of master and disciple. With a comb that appeared from somewhere, my master did as she pleased… and as always, our peaceful night continued on calmly.
Excluding, of course, the complex feelings of one individual.