Chapter 21: Voyeurism and Bold Plans (1)
“Grandpa, why do we have to dress like this?”
I once asked my grandfather that question as a child.
The corners of his mouth turned up as he looked at me.
“There are many reasons, but first of all, it’s cool, and if an old man is actually very strong in such a shabby look…”
‘What the hell is cool about it? People stare at us everywhere we go…I, I want to wear pretty clothes too!”
I was having this conversation with my grandfather.
Suddenly, the bandits came at us, threatening him and trying to drag me away but without a word, my grandfather put his hand on the sword on his back.
He drew his sword and sliced through the bandits at a speed I couldn’t follow with my eyes.
As he cut down the last bandit, who cursed in panic, he wiped the blood from his sword…
“Ooh… Wow.”
He was very cool.
From then on, I tried and tried to be as cool as him. I wanted to be a ‘strong man who hides his strength’.
It was so exhilarating to see other people ignore him, but when they heard his nickname, “Sword Saint,” they would treat him with great respect.
My whole body was thrilled and from that moment on, I was ‘addicted’ to that feeling.
“The Innocence Academy? What more can I learn there?”
“People say there is no end to learning.”
“Hmm… I see. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to attend the academy and learn more about the world.”
“But can I get in quietly, Grandpa? I don’t want you to ride on your coattails to fame without proving anything.”
“Hmm… You’re not wrong. I never expected you to think so deeply…. You’ve grown up a lot, Kaen. It’s no secret that you’re my heir, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Just like that, I was able to enter the Innocence Academy quietly.
I decided that this was a very appropriate place for me to indulge myself, as it was a gathering of talented people my age.
During the class placement test, I purposely fell out of the proper rankings.
‘The sword… I missed… Oops. This is a mistake!’
In hindsight, the performance I put on when I was about to fail the exam was a masterpiece.
I returned to my seat, happy that it had gone well, and watched the assignment test.
After Cadet Aizel, who, unlike me, unleashed all of her power without any obstacles, “he” came.
The nameless blind man who appeared out of nowhere had defeated Amon Caligus of the Continent’s Four Elemental Families.
Naturally, the cadets were surprised.
“Amon lost?
“Wow. That Caligus lost?”
“How did he break the gauntlet?”
The other cadets didn’t know, but I saw it.
The blind man used dispel with his sword. What was even more shocking was that I felt nothing from the blind man named Zetto swordplay.
His sword was empty and I suddenly realized.
‘…Is he hiding his power too?’
He hadn’t hidden his power completely, but he had shown some of it, not all of it though.
There’s no way he could have used dispel so easily with such mediocre swordsmanship.
I’ve seen my grandfather break spells, so I know it can be done. People don’t realize it, but my grandfather could use dispel with a sword.
I tried to learn, but… it wasn’t that easy so I became nervous because a powerful rival emerged.
“Originally, I was going to move up from class C to A during the exam, to get noticed…”
The plan went awry so after that, I decided to stay away from him and watch his every move.
This was made easier by the fact that he was blind, with a white bandage covering his eyes.
Upon closer inspection, I realized he was very bad.
He was worse than me.
When I went to the training center in the middle of the night and saw him practicing the same exercises I did when I was six years old, I stopped admiring him.
I was like, ‘How does he do that with such terrible mana control, and why is he still doing it when there’s no one left in the training center?’
At his level, his mana control should be more than that.
Even I could draw sword energy so there’s no way a guy who can use dispel with a sword couldn’t draw sword energy.
‘I don’t understand.’
After days of watching I finally had him figured out.
‘You’re going to get into Class A, showcase your talent, and then surprise people by stepping it up through hard work?’
I chuckled.
Goosebumps broke out all over my body as I recited my assessment of him.
He would use his weaknesses and his deficiencies in his concept.
He was placed in Class A with a hint of excellence in the class placement test. That was the first impression of the cadets but he deliberately exposed his weaknesses, emphasizing that he was nothing special, and then said that he had gained strength through hard work, indicating that he could grow from here.
‘…What a sneaky guy!’
He even flirts with female cadets every day, giving off an inexplicable air of relaxation.
“Whoa…”
I watched him from afar again today. He’s always hiding, trying not to be seen but lately, I’ve been feeling like I’m being spotted by a guy who shouldn’t see me.
He’s chatting with Cadet Aizel, but every now and then he’ll glance over to where I am.
It looks like a casual glance, but knowing his skills, it’s not so simple.
‘Why…? My ‘shadow erase’ was perfect!’
Shadow Erase was a technique I’d developed on my own.
I crouched down and hid myself as best I could.
It sounds simple, but it’s not ‘easy’ by any means.
‘That’s strange… Does that mean his true skill is beyond mine…?’
Well, that’s a different story. If I’m going to be in class “A” after the exam, and he’s going to be in class “A” too…He could take all the attention away from me.
The best way to show strength is to hide it and then reveal it.
He chose to hide and then show that he was stronger through hard work. It might be considered bland, but since he was blind, it might elicit a stronger reaction.
‘In that case, I’ll use my grandfather’s sword technique…’
The moment I use my grandfather’s sword technique, I’m bound to get noticed.
I’m the sole heir to the Sword Saint and my name would be known throughout the world.
‘…But.’
No matter how much I think about it, I only use my grandfather’s sword skills in times of danger.
I watched him chatting with Cadet Aizel with a smug grin on his face, deep in thought.
‘I wonder what I can do to get people’s attention more strongly than he can…?’
***
I was practicing late at the gym when I ran into Aizel.
We walked down the street together and chatted for a while. But lately, I’ve been feeling like someone is watching me all the time.
I thought, “Is this the effect of my heightened senses?”
So I spontaneously turned my head to see where someone might be watching me.
‘Is that…’
I hadn’t spotted anyone before, but this time I did. I saw a person in the distance, hiding behind a tree, watching me. Her hair color was rather unusual, making her easy to spot from a distance, even at night.
‘Pink hair? Speaking of pink hair… It can only be Kaen…’
Kaen was a major character in this game but it wasn’t her time yet, so I wasn’t really paying attention to her.
Kaen was the one and only heir of the Sword Saint and she grew up under his tutelage and learned his swordsmanship.
She called him grandfather, so she assumed she was his granddaughter, but as it turned out, there was no blood connection.
Still, she has a terrifying talent with the sword that the great Sword Saint himself took her in as his heir.
If there’s one problem with such a perfect Kaen, it’s that she’s fiercely concept-driven.
It’s not uncommon to see characters in various creative works who are strong but hide their strength. You know, the ones we call “underdogs”.
In the game, she was definitely that kind of character.
Usually, these characters hide their powers for some reason, only to unleash them when they’re forced to but she was a little different.
Kaen was quite the…An attention seeker, so to speak. She hides her powers because she wants people to pay attention to her.
I remember her particularly enjoying the peculiar thrill of reversing the situation when her powers were revealed.
Moreover, Kaen is a very calculating person. She tries to manipulate situations to make herself look good.
During the class placement test, she deliberately placed herself in class C, a middle-of-the-road position, and then excelled in the main test, which could have changed her class, and landed her in class A. So why was she watching me and Aizel?
“…So, how was the club meeting?”
Aizel asks me as we walk beside each other.
“Just… Well, I’m learning.”
“Learning what? …Aren’t you in the medical technology club?”
“I’m learning about acupuncture, which seems to be a good fit for me.”
As I was talking about the club, I remembered the image of Priscilla in her underwear, and I blushed.
“Ah… Acupuncture… That’s unusual. I wonder how you, a blind man, will learn it.”
Aizel narrowed her eyes and spoke to me in a low voice.
“Uh… that… She was kind enough to teach me, haha…”
I smirked and scratched the back of my head. It would be too weird for Aizel to think that I actually learned by groping her body.
“…Never mind, there’s a cafe I know nearby, let’s go.”
I thought we were going to go our separate ways, but Aizel asked me to go to a cafe.
‘A cafe? Did she have a favorite cafe?’
I wondered, but it’s not every day that Aizel suggests something.
“Sounds good.”
I nodded in affirmation of her suggestion.
The cafe I went to with Aizel was well decorated and had a nice atmosphere.
I don’t know all the shops in the city, so this was a new place for me.
Aizel and I walked into the cafe and sat down at a nice table with no other people around.
“I’ll take the order since you decided the menu last time. Coffee is fine, right?”
Aizel stood up, referring to Herald’s shop.
“Coffee… Yeah, I’m good.”
I wondered what coffee meant so late at night, but I didn’t really care since I was going to be out of the academy again soon.
Now all I needed was an object with soul memories and I could commission a blacksmith.
‘How long will it take?’
After a few moments of thinking about the Spectral Sword, Aizel brings me two cups of coffee.
She pushes a cup of coffee into my hand, which is still resting on the table.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Aizel said, taking a quick sip of her coffee.
I wasn’t sure if she liked coffee, but it was a treat anyway, so I drank it without a word.
“…”
“…”
We continued to drink our coffee and didn’t talk to each other.
This was often the case with Aizel. We didn’t talk much, but we were content to be together.
Well, I didn’t mind it.
As I was finishing my coffee, I suddenly started to feel a heaviness in my body.
“…What’s wrong?
My head, which was still, tilted slightly.
When I sensed something was wrong and was about to ask Aizel a question, she spoke first.
“…Did the coffee taste weird?”
“The coffee tasted…?”
The coffee tasted normal, it was just a little sweet and salty.
“It’s because there’s liquor in this coffee, isn’t it? I’ve never had liquor in my coffee before, and I can’t really taste it.”
Aizel’s answer made my head spin as I don’t remember drinking alcohol at all in this body.
“Alcohol…? You should have told me that…”
My head whips around quickly and I hit the table.
“I…I don’t know if I’m weak…or…”
I trailed off as my mind faded away.
***
“Oh, you’ve been drinking too much… Are you asleep already…?”
I turned to Zetto and asked.
Before my eyes, I could see his head whipping around and then collapsing onto the table.
I poke my finger into his shoulder.
“Hah… I guess I’ll be forced to walk you back to your dorm.”
I can’t help but chuckle at the success of my plan.
“Hmph.”
You’re still weak to alcohol Zetto.