Chapter 51

Chapter 51. Interlude – The Moon Hidden by the Sun.

It’s been three years.

Since I entered the Hero School… no, even before I entered, my sword had stopped growing.

It felt like I was blocked by a huge wall.

I swung my sword day and night to overcome the wall, but in the end, I was just running in place.

My sword had stopped, with no further development or change.

The Sun Sword 6th Form, White Light.

That was the highest level of ‘Form’ I could perform now.

Those who know the Helios Family well might say that.

That it’s amazing to have mastered the Sun Sword 6th Form at just 20 years old.

That no one, except Reynaldo Helios, the founder of the Sun Sword, has achieved as much as I have at that age.

But.

‘This isn’t enough.’

I had a reason to become stronger.

To a higher place.

To a more distant place.

Until I become the ‘Sun’ shining high in the sky.

‘I must not stop.’

Grit.

I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood and swung my sword.

Every day, every day.

I poured everything I had into the sword without missing a single day.

But the result was the same.

The wall before me was immensely high and terribly solid.

‘I must become stronger. I must become stronger. I must become stronger.’

If I don’t become stronger, I…

I…

-If only you… if only you weren’t here! Youuuuu!!!

The scene that appears in my dreams every night.

The sound of a flowerpot breaking.

Water soaking the floor, and sharp shards of the flowerpot.

My mother’s hands strangling my neck.

The pain of not being able to breathe.

My consciousness fading.

Bloodshot eyes, eyes, eyes staring down at me.

‘I must become stronger.’

Otherwise.

There’s no value in me being alive.

-Yuren, have you heard?

One such day.

I heard a rumor from a classmate sitting next to me (for some reason, they use honorifics with me).

A rumor about a candidate named Dale Han.

-No, well. The Class C guys keep comparing Yuren and that Dale guy. Are they crazy?

At first, it was just curiosity.

That he fought and defeated Professor Lucas.

That he sent Camila Bediche flying with one blow.

That he cut down dozens of monsters in the blink of an eye.

There were many rumors, but the one that caught my attention the most was this.

-That Dale guy, he cut down a training wooden sword with another training wooden sword without using any magic power.

A training wooden sword… no, essentially a wooden stick, cutting down another wooden sword is impossible unless you’re extremely skilled in swordsmanship.

So I went to see for myself.

And, I saw it.

A duel that was too one-sided to be between an instructor and a candidate.

When I saw Instructor Vincent, clutching his blood-soaked arm, collapsed, and the gray-haired candidate standing tall before him.

For some reason, I felt a thrilling tremor.

It was like meeting a long-lost love again.

I don’t know why I felt that way.

But as if bewitched, I went to see him the next day.

-After seeing the duel, I wanted to cross swords with Dale.

To be honest, saying I wanted to cross swords with him was half a lie.

More than wanting to cross swords, I wanted to meet and talk with him.

‘But.’

After being overwhelmingly defeated in the first duel.

My thoughts completely changed.

‘Maybe this person knows a way to overcome the wall.’

Honestly, I thought the possibility was almost zero.

But, my desire to overcome the ‘wall’ was greater.

So, with the mentality of grasping at straws, the teaching began.

-Think not about where you want to go, but where the sword wants to go.

When I heard that.

It felt like a bolt of lightning struck my head.

‘Thinking not about where I want to go, but where the sword wants to go.’

In other words.

It meant not swinging the sword according to my will, but imbuing the sword itself with my will and swinging it.

‘Putting my heart into the sword.’

At this completely unexpected and groundbreaking statement, I felt a small crack form in the huge wall blocking my path.

Of course, Dale’s one statement didn’t completely break down the wall that had been blocking me for the past three years.

But just finding a small clue to break the wall filled me with overwhelming joy.

“Thank you… really, thank you, Dale.”

I impulsively hugged Dale.

“Uh, okay?”

Seeing Dale’s flustered expression, I thought, ‘Oops.’

“Ah… sorry.”

I quickly stepped back, and an awkward atmosphere settled.

‘What did I just do!’

Even if I regretted it later, you can’t put spilled water back in the bowl.

I hurriedly opened my mouth.

“Uh… thank you so much today. I’ll definitely repay this favor no matter what.”

“Favor? It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“No.”

How could I shamelessly keep my mouth shut to a benefactor who gave me such meaningful teaching without expecting anything in return?

“Wait a moment.”

As I pondered how to repay his kindness, I quickly rummaged through the storage box in the private training grounds.

Inside was a magic power enhancement elixir given as a gift to the top candidate of the year.

For me, who could no longer increase my magic power with mediocre elixirs, it was a rather useless item, but for Dale, who had little magic power, it would be quite helpful.

“This is… an elixir?”

“Yes. It’s not very effective, but it should help increase your magic power.”

Dale looked down at the elixir in his hand with a wry smile.

“You’re giving this to me? Magic power enhancement elixirs are incredibly precious.”

“Compared to what you taught me, this is nothing.”

At my words, Dale chuckled.

“Well, okay. You probably don’t need this kind of elixir with your level of magic power.”

“……”

Somehow, saying that made me feel like I was repaying his kindness with something useless, and guilt welled up.

“N-no, of course, I don’t think this repays the favor. Later, I’ll…”

“It’s fine, man. Why be so petty between friends?”

“…Friends?”

“Ah.”

Dale’s expression stiffened for a moment.

“Ah… I mean. Ahem. Once you cross swords with someone, you’re friends, right?”

“Y-yeah. Right, friends.”

Friends…

Friends.

Why?

The moment I heard that, I felt a twisting anger.

‘Why am I like this?’

When I’m with Dale, sometimes an inexplicable emotion surges up.

“Anyway. How about we meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for two hours each to practice swordsmanship?”

“…You’ll keep teaching me?”

At the unexpected proposal, my eyes widened.

“No, what, did you think I’d just teach you once and that’s it? Is swordsmanship that easy, man?”

“N-no. It’s just… I’m so grateful.”

Why is he being so kind to me, whom he barely knows?

Before I could solve that question, Dale turned away.

“Well, it’s getting late, so I’ll head out now.”

“Y-yeah.”

For a moment, the words ‘don’t go’ rose to my throat, but I barely managed to hold them back.

“Ah… hey.”

I carefully called out to Dale as he walked away.

“Yeah?”

“Can I… register your Hero Watch contact?”

“Ah, right. I forgot about that.”

He nodded and extended his Hero Watch on his wrist.

[Would you like to register ‘Dale Han’s contact? (YES / NO)]

A hologram window appeared above my Hero Watch.

I quickly moved my hand and pressed the ‘YES’ option.

[‘Dale Han’s contact has been successfully registered.]

“Then I’ll head out now. Wednesday… I’ll see you tomorrow. Let’s talk about the meeting time later via message.”

With those words, Dale left the training grounds.

“……”

Alone in the training grounds.

I stroked the Hero Watch with Dale’s contact registered and recalled his face.

Thick gray hair reminiscent of leftover ashes.

Slightly sharp eyes and mysterious green pupils.

A manly, angular jaw and a delicate nose bridge between the eyebrows.

He wasn’t what you’d call a sculpted handsome man.

But there was a strange charm to his appearance.

‘…Dale.’

Why?

When I recalled his face, my heart pounded as if it were broken.

Even though we just parted, I wanted to see him again.

Not necessarily to learn swordsmanship.

Just to meet and talk about anything, even if it’s useless.

Just a little more, just a little.

I wanted to be with him.

“Should I send a message to have dinner together later?”

Swallowing hard, I brought my hand to the contact on the Hero Watch, but hesitated several times before finally lowering my hand.

“…I must be crazy.”

I know better than anyone that I’m not in a position to be swayed by such personal emotions.

“Let’s wash up.”

I took off my sweat-soaked training clothes and entered the shower.

My reflection in the large mirror.

In the mirror, a handsome man with golden hair and golden eyes stared back at me.

“……”

Standing in front of the mirror, I slowly raised my hand and touched my left chest.

The Holy Mark of the Moon God engraved on my left chest touched my fingertips.

Grit.

A hiss escaped through my lips.

“Sigh.”

I let out a deep sigh and undid the pendant around my neck.

And then.

Whoooosh!

A burst of light from the pendant enveloped my body.

After the light filling the shower room subsided.

The reflection in the mirror was.

“……”

A woman with beautiful silver hair, as if braided from moonlight.

I ran my hand over my perky chest and turned on the shower.

Ssssssh.

Warm water flowed down my body.

“…Don’t forget.”

I clenched my fist and reminded myself.

A vow I’ve engraved hundreds, thousands of times.

“I am Yuren Helios.”

Eight years ago.

Yurina Helios died.