Love Letter From The Future-Chapter 338: Bread and Dagger (36)

Far from the North, the academy was peaceful.

The same routine as always, the same day as ever.

Moving according to a set schedule brings out a sense of stability. Sometimes, it’s within the confines of limited freedom that people find true peace of mind.

Seria was no different.

If anything set her apart, it was that her days were more intense than most.

Focusing all her attention, she closed her eyes and held her breath as mana coursed through her veins and filled her with seething power, the sharp sensation reaching all the way to her fingertips.

A series of images floated through Seria’s mind.

It was of the sword technique shown by the man from the future.

That supersonic strike, impossible to counter or even react to.

The single strike that tore the world apart was still vivid before her eyes.

Her goal was to replicate that technique.

It was an absurd notion.

Swordsmanship often hid intricacies so profound they were called ‘secret techniques’ for a reason. Especially the technique used by the man from the future, even at a glance, was far from ordinary.

And yet, to think she could replicate it just by being struck by it a few times.

Even for a genius, there were limits. It was a thought that should have seemed preposterous.

Yet, strangely enough, Seria didn’t feel it was impossible or overwhelming. It rather felt like reclaiming something that was rightfully hers.

Even now, look.

A deep blue arc devoured the space around it. A single horizontal slash unleashed without the slightest warning.

The severed air belatedly cried out in its death throes. The resulting chaotic winds scattered Seria’s grey hair in all directions.

To an outsider, it appeared to be a flawless strike.

Yet Seria only bit her lip and exhaled a deep sigh.

However, the one with an exasperated look was Celine, who was training alongside her.

She  stared at Seria with an incredulous expression.

“...What’s wrong this time?”

Her voice was filled with frustration.

It was a scene she already witnessed countless times. By now, all her eyes bore was a sense of resignation.

Seria shook her head gloomily.

“There are still unnecessary preparatory movements. The key to this technique is that it’s unleashed without any warning, leaving no room for a counter....”

“Ah, right.”

As if she’d heard enough, Celine cut her off.

It was clear that, were she to allow Seria to continue, the explanation would devolve into another long-winded lecture that she wouldn’t understand anyway. After spending the past few months growing closer to Seria, Celine had learned when to cut her off.

Scratching her head, she tried to offer some comfort.

“Well, still, haven’t you gotten pretty good by now? Don’t rush it too much. Honestly, I’d be thrilled if I could manage even half of what you’re doing.”

“Well, that’s because you and I are different, Miss Haster.”

“...You wanna die, or what?”

Seria still showed her lack of social tact. Thankfully, her opponent was Celine; if it had been anyone else, they might have been reminded why she was nicknamed ‘Yurdina’s Bastard.’

After their little spat, the two eventually made their way toward the academy’s central avenue.

It was already lunchtime.

No matter how urgent training was, skipping meals wasn’t an option. Though, judging by Seria’s expression, even this seemed like a waste of time to her.

She grumbled to Celine.

“I need to head north as soon as possible. My sister and Senior Ian are waiting... I can’t afford to waste time like this.”

“Hey, hey. You dork... You worry way too much! It’s Senior Delphine and Ian we’re talking about. What could possibly go wrong, even if you’re late by a few days?”

“B-But still...”

Seeing Seria’s crestfallen face, Celine clicked her tongue.

She realized there was no point in trying to console her.

She instead decided to change tactics, opting for a more candid approach.

“At least he told you to join him later. You’re lucky you’ve got talent. If someone like you acts this way, what’s a talentless nobody like me supposed to do?”

“As I said earlier, you and I are different, Miss Haster.”

“Hey, you really wanna die......!”

Finally, Celine couldn’t hold back and was about to snap.

Just then, they heard murmuring nearby. Both Celine and Seria’s sharp hearing immediately picked up on the disturbance.

Their eyes simultaneously turned toward the source of the commotion.

There, they saw a girl with jet-black hair and golden eyes stopping random passersby. It was a face they recognized.

“Ex-Excuse me, have you seen my brother?! Uh, He’s cool, kind, righteous, and loves his younger sister dearly... s-someone like that!”

‘Ah,’ The first to react was Celine, her gaze turning cold.

Then Seria’s followed. Having spent time living and eating alongside her not long ago, there was no way she could have forgotten her so quickly.

Ria Percus.

The one who ought to have been back at the Percus Manor was, for reasons unknown, walking around the academy.

Celine and Seria’s gazes met in midair.

Their gaze conveyed the same question: What are we supposed to do?

Of course, locking eyes wouldn’t magically present a solution. Neither of them had any clue about the details of this bizarre situation, leaving them equally bewildered.

Why was the younger sister of the man they admired here?

And why was she searching for him? They couldn’t even begin to guess the reason.

In the end, there was only one thing the two of them could do.

Talk to Ria.

Somewhat reluctantly, Celine took a step forward.

Since she was the one who had known Ria for much longer, she figured it would be better for her to approach her.

It turned out to be the right decision.

Because the teary-eyed Ria who had been stopping random passersby immediately fixed her gaze on Celine, staring at her in a daze.

Then, as if she had just spotted a lifeline, she stumbled towards Celine. She cleared her throat with a small ahem, trying to steady herself, intending to display the composure befitting someone older.

‘I must keep my cool and calmly talk her through it’.

But Ria, before long, rushed over and firmly grabbed Celine’s hands with both of hers.

Practically on the verge of tears, Ria spoke to her.

“C-Celine Eonni! Do you know where my brother is? He has hair as dark as ebony, eyes like golden topaz filled with melancholy, a perfectly sculpted nose, a sharp jawline, broad, sturdy shoulders, and, most importantly, he loves his younger sister so much that he even promised we’d live together, just the two of us, someday...”

“W-When did Ian Oppa ever say that?!”

Celine’s resolve to handle Ria maturely crumbled almost instantly.

She immediately snapped, raising her voice, while Ria tilted her head in confusion.

Huh?, Ria murmured, pressing a finger to her lips in thought.

Then, tilting her head again, she mumbled,

“Huh, does that mean Celine Eonni doesn’t know where my brother is either?”

“I mean, I know where he is, but... why on earth would Ian Oppa live alone with you?!”

As the two began to bicker like cats and dogs, Seria wore a look of utter disapproval.

She secretly thought to herself,

Maybe I should deal with both of them later.

***With a swoosh, the body of a silver-furred leopard was cleanly split in two.

It was a feat accomplished with a single sword strike—a clean cut that didn’t even make the sound of flesh being torn.

The bisected leopard’s corpse collapsed to either side. Only then did the gushing blood spill out, staining the white snowfield.

As warm steam rose, patches of moss-covered ground peeked through the snow.

This was the Coniferous Forest.

One of the continent’s forbidden zones, where even blood and tears were said to freeze solid.

Beyond this forest lay a land of snow and ice, where one of the corpses of Delphirem was said to be buried. A place so cold that only a select few creatures who adapted to the extreme environment could survive.

Of course, I had no intention of venturing that far.

My objective was located within this forest.

The old knight watching my swordsmanship clapped his hands, the sound of metal ringing as his gauntlets collided.

His name was Alex, someone I had crossed paths with twice before.

Letting out a hearty laugh, he said,

“To take down a snow leopard who turned into a demonic beast in a single strike.... You’ve come quite close to reaching perfection.”

“Not that it matters much, since my Aura trait has yet to awaken.”

I replied modestly with a self-deprecating smile.

In truth, my swordsmanship and mana reserves were already approaching mid-tier Expert level.

Even so, my Aura trait had yet to manifest. Back when I defeated the corpse giant, it felt like I’d touched upon a certain threshold.

But I haven’t been able to recapture that feeling since then.

Such worries, of course, seemed trivial in front of a seasoned veteran who’s been through countless battles.

Sir Alex gave me a faint smile and said,

“Aura is the manifestation of one’s mental state. When your resolve reaches its peak... your mind transcends your body and distorts the world around you. You simply haven’t had the right opportunity yet, young master.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Sir Alex.”

As I spoke, I naturally accepted the towel handed to me by a girl.

The one attending me was none other than Aviang, dressed in a maid’s outfit.

In some ways, we were a rather peculiar group.

Sir Alex was a vassal dispatched by the Yurdina family to assist me.

Not only was he someone I was acquainted with, but he also possessed exceptional skills and had experience fighting on the front lines, making him well-versed in the terrain of the coniferous forest.

In other words, Senior Delphine had gone out of her way to assign someone reliable to me.

And then there was Aviang, the attendant assigned to me by Senior Neris.

Though she swore never to reveal the Elf village’s location, she was said to be knowledgeable about the coniferous forest’s hidden pathways.

While fully trusting her was still difficult , she at least seemed to understand her position.

She likely knew well enough that crossing me would not end well for her.

For today, we decided to split up and scout the coniferous forest more extensively.

The forest was far too vast to grasp its general layout by moving together in a group. Splitting into pairs or trios gave us a much better chance of discovering something.

Of course, if Aviang were to speak up, we could achieve far better results, but it would be nothing short of merciless to demand that from her.

In the end, I just chose Sir Alex and Aviang as my companions.

Honestly, I wanted to team up with people I was closer to, but the piercing gazes from the Saintess and Senior Elsie, practically stabbing into me, made it impossible.

Leaving one behind would have meant the other wouldn’t stay quiet.

To be honest, I was scared.

Rather, it was far easier on my nerves to listen to various pieces of advice from Sir Alex.

While I was conversing with Sir Alex, Aviang, who had even cleaned my sword in the meantime, was blankly staring at the corpse of the snow leopard.

“Th-That snow leopard, with just one strike...”

Her eyes held a faint mix of fear and admiration.

Well, it made sense. Sir Alex mentioned that snow leopards were among the most common predators in the coniferous forest.

Surely, the elves must have suffered at the hands of these demonic beasts more than once.

I gave a wry smile and gently placed my palm on top of her head.

‘Hiiik!’ she let out a small, frightened gasp.

It was such an excessive reaction.

All I’d ever done to her was knock her unconscious a couple of times—isn’t that all?

In a soothing tone, I reassured her,

“Don’t worry too much, Aviang. I’m not so weak that I can’t protect you.”

She nodded silently, still wearing a frightened expression.

Sir Alex, observing the exchange, let out a thoughtful hum and gave me and Aviang a peculiar look.Thankfully, it wasn’t of suspicion.

After all, Aviang concealed her pointed ears with her signature transformation magic.

Sir Alex merely commented in an indifferent voice,

“Then you’ll need to try a bit harder, young master.”

Just as I was about to casually ask what he meant,

My nerves tightened once more.

It was a kind of instinct as a sharp sound slicing through the air suddenly struck my ears.

Fwip! My hand swiftly caught something that was flying toward Aviang.

It was an arrow.

A crudely made wooden arrow.

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But the murderous intent behind it was unmistakable.

That was when Sir Alex, who had been watching my actions with his arms crossed, drew his sword.

“It’s Elves... Judging by their small numbers, it appears to be a scouting party.”

How foolish of them.

Adding that, Sir Alex flashed a fierce smile.

Meanwhile, Aviang’s face went deathly pale.

She seemed unable to process the fact that her own kind almost killed her just now.

Though, the arrow likely wasn’t shot with the intent of targeting one of their own, of course.

But I held back the words of comfort and instead gave a bitter smile.

“......Close your eyes.”

I couldn’t let her beat witness to the slaughter of her own people..

Sir Alex and I kicked off the ground almost simultaneously.

It was time to spill some blood on the snowy field.