Lyall-san rushed over to Neil-san, who had collapsed.
He laid him on his back and called out to him.
“This is it, Neil! Stay conscious!”
“…I can’t…see anything… It’s cold, so cold…”
“Tch, his eyes aren’t focused. Katia, do something!”
“Do something… Oh, for crying out loud!”
Anyway, he needed to focus his consciousness on something.
I created a fist-sized flame in my palm and slowly brought it closer to Neil-san’s face.
“Neil-san, stay with me…!”
It wasn’t a particularly well-thought-out plan.
He was muttering about being cold, so I simply associated that with heat, and thus, fire.
“Warm… This is… fire…? …Katia-san?”
And just like that, the attempt was a success.
Whether he sensed the heat or the light of the flame stimulated his eyes, I don’t know, but the strength returned to Neil-san’s vacant eyes.
“That’s not good, Neil-san. You have to keep your promises.”
“You’re right… You’re absolutely right…”
“Alright, he’s stabilized… Neil, relax your entire body. Oops, don’t close your eyes. Take deep breaths.”
As instructed, Neil-san regulated his breathing.
His shallow breaths gradually calmed down.
I extinguished the fire and stepped back so as not to get in the way.
“Next. Close your eyes this time. Listen, you’ll feel incredibly weak, but don’t fall asleep, okay? Right now, your body’s aura is almost completely empty. But since you didn’t die, your aura should gradually start recovering. Grasp that sensation.”
“Yes…”
About five minutes passed like that.
Suddenly, Neil-san sat up halfway, as if surprised by something.
“This is…”
“Did you grasp it?”
“…Aura, it’s so warm… It’s just like Katia-san’s fire.”
Mine?
It’s not because he saw the fire and was influenced by the image… or is it? No, it’s fine.
He seems to be able to concentrate deeply on his inner self.
Lyall-san nodded in satisfaction.
“I see, so that’s what aura is to you. Aura is usually something that’s always with us. …Sometimes, things are too close to see.”
“Yessir… Um, I’m sorry. I think I’ve reached my limit.”
“You can sleep now. But never forget this feeling. When you wake up, your body will be filled with aura. You went through all this trouble, don’t waste it.”
“Yes…”
With that reply, Neil-san lost consciousness like a puppet with its strings cut.
Lyall-san gently supported him so he wouldn’t hit his head.
“Well done, Neil. After we wait for his recovery and confirm the results, you’ll have cleared my conditions. Well, judging by how things look, it’s undoubtedly a success.”
Lyall-san seemed certain of success.
But, I’m more relieved that Neil-san is alive.
Fina-san rushed over with a worried expression.
“Katia-chan, is Neil okay?”
“Yes. His complexion has improved, and his breathing is regular, so I believe so.”
“Phew, that’s good.”
She seemed relieved, and her strength left her.
I’m glad it ended safely.
“Katia, don’t forget our promise. I’m holding back the urge to fight you right now, you know…”
Saying that, Lyall-san twisted the corner of his mouth.
The moment I saw that face, a chill ran down my spine.
“Don’t act like a kid who can’t wait for his toy, you old geezer!”
Fina-san started kicking Lyall-san’s backside.
Before I knew it, his chilling expression had disappeared as if nothing had happened.
“Hey, stop it, stop kicking. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s humiliating.”
“Shut up! Now, hurry up and carry Neil to his room, Lyall-ossan!”
T/N: “Ossan” is a derogatory term for an older man, roughly equivalent to “old geezer” or “old fart.”
“That name is definitely not okay! Hey, I told you to stop kicking. I wouldn’t let two women carry him anyway.”
Lyall-san, who hadn’t cared about how he was called until now, retorted.
Understandably so.
However, Fina-san was behind Lyall-san, so she probably didn’t notice.
The way he said he wanted to fight right now.
That wasn’t an expression a person should make towards another person.
I’m becoming even more worried about whether I’ll be safe facing this person.
After carrying Neil-san to his room, Lyall-san invited me to eat with him, so I decided to go.
Fina-san declined, saying she would nurse Neil-san.
We asked Mizuho-san, who suddenly appeared, to take care of their dinner.
She promised to deliver it to their room later, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
“But that was a reckless method, wasn’t it?”
Most of the disciples had already finished eating, and the dining hall was deserted.
The topic was the training method used on Neil-san.
“Well, yeah. But I’m not the one who came up with it.”
“Eh?”
You’re not?
By the way, the meal menu seems to be the same as the disciples’.
It’s a balanced menu of meat, vegetables, and grains, but the portions are large.
“Hey, is that enough for you? If you don’t want it, I’ll take it. …If you’re interested, I’ll tell you the details, so you can tell Neil later. He has the right to hear it. You can tell Fina too.”
“Yes.”
He was probably so preoccupied with the success or failure of the training that he didn’t have the mental space to ask about how it came about.
It can’t be helped.
When Neil-san wakes up, I’ll explain it to both of them.
“It all started when the master of the Zahat-ryu dojo was in his third generation.”
Zahat is a warrior who saved the country during its founding period.
He’s a hero, so to speak.
The story of how he rose through the ranks with just a spear is famous, and it’s still a popular subject for plays and books.
“The third-generation master apparently studied under Zahat for a short time when he was a boy. He apparently knew many experiences and anecdotes directly from Zahat himself. He sometimes told them to his disciples.”
“The disciples must have been delighted…”
Zahat himself was probably already dead by then, and stories from someone who knew the hero directly must have been very valuable.
“Probably. But here’s the problem. Among Zahat’s stories, there was a fact that wasn’t generally known… Apparently, when he was a foot soldier, he was only of mediocre strength.”
“Eh? But, I thought there were famous stories about him saving a village when he was a boy, and beating up an incompetent captain in the army entrance exam and becoming the captain from the start…”
“Fabrications. That’s how it usually is, the real image.”
That’s a dreamless story.
However, I don’t have any particular attachment to it since I only saw a picture-story show that came to the village when I was little.
Stories get embellished everywhere, I guess.
“And then, an incident occurred that became the turning point for Zahat to distinguish himself. The unit Zahat belonged to was assigned to be the rearguard in a retreat battle.”
Being the rearguard in a retreat battle is like being a sacrificial pawn.
You wouldn’t survive unless you were extremely lucky or skilled.
“Zahat’s unit was wiped out, but Zahat somehow survived. When he was rescued by another unit, he was not only injured but also on the verge of death due to running out of aura.”
“Ah, I see how the story connects now.”
“Yeah. Well, we know about that training method, but the people back then didn’t. Even Zahat himself might not have understood it. Even if he suddenly distinguished himself after that, it’s normal to think it was due to a life-threatening experience.”
“…Indeed.”
“But, one of the disciples who heard the story from the third-generation master noticed a possibility.”
Lyall-san made a dark face and sighed.
Before I knew it, Lyall-san’s extra-large plate was empty.
I gulped.
“…Well, it wasn’t quite like that.”
“Hey!”
I want my tension back.
I swallowed my saliva and everything, it’s embarrassing.
“He was simply young and reckless. Thinking that he could become stronger if he got close to the state of the person he admired, he tried using his aura to the absolute limit.”
“That’s reckless. When you’re young, you have this mysterious sense of invincibility that you won’t die no matter what you do…”
“Hey, hey, aren’t you only seventeen? I think.”
Oops! I have to cover this up somehow—.
“That’s what Grandpa said!”
“O-Oh. And, by chance, yes, by chance. His attempt was successful. He apparently slept for several days, but his aura control improved dramatically. Since he only used aura, unlike Zahat, he could easily understand what had happened, even with his lack of knowledge.”
Phew, that was close.
No, it’s not like I’ll get caught, but just in case, you know?
“…Did something happen after that?”
The fact that this story isn’t widespread means something must have happened.
I urged Lyall-san to continue.
“He bragged about it to the other young disciples. Including the method he used to get stronger, but he told them to keep it a secret from the master. He actually won consecutive mock battles, and the other disciples, who were half in doubt, started to believe him. The master, thinking that he was young, didn’t pay much attention to the disciple who had suddenly improved his basic abilities.”
Ugh, I don’t like the sound of this.
If it was the number one dojo in town, I guess it couldn’t be helped that the master didn’t pay attention to each and every disciple.
“One time, ten young disciples secretly performed the training method at the same time, without the master’s knowledge.”
“…I can only imagine the worst. And then?”
“Only two out of the ten survived. When dawn broke, there were multiple corpses in the dojo.”
“Ugh…”
“So, fortunately, this training method was kept secret by the intelligence department. This incident had a lasting effect, and the Zahat-ryu dojo was closed.”
How tragic…
Hmm, but wait a minute?
“How do you know about such an incident, Lyall-san?”
“On the condition that I wouldn’t misuse it, I forced the intelligence department to disclose some secret information about martial arts. This is one of them.”
“…”
“What, do you want to say something?”
“No, not really. Did you yourself do that training method—”
“Of course I did. You still look like you want to say something?”
“No, not particularly.”
“And, the survivors had something in common. That was, they had more aura than average. Though I doubt it was as much as Neil.”
“So, Neil-san had the potential to succeed from the beginning?”
So he did consider the success rate to some extent.
I can’t tell if he’s reckless or not.
“Yeah. He more than cleared one of the conditions. The other one is identifying the limit. It seems that not all of the dead had a lot of aura, so it’s necessary to stop at the very limit.”
That’s the part Lyall-san was in charge of this time.
He’s definitely a master, so that must have been the right timing.
Should we consider the surviving disciples at Zahat’s dojo simply lucky?
“If you had that much confidence, shouldn’t you have told him beforehand?”
In the end, that was probably necessary too.
After expressing his conflict and talking to Fina-san, Neil-san had a good expression.
“No, you know that, don’t you? Neil lacked both determination and resolve.”
“I’m not such a great person that I can talk about other people’s resolve.”
“You’re a pretty unpleasant guy, aren’t you? Let’s get back to the story. The three survivors apparently felt their aura differently, so this could be the first training method applicable to anyone. However, it’s not widespread because of the incident I just told you about, and it’s high-risk for ordinary people. The return is also great, though. I think you understand, but don’t tell anyone other than Neil and Fina, okay?”
“Yes.”
Even if it’s useful, I have no intention of casually talking about a training method that carries danger.
Even if I tell them not to, there will be plenty of people who will do it.
And besides, I didn’t know that was the reason the Zahat dojo collapsed.
Zahat himself probably never dreamed that he would be indirectly responsible…