[263] The Ozent Family's Circumstances (2)
Kuan was talking with a female teacher. Reina recognized the woman from rumor.
Kiyora Elise, the kingdom's renowned surgeon.
Elise specialized in nerve anastomosis—a field among surgeons said to be impossible without genius.
But Reina, who'd lately begun to distrust the Kaizen Swordsmanship School, suspected that might be hype as well.
If nerve anastomosis were truly possible, why was Kuan standing there limping on one leg?
When Kuan said something with a cold expression, Elise covered her mouth and laughed.
"Ha! So you just ate and left, huh? Honestly, you're something else."
"Shut up. Do that one more time and I'll kill you."
Elise patted Kuan's back.
"Oh, no need to get so angry. A childhood friend is getting old from pity alone—of course this sister has to step in. And if it's Olipher Shiina, she'd never turn down a groom."
Kuan recalled a few days earlier.
He'd said he had an important appointment, but Elise had set him up.
The other party had been Olipher Shiina, a mage currently studying at Alpheas School of Magic.
It had never stood a chance—she also seemed to have been pushed into it by her family.
Not that she'd wear it on her sleeve, but if a man liked a woman, wouldn't his gaze change first?
"She seemed like a good person. Cultured, too."
"Oh?"
Elise sounded genuinely surprised.
Kuan had never praised a woman. As a boy he'd been obsessed with the sword, and after injuring his Achilles he cared for nothing else. If a man like him said someone was a "good person," that was practically the highest compliment.
"So you liked her? Then let me set up another meeting—!"
A murderous glint crossed Kuan's eyes and Elise hunched her shoulders in fear.
You never touched Kuan at a moment like that.
Elise felt sorry for her friend, too.
If Shiina had appealed to him, she should have seized the chance then and there. But knowing Kuan's temperament, he'd never make a move.
'Could it be… he picked on her because of my leg?'
The Oliphers would certainly be well-bred, but you never knew.
Rumor had it Shiina had seemed reluctant, and matters between men and women often overwhelm reason.
'So what if his leg's messed up. Men's taste in women is hopeless, I swear.'
Elise couldn't fix Kuan's injury even with nerve anastomosis. It wasn't a torn ligament—his Achilles had come away entirely.
When Kuan returned from the battlefield having lost the use of his leg, Elise had cried for days in helpless despair.
Before he earned the nickname "Death Magus," he'd been praised as the incarnation of the blade. How shattered must he have been to return like that?
A year later, Elise offered Kuan a teaching post at the swordsmanship school. She vowed: no matter how long it took, she would fix his leg.
So she hated Shiina to the core.
She couldn't picture her face, but as an authority on ice magic she imagined a biting chill.
Who in their right mind would turn down Kuan?
Men's taste in women was utterly hopeless.
"Kuan, could it be that woman—!"
Reina cut in and stepped forward.
"Kuan teacher!"
Kuan scanned Reina up and down, then asked indifferently, "Who are you?"
"I'm Rian's sister, Reina! I had an appointment for a meeting today."
Kuan sipped his coffee and nodded.
"Oh, yes. I believe that was the case."
Reina was incredulous.
A parent requests a meeting and he answers, "I believe that was the case"?
No wonder such a careless teacher failed to see Rian's true worth and gave him a failing grade.
Elise, beaming, gestured for them to sit.
"Oh, is that so. Rian is such a kind and righteous child. Come, come! Over here. Would you like some coffee? Or another tea?"
Elise's pleasant manner calmed Reina slightly—if only Kuan hadn't been so curt.
"Anyway, what brings you here? I don't see any problems with Rian. He's still ignorant, still only does strength training, still at the bottom of the class, ha ha ha."
A deadly look came into Reina's eyes and Elise, sensing danger, quietly edged away.
From experience, it was best to leave as quickly as possible at moments like this.
Reina steeled herself and handed over the report card.
"Here. Take a look."
"Rian's report card. Bottom-of-the-class report card."
"I've heard his grades aren't behind other kids. So why is he failing? I want an explanation."
Kuan spoke as if it were nothing.
"He can't use Skima."
Reina was stunned.
"How can you fail someone for that? I can do Skima! I'd probably lose if I fought Rian now! Can you really judge a student over something like that?"
"If you, Reina, had learned swordsmanship, you'd have beaten him."
Reina fell silent.
So that was it. A swordsman who might one day command hundreds or even tens of thousands needed to be able to use Skima.
"B-But how can you give him last place…."
Tears welled up in Reina's eyes.
She had lost their mother early and had practically raised her youngest sibling herself.
While the other brothers were thriving, Rian couldn't climb out of the bottom.
Thinking how trapped her brother must feel broke her heart.
Tears are a weakness with men, but not with Kuan.
"He has no talent. At this rate he can't graduate. Even if he did, who'd hire a swordsman who can't use Skima? He'd end up guarding rich fools. Lately they're trying something called imaginative Skima, but it's nonsense as far as I'm concerned. He has no sense for the sword."
Reina slammed both hands on the table.
"I looked into it too—imaginative Skima! It's not academically proven, but it seems to have potential. I read in a book about something called divine transcendence—"
"Ah. Divine transcendence."
Kuan cut her off.
The calm in his voice vanished; a faint murderous light showed in his eyes.
Divine transcendence.
To transcend the body? What an absurd notion.
"Can you see my leg? I limp on one side, right? My Achilles came away. So I'm realistic. The body is like a machine. If a part is missing, it can't function. If divine transcendence were possible I wouldn't be limping. Imaginative Skima is only a schema that strengthens the brain. It's not magic."
Reina didn't want to hear any more. She couldn't send her brother to a school like this.
"I'll arrange a transfer. I'm taking Rian out. Do it now."
"What do you think will change at another school?"
"That's no longer Kuan's concern. Our family will handle whatever—boil him or roast him, we'll take care of it."
Reina declared it and turned.
The teachers watching shook their heads. This was the seventh time a parent had pulled a student out after quarreling with Kuan.
From behind the retreating Reina, Kuan muttered under his breath, "I think he needs a little more time."
Reina came to a sudden halt.
She turned in surprise and Kuan, frowning, added, "At the most generous reading, that's what I mean."
The teachers were puzzled.
It had never been heard of for the notoriously ill-tempered Kuan to stop a leaving student.
Reina hurried back to him and, desperate, asked, "So… there's still a chance?"
Kuan scratched his head in annoyance.
"Listen, Reina. I know you're an accomplished musician. But swordsmanship isn't art. It's a strictly functional killing craft. Philosophies of swordsmanship are privileges only those who've reached the highest levels enjoy. Rian plainly has no talent. But if we're talking about imaginative Skima, then maybe there's a possibility."
"That's exactly what I said! So why lie to me?"
Kuan sighed.
"Imaginative Skima is a matter of will. You can't verify it, but a swordsman who's spent a long time on the battlefield will experience it at least once. I think I've felt it too. But precisely because of that, nobody can be forced into it. What Rian needs is to run more and swing more."
"So you gave him last place on purpose? To make him swing more?"
"In simple terms, yes."
Reina shook her head.
"Do you think that's reasonable? What about his grades? Even if he graduates, how can a bottom-ranked student become a commander?"
Kuan picked up Rian's report card from the table.
Next to the "bottom" ranking were the scores from past tests.
"What exactly is the problem? Rian currently produces 1.8 times the strength of students who can use Skima. His dominant right arm is 3.7 times as strong. This is truly unusual; the school is monitoring him. It seems he awakened during the break for some reason…."
Reina remembered Rian's boasting after returning from Galliant Isle.
Hearing Kuan speak like this, her brother's claims didn't sound like nonsense anymore.
"For a swordsman, that's enough. Grades don't guarantee a swordsman's life. On the battlefield, enemies don't spare the top student and kill the last-place one. That's not how it works."
Reina's shoulders sagged.
"B-But what if Rian gets discouraged…."
Kuan looked at her with impatience.
Of course—a person who spent all day with instruments wouldn't understand how a swordsman felt.
"Reina, if he were the type to be crushed by such grades, he couldn't possibly do imaginative Skima, nor would he have trained to reach this level of strength. The records here are the product of real effort. I don't know how well you know your brother, but this kid is performing experiments to transcend human limits every day. He's dissecting his body like it belongs to someone else. You can't imagine how painful that is. Do you think someone for whom every day is hell would care about a ranking like this?"
Reina blinked.
She had never seen it; she'd always thought of Rian as still young. She hadn't known he was enduring such grueling training.
Kuan handed her the report card.
"Oh…."
As Reina took it, Kuan turned away and said, "Do as you please—take him or don't. But don't feed him nonsense about divine transcendence or whatever. This is the only way that kid can make a living with a sword. No one can take that pain for him, so keep your mouth shut."
Reina stared at the report card.
Bottom of the class.
But beside it were Rian's recorded figures.
She could picture him striking his sword until his muscles tore to raise a tenth of a point.
Reina gripped the report card with both hands and bowed to Kuan.
"Please continue to guide Rian."
Kuan only furrowed his brow without answering.
@
Leaving the faculty office, Reina felt light for the first time in a long while.
She had been bitter whenever she thought of her brother, but this meeting had given her hope.
'Well, if a man's decided to do something, he should see it through. If it's divine transcendence, maybe he can even aim to become a greatsword master.'
Her heart fluttered, but she kept Kuan's warning in mind.
Never let Rian know.
For someone training hard every day, even words of encouragement could break their will.