No matter how much I tried to talk to her after returning to the dorm, she didn't respond so I searched for a way to make her feel better.
She was ignoring me because she was in the sword… The solution I came up with was to groom the sword.
Grooming the sword is a true duty of a disciple in this situation where the master has become the sword.
With that thought in mind, I began to groom my sword.
I kept Sierra on my bed and prepared a bottle of oil and several clean cloths that I had gotten from Blacksmith Deidros.
And so the work began.
First, I separated the scabbard from the sword.
A closer look at the blade showed no signs of dirt or rust, despite the many monsters I slashed in the Labyrinth.
This is because Sierra's sword was well-honed.
It didn't look like it needed any maintenance. Still, I had to do it.
I hoped it would make Sierra feel better.
I dabbed the hilt of the sword with a bottle of oil, letting the oil drip down then I flipped it over and repeated the process. True to Deidros' word, the oil didn't drip off easily.
The sword had gotten quite wet and I decided I had enough oil, so I cut my palm to make it bleed and let the blood drip onto a clean cloth.
It was a trick that Deidros himself had devised.
Apparently, it was due to the peculiar nature of Vampiric Iron to absorb blood.
I picked up a cloth that had been soaked in enough blood and wiped the sword clean from top to bottom.
I worked my way up from the handle to the tip, stroking slowly and gently.
I didn't know how many times I had to do this, so I did it over and over again and as I wiped the sword clean, I felt a strange sense of calm.
Every now and then I would feel a shallow vibration in the sword as I ran my hand across the blade, which was disconcerting, but despite this, there was no sign of Sierra coming out of it.
Sierra, soaked in blood and grease, was glistening in the moonlight streaming through the window.
I spread a clean cloth on the bed, feeling dizzy from all the blood, and placed Sierra on it.
'Let's get some rest.'
I dragged my tired body to the side of the sword and rested for a while, and purple spirit energy began to flow from it.
Soon Sierra's entire body was out of the sword.
[Why aren't you grooming me more…?]
Sierra said her first words in a long time. Her face was flushed red and she could barely look at me.
"…Isn't that enough?"
I replied to Sierra and stroked the sword with my finger.
A little red, oily liquid was dripping from my fingers.
[Hmph… That's right…]
"Ah, by the way, Master said that she's sensitive because she's connected to the sword, so did you feel any discomfort when I was grooming it?"
[…Oddly enough, it wasn't uncomfortable at all, it's a good thing I have a disciple with good hands.]
Sierra's amused voice echoes in my head, a blush filling my cheeks.
I've never had the chance to groom a sword before, so I've just roughly followed the instructions Deidros gave me but it seems to have been quite satisfactory.
"What did it feel like?"
I asked Sierra, not quite realizing what it was like to have a sensory connection to the sword.
[Hmmm… um... Yeah, if I had to guess, I'd say it felt a lot like a 'massage'…]
Sierra paused for a moment, then answered cautiously.
"…A massage?"
The questioning in my voice made her answer slip back.
'Oil… Massage…'
I couldn't imagine how the act of dipping a sword in a generous amount of oil and wiping it off with a clean cloth could be similar to a massage.
'Oil… Massage…?'
It wasn't until I changed my words that I realized why she was blushing.
"Hmmm, well, I'm glad you seem to be feeling better."
I coughed unnecessarily and continued.
"More than that, Master, I was wondering if anything else really happened last night?"
At my question, Sierra swipes the back of her hand across her forehead as if she doesn't even want to remember.
[Not much else, haha… nothing too major happened, just as the medic said, that Aizel fellow snuggled up to you in your sleep.]
"Did I, by any chance, mutter anything strange?"
[I know of no such thing; you slept as if dead.]
Only after hearing Sierra's words did I let out a sigh of relief.
"Whoa, so the shirt…"
[I thought you were awake because you suddenly got up in the middle of the night and unbuttoned your shirt. But after that, you didn't answer when I called out to you a few times, so I thought you were making fun of me…Apparently you weren't.]
"Aha…so that's what happened…"
I listened quietly to Sierra's grumbling. From her point of view, it was understandable.
'Maybe she's just frustrated and needs to vent.'
It was fortunate that the incident between Aizel and Priscilla had passed without further drama.
It's Aizel's behavior that bothers me.
I've been seeing her a lot lately, but there was something about her behavior that didn't sit right with me.
She offered me a drink, even though she knew I was weak.
For what? Just to make fun of me?
'After our small talk on the bench, I felt like I had closed the distance between me and Aizel.'
If it was a joke, I could live with it, but if she crossed the line, it was a problem.
Everyone had secrets they wanted to hide so it was a special situation.
Maybe now was the time for a little distance.
Aizel is a regressor so she was bad at getting to know people and making connections.
Maybe it's better to keep my foot on the pedal that controls the speed of the relationship.
"Hmmm…"
[…I was listening to Kaen talk about the duel….Apparently, it's hard to avoid it.]
As I stared at the ceiling and drooled, Sierra, who had come to my side, spoke softly.
I wanted to talk to her about the duel with Kaen tomorrow, but it was easier if she already knew the situation.
"Master said that Kaen is not an ordinary person."
[Yes, in my eyes, she was no ordinary C-class cadet.]
"What do you think would happen if I was to duel her, and I would use the first chapter?"
[You mean chapter one…]
Sierra turned her head for a moment to see if she understood what I was saying. Then her voice rang out.
[You said there were many eyes.]
"Yes, I'm expecting a bit of a crowd of cadets."
[The Reverse Heaven was created from the ground up to deal with swordsmen who are extremely skilled in the art of swordplay… you should see for yourself.]
Sierra's eyes were filled with conviction as she spoke.
'I will win.'
I feel a little lighter now that I know it was Sierra, the Purple Moon, and not someone else.
"I'm afraid there's still some blood on you. Shall I clean it up a bit more, Master?"
I opened my mouth to speak, looking at Sierra with a smile on my face and felt like I had to repay her for making everything so much easier.
[Gee, you can't do that now…!]
I said I would do something good, but Sierra stuttered and ran away from me.
[I said it's okay…!]
But the sword was still lying on the bed.
"I won't take no for an answer, I'm all healed up thanks to the bracelet."
I said as I approached the sword.
It looks like the night is going to be even longer.
***
Eventually, I couldn't groom her anymore.
Sierra grabbed my arm and stopped me, so I argued with her, and then I fell asleep.
I don't know why, but grooming Sierra puts me at ease, and I feel like I'm healing in a big way.
I went straight to the training center after Edward's class.
Class A finished a little later than the other classes. However, it was good that Edward's class gave me half of the required experience after a long time.
As soon as I entered the training center, I saw a large crowd of people waiting.
The sound of the crowd filling the spacious arena made it seem small.
"How did so many people gather?"
I said to Yuri, who had entered the arena with me.
Aizel had disappeared as soon as class ended, as if she had something urgent to do, so Yuri came with me.
"Well… I see a lot of seniors here."
True to her word, Yuri looked around the training center and saw not only first-year cadets, but also many seniors.
'There's no special event going on.'
It was still early in the semester, so it was pretty much free.
In the meantime, a rookie who had made an impressive performance in the Labyrinth wanted to duel, so it was only natural that many cadets who had nothing better to do would gather.
"He's really blindfolded."
"I told you he is blind."
"How is he supposed to handle a sword like that?"
"It's been a long time since I've seen cadets fighting each other with swords."
Through the crowd, I could hear the conversations of the seniors nearby. Most of the people here would be just as intrigued, if not more so.
"There are instructors here?"
Yuri said as she spotted the three first-year instructors amongst the rest of the cadets.
Not sure why they're here, especially Edward, who came straight from class.
Reina was scooping up some soup I don't recognize but as I look more closely, I recognize the owner of Cranberries Soup, who sells the soup.
'How far did she spread the rumor…?'
Just then, I see Kaen, who has been spreading rumors like a fish out of water, standing in the middle of the arena. Next to her is the staff member who will be hosting the duel.
I walked up to Kaen with a confident stride.
[The crowd seems to be large enough for the first reveal of Reverse Heaven, so… this should be good.]
Sierra's satisfied voice rang out as she floated around the arena, watching the people.
'There are a lot of people here, and the duel doesn't have to end so quickly.'
They weren't paying to get in, so it didn't really matter, but it still bothered me a little. Still I had no intention of dragging this out.
As I stepped in front of Kaen, the duel referee in the middle began to explain.
"This duel will be held within an illusionary magic circle. You must not have anything in your possession that could interfere with the magic, and since this is not an official match, there are no penalties or rewards for winning or losing."
All competitions within the Innocence Academy were held within the realm of illusionary magic.
It was a skill of Juliut.
In the past, before Juliut became the headmaster the cadets used to have protective enchantments placed on their bodies.
Julius's illusory magic was overwhelmingly practical, and it was a simple way for a staff member to infuse mana into a prepared magic circle without having to cast a protective spell on each cadet.
"…Any objections?"
The staff member who had recited the basic explanation of the duel, which was mandatory before the duel, looked back and forth between me and Kaen.
I decided to make a suggestion in response to his question.
"Since you said there would be no penalties or rewards, do you think it would be okay to make a verbal 'promise', just for fun?"
"…I don't mind, but it won't have any effect or enforceability."
The referee says, and looks at Kaen.
"…Is there anything else you'd like, Cadet Zetto? The cake you bought me yesterday was delicious, so let's hear it."
Kaen's tone changed slightly, as if she'd already decided to drop the act.
"Again, what you're about to say has no force or effect, and I hope you realize that."
The serious-faced referee reiterated that it was non-binding.
I was in class A, and Kaen was in class C so from the referee point of view, I might have come across as a bit of an evil elitist.
'But I doubt it.'
Despite the instructor's words, the promise would be binding on Kaen.
I don't think she'll be able to break it so easily, especially since she's been taught by the Sword Saint that promises must be kept.
Now that I have Kaen's agreement, I tell her what I want.
"How about you grant me a wish?"
"…A wish?"
Kaen frowns at my words and repeats herself.
"A moderately mild wish?"
"…Yes, although my wish may be harsh on you."
Kaen replied, keeping her eyes cold. Unfortunately, she didn't bother to ask what my wish was.
The crowd booed, demanding to know when Kaen and I were going to fight, since we weren't having a duel and were talking about things they couldn't hear.
"…I think we've had enough of this, so I'm going to call it a day. Oh, and I have a request from the instructors to change the broadcast screen to the biggest one, do you mind?"
Unable to overcome the booing, the referee proceeded. With a crowd this large, it was probably not surprising.
"No problem."
"No problem for me either."
"Okay."
After hearing my and Kaen's answers, the referee placed his hand on the magic circle on the floor.
Kaen's head was turned toward me, but I could tell she wasn't looking at me, instead she was feeling the eyes of the crowd around her.
She was flushed, and I could tell she was very excited.
'Considering the nature of Kaen…'
At first, she would act as if she was being pushed around a bit by using the skills of a Class C cadet. Then, with good timing and strength, she would turn the tables.
This is when her pleasure will peak, and she'll finish by slashing me with a move she thinks is cool.
Without realizing my intentions, Kaen, now a normal "power-hiding chick," was already in the palm of my hand.
I smiled as I looked at Kaen in front of me, just before I fell into the illusion spell.
Life doesn't always go according to one's will and it would be the same for Kaen.