Chapter 16. Beginning (4)

When they met again in the dining room, Sylverine was wearing an elegant, plain-looking linen dress. Her parched hair came back to life, perhaps because she had bathed.

He sat shyly at the table opposite Sylverine. Soon the food was served one by one by the maids. He was still not used to this hospitality.

She was the first to open her mouth.

“I hear there’s a big hole in your stomach.”

The maid who treated his scars probably told Sylverine about it.

“What caused it?”

“I don’t know if you can believe it, but it was a Wraith.”

Sylverine’s eyes lit up with interest.

“It’s a race that ordinary people don’t know, even if they search for it all their lives… Did you commit any sins in your past life?”

“…I saw it in the unexplored lands of the northeast.”

“Why did you go there?”

It was embarrassing to be honest, because he didn’t want to seem so reckless.

“For the same reason as this time.”

Sylverine said with a slight smile,

“You’re a tough boy. You went again even though you almost died last time.”

He didn’t know if it was a compliment or a tease.

“How did you survive that time?”

“I had a companion at the time. That companion saved me.”

She hesitated a moment when she heard the word companion.

“I take it the person who accompanied you was a magician?”

“Yes.”

He was nervous that Sylverine would ask about Liza.

He was reluctant to tell her the whole story because he still did not trust her.

Sylverine spoke in a clear voice,

“I understand.”

Fortunately, the matter ended there.

She thought about the conversation. She seemed a little unhappy.

He asked something to break the awkward silence.

“Are you here alone? Do you have a family?”

“I’m alone. You can be comfortable.”

“And where is your family?”

Sylverine spoke in a quiet tone,

“I had an older brother, but he died a long time ago.”

Shit. I asked something unnecessary.

She politely clarified,

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t affect me.”

She added,

“Rest tonight because starting tomorrow, we begin training.”

He was excited but at the same time he felt afraid.

He thought he would rest for a day or two. He didn’t think he could get rid of all his accumulated fatigue in one night.

“Okay.”

“If we had met a little earlier, I would have taken you to see the place. But we don’t have that much free time.”

***

He sat on a chair on the balcony, his eyes lost in the moon.

What Sylverine had told him flashed through his mind.

“Three months.”

There was still time until the Academy entrance exam. However, counting the travel time to the Academy, he had less than three months.

He had lived a normal life, so there were many doubts in his mind. He wondered if he could qualify for the Academy in just three months.

He hoped he would not be ridiculed.

What the hell did Sylverine see in me? Just a sword?

He couldn’t trust her just because they had a disciple-master relationship. It is easy to give up what is easily obtained. Even if they had a good relationship now, she could kick him out if he did something she didn’t like or if he didn’t meet her expectations.

He took a deep breath because he felt a pressure in his chest. Thinking about it more would not change anything. The important thing was to do what he could.

He had to focus on what was at hand.

He clenched his fists.