The Empress's Eye (5)
I remember Aten Terst from the game Etius.
When I first met Aster, Aten always looked at him with those eyes.
But as the game progressed, Aten came to acknowledge Aster as he completed main quests and progressed through the story.
Sometimes, their relationship even developed into a romantic one.
So, I knew Aten was originally a cold character.
"Aten, have you met Aster before?"
"No. Just met him now."
Even after parting ways with Aster, Aten's expression wasn't good.
It must be true that they just met.
Even I have never been in a situation where I met the pre-transfer Aten before Aster came to our school.
‘The cold gaze I saw from Aten when playing as Aster must have had its reasons, rather than being her actual personality.’
From Frondier's perspective, Aten is not that cold of a person.
...It's just that our conversations don't go well.
In other words, I mistook Aten for being cold because I played from Aster's perspective, but that's not her true nature.
There is something between Aten and Aster that I don't know.
"Now, where are we going? It seems like we're done shopping."
Aten asked, following behind.
Even if it's called shopping, there's nothing special about it.
I just bought stationery for the midterm exams.
I replied, "We're going home. Are you going to follow me all the way there?"
"Of course not. I'm a woman who knows her limits."
No, you don't know your limits.
You're just not crossing the final line.
"Well, let's part ways here."
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
Aten said goodbye like that.
See you tomorrow.
What was that?
Just an ordinary greeting?
Are you saying you're going to do the exact same thing again tomorrow?
* * *
As soon as I returned to the mansion, I met with Azier.
It was the day we trained.
During training, I asked Azier to show me a demonstration of 'Falling Edge'.
Especially since I received the thing from Elodie.
But Azier shook his head.
"I can't."
“……Why not?”
“If you do it with your current skills, you'll just hurt yourself.”
Azier was firm.
But when was he ever not?
“And above all, Falling Edge can only be used properly with a 'spear'. It takes advantage of the length and flexibility of the shaft.”
“Oh, I see.”
Azier spoke as if he could see right through me.
“If you want to imitate Falling Edge with a dagger, build up your body first. You haven't even been training for that long."
"Yes sir."
I gave up the idea of learning Falling Edge right away and got into position.
Training with Azier was a big help.
For muscle training, I follow his lead as much as I can, and for combat, we mainly spar, and he points out the problems and weaknesses in my movements.
This simple repetition was rapidly increasing my experience points.
Falling Edge as well, while he doesn't teach it to me directly, he often shows it to me while sparring with me.
He means for me to steal it with my eyes.
Thanks to that, even if I still can't use Falling Edge myself, I'm getting better at responding to it.
My main strategy is to let go of my weapon first, just like when I fought the golem.
'Wait a minute.'
……Golem?
'Oh.'
Oh no.
I figured out how to use Falling Edge.
But I need to focus on training for now.
Like Azier said, if I try to use Falling Edge with my current body, I'll get hurt.
Moreover, if you're trying to do it with a dagger instead of a spear, the burden becomes even heavier.
...Is it even possible?
"Um, brother."
"What is it?"
"Do you not trust my abilities?"
"Are you even serious right now?"
Ah, as expected?
"You've just started training, a complete novice. You've wasted time in idleness, lagging far behind others from the start. By the time you satisfy me, you'll have graduated."
"...I, I was ordered by father to rank within the top 10 within a year."
"That's a different story. Even if you rank first among the first-year nobodies of Constel, you won't catch my eye."
The current first-year top ranker is Aster Evans.
Even the current Aster might not impress Azier yet.
"...Um, brother."
"You're quite talkative today."
"Do you think I have a talent for combat?"
This has been my recent concern.
In the previous world, I saw this world through the character of Aster, who was brimming with talent.
Aster's companions were characters who had already made a name for themselves at Constel.
I know exactly what positions they should take and how they should fight, as if I could grasp it in my hand.
But with characters like Frondier, whom I know nothing about, I can't find the way.
Choosing to fight with weaving.
Focusing on throwing and dagger skills.
Replicating legendary weapons like Gram and Khryselakatos.
[T/N: Changing name of Chrysoar to Khryselakatos, I was looking for the proper name in myths but it turns out to be a weapon in games like Assassin Creed! ]
Whether this is the right path to take.
Whether Frondier's body is truly 'suitable' for combat, whether it has talent.
In Etius, where I'm given only the thinnest slivers of information, navigating this situation feels like cutting through fog.
I, and this body of Frondier.
Is it possible to persist and forge ahead on this path?
Azier briefly observed me before replying.
“Frondier, things like aptitude and talent are determined in retrospect. We don’t talk about the talent of failures. Only those who succeed, only the strong are recognized for their talent.”
It was rare for Azier to speak at such length.
Could it be that he had some thoughts on what I had said?
“Up until now, when people tried to explain how someone achieved something, if they couldn’t explain it with ‘effort,’ they’d just dismiss it all as ‘talent.’ But surely there must have been numerous other factors that contributed to their accomplishments.”
──He almost sounded like he was talking about our father, Enfer.
Enfer, the lord who, after becoming a territorial lord, had never once allowed monsters to breach his borders.
The epithet attached to him, the Iron Wall of the North.
I’m sure Azier, who had witnessed his life, had his own thoughts on the matter.
Separate from that, though, what Azier said was common sense.
Talent and aptitude are words reserved for those who had succeeded.
Numerous people who had been thought to be talented as children fell by the wayside,
And in the world where people live, it was not uncommon for unremarkable people to achieve success.
And once they succeeded, they would suddenly be lauded as talented.
They hadn’t had such talent before they succeeded.
But once they did, it would be repackaged as if they had possessed that talent from the beginning. Such was the nature of humans.
“But Frondier, I can say this with certainty.”
At that moment, Azier’s emotionless gaze fell upon me.
“You certainly have the aptitude for combat.”
“Huh?”
I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
I couldn’t sense any intent.
With those eyes, Azier stated a fact as if he were imparting information.
“Because you are my younger brother.”
