Mana.

The mysterious power that fills this vast continent, a blessing bestowed by God. The source that allows the world to exist, and something all seven races, humans included, cannot do without.

Swordsmen are not the only ones who wield this mysterious power. The Mana abundant throughout the continent lends itself to endless interpretations, and thus those who wield it fall into many different branches. Asked to choose a particularly exceptional case among them, everyone would pick the same one.

Mages.

Those most intimate with Mana, who bring the arcane into the mortal world through spell formulas and incantations. They are people capable of working miracles with their bare hands.

「To think those conjurers would set foot on my land.」

They spend the rest of their lives studying magic, preferring to shut themselves away in cramped rooms, buried in books and dust, rather than live out in the world. That makes mages who venture into the outside world exceedingly rare—and dangerous. They have lived apart from human society, unbound by order or law.

「They would never have dreamed of it when I was alive.」

To put it simply, they are insatiably curious troublemakers with no social skills.

Especially the 「dark mages」 expelled from mage society.

"Ugh."

So it was only natural that a sigh escaped me.

* * *

As soon as I returned, I looked around the estate. From the outskirts to the center of the village, nothing had changed much. The black things floating in the air bothered me, but there was no actual damage. They were merely an annoyance.

Finishing my brief inspection, I headed to the manor to put down my heavy baggage first. In the yard, Seolyun was swinging her sword with her usual expressionless face. At times she looked as though she were dancing to music; at others, as though she were fighting invisible enemies to the death.

I always felt this way, but her swordsmanship was extraordinarily beautiful. It was like watching art, rather than a martial discipline involving a deadly weapon.

「The girl's swordsmanship has advanced further.」

"..."

「Geniuses really are a pleasure to teach. Unlike you, my talentless, dim-witted young descendant.」

Liam interrupted his pleased remarks to take a jab at me, though I had done nothing.

Well, I had no real argument. Even with my limited understanding, I could see that Seolyun's swordsmanship had improved astonishingly. Just watching her train was enough. There was a clear gulf between her swordsmanship now and when she fought in the fighting pit as The Black Bride.

"You're back?"

While I stood captivated by her swordsmanship, Seolyun sensed my gaze and greeted me first. Seeing me return after so long, she was as indifferent as ever. It had been quite a long journey, but she neither asked how I had been nor showed any delight at my return. That was Seolyun for you.

"Yes, I'm back."

"Get any stronger?"

"Stronger than before."

"Good. We'll have to spar again soon."

Seolyun smiled faintly. With beads of sweat on her face, she wore a curious smile. Almost bewitched into smiling back, I caught myself and spoke.

"Did anything happen in the village while I was away?"

"Yes, something did."

Something did. After hearing that, I waited blankly for her to continue. Surely an explanation of that "something" should come next? But Seolyun merely blinked, then gripped her sword again and resumed swinging it, as though she had finished answering my question.

Momentarily dumbfounded, I asked again.

"Is that all?"

"What else?"

She stopped her sword and blinked innocently.

Ah, I had forgotten for a moment. Seolyun was a born swordswoman who had poured every last bit of her eloquence and social skills into swordsmanship.

"...?"

The sight of her looking at me as though she genuinely could not see the problem left me briefly dazed. At that moment, I missed Petel, my kindly neighbor who had talked endlessly without my needing to ask him anything.

'If the orc elder saw her, he'd praise her for being more orc-like than me.'

Seolyun's way of thinking was little different from that of the orcs I had just visited. Of course, saying so aloud would earn me an immediate swing of her sword, so I couldn't. In any case, I swallowed my frustration and forced a smile.

"I'd like to know what happened in the village while I was away."

"You should have said that from the start."

Somehow, despite returning to the village, I still felt as though I were among orcs.

Only then did Seolyun put down her sword.

* * *

Talking to Seolyun was no easy task. She really did answer only what I asked, and said absolutely nothing about anything I hadn't. Still, by coming up with the most detailed questions I could and pressing her for answers, I managed to learn what had happened in the village during my absence.

"So water deer showed up twice, and some bandits appeared, and you wiped them out. That's all?"

"Yes. That's about it for anything unusual."

To Seolyun, water deer suddenly emerging from the mountains and a band of axe-wielding bandits were no different. Both were weaklings who cried out in terror, both could all be cut down with a single stroke, and neither posed the slightest threat. Here in this backwater village, Seolyun was like a wolf that had appeared on a sheep farm.

"Oh, and a strange kid came begging once."

"A strange kid?"

"Yes. Looked like someone from the slums. Showed up looking like a complete beggar and asked if I could spare any food."

"Where is that poor child now?"

A little beggar from the slums.

Such uninvited visitors were surprisingly common. When children like that appeared, I would send them off with bread or potatoes. Seolyun answered immediately.

"I chased the kid away. Said not to come into the village unless they wanted to drop dead."

"... You didn't give the child anything?"

"No. Everything in this village belongs to you. I'm essentially a guest living off your hospitality, so I can't just give your things to other people. Besides, I'm obliged to protect what's yours. Isn't that obvious?"

Her reasoning was thoroughly rational.

Looking into her cold eyes, I was about to say that she could at least have given the child a piece of bread, that there were many unfortunate children around here, and so on.

But then—

"Besides, I felt something unsettling."

"Something unsettling?"

"Yes. An ominous feeling I couldn't explain. I've had good instincts since I was little, and whenever I got involved with anything that gave me that feeling, something bad always happened. So I told the kid to get lost straightaway."

Perhaps Seolyun's response hadn't been wrong after all.

「She must have sensed a dark mage's aura.」

"..."

「It's common enough. Dark mages are exiles with no affiliation, so no one supplies them with test subjects or attendants. That's why they mostly use orphans with no connections or cheap slaves as servants. That child was most likely a dark mage's servant.」

Seolyun looked at me impassively and tilted her head.

「Besides, this young girl has considerable spiritual talent, does she not? She has inherited eastern blood that senses souls keenly, so she instinctively detected something ominous.」

When I remained silent, Seolyun said, "Oh," and continued.

"Right. That kid glared at me really hard while leaving. Then said I'd regret not showing any mercy, and that they'd come back later."

"Isn't that a threat?"

"It would be a bit much to chase after a child, cut off their arms and legs, and tell them to shut up."

"..."

Seolyun really did have a talent for leaving people speechless.

In any case, thanks to her, I had gained quite a few clues.

A dark mage's servant, disguised as a pitiable orphan, had visited our village and been driven away. The promise to return probably wasn't an empty one. Mages, historically described as exceptionally petty, were famous for repaying even the smallest grudge without fail.

"I don't know why this f***ing crap keeps finding me."

Liam answered my muttered lament.

「Isn't it because you keep staying in a village that attracts f***ing crap?」

"..."

「A village without a soul in it. No proper power nearby, either. It's the perfect hideout for things that need to stay out of sight. It's astonishing that you've only attracted small fry so far. Dark mages love turning places like this into labyrinths.」

Right. Hadn't there even been rumors about dark mages and plagues?

I would frequently get caught up in these exhausting troubles in the future, too.

"What should I do?"

And I had chosen to confront those dangers rather than flee them.

「Since ancient times, there has been one sure cure for conjurers with no social skills.」

"...?"

「A good beating.」

* * *

During my conversation with Seolyun, I discovered one peculiar thing.

"Did I see anything? No, I don't see anything unusual even now."

She couldn't see the strange traces that were perfectly clear to my eyes. I had noticed them before Liam even spoke, yet she couldn't sense anything amiss even after I told her.

Why? There shouldn't have been much of a gap between us.

Liam supplied the answer.

「It's because of that suspicious streak of yours, bordering on paranoia.」

"My suspicious streak?"

「Yes. Your sword's nature has developed in that direction. The nature of a sword ordinarily varies according to its wielder's disposition. You let nothing pass lightly and delve into everything with relentless persistence; your sword resembles you. That is why you immediately noticed even the faint residue of a dark mage.」

Suspicion.

It was thanks to the sharp perceptiveness Liam had called my talent.

「Noticing such tiny traces at once is no easy feat to begin with. Fascinating, that your Suspicion shines in other fields of the arcane, not merely swordsmanship.」

"Is it?"

「Yes. Perhaps it's thanks to your recent experience of being banished to the spirit world by the orc shaman. Your spiritual senses may have grown more acute as well.」

Spiritual senses, huh.

I didn't know whether that was a useful talent for a swordsman, but it would be better than nothing. I had no idea what enemies I would face in the future. Who knew whether an enemy visiting this village would carry a sword or wield magic with an old tree in hand? Countless f***ed-up things happened in this world.

In any case, with ominous traces of a dark mage pervading the estate, I decided to start by carefully burying the wardstones the orc elder had given me around the area.

「That should serve as a stopgap. Once you bury those, the mage won't be able to pull any tricks.」

"What sort of tricks do you mean?"

「Well, to name a few, turning this place into a land crawling with curses, or a labyrinth rife with magical spell formulas. If you fall prey to those, you have no chance of winning.」

"..."

「Unless a swordsman can trace a path so mighty that curses cannot affect it, or spread wings that no spell formula can keep up with, he cannot defeat a mage.」

Meaning it was beyond my current level.

I silently buried the wardstones around the village. Nothing looked different—so little that I wondered whether the orc elder had played a prank on me. But apparently something had changed.

「That orc gave you something quite good. With these, most mages won't even dare come in.」

"Really?"

「Yes. If they force their way in, the shamanic magic he placed in the wardstones will activate and destroy their souls. That ignorant orc may not look like much, but he's quite capable as a shaman. In swordsman terms, he'd be roughly an early-stage sword expert.」

The comparison to a swordsman's rank brought it home immediately.

And remembering how confidently I had stood my ground before that very elder sent a chill down my spine.

「Besides, didn't he give you another gift as well?」

"A gift?"

「You cannot perceive it, but a very real gift lies dormant in your soul.」

He seemed to mean the intense heat I had felt when the elder stroked my head. Since I had no way of knowing what it was yet, the gift only left me curious. In any case, after carefully burying all the wardstones, I returned to the estate. Beneath the bright sunshine, I asked Liam a question.

"How should I prepare now, then?"

「Is there more than one thing you can do to prepare?」

Liam looked down at me and grinned.

「Let's eat a new sword, my young descendant.」

In the direction of his gaze lay 「Wildness」.

「As I said, digesting this sword will be far from smooth.」

A blade far too enormous to call a sword.