Arc 10: The Empress’s Eye (5)

I remembered Aten Terst from the game Etius.

When she first met Aster, she always looked at him that way. But as the game progressed and they worked their way through the main quests and story, Aten came to acknowledge him. Sometimes, their relationship even developed into romance.

That was why I’d assumed she was a cold character by nature.

“Aten, have you met Aster before?”

“No. That was our first meeting.”

Even after we parted ways with Aster, Aten still looked displeased.

She was probably telling the truth about never having met him. I’d never experienced a situation where Aster encountered Aten before she transferred, either.

‘So that stern look Aten gave me when I played as Aster wasn’t just her personality. She had her own reasons?’

From Frondier’s perspective, Aten wasn’t all that cold.

... She was just a little hard to communicate with.

In other words, I’d mistaken her for a cold person because I’d played from Aster’s perspective. She wasn’t actually like that.

There was something between Aten and Aster that I didn’t know about.

“Where are you going now? You seem to have finished shopping.”

Aten asked from behind me.

Not that I’d done much shopping. I’d only bought writing supplies for the written midterms.

I answered her.

“I’m going home. Are you going to follow me there, too?”

“Of course not. I’m a woman who knows her limits.”

No, you don’t.

Just because you stop short of crossing the very last line doesn’t mean you’re respecting boundaries.

“Then let’s part ways here.”

“Very well. Until tomorrow, then.”

Aten gave a small bow of her head.

Until tomorrow?

What was that supposed to mean?

That was just an ordinary goodbye, right?

She wasn’t saying she’d do this all over again tomorrow, was she?

* * *

I met with Atzier as soon as I returned to the estate. It was a training day.

During our session, I asked him to demonstrate Falling Tension. After all, I now had that gift from Elodie.

But Atzier shook his head.

“No.”

“... Why not?”

“You’ll only hurt yourself if you try it as you are now.”

Atzier was firm.

Not that he was ever anything else.

“More importantly, Falling Tension only works properly with a spear. It makes use of the shaft’s flexibility and length.”

“Oh, I see.”

He spoke as though he could see right through me.

“If you want to so much as imitate Falling Tension with a dagger, build up your body first. You’ve barely begun training.”

“Yes, sir.”

I let go of my lingering desire to learn Falling Tension and took my stance.

Training with Atzier was a tremendous help. For strength training, I followed along beside him as much as I could. For combat, we mostly sparred, and he pointed out the problems and openings in my movements.

That simple repetition was rapidly building my experience.

Though he wouldn’t actually teach me Falling Tension, he often used it while sparring with me. If I could steal it by watching, I was welcome to try.

Thanks to that, even if I couldn’t use the move myself, I was getting better at countering it.

My main response was to let go of my weapon first, as I’d done against the Golem, but...

‘Wait.’

... The Golem?

‘Oh.’

Now what?

I’d just thought of a way to learn Falling Tension.

But for now, I needed to focus on training.

As Atzier had said, I’d only injure myself if I tried Falling Tension with my body in its current state. And attempting it with a dagger instead of a spear would put even more strain on me.

... Was it even possible?

“Um, Brother.”

“What is it?”

“Do you lack confidence in my abilities?”

“Do you even need to ask?”

Ah. Thought so.

“You’re a novice who’s only just begun training. You wasted your time being lazy and started far behind everyone else. By the time you meet my standards, you’ll have graduated.”

“... But Father ordered me to make the top ten within a year.”

“That’s a different matter. Those first-year small fry at Constel? Even taking first place among them wouldn’t impress me.”

The current top first-year was Aster Evans, though.

Was even Aster still not enough to impress Atzier as he was now?

“... Um, Brother.”

“You’re talkative today.”

“Do I have any aptitude for combat?”

That had been troubling me lately.

Back in my old world, I’d seen this world through Aster, a character who was talent incarnate. His companions were characters who had already distinguished themselves at Constel.

I knew exactly what roles they should fill and how they should fight. But with a character I knew nothing about, like Frondier, I couldn’t chart a course.

Choosing to fight with Weaving. Focusing on throwing and dagger techniques. Replicating legendary weapons like Gram and Chryselakatos.

Was this the right way forward?

Was Frondier’s body truly suited to combat? Did he have any talent for it?

Etius gave me only the barest scraps of information to begin with. In this situation, I felt as though I were pushing my way through fog.

Could I—and this body of Frondier’s—keep walking this path and make it through?

Atzier looked at me for a moment before speaking.

“Frondier, aptitude and talent are judgments made after the fact. We don’t speak of talent when we speak of failures. Only the successful, only the strong, have their talent acknowledged.”

It was rare for Atzier to speak at such length.

Had my question brought something to mind?

“Whenever people try to explain how someone achieved something, if ‘effort’ can’t account for it, they dismiss it all as ‘talent.’ Even though there must have been far more factors behind that achievement.”

It sounded as though he was talking about our father, Ampere.

Since becoming a lord, Ampere had never once allowed monsters to invade his territory. That had earned him the epithet the Iron Wall of the North.

Having watched him live that life, Atzier must have had his own feelings about it.

Regardless, Atzier had a point.

Talent and aptitude were words bestowed upon the successful. That was how the world worked: countless people thought talented in childhood fell by the wayside, while someone unremarkable found success.

And once they succeeded, suddenly they were plastered with all kinds of talent. None of it had been there before their success. Yet afterward, people made it sound as though they’d possessed those talents from the very beginning.

That was human nature.

“But Frondier, I can tell you this with certainty.”

Atzier’s impassive eyes met mine.

“There is no way you lack aptitude for combat.”

“What?”

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. I could sense no intention behind his words.

With those unreadable eyes, Atzier spoke as though simply stating a fact.

“Because you’re my brother.”

* * *

“The Golem’s data?”

“Yes. Do you still have it, by any chance?”

The next day, I went to see Binkis after school.

She was the original owner of the Golem Edwin had used.

Looking at me, she tilted her head with a thoughtful hum.

“I do, but what do you need it for?”

“Would it be possible to record a demonstration of its techniques?”

“Record it? Aha, you have a Wizergram, don’t you?”

... How did she know?

Was the Wizergram a well-known item? I’d never even heard of one while playing the game.

“Then there’s no need to record anything. I’ll transfer the data. You’ll be able to view it on your Wizergram.”

Oh, how convenient.

I took out my Wizergram.

“Ooh, you’ve got a nice one.”

“I do?”

“Look at the mark on the bottom. Only one magitech company uses an eagle as its emblem. And every magitech device that company makes is top quality.”

Just as Binkis said, an eagle emblem was engraved on the bottom of the Wizergram.

Sure enough, it was Hitchcock’s emblem.

I hadn’t known about the Wizergram, but I knew the company Hitchcock.

“So? Which technique do you want to see?”

“Falling Tension.”

“You’ve got big ambitions, kid.”

Binkis smiled as she transferred the data for me.

Good. Now I could watch it on the Wizergram whenever I wanted.

As Atzier had said, my body wasn’t ready yet. Rather than try to copy it recklessly, I’d just watch for now.

First, I needed to familiarize myself with it visually.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“You’re welcome. It’s nothing. But, Frondier...”

“Yes?”

“How long is she going to stand there like that?”

At Binkis’s words, I turned around.

Behind me stood Aten, as still as ice.

Sure enough, she had accompanied me again today. I’d done my best to get away from her.

It had been almost entirely useless.

Aten should have been sticking with Aster, not me. She was an important part of his fighting force, so why was she trailing after me?

But whenever I met up with Aster to try to bring them together, she turned into the snow woman I knew from the game, and there was no talking to her.

Our relationship must have looked rather strange to passing students. Here was an imperial princess following me around, when my reputation couldn’t be worse.

The rumors had spread everywhere in a single day.

At any rate, when Aten realized Binkis meant her, she blinked her large eyes a few times before speaking.

“Oh, me?”

“What a relief. You’re alive. You were so still, I thought you were a doll.”

Binkis joked with her.

“I’ve been hearing all sorts of rumors lately. An imperial princess trailing after Frondier? What’s going on, hmm? Frondier, did you charm the princess in a single day?”

“No. I don’t know why she’s doing it, either.”

Naturally, that was my answer. But Aten glanced upward as though considering something.

Then she said something terrifying.

“Charmed me... If possible, I would like that to happen.”

“... Uh, what?”

Even Binkis was thrown off this time.

“If possible, I would like Frondier to charm m—”

“Thank you for the data, ma’am! We’ll be going now!”

I dragged Aten outside, doing my best to ignore the dumbfounded look on Binkis’s face as she saw us off.

“Frondier, where are we going?”

“The library! We’re going to the library!”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? Midterms are coming up. Are you going to be okay?”

Really, wasn’t Aten more cause for concern than I was? She’d suddenly transferred here with exams just around the corner.

Resting a hand gracefully over her collarbone, she answered.

“I’ll be fine. Wealth isn’t determined by grades.”

“So you’re not going to be okay at all?”

And stop saying dangerous things.

That made it sound as though you were going to bribe the examiner.

‘Despite appearances, Aten was the hardworking type when it came to studying.’

Aten had an intellectual air to match her icy appearance, but her intelligence was actually fairly average.

Originally, after transferring here, she’d devoted herself to studying while she and Aster were on bad terms, and had just barely made it through the midterms.

Now she wasn’t getting any studying done because she was too busy following me around. She didn’t even seem interested.

‘Ah, damn it.’

Why did I have to do this?

“Come with me. I’ll tutor you.”

If Aten’s grades dropped, I’d be in trouble.

Anyone who failed the written midterms had to take a makeup exam after the practicals. There was an event that happened during that makeup period, and Aten was absolutely essential to it.

Apparently surprised by my offer, Aten’s eyes widened for a moment.

Then she spoke.

“I was already following you.”

“I know that!”

“And I find it difficult to imagine you teaching me, Frondier.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m sorry. Let me correct myself. I find it difficult to have faith in you.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re so honest it hurts?”

“!”

At my words, Aten looked more startled than I’d ever seen her.

“How did you know...!”

... I wonder why.

She was starting to get on my nerves.