Chapter 264

The more stubby pencils or empty mechanical pencil cases a student has, the more one can understand how diligently they have been studying.

In a similar vein, a broken wooden sword in the Kaizen Empire was a symbol of the corresponding knight’s efforts.

“I’m aggrieved.”

The scabbard looked like it could easily cost several million won, so I intentionally refrained from touching it.

However, the wooden sword shouldn’t be worth more than 100,000 won at most.

It was within the budget of the allowance Professor Cheon gives me.

But the main item was not the scabbard but the wooden sword.

“Nameya, lower your hands. You need to hold them higher!”

What am I doing at my age?

“Yes…”

The scrutiny of Principal Guonyu had no gaps whatsoever.

I could only lament my status of kneeling in a corner of the assembly hall with my hands raised in punishment.

The remnants of the wooden sword were currently being diligently swept into a plastic bag by the attendants.

“Katsuhata! Is that really the correct posture for receiving punishment? Is your arm not straight?”

“Sorry! I-I won’t do it again…”

“Oh dear, how did this happen… Yes, hello. This is Koizumi Yoshihiro. Yes, I’m calling because I have a matter to discuss directly with the lord. Yes, it’s quite urgent.”

Emika’s teacher, who reeked of being an old-timer, Koizumi, was making a call to his homeland.

The fact that he was younger than Principal Guonyu was shocking. That meant he was only in his mid-50s at most.

“Huh… Hiiing…”

And beside me, there was a girl in the same position as me receiving punishment—Katsuhata Emika.

At first, she was sobbing while hugging the shattered wooden sword, but when her teacher arrived at the assembly hall, she was outright wailing.

She seemed unable to collect herself after being scolded severely for not taking care of the heirloom sword.

“What kind of valuable things do we have in the world that a wooden sword could be considered treasure?”

When I casually asked Emika, she glared at me sharply with her eyes.

“Thanks to the wisdom of our ancestors. The heir to the Katsuhata School must swing the sword more than anyone else, so they created a wooden sword that absolutely won’t break.”

Surprisingly, Emika explained kindly without being swayed by her emotions.

Or perhaps it was because I was too young to anger.

“You’re quite committed to saving costs.”

“That’s not a simple meaning! This wooden sword can only be used while the heir is still in their youth, and using it is a kind of pledge and ritual to inherit the spirits of all past lords.”

“So the meaning of inheritance (伝承) really isn’t about fighting and winning (全勝)?”

I couldn’t shake off the feeling of a parent trying hard to persuade a sibling to pass on their clothes, but I refrained from saying this out loud.

Emika seemed to chat on endlessly since she was in her area of expertise.

She spoke of how the inheritance sword was made from oak that inhabits the Akashi Mountains region of Japan, that it was created in the early 19th century, and that it has been preserved for nine generations.

“That explains why it’s so hard.”

“Damn…!”

“It wasn’t intentional. I mean, I did break it on purpose, but if I had known it was an heirloom, I wouldn’t have done it.”

“But how did you break it? You said it would never break!”

“Um… Honestly, wouldn’t something that’s 200 years old be around the time it starts to fall apart?”

“That… can’t be true!”

“The handle is pitch black and shows heavy wear; since this happened, let’s get you a pretty one instead. I’ve heard Swedish ones are really good these days.”

Surely, they wouldn’t expect me to pay for it.

Given that I was currently gathering money for the financially astronomical Adella project, I couldn’t spend anything on matters like this.

With flattery, I tried my best to sweet-talk Emika.

After a while, the teacher Koizumi, who had been watching us, finally approached.

“Katsuhata! It’s the lord.”

“Neheh…!”

In her shock, Emika’s voice cracked.

A flurry of troubled emotions must have crossed her in a short time.

Her expression didn’t look all that good.

Emika composed herself and continued the call with a smooth voice.

“Hello, this is Katsuhata Emika—”

“Emika! You finally did it! I’ve always believed in you!”

“Excuse me?”

“Disaster has turned into fortune! The experience outside the well was beneficial! How unfortunate that this joyous event happened when you left for Korea. But it’s okay! Emika, when you return to your homeland, let’s have a celebration party right away.”

“W-Wait, lord! I don’t understand at all what you mean!”

“Hahaha! How humble of you! You don’t understand what I mean? Very well, I will personally enlighten you!”

What on earth is happening?

We gathered in the assembly hall, and none of us could comprehend what the person referred to as the lord was saying.

Even if I tried to ask Emika, she didn’t seem to understand either.

One thing was certain—this guy on the other end of the phone seemed to be in unusually high spirits as if he had drunk a bit.

“Kamiizumi Nobutsuna.”

“Kamiizumi…? Are you referring to the greatest swordsman of the past?”

“That’s right. You have now earned the qualification to be recognized as his reincarnation from all around the world, Katsuhata Emika. Not only that, but you have also proven that our Katsuhata School is the one and only school inheriting both the three main sources of Japanese swordsmanship: Shinto-ryū (神道流) and Kage-ryū (陰流).”

“Wait a minute, lord…!”

“If I could, I would want to pass on the position of lord to you right away! I’m so looking forward to the next lord meeting that you can’t imagine, Emika. I want to see the expression of the elders squirming in jealousy as soon as possible.”

It seemed like things were getting quite out of hand.

This could be gathered from Koizumi Yoshihiro’s expression.

At first, he sighed in relief, but now he was displaying a myriad of expressions.

Emika turned her head briefly away from the call and stared at me vacantly.

“What.”

My arm was starting to hurt from holding it up, so I couldn’t keep it raised anymore.

I naturally lowered my hands and deflected Emika’s burdensome gaze.

Emika re-engaged in the conversation, calling the lord in a soft voice.

“Um… um, lord…?”

“Yes, Emika! What do you want to eat when you come to Japan? On that day, I won’t say anything about what you eat; just tell me. Hamburgers? Pizza?”

“It wasn’t me… I mean, I didn’t break it!”

“Aren’t you the one who wielded the sword?”

“During the sparring match, you see.”

“Hahaha! It’s fine even if it broke during practice! The fact that the inheritance sword broke means you took on that much power! That alone is a remarkable achievement; there’s no need for you to be so humble, Emika.”

“Name broke it on her own.”

Emika shouted again, tears brimming as she fell into a pit of confusion.

In the end, unable to bear it, I snatched her phone and joined the conversation.

“Hello, this is Noname.”

“Huh? Who are you… no, who are you?”

The youthful voice of the Katsuhata lord wavered, momentarily exhibiting politeness before reverting to casual speech.

“Anyway, it seems the inheritance sword isn’t a treasure the Katsuhata family needs, so I won’t seek compensation. Or are you having trouble because you don’t have a sword?”

“That’s not it, but…”

“Then since the lord vouched for it, we can declare the matter of compensation off the table. I’ll buy Emika a practice wooden sword and send it back to Japan.”

Click—

I’m glad it was resolved.

“Why did you hang up, Nameya?!”

“If you say something that changes your mind, it can’t be avoided.”

Isn’t it impolite to be the one to end the call first?

It might be somewhat petty, but since I am older than your lord by several lifetimes combined, it’s acceptable.

* * *

In the 16th century, during the Sengoku period of numerous power struggles.

At the time, “Kamiizumi Nobutsuna” was known as the greatest samurai, and he has maintained that reputation through to modern times.

As with ancient records, there were many exaggerated and mythical descriptions, saying he split mountains or realized the profound principles of swordsmanship in a day.

However, there was a fact passed down with undeniable evidence to this day; at the age of 16, he broke the greatest magical sword received from his lord.

As time went on into the 19th century during the Edo period, the shogun handed out 12 “inheritance swords” modeled after Kamiizumi’s magical sword to major families to mediate the conflicts among hundreds of successional schools.

He promised that when a successor under the age of 16 reproduces Kamiizumi’s achievements, they would pass on the governing rights to dominate all other clans.

While there were a few cases of the wooden sword breaking, all were proven to be false testimony aided by others.

Ultimately, as the Edo era declined faster than the wooden sword, such promises became mere smoke and mirrors.

“What do I do now…”

The head of Katsuhata, Katsuhata Akitaro, fell into deep contemplation.

The remaining six inheritance swords were practically treasures of each clan.

Until just moments ago, he was devising a brilliant plan to raise Katsuhata’s reputation by bringing a long-lost event into the media.

“That’s not what I broke!”

Emika is currently fourteen years old.

The lord thought that no mage from the Katsuhata School could match her talent.

“Even so, I thought it was truly an astounding achievement to have done something two years earlier than the greatest swordsman of the past achieved at the age of 16…”

At 16, one is still at the age when their aura heart is growing, so the task of bringing out a substantial aura can’t help but be difficult.

In the medieval era, they regarded 16 as adulthood; however, a person truly grows between 18 and 20.

“But eight years old…? Emika wouldn’t be the kind of child to play such irresponsible pranks…”

At eight years old, one in the Katsuhata family would be too young to even grasp a sword.

In fact, being able to bring out an aura outside their body would be considered genius, and the thought of that left him dizzy.

After some hours of pacing the yard and engawa, he resolved to call Emika’s teacher and his own senior, Koizumi Yoshihiro.

“I’m Katsuhata Akitaro, head of the Katsuhata family.”

“Yes, lord. I received your call.”

“That child named Name, she claims to have made a unique magical item called Adella. Do you think that might be true?”

“I can’t say I verified it myself, but I am confident she possesses considerable knowledge in magic studies.”

Wasn’t she only good at math?

Over 50 long years, the lord had seen many geniuses, and among them, there was even a person who had shined in an era. However, this felt entirely different—a fear of the unknown.

It was akin to deep-learning AI emerging and defeating humans in Go within a few months of learning.

“What is Emika doing now? Is she still with that child?”

“Oh, um, Katsuhata-san… has died.”

“What?”

Thud—

The phone dropped to the garden stone floor.

The lord doubted his ears, as a myriad of thoughts flashed through his mind.

After a moment to collect his thoughts, he picked up the phone with shaking hands again.

“What did you say? What happened to our Emika?”

“Oh, she died again. That makes eleven times now.”

“Eleven times?”

“Oh, I forgot to explain. They were playing games.”

“You scared the life out of me, you fool!”

Crash—

Ultimately, Katsuhata’s lord had to get a new phone.