I Can See the Sword’s Memories

Chapter 22: Knights’ Competition (1)

“Saeorin!”

“Saeorin! Are you alright?”

Theo and Flora ran toward me, their faces filled with worry as they looked down at me.

I let out a weak groan. Their response wasn’t what I had expected. 

Theo didn’t question me about using his unique lightning-based sword technique so effortlessly. I had anticipated some reaction, especially from Theo, if not Flora.

He couldn’t have missed it…

It seemed Theo wasn’t ready to bring up the issue just yet.

I looked down at my battered lower body. My inadequately trained legs had failed to endure the overwhelming force of the mana surge.

From my toes to my ankles, up my shins, thighs, and even the bones and nerves in my waist—everything was in bad shape. The pain was indescribable.

“Phew…”

The long sigh said it all. I couldn’t even answer their question about whether I was alright.

“Here, the head…”

“Oh, this?”

At my request, Theo moved quickly, retrieving the severed head of the masked Reincarnator and handing it to me.

I immediately removed the mask. Beneath it was a boy with brown hair, his expression frozen in the moment of death.

Brown hair, dull green eyes, staring blankly into the void. The description from the dossier matched perfectly.

It was Rover.

Raynard returned about thirty minutes later.

His condition was a mess. Small wounds covered his body, and his Azure Wings uniform was in tatters.

However, there wasn’t the pungent smell of blood. I realized that Raynard hadn’t sustained any severe injuries.

Raynard scanned the area, taking in the overturned ground, my injured form, and the severed head nearby.

While he had been caught in a trap and delayed, we fledgling recruits had managed to resolve the situation. Raynard sincerely apologized.

“I’m sorry for being late…”

A superior officer leading new recruits should never leave their side, no matter the situation. 

Raynard brushed his hand through his hair, already dreading the reprimand he would face when filing his mission report.

“This is Rover, right?”

At Theo’s question, Raynard’s gaze shifted to the severed head. It had been sliced cleanly with a blade so sharp that the muscles remained intact.

Judging by the expression, Rover likely hadn’t even realized he was dying in his final moments.

The speed of the strike had left him unable to react. That was the cause of death.

Raynard turned his attention to Theo.

“Theo, did you finish him off?”

“Uh…”

At Raynard’s question, Theo averted his gaze. At that moment, I spoke up.

“Yes, Theo brought him down.”

“I see…”

Raynard nodded, recalling the lightning-fast strike Theo had demonstrated during our sparring sessions.

Raynard then approached me. Unlike the others, who were standing, I was still half-reclined on the ground, my expression pained. He knew I must have sustained significant injuries.

“Mind if I check?”

“Yes…”

Raynard carefully examined my ankle and thigh.

“Your muscles are severely strained… and your bones have fractures… What exactly did you do?”

“I… overdid it.”

“This isn’t just overdoing it…”

There was no way I could walk in this condition. Without hesitation, Raynard lifted me.

I was unnervingly light.

***

After returning to West, Raynard got to work immediately. He secured the cooperation of the city’s mayor and rounded up everyone associated with Rover.

Claims of ignorance didn’t hold up. Whether intentional or not, their actions had effectively shielded the identity of a Reincarnator.

Some of those detained paid bail and were released, while others were sentenced to labor.

Even the mayor wasn’t exempt from fines, which were promptly sent to the Karma Empire’s capital.

Raynard and our team remained in the West, as my injuries were too severe to continue the mission.

For the first week, I couldn’t walk. I could only crawl around using my relatively unharmed upper body.

By the second week, I was able to walk with crutches. The doctor who came to check on me marveled at my incredible rate of recovery.

Ignoring the doctor’s stern warnings to avoid exertion, I ventured outside.

I knew my body—or rather, my sister’s body—better than anyone. I trusted my instincts that I’d recover soon.

Theo accompanied me as we walked in silence, our steps guided by whim.

It was Theo who eventually broke the silence. A soft breeze carried his voice between us.

“Hey, Saeorin.”

“Yeah?”

“That thing you did back there… How did you do it?”

Theo’s question referred to the strike that had dealt with the Reincarnator. I remained silent.

Our steps continued, my crutch moving forward before letting my injured leg touch the ground. Behind me, Theo followed in step.

“That move… if I didn’t see it wrong—and I know I didn’t—it was the same technique. The Sky Thunder Slash I’m learning… though the form was a little different.”

I came to a stop. We now stood on a gentle hill, where the breeze swept across the grass.

I hesitated for a long while. To explain how I had used Theo’s technique, the Sky Thunder Slash, I would have to reveal my unique blessing—a blessing that allowed me to read the memories imbued in a sword.

It was a blessing both coveted and feared by swordsmen.

Swordsmen were deeply protective of their secret techniques, often treating any leak as a grave betrayal. 

In such a world, revealing this blessing was no trivial matter. But hiding it any longer wasn’t an option either.

After some thought, I finally spoke.

“What you saw was indeed Sky Thunder Slash. Are you planning to kill me for it?”

“What?”

“Or perhaps sever my tendons?”

I tilted my head, puzzled by Theo’s startled reaction.

“N-No! I’d never do something like that to you!”

“Then… it’s not an issue?”

Theo fell silent. A secret technique had been used by someone else—his own companion. It wasn’t something that could simply be dismissed.

I watched as he mulled over his master’s stern admonitions, likely repeated often enough to make his ears ring.

Never, under any circumstances, reveal these techniques to outsiders.

If he overlooked this now, he would be breaking the promise he’d made to his master.

Theo stared blankly at me. If anyone else had used the Sky Thunder Slash, he might have been furious. But because it was me, his feelings wavered.

Recalling his master’s warning, Theo swallowed hard.

‘As long as it’s not an outsider… as long as they’re not an outsider, it’s fine.’

His master had only forbidden sharing techniques with outsiders. If I wasn’t an outsider, then the problem could be solved.

Theo nodded decisively, as if a brilliant solution had dawned upon him.

“There is a problem. A big one. But… it’s fine if it’s you!”

“It’s fine if it’s me?”

“Yes! My master said never to share our techniques with outsiders. So, if you’re not an outsider, then it’s all fine.”

“Aren’t you going to ask how I learned your technique?”

“You… you won’t tell me, will you?”

“Well… no.”

“Then I won’t ask. I won’t hold you accountable for anything. Just… one day, come with me to meet my master. I’ll tell him I taught it to you.”

I blinked, genuinely surprised by Theo’s generosity. Inviting me to meet his master meant he was offering to make me a peer in the school of Sky Thunder Slash.

At that moment, my opinion of Theo rose significantly.

Still, I asked for confirmation.

“You’re really, truly not going to question it?”

“Yup.”

“And you won’t tell anyone about it?”

“Yup.”

“Theo… you’re an amazing person.”

A bright smile spread across my face, and Theo clutched at his chest as if struck.

When I regained the ability to walk and run, Raynard and our trio returned to the Azure Wings headquarters. The mission had lasted nearly a month—a long-term deployment.

Back at the headquarters, we had to learn the tedious process of paperwork alongside Raynard. Report writing, in particular, took considerable time.

“Hmm…”

“Saeorin, that’s wrong. It’s Rover, not Lobby.”

“I know.”

“And that’s wrong too… it’s not Robyo.”

Flora’s corrections made me frown. Writing was still a struggle for me.

A week after our return, we received a blue-feather badge.

It was Kanok who presented it to us.

“Congratulations. From now on, you’re no longer apprentices but full-fledged members.”

The difference between members with and without the feather badge was significant.

We—Flora, Theo, and I—were now officially recognized as full members capable of completing missions without a superior’s supervision.

Under normal circumstances, we would have needed to complete two more missions to earn this status. However, our successful handling of the Reincarnator had expedited our promotion.

Kanok personally pinned the feather badges onto our shoulders.