I Obtained Sword God Level Talent

16 – 016. Letter (1)

A disastrous report arrived at the Almans Count’s estate.

[ Martis Du Almans. Deceased. ]

Cause of death: a duel. The Almans family was enraged by this nonsensical news.

Even if he was far removed from the succession, he was a noble who used the ‘Almans’ surname. Regardless of how he’d lived like a delinquent, remaining silent on this matter meant the Almans’ prestige would be trampled into the dirt.

But there was one problem.

The Almans Count’s territory was in the central part of the empire. In other words, dispatching a large force to the fortress city of Loven required the approval of the northern Grand Duke.

Tap, tap.

The Almans Count sat in his office, tapping the table with his fingers. The rhythmic pattern was laced with impatience. He felt like the two villains responsible might flee if he didn’t send knights immediately.

‘Lancelot…… To repay my favor with such enmity.’

At first, when he heard the news, the Count had doubted his own ears.

Lancelot Du Almans. That b*stard had betrayed the family and killed Martis. According to rumors, Lancelot had only delivered the final blow, but that fact was inconsequential to the Count.

Crash!

“C-Count, Sir!”

“Has news arrived from the Grand Duke’s family?”

The Almans Count jumped up from his seat.

The moment he learned of Martis’s death, the Count had sent a letter to the Grand Duke. Given their long-standing relationship, he was certain that the Grand Duke would grant his request.

“Th-That is……!”

The subordinate who rushed into the office handed the letter to the Count.

Flap!

The Count, quickly grabbing the letter, grimaced with each passing moment.

His hands trembled violently as he read through the letter. The Almans Count was utterly lost, unable to comprehend what was happening.

——————

[ Ultimatum to the Almans Count ]

One, the Almans family shall not interfere in the honorable knight’s duel.

One, the Almans Count shall not tarnish the honor of the deceased.

One, the Almans Count shall not inflict private punishment upon ‘Frey’, ‘Lancelot Du Arman’.

—Maria Theresia von Britzhart.

——————

An ultimatum?

I was so dumbfounded, I was speechless. Wasn’t the Almans family, by anyone’s measure, the victim in this situation? Yet, the father of the fallen is being told to stay quiet?

Thump!

“How… how can this… this dogshit be happening?”

The Count, his complexion haggard, raised his hand trembling. And then, he slowly read the paper again.

‘Maria Theresia von Britzhart.’

The sender of the letter was ＜The Mad Dog Butcher＞, no, ＜Mad Blade Butcher＞. The meaning was simple. If he took action, her sword would be aimed at the Almans family.

“Hey, you.”

“Yes! Count. Shall I immediately deploy the knights?!”

“No, no. Order all troops… to disarm.”

“……Yes?”

Ignoring his subordinate’s gaze, the Almans Count gnawed on his resentment. He was stuck with a situation where an extremely realistic decision had to be made.

[ You must not oppose Maria Theresia. ]

That was common sense. The reason was… among those who had opposed her, no one remained with their head still attached.

* * *

“Water.”

Sploosh!

“Curtains.”

Shwip!

“Massage.”

“I never said I’d give you a massage.”

“Oh, was that so? More sharp than I thought.”

Crunch!

Lancelot gritted his teeth. Seriously, he’d offered to nurse me himself just yesterday, and now he was already showing his irritation? What was he going to do?

“Rest. I’ll get you something to eat.”

“Okay. You know I don’t eat if there’s no meat, right?”

“Y-yes, got it.”

Kind Lancelot replied brightly. He left the room with a bright, no, a flushed face.

“Bored to death.”

I muttered to myself, now alone.

It had been two days since the battle with Martius and his five knights. Luckily, the cuts and internal injuries had healed as if washed away in a single day, but my physical condition was the problem. Because of it, my war allowance would be delayed, too.

Was it the effect of the expanded sense?

My head was heavy, and my body wouldn’t move properly. It felt as if I was wearing layers upon layers of thick clothing, making movement difficult.

‘Even the Church says they can’t figure out the cause.’

Medicine was a pitiful, almost barbaric level in this world. Naturally, I’d visited the Church, but the healing priests just said they couldn’t identify the cause.

‘There’s something, some reason I don’t know.’

With those thoughts, my gaze moved to the window.

Outside, in the center of town, children were laughing and running around.

“….”

Looking at it like this, it was a peaceful world. If only there weren’t those b*stards dreaming of destroying it.

*Creak.*

“……?”

Just as my eyelids grew heavy from the gentle breeze,

I heard the sound of someone climbing the hotel stairs. It was such a small sound I wouldn’t have noticed before, but now I could sense it thanks to my expanded perception.

*Creak.*

‘Is that Lancelot?’

The steps climbing the stairs were unusually light. From the start, there were no other guests staying on the second floor right now. Probably as expected, it was likely Lancelot coming back with the meat dishes.

*Creak, creak.*

The light footsteps moved down the hallway. Finally, the person stopped in front of my room.

*Knock, knock!*

“What’s with the knocking? Just come in.”

I shook my head. Lancelot’s stubbornness was something to be admired. Who’d have thought he’d knock after just going to get food?

*Click.* *Squeak-*!

The door opened. I stood ready with a pointless grumble, watching the door slowly swing inward.

But.

“…Huh?”

Standing in the doorway wasn’t Lancelot. It was a woman with flamboyant blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a light, almost thin, outfit for someone from the North.

“How is your body?”

The woman who spoke was Maria Theresa von Britzhart. The Archduchess herself.

Swoosh.

“Are there any places that are uncomfortable?”

Maria stepped into the room and asked the question naturally.

“Ah, I’m better than I thought. Except for not being able to move my body well.”

Why are *you* here? … That was the kind of thing I should have said, but I just gave a quiet answer. Compared to the past when I was wary of Maria, this was a huge improvement.

‘She must have come because she has something to say.’

The reason I decided the ‘Northern Archduchess’ was more normal than I’d thought was simple. It was because of the Britzhart relic she’d given me before.

…It sounds a little materialistic, but that’s what ‘legend’ grade items are to begin with. Objects whose very existence can inspire trust.

Anyway.

“I see.”

Maria answered quietly and sat on the chair next to the bed. Then she stared at me intently. Her gaze felt as if it could pierce right through me, but seemed to carry no emotion whatsoever.

“…It seems you’ve experienced an interesting change.”

Thump.

Tilting her head, Maria reached out and snatched my wrist. Then, she closed her eyes and began to rub my wrist.

“Sir Frey. Have you felt a sudden surge of fatigue recently?”

Sir Frey. I thought it was ‘an unusually awkward way to address me’ and nodded my head.

“Yes. My body feels extremely heavy. My head feels like it might ache too, it’s a strange feeling.”

“It seems my guess was right. What you are experiencing now is a bizarre phenomenon no one else has experienced.”

…A bizarre phenomenon?

Maria confidently stated a symptom even the priests didn’t know about. Before I knew it, my entire attention was drawn to her.

“The scholarship of the West Continent is rather clumsy. Therefore, I will explain using a term from the East Continent.”

“I don’t mind.”

“The cause of your current symptoms is the ‘enlightenment’ you experienced a few days ago.”

“…Enlightenment is the cause?”

“Do you know the Governor and Conception Vessels, and the Gates of Life and Death? For any martial artist, they are the trials one must inevitably pass to soar to greater heights.”

I nodded silently at the explanation that followed.

The Governor and Conception Vessels, and the Gates of Life and Death, each signified different acupoints. They were the places where mana, or inner energy, circulated most delicately and intensely, the acupoints that all martial artists dreamed of opening.

…So much so, that some would even resort to demonic arts to break through the Governor and Conception Vessels.

“You have opened both the Governor and Conception Vessels, and the Gates of Life and Death, simultaneously.”

“Huh?”

“Literally, the fact that you are alive right now is a near miracle.”

A chill ran down my arm at the low voice.

‘Seriously… I almost died?’

A martial artist who has opened the Governor and Conception Vessels unlocks their middle dantian. One who has opened the Gates of Life and Death unlocks their upper dantian, finally reaching a level beyond mastery, worthy of being called a grandmaster.

For reference, in the world of , opening acupoints was an incredibly dangerous endeavor. Even promising prodigies died in countless numbers under the guise of Qi deviation.

“Being so exceptionally talented that you face death. It’s almost like a blessing and a curse from the heavens.”

“…Then, what is my current physical condition?”

Maria nodded at my careful question.

“It’s similar to an ocean that has lost its water. Filling a drained ocean takes an immense amount of time. It will probably take over three months for a complete recovery.”

“Is there no treatment, no treatment that can speed up my recovery?”

I looked at Maria, trying my best to suppress my impatience. Her gaze was still emotionless, piercing straight through my heart.

“There is. You can ingest an elixir, a divine blessing crafted by the heavens.”

…Damn it. My face couldn’t help but darken rapidly.

‘An elixir, an elixir, seriously?’

Elixirs were things you couldn’t just find anywhere. I didn’t even have a single coin in my pocket, meaning that ingesting an elixir was, in reality, impossible.

Swoosh.

“As luck would have it, I just so happen to have an elixir pill made by pounding a thousand-year-old he shou wu. I will give it to you.”

“?”