Chapter 8

8. Training (3)

“It’s hard to even eat during my meals….”

Reika said with a sulky face. Asher turned the edge of his sword and opened his mouth.

“What?”

“What the hell Asher! My mother is trying to pry into every little detail of our training! ‘What’s wrong with your face? Is your time together going well?’ Stupid questions like those! It’s killing me!”

Reika shouted, covering her head in embarrassment.

She liked to eat. Her mealtime was one of her favorite things to look forward to every day. But now she couldn’t even bear to sit at the table. The only thing she could do was eat in a hurry and get out of the hall as quickly as possible to avoid her mother, Venicia, and her prying questions.

“I’m going to have an upset stomach at this rate… I don’t even eat proper portions anymore… It’s getting dangerous….”

“Really?”

Asher closed his eyes.

The lady of the lord, Venicia.

This body’s original owner was raised by the Lady of the Lord, Venicia. It was due to her, that even though the previous owner of this body was constantly causing trouble, that he didn’t get kicked out already.

“It’s going well for me.”

“What did you just say?”

“No, I’m not talking about you Reika. Stop complaining and grab the sword again.”

“Yes, yes.”

Reika grumbled and gently lifted her sword. It was just light grumbling, but Asher knew how diligent she really was. Whenever he asked her to do something or perform a certain exercise, she would do it without fail.

“You said that you ran into a problem with your technique yesterday, right? Let’s review it again.”

“Okay.”

Reika collected her breath and thrust her sword sharply. The speed of Reika’s stab was impossible to follow for an average person. But Asher critiqued it sharply.

“It’s too fast.”

“Isn’t it better if it’s fast? It would make it hard for my opponents to respond to my attacks.”

“It’ll be fine when you’re up against someone who’s not very skilled. But you’re the one who will suffer if your opponent is skilled and parries your speed with power. If it is not used correctly, your form will snap like a twig.”

Asher picked up a thick and blunt club. He stood in front of Reika and clapped his hands.

“Come on.”

“Ughhhhhhhhh.”

Reika groaned with an annoyed face, but her body was already in position. She was done with trying to act like she knew it all in front of Asher. He could clearly subdue and make a fool out of her at any time he wanted to if he chose to.

“Hut!”

Reika stabbed forward once again the sword. Asher looked closely at the tip of her blade.

She was still immature and at the very basics, but her talent was absolute. The speed in which she was thrusting at, if trained well, would be so fast in the future, that even his previous life would have trouble trying to track her movements.

But it didn’t matter as of right now. Asher swung with the club. The weight of the club easily destroyed her form and she covered herself as she rolled on the ground.

“Cough…cough!”

“It’s like this. No matter how fast you are, any skilled swordsman can guess the trajectory of your strike just by looking at your posture and shoulder movement. They don’t even have to react nearly as fast as long as they see through your sloppy form. If your swordplay is going to be speed-focused swordplay, you will have to learn different variations of swordsmanship, but it cannot just be Lepenia’s swordsmanship alone.”

Lepenia’s swordsmanship was more based towards flexibility . Swordplay that twisted and bent it’s movements. If Reika wanted to focus on speed, it was necessary to learn other styles of swordsmanship as well.

Reika spat out.

“Well gee thanks to you, at least I can definitely feel it!.”

Reika finished her sarcastic remark as she spat out her red tainted saliva. Her mouth was a bit bloody and swollen.

“Can’t you just go easy on me?”

Asher was excellent as a teacher. Even Reika, who is new to learning from someone, could tell.

As the captain of the imperial guard, he taught a lot of people, so he was quite used to helping someone improve and pointing out their flaws.

It was no exaggeration to say Asher was an ideal teacher for most. But if there was one problem in all of it for Reika…

“I get training my hardest every time, but can’t you avoid giving me cuts and bruises? I’m still part of an aristocratic family and it’ll be hard to get married if this kind of thing becomes common.”

“You asked me to teach you, and now you’re making a fuss? Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.”

“I know that. But my mom is worried about these scars. There’s a limit to how much my weak body can take.”

Reika grumbled. But Asher didn’t intend to teach any differently. Only when the body was imprinted with scars from battles and training did one remember the pain and improve.

But that wasn’t the only reason. Asher’s reputation with the previous body owner was abysmal, hence why everybody was on edge thinking Asher might try something terrible again.

That’s why he would also allow the others inside the mansion to watch their training.

“Then today’s training ends here. The rest of it you will be able to do yourself.”

“What about you?”

“As always, I’ll be continuing and doing the same as I always have.”

Asher began to wield the sword.

Clean, perfected movements in his swordsmanship.

Looking at Asher’s movements with the sword, Reika dropped her jaw blankly. The more and more she learned about the sword, the more she realized just how impressive Asher’s swordsmanship was. His proficiency was unreal with the imperial swordsmanship.

Perfect swordsmanship. Movements with zero flaws in them. That was Asher.

‘What’s that supposed to mean if you’re already so perfect?’

Reika grumbled inside. Not knowing about the fact he had reincarnated into the body of Asher, she had no choice but to be cynical. Of course in the back of her mind, she still felt like some kind of heavenly swordsman might have taken over Asher’s body.

(T/N : LOL)

When she finished training with Asher in the morning, and came back in the evening after he did his chores, Asher was resuming the same intensity in his training as his morning sessions. It was no exaggeration to say that he was always holding onto his sword except when it came to eating and sleeping. But even at those times, she couldn’t be sure if he was hiding his sword and secretly holding on it.

Asher was crazy in her eyes. It didn’t seem like Asher was practicing or wielding the sword to achieve something, It was like it was more like the sword was his life.

It was phenomenal and felt different. But one thing was clear. Asher had definitely changed

“…why are you always practicing so hard?”

Even when Reika asked, Asher laughed. Why did he practice so hard? There was no reason.

Asher said calmly.

“Just.”

“…just?”

“There’s just no reason.”

It was the same as when he had first picked up the sword. The same question every single time. Why did he try so hard, what was he trying to accomplish with his abysmal talent?

He just wanted to live with the sword. He just enjoyed his life much more when it was with his sword. If there was a reason though… perhaps it was because he wanted to see the end. The very pinnacle of swordsmanship. He felt that if he could see it, he might understand why.

“…that’s why you’re so strong.”

“I’m weak.”, Asher responded in a matter-of-factly manner.

“When will you stop speaking such nonsense? If it’s not nonsense like you say it is, then give me a reason why it isn’t!”

“Hmm….”

Asher narrowed his eyes. He was still weak. It was an undeniable truth.

But more than that, the present time that he had been reincarnated into was in a vulnerable state.

‘Is it because it was peaceful compared to the amount of wars and battles in my previous life?’

The previous generation that he lived in, was the age of heroes. Everything that threatened humanity was brought down by those who represented the most powerful beings of humanity back then, the heroes.

Thanks to this, mankind had found peace, but it was inevitable that if disaster struck, it would be incredibly difficult for humanity to survive with how complacent it was right now.

The same could be for other places around the empire. It wasn’t a terrible state, but something about this dull peaceful era… bugged something within Asher’s subconscious.

Suddenly Asher started to feel like something vitally important that he was missing, was coming back to him…

The door opened before the thought continued. A maid came in and bowed curteously. Reika frowned.

“I told you not to come in while I was training.”

“I’m sorry, miss.”

“Get out of here right now.”

“Don’t be so mean. This poor maid was just showing me around.”

Reika trembled at the sound of the voice that could be heard from behind the maid.

She looked at the person coming in with her eyes widened. A fine-looking, middle-aged woman and a knight stood there.

Reika groaned.

“…Mother?”

Venicia chuckled in a low voice. The maid slowly closed the door and exited the training hall.

***

“I thought you said you were doing fine my dear.”

Venicia took a step forward. Reika stepped back without realizing it. Venicia was still looking at her with friendly, but stern eyes.

“I wanted to come here at least once. Think of the worries I might have as your mother.”

“Ha. Haha…”

Reika laughed awkwardly.

Looking at those two, Asher thought.

‘So, the lady has finally shown herself?’

It was the person that had been helping the previous body’s owner live here despite causing so much trouble. Asher had not met her yet since reincarnating, but it was thanks to this woman that he had not been sold off or kicked out of the estate.

But she didn’t even come to see Asher today. Not only that, he couldn’t just brazenly start a conversation with her. He was an employee and was at the grace and mercy of her actions. He should not overstep his boundaries, he thought.

I mean but it also made sense for Venicia to come eventually. If her only daughter was constantly covered in scratches and wounds at the dinner table, she had no choice but to be worried and come check up on her. Even if Venicia vented her anger at him, Reika would try to defend him now since he had started to teach her in earnest.

But she could have also come to see Reika as an excuse to see him. Asher looked at Venecia.

She turned her eyes after finishing the conversation she was having with her daughter. What kind of emotions were in her eyes, Asher thought? Anger? Suspicion?

His gaze met with Venicia’s, and Asher flinched.

“Hmm. Hmm. Asher. It’s been a long time.”

She corrected her posture with a fake cough. However, his body was restless and was shaking as if he wanted to jump and go hug her right away.

“…….”

‘What the hell is going on with this body?’

Asher felt incredibly weird but suppressed his body’s twitching and his rising emotions as he bowed his head in respect to Lady Venicia.

“Are you sick? You got a fever, don’t you? Let’s see.”

She walked over to him and rubbed Asher’s forehead. The warm body temperature of Venicia’s hand, made Asher slightly uncomfortable and he retreated quickly. Venicia flinched at Asher’s sudden behavior.

“I’m sorry. I was being too outspoken.”, she muttered with a disappointed and apologetic look.

“Oh, no that’s not it…”

Asher shook his head. What was wrong with this stupid body? He couldn’t control his emotions. Whenever he saw her warm eyes, his hands kept trying to move. He took a deep breath in to relax his nerves and spoke.

“Long time no see, Miss Venicia.”

“What do you mean ‘Miss Venicia’?”

Venicia made a slightly disappointed expression once more at Asher’s words. She clicked her tongue and shook her head. She had spoken affectionately as if she were referring to her own child.

“There’s no reason to call me that when we’re the only ones here. Although whatever your circumstances may be now, I still raised you like my own son. Why don’t you try speaking like you used to with me.”

She looked at him with warm eyes.

“Okay mother.”

Suddenly Asher was surprised at his own words and felt a tier drip down his cheek.

“Ah.”

At that moment he realized. He had never received parental affection even once in his two lives.

In his childhood, his household was poor. And like most commoners, the eyes that his parents looked at him were not ones of affection, but the eyes of those who looked at goods that needed to be sold for other uses.

Even when they sent him to the academy, they had only agreed in hopes to find himself a suitor and marry a richer woman so they could live better off.

It was no different even after he entered the imperial guards. After working there so long, he started to recognize the gazes of those who look at him. They were gazes of either, admiration, reverence, ridicule, or murderous intent. There was never a time in his two lives that he truly received a genuine look of affection and love.

All but a few were able to actually understand him, and those happened to be other orphan children he would sometimes bring food for when he was an imperial guard.

Funnily enough, this was the first time he had ever received a gaze of genuine affection and it had melted his cold heart, allowing a tear to emerge from his eyes. Venicia saw this tear however, as something had truly been wrong with Asher’s health and she yelled at the knight.

“Charon! Call the doctor now!”

“You don’t have to. Oh, my goodness mother.”

His mouth was feeling itchy as if he had eaten something bitter. Calling someone mother was foreign to him, and yet oddly comfortable at the same time. It wasn’t a bad feeling. He laughed.

Venicia shifted her gaze with worry at Charon with a serious face and signaled with her eyebrows to get moving. Charon looked unhappy, but he calmly stepped back and left the two be.

“…Is there a problem Asher??? Just tell me, I’ll listen to you as much as I can.”

“I….”

He could technically cheat here. She was giving him the leeway to do so. She probably somewhat already heard the situation from Reika and was just making it easier for him to say it.

But he… didn’t want to. He didn’t want to deceive anyone who showed such feelings of genuine affection towards him. It felt wrong. But… he also didn’t have much of a choice.

“I think I’ve lost my memories.”

He laughed bitterly. How would she react? Asher’s throat started to become dry.