By Zephyria 
Just as Ruben, startled, was about to say something in a fluster, thinking I was pushing him away, I took his hand and held it tightly.
I knew this child was kind and gentle, but I never expected he would cherish me for those reasons. Because I seemed lonely. Because I seemed to be in pain. So he wanted to take care of me…
It was embarrassing and funny to think that I had unknowingly caused this young one concern.
It was common to take care of someone out of pity, to take someone who needed care as a lover. There were those in the Central Plains who decided to marry because they wanted to wash the sleeves of someone whose clothes were not good, or because they felt sorry for someone who was starving and wanted to feed them one more spoonful of rice.
But if you always take care of others like that, who will take care of you?
I didn’t yet know what romantic love was.
But I knew what to do when dealing with someone I cherished.
Even if this child was wealthy and would never suffer from exhaustion, I wanted to take care of Ruben, not be taken care of by him. How could I let such a lovely and kind child suffer heartache by pitying someone like me?
Even if it stung, I had to say what I had to say.
As someone who had experienced life first, I decided to tell him as much as I knew.
“Pity and romantic love can sometimes look similar. But they are not the same feeling.”
“…That’s not it,”
“Even if it’s true that I’m lonely and struggling, I have no intention of sharing that burden with Ruben.”
“…”
“Because I cherish Ruben very much, because I adore him, I don’t want to be Ruben’s hardship.”
The child’s face, which had been anxious, brightened up. It bloomed beautifully like a flower receiving the morning sun.
The smile that spread across his lips was so sweet that I couldn’t look directly at it. The child took my hand and brought it to his chest. The throbbing of his heart was transmitted to my fingertips. I stopped breathing without realizing it.
Ruben’s eyes sparkled, and he whispered in a low voice, a cute sound.
“That was, Mika… only at the very beginning. At that time, it was true that I wanted to be by your side… but now, you know.”
“…”
“If you’re not here, I feel like I can’t bear the loneliness. So please stay by my side, okay?”
I tried to say something, but closed my mouth.
I wanted to say something again, but I lost my words.
In the end, I burst out laughing. He was so cute. I melted at the sight of him blushing, knowing how lovely he was, and acting spoiled. Well, I don’t know how long this child will want to keep me close…
“…Yes, I intend to.”
How could I refuse this?
As I was smiling quietly with my hand held, Rubel took my hand and gently rubbed the tip of his nose against it. Warm breath touched between my thumb and forefinger. Suddenly, something overlapped in my vision, and I was startled. The moment the white Thousand-League Guardian Spirit from the dream I had the other day flashed in my vision.
Heat rushed up my neck.
I moved my body back. The child didn’t let go of my hand. Every time the child moved his lips and made a sound, my spine tingled. My fingertips curled up.
“You know, Mika. I have a question…”
“…Yes.”
I realized my voice was hoarse. I cleared my throat briefly.
“Mika, you… like me, right?”
“Yes.”
I answered immediately. A bright, joyful light shone on Ruben’s face. My stomach tickled, and I turned my gaze away. I wondered how long he intended to hold my hand. Just as I was regretting taking the child’s hand first, Ruben continued.
“Then… can you give me a little more time, just a little more?”
“…Time?”
“Uh-huh… Tomorrow, is tomorrow okay? It’s still the week after the exam… I want to be with you for just one more day.”
“…Hmm.”
I couldn’t answer right away. Ruben narrowed his eyes and smiled, rubbing his cheek against my fingertips. Oh my god. I now knew that seeing something too lovely was as painful as having my heart squeezed.
When I didn’t reply, greatly surprised, the child added a word.
“…Shall we meet at the academy’s Martial arts training ground tomorrow? Okay?”
Ha.
The tension that had risen to the top of my head collapsed. A laugh that leaked out of my lips quickly spread.
“Haha, are you saying you want me to teach you the sword tomorrow?”
“Uh-huh. I’ve gotten to the point where I can follow the basics you taught me before to some extent… Okay? Mika.”
“Yes, let’s do that.”
This child sees me as something other than a person. I could have given him another day even if he didn’t specifically say let’s meet at the Martial arts training ground. But I had no intention of refusing his offer to train first.
If the child becomes stronger by working hard while I’m not there, that’s also a good thing. I nodded in a good mood.
“Let’s do that. There was something I really wanted to tell you anyway.”
I also wanted to teach him Breathing and regulating energy, but it was impossible right now because I couldn’t invite the Professors without an appointment. However, I had a desire to let this child know the Azure Sky Unfettered Sword Art someday. Since my roots were there, I thought it would be necessary to let him know me.
It was also because I had promised to teach the child the Monarch Sword Style, a sword containing the aura of a Monarch. In order to fully master the Monarch Sword Style, which I only knew the Sword Pattern of and was still searching for its meaning, I had to learn Azure Sky first.
Also, the Azure Sky Unfettered Sword Art was a Sword Art that had the opposite tone to the Imperial Swordsmanship, but it didn’t harm each other and went well together. I also thought that it could be of great help in the future as long as the child didn’t put down the sword.
But if I put all that aside and considered it, in the depths of my heart, there was a base desire to leave my mark on his sword even if the child came to love someone else in the future.
I vowed not to reveal such a harsh heart. I firmly locked it in my heart.
Today, I escorted the child to the Imperial Palace. Since we had promised to meet again the next day, the child didn’t act spoiled and ask to be together longer. It was my greed to miss such things. I watched the carriage enter the Imperial Palace gate for a long time before running back to the academy.
And I sat in my study and wrote the Secret Manual of Martial Arts all night.
It was my only thing I brought into this world. It was now a swordplay that Ruben and I would both fully possess. The black letters written neatly on the white notebook were neat and tidy. For some reason, I kept laughing.
❖ ❖ ❖
And so, the next day, Sunday.
I led Ruben to the 4th Martial arts training ground, which I often visited when training with Maelo Sanson, away from the eyes of others.
The sword was sometimes mysterious, but it was generally honest and never betrayed effort. First, I said I would see how much Rubel had trained in the meantime, and the swordplay he unfolded in order was already familiar to my eyes.
Rubel first showed the accurate Limitless steps without a single flaw. It was clear that he had practiced dozens or hundreds of times in a place where I couldn’t see him. The sword he drew was also like that. Because he tried to contain everything I had ever taught him, the space between the swords was light and agile.
It was a sword that resembled Azure Sky. The child’s affection was so tender.
Only after seeing everything the child did, I could hand over the Secret Manual of Martial Arts I had brought.
“…This is… did you write it yourself?”
“It’s called Azure Sky Unfettered Sword Art, Thousand-League Guardian Spirit, and Divine Art of Heavenly Wind. The first one is a Sword Art, and the last two are footwork. They should be learned together because they are performed in pairs.”
Originally, a disciple was like a child, but the law had become blurred because I had crossed over from another world. I wasn’t going to cling to unnecessary things anymore. I was now going to adore Ruben even if he had been my enemy in a previous life.
I sat shoulder to shoulder with Ruben on a bench overlooking the distance, and explained the Secret Manual of Martial Arts one by one. From beginning to end, like reading a fairy tale in bed…
Perhaps because he was a Martial artists who had reached a certain level with one Sword Art, or perhaps because he listened and tried to understand so hard. Rubel occasionally asked questions that pierced the core, which made me happy.
We replaced lunch with a lunch box and drinks that Ruben had taken out, saying he had prepared them because he didn’t want to be disturbed, and looked at the Secret Manual of Martial Arts again, occasionally playing with our hands. When Rubel, who was interfering with my hand turning the Secret Manual of Martial Arts for no reason, looked far away with a straight face, it was very difficult to stop the laughter that leaked out like a cough.
After playing for a long time, Rubel said he would show me the sword in person, so I said let’s do that and got up.
First, I taught each movement of the swordplay, and then showed the connection between the corresponding footwork and movements.
Thousand-League Guardian Spirit and Divine Art of Heavenly Wind were footwork that could not be used without internal energy, but I already knew how to use aura like internal energy. I helped Ruben take steps by shaping aura. Thanks to the well-established foundation with Limitless steps, Ruben soon followed the teachings well.
However, even if he became proficient in only stepping on the footwork, he could only be clumsy in unfolding the Sword Art and footwork together. In order to correct Ruben’s hands and feet that were sometimes out of sync, I stood close to him and acted kindly.
“The stride is too short. Try widening the gap a little more.”
“Like this…?”
“Yes. From there, turn your waist this way so that you can immediately connect to the 8th form…”
In an instant, the child was about to fall over, so I quickly grabbed him and tried to hug him, but I missed again. Arms and arms crossed, legs and legs intertwined and fell together.
There was no way I, a Martial artists, couldn’t catch a person falling. Also, there was no way Rubel, a Martial artists, would fall over just because his legs were a little tangled.
But Rubel’s waist, which I grabbed in my hand, was too… warm. I was so startled that I felt like I was doing something very rude, so I immediately let go, and Ruben, who believed and relied on me to hold him, fell backwards powerlessly, and this accident happened.
In a hurry, I put one hand next to Ruben’s cheek, who was lying on the Martial arts training ground floor, and hurriedly covered his head with the other hand to prevent him from getting hurt, and I couldn’t open my mouth in embarrassment.
Ruben, who was lying completely under my body, was so close that our noses almost touched.
“…Are you, okay?”
“Huh? Uh-huh. …Uh…”
The child, who was red with heat, gasped for breath.
A heart-pounding beat rang out from our touching chests. I couldn’t tell if it was mine or Ruben’s. The floral scent that I had already smelled familiarly wafted strongly. Receiving the hot sunlight on my back, I looked down at Rubel, who was completely covered by the shadow cast by my body.
I couldn’t add any more words, and I couldn’t get up from my seat for a long time.
The child blinked his black eyes a few times, then shyly closed his eyes.