Chapter 16: Monster

“Sei! Sei! Sei! Sei!”

In the mansion’s back garden, Leonhart-sama swings two wooden swords with a serious expression.

Watching over him with his arms crossed, Eugen’s face is equally serious.

“Eugen, how do you see Leonhart-sama?”

I, Dominic, asked Eugen, an old acquaintance who stood beside me. We had overcome many trials together as adventurers in our younger days. Because of that connection, I had recommended Eugen as Leonhart-sama’s swordsmanship instructor.

Though he calls it intuition, Eugen has particularly sharp observation skills. I wanted him to assess Leonhart-sama with those eyes.

“Dominic, that’s…”

For once, Eugen hesitates.

I’ve heard that Eugen lost to Leonhart-sama in their recent match. I wondered if he was just letting Leonhart-sama have the victory, but is there something more to it?

“That… is he really human? Even just standing here, he gives me chills. It’s not ordinary… The world is vast. I thought I knew that well enough, but… I never expected there was more to it…”

Eugen’s profile showed even a hint of fear.

“For you to say that… Is it really that remarkable?”

“It’s so extraordinary that it’s hard to believe he’s human. Such a great presence. Even at the height of our ‘Dawn of the New Era,’ we would have lost if we had challenged him.”

‘Dawn of the New Era’ was the name of our adventurer party. We had risen to the pinnacle as adventurers, achieving the highest rank of Adamantite-class. We had saved nations from crises and conquered dungeons. Yet, Eugen declared that even at our peak, we wouldn’t have been able to match him.

“That remarkable, huh…”

“I’m more interested in finding out. Who exactly is that person?”

“His name is Leonhart. Born as the eldest son of the Clarvain Marquis family. At the age of five, during the ceremony, Leonhart-sama possessed six attributes. However, by the age of ten, he had only one attribute—fire. That was the reason he was removed from the line of succession. I realized Leonhart-sama’s uniqueness when he was using magic.”

“Magic?”

Eugen glanced at me briefly.

“Yes. He used magic to ignite fire at his fingertips. Eugen, you know about this, don’t you?”

“Yes. What’s the significance?”

Eugen looked puzzled.

“Leonhart-sama used fire-igniting magic all the time, except when he was sleeping.”

“That…!?”

Eugen’s tone was tinged with fear.

“You, being someone with limited magical power yourself, understand, don’t you? Even though it’s the first magic one learns, using it constantly would quickly deplete one’s magical energy. At first, I thought he might have a lot of magical power because he’s a noble. But what Leonhart-sama has is beyond such a level. It could be described as inexhaustible magical power.”

“Inexhaustible…”

Eugen gazed at the sky with a wistful expression.

Eugen had struggled due to his limited magical power…

“By the way, Dominic,”

“What is it?”

“Leonhart, when he fought me, used magic to enhance his physical abilities.”

“Wha—!? Is that true!?”

I choked in shock. Did he really use magic to enhance his physical abilities!?

“That’s a magic only those who have mastered fire attributes can use!? Even I can’t use it!”

“Yeah, that’s why I was also surprised. I expected something, but not this…”

“So, that’s why you were defeated…”

“Yeah. And now, he’s mastering dual-wielding with terrifying speed. It’s truly frightening.”

“Indeed…”

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

Leonhart-sama, completely unaware of the conversation between the two old men, continued to swing his wooden sword with utmost seriousness…

　◇

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!”

I swung the wooden sword with single-minded focus. Of course, I was also checking if I was hitting the mark, making sure the blade was aligned properly, and stopping accurately.

Training, like anything else, yields different results for different people even if the same amount of time and repetitions are invested. 

There might be innate talent involved in the differences, but I’ve come to believe that the gap can be bridged by how conscious one is of their practice.

It all started with Eugen’s initially baffling training methods. Thanks to that, I began to think about the meaning behind practice and training. It’s a perspective I never had back when I was in Japan.

Now, I realize how I wasted my days back then. I was simply doing what I was told without considering the meaning or philosophy behind it.

Perhaps that’s what separates a genius from the rest.

I need to cherish this realization.

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