Bloomed to Wither

Chapter 2

—–CROW—–

Xenon slowly turned his gaze away from Kata, who was powerfully kicking off the ground.

‘She’s pushing her speed too hard from the beginning.’

It was obvious she’d run out of stamina quickly at that rate.

Of course, whether Kata cried and begged Soram or not was none of his business.

Xenon resumed his training in the corner of the training grounds.

And exactly half an hour later.

Xenon Corer irritably slammed his longsword into the ground. He couldn’t concentrate on his training at all.

It was because of Kata, who was cheerfully trotting around the training grounds.

Her movements were so buoyant that she seemed to be running through a blossoming flower field, alone in the bleak training grounds.

However, it wasn’t just her somewhat foolish appearance that bothered him.

‘Her stamina is excessively good.’

Soram, who had been leisurely observing the training grounds, had also straightened his posture and was frowning.

She had already run well over fifty laps, yet she wasn’t slowing down.  It was something impossible without consistently honed stamina.

Dawn was breaking in the distance.

Under the reddish sky, every time Kata pushed off the ground, her light brown hair scattered and gathered, catching the backlight.

“Sir Soram!”

At some point, Kata had stopped in front of Soram, panting.

“The training you instructed, huff, is complete!”

“…….”

“Thank you for the valuable lesson!”

“….Hmm.”

Soram looked like he wanted to protest something, but seeing Kata’s shining face and sparkling eyes, and Xenon standing in the distance, he pressed his lips together.

“It seems you… somehow… endured this training.  Come again tomorrow at this time…”

“Yes!”

“You are… dismissed.”

Instead of returning to her dormitory building, Kata turned and walked towards Xenon.

Xenon was a little bewildered.

Her feet, neatly clad in leather greaves, stopped in front of him.

“You were training really hard.  Is that why you’re top of the class?”

“…….”

“Let’s work hard together from now on!”

Kata smiled and extended her hand.

He stared at her hand, densely covered with calluses.

Unwavering goodwill. A smile.

Catarina Donovan possessed this peculiar resilience, the ability to bounce back like a ball even after being hurt.

Xenon’s bright blue eyes darkened.

As he wordlessly turned away, Kata quickly withdrew her hand and laughed awkwardly, “Ri-, right. Cleaning up is more important than shaking hands.”

“…….”

“See you later!”

Watching her quickly disappearing back, he scraped the ground with the tip of his sword.  *Scrape*.  A long-standing irritation welled up.

***

In the dormitory bathroom, a basin on the shelf was half-filled with water.

Kata, leaning on the shelf, stared down at the basin for a few seconds before abruptly plunging her face into it.

One, two, three….

She closed her eyes and started counting.  And how much time passed?

“Hey!”

Someone grabbed Kata by the hair and yanked her up.  It was a careless action, rough enough to make her neck creak.

The basin tipped over, spilling water.  Kata coughed and raised her head.

“What are you doing?”

Her roommate, Luna, was frowning deeply. Fatigue filled her face, her honey-colored hair disheveled.

“There really is an idiot trying to die by face-planting in a basin of water.”

“It’s a habit. To clear my head…”

“Oh, really?  Sticking your face in a basin and holding your breath?  Just go for a swim.”

Kata roughly wiped her face with the towel hanging on the rack.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“…….”

Luna’s gaze sharpened.

Turning coldly, she rummaged through her belongings and suddenly pulled out a cigarette and put it in her mouth.

A cigarette? Kata blinked.

“In principle, cigarettes are prohibited for trainee knights.  There was a baggage inspection, wasn’t there?”

“There’s a way to bring anything in. This is also a habit of mine. It clears my head.”

Kata frowned at her sarcastic tone.

“Don’t do that.”

“Why, are you going to tell on me?”

That was the moment Luna defiantly lit the cigarette.  In a flash, Kata snatched the cigarette away.

“You…”

Luna froze, seemingly startled.  It was too fast for her to react.

Kata turned away and was in the middle of disposing of the confiscated item.

“…Hey, did you go to the dawn training?”

Kata replied without turning around, “Yeah.”

“Did he tell you to come tomorrow too?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, I’m screwed.”

Turning her head to meet Kata’s eyes, Luna shrugged.

“Don’t you get it?  No matter what the seniors do to you, the higher-ups won’t care. They like seeing the rookies on edge.”

“…….”

“Well, who told you to hold your head up high throughout the initiation ceremony?”

Luna chuckled.  A mocking smile, unbefitting her delicate features, deepened.

“If you go out tomorrow morning, just cry and apologize.  Grovel, even. Who knows?  Maybe the seniors will soften up a bit if they see you crawling.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Luna’s face twisted a beat later.

She watched Kata neatly organize her bedding, then grumbled and crawled into her own bed.

***

“Thanks be to the Lord God Semasiar!”

After the prayer, the trainee knights began to tear into their dense bread.

Luna glanced at Kata, who was aggressively spooning meat stew into her mouth.

Despite having undergone separate ‘training’ in the early morning, she had managed the morning schedule without any apparent difficulty.

‘She must be enduring it out of sheer stubbornness.’

Why is she so diligent? Luna suddenly felt tired.

Fat from the meat shimmered in the spoonful of broth she lifted.  As she stared at the fat floating on the spoon, the boisterous noise filling the dining hall seemed to gradually fade away.

“Hello, Catarina Donovan. How was the training?”

At that moment, an unpleasant voice struck her ears.

Luna’s mouth slowly opened as she looked up.

He was a man with bright platinum blonde hair and an even brighter appearance.

He had a boyish impression, but the scar that slanted across his lips and his eyes, the color of ripe gooseberries, gave him a strangely sinister air.

Perinem Alcazar.

The seventh son of Ricardo III, Emperor of the Alcazar Empire.

The 7th Prince’s entry into the Knights Order had been a big topic of conversation in the Empire for a while.

She had heard that his swordsmanship was excellent, but his performance in the first training session wasn’t as impressive as she had expected.

He was especially compared to his cousin, Simon, the top knight.

Nevertheless, during the initiation ceremony, none of the seniors dared to touch Perinem. Even though the basic principle of the Arcane Knights Order was to respect rank over social status.

Meanwhile, despite Perinem’s condescending tone, Kata hurriedly swallowed the food in her mouth and showed the courtesy of replying.

“Hello! What’s your name?”

“Cough!”

Luna almost bit her tongue.

Kata turned and pushed a glass of water towards her.

“Eat slowly. You’ll choke.”

—–CROW—–

#READ at DarkstarTranslations