Love Letter From The Future

The swordsmanship training ground, covered in plush grass, was already filled with over a hundred students. The sounds of their chatter mixed in groups spread into a buzz.

It was the kind of vitality characteristic of the Academy, symbolizing the youth of the continent. However, as soon as I took a step forward, that buzzing sound began to quiet down almost instantly.

It felt as if a high-ranking noble had come to visit a rural village. It wasn’t something merely a baron’s second son would enjoy. The chilly silence settled around me, merely at the hint of my presence.

The sight of so many eyes, numbering in the triple digits, focusing on me was quite a significant mental burden. I felt as though I could vomit the soup I had for breakfast.

Of course, the cause of this cold silence wasn’t solely because of me.

Already, I could sense gazes directed at me, filled with hostility, from somewhere in the crowd.

I cast a glance toward the source of those wary eyes. It was as I expected.

The glossy gray hair that seemed to reflect only the most beautiful shades of black and white caught my eye. It flowed down to her waist. While it might hinder a swordsman, it only amplified her beauty as a woman.

Her deep blue eyes, reminiscent of aquamarine, and her flawlessly clear skin. The uniform of the Swordsmanship Department, designed to emphasize agility, clung snugly to her body, revealing curves that still showed traces of youth.

She was a lovely woman. Whenever I caught sight of those jewel-like blue eyes, I often found myself thinking that she wasn’t entirely human; rather, she seemed like a finely crafted glasswork made by a master artisan.

Though she wasn’t born with the golden hair and red eyes characteristic of the Yuridina Clan, she possessed a beauty akin to the moon. Just turned from a girl into a woman, she enchanted many men, exuding a sweet fragrance like flowers.

The endings of those enchanted men were generally miserable, however.

I recalled several friends who had once courted Seraia Yuridina. Each time they were thoroughly dismissed by her, I almost swallowed my tears as I silently met her gaze, reminiscing about those old memories.

Her eyes were frigid. In contrast, my gaze towards her was only filled with confusion.

This was bad. Those eyes were filled with a determination clear to anyone watching. The will to reclaim her shattered pride.

Listening to Reto, I had seriously contemplated skipping class, but in the end, I couldn’t do it.

I barely maintained a position in the middle-low ranks as it was. I had to be concerned about attendance in swordsmanship lectures, which greatly affected my grades in the Swordsmanship Department.

Yet, no matter how rational the decision I made was, I couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret. The eyes of Seraia I faced now were imbued with a chilling hostility.

I had heard that I had left her half-dead last week, but right now, I didn’t feel like I could possibly win against her.

It was unreasonable for me, merely a middle-low tier student, to win over her, who was vying for the top spot even as a junior by a year. Especially after leaving her half-dead without allowing even a single effective hit?

It was absurd. The reverse seemed more plausible.

However, whether I sweated in anxiety or not, the students gathered to attend the lecture were watching us with a mixture of tension and interest.

They were aware of last week’s events, which I didn’t even remember. They must have been curious about how Seraia’s revenge battle would play out today.

Even if I got defeated by Seraia, it would still be entertaining; and if she were to get defeated again, those who would mockingly laugh at her would be numerous. All occurrences need to deviate slightly from their center to be most interesting to watch.

But the scene they expected didn’t unfold immediately. Seraia, who had been locking eyes with me for a while, suddenly lowered her gaze.

It seemed I had frightened her more than I thought. That disrespectful junior actually turned away first.

Having avoided immediate conflict, I let out a secret sigh of relief when someone nudged me on the shoulder with an elbow. It was a greeting shared by the men from the Southern Kingdoms.

And it indicated recognition of me as a fellow man from the Southern Kingdoms. I lifted my gaze slightly. There stood a muscular man with bronze skin.

He struck a somewhat dubious figure with his golden hair included. Indeed, he was famously known as a troublemaker at the Academy.

Tean, from the Count Aitri’s clan of the Southern Kingdoms. He stood before me, smirking and leading a group of his gang.

“Wow, look who it is! The hero of last week!”

“That last duel was impressive, so… Ian?”

Tean, acting like the local bully, showered me with praise, and some of his subordinates added a few words. Most of their reactions were favorable towards me.

I had heard that these guys were partially behind Seraia’s quiet isolation.

They were actually terrified of Yuridina Clan’s retaliation, yet sneakily tripping me or whispering insults behind my back.

What pathetic bastards. I let out another heavy sigh, and Tean, regardless, approached me with a rooster-like grin and slung an arm over my shoulder.

“It’s funny that the disrespectful girl is the first to look away… Truly, nothing teaches the upper and lower class relationship better than a clubbing. Don’t you think?”

“I think any club would similarly be effective,” I retorted with a mischievous tone.

Chuckles followed his comments.

At that moment, my hand smacked Tean’s arm away. He looked a bit flustered.

After all, he was trying to act friendly; this sudden move must have embarrassed him. I wasn’t someone imposing enough to make enemies, so I added a word to save face.

“It seems I might have a match later, so I should probably start warming up.”

Tean, who had been perplexed, soon flashed a sly grin. He nudged my shoulder once more with his elbow.

“…I’ll be looking forward to it. You better shatter her.”

If I don’t get shattered by her, that is.

However, Tean and his gang seemed convinced that I would once again shatter Seraia. Most of them, while filled with doubt, would eagerly await that scene.

People tend to yearn for stars in the sky, yet once they fall to the ground, they are eager to destroy them, as that is human nature.

And the expectations thrust upon me, who was tasked with bringing down that ‘star’, were a double-edged sword. If I failed, some of the derision meant for the fallen star would undoubtedly be directed at me.

How ludicrous this had become. I was faced with such a tricky situation over something I couldn’t even remember.

As I was trying to calm my throbbing head by pressing on my temples, a familiar figure caught my eye.

Dark hair, like ebony, was neatly tied, flowing down her back. She was a girl with a strikingly impressionable white neck that shone through when she swung her sword, twirling her hair.

Was it proper to even call her a girl? Legally, she was an adult.

The moment I spotted her, I moved my feet without hesitation. As she paused to catch her breath while swinging her sword, I poked her neck with my finger.

“Hiya!”

The girl, who had been wielding her sword, jumped in surprise with a peculiar sound. Her bewildered gaze turned towards me.

Her golden-brown eyes were truly impressive. Her dainty features and balanced form were lovely, to say the least.

Honestly, she was very pretty. For me, she still felt no more than a younger sister.

She was a first-year junior from the Swordsmanship Department, another childhood friend who had grown up alongside Reto.

Celine Haster. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her surprised expression.

“Hey there, Celine.”

However, unlike my cheerful greeting, Celine frowned the moment she saw me. Then, wrapping her arm around my neck, she pulled me down towards her waist.

In an instant, our heads met, forming a small secret meeting space. Celine whispered as if scolding me.

“Are you insane?! Why are you causing a scene like this? I was trying to pretend I didn’t know you…!”

“Why should I act like that between us? Haven’t we had over ten years of friendship? Just tossing it aside like some rag?”

At my calm response, Celine pounded her chest in frustration. However, the rising jut of her chest softened the impact, so it didn’t create a dramatic sound like with Reto.

Celine and Reto were cousins. They had spent so much time together since childhood that they were as close as siblings, so their reactions also mirrored each other when frustrated.

“Who told you to touch a Yuridina? No matter how junior she is, a Yuridina is a Yuridina… Don’t you know they gave her a title just based on her talent? That means they’re ready to accept her as a member of the clan! Knowing that, the Haster clan’s Celine, who governs a tiny rural territory, is already over the moon just thinking about it, you know?”

“That’s why I mustn’t act like I don’t know her.”

In response to Celine’s long-winded explanation, I shot back with straightforward words. A brazen expression was plastered on my face.

“A promise was made to die together, right? I can’t fall into the abyss alone.”

“Get lost.”

She pushed me away, trying to escape, but my arm was already firmly wrapped around her neck. I pulled her back tightly to prevent her from leaving.

“Just don’t tell me you really plan to act like you don’t know me?”

“I’m planning to! If I get involved with you, I might have to deal with Tean and that gang of troublemakers…! You know how much I hate those kinds of jerks, right?”

Celine’s resistance was far stronger than I expected. I clicked my tongue disapprovingly and tightened my grip around her neck further.

Our breaths collided closely. Even after swinging the sword, there was a sweet scent emanating from Celine. How could she always smell so good?

It was a mystery, but I deliberately kept that question to myself. As Celine drew closer, she slightly blushed and struggled.

“W-What are you doing… Everyone’s watching…!”

“Well, would it be okay if no one was watching?”

Bam! Celine’s still-free hand struck my abdomen. I gasped and coughed in pain.

“…You’re going to kill me?”

At her cold tone, I decided to cut to the chase. If I continued to provoke her, I would probably have to battle Celine before I could even face Seraia.

Celine’s skills were on par with mine, but she had significantly more magical power and strength. She lacked familiarity with controlling that magic, but regardless, she was not someone I could afford to take lightly.

“Anyway, tell me how I did against Seraia during our last duel.”

“…?”

Celine gazed at me with a puzzled expression. And rightfully so.

Isn’t the party involved in the fight supposed to know best? Unfortunately, I had no recollection of the fight.

That made me even more frustrated. If only I knew how I fought, I could at least devise a strategy, but now, I was faced with Seraia Yuridina without any knowledge.

That girl, who had supposedly been decapitating monsters like apples in a fruit orchard since her mid-teens. Facing her without a minimum level of preparation was akin to a suicide mission.

But then again, avoiding today’s fight likely wouldn’t make her give up. I was left with only two options.

One—get smashed by Seraia and become the laughingstock of everyone.

Two—somehow show that I wouldn’t be pushed around by Seraia and wait for her curiosity to dwindle.

Clearly, the second option was far more enticing than the first. If I could pull it off.

To Celine, who continued to look at me as if requesting an explanation, I quietly laid out my circumstances.

“Um, the thing is… I don’t remember anything from the past week.”

“Ian, are you perhaps an idiot?”

I let out a threatening sound at her sharp remark, but the look of disdain in Celine’s eyes didn’t disappear.

In the end, I had no choice but to sigh and accept her words.

“Yeah, I’m an idiot. So come on, just tell me, okay? How the heck did I defeat Seraia Yuridina?”

“There’s not much I can say about that…”

Now it was Celine’s turn to look perplexed. Asking ‘how did you win’ limits the answers she could provide.

She must have seen me overwhelming Seraia throughout the fight, and how to replicate those movements would depend entirely on me.

However, Celine soon let out a sigh and opened her mouth in a voice that held no confidence. She seemed to be determined to try her best nonetheless.

“I’ll share what I saw. I was one of those who witnessed it directly… So don’t blame me for not being helpful, okay?”

“Of course not! Just tell me freely.”

Hesitating at my confident voice, she began to recount the scenes she had witnessed that day.

Her voice carried an air of disbelief, as if she still couldn’t quite grasp what happened.

Seraia closed her eyes and opened them again. The scenery rose like foam. The beginning and end of meditation had always been this way.

She gathered her heart. Calmness must always be maintained like a sharp blade.

It was one of the few teachings left by her father, who had driven away her mother for being too good at wielding her skills.

With her meditation concluding, her deep blue eyes focused on someone. The man who had delivered her humiliating defeat not long ago.

She hadn’t even been able to use her hands properly. The only thought echoing in her mind was why.

Yet the result was painfully clear. There she was, rolling on the ground, gasping for breath, unable to hold herself together, and there he was, appearing completely calm, talking and laughing with an unnamed woman next to him.

Unlike her, he seemed to be overflowing with leisure.

As she stared at him for a moment, she soon lowered her gaze, trembling. She recalled the match from the week prior that she had replayed in her mind countless times.

Yes, it was that day. If she couldn’t overcome that battle, she could no longer advance.

That was what drove her to desperation. The memories of that day swept through her mind like a wave.

The man from that day appeared weary, as if burdened by something.

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