Superstition has a way of enchanting people.
Most dismiss it as utter nonsense at first, but when a voice as smooth as silk, an air of mystery, and a hint of convincing foresight come together, even the most skeptical can find themselves unwittingly drawn in.
It’s laughable, really. The idea that something as tangled and complex as human fate could be unraveled by mere fortune-telling. Yet, the promise of glimpsing the future or changing one’s destiny is enough to cloud anyone’s judgment.
“Welcome, young lady. The fact that you’ve come here must mean I was right.”
Luna frowned slightly at the old woman’s confident statement.
She normally didn’t believe in superstitions, but for some reason, the woman’s cryptic words struck a nerve today, leaving her with an inexplicable sense of unease.
The thought that some street fortune-teller might have seen through her bad mood caused by the growing number of girls flocking around Mars left a bitter aftertaste.
“Kuku. No need to glare at me like that. I’m just an ordinary fortune-teller. I merely share what I see and hear.”
“Why did you call out to me?”
“Could it be… you’re worried because the one you love hasn’t been paying you much attention lately?”
At the old woman’s firm question, Luna found herself thinking about Mars’s recent behavior.
Back when they lived together in the mansion, they’d inevitably see each other all the time. But with half a year of distance between them, emotional distance likely followed too. And the girls around him now? They were all stunningly beautiful.
If the day ever came when he realized what love truly was…
Just imagining it. How her cold and prideful demeanor, born from embarrassment and the desire to be noticed, might have driven away his interest….made her gulp involuntarily.
“So what? Whether you’re right or not, what does that have to do with you?”
“Well now… it seems like there’s already a little worm inside your heart, doesn’t it? A worm called anxiety.”
“You…”
“That tiny worm may seem harmless at first, but it’s a terrifying creature that eats away at the human heart. Once it starts gnawing, it grows without end…and its appetite only gets bigger.”
Human anxiety was never just one thing.
One worry leads to another, spawning endless possibilities. And even unrealistic fears can give birth to a dreadful paranoia that refuses to be dismissed as mere delusion.
Especially for Luna who was already troubled over matters of love, such anxieties were all the more likely to take root.
Though her appearance rivaled that of the other girls, in terms of status and wealth, Luna couldn’t help but feel she fell short in comparison.
“Young lady, do you see this necklace? It was made by a witch who fell in love with a human. It’s a charm said to increase the attention of the one you love. I can give it to you at a very special price~”
“……”
Luna, who was usually the model of restraint and never indulged in anything beyond her plans, especially not luxuries…
By the time she came to her senses, the necklace the old woman handed her was already in her grasp.
A simple design with a red ruby embedded in the center.
For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw a sly, sinister smile flicker within the gleaming gem.
***
“All right, aim for a deep strike there. Just brute strength isn’t everything. Each attack needs to land with precision.”
“You’re not that strong physically, but you’ve got good reflexes and flexibility. Instead of charging in head-on, you’d be better off using your opponent’s attacks against them. It takes less effort and opens up more chances for counters.”
“You’re too straightforward. It’s great that you’re applying the swordsmanship taught by your family, but if you cling to that alone, you’ll hit a ceiling. Sometimes you need to be relentless. Even to the point of being called underhanded.”
Right now, I was serving as a teaching assistant for the swordsmanship class, giving direction to the students through sparring sessions.
Perhaps because of my status as an Aura Lord, the students looked exhausted from the sparring, but their expressions remained bright. This was likely because they were learning something valuable.
While I had received my foundational swordsmanship training from my father and Count Helios, I had since developed my own unique style. To me, the level of these students’ swordplay still seemed quite unpolished.
Whenever I pointed out visible issues or offered solutions, most of the students seemed to have gained some insight and thanked me before leaving.
“The next and final match… Pollo Helios. Step forward.”
At the professor’s call, my longtime friend walked up to the stage for the last bout of the day.
Damn. He looks good.
If anyone were to be the protagonist of this world, it’d be him. He was standing tall with his sword, and he radiated an aura completely different from mine.
He had the air of the greatest martial artist in a historical drama or a wuxia novel.
“Mars…”
Pollo didn’t charge at me right away. Instead, he spoke in a quiet voice.
“Mars… are you going to fight? Against them…?”
Though I was a little slow to understand his seemingly out-of-context words, Pollo was probably asking me if I planned to fight the people from the Heavenly God Church.
It felt a bit odd for him to ask something like that in this situation, but I had no reason to hide anything, so I simply told him how I truly felt.
“Yeah. I will.”
To be honest, I don’t really know what’s going on.
I couldn’t even begin to understand how I suddenly got dragged into some cheap dating sim I only tried for fun. And now, people calling themselves the Heavenly God Church were showing up, trying to disrupt my peaceful life. It was all absurd.
In this life, I just wanted to date someone, get married, have kids, and live an ordinary life. But now I keep seeing all these trashy people popping up, trying to twist the world however they like, and it’s seriously getting on my nerves.
It wasn’t like I had some grand sense of duty or a heroic resolve to save the world just because I had power. But at the very least, I wanted to live while protecting the things that were precious to me, the things within my own fence.
“…I see.”
Pollo’s expression changed slightly at my answer.
Regret? Resignation?
Something I wouldn’t have noticed in the Pollo I used to know briefly surfaced, only to quickly sink back down.
“You’re always so sure of yourself, Mars… always… unlike me.”
Beeep—!
Just as our conversation reached a pause, the professor signaled the start of the duel with perfect timing.
Tap—!
Whoosh—!
Pollo made the first move with a horizontal slash.
Clang!
It was a solid, heavy strike aimed at the side of my head. I quickly raised my sword to block it and found myself a little surprised at how different his technique felt from what I remembered.
“That’s heavy.”
“I’ve been training.”
I deflected the force of his pressing sword and immediately kicked toward Pollo’s exposed abdomen.
“Kh!”
But the heavy sensation that traveled up my foot told me he had managed to protect himself with aura in that brief moment. I couldn’t help but be impressed. He must’ve listened closely to the advice I gave him back at the Count’s territory.
“Your reflexes pass. Next is dynamic vision.”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Seven slashes flew toward Pollo at once.
It was a signature technique, where the speed of my hands created the illusion that a single person was wielding seven swords at the same time.
Only one of these is a real strike. Let’s see if he can tell which one it is.
Clang!
Pollo’s eyes darted rapidly and then locked onto the sword aiming at his lower right. He intercepted it mid-flight, and with a sharp, clear sound of impact, he blocked my real attack.
“Impressive. You caught that too?”
“Well, after getting hit by it dozens of times, it’d be weird if I didn’t.”
Considering he must have seen me use that move countless times while we trained together, it wasn’t surprising he saw through it.
Clang! Clang clang—! Claaang!
And so, Pollo and I continued exchanging sword strikes for what felt like dozens of minutes.
“Huff… Huff…”
“Is that it?”
“No… One last time. Just once more…”
Clack—!
Pollo assumed a stance.
It was a familiar one. The preparatory posture for Count Helios’s transcendent technique, “Mountain Splitter”.
Faced with that overwhelming presence, I instinctively raised my sword to block—
Boom—!
……Crash!!
“Ah…”
“!”
Pollo’s final technique ultimately ended in disappointment, as his sword couldn’t withstand the impact and was destroyed.
It seemed he had poured every ounce of strength into that strike because the moment his sword shattered, his energy gave out too, and he collapsed onto the ground.
I walked over to help him up.
Leaning against my shoulder, Pollo gasped for breath before murmuring something with a weary expression.
“Mars, you’re amazing. You’ve always been strong….then and now. I’ve never been able to catch up to you. I guess… I was never really worthy.”
“What?”
“I’m… weak. I can’t even reach the heels of my father who is an Aura Lord. I’m no help to you, Mars, and I’m so dull I can’t even match half your skill… Someone like me… do I really deserve to stand by your side?”
“Yeah. Of course you do.”
“…Huh?”
Pollo looked at me with wide eyes, but honestly, I was the one who couldn’t understand what he was saying.
“Who are you to decide whether you belong by my side or not? As long as you see me as a friend, I’ll be right there next to you.”
It seemed like Pollo had been struggling with a deep sense of inadequacy while comparing his strength to mine and wondering if he even had the right to call himself my friend.
Sure, I was strong. But Pollo was a genius too; he was nearly at Master level at his age. Even if he’d had no talent at all, I still would’ve seen him as a friend.
“Mars… would you stay my friend… no matter what kind of person I am?”
“Duh. Obviously, you idiot.”
“…I see.”
Pollo’s face unknowingly looked just a little more at ease.
Seeing the subtle but positive change in Pollo, I gave him a small smile.
***
Meanwhile, in Saintess Hestia’s room—
“Luna? You’re a little late, aren’t you?”
“Ah~ I saw a cat on the way here. I stopped to play with it for a bit, and time just flew by!”
Luna spoke with a carefree smile, and with that lighthearted mention of a cat, all the worries Hestia had been harboring about her lateness melted away.
“Oh, a cat! Aren’t they just the cutest~? Come to think of it, the first time I met Brother Mas at the academy was thanks to a cat too!”
Reminded of a funny story by the mention of a cat, the saintess began chatting away cheerfully to Luna.
Now living together, the two had quickly grown close. They were around the same age, and thanks to Luna’s thoughtful care and kindness, Hestia had opened up in no time.
“I see…”
But even the saintess couldn’t have noticed—
As she turned away, Luna’s eyes briefly gleamed with a ruby-red light, like a gemstone, as she prepared the evening meal.
Leave a Reply