Raphael’s mansion training ground.
I stood facing a girl.
Her tied-back hair swayed slowly in the breeze.
Beneath her emerging horns, her emotionless eyes were exposed.
“…What did you say?”
“This is our mansion.”
You’re calling me the outsider?
Am I the outsider?
I hate otherworlders.
They were uncivilized, petty, and lacked any sense of morality.
Especially if they didn’t treat me kindly. There was no reason I should be nice to them.
So what if she was pretty?
If she’s rude, she needs a good smack to set her straight.
“Our.”
At that moment, Aransel opened her mouth again.
She was glaring at me with one eyebrow raised.
The word “our” must have rubbed her the wrong way.
Because Shishiroka wasn’t part of that “our” anymore.
And she probably couldn’t stand the idea of a transporter taking an otherworlder’s place.
What a fucking racist.
Sorry, but the thing I hate most in the world was racism.
Of course, second on that list was otherworlders.
“Fine.”
Aransel didn’t look at me again.
She clearly had no intention of dragging this conversation out.
“Do whatever you want.”
She drew her sword.
It looked like a high-quality blade. The edge gleamed dangerously.
She swung it effortlessly.
Each slash formed a clean, straight line.
Just from that, I could tell how much training she had poured into her swordsmanship.
She’s good.
I had my fair share of experience as a pioneer.
Even so, there weren’t many who could swing a sword as cleanly as she did.
When I glanced at her hands, I saw several traces of training.
Scars and calluses were visible. Too rough to be called a woman’s hands.
How long had it been since she lived here?
I didn’t know exactly, but I could feel that it had been longer than me.
Whatever the case, I sat down roughly in a secluded corner.
My top priority was to crack the seed.
So once again, I focused my mana to crack it.
The refined mana gathered around the seed.
Cracking the seed wasn’t a matter of breaking it with force.
To be precise, it was about slowly shaving it down.
The process involved gently scraping around the seed to complete its intact form without damaging the inside.
That was what mages referred to as cracking the seed.
Once a seed was cracked, it could never return to its original state.
If done incorrectly, mana could backfire and destroy the body.
That’s why cracking a seed could never be rushed.
It had to be done slowly and patiently, with great care.
Of course, for someone like me, whose seed was far thicker than most, it was honestly a nightmare.
At this rate, when would I finally get to see the inside of the seed by shaving away at it bit by bit?
Raphael had told me never to rush it, so I would listen. But that didn’t make it any less frustrating.
Once the process began, it would take hours, even on the low end.
It wasn’t easy to stop halfway either, so I focused for a long time on cracking the seed.
Before I knew it, the sun was beginning to set.
I took a breath and lifted my eyelids.
I had made a decent amount of progress today.
I figured I’d pick up where I left off tomorrow, and as I raised my head—
Whoosh!
I heard the sound of a sword slicing through the air.
When I shifted my gaze, there she was again. Aransel.
To be exact, it was Aransel swinging her sword just as I had seen her the first time.
The only difference now was that her breathing was rough and she was drenched in sweat.
What’s more, there weren’t any signs of large footsteps around her.
Had she really been standing in that same spot, swinging her sword this entire time?
When I checked the time, nearly four hours had already passed.
Sure, I’d been training too, but all I’d done was sit and concentrate.
Meanwhile, she had been swinging her sword the whole time.
Unbelievable.
At the same time, for some reason, a sense of competitiveness flared up in me.
I closed my eyes and refocused.
It wasn’t that I hated losing. But I didn’t feel like being the first to stop.
So I decided to concentrate harder.
Eyes shut, I returned to shaving down the seed once more.
Before I knew it, several more hours had passed.
She must be gone by now, I figured, and squinted my eyes open—
She was still there.
And she was sweating even more than before.
Judging by her trembling hands and legs, she was clearly at her physical limit.
But she didn’t stop.
She simply cast a brief glance in my direction, then went right back to her training.
The moment I saw that, I realized—
She was aware of me.
Just as I had been conscious of her, she too was paying attention to me, refusing to back down.
That fact alone irritated me.
Losing in sheer willpower to an uncivilized otherworlder?
That was absolutely unacceptable.
Especially not to a person racist against transporters.
I’d show her the tenacity and endurance of a transporter.
I clenched my eyes shut again.
Tonight, I would keep hammering at this seed until I dropped dead.
***
What even was time?
I’d trained long enough to start thinking stupid things like that.
The sun had long since set, and my empty stomach was screaming at me in protest.
In that state—
Aransel and I were still at the training ground.
And neither of us showed any intention of leaving first.
At this point, it felt like we wouldn’t leave until one of us collapsed.
My butt was itching from sitting so long.
Seriously, I couldn’t take it anymore.
But there was just no way I could lose to that racist. I physically couldn’t get up.
Damn it, just kill me already.
Ah, but even if I die, I’ll just come back to life.
When I cracked my eyes open, I could sense Aransel sneaking glances in my direction.
From the looks of it, she wanted to leave just as much as I did.
We were both desperate to get out of here.
But neither of us could make the first move.
Trapped in this awkward stalemate.
Tap—
Then came the sound of footsteps…. our salvation.
“What’s this? You two are still training?”
There stood Raphael, wrapped in a blanket.
She looked tired, probably from talking with So-woon until this late hour.
Both Aransel’s and my expressions changed instantly.
“It’s getting late. That’s enough for today. It’s getting cold too.”
And just like she said, the weather had turned freezing.
“Well, if Lady Raphael insists, then I suppose we have no choice.”
“……”
As I quietly lifted my butt off the ground, Aransel lowered her sword without a word.
Yet her big eyes were filled with fierce agreement.
As the two of us walked out of the training ground, Raphael glanced our way.
Then, she gave us a gentle smile.
“So, did spending all this time training together make you two a little closer?”
My eyes met Aransel’s.
The only thing reflected in our gazes was mutual discomfort.
But then Aransel flashed that warm, friendly smile she had shown when we first met.
“Of course! Right, Haru?”
Wow. Look at this girl.
Changing one’s expression like that wasn’t something just anyone could do.
It was unbelievable, but Raphael genuinely wanted me to get along with So-woon’s disciples.
“Of course, Aransel.”
When I casually played along with her words, Raphael beamed and gave me a pat on the shoulder.
“I swear, your social skills are something else. Make sure to train hard again tomorrow.”
“You’re not going to be watching us, Lady Raphael?”
“…Sorry, I’ve been busy lately. There are some things I need to handle separately with So-woon.”
She must be talking about the Grace Magic Tower.
And on top of that, the terrorist group known as Black Dawn seemed to be another major issue.
“I understand. Just don’t be disappointed later, saying you missed watching my growth because I got too strong.”
“I’d prefer you say that after actually getting a little stronger. You haven’t even broken your seed yet.”
“My seed’s just shy, that’s all. I bet it’s waiting to grow into a baobab tree.”
“I have no idea what kind of tree that is, but don’t keep your master waiting too long.”
With that, Raphael let out a yawn and started walking away.
Judging by the direction, she was heading to her office again.
She’s going to collapse at this rate.
Total workaholic.
When I turned my head, I met eyes with Aransel, who still hadn’t left.
She was staring at me with a strange expression.
Why is this racist woman glaring at me like that?
I stared right back, not even thinking of looking away—
And she was the one who averted her gaze first.
Then, without a word, she turned and walked off.
Seriously, what is her deal?
***
The next day, I was having lunch with someone.
Sitting across from me was an Outer-Horn member with black hair tied back and inner strands of white—
The transporter racist, Aransel.
How did things end up like this?
The answer was simple.
Aransel and I had strangely overlapping routines.
I did light physical training in the morning, studied until noon, ate lunch, and then trained again.
Aransel also did light physical training in the morning, then studied swordsmanship texts, ate lunch, and trained afterward.
Yeah, our routines were almost identical.
Because of that, I kept running into Aransel wherever I went.
At first, I tried to avoid her, but there were only so many places to study and train.
In the end, it was inevitable that our paths would cross.
Aransel and I sat and ate without saying a word.
Raphael seemed to believe we had become friends.
There were a lot of eyes in the mansion.
If we sat far apart in the dining hall, it obviously wouldn’t look like we were close.
That kind of news would reach Raphael in no time.
Aransel wanted to look good in front of her superiors.
And I didn’t want Raphael to worry.
So Aransel and I, silently aware of the situation, sat facing each other as we ate.
“Oh, eating together, are we?”
Right then, Sohan showed up.
He always woke up around this time.
Clearly, he wasn’t a morning person.
Then I noticed a faint mark near his collar, like a mosquito bite.
I knew exactly what that mark was.
My older brother often had that same mark whenever he stayed out overnight.
This guy had overslept because he was with a woman.
So much for his so-called strong will—
Sohan wasn’t overcoming anything with mental strength.
He was just charming women into liking him and taking care of it that way.
I took back any respect I’d briefly had for his discipline.
Sohan looked back and forth between me and Aransel, then grinned.
“Looks like you two are getting along, huh?”
“No.”
Right then, Aransel set down her utensils and stood up.
“Not at all.”
She shot me a quick glare and walked off.
“Man, she’s so sexy.”
He’s clearly blind.
He probably liked any woman as long as she was pretty.
“Aransel’s kind of sharp-tongued, huh?”
“It’s fine. She doesn’t like Transporters.”
“Yeah, but from a Transporter’s perspective, that feels like discrimination. I’ll apologize on her behalf.”
He scratched his neck, looking a little apologetic.
He was clearly a womanizer, but his personality was decent.
Or maybe that’s exactly why women keep falling for him.
“It’s fine, Sohan. Like you said, we won’t have to worry about each other.”
“That would be nice, but something’s come up.”
“Something?”
“Ever heard of the Sanctuary of Stars?”
At some point, the food had been brought out, and Sohan gave a small flick of his finger.
In that instant, the utensils began floating in midair, circling in his hand.
I stared in surprise, and he let out a short laugh.
“My ability is to freely control blades. It’s a form of telekinesis.”
What the….That’s insanely cool.
“This ability is how I ended up as a disciple under the Sword Lord. And probably the reason Aransel doesn’t think too highly of me.”
“You’re saying she dislikes you because of your ability?”
“Aransel has no talent for the sword.”
Sohan said firmly.
“So all she has to rely on is hard work. And that hard work is fueled by vengeance.”
In contrast, Sohan clearly had an ability that was actually useful.
I’d only seen him train once at the practice yard.
But that one time had been enough to show me. He was the very definition of a sword prodigy.
If you had to name a genius, it would be Sohan. His swordsmanship was simply overwhelming.
There was a clear gap between him and Aransel in skill.
Sohan, who had never handled a sword in his life, was better than Aransel who had spent her whole life with one.
You didn’t need to think too hard to imagine how that must’ve made Aransel feel.
“That’s why I don’t go to the training grounds often.”
Aransel practically lives at the training grounds.
There’s no point showing off your skills beside her. It would only make her resent you more.
Even so, Sohan’s swordsmanship kept improving.
To the point where Aransel couldn’t hope to close the gap.
Now I understood why she got along with Shishiroka.
Shishiroka too had fought desperately just to survive.
And, like Aransel, she couldn’t escape the limits of her talent.
I didn’t know exactly what Aransel’s revenge was about.
Only that it seemed to be vaguely connected to the Transporters.
“Yeah.”
And once again, I didn’t really care.
“Oh, right.”
As if something had just occurred to him, Sohan lifted his head.
“Earlier, Lady Raphael said to bring you to her if I saw you.”
A call from Raphael.
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