Love Letter From The Future

Chapter 320: Bread and Dagger (18)

the girl and i stood with our backs to the night.

the forest at midnight was quiet. it was not a place frequented by anyone, except for lovers meeting in secret. the only signs of life were hinted by the occasional whispered conversations.

but even those were scattered by the bird’s cries.

in the florest’s clearing, only silence remained.

it was the perfect setting to calm the mind and focus on the sword.

i relished the feel of the wooden sword i was holding for the first time in ages.

it felt cold and smooth.

i gave it a few test swings to feel its lightness. it was a sensation no metal sword could replicate.

how long had it been since i last felt free from that heavy weight?

i couldn’t recall.

in all the battles i’d fought until now, there had never been time for practice.

every fight was a real one.

there was no room for casually wielding a wooden sword.

for months, i had always had a sharp blade in my hand, claiming victories by shedding blood and flesh. through wielding a real sword, i had learned the weight of life.

that’s why it was especially pleasant to feel the lightness of the wooden sword after such a long time.

it had been a long time since i engaged in unburdened combat.

was my last sparring session during professor derek’s lecture right before the homecoming festival?

even that was the kind of training that demanded tension akin to that of a real battle, far more intense than the casual sparring sessions i had with seria for a change of pace.

faintly smiling , i adjusted my stance.

it was an easygoing posture.

in contrast, the girl standing across from me was visibly tense.

she took deep breaths, her chest rising and falling with each exhale. she was practising deep breathing.

it seemed as if she was trying to forcibly calm her nerves.

it was a sparring match purely to test our skills.

there was no need to be so anxious, yet seria was pouring more determination into this duel than necessary.

i couldn’t quite understand why.

i could only guess it had something to do with her sparring against the ‘me’ from the future.

not long ago, seria had challenged the future ‘me.’ and she, each time and without exception, suffered crushing defeats.

what broke then was probably beyond just her body.

after all, seria had grown up being called a genius of the sword.

as the illegitimate daughter of the yurdina family, she had endured all kinds of hardships and solely dedicated herself to the sword. to her, it was more than just a source of pride.

perhaps she wanted to seize this as an opportunity to prove her skills once again.

even just being able to fight me to a draw would be enough to achieve her goal, as it would allow her to refute the claims made by the ‘me’ from the future.

the blunt assessment that seria was no longer of any help.

so, even more, i sharpened my resolve.

it was a duel between swordsmen. if i approached it lightly, it would only leave seria’s pride irreversibly scarred.

and just as seria calmed herself and took her stance.

“...here i come.”

a grey whirlwind charged forward.

her blue eyes flashed through the dim darkness. it was a thrust so sharp, it was hard to believe it came from a wooden sword.

thud! our swords collided with full force and recoiled.

the sensation was heavy, as if metal clashed. in our hands, the wooden swords were no mere practice weapons.

a certainty that i could defeat her.

as she staggered back a couple of steps, my sword dropped to the lower left.

such a large movement naturally came with its own openings.

not wanting to miss this chance, seria once again charged at me.

that was her mistake.

the lowered sword that suddenly shot upwards.

only then did seria’s eyes widen. the dynamics of our initial exchange had been reversed.

no, there was a key difference.

even if she tried to evade, it was already too late.

splitting from the highest point, five streaks of silver light rained down..

seria raised her blade to block them, but there was no way to intercept each of the downpour-like sword slashes.

a cracking sound erupted.

it was the sound of the wooden sword shattering. unable to withstand my decisive blow, seria had to stagger back several steps.

then, she coughed up blood as she fell to her knees.

she must have somehow minimised the impact using her internal mana .

her mana oversaturated in the process, causing the wooden sword to crumble and a disarray of her blood vessels that led to her spitting blood.

the victor was clear.

huuu, i deeply exhaled, steadying my breath that had begun to grow ragged, and lowered my sword.

what came out next was a faintly worried remark.

“seria, are you all right?”

it was rather shameless of me to ask, considering i’d used even my aura to secure the victory.

but what else could i do? if seria was earnest, i had no choice but to face her with equal sincerity.

as i quietly tried to approach her, a pale hand stopped me.

seria patted her chest a few times, then took out a healing potion from inside her robe and gulped it down. only then did she show signs of calming down.

her complexion became slightly pale.

with a self-deprecating smile, seria staggered as she stood up.

“it’s my complete defeat, senior ian... i’m no match for you anymore.”

“i just got lucky.”

at my humility, the bitter smile on her lips deepened.

i remained silent until seria spoke again, offering not even the usual words of comfort.

accepting her defeat was seria’s burden alone.

i could only hope that, in the long run, this would help her grow. seria wasn’t a weak swordswoman who would so easily break down; she would surely overcome the pain and rise again.

as if in response to my hopes, seria let out a deep breath, as though she felt relieved.

a gentle curve formed at the corners of her eyes.

“you’re amazing, senior ian... how did you improve so much in such a short time?”

it felt as though my growth was finally being acknowledged.

and it was recognition from someone who, just a few months ago, had utterly defeated me when i couldn’t even put up proper resistance.

i couldn’t help but feel delighted.

before i knew it, i had surpassed seria.

to the point where i could claim victory with relative ease.