Chapter 37: Sword Art Training Completion

In the Styllacus Kingdom, the number of names corresponded to one's social status. One name for a commoner, two names for commoners who had become knights or soldiers of the kingdom, three names for the nobility, and four for royalties. Chief Bacchus Feldor was a former knight. Based on what I'd read from one of the books lent to me, one of the privileges vested upon knights and former knights was the authority to teach aspiring soldiers and grant them a certification of completion for sword arts.

Oh, so those scrolls were for us, I guess?

This was enacted by a royal decree a few years ago, which had still taken effect even until now.

"Please receive this scroll. This would certify your completion." He extended five scrolls to us, "also, for the top two best of you five, I'm gonna bestow these."

He showed two beautiful green-sheathed long swords that shone brightly even in the slightly dim evacuation site.

"A-Amazing!" Ferm's eyes sparkled like gems. "Are they the same?"

"No. They differ on their blade's color. The other one's blade is shiny black, while the other is gold. Though they are of the same quality."

He unsheathed each one for us to see, and indeed it was magnificent. You could see that this was of high quality.

"The black one's so cool. So unfortunate. It's surely be given to Cimmerian or Vaissien, the top 2 students of Master." Ferm pouted his lips in frustration.

"Okay, I shall reward the platinum-bladed to Vaissien." Chief extended the sword to me.

"Thank you very much! I shall take care of this well." Once it was already in my hands, I looked closer at the blade. I was right. It was indeed like no other.

Oh. It's sharp as hell. Rayha and Waldo also looked at it with excitement.

"Okay, the next one goes to Ferm." He gave it to him. "You want this, right? You deserve this."

"W-Wait, I was just kidding, you know? This would suit perfectly on Cimmy, not me." He showed a charade of a smile, as he pushed the offered sword back to the Chief. "I only accept those what I truly deserve."

"What are you talking about, Ferm? I have my own sword. That's yours." Brother, who was somewhere else, joined us. "Also, I'm not a student of Chief Feldor, so I possibly wouldn't deserve that, as well."

"I-I-Is that so?" The idiotic Ferm scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "Cimmy, thank you!"

"Don't be overly emotional, okay? Our path as sword artists has just started."

"Okay, Cimmerian's already here. Let's get started." Chief Feldor sat down and signalled brother. "Can you do it for me?"

"Yes." Brother sat down beside him. "Now, let's get started. Have all of you here read about the books I lent to Vaissien?" He asked

"Sorry, we haven't read any of them," Rayha smiled as she honestly told the truth. "Anyway, is it okay if you tell us about it?"

"I think Mr. Waldo already knows some details. Anywise, I'll explain all the important highlights of each book."

"While explaining, I know all of you are hungry, so you can eat while listening. It'd speed up the job, no? What do you think, Cimmerian?"

"I'm fine with it."

So all of us, except brother, sated our hunger. The discussion began from the fundamental laws of the kingdom, to the rules of mercenary, adventurer guild, and then about magic. He talked about how to learn magic and everything.

Astral Covenant, huh? This was the first time I heard of it. That's on March 15 a few months from now on the royal capital.

The discussion took an hour. Waldo was deeply pondering on things. Ferm was somehow gazing at brother. The two girls were silently talking about their plans. Brother, on the other hand, now ate his share after a long discussion. One of the things he hated the most was talking while eating, so he let the discussion end first.

"Everyone, what's your plan? Cimmerian had already made a decision. He'll be going." Chief Feldor said.

"Wait, are you going, Cimmerian?" Ferm, who was a tad surprised, asked loudly. "If that's the case, I'll go with you."

"C-Cimmerian is surely a good fit, but I'm not sure if I'm capable of impressing the spirits." Elaine said frustratingly.

"S-Same here." Rayha added.

"Is it final, brother?" I was worried, "you promised to never leave Big Sis Belle, right?"

He hadn't broken any of his promises to me and Belle so far. That'd only mean—.

"Calm down brother." He replied late, as he carefully chewed the meat in his mouth. "I'd already planned what to do with Big Sis Belle. And if push comes to shove, maybe I'll just bring her along to the capital."

"I-Is that so?" Actually, after hearing every single detail, I'd gotten quite interested in this ritual. Everyone here wanted to learn magic, but the only thing drawing them back was their anxiety and no other. The anxiety that if they'd join the ritual, they might not be accepted and all the cost would not give a fair return. After all, going to the capital would mean crazy high expenses. This was one of my only fears as well. The other one was the familial aspect.

"Anyway, continue your self-training to avoid rusting all of your skills, okay? Learning is a tough process, absolute mastery takes time." Chief Feldor stood up. "You still have time to decide. As for the moment, you must enjoy your day of completion on the art."

""Yes."""

The merriment went until midnight. When we were about to go back, brother said he wanted to go somewhere, so I left him on his own. I directly went where Big Sis Belle was. In the corner of the evacuation site where our beds were installed, I could see her sorting out her sewing tools. She was fixing the holed jackets for me and brother.

"Big Sis." I called her while proffering a cup of tea, "here, take this."

I thought of asking her opinion for our next plans as brother and I looked for greener pastures for ourselves and the family.

"Oh, thanks." She smiled and accepted it. "So, what do you to talk about? You're here for some reason, aren't you?" She continued to do her sewing.

"I know you heard what we talked about a while ago, so what's your opinion on the matter?"

"No. I didn't intend to eavesdrop on you all. Actually, Cimmerian has already told me about it." She didn't look at me; she just resumed on doing what she wanted to do. "I think I should be the one asking you that question. Will you go?"

"I think I'm going. Don't worry, I'm gonna bring you along." I said with the same vigor. "No, I'll force brother to let you come along if he ever opposes the idea."

"Thanks, but I should not be a hindrance to your plans… Whatever happens, I will always support you. As for now, just decide on your own."

"Got it."

I did not force the matter any longer. In fact, she was right. I had to make a decision for our future. This had to be the most critical part in our lives, as whatever decision we had to make would surely affect our future.