2 Swordsman!
Chapter 2 - Swordsman!
"Old man, why did you call me here?"
The speaker, Torajirou Shiro, has grown up since being adopted by Torajirou Nangou fifteen years ago.
He has now lost his youthful naivety and grown into a handsome young man, dressed in a black casual outfit.
Although he appears quite slender at first glance, a closer look reveals the outlines of his abdominal muscles visible through his black casual wear, along with glimpses of bandages under his sleeves.
His height of 1.8 meters does not make him stand out in a crowd, but his white hair and golden eyes always attract a lot of attention.
Although the memories of Torajirou Shiro's previous life have become somewhat blurry due to reincarnation, he is still an adult at heart.
While he is very grateful for Torajirou Nangou's act of adopting him, he is not keen on calling him "grandfather".
Fortunately, Torajirou Nangou does not mind how Torajirou Shiro addresses him, so since he could speak, Torajirou Shiro has always called him "old man".
"Touka has already gone to Hagun Academy to study. What are your plans now?"
The man Torajirou Shiro calls "old man" asked, but Torajirou Shiro could not discern any of his thoughts from those squinted eyes.
"What else can I do, other than to continue staying here and practicing swordsmanship? Do you also want to drive me away?"
Torajirou Shiro asked with a frown, puzzled, but Torajirou Nangou's answer was a bit unexpected.
"I indeed have that in mind. After all, you have already learned everything I can teach. I don't know if you saved the world in your past life, having such high mana and talent…"
After saying this, Torajirou Nangou paused, glanced at the bandages showing from Torajirou Shiro's sleeve, and continued.
"But as you know, I can't solve your problem, so you'll have to find other ways yourself."
"However, rest assured, I will try to ask around for people I know."
"I heard that the second princess of the Vermillion Empire faces the same situation as you. She plans to join a Mage-Knight academy in a couple of years."
"When you come back to attend Hagun Academy after training for two years, you might just meet her and discuss a solution together." Torajirou Nangou gave his advice.
"Forget it, going to school and meeting a princess? Where does this novel-like plot come from? There are so many good Mage-Knight Schools out there, and even if Hagun academy is considered good, there are still 'Bukyoku', 'Donrou', 'Kyomon', etc. Why should I have to choose Hagun?"
Torajirou Shiro waved his hand, turned around, and left.
When he reached the door, he turned back to look at Torajirou Nangou.
"I will find a way to solve my problem in these next two years. Just wait and hear good news of me making a big splash at Hagun Academy."
Even if he complained, Torajirou Shiro still accepted the old man's suggestion.
"That is really something to look forward to."
Torajirou Nangou was still smiling, but it was clear that he was quite happy.
"Also... thank you for taking care of me all these years, and I'm leaving now."
Having said that, Torajirou Shiro hurriedly left the place, leaving Torajirou Nangou muttering to himself.
"What's this? Is being tsundere a trend now? Too bad I didn't record it. If I show him the recording next time I see him, his expression will definitely be priceless."
In this world, there is a group of special people called Blazers who can manifest their souls into weapons— [Device].
In the past, Blazers were referred to as Magicians and Witches, special people found in one-in-a-thousand capable of manifesting their soul as a weapon and wielding magic power.
Torajirou Shiro was very excited when he first learned from Torajirou Nangou that he could become a Blazer, after all, magic and superpowers were things he could only fantasize about in his previous life.
Moreover, he was not originally from this world, so he was unsure if he could possess abilities unique to this world.
He still remembers the scene when he first summoned his Device at the age of six.
"Cut through—Kangetsu (Cold Moon)!"
Torajirou Shiro shouted the Device summoning phrase he had always wanted to shout since he knew he could become a Blazer.
What appeared in Torajirou Shiro's hands was a crystal-clear Tang sword, which looked as harmless as the toy swords available on the market, flickering with dim red light inside, along with a pristine white scabbard.
"Is this my Device?"
The young Torajirou Shiro did not feel any disappointment because his device looked like a toy sword, because he knew that what mattered was not the device shape but the ability/noble art awakened afterward.
He looked at the closest tree.
"Let's try it on you."
Torajirou Shiro released his magic power.
Although his sword device seemed unchanged, in the eyes of Torajirou Nangou watching from the side, it became incredibly sharp, as if nothing could stop its advance.
Torajirou Shiro sheathed the sword and placed the scabbard on his left side, leaning slightly forward with his right hand on the sword.
This was the sword drawing technique that his kohai was best at.
Although he did not have the same ability/noble art as his kohai, the basic sword drawing technique was already deeply ingrained in him under Torajirou Nangou's tutelage.
He charged towards the tree, drawing his sword three steps away from it.
Swoosh—!
The next moment, what greeted his vision was the tree split in half, with a cut surface so smooth it seemed as if it had grown that way, without a single bump.
"Ah—!!!"
Suddenly, the child, who was fully utilizing his abilities a second ago, screamed and then collapsed on the ground.
His fall seemed to trigger something; his white clothes turned blood-red.
If someone were to lift his clothes at this moment, they would see numerous small wounds as if his body was slashed by countless swords, bleeding profusely.
Torajirou Shiro felt as if he was being chopped up in a meat grinder, suffering from intense pain making it extremely difficult for him to even open his eyes.
"—Shiro!"
This was the last word Torajirou Shiro heard before passing out.
…
The smell of disinfectant reached his nose, and Torajirou Shiro's consciousness gradually awakened.
Opening his eyes, he saw a white ceiling.
Although he wanted to stand up and look around, the intense pain prevented him from making any movement, so he could only tilt his head slightly to confirm that he was in a hospital.
Footsteps gradually approached from the door, and entering were a little girl with yellow hair tied in twin tails, wearing glasses, and the familiar old man, Torajirou Nangou.
The little girl, with sweat from practice still on her forehead, ran anxiously towards Torajirou Shiro.
"Shiro, are you alright?"
The little girl spoke to Torajirou Shiro, softly asking as she saw him wake up, probably afraid that her voice was too loud and would disturb the other patients.
This little girl is Torajirou Shiro's kohai, named Toudou Touka, who came to learn under Torajirou Nangou when he was four or five years old.
Since she was two years older than him, calling Torajirou Shiro "senpai" felt strange, so they always called each other by their real names.
Half a year ago, while casually chatting after practicing swordsmanship, Torajirou Shiro learned why she came to learn under Torajirou Nangou.
Toudou Touka was orphaned as a child after her parents' death from an illness before being sent to the orphanage called Wakaba House, which was owned by the Totokubara Family.
During her time there, she acted as a mother figure for the children there and even assisted one child in regaining his humanity after their parents tried to kill him resulting in his serious violent streak.
One day, that child asked her, "Why can you be so strong?"
Toudou Touka's answer was:
"My parents gave me lots of love, although the time we spent together was less compared to others, but they gave me many, many smiles and love. These memories support me even after they passed away. And the most important thing they taught me was to learn to love others, which is also my favorite thing, so I also want to, like my parents, bring beautiful memories to others, be their support."
Therefore, to prove that even without parents, they can still grow strong, Toudou Touka came to apprentice under Torajirou Nangou, hoping to become a leading student knight, to bring hope, courage, and confidence to the orphans of [Wakaba House].
And because of her gentle nature, she had built a good relationship with Torajirou Shiro in just half a year, becoming like real siblings, so the moment she heard from her master that he was hospitalized, she immediately dropped her practice wooden sword and ran over.
"I don't know..." Torajirou Shiro's eyes revealed confusion.
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