“Then how have you been training all this time? Why did you come to find me? Didn’t you already know how to meditate?”
“I’ve practiced it hundreds of times.”
At the Crown Princess’s voice, emotion showed for the first time. It sounded as if she was completely worn out.
However, the Sword Saint saw that the Crown Princess’s physical condition looked much better than when she first climbed the mountain. She must have already refined her internal energy.
“When I first scaled the mountain, I didn’t know anything. When I first learned meditation from you, I just started from the moment I entered and kept reflecting on the times I practiced.”
“Um?”
The Crown Princess was an odd figure, but what she said now was the strangest thing among all that atmosphere.
“After getting a grasp on things, I started again from the bottom of the mountain. No, before I even talked to you, Master.”
“Oh.”
It didn’t make logical sense, but both Jennifer and the Sword Saint listened calmly to the girl’s words.
Outside the window, the sun was rising.
“Gathering my thoughts, putting my body in the best condition, climbing the mountain again, learning meditation, and refining my body into a better state. If I go back, my body will revert to its original state, but the memories and sensations I’ve learned will remain as they are.”
“I see.”
Frederick, listening to the story, chuckled.
“So that’s how it was.”
“Do you believe my story, Master?”
“Don’t you believe it? From your expression, it looks like you’ve accepted it after hearing it.”
Above all, Jennifer’s face was also smiling.
“Are you saying you can turn back time?”
Like solving an amusing riddle, the Sword Saint asked, grinning as he pulled out the chair. Having finally given his place to the Crown Princess and his disciple, he sat down on one side of the messy table.
“That’s right.”
“I see. But I have one disagreement.”
Seeing the Sword Saint speak with a smile, the Crown Princess took a seat in a corner and asked.
“Disagreement?”
“Is this your first time having such a conversation?”
“Yes.”
With a slight frown, the Crown Princess spoke with a thoughtful expression, and Frederick nodded as he replied.
“Then, how about thinking about it this way? Predicting, I mean.”
“To call it predicting… I can turn back time to the moment I want.”
“To put it another way, you might think you’re seeing up to the point you want to see, right? The future when you didn’t know the future.”
“…..”
The Crown Princess tilted her head.
“Well, even if I say this, your thoughts based on your experiences would be much closer to reality.”
Creek, the sound of Jennifer sitting down was heard.
“This is quite regrettable. I wish I could serve you tea while you were here, but alas, it’s just fallen cold.”
“That’s fine.”
“Perhaps I might be older than you.”
“That’s not true. I can’t believe I’ve turned back time that much.”
“There’s no frog that remembers being a tadpole.”
“…..What if it’s a frog that remembers being an egg?”
“Anyone has a few memories from their very young days. And human memories are so fragile that they can break apart with just a little trigger. You could list quite a few spells that can influence memory using just ten fingers.”
“…..”
Frederick watched the Crown Princess, who was lost in thought, for a while before speaking.
“Are you planning to turn back this memory too? You’ve gotten what you wanted, after all.”
“…..”
The Crown Princess remained silent, but much more could be felt from her demeanor than from her words.
She looked a bit uncomfortable. After all, having seen her face hundreds of times might have fostered a sense of intimacy.
“This is a new expression for you. You usually have no expression at all.”
Hearing Jennifer say it was amusing, Frederick became even more cheerful. He felt that even if he didn’t remember, the Frederick who laughed like this would remain in the girl’s memory.
And if this girl thought of him as her master, she would surely come back someday.
“Is that your final condition?”
“Yes. I may not remember, but if you’ve endured so long under me, you are my disciple. So think proudly wherever you go. There aren’t many disciples accepted by a Sword Saint. Though I must admit, not many come here either.”
Seeing Frederick laugh, the Crown Princess Sylvia Fanggriffon found it strange. Frederick found it even more delightful. Even if he didn’t remember, this joyful Frederick would stay in the girl’s memory.
And he believed that if this girl thought of him as her master, she would come back someday.
“Understood. I’ll remember that.”
“My thoughts are a bit different.”
And as Jennifer quietly watched the warm exchange between the Sword Saint and the Crown Princess, she opened her mouth.
“To be honest, I’d like you to fulfill the terms of our agreement. I’m a pragmatist.”
“…..”
The Crown Princess watched her instructor calmly before nodding her head.
“…..Understood.”
“Well, there’s no way for me to know if you don’t.”
“Then please tell me what I need to do and where I need to go this time. I will remember.”
“Hmm.”
Jennifer found the Crown Princess’s insistence amusing and shrugged her shoulders.
“If you’d like to do that, so be it. If you don’t turn back time right now, that would bring me joy as well.”
“…..”
The Crown Princess said nothing in response.
Frederick thought that if there had been a teacup in front of her, she would have quietly sipped from it.
And that gesture would have suited her perfectly.
*
To fulfill part of the ‘conditions,’ the two disciples descended from the mountain, and Frederick sat quietly in the calm cabin and muttered.
“If you need something, come in.”
“…..”
The one who opened the door and entered silently was a young man with red hair.
“You look dazed, young man.”
Tut, the young man, who was staring blankly at him, finally walked over to the table where the Sword Saint was sitting and took a seat.
“Sorry, but there’s no tea.”
“I don’t have such noble tastes.”
“Good to hear.”
The Sword Saint smiled brightly as he spoke.
“So, you’re that swordsman the Crown Princess mentioned? You might be my equal.”
Indeed, Frederick thought to himself, one step at a time, as he looked over the young man.
He wasn’t simply talented; maybe, at this moment, the level of the young man might even surpass the Sword Saint, who had lived for over seventy years.
“Remarkable. Would you consider matching swords with me?”
“…..Well, what’s the point? Time’s about to turn back soon anyway.”
At those words, Frederick burst into laughter.
“You look like a child who just learned the simple secret of a sleight of hand trick. Why do you look so disheartened, thinking you can’t return to those wondrous days?”
“…..”
The young man, who looked as if he lost something, was left by the Sword Saint, who rose from his seat.
And he strode over to the wall where the swords were hung and began to take them down, strapping them to his waist one by one.
“Since—”
“Hey there, young man.”
The Sword Saint interrupted with a firm voice, cutting off the young man’s sulky murmurs.
“Even if our world ends and begins anew, we’re still here, sitting together and talking, aren’t we? I think we still have a few hours left.”
“…..”
“Even if the world ends tomorrow, those alive must continue living, don’t you think? If we remember, think, and acknowledge that we existed at this moment here, no one can deny it. Not even that Goddess up there.”
The Sword Saint rested his hand on the hilt of his katana as he spoke.
“Even if you turn back time and forget your memories, that would simply be the result. How could results erase the causes? Even if time turns back, it’s likely that girl will still be flowing in one direction.”
Frederick wore a bold smile. His back was straight, and his feet firmly rooted to the ground.
That imposing stance was truly that of a Sword Saint.
The image of the kind old man just moments ago vanished.
“So, young man. How about sparring with me for the time we have left?”
The red-haired youth, mouth slightly agape as he stared, eventually chuckled briefly.
“You must have lived long to speak such wise words, old man.”
His face was devoid of the previous disheartened expression.
“Fine, let’s have some fun while we still can.”
His attitude was confidently that of someone who could be called the ‘Kicking Sword Saint.’
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