EMATEC Chapter 153

153

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"Aaaaaaaahhh!!"

I ended up collapsing flat on the ground.

Seeing me flail my legs in the air, Grandpa burst into loud laughter.

"Hahaha! Did you think this would be easy? Hahahaha!"

"Grandpa!"

I glared at him with resentment. Maybe it was because he'd lived as a Swordmaster for so long, but Grandpa had zero talent for teaching.

- 'Just try it. Channel the energy through your body like, swoosh, and let it fly! Like that.'

'Why isn’t this working?'

'Not like that but like this. Liiiiiike this.'

'Huh? Why can’t I do it?'

Only now did I understand why the relationship between Mom and Grandpa was at its worst when she was learning swordsmanship from him.

His explanations, full of unidentifiable onomatopoeia and mimed movements, were utterly incomprehensible no matter how hard I tried. I felt like I was trapped in an eternal maze, thrashing around in frustration.

"Still, you've done great so far, my lovely little one."

Then Grandpa scooped me up as I lay sprawled out, kissing the top of my head repeatedly.

"Hahaha! Just looking at our little Cherry these days fills me right up. Wahahaha!"

I’d always loved Grandpa’s hearty laughter. But just for today, I found it a little annoying.

"Seriously, how do I control this power?! It’s like there's a lump stuck in my throat that just won’t come out."

Disgusted by my description, Enoch covered his mouth and grimaced.

"Please, Cherrya. Try using better metaphors…"

"But it’s true!"

"Yes, yes, it's true, so please just stop."

Letting out a weary sigh, Enoch lay down next to me. Then, while he was gazing at Grandpa, the old man casually stretched out his leg and pushed Enoch away.

"……"

Even as he was being shoved, Enoch simply closed his eyes. Clearly, he was also exhausted from Grandpa’s nonsensical explanations.

"By the way, are you two really not going to tell your old grandpa what happened to you?"

"……"

"……"

At his words, Enoch and I exchanged glances. As we had agreed, we both kept our mouths tightly shut.

We had silently agreed never to speak of that strange event that happened that day.

And we intended to keep it that way.

Enoch looked like he had many questions, but after reading the confusion on my face, he let out a deep sigh and promised to bury them for now.

"Tch. So disappointing. I mean, what kind of event could cause both of you to awaken to the power of a Swordmaster at the same time? I need to know the secret!"

"We told you, we don’t know."

"Are you really going to keep this a secret from me?"

"How can we explain something we don’t understand ourselves?"

When I firmly stuck to playing dumb, Grandpa still stared at Enoch and me with suspicion in his eyes.

Seeing his expression, so determined to extract the truth, I realized this wasn’t going to be easy.

"My Lord!"

From afar, Sir Hind, Grandpa’s aide, came running toward us.

"Hmm? I told you not to let anyone disturb us!"

Grandpa frowned sharply. Unless it was truly urgent, no one dared interrupt training without his permission.

Knowing Grandpa’s fiery temper better than anyone, Sir Hind wouldn’t have come unless something serious had happened.

"What is it?"

"His Majesty… His Majesty has collapsed!"

"What?"

"The High Chancellor paid him a visit, and it seems…"

Sir Hind glanced at Enoch and me, then clamped his mouth shut, as if the matter wasn’t something we should hear.

"Enoch and I will give you some privacy."

"No, stay. You two should hear this too."

Grandpa stopped us before we could step away. Since he had decided so, Sir Hind didn’t hesitate to continue.

"It seems His Majesty was attacked by demons. The royal aide by his side was affected as well."

"Where did this happen?"

"…We don’t know. No one remembers."

"What do you mean?"

"No one knows where His Majesty was found collapsed, or what he was doing beforehand."

Grandpa’s face grew extremely grim.

And so did ours—mine and Enoch’s.

"I must head to the Imperial Palace. Where is Melsia?"

"She’s already at His Majesty’s side."

"Then I’ll go now."

Grandpa gave Sir Hind a signal with his eyes, then turned to Enoch and me.

"We’ll resume training another time. Will that be alright?"

"Yes, go ahead."

"…I’m sorry."

Grandpa gently patted my head and in the next instant, his figure vanished.

But to Enoch and me, it felt like we could still see his silhouette disappearing in the distance.

"I’ll head to the Imperial Palace as well. Since His Majesty’s condition hasn’t been made public yet, please keep it a secret for now."

"Understood. Don’t worry, Sir Hind. You should hurry too."

"Yes, thank you."

As Sir Hind hurried out of the training grounds, Enoch and I stared at each other with grim expressions, deep in thought.

Demons, huh?

We had once experienced something we could only explain as the work of demons.

The very event we couldn’t bring ourselves to tell Grandpa about, no matter how hard he pressed.

"Do you think it’s connected to what we went through, Cherrya?"

"Who knows…"

In this world, just what kind of power do demons possess?

I remembered the story Kane had told me about a demon he’d seen in a vision.

How they appeared in the form the viewer most desired, how they could summon countless monsters, how they could vanish and reappear at will.

Their power was nothing short of godlike.

"For now, let’s hope His Majesty is alright."

Enoch said it with a cool tone, but his eyes were clouded with concern.

A long silence settled between us.

It was Enoch who broke it first.

"Cherrya."

"What is it?"

"That place we were in… it used to be a swamp where monsters crawled out from, right?"

"Yeah, that’s right."

"And ever since we destroyed it and escaped, not a single monster has emerged from there, right?"

"Yeah, that’s what I heard. Why are you asking?"

"Just wanted to confirm something."

Enoch stared at me intently, as if searching for something on my face.

"Since that day, I keep having dreams, Cherrya…"

"Dreams?"

"Dreams where I return to that place."

He slowly clenched and unclenched his hands as he moved his lips.

Then, with the look of someone who had finally made up their mind, he continued.

"But the scene in my dreams is different from what I remember seeing there."

"……!"

"I can’t understand anything being said, but there’s one thing I clearly recognize."

"What is it…?"

"‘Inspector.’"

Enoch took a step closer, unable to hide the confusion on his face.

"You know who I saw in that dream, don’t you?"

🍓; Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the natural sound of a thing. These words sound like what they describe.

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