“Focus up! Close your eyes and concentrate on your inner self to catch the chaotic, foreign flows drifting around in there.”
Training to awaken the power of fate, only at the level of an elite knight. Unlike the usual grueling physical training that pushed stamina to the limit, this one was a much more static kind of training.
What I had to do was simply sit on the ground, close my eyes, and meditate.
In the process, I was supposed to find the power nestled within me that wasn’t originally mine—a rather abstract task akin to grasping at clouds.
“Is that all?”
“Of course not! That’s just the basics.”
Lord Veloren knelt in front of me, extending her right hand and shaking her head. A blue light started to emanate from her eyes.
“The power of fate protects its master. Therefore, it always reacts against others’ fate. So, when your fate-infused arm touches a crucial point—”
– Squish.
“Hieek?!”
“…Focus.”
Her hand reached where my heart was.
A spot slightly to the left of my center. The squished flesh felt oddly gooey.
It wasn’t the sensation of my fate; it was just the sensation of caressing.
…For a brief moment, it seemed like I heard a low growl from somewhere… but it was probably just my imagination.
Lord Veloren didn’t have any dogs at her mansion, nor could I imagine Friede making such noises.
“In a situation where another’s fate is touching a vital point, it would be no surprise if you lost your life in an instant. Thus, your fate, Hilde, will inevitably react to that stimulus.”
Lord Veloren explained why she suddenly executed a soft heart touch and adjusted her posture comfortably.
“It’s similar to detecting an assassin. Those who are hiding still are hard to find, but as soon as they move, they become obvious.”
By doing this, my inner fate would begin to respond and tremble, and her advice was to concentrate on my inner self to find that trembling.
“I’ll give it a try.”
I followed Lord Veloren’s advice.
I closed my eyes, shut my ears, and erased the feeling of her hand on my chest and the faint scent of brandy from my mind.
Like sinking into a deep lake, I submerged all my consciousness into my inner self to search for the ripple-like tremor inside.
Forgetting the passage of time, just endlessly.
…….
“…Let’s stop here for today. It’s a pity, but you can’t master everything overnight.”
When I woke up from my meditation and opened my eyes, the sun that had been above my head was now sinking beyond the horizon.
“Uh… this isn’t easy.”
I scratched the back of my head awkwardly as I stood up.
I didn’t expect I’d been concentrating for so long until evening. It was quite embarrassing to realize I hadn’t even grasped a small hint.
“Of course it couldn’t be easy. If it were simple enough to succeed overnight, this world would be overflowing with elite knights!”
Lord Veloren just smiled as if it was an obvious conclusion and dusted off the dirt on her knees.
◆◆
That night, the ownership of my heart belonged to Friede. The girl seemed to feel jealousy in the most unusual places.
…Since she didn’t try to kiss me, I overlooked it.
◆◆
Several days passed again.
Now Lord Veloren dedicated the entire training session to awakening our fates, and Friede and I focused on meditating to meet her expectations.
Actually, I was the only one focusing to meet those expectations; Friede seemed to want to wrap up the training as soon as possible.
Anyway, one day.
– Boom!
A change occurred during the training, which had been consuming time without results.
As always, while deep in meditation, I sensed something had changed compared to before, where I had felt nothing.
– Boom!
Very small, very faint.
A barely audible resonance.
It resembled a heartbeat but wasn’t a heartbeat—a mysterious vibration flowed from somewhere within me and spread throughout my body.
My consciousness and unconsciousness screamed in unison.
This vibration was precisely what I had been trying to find, what I had to find.
The moment I realized this, my mind shot forth towards the source of the vibration like lightning, grasping onto something that had been sleeping there.
And then.
– Wham!
In the next instant, when I reflexively opened my eyes, blue light radiated from my gaze.
Unlike Lord Veloren’s sharp glowing eyes, mine was nothing but a dim flicker, like the last candlelight fading away.
However, there was no doubt that it was evidence of ‘manifestation.’
“…Amazing. Such quick achievement.”
Lord Veloren, seeing the glow up close, widened her eyes in genuine astonishment.
“Thanks to you teaching me so well, Master!”
I flashed a grin and humbly replied, feeling the formless power that had rested within me awaken, and its flow was now distinctly palpable in my hands.
Thus, I awakened the power of fate.
Albeit only a partial manifestation at a level not yet reaching that of an elite knight.
◆◆
“I did it! I did it! I can see it! That power of fate!”
Was Friede getting anxious that I awakened my fate before her?
After that day, she dove into meditation night after night, and before long, she too succeeded in a similar manifestation of her fate, just as I had.
“Congratulations, Friede.”
“Thank you! I heard you had no connection to swordsmanship until you were appointed a hero. This talent is truly unbelievable.”
Lord Veloren and I celebrated Friede’s ecstatic joy, overflowing with golden light, wholeheartedly.
Knowing well how stressed she had been feeling left behind.
“Now then, shall we learn how to handle that power like Hilde as well?”
Learning how to handle the manifested power of fate.
Lord Veloren advised that manifesting the power was merely the first step; to utilize it in practice, we needed to master how to control that power perfectly.
Well, even if it was about handling it, there wasn’t anything particularly special about it.
Since both Friede and I had weak fates, even after manifestation, we couldn’t exhibit extraordinary skills at the level of elite knights.
Therefore, what was possible for us was only the fundamentals of directing the flowing power within us with our will to concentrate it in one place.
Concentrating strength in our legs to increase agility, or focusing strength in our arms to enhance our physical power.
Or concentrating strength on the area being attacked to slightly enhance our defense—that sort of stuff.
Of course, just because we increased defense didn’t mean we could block a sword with our bare hands; it merely made our skin as tough as bear hide.
It was a waste of power against weapon-wielding foes, and even then, there might be a slight effect against martial artists—maybe?
Elite-level martial artists’ strikes penetrate the shock, so it wouldn’t mean much, but below that level, wearing a light armor could prevent major damage.
Hmm. With this explanation, it started to seem like the disdain towards martial artists that disappeared while being beaten by Lord Veloren was creeping back.
Anyway, after that day, we practiced quickly manifesting our power of fate without meditation, as well as how to incorporate that manifested power into combat.
Friede found it a bit challenging to grasp, but surprisingly, I found it much easier to manage the power of fate.
Was it because of the difference in talent between Brunhilde and Friede? Maybe yes, maybe no.
The reason was simple.
‘…This feels similar to wielding the icy heart.’
The sensation of using will to enhance physical abilities through fate was almost identical to activating my strength with the coldness of the ice heart.
There was only the difference in whether the flowing power was fate or coldness.
Thanks to that, I was able to adapt to the manifestation of fate remarkably quickly. Friede seemed a bit envious.
“Of course, it’s Hilde! You’re amazing…!”
While she sparkled her eyes in admiration and showered me with compliments.
◆◆
About two months after I arrived at Lord Veloren’s mansion.
When Lord Veloren introduced me as her daughter to Mari and suggested that it was fine to call her mother within the mansion, I began to do so.
A letter without a sender then arrived at the mansion.
/ It’s time to show your worth.Krimhilde./
It was clear who had sent it from just the first sentence. Who else could call me Krimhilde?
‘This bastard, now that he has me as his subordinate, he’s giving me orders outright.’
Argantir was calling for me.
/ The location of the third finger of the Haunted Spirit Guild, Ganagl Peytan, has been confirmed. If you want to take the initiative, now’s the time. /
He said it was time for me to see with my own eyes the result that came from the information I sold him.
Dedicating myself to training as Lord Veloren’s daughter was temporarily on hold.
It was time to become Krimhilde, the butcher of the Shadow of the Eagle, and get drenched in blood.
