Chapter 173

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Episode 40 - Bloodline [3]

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Astrid stared at me after hearing my words.

She looked... as if she didn’t believe me, but I suppose it’s natural for her to think that way.

If a blind person told someone that they looked beautiful, it would be strange, wouldn’t it?

How can a blind person explain something they cannot see?

’Well, for me, it’s not impossible.’

Because of my senses, my sense of touch reveals an incredible amount of information just by touching any surface.

So, with that information, I can create an image of that person in my mind, especially when combined with another person’s description of how they look and what colors they have.

That way, I can imagine what a person looks like; the only drawback is that it requires touching that person’s entire face.

While I was lost in thought, Astrid raised her small hand and placed it on my forehead, lifting my bangs.

"....?"

I tilted my head in confusion, unsure of what she was trying to do.

"Uh, what are you doing?"

"I want to check if you’re sick. The Matriarch said that some sick people might do things or talk about things that don’t make sense."

"....?"

"But... placing your hand on someone’s forehead is meant to check for a fever, not to find out whether they’re mentally unwell."

Astrid stared at me and suddenly smiled.

"Mhm, but if you’re blind, how can you know what I look like or what I’ll look like when I’m an adult? Besides, how do you know what you look like?"

Since when did this girl become so smart?

When I first met her, she was simply a girl who was distrustful of others and somewhat shy in her own way.

But now she was very confident and only spoke so bluntly when talking to me.

I mean, she’s much more adorable when she talks to Rinna than when she talks to me.

’Are these the stages of a child’s growth?’

Snapping out of my thoughts, I said,

"Wait, that means you think I’m mentally ill."

Astrid laughed.

"Think whatever you want."

Astrid sat back down while I rubbed my temples. Honestly, I wish she would go back to being the same girl I met on my first day in this place.

In any case, putting all that aside, there was a reason why I wanted Astrid to become suspicious that I might be her older brother.

I didn’t want to tell her directly, because I don’t know whether I’ll truly be able to change my Dark Destiny, which will take my life a couple of years from now.

At least, personally, I think it’s better if Astrid discovers on her own that I’m her brother.

The simple reason is that it would take her a long time; she’s still a child and doesn’t have many ways to confirm her suspicions about me.

’But if I solve the issue of my Dark Destiny, then I’ll tell her directly.’

It may be a very foolish way of thinking to most people, but it’s the best solution I could come up with and offer.

"Can I ask you something?"

Her voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, you can ask me anything."

After hearing my response, Astrid asked,

"Why did you suddenly ask whether we look alike or not?"

Ah, so that was what she wanted to know.

Naturally, I couldn’t tell her that it was because I wanted her to suspect that I was her brother.

So I made up an excuse.

"Mhm, who knows, what if we really are siblings? Hahaha, although I don’t think that’s actually the case."

Perhaps because I laughed in the middle of my answer, Astrid narrowed her eyes as she looked at me.

I don’t know whether it was because of the way she looked at me, as if she could easily see through any of my thoughts.

Or because I simply looked like an idiot.

"Are you sure?"

"...."

"Sure about what?"

"That you’re not sick, of course."

"....?"

"Ah, no, I’m completely fine."

Astrid nodded, making a soft "Mhm" sound; however, she clearly didn’t seem convinced by my words.

Was she messing with me?

"How strange, you’re acting very differently than usual today."

Astrid murmured as her expression became noticeably serious.

Seeing this, I let out a sigh. I wondered who she took after...

’Ah, wait, she takes after me.’

Let’s just forget that. Anyway, it seems that my plan to make Astrid suspicious of me worked.

She looked deep in thought, and her emotions indicated that she was now suspicious about my identity and my relationship with her.

And, of course, I had to emphasize the words "we look like siblings" whenever I had the chance.

This way, Astrid should become even more doubtful about whether I am actually her brother.

In any case, time passed quickly, and it was already time to return to the Academy.

We talked, as usual, about anything that happened during our ordinary days.

Since she was a child who had spent most of her life confined to an orphanage, she knew almost nothing about the outside world.

So I would often tell her what the outside world was like, based on my memories of the world of Holy Land.

Shortly afterward, Rinna arrived, talked with Astrid for a couple of minutes, and then we said our goodbyes.

It was time to return to the Academy.

Of course, tomorrow was Sunday, so I would come visit her again anyway.

***

It was around noon when we finally arrived at the Academy.

Since Rinna had some things to take care of because of the exams, she went off in a different direction.

As for me, I already had everything prepared for Monday’s trip, so I actually had nothing to do.

Not even train.

I couldn’t start the Third Form of Inverted Heaven until I advanced to Five Stars, following my master’s recommendation.

I already had everything ready for the trip. I didn’t need to study, since this entire upcoming week wouldn’t require any prior preparation like that.

So, yeah, it was the first time I truly had nothing else to do.

I didn’t even have any plans for the Second Part of Chapter Two.

There weren’t any hidden pieces I could obtain at the moment, nor was there anything important I needed to acquire.

’Wow, this really is strange.’

Sitting on a bench on campus, I was drinking coffee and eating a couple of sandwiches I had bought a little while ago.

〖Disciple, you’re not the only one who feels that way. You know, I spent over a thousand years waiting for my disciple to arrive without doing absolutely anything. Can you imagine how boring and strange it was to have absolutely nothing to do?〗

"If you put it that way, I guess your hobby was simply... doing nothing."

What could a soul inside a sword do? Absolutely nothing, of course.

〖What are you talking about? Whenever there were guards in the Hall of Relics and someone had a Will strong enough to communicate with me, I used to torment them whenever I could. Hehe, just thinking about it makes me laugh.〗

"....?"

As I talked with my master about his strange hobby of scaring guards like a ghost,

I suddenly heard footsteps in the distance, followed by a familiar voice.

"So that’s where you were. I’ve been looking for you all day, but I couldn’t find you."

I turned my head toward the voice. The person standing before me was none other than Clementine.

I tilted my head in confusion.

She had been looking for me? The same Clementine I knew?

In my mind was the image of a girl who got angry over everything.

Although she rarely spoke to me after the day I saved her in the Golden Forest during the Hunting Festival, and her attitude toward me had changed abruptly.

She was usually always the same, so I assumed she simply wanted to repay me for saving her, and that was all.

’Why is she looking for me?’

Noticing my confusion, Clementine glanced around distractedly, as if searching for the right words.

"I, well... um..."

She continued mumbling incoherent words for the next few seconds.

I let out a sigh and asked,

"What are you trying to say? I can’t understand you."

Clementine stopped abruptly. Then she opened her mouth, but no words came out.

".....?"

If this was some kind of joke meant to annoy me, then it was working.

Noticing that I didn’t seem very pleased, Clementine finally gathered her courage and said,

"I... I want you to... to train me..."

"....?"

It was like discovering that the neighbor next door was cheating on her husband.

My mind went blank for who knows how long.

The girl standing in front of me.

She had actually said those words. Clementine, who was so proud and arrogant toward others, who at first glance looked more like a spoiled princess with a bad temper.

Was telling me, the one known as the Dark Attribute Blind Man, to train her.

’Um, I should leave and pretend I never spoke to her.’

While I was lost in thought, Clementine looked like she was dying of embarrassment.

She was completely restless, darting her eyes in different directions while pressing her lips together.

She was clearly far too nervous.

"Ahem..."

Finally snapping out of my thoughts, I asked,

"Can I know why you want me to train you? Because, honestly, I never expected to hear those words from you, you know?"

Clementine stopped fidgeting and said,

"I-it’s just that... yesterday during the exam, I noticed the huge gap between you and me, and I don’t want to fall too far behind. Besides, I was the first one to pass out without helping my teammates... and, well, um... n-no matter how much I train, I can’t seem to make much progress... so I thought I’d put aside my pride and come find you... maybe you have some unique training method or something like that..."

".....?"

If I weren’t blind, I would probably be staring at Clementine with a blank expression, unable to put my thoughts into words.

’This... that’s not Clementine, is it?’