Knock, knock.
“Clerk. It’s time for work.”
I jolted up at the unfamiliar voice.
Fine fabric and a soft bed.
It was a scene I hadn’t experienced in the past few weeks.
That’s right. I got a job.
And not just any job—at the Helpion Ducal Family.
Knock, knock.
At the sound of knocking again, I hurriedly answered toward the door.
“Ah, yes. I’m awake.”
“How would you like your meal? Shall I bring it to you, or would you prefer to eat in the dining hall?”
“Since I still don’t really know where the dining hall is and all that, I’d appreciate it if you could bring it to me.”
“Very well, I’ll leave your meal at the door.”
The clicking footsteps slowly moved away from the door.
I got up and opened the door.
Freshly baked bread and a steaming bowl of soup were placed on the floor.
I sat at the table and took a spoonful of the dish.
A gentle, savory flavor lingered in my mouth.
Delicious. And as the warm food went down, I felt my body warming up, too.
I really did get a job at the Ducal Family.
Now it’s starting to feel real.
Which means…
I have to start writing love letters from today.
It’s a good thing, earning a lot of money, but, how should I put it? The confidence that filled my mind with the sentence, “I got a job at the Ducal Family!” shriveled up all at once.
Sigh. When you’re making money, you can’t be picky.
Yeah. Let’s pull myself together and give it a shot.
I have to show off my writing skills to the Supreme One, and to the Lady he’s fallen for.
There was a time when I used to think about the world so simply and easily.
If I could meet my past self right now?
I’d say this.
Hey, run away.
Early in the morning, I sat across from the Supreme One in his office, pen in hand.
“Good. Then, write the letter for me.”
“No, a love letter doesn’t just come out in one go. I don’t even know you, Duke, or your romantic interest.”
“Ahem, ahem. Romantic interest, you say. That’s rather embarrassing.”
Don’t make that bashful face when you’re a muscular warrior over two meters tall.
“So first, could you calmly tell me how the two of you fell in love?”
At my words, the Duke slowly began his story.
It was, he said, a morning like any other.
“I was planning to catch a drake or two for a light workout after breakfast, as usual.”
“How is that in any way a normal ‘as usual’?”
“But perhaps because I’d been catching drakes every day, they’d already disappeared from the territory.”
So he really was serious about ‘as usual.’
No wonder the drakes are all gone.
“But once a man has made up his mind, how can he change his schedule so easily? If there aren’t any nearby, I might as well stretch my legs and visit the neighboring territory.”
Right.
This person is someone I can’t understand with my common sense.
It’s easier if I just accept that.
“I ran for quite a while. I must’ve reached the border of the Delphi Kingdom.”
If it’s the border of the Delphi Kingdom, that’s about a two-day ride from here, even on horseback.
A morning workout… No, never mind.
“There, I found the drake I’d been looking for. But the drake was attacking a carriage. So I cut down the drake in one blow and rescued the people.”
And the young lady he rescued turned out to be the eldest daughter of the Squaret Chancellor’s family, renowned as the finest chancellor in the Delphi Kingdom.
“That young lady, despite facing death, calmly commanded her servants. She was so beautiful in that moment… I thought she was like a valkyrie guiding the souls of warriors.”
Oh, that description really does sound like something the Duke would say.
Better remember that and use it in the letter.
“So I approached her and, uh, ahem, told her I’d fallen for her at first sight.”
“What?”
Wait a second.
Isn’t this story progressing way too fast?
Let’s try to picture the scene slowly.
There’s a carriage and a drake.
In between, a noble lady is bracing herself for death and leading her servants.
Then suddenly, a giant of a man—who could easily be mistaken for an ogre—bursts in, drenched in sweat from jogging.
And then, he literally ‘cuts down’ the terrifying drake in one stroke.
I wasn’t there, so I can’t describe it exactly, but it must have been a pretty grotesque sight.
And in that moment, covered in the heat of exercise, sweat, and the stench of monster blood.
A warrior radiating overwhelming intimidation walks up to the noble lady and says his first words.
He fell in love at first sight…
“Weren’t you slapped?”
“You really do speak comfortably to me, don’t you?”
“You said I could be at ease with you.”
Of course, I know it’s foolish to take ‘be comfortable’ literally.
But I can’t hold back the frustration boiling up from deep inside.
What you say makes you sound less like a duke and more like a drunken uncle from the neighborhood!
“So, what was her response?”
“Ahem, well, since we didn’t know each other well, she suggested we exchange letters first.”
I couldn’t keep my expression in check for a moment.
Isn’t that a very polite way of turning you down?
I mean, faced with a monstrous man who might kill you or turn into a bandit if you refuse…
It sounds like a rejection, wrapped up in extreme courtesy.
Hahaha. Maybe I should just quit now.
No. Money. Just think about the money. Yeah. I’m a professional.
I’m the successor of the Akashic Record.
Even if I have to draw on the knowledge of the entire universe, I will make this love succeed.
“Well… Understood. At least now I know how you met. I think the beginning of the letter can start with that beautiful memory.”
“Is that so? This is tough. Just recalling it makes me embarrassed.”
“But this is where it gets real. That’s enough of the past; from here on, you need to decide what story you want to convey in the letter.”
Helpion Duke frowned, as if he couldn’t quite grasp what I meant.
“Simply put, do you want to just enjoy a sweet romance, or do you want to share plans for a happy future, like marrying the Lady?”
“Marriage, hmm, marriage… Isn’t that a bit too soon? Ahem, that’s not something I can decide on my own, is it?”
“Duke. Even if you write letters, you’ll only be able to exchange them once or twice a month at best.”
“Isn’t that too slow?”
“That’s the average speed.”
“Hmmph.”
The Duke let out a frustrated groan and leaned back in his chair.
Who would ever believe this man is humanity’s greatest hero and the Supreme One?
“So that’s why you have to be sincere now. All right. Since it’s still early, let’s focus on getting to know each other.”
There are procedures to follow even between men and women.
“Normally, before asking the Lady about herself, it’s good to share information about yourself.”
I picked up my pen.
“So, tell me. What did you do in the morning?”
“The morning? I practiced Horizontal Slash.”
Hori—what?
Is he serious?
I stared at his face intently.
“Is that strange?”
“So, you exercised in the morning? Exercise… Okay, I think I can make that sound nice—no, I think I can describe it somehow. Then what did you do in the afternoon?”
“Thrust.”
“…”
I sighed.
“Duke. You can’t just write about working out in the letter.”
“Is that so?”
“This is the first letter you’re sending to the Lady. You need to introduce yourself, share a story, and give her something to get to know you. You can’t fill the whole thing with exercise stories. Who writes a love letter filled with nothing but talk of training?”
I ended up speaking a bit informally, but Helpion just nodded without much reaction.
Yeah. There’s no point in getting angry at someone like this.
Let’s just write that he did ‘training’ at noon. That should make it sound a little different.
“Now, for the evening… You didn’t do sword training in the evening too, did you?”
“No.”
Thank goodness!
“Then what did you do in the evening?”
“Aerobic.”
What a lunatic employee I’ve got.
“No, I mean, isn’t there anything a bit more… heart-fluttering? Like, you couldn’t stop thinking about her, or something sweet like that.”
“Ah, there was.”
“That’s what you should’ve said first! Like, ‘After meeting you, I’ve fallen in love! I’ve changed!’ That’s the kind of appeal that works!”
I picked up my pen again.
“Then, after meeting the Lady today, what kind of change did you feel in yourself?”
“This morning, while practicing Horizontal Slash and cutting down a drake, I had a realization. I wondered if I really needed to insist on a straight line for the fastest cut. In fact, the concept of a curved horizontal slash, which is faster than a straight line…”
I can’t take this anymore.
I threw the pen at the Duke.
<To Lady Titania, the pride of the Squaret Chancellor and the shining light of the Delphi Kingdom, whose virtuous character and just achievements will be remembered throughout the history of the Delphi Kingdom.
Greetings. I am Rodelaos de Helpion, head of the Helpion Ducal Family.
(omitted)
That day, the brave and resolute figure of the Lady, like a valkyrie of Valhalla, is still vivid in my mind.
At your command, I felt the spark of duty to save lives blaze like fire, and I hurled myself forward as if fanned by the wind.
Lady Titania. I was blinded by the afterglow I witnessed that day… (omitted)>
“I’m not writing a novel here.”
I sighed and stopped my pen.
Since I can’t make up things that didn’t happen, I’m writing the letter based on the conversation we had this morning…
Even if I’ve managed to get this far, the next part is the problem.
“How am I supposed to connect Horizontal Slash and Aerobic?”
At least the Horizontal Slash story might be manageable.
What did the Duke say again?
‘Do I really need to insist on a straight line for the fastest cut? In fact, the concept of a curved horizontal slash, which is faster than a straight line…’
A curve faster than a straight line.
I remember reading something similar in the Akashic Record.
If I adapt that anecdote, I could put it in the letter.
Having only wielded a sword, I lament my lack of writing skill. I hope with all my life that this letter brings joy to the Lady, and I ask you to understand that sharing tales of the distant Entil Empire is the best I can offer.
In the Entil Empire, there is a brave bird called the Hawk. With wings that seem twice the size of my own body, it soars through the sky.
This bird has a unique trait. When it swoops down to catch mice or snakes crawling on the ground, it draws a curve, not a straight line.
Yet, the hawk rises faster than any other bird and snatches its prey with unmatched speed.
People think that, to go fast, you must never turn aside and only move straight ahead. But that’s not always the answer. Today, while swinging my sword, I realized that too…>
A curve faster than a straight line.
Come to think of it, I read about a martial art based on that concept in the Akashic Record.
Back then, I just laughed it off.
But if the Helpion Duke talks about it so seriously, it must actually work.
Well, it is the Akashic Record, said to contain the truths of the universe.
There’s no way it would have junk or useless knowledge.
It’s just that I don’t know where or how to use that knowledge.
I did train for nearly two years after reading that martial arts book.
I wonder if I still remember the feeling.
I adjusted the pen in my right hand as if I were gripping a sword.
Just then, a fly landed on the desk, rubbing its front legs together.
Thin wings, legs constantly moving.
The moment I felt the fly’s eyes meet mine.
The fly took off.
At the same time, my pen—no, my sword—swept through in a gentle curve.
And then.
The fly, split in half, dropped onto the desk with a soft thud.
Is this the feeling? It’s not that hard.
I adjusted my grip again and, before the sensation faded, busily moved my pen.