Chapter 51

Chapter 51

⟬The Architect of the Skyscraper of Suffering looks at you with pity, thinking of how hungry you must be.⟭

I was only curious to see what Mom had made for dessert, but it would seem that my staring unwittingly caused a bit of a fracas up north.

⟬The Voice that Shapes the World dramatically shushes the other gods.⟭

⟬The Scale that Judges Souls starts off the story by saying there’s a tragic, heartbreaking tale behind the transmigrator’s picnic basket.⟭

Wha...? Tragic? All I did was look at the picnic basket, but now everyone’s talking about it like it’s some tragedy.

⟬The Critic for Balance pays close attention.⟭

⟬The Architect of the Skyscraper of Suffering is all ears.⟭

⟬The Eye Overseeing All Chaos stares with profound interest.⟭

⟬The Scale that Judges Souls stares out into the distance with a sad look and begins the story. It was long ago, back when the transmigrator was in third grade...⟭

What? We’re talking about my past now?

The storytelling continued as I spluttered in confusion.

⟬The Architect of the Skyscraper of Suffering sheds a single tear.⟭

⟬The Eye Overseeing All Chaos looks at you with an expression full of pity.⟭

⟬The Critic for Balance tries not to be so critical of you anymore.⟭

I was starting to get a little embarrassed at how seriously invested the transmigrator gods were getting. I mean, it’s really not that big a deal. The picnic I went on when I was in the third grade was the first picnic I went to after losing my family.

It was a school-wide picnic, so I couldn’t help but notice how different my lunch was from my cousin’s. I had a roll of plain kimbap with a few dumplings while my cousin had a luxurious lunch box that looked like it had been prepared by a professional chef.

My aunt had even handed out some delightful, hand-made goodies to everyone in my cousin’s class. It was a colorful and fruity piece of swirly cotton candy. It was super popular with the kids and everyone at the school heard about it. My cousin’s homeroom teacher secretly got ahold of one of the treats and saved it for me, but my cousin somehow found out and came over to where our class was staying and started to throw a fit.

I couldn’t stand being the center of attention at the time, so I gave the treat back to her. I guess I’ve been a pretty miserable pushover myself.

I realized I was in no position to criticize the protagonist for letting people walk all over him.

We arrived at the pond inside the castle grounds as I reminisced about my miserable adolescent years. Our family gathered around a large wooden picnic table with a bench and began to set up our meal. The feast laid before us took my mind off of my tragic past.

“Whoa!”

Mouthwatering buttermilk pancakes, savory roast goose, cheesy pork rolls, freshly baked blueberry muffins, and refreshing wild berry juice lined the picnic table.

“This all looks so good!”

“Dad, you’re the best!”

“Ahem!” Dad proudly tore into the main entrée and handed Mom a goose leg. “Elthea, it’s your favorite.”

“Aw, Leo, you shouldn’t have.”

“Give me just a second. Let me cut it for you. Here. Say, “Ah!”

“Ah!”

“How is it? Here, try some pancake too.”

“Mmm.”

“I love the way you enjoy my cooking... Children, why aren’t you eating? Have some before the food gets cold.”

“Okay.” Prinz and I replied sullenly, saddened that we were no longer Dad’s priority.

“I feel like we’ve been robbed of Dad’s love.”

“Dad’s love has always belonged to Mom,” I said.

We left the other goose leg for Dad and started chowing down on the wings.

“Here, try some of this, Rinz.”

“Thanks. Let me get you yours.”

“Thank you. We need to look after each other now.”

“Of course!”

We were able to reaffirm our brotherly and sisterly love for one another thanks to Dad’s lovey-dovey behavior, so I guess it’s not all that bad.

Prinz and I began to tear into the meal, boasting our otherworldly ability to eat insanely large amounts of food. We’d devoured everything and were contentedly patting our bulging stomachs when Dad made an announcement.

“Allie, Rinz. Mom has prepared a special dessert for us.”

“Whoa!”

“Yay!”

It was the moment we’d all been waiting for.

“D-don’t get your hopes too high.” Mom blushed and coughed a little as Dad pulled out the dessert. My eyes widened like saucers when he brought it out.

Cotton candy? I stared at it in a daze, since I’d never imagined in my dreams that I’d be seeing cotton candy here.

“Ta-dah! Mom made some fairy floss! Isn’t she amazing?”

Fairy floss is another name for cotton candy.

“T-this... This is fairy floss?”

I guess Dad forgot to tip off Prinz about his reaction. To be completely honest, Mom’s masterpiece looked nothing like fairy floss. It looked more like the devil’s lint if that ever became a thing. The burnt strings of sugar were stuck together with clumps of charcoal-like fibers tangled up within. Mom seemed to be thinking the same thing we were, as she began to squeamishly explain her creation.

“It was a lot harder to make than I thought... I heard Allie sleep talking about wanting some so I...”

I guess I still have my habit of murmuring during nightmares. I was pretty sure I cursed up a storm at my cousin too but… Anyhow, it felt a little, no, very odd, that Mom decided to cook this just because I’d had a bad dream.

“Oh... um... I can probably do better next time. You don’t have to force yourselves to eat it.”

I finally came to my senses when I saw her dejectedly hiding the fairy floss behind her back. Now wasn’t the time to be indecisive.

“Mom.”

“Yes, Allie...”

“Please, let me have some. I really want to try it.”

“Really?”

“Of course!” I took a big bite. It tasted more like caramel or toffee than cotton candy. Or more like burnt toffee. But nevertheless, “It’s so good.”

It was the best cotton candy that I’d ever tasted. It was even better than the cotton candy that I bought with my own money on our way back from the picnic after that cheap pig of a cousin took mine away.

“Thank you, Mom.”

“Allie…”

“Prinz, what are you doing? This stuff’s really good! Don’t get mad when it’s all gone!”

“N-no! I want some too!”

My sad, forlorn memories of cotton candy were being overwritten with today’s happy family picnic.

✠

Like any other day, I spent that afternoon training with Agnes.

«Cadet Ailette, I’m very disappointed in you.»

“W-what’s wrong,” I panted.

I was completely out of breath after blasting through the hybrid obstacle course five times, back to back. The physical aspect of my training was much more difficult now because I had to run with sandbags tied to each of my legs.

Agnes materialized in front of me with her arms crossed and explained the reason behind her disappointment. «We’ve been training so hard, yet you’ve been unable to overcome the Holy Fever and had to crawl into bed to recover.»

“It’s already been a month since then. Why are you bringing it up now, after all this time? And besides, it’s not like that’s something I can overcome just because I want to.”

«That sort of weak-mindedness! That’s your problem!»

She won’t even let me talk now.

«That whole situation has got me thinking,» Agnes continued. «Perhaps it’s time we begin to focus on training your mind, in addition to your body.»

I was stunned. Mind training done by the Vatican’s number one genius drill instructor? I shuddered at the thought of what cruel things she was about to do to me.

«Therefore, moving forward, we’re going to add in...»

I gulped and tensed up in anticipation, but Agnes smirked and loosed up her stern expression.

«Aura channeling.»

“Eh? Really? That’s it?” My eyes began to twinkle. Starting aura channeling basically meant that we were going to begin learning how to sense aura.

«Yes, it’s high time you’ve started to learn. Sit.»

“Yes ma’am!”

We were broaching a new topic for the first time in a while.

«Aura channeling is a training method in which you feel the presence of aura and understand its flow. You will gather the aura inside your being and create a core within. It’s the most fundamental step toward becoming an aura user. It should come to you naturally, like breathing. Keep in mind, there are different types of aura channeling methods. Which type of training method you employ will decide the type of aura you will be able to utilize within your core.»

“The biggest difference is the color, right? I like white. I think plain looks best.”

«You think like me. But the color is but a minor, periphery aspect of aura. It’s much more important to choose and build up the aura that suits your swordplay. For example, if you start training on a channeling method that gathers aura with a fire attribute, but you find out that your swordplay is more suited to an ice attribute, the two different types of aura will collide within you. In worst-case scenarios, your core may self-destruct.»

“Oh no...”

«Of course, what I just told you only happens in extreme situations. Unless you’ve learned a profoundly difficult and unique aura channeling method, switching between auras shouldn’t be too hard. Some individuals even mix and match different auras.»

“I have a question. Is there an aura channeling method suited specifically to your whip sword techniques?”

«Of course. My whip sword requires the user to raise their senses past their limits. It’s a difficult, yet unrivaled technique.»

“I knew it!”

«But we shall go down that path only once you’ve completely decided how you will wield your sword. We’ll begin with the most basic aura channeling method first.»

“Okay.”

I didn’t argue with her. I trusted that Agnes would only teach me what was best for me.

«Allow me to demonstrate.» The aura channeling method Agnes showed me was what holy knight candidates of the holy kingdom ordinarily learned. «Not too hard, right? Now you give it a try.»

“Okay.”

Even if I got this down pat and became able to feel the aura didn’t mean I could awaken my aura. Just feeling the aura, understanding how it flows, and pulling it into my own body will require an enormous amount of training.

Only once I’m able to store the aura within my core could I claim to have awakened aura. And that’s going to take forever. I guess I need to thank the system for what it does.

Getting my Strong Body skill and Swordsmanship skill to level 50 would automatically awaken the aura within my body. And so, this aura channeling training really wasn’t necessary for me. It’d probably only be useful once the system awakened my aura for me and I needed to boost my aura bandwidth or something.

But just as I was dismissing this new training,

⟬«System» [Holy Kingdom Foundational Aura Channeling Lv.1] in progress. Initiating aura accumulation.⟭