The Flower with a Sword - Chapter 1

Flower with a Sword

TL-Mechatronic

Prelude.

It was technically too much to call The Azenka Academy a school. There were no classes or lectures. There was no training either. Of course, there are no instructors nor teachers. The only thing offered to students was lodging and the status of cadets.

“But that only mean just how great that status is. A Squire for the Celestial Knights. No wonder there are so many test takers”

A new office worker who was looking out the window from the military academy administration office muttered so. The senior officer, who was sitting at a desk and looking at a pile of application documents, frowned.

“What are you talking about out of the blue?”

“I’m just proud to be a member of the Celestial Knights Oder as an officer.”

“No kidding.”

The Celestial Knights controlled Azenka, the city where the Azenka Academy is located. The Academy did not belong to any country. This is because the Celestial Knights was an order that transcends the concept of country.

“How many of them will become knights for the Celestial Order?”

“There may be none.”

“No way.”

“If you are not a sword master, you cannot afford to become an official knight of the Celestial Order, how easy do you think it is to become a master?”

“Weren’t all the Knights Master?”

“Look at him, saying something scary. You are from Azenka, right? Have you been living in here for a long time?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Hey, the Celestial Order, where all the knights are masters, is the strange one. Do you think this Order is recognized as the strongest for nothing?”

“Then do other Knight Orders accept people that are not masters as Knights?”

“There aren’t even a handful masters in other countries in the first place. But in here, the sword master is someone who can not only gather mana with a sword, they even shed it on top of the blade, and there are even masters who…….”

“Oh, what’s wrong with that person?”

He cut off his senior’s words in a way that would be absurd for a newly hired officer. The senior who was explaining in full swing, frowned.

“Hey, were you listening to me?”

“Se-Senior, look at that.”

The new officer floundered and pointed his finger. There was a buzz coming from outside. The senior officer, who was starting to get angry, eventually approached the window at the disturbance.

“What is it?…. What’s that?”

When he looked outside, he opened his mouth, and the newbie asked. “Senior, how long have you been working here?”

“7 years…”

“Have you ever seen a candidate like that?”

“Do you think I have?”

“I don’t think so…”

“I’ve seen all sorts of candidates, but I’ve never seen anyone like that kid before.”

Everyone’s eyes were on a woman.

It wasn’t because she was a woman. Although there were more men, there were many women among the applicants, and there were also women knights in the Celestial Knights.

Because she was pretty?

She was really pretty. She seemed to be around twenty years old. Her face seemed younger than that, but her body was mature.

Her skin was milky, her half-up and half-straight hair a pale pink, and her large eyes, which contributed to her youthful appearance, were purple like ripe grapes. Her thick, small lips were as reddish as petals. She was a fine and delicate woman, as if she was a flower, covered in pollen that would fly when touched.

However, such appearance was not the main culprit of the disturbance. Since the number of people was near a thousand, there were quite a few more prominent beauties than her.

The reason she was getting attention was because of her attire.

White lace gloves. A dress perfectly fitted in a patty coat. High heeled shoes for women. Earrings.

Necklace. Brooch. Light makeup. Ribbons, ruffles, frills, jewelry.

It was not an outfit someone who came to join the Celestial Knights as a Squire would choose to wear, but one suitable for a tea party for noble girls.

“I guess she’s crazy….”

The new officer murmur represented the feelings of everyone who saw her. The senior also spoke in a mesmerized voice.

“Right, I don’t know which family the lady is from, but she must have lost common sense because she’s immature.”

“She knows this is a place to test swordsmanship, right?”

“It’s better if she came without knowing. If she came as an Azenka cadet, who flock from all over the world to the best of their ability, to the selection test, even though she knew that….”

“Has she ever held a sword?”)

“Sword? The most likely thing is that she ran away from home after reading a lot of romantic novels. Do you want to make a bet? One silver, she drops the sword while drawing it.”

“No, you can’t bet that! I was going to choose that!”

“You can bet that she swings it and drops it.”

“How can she swing a sword with that arm! She can’t even lift it!”

The sword was a fairly heavy weapon. Unless it was a light rapier, it was not easy for an untrained woman to wield it or lift it with one hand.

“What’s going on?” A cold low-pitched sound came from behind them. The senior, surprised by the voice, turned around and saluted.

“Greetings, Chief!”

“What?…Chief?”

There was only one person in Azenka who would be called the ‘Chief’. Commander of the Celestial Knights.

Since the Celestial Order has a rigorous system based on skill and merit, being the leader of the Celestial Knights is similar to the meaning of being the best knight in the world.

The newcomer, who had never met the Commander because he had just joined the administration, looked at the man with a surprised face.

He looked as delicate as a flower made of glass. Long silver hair, loosely tied and hung in front of one of his shoulders, bright blue eyes. A face that looks more like a poet than a knight,

However, contrary to the appearance, the body under his uniform was thoroughly trained.

There was also an unique atmosphere. No matter how beautiful he was, the air around him felt like a sharp blade. He gave out a keen and cold feeling similar to objects made for cutting and stabbing. It may be evidence of living a life that is always close to the sword.

That man was the youngest swordmaster ever, the youngest Commander of the Celestial Knights, and the owner of the holy sword Rangiosa, Yurien de Harden Kyrier. He is sure to be the protagonist of epic poems sung by the minstrels in future generations.

The newcomer swallowed his saliva without realizing

it.

“Oh, nothing.”

“I heard it was a bet.”

“That is…”

When the new officer couldn’t answer properly and was sweating profusely, the senior closed his eyes tightly and explained.

“There was a strange person among the test takers, so I said a small joke!”

“Unusual?”

As Yurien raised his eyebrows slightly, the officers quickly retreated and pointed to the window.

“There… You will know right away.”

Yurien approached the window and narrowed his eyes as she looked out. He quickly found a woman with pink hair among the test takers.

He recognized her at a glance.

She was an acquaintance.

He couldn’t help but know. He would have recognized her even if she had been wearing bulky rags.

His eyes widened and trembled. Involuntarily, power entered his hand as he gripped the window sill. Numerous memories took over his mind and his stomach was pounding.

But he did not reveal his inner agitation. None of the officers next to him noticed that he was shaken.

The senior officer sighed,

“I didn’t expect to see a dress-clad candidate at Azenka’s cadet selection exam.”

“…… Candidate?” Yurien responded as if he had heard something strange.

“Yes. I wonder what she thinks the Academy is? ……She seems to be an immature girl.”

The senior thought that it was a natural reaction for the Commander to be surprised. It’s crazy to be a test taker wearing high heeled shoes and a dress. Because of his prejudice, he did not notice that Yurien’s counter-comment had a strange nuance.

On the other hand, the newcomer noticed. Somehow, his tone was strange. The commander’s words didn’t mean to say that she was a ‘daring’ test taker, but it sounded like she couldn’t be ‘just’ a normal test taker.

Did I hear it wrong? While he tilted his head, Yurien quickly returned with a blank expression.

“Do you think she will be eliminated?”

“What? Yes…..-isn’t it?”

In the meantime, it seemed it was the turn of the woman in the dress to compete in the preliminary round. She stepped forward, holding an undecorated long sword that did not match her attire.

The preliminary round was a simple test of cutting a log with a sword.

The log is harder than people think, and cutting it down at once with a sword and not an ax would be unreasonable if skill and strength did not support the

act.

A skilled knight could guess the level of his opponent at once by cutting logs, cutting cross-section, speed, etc.

Outside the window, standing in front of a log, the woman drew her sword. Yurien didn’t take his eyes off her as she raised the sword. He whispered to himself.

“If it were me, I’d bet that she would pass her exams with top marks.”

The woman swung her sword. The hem of her puffy sleeves fluttered in the sky. Neither her feet in her shoes nor her slender arms swayed at all.

The log was cut cleanly in half. It was a neat move, even for officers who did not know sword skills.

There was silence throughout the auditorium. Only after the sword entered the scabbard with a rustling sound, the examiner came to his senses. He mechanically checked the cross section of the log, then he stuttered.

“Ech-Echinacea Roaz, passed the preliminary round!”

Yurien turned around without looking any further. He doesn’t need to see any more. She will easily pass the remaining exams.

He gave orders to the secretary.

“”Bring the application.”

“W-What?”

The officer, who was mesmerized with the unexpected results, was startled. Yurien chuckled.

“That candidate’s application.”

“Ah, ah, I see. Please wait a minute.”

The two officers hurriedly searched through the piles of paperwork. After a while, a piece of paper was handed to Yurien’s hand. He glanced at it quickly on the spot.

Echinacea was the name of a pink flower. Perhaps she got this name because of that unusual hair color.

It was a fitting name. It’s hard to forget once you hear

it.

“Echinacea….”

Yurien quietly pondered the name. It’s the first time ‘he got to know her name. It was also a name he wanted to know so much. He knew her, but he didn’t know her name.

In the ‘future’ he knew, she wasn’t a cadet. But this time she will become a cadet.

“It has changed.”

“Yes?”

“It is nothing. Well then, let’s do our best.”

Yurien returned her application to the officers and left the administration office.

*

*

*

At the same time, Echinacea ignored the pouring gazes and left the preliminary examination area.

She glanced down at the bottom of her right hand. The palm covered with colorful gloves had a black pattern that should not be seen.

[Are you thinking of abandoning me again? Heartless master.]

There was no one around her, but a grumbling could be heard in her head. What was hidden in the pattern on the palm of her right hand was that voice which was being heard directly in her soul. Eki laughed.

“Of course, why did you think I come all the way here? ‘I came to dump you.”

(Hey, thanks to me, you learned how to turn back time!]

“If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t need that.”

[Come on, take it easy. Now, nothing happened, right? Let’s not dwell on the erased past, huh?]

“Shut up, you damned demon sword.”

Eki snapped back in a harsh tone that did not match her thin voice. She ignored the devil’s grumbling words in her head and headed to the first test site. The test site was not far away. Those who had passed the preliminaries had already gathered there.

Echinacea stopped at the entrance. Grasping her right hand as if she wanted to hide the pattern, she took a deep breath.

It starts now. She was going to become an official knight of the Celestial Knights. She has to stand out, but without being suspicious.

She will inevitably set the record of being appointed as a knight in the shortest period of time, but in a way that it does not appear to be unusual. As if she was just an ‘ordinary’ genius. She has to fake it that way and achieve her goals.

She, in particular, should never be entangled with that noble knight Commander. Apart from herself that wishes to see him, It’s a new life that she got, she can’t be sentimental and ruin it.

‘Even if Yurien remembers something…… It’s so different.’

Eki looked down at her gorgeous outfit. There was a reason why she wore this dress and adorned herself.

Echinacea Roaz was living her second life.

At the age of thirty-five, she turned the time of her life back in fifteen years. She erased the past she wanted to erase, by her own hands.

Her second 20-year-old life, which started like that, was not an easy obtained luck. It was a miracle she had achieved herself,