The Reincarnated Assassin Is a Genius Swordsman

Chapter 1238 Martha stomped her feet roughly in the empty training ground of the Wise Martial Palace. As if one stomp wasn't enough to vent her anger, she repeatedly struck the ground with her feet, creating fierce vibrations in the earth. "Damn it!" As if that wasn't enough, Martha cursed toward the sky and even swung her fists. "Damn!" At the fifth training ground, she had pretended it was nothing and let it pass, but she couldn't accept such an overwhelming defeat so easily. Moreover, losing to Runaan, whom she had always thought was slightly behind her, made her insides boil even more. (E/N: But Runaan has been stronger than Martha for several hundred chapters now, at least) However, the biggest reason for her anger wasn't because she lost to Runaan. 'I want to help, but....' There was nothing she could do. Right now, Runaan is definitely going through something difficult. She didn't know what it was, but for that sleepyhead to have dark circles under her eyes and be exhausted was truly rare. She had wanted to easily defeat Runaan with the martial prowess she had trained day and night, then say she would help, but instead she lost by such a huge margin that even someone as action-oriented as herself couldn't say anything more. "Come to think of it, maybe the difference is natural...." Unlike herself who had recently obtained the Authority of Envy, Runaan had been the first to receive the Authority of Sloth and had been training with it. According to Raon, Runaan's compatibility with Sloth was ridiculous, and since she had received it much earlier than herself, it wasn't strange for such a difference to emerge. "But even so...." Martha gritted her teeth and drew her sword. "I don't want to fall behind like this!" Thanks to her competitive spirit, proving she truly deserved gaining the Authority of Envy, even though she suffered an overwhelming defeat, she didn't want to give up like this. She wanted to somehow catch up and defeat Runaan. "Haaaaaaah!" Martha swung her sword while letting out a battle cry so loud it seemed to shake the sky. The swordsmanship techniques she couldn't use against Runaan stretched out in succession, causing violent vibrations to explode in the Wise Martial Palace's training ground. She was completely unaware, but burning with competitive spirit against a clear rival was greatly effective in nurturing the Authority of Envy. It was when Martha was slowly blooming the Authority of Envy dwelling in her soul while swinging her sword like mad. The training ground door opened carefully and a beautiful woman with black hair and black eyes who looked exactly like her entered. It was Elena, Martha's mother who had once her body stolen by the Leader of the White Blood Religion. "Phew...." Martha, not knowing Elena had come, continued for about another hour doing swordsmanship practice that was also venting her anger before sheathing her sword. "Huh? Oh, Mom!" Only then did she discover Elena and widen her eyes. "It seems you had a difficult time." Elena walked carefully over the floor that had become a mess and smiled gently. "It's dinner time, but you didn't come, so I came to get you." She nodded, saying she had been waiting for Martha. "S-sorry. I had something that made me angry." Martha scratched the back of her head as if embarrassed that she had been swept away by emotions and vented her anger in front of Elena. "That can happen. Rather, it's admirable that you didn't explode in front of others and held it in alone." (E/N: Martha is almost 30 though) Elena said Martha's matured appearance was so good to see and held her hand tightly. "Ugh...." Martha felt her boiling emotions subside at Elena's warm words and scratched her cheek in embarrassment. "So what happened? Tell Mom about it." Elena sat down heavily in the training ground while holding Martha's hand. "Well...." Martha rolled her eyes slightly, then looked into Elena's eyes and confessed everything that happened at the training ground today. "I see. Runaan." Elena was surprised that Runaan, who had only been cute and simple, had become strong enough to easily defeat her daughter, but nodded calmly. "I understand getting impatient when a comrade you thought was walking alongside you goes ahead. However...." She smiled brightly and gently patted Martha's back. "To me, my daughter seems more amazing than Runaan?" "What? What do you mean?" Martha tilted her head as if she didn't understand. "As you said, even though you suffered an overwhelming defeat, it's admirable that you thought of your friend first and said caring words. There aren't many people with such a broad heart." Elena said she saw Martha in a new light through today's events and drew a gentle smile. "Th-that's not it! No, she's not even a friend! Nothing like that!" Martha shook her reddened face vigorously as if embarrassed by Elena's praise. "I see." Elena didn't erase the smile blooming on her face as if she knew all about Martha's feelings. "Ugh...." Martha let out a pained groan while looking at Elena. "I'm not eating dinner today! I'll just keep training!" She stood up again, saying she would eat the dust of the training ground instead of dinner today. "Alright. Sometimes that might be good too." Elena nodded calmly as if she thought it would be good to give Martha some time alone. "But your sword's balance seemed a bit off. In the first technique, you should put strength in your left leg, and in the second technique, you should bend your lower body a bit more. Your aura also seemed to slow down because you were trying to move it too much. The third technique is...." She gave advice about swordsmanship and movement as if she hadn't just been watching Martha. "Huh, Mom...?" Martha blinked blankly. She didn't understand what her mother, who had never learned martial arts, was talking about. "Oh my! Without realizing it." Elena lightly tapped her lips as if she had made a mistake and stepped back. "Don't mind it. It just looked that way to me." She waved her hand with an awkward smile and left the training ground. "What was that...." Martha tilted her head while recalling what Elena had said. For advice from a mother who had never held a sword, it was strangely detailed and precise. "Should I try it once?" It wasn't difficult to try swordsmanship as Elena said, and there was nothing to lose, so she decided to give it a try. Martha recalled Elena's advice and put strength in her left leg for the first technique, lowered her lower body for the second technique, and turned her sword-wielding wrist a bit more for the third technique. Just by changing her posture slightly, the power of her swordsmanship changed dramatically. She could feel both the heaviness and speed she had wanted. 'Moreover....' Instead of trying to move her aura all at once, dividing it into two stages allowed for faster power changes. "Huh!" Martha looked at the training ground door Elena had exited through and let out an incredulous breath. "Mom. Just what...." * * * "What do you want to do today?" Raon held Runaan's hand and drew a deep smile. Unlike his usual self, it was a somewhat cheesy-looking smile. "Hmm...." Runaan stared blankly at Raon's face and then slightly lowered her chin. "I want to train...." She blinked, saying she wanted to swing a sword, even though this was a dream. "Training?" Raon widened his eyes as if surprised. "Yeah.... Martha got stronger...." Runaan briefly smacked her lips while recalling the spar with Martha she had today. "I also... want to become stronger...." She also seemed to have felt much through the spar with Martha and clenched her fist, saying she wanted to become stronger. "Hmm...." Raon crossed his arms and curled his lips upward. "I worked hard to prepare fun things to do with Runaan, but if you want to train, it can't be helped." He slightly frowned as if regretful. "Fun things...?" Runaan tilted her head as if curious about the fun things Raon mentioned. "Yeah. I prepared new bead ice cream, and I also made a device that can go up in the sky so we can look down at this entire village. Also...." Raon told her about the ice cream, food, and amusement rides he had prepared with the village people for Runaan. He had a consistently smiling expression, but strangely, that expression had a slight cheesiness that didn't usually exist. "Hmm...." Runaan seemed unable to sense Raon's cheesy smile and was lost in thought while stroking her chin. "But still, for now...." It was when she was about to say she would train without breaking her will. "I'll stay with you the whole time too." Raon said he would stay with Runaan and held her hand tightly. "Let's have fun first. Training can be done after that, right? We have plenty of time to spend together." He smiled broadly, saying they should lighten the mood first and then train together. "Uh...." Runaan stared blankly at Raon's smile and then slowly parted her lips. "I understand... if Raon says so...." She knew that the real Raon would never postpone training, but because it was a dream, she nodded without noticing that difference. "Shall we look at the flower crown the children prepared for you first?" Raon took Runaan's hand and led her to where the flower bed was. "Big sister! Why are you so late!" "Big sister! Come quickly!" The children who were playing in the flower bed smiled brightly and waved their hands at Runaan. "Big sister! Try this on!" "We worked hard to make this for you!" The children held out a flower crown made of colorful flowers to Runaan and gestured for her to put it on her head. "Thank you...." Runaan took the flower crown the children gave her with slightly trembling hands. Thinking that the children made it with their small hands made her feel both touched and grateful. "Try it on." Raon nodded, saying it would suit her well. "Yeah...." Runaan placed the flower crown that still held the children's warmth on her head. "How is it...?" Unlike in reality, she looked at Raon while drawing a gentle smile. "Pretty. It suits you so well." Raon also smiled broadly, saying words he wouldn't easily say in reality without hesitation. "We prepared it hard!" "Yes. I'm glad it suits you." The children smiled brightly and nodded. Their hands were swollen from soil and flowers as if they had really worked hard. "You all...." Runaan held the children's hands and slightly bit her lip. "Runaan. Now let's go eat bead ice cream." Raon grabbed Runaan's shoulder, saying they should move on to the next thing right away. "Yeah...? Then these children too...." Runaan blinked as she felt trembling in the child's hand. "It's okay. The children already ate." Raon shook his chin, saying he had taken care of the children first. "That's right!" "We ate a lot." The children quickly let go of Runaan's hands and nodded, telling her to go ahead. "Really...?" Runaan only turned around after hearing that the children had eaten bead ice cream first. "Let's go." Raon took Runaan's hand again and headed to the bead ice cream shop. The bead ice cream shop in this village was several times larger than the ones in Zieghart or Cameloon. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was the largest on the continent. "Wow...." Runaan exclaimed in amazement at the bead ice creams filling the store. It was truly rare for her, who had little emotional change. "Choose." Raon nodded grandly as if he would buy her anything. "Yeah!" Runaan looked at the displayed bead ice creams one by one with a light blush on her white cheeks. She seemed very happy as she wiggled her fingers and toes in succession. "......" Raon watched Runaan's expression reflected in the display case from behind her. His eyes were gentle, but there seemed to be a somehow sinister aura emanating from them. "How many...?" "I told you, you can choose whatever you want." Raon told Runaan she could choose anything and took out a gold coin pouch. "Yeah...." Runaan seemed happier about Raon's reaction than the ice cream itself and began selecting ice cream while drawing a deeper smile. After that, she had a fun time riding rides with Raon, walking around the village, and eating delicious food. The warmth transmitted from Raon's hand made her completely forget the thought that she should train after seeing Martha's fighting spirit. "It's time to go now." Raon let go of Runaan's hand that he had been holding all day and nodded slightly. "Yeah...." Runaan exhaled a murky breath as if regretful. "Don't worry. We can meet again. And...." Raon nodded calmly, saying they would be able to see each other again. "Later, we'll never be apart." He clenched his fist as if vowing to always be with Runaan. "Yeah...." Runaan smiled slightly as if she was also happy. "Then...." When Raon waved his hand, Runaan felt the world shaking and closed her eyes. "Haah!" When Runaan opened her eyes again, she saw her own room where she had fallen asleep without even changing her clothes. "What was that...?" She knew she had a long dream, but she couldn't remember what kind of dream it was at all. No matter how much she tried to think and wrack her brain, not even a speck of memory came to mind. It was definitely a happy dream. It was a pleasant dream rare in her life, one where it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she only slept, but it was frustrating that she couldn't remember it at all. However, that wasn't the only thing she couldn't remember. "Yesterday... what happened...?" Not only the dream, but the things that happened in reality yesterday were also blurry. "Certainly at the training ground...." Runaan held her head trying to recall the things that had happened in reality. "I trained...." Runaan completely forgot about sparring with Martha at full strength and being moved by her words, and ended her recollection by just remembering that she had trained. "Haah...." Runaan sat up while looking at the pale sunlight filtering through the window. She grabbed her sword hanging on the bed and exhaled roughly. "I'm tired...." Runaan's figure walking to leave the room was reflected in the mirror. The area under her eyes had darkened even more, but a faint smile hung on her lips. "I want to sleep again...."