御书房文学网

Chapter 161

Immediately after, I heard a dull thud as my vision became dark and blurry. As the darkness cleared, I saw the ceiling of the sacred training ground. I had attempted to attack, but Joseph grabbed my arm and slammed me onto the ground. This happened multiple times. I didn’t remember the exact number, but this happened around ten times.

"I think that’s enough. Grab my arm and stand up,” Joseph said while extending his hand to me as I lay on the ground.

I grabbed his arm and stood up.

“It was a truly enjoyable battle that I haven’t experienced in a long time. We were nearly evenly matched.”

I suppressed my frustration and replied, “I... No, I also enjoyed it.”

Although Joseph said that we were evenly matched, in reality, that wasn’t the truth. Throughout the spar, Joseph blatantly held back against me. During the entire fight, he never got serious, and he only dodged and blocked whenever I attacked. If he had been serious, I would have suffered a catastrophic defeat within a minute.

[Bossou feels frustrated!]

[He\'s not an opponent you can defeat. The martial art that person is using is...]

[I definitely could have won! There were definitely flaws in that person’s movements...!]

Bossou and Legba’s voices alternately echoed inside my head. Since I wasn’t in a situation where I could respond, I ignored them. I didn’t seriously think I could win, but I didn’t expect the gap between us to be so big.

Joseph\'s movements were so bizarre that they made even Bossou\'s power seem weak. His movements must have some sort of structure, but it appeared as if his movements were unstructured and unsystematic, which made it impossible to predict. I had no idea what kind of martial art it was, but I wanted to learn it if possible.

"By any chance, is the martial art you use—"

"Wait a moment. Are you acquainted with those two people standing over there?"

Joseph interrupted my question and pointed his chin in the direction of the training ground entrance. Jin-Seo and Do-Jin were standing there.

I nodded.

"Yes, I know them."

"Both of them?"

"Yes."

"That\'s a relief. We won\'t have to deal with any unnecessary misunderstandings then," Joseph said before hopping down from the sparring area.

Then he walked toward the two people. I belatedly followed Joseph. Do-Jin stared at us in a daze for an extended period of time, as if he was lost in an illusion. But upon seeing Joseph approach, he stepped back and stared at Joseph with narrowed eyes as if he was on guard.

"...Who are you?"

As if Joseph had been waiting to do so, he extended his hand for a handshake.

"I am Inquisitor Joseph from the Central Paladin Order. You... Yes, you seem to be from the Trinitas Crusader Order. Your name is..."

"I am Do-Jin. It\'s an honor that you remember me."

After hearing Joseph\'s affiliation, Do-Jin let his guard down and respectfully greeted him with a handshake. The two completed their greetings, and they each had red marks in the shape of a palm on the back of their hands. Joseph looked back and forth between Jin-Seo and me and then turned his gaze to Do-Jin.

"Are you a smoker? I smell cigarette smoke."

"Ah... Yes, I smoke," Do-Jin said while glancing briefly at Jin-Seo.

Joseph smiled.

"Really? That\'s a relief. Since the two students seem uncomfortable because of us, let\'s step outside for a moment. We can both have a smoke while we\'re at it."

"Alright."

Just like that, the two of them left. When it was just me and Jin-Seo left on the sacred training ground, I took out the mission trip consent form from my pocket. It got a little crumpled due to the unexpected sparring session that I had with Joseph... but it couldn’t be helped. I straightened it out with my hands and handed it to Jin-Seo.

"...What\'s this?" she asked with a puzzled face.

"An additional consent form for the mission trip. Fill it out and submit it to Miss Yejin by tomorrow."

"Mission trip..."

I pulled a chair from the corner of the sacred training ground and sat down.

"Where were you? I couldn’t find you in the classroom," I asked her before letting out a labored breath.

The fatigue I didn\'t feel during the spar now rushed over me. This was one of the disadvantages of having a faint sense of touch. I didn’t know about the physical condition of my body, and I would end up recklessly pushing myself.

Jin-Seo skimmed the consent form and answered my question.

"Exercise," she said.

"It seems like you only come to school when you want to," I said.

"I was preparing for the practical exam," Jin-Seo retorted in a seemingly slightly upset manner.

She folded the consent form in half and put it in her pocket as she continued, "If you can’t find me, then call me. Then I would have come.”

"I did. But you didn’t answer," I said.

"...Really?"

She avoided my gaze as if she was flustered. Then suddenly, a mischievous smile appeared on her face.

"Were you waiting?" she asked.

"Waiting for what?" I responded.

“Me.”

“How should I respond to that?” I jokingly asked.

Her smile disappeared. She glared at me with narrowed eyes and said, "...That\'s up to you."

"Don\'t you want a specific answer?"

"It\'s not like that."

As I laughed and postponed my answer, she furrowed her eyebrows as if she was starting to get annoyed.

"Stop teasing and just answer," she said.

"I was waiting. That\'s also why I called you," I said.

"...You\'re good with words," she said.

I was so utterly dumbfounded by her sarcastic reply that I ended up letting out a hollow laugh.

"What kind of answer were you expecting, anyway?" I asked.

There was a brief silence. Jin-Seo looked into my eyes, and when our eyes met, she avoided my gaze. But when I started looking elsewhere, she looked into my eyes again. It seemed like she had something to say, but she seemed hesitant to speak.

"Do you have something to say?" I asked.

“...Yes," she replied.

She nodded as if she had been waiting for me to ask her.

"I was thinking about sparring with you so that we can prepare for the practical exam,” she said.

"Spar with me?"

"Yes," she said with a nod.

I contemplated for a moment before speaking.

"Um... I don’t want to spar with you though?"

*

"Take it."

Joseph offered a cigarette to Do-Jin. He politely accepted it but couldn\'t bring himself to put it in his mouth. It was because he didn’t feel like smoking again after quitting for several years.

Joseph lit his cigarette and said, "There\'s no need to force yourself to smoke. How many years has it been since you quit?"

"...How did you know?" Do-Jin asked in surprise.

Joseph chuckled and took a puff of the cigarette.

"If you were a non-smoker, the way you hold a cigarette would be awkward. On the other hand, someone who quit is skilled at holding it but hesitates to put it in their mouth."

"..."

Do-Jin couldn\'t hide his surprise as he looked at Joseph. Joseph exhaled smoke and said, "Is the female student who came with us Mr. Chang-Won\'s daughter?"

"Ah, yes... that\'s right. How did you...?"

"It’s because the smell of cigarettes came from that child. It smelled just like what Mr. Chang-Won used to smoke. Children follow their parents, you see."

"...You have very good observation skills."

"At the very least, I need to have good observation skills. That’s what my job is all about after all.”

When he was halfway through smoking his cigarette, Joseph spoke once again.

"Is dating still banned in Florence Academy?"

"According to the rules, yes. However, it\'s hardly enforced..."

"They’re still so old-fashioned. But from the students\' perspective, isn\'t it actually a good thing? Humans feel thrill and pleasure when they break forbidden rules."

‘Is it alright for a clergyman to say such a thing?’ Do-Jin wondered.

In his opinion, Joseph didn\'t seem like a bad person, but he certainly didn\'t seem like a good person either. However, he was definitely a strange person. Joseph finished smoking a cigarette and then took out another one. There was a moment of silence.

Do-Jin took this opportunity to ask about something he was curious about.

"It seems like you use a unique martial art, sir. Is it perhaps...?"

"It’s the Nazirite arts. No need to beat around the bush," Joseph said as if he could see through Do-Jin\'s thoughts.

Before Do-Jin could calm his surprised mind, Joseph continued speaking.

"It\'s natural to be curious. It\'s a martial art with no methods to learn it at the moment, after all. It seems like you want to learn it too..."

"If I’m qualified... Yes, I do."

Nazirite arts was considered the most violent and brutal martial art in history, but it was also evaluated as one of the most powerful. However, since the last successor disappeared, there were no more methods to learn the martial art, and it appeared as if it would vanish into history.

Do-Jin had searched for ancient scriptures and fragments of literature related to the Nazirite arts in order to learn it, but he was barely able to grasp the distinctive aspects and could not learn or master them. Thus, the Nazirite arts were a dream-like martial art for Do-Jin. If he could learn it, he wanted to learn it.

However, Joseph firmly shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I don\'t have the ability to teach you. It\'s not you, I’m the one who\'s not qualified. I\'m sorry."

"Oh, no, it’s alright. Then..."

From where and from whom did he learn that martial art? Do-Jin wanted to ask him, but he decided not to. He had seen Joseph\'s expression freeze in a terrifying way when he asked about the Nazirite arts. He felt that asking any further would be disrespectful.

Joseph quickly smoked two cigarettes, and then threw them onto the ground and extinguished the sparks by crushing the cigarette butts with his foot.

He lightly brushed off his clothes as if trying to get rid of the smell of smoke and then said, "It seems like Sun-Woo and Chang-Won have a very good relationship. I wanted to ask if my thoughts are correct."

"..."

Do-Jin tilted his head as if contemplating. Since he wasn\'t usually interested in such matters, it was difficult for him to express his opinion. Now that he thought about it, the only guy Jin-Seo ever talked to was Sun-Woo. In general, Sun-Woo was friendly with everyone, but it seemed like he met with Jin-Seo more frequently than other people.

"Yes, that seems to be the case," Do-Jin said while nodding in response.

Joseph smiled.

"That\'s a relief. I want to get Chang-Won’s daughter’s contact information. Can you tell me?"

"...Huh?" Do-Jin replied in surprise.

It was a sudden request, and it was difficult to figure out the intention behind why he was asking for such information. What was an inquisitor going to do with a Florence Academy female student’s contact information? He probably wasn’t going to contact her for personal reasons, but the fact that Joseph was the one who was asking made it a variable.

As if sensing Do-Jin\'s discomfort, Joseph scowled and said, "You weren’t asking me, so I didn’t feel a need to explain, but judging by your expression, it seems like I have to explain myself. I came to monitor Sun-Woo."

"..."

"It’s legitimate and official surveillance from the Holy See. And to keep an eye on him, I need that child’s help," Joseph said.

Joseph had his hands gathered behind his back as he leaned forward in front of Do-Jin and tilted his neck such that he was looking directly down at him.

“I’ve said this much, so you should roughly understand what I’m saying. I’m someone who really hates repeating myself.”