"Focus. Close your eyes and concentrate your consciousness on your inner self, try to catch the heterogeneous flow wandering chaotically in there."
Training to become aware of karma power despite being only at the elite knight level. Unlike the previous training that pushed physical strength to its limits, this was an extremely static practice.
All I had to do was sit on the bare ground, close my eyes, and meditate.
While doing so, I just had to succeed in the abstract task similar to grasping at clouds - finding the power that dwelled within me but wasn't originally mine.
"Is that all?"
"Of course not. That's just the basics."
Lady Verloren knelt on one knee in front of me, extending her right hand toward me while shaking her head. Blue inner light began seeping into her eyes again.
"Karma is the power that protects its owner. Therefore, it naturally repels others' karma. So like this, when an arm concentrated with karma power touches a vital point-"
Squish.
"Eek?!"
"...Focus."
Her hand touched around my heart.
Slightly to the left of the center of my chest. The pressed flesh squishing created a strange sensation.
It wasn't the sensation of karma but just the sensation of caressing.
...For a moment, I thought I heard something like a low growling sound from somewhere... but it must have been my imagination.
It's not like Lady Verloren keeps dogs in the mansion, and surely Friede wouldn't make such dog-like sounds.
"A situation where another's karma touches your vital point. Since it's a crisis where you could lose your life in an instant, your karma will have no choice but to reactively respond to that stimulus."
Lady Verloren explained her reason for suddenly performing a soft chest touch on me as she adjusted to a more comfortable position.
"It's similar to detecting an assassin. Those who stay still and hidden are hard to find, but once they move, they tend to give themselves away."
The advice was that my inner karma would begin to stir in response to the stimulus, so I should focus my consciousness inward to find that stirring.
"I'll try."
I followed Lady Verloren's advice.
Closing my eyes, shutting my ears, erasing from my mind even the sensation of the hand pressing against my chest and the faint brandy scent.
Like sinking into a deep lake, I immersed all consciousness into my inner self and searched for wavelike stirrings within.
Forgetting even the flow of time, just endlessly.
...
"Let's stop here for today. It's disappointing, but this isn't something that can be done overnight."
When I awoke from meditation and opened my eyes again, the sun that had been overhead was now sinking beyond the horizon.
"Ah... this isn't easy."
I got up while scratching the back of my head awkwardly.
Who would have thought I'd be concentrating until evening? And even then, not managing to grasp even a small clue? It was truly embarrassing.
"That's inevitable. If it were simple enough to succeed in a day, wouldn't this world be overflowing with high-ranking knights?"
Lady Verloren just smiled as if this was the expected result, brushing the dirt off her knees with a wave of her hand.
○
That night, the ownership of my chest belonged to Friede. The child seems to feel jealousy in strange places.
...Since she didn't put her mouth on it, I let it slide.
○
Several more days passed like that.
As if this was now the most important thing, Lady Verloren devoted all training time to karma awareness, and Friede and I dedicated ourselves to meditation to meet her expectations.
Actually, I was the only one dedicating myself to meeting expectations; Friede seemed to just want to finish this training as quickly as possible.
Anyway, then one day.
Thump.
A change occurred in the training that had only been consuming time without results.
While deep in meditation as always, I sensed that something was different from before when I hadn't felt anything.
Thump.
Very small, very faint.
A resonance so quiet it was barely audible.
An unknown resonance that resembled but wasn't a heartbeat was flowing from somewhere within me and spreading throughout my body.
My consciousness and unconsciousness cried out in unison.
That this resonance was what I had been trying to find, what I needed to find.
The moment I became aware of this, my mind stretched out like lightning toward the source of that resonance and grasped something that had been sleeping there.
And then.
Whoosh!
The next moment, blue afterglow was seeping from my eyes that had reflexively opened.
Unlike Lady Verloren's inner light that emitted clear brightness, it was merely a dim ember like a dying candle.
However, it was undeniable evidence of 'manifestation'.
"...Amazing. Such rapid achievement."
Lady Verloren, facing that inner light up close, looked at me with genuinely surprised eyes opened wide.
"Isn't it thanks to your good teaching, Master?"
I grinned and offered humble words.
While clearly feeling the formless power that had been dwelling within me awakening, the flow of that power becoming almost tangible.
Thus I awakened to the power of karma.
Even though it was only a half-manifestation that still couldn't reach the level of a high-ranking knight.
○
"I did it...! I did it! I saw it too! That power called karma!"
Perhaps she had become anxious about me awakening karma power before her.
Friede devoted herself to meditation even through the nights after that day, and before long, succeeded in quasi-manifestation of karma just like me.
"Congratulations, Friede."
"Congratulations. I heard you had no connection to swordsmanship before being appointed as hero. This too is talent that's hard to believe."
Lady Verloren and I sincerely congratulated Friede, who was jumping around excitedly while emitting golden inner light.
Because we knew well how much stress Friede had been under from feeling like she alone was falling behind.
"Now then, shall we learn how to utilize that power, just like Hilde?"
The method of utilizing the manifested karma power.
According to Lady Verloren, manifesting the power was merely the first step; to use it effectively in actual combat, one needed to completely master how to handle that power.
Well, the utilization method wasn't anything special.
Since the karma we had accumulated was weak, even though we had manifested it, we couldn't demonstrate extraordinary feats at the level of high-ranking knights.
Therefore, what was possible for us was only the basics of moving the power flowing through our bodies with will alone and concentrating it in one place.
Like concentrating power in our legs to increase leg strength, or concentrating power in our arms to increase arm strength.
Or concentrating power in areas being attacked to improve defense power somewhat, things like that.
Of course, even with increased defense power, it's not like we could block swords with bare flesh; it just made human skin become as tough as bear hide.
Against opponents with weapons, it would be just wastefully consuming power, though it might have some effect of increasing toughness against martial artists?
It would be meaningless against elite or higher martial artists whose strikes penetrate through defenses, but against those below that level, just wearing quilted armor would prevent major damage.
Hmm. It was an explanation that made my disdain for martial artists, which had been disappearing from getting hit by Lady Verloren, start creeping back.
Anyway, after that day, we practiced quickly manifesting karma power without meditation, and methods of incorporating and utilizing that manifested power in combat.
While Friede responded that it was somewhat difficult to get the hang of, I was surprisingly able to handle karma power very easily.
Because of the difference in talent between Brunhilde and Friede? You could say that, or you could say not.
The reason was simple.
'...This feels similar to Iron Arm.'
The sensation of utilizing karma power with will to enhance physical abilities was almost identical to the sensation of activating Iron Arm with Ice Heart's cold energy.
The only difference was whether the flowing power was karma or cold energy.
Thanks to this, I was able to adapt to karma manifestation at an astonishing pace. Friede seemed a bit envious.
"As expected of Hilde! Amazing...!"
Still, she would shower me with all sorts of praise while making her eyes sparkle as if admiring me.
○
Around the time when it was approaching two months since I had come to Lady Verloren's mansion.
When Lady Verloren introduced me to Ms. Mari as her daughter, and suggested I could call her mother even inside the mansion, and I started doing so.
A letter from an unknown sender arrived at the mansion.
/ The time has come to show your worth, Kriemhilde. /
It was obvious who sent it just from the first sentence. Who else would call me Kriemhilde?
'This bastard, now he's openly giving orders just because I became his subordinate.'
Argentir was calling for me.
/ The location of Ganagl Peytan, the third finger of the Exorcism Reversal Society, has been confirmed. Now would be the time to strike first. /
He said the moment had come for me to see with my own eyes the results brought about by the information I had sold to him.
A temporary break from dedicating myself to training as Lady Verloren's daughter.
It was time to become Kriemhilde the Slaughterer, an executive of the Black Eagle's Shadow, and be covered in blood.