The scions froze, their heads snapping toward the source of the voice. The bodyguard holding Hatsune’s arms faltered for just a moment, enough for her to use her agility to break free. But it wasn’t Hatsune’s escape that caught their attention — it was the figure emerging from the darkness.
A small but formidable woman with sharp eyes and dressed as an assistant librarian appeared at the end of the aisle. She had a scroll in her hand, and though she seemed startled at the scene before her, her posture did not waver. She clearly had seen enough of the scion’s antics to recognize trouble when she saw it.
“What’s going on here?” the assistant librarian asked again, her voice steady, unshaken.
The scions with Chadwick exchanged uneasy glances. The bodyguard that still stood hesitated, unsure whether to continue the fight or to flee. It didn’t take long for the decision to be made.
With a sharp word from Chadwick, the group turned to flee deeper into the Archive, the bodyguard who had held Hatsune only paused to grab his unconscious comrade off the floor. Soon only Klarion and Hatsune were with the assistant librarian. As Chadwick retreated, Klarion could just barely make out his voice calling out, full of venom: “This isn’t over, Blacksword! Mark my words!”
Klarion worked on getting his breathing under control, but the assistant librarian clearly had no sympathy.
“Keep your conflicts outside the Central Archive,” she said coldly, her gaze unwavering as she sized up the two of them. “We do not tolerate any disruption to the integrity of this place. No matter how high ranking the scion’s House.”
Her words struck like a slap to Klarion’s face. It wasn’t just the fact that she had dismissed their struggles as trivial — it was the certainty in her tone, as if nothing mattered beyond the order and sanctity of the Archive. The two of them, even in the middle of having been attacked, were nothing more than distractions to her.
Klarion opened his mouth to protest, to explain that he wasn’t the one causing trouble, but she had already turned away, uninterested in his protests.
“Your business here will remain academic, not personal. Otherwise, you will be barred,” she added, her voice clipped, before disappearing back in the direction she had come from.
He glared at the spot where the assistant librarian had vanished, frustration boiling in his chest. That wasn’t fair, what she said. He hadn’t been the one causing trouble. It was Chadwick — Chadwick and his cronies who had come to provoke him, to intimidate him, or worse. And yet, here he was, being treated by the librarian like the villain for daring to defend himself.
“You’re upset,” a soft voice broke through his thoughts, and he turned to see Hatsune standing a few paces away, her arms crossed defensively. Her ears were flat against her head, and her usual calm demeanor had been replaced by an unmistakable tension, and Klarion knew it wasn’t just the librarian’s words that were bothering her.
“I’m fine,” Klarion said, forcing a smile. “Just a little frustrated. But I’ll get over it.”
Hatsune’s eyes narrowed slightly as she looked him over, clearly skeptical of his reassurance. “You’re lying,” she said bluntly. “You’re upset, and I don’t blame you. You were right to defend yourself. But it’s not just about you.”
She looked down, avoiding his gaze for a moment, her fingers tapping restlessly at her side. When she looked up again, her voice was quieter and filled with guilt. “I hesitated.”
Klarion felt a pang of concern at the words, and he almost reached out to her before deciding to give her space. “What do you mean?”
“I hesitated when that bodyguard grabbed me,” she admitted. “I was thrown off. It’s not like me. I should have reacted faster. I should have protected you. I didn’t.” Her ears twitched again, and her lips tightened in a way that made Klarion’s heart ache. “I’m sorry. I’m supposed to be your protector, and I failed.”
Klarion took a step toward her, his expression softening. “Hatsune… You didn’t fail. You were caught off guard. This wasn’t your fault.”
“But you weren’t. You demolished them,” she shook her head, a hard edge to her tone. “I should have seen it coming. I knew the danger, but I still let myself hesitate. I’m supposed to keep you safe, and then I couldn’t even protect you from some second-rate scion’s bodyguard.”
“No.” Klarion reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. She was being too hard on herself. “Don’t doubt yourself over this. I’ve dealt with worse than Chadwick before, Hell, I’ve had my share of fistfights, and I didn’t always come out clean, but that’s how we learn. That’s how we grow.”
Hatsune met his gaze, her expression softening ever so slightly. “I just—”
“No,” Klarion interrupted gently, squeezing her should reassuringly. “No more guilt. We’ll get stronger, and we will deal with Chadwick in time. Together. But right now, we need to focus on the Academy Assignment. The fragment of Whispers of Black Steel.”
She took a deep breath, nodding. “Right. The fragment. I still can’t believe something like that is here.”
Klarion gave her a final, reassuring smile before turning back to the shelves. “Let’s find it, then.”
With renewed determination, they set off again. The air grew cooler and more oppressive with each minute they walked. The Archive’s vast chambers seemed endless, filled with towering shelves that groaned under the weight of countless tomes and scrolls. This far away from the windows, flickering lights of some sort hanging from the ceiling cast eerier shadows across the aisles. Despite the quiet, Klarion could practically feel the history pressing around them. The labyrinthine rows of the Archive stretched ahead of them, but thankfully it wasn’t long before they found themselves in a silent section that gave Klarion a good feeling. The labels on the exterior of the shelves mentioned swords and sword fighting.
Hatsune walked slightly ahead, her ears shifting as she scanned their surroundings. She had gently insisted on leading the way, partly to redeem herself Klarion thought. Though she did not need to. Klarion followed closely, his eyes darting around not for threats, but searching for likely shelves to look over. After ten minutes, that initial good feeling was starting to shift into a growing frustration. The Archive was huge, and the idea of searching through endless aisles for a single misplaced fragment of a book was beginning to feel more daunting, especially after everything that had just happened.
“This place is overwhelming,” Klarion admitted, his voice low. “How does anyone find anything in here if they don’t have the help of a librarian?”
Hatsune glanced over her shoulder, a small teasing smile on her lips. “Perhaps we don’t and it’s the Archive itself that decides what we will find.”
“That’s comforting, I guess. Hopefully, it will decide to reward us for looking,” Klarion said, pleased that the Leporine seemed to be moving beyond the guilt she had felt earlier.
They continued in silence for a while, the only sounds being their footsteps and the occasional rustle of parchment as they looked over the contents on the shelves. Finally, the next aisle they entered was a bit narrower than the others, the shelves taller and more imposing. The air was thick with the scent of aged paper and ink as compared to the lighter smell back in the direction they had come from. At the end of one shelf, Klarion’s eyes paused on a stack of metal plates secured together with a thin, black chain. Seeing him hesitate, Hatsune stepped over to take a look at what had caused him to pause in their search. She froze as soon as she saw what he was looking at.
“That’s it,” Hatsune said in a whisper, her tone sure.
Klarion nodded, reaching out to lift it free from the shelf. As his fingers brushed against the metal sheets, he could have sworn he felt the slightest bit of resistance in the air before being able to grasp it. He turned to Hatsune, hand extended for her to look. He didn’t need her confirmation, for as soon as he picked it up, he had gotten confirmation of what it was from his Academy Assignment.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Hatsune’s eyes widened as she stepped closer, her hands trembling slightly. “This is it,” she murmured. “Whispers of Black Steel. I… I never thought I’d see even so much as a fragment in my lifetime,” she looked up to Klarion, tears in her eyes, “or that I would be a bodyguard to a scion of the Treverorum Empire when I did.”
Klarion handed the fragment over, indicating she could take it with an encouraging nod. “Well, we found it. Together. Why don’t you take a look.”
She nodded in response, her expression a mixture of awe and determination. Carefully, she reached out to touch the fragment, her fingers brushing the metal of its surface. In response to Hatsune’s touch, the metal pages and chain glowed slightly, almost causing Klarion to drop it just as the Leporine gasped in shock. It was as if the fragment recognized her, and acknowledged her connection to the swordfighting style it represented.
As Hatsune examined the fragment, Klarion couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of accomplishment. The fragment was more than just an item he needed to find to complete his Academy Assignment, but was a link to Hatsune’s heritage that she hadn’t even realized was here at the Imperial Academy. While she mustered the courage to open it, Klarion considered her words of a moment ago. Since she had referred to it as the Treverorum Empire rather than just the Empire, did that mean Hatsune’s original homeland was like his own, outside the territory of the Empire? He’d have to ask her about it later.
“We need to get this back to a librarian,” Klarion said, his voice gently pulling Hatsune from her inspection of the fragment. “The sooner we do, the sooner we can look over our copy.”
Hatsune reluctantly nodded, but she did hand it out for Klarion to take again. They retraced their steps, the oppressive atmosphere of the Archive gradually lightening as they returned the way they came. For his part, Klairon noticed that Hatsune not only seemed more confident but also excited. He felt a warm feeling at how the Leporine had been behaving since they had found the fragment.
Eventually, they came back to one of the welcoming desks near the front of the Central Archive, behind which an assistant librarian was standing. She barely glanced their way when they emerged from the shelves, but when it was clear they were coming to speak to her, she set aside whatever she had been working on to wait for Klarion to speak.
Klarion handed her the fragment, “I’d like to turn this in to complete an Academy Assignment.”
The assistant librarian nodded curtly, inspecting the fragment of Whispers of Black Steel with a practiced eye before pulling out a ledger. With her free hand, she scrawled something that Klarion couldn’t make out, but he figured it out when his Academy Assignment was updated. She had been marking off the Academy Assignment as completed.
Setting the ledger aside, her hands then moved toward the fragment. Her fingers traced intricate patterns in the air, and threads of golden light began to weave around the polished plates of metal. Slowly, an identical copy of the fragment materialized beside the original, its details rendered with absolute precision. When the duplication process was complete, the librarian set the original fragment aside, and gently handed into Klarion’s outstretched hands the copy.
“Here is your copy, please take care of it,” the librarian said. “You have also earned 15 Knowledge Coins for completing this Assignment. They have been added to your character sheet. Use them wisely. Knowledge is the greatest currency you can wield.”
Congratulations! You have received:
A copy of the Fragment of “Whispers of Black Steel”
Knowledge Coin x 15
Klarion nodded his thanks, then indicated for Hatsune to follow him outside the Central Archive.He was surprised to see it was already late afternoon when they emerged. Walking a few streets, Klarion eventually spied an empty bench on a quiet corner of the street they were walking down. Motioning for Hatsune to take a seat, he wordlessly handed it over for her to take a look. She practically yanked it out of his hands.
Sitting down, Klarion looked over Hatsune’s shoulder as she began muttering under her breath as she looked through the various metal plates. The intricate diagrams and poetic descriptions of the sword techniques captivated him. Each stroke and stance seemed to carry a sense of darkness and elegance, a harmony of brutality and grace. The way Hatsune was nodding along as she poured over it gave him some hope that it would be useful for her. Perhaps she would be willing to teach him as well.
Hatsune was obvious to Klarion’s considering look, so focused was she on the illustrations. The sword style described in the book was unlike anything she had ever seen before — an elegant, almost dance-like combat style that seemed to blend elements of precision with fluid movement. She traced the lines of the swordsman’s stances, intrigued by the unique flow of the techniques. Already she could see ways that even this fragment could improve her style of fighting.
After a few minutes of watching her intensely study what she held, Klarion spoke up, “This style… it’s all about fluidity, about anticipating your opponent’s movements before they even make them. Then brutally striking. Is that right? What do you think?”
Hatsune’s ears twitched as she looked up, meeting his gaze. “It’s… different,” she said slowly, fingers still brushing the pages. “It’s not like anything I’ve trained in before, but it feels right. It’s a way of moving, or thinking. I think I can adapt it to my own style.”
Klarion smiled. “Good. Then maybe you can learn something from this. It’s yours.”
Hatsune’s ears drooped slightly, her expression overcome with emotion. “Lor— Klarion, this… this means everything to me. The Whispers of Black Steel is more than just a sword art. It’s a piece of my people’s heritage, a connection to who we were before the wars and the scattering of our clans. I never thought I’d be able to see even a fragment of it. Thank you.”
The fragment clinked softly against the bench as she set it down. Slowly, she reached out to pull him into a gentle hug. After a moment, Klarion returned the hug, causing the Leporine woman to hold him that much tighter. When she pressed her face into his shoulder it grew a bit damp, but he didn’t notice over how pleasant her hair smelled. Like a forest of cheery blossoms in spring.
When she seemed like she wasn’t about to release him, Klarion shifted awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable with the weight of her gratitude. And other things pressing against him. Like the hilt of her sword pressing into his side. “It’s not a big deal,” he said, shrugging as best he could under her embrace. “I just thought it would be useful for you to have. Besides, I was hoping you might be willing to teach me some of it. If that’s okay, of course.”
Hatsune’s ears twitched, tickling his nose. She released her hug and pulled away, an expression of surprise and contemplation on her face. “Teach you?” she echoed. Her gaze flickered down to the fragment then back up to his face. “The Whispers of Black Steel isn’t just a sword art. It’s… demanding. The techniques require not only physical skill but a deep understanding of balance, timing, and intuition. And they’re meant for those who… well, are beastkin like me.”
“Sounds like you would be the perfect one to teach me then, even if I can’t learn everything.”
Hatsune hesitated, lifting the fragment to her chest like it was a sacred relic. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” she said carefully. “But this sword art is a responsibility. Teaching it means passing on more than just techniques; it’s passing on a legacy. I need to be sure you’re ready for that.”
Klarion’s expression softened, and he nodded. “I understand. I’m not asking for shortcuts or easy answers. I just… I want to learn.”
Hatsune’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, and she took a deep breath, steadying herself. “All right,” she said finally. “I’ll teach you. But there’s one condition: you’ll need a proper sword before we start. The techniques of the Whispers of Black Steel aren’t meant for just any blade. They require balance and precision, a weapon that feels like an extension of yourself.”
Klarion nodded, his excitement bubbling just beneath the surface at the possibility of learning a sword art like Whispers of Black Steel. “I’ll get one. Or make one. Whatever it takes.”
Agreement reached, they continued reading for a while longer, each of them focused on different aspects of the book. Klarion absorbed the principles of the sword style, working through the mental exercises described in the book, trying to look for points of comparison with what Rolfun had taught him. He could already feel a sense of understanding beginning to settle in his chest, but there was no way to be sure until he had done significant training in the style. Still, he found it interesting that the style was not just about physicality — it was about the mindset, the inner calm that would allow him to anticipate his opponent’s moves. It was truly an art.
For Hatsune — or at least from what Klarion could tell — she seemed more and more engrossed in the skill-building exercises laid out in the text. It was clear that the fragment wasn’t just showing her theory; it was showing her how to grow, how to push herself to new heights.
The sun began to dip lower in the sky, casting long shadows down the street around them. Hatsune showed no signs of letting up, so he gently pulled the fragment from her hands. Blinking rapidly, she focused on his face when he pulled it away.
“It is getting late, we need to head back. You can continue tomorrow.”
Hatsune almost reached for the edge of the fragment, reluctant to let it go. But then she nodded, her expression softening into one of understanding. “You’re right,” she murmured. “I just… it feels like there’s so much to learn, and I don’t want to waste a moment.”
“Weren’t you the one who asked why I didn’t just take a break earlier today?” he gently teased her. “Give yourself time to process it.”
They began walking back to the Blacksword Manor. As they walked, the rhythmic sound of their footsteps on cobblestones filled the comfortable silence between them. The streets were quieter now, with only a few other scions and their bodyguards lingering on the streets. Likely most were headed for dinner or home.
“You know,” Hatsune said after a while, her voice thoughtful, “this fragment… it’s more than just a guide. It’s like it’s speaking to me, like it’s unlocking something I didn’t even know I had.”
Klarion glanced at her, “What do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain,” she replied, her gaze fixed ahead. “But when I read it, it feels familiar, like I’m reconnecting with it in some way. I don’t know.”
“Then we’ll make sure you have every chance to master it. I’ll help in any way I can.”
Hatsune turned to him, her eyes bright with gratitude. “Thank you, Klarion. That means more to me than I can say.”
They reached the front entrance of the Blacksword Manor just as the last rays of sunlight disappeared below the horizon. As they stepped inside, the warmth of the building enveloped them, and to Klarion it did not feel quite as empty as yesterday. Hopefully it would feel even more full in the weeks and months ahead.