Chapter 94
Not only the path we took to get here, but even the door was blocked by overgrown weeds.
The surrounding light gradually dimmed, as if the Light Source had been swallowed up by the trees and grass. Toyokawa Shoko felt a tightness in her chest, knowing that it was due to the influence of the surrounding wasteland and woodland.
A similar scene was described in the book attributed to Merlin, "A Brief Account of Dreams and Borders".
If one remains in such an environment for a long time, at best one will suffer from mental instability and madness, and at worst one will become lost, out of control, and develop abnormalities.
Toyokawa Shoko's breathing became rapid; she hadn't expected that she would actually be in such danger.
What made Toyokawa Shoko even more desperate was that, as these plants grew more and more vigorously, pairs of dim, yellow eyes emerged from the meadow, staring straight at her.
As for the tree, one after another bright red, juicy eye sprouted from the trunk, instantly covering the branches and hanging down like ripe grapes.
If an ordinary person were to witness this scene, they would be plunged into a dark despair born of fear, and die of anxiety; or they might believe they have seen the truth of the world, and thus become fascinated by the bizarre scene, leading to a disintegration of their personality.
But Toyokawa Shoko did not show these signs, even though a lingering shadow also covered her heart.
Although she realized that the pruning tools in her hand were not very effective for the plants that had already come back to life, she did not despair because "giving up" was definitely not in Toyokawa Shoko's character.
Think, think quickly.
The living plants pressed closer and closer, leaving only a tiny gap where Toyokawa Shoko stood. The sky above her head was gradually closing in, with only a few rays of light shining down from above.
Miss Hebe isn't the kind of person who would send me to my death for no reason; she'll definitely find a way.
Toyokawa Shoko's eyes grew brighter and brighter. In the silence, a simple incantation suddenly surfaced from the depths of her mind—it was recorded in a corner of "A Brief Account of Dreams and Borders"!
[Silence!]
Toyokawa Shoko shouted the word in Latin.
So the Silent Bookstore began to respond to her power—like an invisible blade cutting through the air, the meadows with their dim yellow eyes were quickly swept up and, with a series of popping sounds, were chopped into powder along with their eyes.
The meadows are like this, and so are the trees.
The trees with red eyes fell to the ground without even a whimper, crashing down amidst the sharp blades.
The sunlight that had been almost blocked overhead became bright and dazzling again.
Toyokawa Shoko looked around. The surroundings were empty. The trees hadn't grown eyes, and the meadow was still only an inch high. It seemed that what had happened before was just an illusion.
A question arose in her mind: Did Miss Hebe have already foreseen this, which is why she placed the book containing the incantation in front of her?
But as I said before... do I have any value in myself that would make someone go to great lengths to scheme and die for me? No, I don't think so.
Toyokawa Shoko gave a self-deprecating laugh.
The spell can remove negative influences in the garden, but that doesn't mean it's a permanent solution.
For the next two hours, Toyokawa Shoko stayed in the Fragrant Garden, using a handsaw, axe, garden shears, and a push lawnmower to repair the lawn, trim the haphazardly growing branches, and painstakingly cut down the trees that had grown onto the road.
It wasn't until nearly noon that Toyokawa Shoko finished dealing with the Fragrant Garden.
But her work extends beyond the Fragrant Garden; she also Martial Practice Garden.
Cleaning up two large districts in succession sounds somewhat inhumane.
But only Toyokawa Shoko herself knew how ingenious Hebe's arrangement was.
Toyokawa Shoko gazed at the orchids blooming freely in the flowerbeds, like golden silk or moths fluttering their wings, and gently inhaled their sweet fragrance.
After sitting in the Fragrant Garden for less than five minutes, her aching muscles and twitching nerves were completely soothed, and even the deep fatigue in her body disappeared.
Now she understood why Hebe had asked her to be the first to clean the Fragrant Garden.
Once she had fully recovered her strength, Toyokawa Shoko crossed the Colonnaded Courtyard to go to the Martial Practice Garden.
She remembered what Hebe had said yesterday: if the Martial Practice Garden wasn't enclosed by a wall, strange things would happen.
'What could be stranger than what I encountered today?' Toyokawa Shoko said dismissively.
After the changes at Fragrant Garden, her mindset underwent some subtle changes, and overall she became more confident.
Hebe gave her the key to the Martial Practice Garden.
Toyokawa Shoko used the key to open the heavy gate of the Martial Practice Garden.
The moment the door opened, a wooden sword came crashing down on him.
Call!
The wooden sword stopped an inch from the girl's brow.
Toyokawa Shoko's vision went black, and she collapsed to the ground, her mind going completely blank!
She saw a pair of gauntlets floating in the air, holding a thick training sword.
As if sensing Toyokawa Shoko's gaze, the gauntlets on his hands flicked contemptuously in the air, the tip of his sword drawing an infuriating arc in the air.
What on earth is this thing?!
144 A straight sword emitting flames
It was a wooden training sword that wasn't very big, and its tip was drooping slightly in the air.
Toyokawa Shoko covered her forehead and gritted her teeth as she got up from the ground.
Throughout this process, the gauntlets showed no sign of attacking her; instead, they waited quietly.
"... Is this the strange phenomenon Miss Hebe was referring to?"
Toyokawa Shoko frowned.
She gradually began to understand everything.
In a garden dominated by plants like the Fragrant Garden, dramatic changes occur due to the woodland; and in the Martial Practice Garden, an environment that once provided a place for martial artists to compete, what will happen? Naturally, it will be the obsession of various strong individuals to fight and kill relentlessly!
"I see..." Toyokawa Shoko tentatively adopted a Jujutsu stance, effectively concealing her inner unease.
Descendants of the Toyokawa Family were only allowed to learn Jujutsu and Sumo, two secret arts passed down by the Demon King, upon reaching adulthood.
She hasn't had time to learn Jujutsu yet; all she knows are a few stances for training.
As if a switch had been flipped, the gauntlet reacted instantly when Toyokawa Shoko adopted a Jujutsu stance used to defend herself.
Brush!
The wooden sword emitted a terrifying whistling sound, instantly breaking through the distance in space and landing on Toyokawa Shoko's shoulder.
"Waaah!"
The structure that Toyokawa Shoko had been struggling to maintain was instantly destroyed. She struggled desperately, but the wooden sword seemed to have no hesitation at all, and once again it was pulled out from another direction, slashing at Shoko's side abdomen.
Smack
Another one.
The wooden sword struck his body with a clear, dull thud, but Shoko didn't feel any pain; he only felt a tingling sensation mixed with itching.
If someone possessed the vision of the Enlightenment or even the Daytime Realm, they would clearly see that—just as the wooden sword was about to strike Toyokawa Shoko's body, it would always slow down rapidly, then adjust its angle and gently tap her body.
Toyokawa Shoko realized this as well. She didn't know what the gauntlets were meant to do, but she understood one thing.
If this gauntlet wanted to kill her, it could have done so with the first strike.
Shoko struggled to maintain the structure of the Jujutsu, using his arms to protect his head while counterattacking with his elbows.
This was very unwise, and Shoko was hit several more times.
Those subtle numbnesses eventually accumulated and converged into a destructive wave that assaulted Toyokawa Shoko's fragile nerves.
Her framework was finally completely destroyed.
The wooden sword rained down on Toyokawa Shoko like a storm, but just before it was about to hit, it changed to a gentle tap.
No words are needed; even a layman can see that this is an outright humiliation.
"Waaah..."
Shoko felt a lump in his throat, and tears almost welled up in his eyes.
She covered her head with her hands, turned around and ran out of the Martial Practice Garden.
The gauntlet, leaning on the wooden sword, remained in place, as if watching her go.
Toyokawa Shoko sat on a bench in the Fragrant Garden, but she couldn't stop crying.
No matter what environment she was in, she always maintained a fragile and delicate self-esteem.
Of course, after arriving in Blanckug and signing that ambiguous contract, Toyokawa Shoko's self-esteem was being challenged and even shaken little by little.
She carefully considered every word and action she would take when facing Hebe.
These were all blows to her self-esteem.
After all, even when she had to work to support herself and her father, she had not been able to work face-to-face due to her age.
In just two short days, Toyokawa Shoko realized that a dark cloud was beginning to gather in the depths of her heart.
She realized that she could never hold her head high in front of Hebe.
But what's even more terrifying is that when Hebe showed her kindness, she felt flattered and even felt a kind of... joy of being recognized.
—Want to be praised, want to be recognized, want to be... petted like a cat or dog.
Toyokawa Shoko felt incredibly conflicted, but her drive to act didn't diminish in the slightest.
She wanted her soul to remain forever independent, but her body was working hard to prove that she was indeed "worth it".
This contradictory emotion, mixed with the humiliation and beating she suffered, turned into a pool of shameful tears that welled up between her fingers.
Toyokawa Shoko first sobbed softly, then began to wail uncontrollably; she felt wronged and in pain. Her cathartic outburst went unheard, echoing only in the garden.
No one came to comfort her until she was exhausted from crying—which was actually a good thing for Shoko.
Neither Hebe nor her family and friends wanted to see her vulnerable and ugly side.
After crying, Toyokawa Shoko wiped away the remaining tears.
The fragrance of the Fragrant Garden had healed her body, sweeping away all her fatigue.
She calmly returned to the foyer, washed the tears off her face with water, and then changed out of her coat, whose sleeves were soaked with tears.
Then, Toyokawa Shoko walked through the Colonnaded Courtyard and, in a small hut outside the Martial Practice Garden, retrieved a protective suit and face shield that fit her body.
She took out the arm armor from the storage box and wrapped it around her arm.
Toyokawa Shoko then found her knee pads and put them on neatly.
Finally, she took out a wooden shield large enough to protect most of her body, and held a training gun in her right hand, just long enough to hit the gauntlets.
Toyokawa Shoko's expression was calm, but her eyes revealed a subtle obsession.
"I must win... You can't stop me."
She stepped into the gate of the Martial Practice Garden.
Sure enough, the gauntlet was still there, leaning on his sword, waiting.
As Toyokawa Shoko walked step by step, her stance with a shield on her left and a gun on her right was more than ten times more intimidating than her previous immature Jujutsu stance.
For the first time, the gauntlets no longer displayed frivolity, but instead assumed a strange posture, like a knight standing sideways with a sword in hand.
Without saying a word, Toyokawa Shoko raised his shield and spear and thrust.
The gauntlet swung its sword down.
"So fast!"
Toyokawa Shoko instinctively raised the shield in her left hand to block.
The wooden sword and the wooden shield clashed with a thud.
"And it's very heavy!"
Toyokawa Shoko realized that the gauntlet was getting serious, so she waited for an opportunity. The moment the gauntlet relaxed its stance, she fired a counterattack.
But the sound of the wooden sword hitting the shield was like a torrential downpour, never-ending!
Toyokawa Shoko's eyes widened—what an unreasonable swordsmanship!
The man wielded his sword with incredible speed and fluidity, seemingly without any hesitation or recovery time, completely disregarding the balance of force and the subsequent stance.
That's right. It's just a gauntlet. Since it doesn't have a human body, it can naturally cancel subsequent sword moves at will, swinging the sword mechanically and efficiently like a lumberjack.