Looking back, I've always been alone. I can't speak well, and I'm not very good at interacting with people. In my mind, the words come out as smoothly as they do now, but when the time comes to talk to someone, I can't help but get stuck. I get so nervous that I can't speak. I shake and get scared. That's an innate trait, I thought.


'You're creepy,'
Get out of my way, you idiot!
She's so creepy, isn't she?


　While everyone else was playing, I was alone in a pothole away. As such, I was able to use my magic, so I played with it. I was lonely I thought so at first, but gradually I got used to it. I was rather more comfortable being alone. Everyone else was playing idly in the bright sunshine except me. I, on the other hand, am a shadow. I don't want anyone to see me, I just stay in the shadows. I didn't care if I was called a gloomy person, or if I was slandered. Because that's who I am.


"How was the Bell School?
Was that fun?
Okay.
Yes.


　I lied to my parents. Looking back, if I had accepted my loneliness, I should have told my parents about it, but I was too embarrassed to do so. I guess there was a feeling of shame somewhere in my heart, after all. But still, I had magic. A magic that none of the children around me could use.......magic.


　And I was discovered for my talent, and I was soon enrolled in the Counter-Magic Academy.



''Hey that........''
You're still a kid...
But I hear you're a genius.
Are you sure?


　The environment may have changed, but my existence remains the same.

　Bertina Wright. It had already come to be described as a genius. She has skillfully manipulated magic from an early age, and is especially good at melee combat. So it seems I am rumored to be. And although I still had no friends, I did have one person close to me.


''You're strong.''
"...?　Is that so...?
Hm ... maybe you could teach him a thing or two.
What...?
It's a secret sword.
Hiken...?


　While I was alone in the academy's exercise area, a man came over to me as I was swinging my sword bare in the academy's exercise area. His appearance was somewhat suspicious. His beard was all over his face, his hair was completely black and stretched to his waist, and he held a long, black sword in his right hand. If you look closely, only the blade is a scorching vermilion color.

　It's clearly suspicious........but the fact that he's in this academy means he's probably a teacher or something. I decided to ask only me for now.


''You, what's your name?''
Bertina Wright....
Ho.........that genius. But it's more than I expected. Well, Bertina no, Belle. You want to be strong?
Strong...?
Yeah. You are capable of being the greatest of all human beings. But, you see, it takes a strong will to get there. You had better be clear on whether you want to be or not.
....


　It bothers me. Honestly, I just came in here because I'm talented. I didn't have some lofty goal in mind. But maybe being able to be strong means being able to change from the person I am now to a different person.


　Why have I been training alone ever since I entered the academy? When I think about it again.......I still wanted to change my current self. There must be something beyond this training... I spent every day thinking, even as a child, that there must be something beyond this training.


　That's why I didn't have any doubts about it.


I want to be strong....
Well said. So you'll call me Master from now on. You understand?
"Master?
That's right. I'll give you all my swordsmanship.
...Okay....


　This is how I proceeded. And later on, I would grow up to become the swordswoman who would be known as the strongest of the human race....



　◇



Hey!　Belch!　You think that's how you're going to be able to handle a secret sword!
'G........................'


　Then it was hell. For some reason, my entire curriculum at the academy had been completed, and the only thing left to learn was to train with my master. Even though I was very young, I understood that.


''.........Ha, ha, ha, ha....


　His ribs are broken. And his left arm was bent in a strange direction, and it was probably broken as well. It may be bleeding internally as well, or it's a blue bruise in places. Even though I could be healed later with healing magic, my master was relentless. It didn't matter at all that I was a young child, and that I was a woman.


　The first few months of my life were spent incessantly being beaten to a pulp. But I didn't let that break me. My bones may have been broken, but my heart remained unbroken. Whether it was the lack of sensitivity or another factor, all I could focus on was moving forward.


　My mentor later told me that he was actually terrified of me at the time. If it were true, he would have broken his heart long ago. No, he had originally planned to break it. The plan was to build up my mental strength first, but I stood up. He said that no matter how much he was hurt, he didn't think I was human for continuing to stand up. But that's about it, or else I wouldn't be able to reach the status of a special grade anti-magician.


　And after two years passed since I met my master I was twelve years old.


''You've finally become a thing.''
Well done, Master!
That said, it's still one of the Ten Secret Swords. Can you do nine more?
Yes!


　The Secret Sword. It took me a year to get to that realm. And a year to master one of those ten secret swords. At this rate, it might take ten years. But I didn't think so. I stared at the hand that held my sword.

　I'm getting stronger....that's how I felt. The moment I mastered the secret sword, it was as if a heavenly destiny had descended on me. It's not that I believe in God, but if I had to say........I could only describe it as such a feeling.


　It was as if he had another sense organ that was not in the human realm.


　And it took me another three years to master all the remaining secret swords.


　I was already fifteen years old.



''........Huh, mastering all the secret swords at the age of 15?''
"Thank you for everything you've done for me...


　I bobbed my head. My second s*x drive was over and my body was much larger than it had been when I was a child. It could rival my master's. Perhaps because of this, it only took me five years to learn the secret sword. According to my master, even if it took ten years, it was still a fast one.


Now, Belle. You are a full-fledged swordsman now. That means you can no longer be a student. From next month, you'll be a soldier. And you'll be under my command.
...Was your master a soldier?
Yeah. A major, actually. From now on, you'll call me Major. The Master's days are numbered.
...Okay, Master I'm not talking about you, Major.
Ha, ha. Well, I'll start next month. Well, it's a happy day. What do you want?
...with meat.
'I like you too. You're always that way.
'Well that's ... yes ...'
Well, I'll take you someplace fancy.
...Yes!


　It's not like me and I'm flabbergasted. The days of training with my mentor were hard. It was like hell. I can't even remember how much I hurt my body and my mind. Still, these days were full of life. Most of all, they were beautiful and full of peace.


　And I would become a soldier. That's where I would come to know. Even after all this effort, the twilight ruthlessly reaps the lives of human beings. There is no dignity in it. It's just a world of being overrun or being overrun. That's all there is to it.


　And so I will throw myself into such a world.