Cinq South Section 4 Director: Sinclair's Story
Cinq Assoc. South Section 4 Director Sinclair
The training hall was bustling with noise.
Sounds of training swords clashing against one another, loud noises from Association members' busy footwork scraping against the wooden floor.
Right, this is going to be our third engagement...
Yessir!
The child was a part of that noise.
... Well, to be more precise, the child's timid voice was presently getting buried in the noise.
You should try going on the offensive first...
The child drew his sword, looking somewhat hesitant.
One may see a meek and nervous child with not a speck of talent in the art of dueling, going by the way he carried himself...
Gulp...
... but for whatever reason, the opposing Association member appeared extremely tense, as though he was facing off against an overwhelming foe.
On the third engagement, it's important to... ah, parry and redirect your opponent's straightforward momentum to the side...
Yes, Director...!
The child, with his trembling and nervous voice, was teaching swordplay to the Association member. A confusing sight, indeed.
Even more confusing was that, somehow, the child was the Director of Cinq Association Section 4.
Next, with this attack...
Oh.
Woosh.
The child's blade moved faster than the speed of thought, pierced through the defenses, and narrowly missed the opponent's jaw.
O-oh?! I'm so sorry. I-I was trying to show you how to smoothly connect that parry into an attack...
Haah... Haah... I-I'm okay.
So this is... the Director's famed...
No, this... this isn't anything impressive. 'Moving like the blade guides me'... just means that I don't have control over my own blade.
Unlike the spectators' impressed hollers, the child appears rather dejected.
It was as though the child descends into a world of his own where there is naught else but himself and the blade - a manifestation of an extremely intense level of focus. With his particular techniques, perfected in that focused state, the child rose through the ranks to become the Director of the Cinq Association Section 4. But...
... the child felt as though his achievements weren't his own. That he didn't get this far purely with his skills with the blade. This position was a burden to him, and the child thought himself undeserving of such a responsibility.
... Agh!
As the child mused quietly to himself after regaining a bit of distance from his sparring opponent, a gauntlet flew out of nowhere and struck the child.
... To throw the gauntlet as a member of the Cinq Association... is to challenge someone to a duel.
Of course, these challenges happened among the members of the Cinq Association as well.
Sorry 'bout that, Director.
Somebody put out a Duel contract against you, so...
... I see.
One of the main functions of the Cinq Association is to duel in the client's stead. To be hired as a champion in a duel against an individual of the client's choosing. Of course, their goal is to carry out the terms of the contract as stipulated.
Contracts against other members of the Cinq Association happened more often than one might think.
It was common for members of the Cinq Association to make enemies in the City, after all.
And these contracts happened quite often against the Director of Section 4, considering that he was known for his rather timid disposition.
... And the rules are?
I tried my best to talk 'em out of it, but... haah, my client really has it out for you, Director.
My client requested a Level 3 Duel, trial by combat. ... A duel to the death.
Fine, I accept...
The child sighed.
It was almost a shuddering sigh. The Association member who threw the gauntlet noticed it too - he grinned.
But... the child's sigh did not indicate fear.
You're... a new transfer to Section 4, aren't you?
... Yes, I am.
I guess you didn't hear what happened last time...
Several voices echo through the training hall. 'Oh, that poor man.' 'That's a shame.'
But... it would be a shame to withdraw a thrown gauntlet.
Es-tu prêt? (Ready?)
A-Allez!
The room's atmosphere, everyone's attitude... everything was telling him that something was seriously wrong. But it was too late.
His grand plan of taking the massive sum of the contract fee, his plan of taking over the tragically vacated office of the Director...
Focus... on the tip of my blade...
...!
... scattered to nothingness as the child's blade swiftly yet brutally penetrated his skull.