"I will cure your insomnia. How about it?"
Javier unconsciously clenched his fists. He wondered if this was what it felt like to be hit in the head with a hammer out of nowhere. How does Master Lloyd know about my insomnia?
The insomnia that started torturing him years ago. He never revealed it before. He never told a single soul. He never even remembered showing any signs of it.
Javier gave an awkward smile and said, "I'm not sure what you mean. Insomnia? Where does that come from? I have no idea what you are talking about?"
"Hn, really?"
"Yes."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Javier, are you trying to pretend you don't know?"
"Of course not."
"You're not?"
"Yes."
"Then why are you smiling? Very awkwardly, at that."
"What?"
"Did you know? This is the first time you've smiled in front of me other than when you put on your cheeky grin."
"Oh my. Look at you, wiping off your smile after I point it out. You're making it too obvious. Did you panic? Tsk, tsk, tsk… over something so small. I can see through it, so drop the act. Let's just get this one thing straight. I will cure your insomnia. In return, you will teach me how to sword fight. How about it? I think that is a pretty good deal."
Javier swallowed dryly. Honestly, he was startled. Chronic insomnia. It was an illness that had tortured him for three years now. The reason or cause for it was unknown. His senses just became overly sensitive at some point.
The idle sound of grasshoppers. The sound of branches swaying in the wind. Even the rustling sound of him tossing and turning under a blanket.
The sounds heard with his ears, the sights seen by his eyes. The sensations on his skin. Even the subtle smell of the air in every breath he took. He could clearly pick up on all of them.
It was to the point where he could feel his individual eyelashes when he closed his eyes. The sound of his heart beating in his ears prodded him every second of every day.
Short version: his senses pricked his entire body like needles twenty-four hours a day.
He couldn't fall asleep at all. By this point, he got all his sleep from eventually passing out in exhaustion in the early morning after tossing and turning all night.
There were no solutions. Nothing worked. And he'd tried everything.
Three years had already gone by.
It was a pain he struggled with in secret and a bug he couldn't reveal for fear it'd become a weakness. His wish was to sleep soundly for even one night. But he knows? The troublesome young master? How? Javier's face set as if it were frozen in a block of ice.
Lloyd's gaze turned sly. How else? It's because I read the book.
Javier was the protagonist of the novel The Knight of Blood and Iron. Lloyd had read it thoroughly and memorized the contents. He remembered even the most trivial details about Javier… such as his insomnia.
"You probably don't know the cause of the insomnia that's torturing you. But I know. Swordmaster syndrome. That was the cause of the illness. As your swordsmanship approaches master level, all your senses become abnormally acute. Simply put, it's a natural phenomenon that occurs to those who are reaching a superhuman state of being."
It was the same in Javier's case. He was able to become an advanced swordsman at only seventeen. As he developed, so did his affliction. He spent every night tossing and turning in misery. But for a long time, he still couldn't find the cause. That was because of only one reason: Javier was from the countryside.
Forget a sword master, I can barely find a sword novice in this rural wasteland. No, I would likely find three or four high-level sword experts at most, even if I searched the kingdom's capital. That was why he couldn't easily come across information about sword master syndrome.
If this world had internet access, he would've easily found the information by just searching on the web. But this place was different. They could only obtain knowledge through limited personal connections or books. Otherwise, it would be delivered by word of mouth, which was hard to validate. Outside those methods, there was no other way to acquire new information.
For that reason, Javier in the novel finally finds the cause of his insomnia two years from now. From then, it's only after three years that Javier overcomes his insomnia by coincidence.
I can make it happen earlier. He knew how to. He knew for sure.
"I will succeed. Your thoughts?"
"Do I have to answer?"
"Well, you aren't obligated to," Lloyd said, as he stabbed his salad with a fork. "Don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to fool you. I'm just saying you should trust me this once."
"Trust you, Master Lloyd?"
"Yes. Good is good, after all. People trust each other in situations like this. Building a constructive relationship through trust. Helping each other during hard times. That's just how it goes in work and life in general, isn't it? Why is your face so sour? Do I seem like a hustler when I talk like this?"
"If I'm being honest, you do seem like one a bit."
"Am I that untrustworthy?"
"Yes." Javier nodded his head.
Lloyd licked his lips. "Then how about we do this? Let's play a word game."
"Did you say, 'a word game'?"
"Yes. Let's give it a try to build some trust between us. Give me a letter and I'll come up with a word."
"What…?"
"All right, so… start with the letter M. Now… go!"
Javier looked at him blankly.
"Hurry."
"…M…"
"My loyal knight Javier, do you not trust me?"
"Maybe."
"An acrostic poem out of nowhere. You were mistaken if you thought these schemes would easily work on me. More importantly, I would like to ask a question too."
"Hmm, tsk. What is it?"
"I was wondering why you were carrying around a summoning book all day." Javier gazed toward the table in front of Lloyd. The basic summoning book. It was what Lloyd was reading while having his meal.
"Oh, this?" Lloyd smirked. "I was just reading it because I got bored."
"Excuse me?"
"I was just reading it. Is that not allowed?"
Javier closed his mouth.
Lloyd's smile got bigger. "Javier, I can see through you too easily. Is this how you're trying to change the topic?"
"I merely asked what I was curious about."
"Never mind. Just continue what you were saying."
Javier remained silent.
"So, you can't trust me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't have a specific reason."
"You just can't trust me?"
"Yes. I just can't trust you. Is that not allowed?"
It was a counterattack. As expected, Javier wasn't easy to deal with. Lloyd brightly smiled. "You think that was a sick burn, right?"
"I didn't have that thought in particular."
"Really?"
"Yes." Javier momentarily avoided his eyes as he answered. As he thought, this guy really had no skill for lying. Lloyd smiled brightly. "I still don't want to. I'm not going to tell someone who has insomnia. How dare you act up when you can't even sleep. Do you feel bad? Are you sad? Then accept my proposal."
"No thank you."
"I said I'll help you sleep soundly."
"I don't want to even then."
"Because you can't trust me?"
"Yes."
That was how the conversation went. However, Lloyd didn't give up. He suddenly asked during breakfast: "Hey, Javier?"
"Yes, Master Lloyd."
"Did you sleep well last night? How about accepting my proposal now?"
"No thank you."
He asked again while walking down the hallway. "By the way, Javier."
"Go ahead, Master Lloyd."
"Is it all right to keep losing sleep? That's why I'm saying to accept my proposal."
"I refuse."
He asked again on the way to inspect the construction site. "Oh, right. Javier?"
"Yes, Master Lloyd."
"How does it feel to not be able to sleep all night? Aren't you starting to have thoughts about accepting my proposal?"
"Not at all."
He popped in the question during dinner too. "Hmm. Javier?"
"Go ahead…"
"Do you possibly enjoy not being able to sleep? Do you get a rush of endorphins? Do you get a kick out of it? Well, then you're a pervert."
He even abruptly asked again while he was lying down in bed to sleep. "Ugh, Javier? You won't be able to sleep tonight too, right? I'll sleep soundly in your stead. Aren't you grateful? Happy? 'Excuse me, Sir?' Please answer instead of cursing me out with your eyes."
"Ha ha… very well then."
"What do you mean very well?"
"I will accept your proposal, Master Lloyd."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Lloyd bolted up.
Javier bit his lip. He was beyond tired of it now. The constant pestering throughout the day was killing him. It was almost impossible to even doze off because of his frazzled nerves. Of course, it's not like I trust Master Lloyd's proposal. Lloyd Frontera was not a very reliable person. But to put an end to the constant ridicule and questions? He thought this was the only way to stop it.
"Regardless of anything, this acceptance is contingent on the promise that you actually will cure my insomnia. So, curing my insomnia is the priority."
Obviously, there was no possibility it would be cured. He had no hopes that Lloyd would have that kind of ability. It was better to just accept the proposal and let him fail. Making him give up like this seemed easier. Since I don't want to teach him how to sword fight.
He couldn't trust Lloyd. Until a few days ago, Lloyd was someone who did nothing but drink every day and cause trouble. Although he did change a little recently, it was uncertain how long this would last. There was no knowing when his bad habits would raise their head again. Yet, teach that kind of person how to sword fight? It's nonsense.
He thought it would be better to hand a knife to a child. With that thought in mind, he spoke. "As such, please prove that you can cure my insomnia first, Master Lloyd."
"All right, I will. Can you sit here for now?"
"Yes."
Javier sat down on the resting chair as Lloyd ordered, and then inwardly snorted. It was because he saw Lloyd clearing his throat. Could it be he's going to sing me a lullaby or something? A lullaby. It wasn't even funny anymore. At the same time, he became certain there was no way he would experience an unbelievable miracle and sleep soundly tonight.
But the moment Lloyd opened his mouth, his certainty started to splinter.
"If the yield strength of the steel, fy, is stressed to conduct the tensile test and results in a less than 0.003 strain rate, then the reinforcement's design strength can be maintained without decreasing fy."
What…? Javier couldn't understand a word being said. He was talking normally. It wasn't like he was speaking in some mysterious foreign tongue. Meaning they were speaking the same language. But he couldn't understand anything he said. And, he kept on talking like that!
"However, the yield strength cannot be greater than 5,500kgf/cm². This is because when the yield strength of the steel is 5,500kgf/cm², the yield strain is almost the same as the 0.003 maximum strain rate of the compacted concrete. And…"
He had blanked out while listening to something. This was definitely a reality, but he felt like his mind was drifting away.
"And the amount of steel … blah, blah, blah … Except for the slabs that require reinforcement… yada, yada, yada… The reinforcement ratio, P, in its given cross-sectional area… this or that… The maximum reinforcement ratio, P, has to be over min=14/fy … blah, blah, blah…"
He felt drowsy. His entire body was floating. His consciousness was slipping away. The line between reality and imagination became blurry. Resistance was pointless. Even if he tried to pry open his eyes. Even if he tried to sluggishly move his fingers. Nothing would work. I can't… fall… asleep…
"Over here the unit of fy is kgf/cm… The reason for the minimum reinforcement ratio… more gibberish… In order to prevent flexural failure… If the reinforced flexural, 0.10fck ® A… Ja-la-la…"
This was the power that reading a college textbook had that was even more destructive than sleeping pills. That was the end.
Javier's eyes relaxed. His eyelids closed. His consciousness flew away. He sank into the resting chair. Before he knew it, he was sound asleep.
A smile of satisfaction spread across Lloyd's face. As expected, it's just like the scene in the novel.
That day Javier overcame his insomnia for the first time. On that day, he coincidentally heard the reading of a complex magic technique. The quiet and never-ending reading made him fall asleep before he realized it. Just like now.
Javier would never again be able to forget the feeling of a restful good night's sleep he experienced today. His body would no longer be able to sleep without a college textbook lullaby.
Lloyd put on a satisfied yet wicked smile. Your swordsmanship is all mine now.
Translator: https://bettertranslation9.wordpress.com