Romance (1)
This world had weekdays and weekends just like Earth. And every Wednesday afternoon was reserved for self-training. The day before, there had been training to improve dynamic vision, but I didn't really need it. It was too easy.
That training had been led by Sara, and when she saw me pass it effortlessly, she let it slide without a fuss. She even said that from now on, for any afternoon classes she taught, I could just listen without doing the practical parts. Anyway, back to the point—Wednesday was self-training day. It was also one of my favorite days.
Because Kara taught me techniques.
"Alright. Today's lesson is ukemi. You know what ukemi is, right? You've probably picked it up on your own anyway."
"Yeah."
"Luna, you?"
Kara asked Luna after hearing my reply. Luna had started learning martial arts from Kara too. At first, she'd stubbornly insisted she didn't need to learn it, but she'd completely changed her mind. Kara had accepted it without any hard feelings.
"Kinda?"
"And you haven't learned it, have you?"
"......Yeah."
"Hate to say it, but who the hell was your swordsmanship teacher? Why'd they teach you so weirdly?"
Kara asked with a look of utter disbelief. From her perspective, she couldn't help but wonder who Luna's teacher was. Ukemi, along with footwork, was the absolute basics of martial arts. Even ordinary people could prevent serious injuries just by learning ukemi. But they'd only taught her swordsmanship and called it a day. No wonder there were gaps all over her skills.
"Just some weird person. Looked like they were from the East, from what I could tell."
"Didn't even know their name or face?"
"Nope. They were super mysterious, so I barely knew anything. Wore a smiling mask, so no idea about the face."
"That's wild. Is this what they call a fated encounter in the East?"
It was a fated encounter, sure. And becoming friends with Kara and learning from her was one too. If Luna's teacher had laid down the basic framework, Kara would fill it in solid. After that, it'd be up to Luna to develop it herself.
Her teacher had taught her strangely for a reason.
Probably to account for mental growth.
If you started out too strong, there'd be no need to mature. Especially in a world where raw power mattered so much. Even in the game, there were plenty of times when lacking strength meant solving things with wits. It was why veterans dominated the meta.
"Anyway, whatever. You can start learning now. Martial arts take time, so let's begin with the basics of basics. The importance of ukemi..."
Kara started with the theory. Ukemi, alongside footwork, was the foundation of martial arts. Combat brought all sorts of situations, and the most dangerous was falling. The human body had ridiculously fragile weak points—hit a vital spot, and most people died. Falls often led to injuring those spots, and ukemi minimized that damage.
"Ukemi's especially crucial because it's not just for fighting. Ever heard that Eastern saying? 'Even a backfall breaks the nose of the unlucky bastard'?"
"......"
That wasn't quite how you used it, but whatever. Unlike me, Luna didn't know proverbs well and just stared blankly. Kara was great overall, but she had this occasional know-it-all streak. She learned well but applied it oddly sometimes. Still, she was an excellent teacher, so as long as it got through, fine.
"Sis. Can I ask something?"
"Go ahead."
"Can we learn how to balance in midair like Sivar does?"
"Nah. Better to master ukemi first. That's only possible for him— even I can't do it."
Kara shut it down flat. I had exceptional balance to steady myself in the air, but others didn't. Training balance wasn't bad, but like she said, ukemi was better. I'd developed this way precisely because I couldn't learn ukemi properly. Cost me a lot of head injuries.
Later, instinct kicked in and I mastered it naturally, but early on, my skull took a beating.
Wait, did that make me dumb?
Nah— I'd scored high on the creativity test, so my brain was fine. My thinking had just gotten brutally straightforward. With such a strong body, I didn't need to think much.
"Theory's done. Like I keep saying, every principle of ukemi is about extending the impact time even a little. Watch me closely first."
Kara demonstrated forward ukemi, backward, sideways, spinning—everything she could teach. It looked easy, but making it instinct would take ages.
"Luna, master ukemi first. Sivar, you learn grappling. To learn smoothly, you need a partner..."
She glanced around. Probably looking for Elvin, the perfect teaching aid(?). But Elvin had vanished again. We'd been together until just before lunch, then poof.
"Where the hell does that guy wander off to? He says his people came and he's busy, but he's barely around."
Kara grumbled her complaint. He was my protector too, but spent little time with me. Elvin had his reasons—he was from a prestigious family, dragged everywhere. Plus, with a big-point exam coming up, he was running around like crazy.
Most people have no clue about the exam.
I was probably the only one who knew besides the organizers. Rules said not to leak content. But the academy's long tradition meant there were records—written exams varied, but practicals followed patterns.
"Now, grappling. Boxing's important, but grappling's more so. A few punches to the face won't kill you, but a choked or snapped neck will."
"Yeah."
"Come closer for a sec? Teaching technique takes time, so defense first."
Kara flopped onto the well-padded mat. Her huge breasts jiggled slightly from the motion. I almost stared but held back. No weird thoughts.
"Hop on top here? No weight, though."
She patted her stomach invitingly. I climbed on as asked. Looked compromising to outsiders, but it was legit training. Called the mount position. Once you got mounted, the fight was usually over. The bottom guy could barely do anything.
"This is what you aim for—and what you avoid. Whoever's on top can do whatever; bottom just defends."
"Yeah."
"Ways to escape. Gentlemanly way first."
Thud! Her relatively free knee lightly tapped my tailbone. My body pitched forward from the reaction. Instinctively, I braced with my hands. Then she grabbed my collar and rolled half a turn. Positions flipped—I was under, she on top.
"Like that. Practice only, not real fights. Back now."
We spun back. I followed her lead.
"Fights aren't gentlemanly, so expect a brutal beating from this spot. If you can free a leg even a bit, shove like this."
One of her legs wriggled up and out between my groin, then kicked hard into my abs. She said it was best. I flew back, then remounted at her call.
"You're strong, so brute force works. Might suit you. My way:"
Thud! Knee to tailbone again. Forward pitch. Same so far—but she grabbed my head to keep me down.
"Lock their fists useless like this. You'll push my neck to escape, right? That's your chance."
As I pressed her neck to rise, her arm snaked in, locking my arm. I could break it with strength, but this was technique time.
"Then."
She twisted the imbalance and rolled. Flipped again.
"Master this to escape mount. Works unless strength gap's insane. Tough?"
"Yeah."
Honestly, super tough. Boxing was simple punching; grappling's defense was a wall. Kara smirked like she expected it, then said not to worry.
"Don't stress. This is pure technique. With your strength, just shove. Escape however."
"......"
"Just intro today. Takes days. Weekends too?"
She grinned wide. Sounded like weekends too. Great for my free schedule, but I felt bad stealing her time. And Luna was here.
"You okay?"
"Huh? With what?"
"Time."
I asked if she had no personal time. She got my clumsy point instantly.
She blinked decoding it, then chuckled.
"Nothing on weekends. Better training with you two than lounging. Plus fun."
"......"
"Look at you, getting considerate. Such a good boy."
She pinched my cheek lightly, praising. Normally annoying, but not bad. We clicked, and she invested tons of time in me.
We were about to resume when:
Murmurs.
Noise from a training ground corner. Me, Kara, even Luna practicing ukemi alone—all turned.
Wondering what, then it clicked.
"That's Gloria, right? But the guy next to her..."
"Matra Empire and Granada combo. Rare."
"Why're they here?"
"Dunno."
As promised, Gloria and Chronos visited the training grounds. They kept a subtle, not-quite-separated distance as they approached.
"Hello. We know each other, right?"
Gloria greeted warmly first. Chronos just nodded. Luna nodded back, but looked awkward. Expected or not, all the attention was burdensome.
"Hi. Gloria... ma'am. And Chronos ma'am."
"Thrilled you remember us. Anyway, sparring results are in."
Gloria smiled sweetly. Impressive acting always. Chronos said nothing, poker face holding—huge for him. He sucked at acting, spoke stiff like reading a textbook, so silent tough guy worked. Fit his real personality too—no one suspected.
"Draw. And both too talented to pick one. So we'll teach both, choose later."
"......I-is that okay?"
You're bad at acting too. I eyed Luna's rising inflection. Awkward as hell, but to outsiders, just nerves. No suspicion bait. Their status sealed buy-in.
"Of course. No point clashing ourselves. Fairer this way."
"Y-yeah. Got it. Sis Kara?"
"What?"
"Can I train with them...?"
"Do you. Not just today. I'll do my own."
Kara waved it off easily. I'd skipped telling her for perfection, but still rude. Luna apologized looking truly sorry.
"Sorry, sis."
"Nothing to sorry about. Miss this, you're dumb. And Sivar."
"?"
Kara called me. I faced her questioningly. She studied my face, lips moving, then flashed her usual bright smile.
"Learn well. Don't come to me. Rare chance, remember?"
She worried I'd pick her over them. Honestly, tempted. But no—mentor event valid till exam. Miss it, gone forever.
Still, Kara's trustworthy.
I glanced between Kara and the secret couple. Unlike chatty Ellie, Kara was solid. Strictly, uninterested in secrets. Forgot they existed. People called her tight-lipped; she just erased them.
Even in Soul World, just 'oh, okay?'
Kara didn't care about Matra-Granada ties. Her nation first. Authority-hater, might forget, but Tatar princess. No political schemer anyway—trustworthy.
"Hurry up. Not bummed at all, go."
Seeing me hesitate, she shoved my back. Still smiling. But I saw the faint disappointment.
Me and Luna gone? She'd train alone, lonely. She hated that subtly—couldn't leave her.
"Kara."
"What?"
"Together. Let's go."
I acted a bit dumb. If untrustworthy, I'd go. But my Kara never spilled. Forgot from disinterest.
"Sivar. Sis Kara..."
"No."
I cut Luna off, grabbed Kara's shoving hand, pulled her to face Gloria and Chronos.
Felt her panic, ignored. Asked them:
"Together."
Request? Nah.
"Go."
Silent threat. No Kara, I spill. Not really—closer to plea. Spilling nuked relations; insane. They didn't know, so bluff worked.
Chronos looked troubled when Kara yanked free, yelling:
"No no no. I'm fine! You two go. Really."
She clutched the hand I'd grabbed, flustered. Confidence gone, just shock. Bronze skin couldn't hide the blush. That red? Unavoidable maybe.
Half-given-up then:
"Fine. Kara too."
"Huh?"
Gloria approved crisply. Even her lover Chronos gawked.
"But inside first. Talk."
Her reason unknown, but face:
"Got it?"
Like finding a new toy.