Spar with Me Seriously
“Spar with me seriously.”
Serious. And sparring. At my words, Selena knitted her brows tightly together.
“I’ve always been serious, though?”
“Sorry. But you’ve never actually hurt me before, Seli.”
“......”
When I thought about it, she was right. Selena had only ever smashed my wooden sword as if venting her frustration, or dunked me in water to knock some sense into me. Split lips, scraped knees, planting my face in the dirt—every injury had been self-inflicted. None of them had come from someone else. That was why Eila seemed to misunderstand Selena a little, though I always desperately defended her to clear things up.
Anyway.
“I truly want to become a knight.”
“I know. It’s what you always say, like an idiot, Rui.”
“......If becoming a knight means risking my life, then I’ll risk it.”
I actually had before. And I would probably have to again. Depending on how she interpreted my words, Selena’s eyes seemed to grow a touch colder. She usually brushed off whatever I did, but this time was clearly different.
“......”
Wait, huh? I had never once seen those pink lips tremble before. Selena clutched the hem of her dress so tightly her knuckles paled, then spoke again with her usual expression.
“Even if you risk it, I doubt it would work?”
“Ugh.”
That single phrase made my head spin. Had this girl peeked into my past life? The remark was so realistic and grounded that I couldn’t even get angry. All I could do was plead.
“I know. So please help me.”
“Help with what, exactly?”
“From now on, come at me like you’re trying to kill me—ugh!”
Whoosh! The world spun. It might have been more than one rotation. My collar was seized in Selena’s grip, and I was slammed into the ground like a crumpled rag with a heavy thud.
Slap!
A smack across the cheek in that position. Honestly, it was fortunate it ended with one. It didn’t really hurt; the struck cheek just felt faintly numb.
I lay on the grass and met Selena’s gaze without flinching.
“Stupid acts should end at being stupid.”
“......I can’t stop.”
“Rui. You’re pretty clever, aren’t you? Join our trading company. I’ll speak with Mother. Actually, I’ve already laid the groundwork in more ways than one. So let’s end this foolishness, okay?”
“......”
“......”
A brief silence. Squeeze. Selena, who had been staring straight into my eyes, shut them tightly. She took several deep breaths, as if she couldn’t calm herself.
“Rui.”
“Yeah.”
“Pick up your sword.”
I wasn’t foolish enough to feel purely happy about it. My mind was busy wondering how I would have to let her vent her anger later, but I shook my head hard to clear every distracting thought. If I faced her with a cluttered mind, I might actually die.
“Sorry.”
“If you’re sorry, then block and dodge properly. I’m going to sincerely try to stop you.”
“Okay.”
Childhood friends for ten years. Rui and Selena slowly leveled their swords at each other. What we needed now might not be words, but a conversation through blades.
Whoosh! The sword’s trajectory was visible. Since it was an unrefined, raw strike, it wasn’t surprising that I could read its path. But if you asked whether seeing it meant I could avoid it… well?
Bam!
“Hic!”
A stupid sound slipped out before I could stop it. The me from my previous life would never have shown such an unsightly reaction. Even though I had barely blocked Selena’s strike, the shock forced me to clench my teeth and desperately steady myself.
But thinking about it the other way around, it meant Selena was truly trying to break me with everything she had—so fiercely that I wouldn’t last without pulling myself together. Or maybe she just wanted to beat me soundly? Of course, I had earned it.
“What are you doing, Rui? Block properly. Actually, for the current you, dodging would be smarter than blocking.”
“Neither is easy…!”
Clang! I barely deflected Selena’s wooden sword. If both blocking and dodging were difficult, flowing with the force seemed best.
“......!”
I let the strike flow like water and aimed for Selena’s pale throat. Her eyes widened in surprise for an instant before she kicked off the ground and opened the distance in a single burst.
“Did you just swing with real killing intent?”
“......”
The pressure was overwhelming. So much that I nearly forgot she was a precious friend I had known for ten years in this new life. Still, having come this far, I couldn’t back down just because I was scared.
“I trusted you. I knew you could dodge something like that, Selena.”
“......That’s true.”
“Right?”
I let out a silent sigh of relief. When had I asked her to come at me like she wanted to kill me? I was confused myself; I hadn’t expected such an intense reaction from her. But my awkward smile lasted only a moment. The sight of Selena’s beautiful blue eyes left me speechless.
“Still… it seems a little painful.”
“......”
If that was greed, then it was greed. If she asked whether I regretted it, I would have said yes. Did the blonde girl before me know that too? Selena pressed her pink lips tightly together and readjusted her grip on the sword.
“Rui. Raise your sword.”
“Okay.”
Selena’s blade pointed solely at me. To completely crush my will. In a way, it was so devoid of childishness that it sent chills down my spine. But that was exactly what made it so like her.
The smartest child in the village. The one who would one day lead the trading company. The rational girl. Yet the one who had watched her friend’s foolish antics with cool indifference for ten years.
Was I really someone who couldn’t do anything without leaning on her?
Just what the hell was this thing called knighthood—.
“......”
Swish! A strike flew as if cutting my thoughts short. Once again the blade carried a chilling edge. I dodged it on reflex, then dodged again, even deflecting the next blow.
The movements flowed so naturally it felt like they were carved into my body.
“Hah…!”
It was a strike even I could hardly believe. Probably the best sword swing I had ever made in either life.
Whoosh! But the blade never connected. Because there was a girl who parried my strike even more skillfully than I could swing it.
Selena pulled her sword back for a moment and tucked a strand of flowing golden hair behind her ear.
“See? It wasn’t a waste after all.”
“......”
I had no reply. Right now, simply crossing blades might be best for both of us. I was too embarrassed to say anything else anyway.
“This time I’ll come at you. So… dodge well, alright?”
“Yeah. You saw, didn’t you? Even if I don’t want to dodge Rui’s sword, it still gets dodged. Hmm. No. Maybe I’ll just take it cleanly this time?”
“Why?”
“I got curious how seriously you can actually hit me.”
“......”
I no longer even understood what kind of conversation this had become. I patted my stinging cheek a few times, then barely managed to lift my wooden sword and take a stance.
“You’re curious about the strangest things. Must be because you’re a merchant’s daughter.”
“Precisely because I’m a merchant’s daughter, I don’t do this with just anyone. If anything, I’m even more calculating.”
“I-is that so?”
“It probably is. Most likely.”
Seeing Selena’s faint smile finally let me relax. Gratitude was gratitude, but now I had to do what I needed to do. Whining and saying sorry at this point would be even more pathetic.
“Here I come!”
“Are you going to shout like that in real combat too?”
“Ugh.”
“You’re the one who asked me to go all out, Rui.”
“......”
As expected of a merchant’s daughter. The longer it went on, the more I was dismantled by logic alone. If I fell apart any further, I wouldn’t even be able to hold the sword properly.
Soon the sounds of conversation died away in the moonlit forest, leaving only the clash of wooden swords and our ragged breathing echoing through the trees.
......That day ultimately ended in a draw.
“Ruines. Selena. You two.”
“W-why, Eila noona?”
“......”
I froze mid-scoop, soup dripping from my spoon. In complete contrast, Selena calmly tore off pieces of bread and ate without the slightest sign of panic.
“You two aren’t… fighting every night, are you?”
“No, no. Of course not.”
“Yes, Eila unnie. We’re very close.”
Our perfectly natural answers. Even so, Eila spoke with clear displeasure.
“If you’re not fighting, then why do your clothes end up torn and your bodies covered in wounds every single night? Hm? Can both of you tell me honestly?”
““......””
Silence. What would count as honesty? That every night I stubbornly insisted on becoming a knight while Selena steeled her heart to break me? That we only ended up covered in bruises and injuries, so there was no need to worry? My head spun with possibilities.
While I was lost in thought, my eyes met Selena’s as she quietly watched me. A moment later—
“Eila noona.”
“Yes?”
“I guess I really want to become a knight no matter what.”
“Yes. I know. It’s what you always say. What noona is curious about is why both of your conditions are……”
“Selena is helping me. With becoming a knight.”
“......”
A quiet nod. More bread-munching. Selena’s nonchalant attitude seemed to drain the wind from Eila’s sails.
“Is it true?”
“It’s true.”
“It really is.”
“Haa……”
A sigh that could have been relief or deepening worry. Eila cleared her throat and began lecturing us.
“Ahem. As the village chief’s daughter, if either of you gets hurt it becomes my responsibility. And more than that responsibility, it tears my heart apart, you know? So can both of you please take it easy from now on?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“?”
“??”
Wait, why were our answers completely different? I stared at Selena in confusion. She took a sip of tea—she had brought the leaves herself—then looked me straight in the eye.
“Since Rui is sincere, I have to respond with sincerity too. You know that, Eila unnie.”
“That’s……”
For a moment, complicated emotions flickered across Eila’s eyes. She was the one who had practically raised me after I ended up in the chief’s household as a child. These days she felt less like a sister and more like a mother.
“Aw, I won’t do it anymore. I won’t become a knight or anything, Eila noona. What’s so great about being a knight anyway?”
“Rui.”
“Yes?”
“......”
Eila pressed her lips tightly together. When she finally spoke again, the soup that had been steaming earlier had cooled slightly.
“Starting tomorrow……”
“......”
“I’ll increase your portions.”
“Yes?”
I had been braced for the worst, so my eyes widened in surprise. I had half-expected to be locked in my room. And sure enough, the next day the amount of food had increased quite dramatically.
“Eila noona, I really can’t eat this much.”
“If you don’t finish everything, you don’t leave the house. Understand?”
“......Then I’ll eat.”
“Good boy.”
The table, already luxurious for commoners, had transformed into something almost noble. On top of that, servants from Selena’s household began visiting frequently.
“Selena. Did Mother say something to you?”
“Mm. She just told me to do as I like.”
“?”
Selena’s attitude felt somehow different too. Was it unlike her? Or did it seem like she had been set free? Maybe it was just my imagination.
Actually, the tone of our sparring had softened a little as well. She no longer pressed in as fiercely as before. Now it felt more like an invitation to show what I could do, a quiet test of how far I could go.
......I hoped it was only my imagination, but I knew it probably wasn’t.
“Do you think it’s unfair?”
Beneath a sky painted by the setting sun, as I lay on the grass catching my breath like always, Selena asked the question.
“Yes.”
“You’re honest.”
“I do think it can’t be helped, though.”
“......”
Only my voice echoed in the quiet forest. For some reason the insects were unusually silent today.
“Honestly, it seems stupid.”
“I think so too.”
I laughed at the word “stupid.” But I had no other path. Knight. I had never once imagined a life that didn’t have that goal. Probably ever since I first said something like, Mom, when I grow up I want to be a knight.
“Shall we head back soon?”
“Rui.”
“Yes?”
“Stay over at our house tonight.”
“??”
I froze like a mouse before a cat. The part about her having already received permission from Eila noona apparently hadn’t registered in my ears at all.