Knightly Resolve (1)
The wooden swords flew through the air with a sharp whoosh. I was still completely frozen. Selena stepped in for me, catching both practice blades with practiced ease and pressing one into my hand.
"Rui. Snap out of it."
"Y-yeah."
Slap! She smacked my cheek with her palm to bring me back to my senses. I took the wooden sword she offered and examined it. Unlike the crude, roughly carved ones we'd used in the forest, this one felt like a real sword. The tip was honed to a fine point, a proper guard protected the hilt, and a weighted pommel provided perfect balance. It was far too well-made to be dismissed as a mere training tool.
Selena seemed surprised too—she'd clearly never seen anything like it. But after swinging it a few times, she gripped the sword with steady confidence, as if she'd already gotten the feel for it.
"These wooden swords were crafted to closely mimic real combat weapons," Melissa said, her voice so flat it bordered on icy. "You will use them for training from now on."
From now on. Did that mean we'd be moving on to real blades before long?
Swish, swish! Regardless, Melissa gave her own wooden sword a light twirl. It must have been sized for someone of my or Selena's height, because in her hands it looked almost like a toy. Yet the pressure she exuded was on an entirely different level. Even her simple warm-up swings were enough to draw every eye.
"I will allow the two of you to take the initiative," she declared.
"...!"
"However, from this moment on, conversation between you is forbidden. You must coordinate solely through instinct and breathing."
"W-what does that even..."
"It must be possible. If you truly aspire to become knights."
Melissa set the rules with strict precision right from the start. Still, having lived through a previous life, I could understand where she was coming from. On a battlefield where lives hung in the balance, there was no room for casual chatter. What mattered was trust between comrades—and raw instinct.
"......"
"......"
Selena and I gave each other small nods. The only rhythm we'd ever matched before was during our rough sparring matches, trading blows and trying to outmaneuver each other... but that alone seemed like it would be enough for us to read each other's thoughts. Maybe she felt the same. Or perhaps, having watched me for ten straight years, she understood me even better than I realized.
I focused on syncing my movements perfectly with Selena's.
"Not bad," Melissa murmured.
Clang!!
"Ack!"
"Ugh!"
But it only took a few exchanges for me to realize the truth: a real knight was in a completely different league. Melissa deflected our strikes with absurd power and speed, each impact sending a tearing pain through my hands that nearly made me cry out. Honestly, hoping to land a clean hit on her might have been asking for too much.
For a split second my mind wavered, but when I looked up, I saw Melissa's sword already streaking toward Selena.
"...!"
I sprang forward without thinking and knocked her blade aside.
Crack!
"Guh!"
It felt like I'd struck solid rock. Even though I'd blocked it, the shock made it seem like I'd taken the hit myself.
"That was not a proper defense. You should have exploited my opening instead."
"I'll do that next time!!"
Thwack! Melissa casually deflected my swing. She even lightly parried Selena's follow-up strike aimed at the same gap.
"Haa... haa... haa...!"
"......"
Selena's gaze met mine. Her eyes were straining to stay calm. Yes—calm. She was right. A sword swung with nothing but emotion had its limits. Hadn't I learned that lesson clearly enough in my last life?
"If you're overthinking it, not thinking at all might be the better option," Melissa observed.
"Tch!"
As expected of a veteran knight, nothing escaped her sharp eyes. But she wasn't our enemy. She was simply evaluating our skills. All we had to do was show her what we could really do.
Clang-clang-clang!
"Kgh!"
Then a question suddenly occurred to me.
"......"
"......"
Why wasn't Selena showing her true strength? The sharp, aura-infused swordplay she'd occasionally displayed during our midnight sparring sessions—if she revealed even half of that, Melissa's eyes would surely light up with interest. After all, a talent like hers was rare even in this world.
"Will the two of you stop here?"
Her words sounded almost like a challenge: Are you giving up already?
"No," Selena answered instantly. Then she turned and stared straight into my eyes.
The reason Selena wasn't revealing her full power. The reason she refused to step forward. It was because...
"Ah."
I hadn't managed it yet. She was waiting for me to do it first.
I stared blankly at her for a moment before quickly looking away. The grey-haired knight before us had survived countless battlefields. Earning her recognition might be the very first step toward becoming a true knight.
"I'm sorry. Let's try again."
"Hm?"
Melissa's eyes widened in surprise. Before she could sense anything amiss, I kicked off the ground and charged.
"A desperate gamble? In that case, I'll end this with one strike."
"Go ahead!"
Shwooo! An ominous energy gathered around Melissa's wooden sword. It was different from Selena's sharp aura—more like overwhelming weight. The sheer pressure radiating from it was enough to raise goosebumps. If that hit me, at least one bone would shatter and I'd be stuck in bed for weeks.
"Haa... haa...!"
Selena must have sensed it too. I could hear her urgent breathing closing in behind me. I glanced back quickly, trying to reassure her with a look... but I'm not sure it worked. I only caught a glimpse. The last thing burned into my mind was the way her eyes had widened in shock.
Swooosh!
I turned my gaze forward again. Melissa's wooden sword was hurtling toward me without any sign of hesitation. A direct hit would probably kill me—or at least leave me critically injured. Yet I kept my eyes locked on her blade as I closed the distance. The moment it reached right in front of me...
I rapidly traced the trajectory of her swing.
"...!"
Her path had been perfectly steady until now, but it suddenly twisted sharply. That made it much easier to read. All I needed to do was take one extra step forward—or backward.
Bwoong!!!
A deafening ring filled my ears as the sword pressure screamed past my head. If I'd hesitated for even a fraction of a second out of fear, that would have been the end of my third life. Even Melissa looked startled to see me dart inside her reach. I suppose she'd never had a student risk their life on the very first lesson.
I raised my own wooden sword and lightly tapped it against her side.
Tap!
"Ah."
Right after, Selena's sword touched the side of Melissa's neck.
Tap.
......
A brief silence fell.
Melissa looked back and forth between us with a complicated expression.
"Young Master Ruines."
"Yes?"
"Your courage in risking your life was admirable... but it was also excessive."
"......"
Her words stung. But it had felt like the only way I could reach her.
"Haa. That's enough!"
At that moment, Iselina called out from the edge of the garden. She'd been watching us the entire time, fidgeting with worry. As the head of the family, even she couldn't stay calm.
"What do you think, Sir Melissa?"
"They performed excellently. Both of them."
"Then let's end the first lesson here. I don't want to push them any further."
"Understood. We'll stop for today."
The situation seemed to be wrapping up. Only then did I notice that the mansion's servants and tutors had all come out to watch the lesson. Some were wiping their eyes with handkerchiefs as they left, while others nodded at Selena and me with approval.
"Rui."
"Yeah?"
"Don't ever do something that reckless again. I was just..."
"I'm sorry, Seli."
Selena's voice trembled. Her beautiful eyes were glistening with unshed tears, and her cheeks were flushed bright red. It was an expression I'd never seen on her before.
"If you do that one more time, I-I'm really going to get mad. Do you understand?"
"......"
I burned that face into my memory as I quietly followed her back into the mansion. Her hand gripped mine tightly, practically dragging me along.
And a short while later.
I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Instructor Melissa called me out alone in private.
"To be completely honest, this is the first time I've encountered a case like yours."
"I-I see."
Her eyes held a mixture of recognition and astonishment. But beneath that, I sensed something calmer—worry, perhaps? The feeling made me shrink back unconsciously.
Then came her calm, piercing remark.
"I'll speak plainly. Just now, you looked exactly like a soldier who had already accepted death. That is not an attitude a knight should ever possess. It isn't noble—it's nothing more than a reckless gamble. If this is a habit, it is an extremely bad one. I genuinely pity you, Young Master Ruines, for developing such a tendency. Rather than the teachings of a good master, you seem to have taken your own desperate struggles as the correct answer. That is not only wrong, but it is also not the mindset of a knight."
It was a harsh assessment. But I had no words to refute her. It sounded that way to me too, and it would to anyone else. That must have been why even Selena had wiped her eyes and hugged me so tightly.
"Sir Melissa— No, Knight Melissa."
"Yes."
"Then what should I do?"
I asked with pure, honest curiosity. If she told me to give up, I was ready to do so cleanly. I hadn't wanted to become a knight if it meant making everyone sad.
But.
"This is troubling. In truth, your qualities are exceptionally rare, even if slightly off course... Had the situation been different, I would have been tempted to take you on myself."
"?"
Melissa hesitated, glancing at me before letting out a deep sigh.
"If you truly wish to become a knight, go to the forest on the outskirts of the village and swing your sword while waiting for someone."
"...Who?"
"Most likely, the person who will teach you what a knight's sword truly means."
Melissa gave me an awkward smile as she spoke.