A Warm Morning and the First Day of Duty
As Isabelle Voenac's bodyguard, Rood slept soundly for the first time in ages. Even though the bed was warm and comfortable, he had never been able to rest easily even in the Voenac estate. The old habits from his days of training instead of sleeping or standing watch on the battlefield still lingered in his body, so he had never truly fallen into a deep slumber. There had been a few times when he passed out from exhaustion, but waking up feeling sore and uncomfortable meant the fatigue in his body never fully melted away. Today, however, was different. Whether it was because he had drunk an enormous amount of alcohol or because awakening his Aura had drained every ounce of strength from his body, Rood was able to sleep deeply.
When Rood opened his eyes, he felt the bright sunlight pouring through the curtains beyond the window. The inside of the blanket felt warmer than usual, making his whole body pleasantly languid. He tried to roll over and change his sleeping position, but something was resting rather heavily on his right arm. What is this?
Rood lifted the blanket and saw Isabelle, wearing purple rabbit pajamas, using his arm as a pillow and sleeping peacefully with soft, even breaths. What the—where am I?
He looked around the room. For a moment he wondered if he had somehow fallen asleep in Isabelle's bedroom. But of course, this was the guest room where he was staying. From the moment he saw Isabelle sleeping with her head on his arm beneath the covers, he had considered the possibility that this was a dream, but it felt far too realistic to be one.
Rood slowly tried to lift his arm to free himself from her embrace. Just a little more. He had almost pulled his right arm free when Isabelle suddenly reached out, grabbed onto his chest, and wrapped one leg over his thigh.
"Mmm… don't gooo…."
What is this? Is she playing a prank? Rood suspected that Isabelle might be awake and teasing him on purpose, but seeing how soundly she was sleeping made him dismiss the thought.
"Haa……."
Rood let out a long sigh and had no choice but to stare at the sleeping Isabelle. Her hair, usually neatly braided on both sides, was now loose and delightfully tousled. Every time she breathed, the soft sound changed the area where their bodies touched. If he moved even slightly to escape, Isabelle would pull him closer with even more strength, leaving Rood no option but to remain trapped in her arms like a human teddy bear.
"Hehe…."
When Isabelle smiled brightly with her eyes still closed, Rood's heart sank with a thud, but he was relieved to see she hadn't woken up yet. Wait. Even if she wakes up later, won't the problem be the same?
Suddenly, Rood found it hard to understand why Isabelle had come to his bed and decided to sleep with him. Or, to be more precise, while he knew Isabelle had feelings for him, he hadn't expected her to approach him so openly and without hesitation. Still… she is pretty cute.
Rood gently brushed aside the dark brown strand of hair that had stuck to her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. That was when—
Click!
"Rood, sir!"
Pete burst into the bedroom, panting with a panicked expression. Rood was equally startled. He quickly pulled the blanket over Isabelle and sat up, leaning only his upper body forward.
"W-what is it?"
"Have you seen the acting head of the family? The lady is not in her bedroom right now!"
"I… I haven't seen her yet. I'll look for her as soon as I get up."
"Is that so? Then I'll check the garden. Please search the training grounds, Sir Rood!"
Pete closed the door in a hurry. His footsteps grew distant and soon faded away completely.
"I know you're awake now."
"Ah… you knew?"
Isabelle poked only her head out from under the blanket and looked around. The moment her eyes met Rood's, her entire face flushed bright red like a perfectly ripened apple.
"S-sorry. I must have sleepwalked here last night because I was so disoriented."
"I'm fine with it. It's just that being this defenseless makes it very difficult to guard you."
Rood continued.
"Shouldn't you return to your room now? By this time, all the servants must be running around looking for their lord."
"Mmm……."
Isabelle thought for a moment, then wrapped her arms around Rood's waist just like before and hugged him tightly.
"W-why are you doing this?"
"Can't we stay like this just a little longer?"
Rood's face turned bright red in an instant. Being hugged while unconscious and being hugged while fully aware were two entirely different matters. Moreover, since he had just woken up, he was nervously aware that his morning condition might become obvious, so he shook his head.
"No. Haven't you woken up completely by now?"
"Hmph… you're so mean."
Even after Rood refused, Isabelle stayed in his arms for a few more seconds. She rubbed her face against him several times before finally getting up.
"Then I shall return now."
Seeing Isabelle with her cheeks puffed out and her lips pursed in a pout, Rood barely held back his laughter and waved his hand.
"Yes. Please go quickly. Hurry along."
Once the door closed, Rood buried himself under the blanket and chuckled quietly so the sound wouldn't leak out.
"Well then, I should get ready too."
Rood got out of bed, folded the blanket with military precision, and quickly changed his clothes. It was time for morning training.
The training grounds were different from before. Many soldiers had gathered and were training diligently. They gave Rood a short salute before returning to their sparring matches. Rood rather liked this atmosphere where everyone was sharpening and polishing their own swords. During camping or short breaks, he would often swing his sword, and he had seen several times how the soldiers around him would join in and begin training as well. Not everyone trained until the very end every day, but for the soldiers who had previously spent their time listlessly, it had become a significant source of vitality.
Not bad at all.
"Sir Rood!"
A soldier came running from afar, waving his hand. It was Hal—the soldier Rood had called a monkey on the first day. Unlike the others, Hal didn't keep an awkward distance from Rood. He had the passionate temperament of a trainee who would approach first and ask for a spar.
"Let's spar again today!"
"Alright. Come at me."
Rood picked up a wooden sword and observed Hal's footwork. Now that he had awakened his Aura, he could clearly see how much waste there was in Hal's movements.
Thud!
"Ah, damn. Sorry about that."
Rood had knocked Hal to the ground in a single exchange. Hal didn't seem to mind and charged at him again. Keeping in mind the previous gap in their strength, Rood lightly blocked every single one of Hal's sword paths.
"That's too much. You need to practice restraint as well. The more phantom strikes you scatter, the more openings you create for yourself."
Hal's sword carried the mystery of the illusory blade—swinging the sword a hundred times for the single moment when it would truly aim for the opponent's life. Rood didn't put much faith in categorizing sword techniques into such specific mysteries. They were merely convenient labels that grouped together the different ways people swung their swords and handled situations. He believed that if a swordsman's habits became fixed into one form called a "mystery," it was no good. If one could take the good parts of those habits and discard the bad, that would create a sword that suited them perfectly—and one that could defeat their opponent.
"What do you think makes a good sword?"
"Ugh! A good sword is… one that makes me truly myself—"
Rood dismantled the incoming barrage with a single strike, stopping Hal's movement completely.
"Wrong. A sword is not art. However, it can be a path."
With a single horizontal cut, Rood blocked all of Hal's attacks while simultaneously landing several blows that would have been fatal if he had been using a real blade.
"A good sword is one that defeats the opponent standing before you. Don't obsess over what you think you're good at, and don't easily give up on what you think you're bad at."
"Huff… thank you for the lesson. And… thank you so much for protecting our village last time!"
Hal bowed deeply in gratitude. Rood recalled the time he had coincidentally met Hal's mother in the village that was under attack by wolves and gave a light nod. He returned the courtesy with a proper bow of his own and began his training.
It's become clearer.
Rood felt that his senses had grown far sharper than before he awakened his Aura. And with those sharpened senses, he was amazed by the delicacy of the sword he was swinging.
"My, my, Sir Rood. How can you train like a complete beginner who just awakened his Aura?"
When Rood turned his head, Moneck approached with a broad smile.
"Are you saying that someone who has awakened their Aura should swing their sword differently?"
"Yes, well. Why don't you take out your real sword? I'll be your opponent."
Without hesitation, Rood drew his real sword and faced Moneck.
"Shall we begin?"
"Wrap your Aura around the blade and try it."
When Rood focused on gathering the true energy within his body, a green Aura rose around him like a shimmering haze. Moneck also cloaked his body in blue Aura and stood there completely unguarded.
"Strike me."
Rood swung his Aura-infused sword at Moneck. Moneck didn't dodge. He took the strike head-on. Rood quickly pulled his sword back in surprise, but although the blow should have sliced an ordinary person clean in half, it left only a tiny scratch.
"Now that you've awakened your Aura, you need to practice condensing and dispersing it."
"How do I do that? It wasn't properly explained in any of the books."
"Well, even if I tell you, would you be able to do it right away? You have to learn it with your body."
Moneck thrust his rapier toward Rood's chest. Rood wrapped as much Aura as he could around his sword to block it, but he couldn't stop Moneck's Aura from piercing into his body.
"Ugh!"
"My Aura has assimilated the concept of 'penetration.' So even if you block the sword itself, you cannot stop the air assimilated with my Aura from stabbing your body."
Rood's green Aura wrapped around the wound. The bleeding on his chest stopped, and the injury began to heal.
"From your perspective, Sir Moneck, what kind of property does my Aura seem to have?"
"Hmm. Since I've never seen an Aura that heals the body before… and I don't see any particular assimilated property in your sword either."
Rood frowned slightly. Aura was a power that manifested one's will. That was why, for most swordsmen, Aura generally possessed 'cutting power.' Moneck used a rapier, so he didn't find it strange that his own Aura had 'piercing power.' However, even though Rood used a sword, his Aura operated in a completely different way.
"Well, it renders the opponent's attempts to tear your flesh and break your bones completely useless, so I must say I'm quite envious of your Aura."
"Is that so? To me it seems rather useless in actual combat, so I'm quite dissatisfied with it."
"That aside, shall we try again? Let's work on your Aura's cohesion."
Rood grinned and pointed the tip of his sword at Moneck.
"Let's do it."
Rood and Moneck, longsword and rapier, clashed. Sparks of light exploded between them.
"Kahaha! No matter how many times I pierce you, it keeps regenerating! Isn't this fun?!"
"It's not fun for me—I'm in so much pain I feel like I'm going to die!"
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, a massive cloud of sand and dust rose across the training grounds.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Hoho, I hope you will continue to devote yourself even more in the future."
Rood brought his hands together in a respectful bow and asked,
"Then, to handle Aura properly, it seems I need to learn not only how to swing a sword but also how to deal with mental imagery."
"That's correct. You might find it a bit frustrating, Sir Rood, but I think you should also take to heart the words I gave to Hal earlier."
Don't easily give up on what you think you're bad at, huh.
Only then did Isabelle's words suddenly flash through Rood's mind.
I will teach you how to handle your Aura.
Rood heard the bell signaling three o'clock. It was almost time for him to begin his duty as Isabelle's bodyguard.
This is my first shift.
Rood returned to the mansion at a quick pace. His first day working as Isabelle Voenac's knight bodyguard had begun.