The Wheel of Teaching
"Well then, shall we begin the lesson? Since we have some newcomers, I'll start by teaching you breathing techniques and meditation."
To Ninala's eyes, Sunya's class was peculiar. No — "incomprehensible" would have been the better word.
Why are we even doing this?
Still, she did her best to follow along as instructed. What came next left her even more baffled: a sudden bout of sparring.
Enede and Adapa, who seemed to rank as senior students, had carved wooden weapons for themselves and were trading blows with practiced ease. Even to Ninala, who knew nothing of martial arts, their skill looked extraordinary.
"How… how can they fight like that?"
The reaction of her escort, Lugalmah, was even more dramatic. He was one of the finest warriors in Bad-tibira, a retainer the king trusted above all others. Naturally, he was well-versed in martial arts — proficient with spear, bow, and sword — and was even charged with training the city's warriors.
"Are those two really that strong?"
"Their skill is exceptional, yes — but more than that, it's as if they're matching each other's rhythm. You couldn't string movements together like that without coordinating beforehand…"
Yet his warrior's instincts told him otherwise. Those were not choreographed moves. And so Lugalmah could only feel bewildered.
"Would you like to give it a try?"
Sunya had approached from Lugalmah's side. Startled by the sudden proximity, Lugalmah reflexively reached for the sword at his hip — but Sunya pressed a finger to the pommel first, stopping him cold.
"Sometimes watching alone isn't enough. Sparring with them yourself might not be a bad idea."
"…"
Sunya had merely made a suggestion, but to Lugalmah it felt like a challenge. At the same time, a warrior's competitive fire began to seethe in his chest.
"Ah, I lost again."
The sparring ended with Adapa's wooden sword leveled at Enede's throat. Sunya went over to the disappointed Enede and asked if she would spar with Lugalmah.
"I don't mind at all."
Enede accepted readily. Lugalmah felt no shame at facing a woman. He had already watched her wield a staff and recognized her as an outstanding warrior in her own right.
"…I leave myself in your hands."
"Let's go easy on each other."
Lugalmah raised his staff and took a guard against Enede — the most fundamental stance in martial arts.
Right, first I'll see how she comes at me…
As he probed with cautious feints, the tip of a staff came flying at the crown of his head. He scrambled backward and knocked it aside, but she used the rebound to spin the staff and crack him across the shin.
"Ghk!"
Even a hardened warrior's body seizes up when struck in the shin. Seizing that opening, Enede drove her staff toward Lugalmah's brow — and stopped it dead, a hair's breadth from his face.
"…I yield."
Lugalmah declared his surrender. He hadn't managed a proper response at all. Had this been a real battlefield, and that a genuine spear with a blade, his brow would have been pierced clean through.
"Wow!"
Watching her escort fall so effortlessly, Ninala felt not anger but awe. She knew full well how formidable a warrior Lugalmah was.
"Had it been a real fight to the death, the outcome might have been different. This was only possible because it was a sparring match with limits — neither of you trying to take the other's life."
Sunya offered Lugalmah encouragement. The man himself heard it as mockery.
"How is something like that even possible?"
But Lugalmah was an excellent warrior. He knew how to accept defeat and sought to learn from his shortcomings. It was precisely that quality that had earned him the trust of a nation's sovereign.
"Simply put, it comes down to expanding one's senses, observation, and understanding."
"…I can guess at the rest, but what do you mean by 'understanding'?"
"You'll grasp it better hearing it firsthand. Miss Enede, would you explain how you were able to defeat him?"
Enede slung the staff over her shoulder and came closer. Ninala thought she looked magnificent — every bit the image of a fine warrior woman.
"At the start, his breathing was shallow, so I figured he wouldn't come out aggressive right away. The tip of his staff wavered a little, but there wasn't much tension in his forearm muscles, so I expected a probing guard. From the way he gripped the staff, he looked right-handed, and his center of gravity was shifted left — so if I struck at his head, there was a high chance he'd parry to the right. Looking at his eyes, his lower guard seemed lax. No matter how much muscle you have, the shins are hard to condition, so I hit him there and went for a vital point while he was locked up."
The explanation was lengthy. But Lugalmah understood every word of what Enede was saying.
"…You predicted all of that in that brief moment?"
"It's only awkward at first. Once you get used to it, it comes naturally. You don't need words to understand someone."
Sunya raised an index finger as he spoke.
"Most people overlook this, but even without writing or language, you can grasp what someone is thinking through sound, scent, and sight."
"…What do you mean?"
"For example, you can already read emotions through complexion and expression, can't you? You predict an opponent's next move through their gaze, the direction of their eyes, the shift of their muscles, the weapon they use, the distance between you. I called it 'understanding' because you need to know what the other person is capable of and what they intend to do."
"…"
He wasn't wrong. The more accurately you predicted an opponent's actions, the higher your odds of victory. And yet, watching how most warriors fixated on raw power, speed, and exotic techniques, Sunya's perspective on martial arts felt fresh in every way.
"All right — the rest of you should try sparring as well."
"What? Me too?"
Ninala, who had never so much as held anything resembling a weapon, was flustered. Her handmaidens and Lugalmah started to protest in alarm, but Sunya was a step ahead of them.
"May I ask your name?"
"N-Ninala."
"Then may I call you Miss Ninala?"
"Yes. That's fine."
"Miss Ninala and the handmaidens as well — each of you should try. I'll go easy, so no one will get seriously hurt."
"Excuse me?"
Naturally, their reaction was less than enthusiastic.
"Let's leave, Your Highness. Asking a princess to take up a weapon, of all things—"
"You'll only ruin your skin for nothing."
"After the way His Majesty raised Her Highness…"
The handmaidens protested adamantly, but oddly enough, Ninala felt a surge of defiance.
"I'll do it. That sparring thing!"
"Y-Your Highness?"
"I just grab whatever's here, right?"
Ninala strode over and picked up one of the wooden staves standing upright.
Heavier than I expected.
Watching Enede swing one so lightly, she had assumed it would be light — but the staff was heavier than anticipated, and Ninala was taken aback.
"Adapa, would you spar with her this time?"
"Yes."
The boy called Adapa walked out slowly and faced Ninala.
"Ah…"
He was just a kid, and yet standing opposite him with weapons in hand, her heart began to pound. The wooden staff had no edge, but getting hit by it would still hurt considerably.
"I'll go easy, so don't worry."
"Huh? Oh — yes…"
A boy smaller than herself saying that should have been laughable, yet somehow it felt reassuring. Almost like a much older man.
Before the sparring began, Adapa slowly thrust his staff forward. Ninala had never fought before, but the strike was slow enough that she should have been able to dodge it easily. She reflexively tried to back away — only the staff came at her faster than she could retreat.
Ah. I messed up.
— Thok.
The tip of the staff touched Ninala's head.
"Uh, so I lost?"
"That's right. But why did you dodge backward?"
"Well… it just seemed safer."
"If I'd been holding a short weapon, that would be correct. But I was holding something like a spear. In that case, closing the distance is better. The closer you get, the less power a spear has."
"Ahh…"
"Let's start by getting a feel for distance. Reading can come later."
"Reading?"
"What Enede just demonstrated. Understanding your opponent and predicting their next move. We call that reading."
"Reading…"
It was Lugalmah who reacted most visibly to the word. A seasoned warrior's eyes lit up at a realm of skill he was encountering for the first time.
"Shall we keep going, then?"
Even after the match was decided, the sparring continued. Whether it could still be called sparring was debatable, but in any case, Ninala flailed about with the long staff for quite some time.
This is so frustrating.
As she kept moving, the ornaments draped over her body got in the way. At first she tried to endure it, but the constant interference gradually stoked her irritation. Ninala roughly tore off her necklace and bracelets and flung them aside.
"Your Highness!"
"…"
The servants cried out in shock. Ninala ignored them and pressed on with the sparring.
"Hah… hah… hah…!!"
Naturally, the process was a mess. She had never fought before — never even moved her body this vigorously. Her heart hammered, sweat poured down like water, and it was miserable… and yet, strangely, she felt refreshed.
"We'll rest a little, then begin the next lesson."
"Th-there's still more class?"
Sunya's words struck like a bolt from the blue. She couldn't so much as twitch a finger — what more could there possibly be?
Ninala fretted, but the next lesson barely involved the body at all.
"Painting?"
"Yes. Dip a brush in the paints here and draw."
"Well, I don't mind, but… why are we doing this?"
"For peace of mind, you could say. The meditation and breathing exercises from this morning, the sparring — they're all a kind of training meant to cultivate composure."
"…"
She couldn't make sense of it. Her companions all wore much the same expression.