Sparring with the Captain
Is this some kind of theater? I'd agreed to oversee Adella's training in exchange for crashing at the Royal Palace for a bit. It was also what Bahamart had asked me to do earlier, and right now, this was the only payment on hand.
"Right this way."
Adella led me to the Training Grounds, where a decent number of knights were already hard at work. Under the bellows of a middle-aged instructor, some swung their swords through the air, others jogged laps around the well-maintained field. There were knights hacking at straw dummies with wooden swords and pairs sparring against each other.
Kids too, huh.
Now that I looked closer, it wasn't just full knights—apprentice knights and promising recruits were training here as well. My arrival drew all their eyes for a moment, but Adella stepped forward, positioning herself to block their view of me.
"C-Captain? And the person behind you..."
"Focus on your training. If I catch anyone wasting time, you'll regret it."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"A-ah, got it!"
"You heard her—get to it! Eyes front!"
"Yes!"
The knights and apprentices stole glances my way but resumed their drills. I followed Adella until I spotted an empty sparring ring and pointed it out. She nodded and guided me there.
It was about thirty meters across—a decent-sized dirt-floored arena, with at least three more like it nearby. Near the ring, white tents housed priests who assisted with healing; they were lounging around, sipping coffee idly. Guess knights didn't get banged up that often.
"Not just knights, huh?"
"Yes. Everyone in the Royal Knights uses these grounds, apprentices included."
"Ahh~ Gotcha."
"Here to sightsee?"
"Nah, here to help you train."
"...Pardon?"
"What 'pardon'?"
I grabbed a well-carved wooden sword from the weapon rack along the edge of the ring. Whoosh! It sliced through the air at my touch.
"...You mean me."
"Yup."
"I thought our last session wrapped things up. Didn't expect you'd do it again."
"Gotta earn your keep."
"My keep... Ah, I see."
Adella nodded in understanding and picked up an identical wooden sword. I shook my head as she assumed her stance.
"Use a real sword."
"Pardon? But Lady Flame Dragon, you..."
"Worried about me?"
"N-no, not that."
"Then use a real one. Last time, I saw wooden swords just don't bring out your full potential."
She hesitated for a second, then nodded, returned the wooden sword to the rack, and drew the blade from her hip. Shing! The silver sword, embroidered with golden thread, gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.
That was...
"The Iri Sword, huh?"
"Yes. It's still beyond me, but I'm striving to become a knight worthy of this great hero's weapon."
"No need."
"Pardon?"
"Iri started out slaying demons just by spamming her weapon's power. You know she was a farmer's daughter, right?"
"Th-that can't be!"
"It's true."
"Impossible. She was the daughter of an earl, chosen by the goddess herself..."
"That's BS. Bahamart faked it because he hated people looking down on her."
She'd never even learned basic swordsmanship or self-defense, but with one weapon, she caught Bahamart's eye and joined the hero party. Of course, she had talent, so over time she became a sword genius, mastering the blade that once just got swung around.
Nobody starts out perfect.
Even great heroes have their clumsy, fragile days. Adella froze, clearly shocked by my words.
"Wanna hear a fun story? Around fifteen, Iri once lost her sword and wailed like the world was ending, rolling on the ground..."
"St-stop!"
"Why?"
"Please don't shatter any more of my illusions..."
Adella slumped like a deflated balloon. She always seemed so unbreakable, but moments like this reminded me of old Iri. I grinned and twirled my wooden sword like a toy.
"So, what's your fantasy Iri like?"
"...She's cool and composed, kind to the poor and weak, but merciless to demons."
"Half right."
"......"
"The 'cool' part... not so much."
"...Don't think holding that wooden sword makes you anything like her. You'll get hurt."
Fwoosh! Golden mana surged from Adella's blade like an explosion. The sheer volume dwarfed what she'd shown with the wooden sword. The intensity made even the coffee-sipping priests in the tents and the knights on the grounds tense up.
I gripped my toy-like wooden sword properly.
"Good. That's more like Iri's heir."
"Here I come!"
Her trajectory hurtled toward me. I deflected it easily.
And then—
Slice.
"Oh."
"I warned you to stay sharp!"
My wooden sword snapped clean off like tofu. Iri Style Swordsmanship, which stresses the opponent's weapon, combined with that cheat sword that could cube a legion commander. Impressive on offense—defense was one thing, but this much strain?
Not bad.
Even reinforced with mana, my sword lost half in an instant. Adella smirked confidently, prepping her next attack.
"Another opening."
"Kuh?!"
Thud! I ditched the sword without hesitation and smashed my fist into her crown. She barely raised her blade in time to block, but the shockwave sent her tumbling across the ring just like old Iri would have.
She staggered, head spinning. I waited for her to recover. Adella circulated her mana rapidly, forcibly awakening her mind.
"Oh? Learned mental awakening too?"
"......"
Clack.
Wordlessly, she raised her sword. Deadly serious now, she began preparing a massive technique. Her six mana cores spun in unison, channeling mana to her blade's edge. A huge aura swirled around her.
One pinnacle of Iri Style Swordsmanship. The move that once shattered the seventh legion commander, now unfolding from her descendant's hand after all these years.
I watched, lost in memory.
"Ah."
"Can't transform right in front of everyone."
I smacked her crown again.
Is this some kind of theater?
＊
"Nice technique, but way too slow."
"......"
"In real combat, you'd get picked off before finishing. Avoid it if you can—or find someone to buy you time."
"...Weren't you buying me time?"
"Why would I?"
I poked the cheek of Adella, who lay bandaged on a sickbed after the priests treated her, tilting my head. Her eyes fluttered open faintly, staring at me with a hint of grievance.
"During mental awakening..."
"I can give you recovery leeway. But flashy moves like that? No need."
"......"
"Spoiling you on crap like that just builds bad habits. This ain't a battlefield talent show."
"...You're right."
She squeezed her eyes shut. Even she knew this was off. Huge gap or not, screwing up like that? Back at the nest, she hadn't made mistakes this big.
Too many eyes on her?
Heroes watched last time too, but this was in front of her knights. Maybe she wanted to look dignified and cool as captain.
"Ugh..."
"You'll get it next time."
Though the net result was negative. Still, flashing that cool technique might've earned her some respect.
Screech.
"Anyway, rest up. Tomorrow... nah, three days from now, we'll go again."
"...Yes. I won't disappoint you then."
"Sure~."
Doubtful, but whatever.
＊
After finishing Adella's session, I wandered the Training Grounds. Helping her once covered about a month's meals (my call), but a bit was left. Plus, after three months of eat-sleep-repeat, I wasn't even that tired yet.
Idly giving pointers to knights and apprentices as I went...
"What the."
"Oh, fancy meeting you here."
I ran into someone I shouldn't have.
"Evan."
"You remember me! An honor!"
The guy with dark gray shaggy hair, looking like a total nerd. The one who'd taken magic coins I wasn't supposed to mint anymore.
"What're you, a hero, doing here?"
"Hahaha! It just kinda happened."
I'd wondered if these crazy heroes tracked me to the palace, but no. Evan had been prepping for the knight exam for ages; running into me was pure coincidence. Checked with the kingdom side—they said he'd been smashing quests hard for half a year.
"Don't worry. I won't tell a soul."
"Really?"
"Yes. If I spilled Lea’s location to the heroes, they'd swarm, and the kingdom would punish me. Can't risk losing my hard-earned knighthood."
"Screw around and you're dead."
"No worries there. Won't even tell your disciples."
"Whatcha been up to?"
"Haring's leading the charge to find you. No luck so far."
"Told 'em to quit."
Wasting time. They could train or hunt monsters and get way stronger instead. My disciples were separation-anxiety cases these days. Wasn't like this before.
"Want me to reach out? Heroes have ways to chat among ourselves..."
"That'd make it obvious."
"Ah, true. I'll do nothing then."
"......"
"What's up?"
"Been wondering since way back."
"Yes?"
"How do you heroes even communicate? Not telepathy or magic, right?"