Training (2)
“...Did you just say training?”
After a brief pause, Jessica opened her mouth, eyeing me suspiciously.
The time I'd spent with her so far should have earned me some trust, but it stung a little that it hadn't. Still, there was no helping it.
Only another practitioner of Battōjutsu could truly understand the delicate mindset of its wielder.
“...You're not planning to ramble on with weird nonsense or force me to draw my sword just because it's 'training,' are you?”
“Jessica, you know better than anyone how well I keep my promises.”
“Well... that's true.”
I was the guy who'd resisted teasing her just because she told me not to speak, holding back for days without saying a word.
Recalling that, Jessica clenched her fist slightly and glared at me sharply.
“But why offer to train me? What's in it for you...?”
“Plenty of benefits. You wouldn't get it, though.”
At first, my goal with Jessica had been to humiliate her and use that as an excuse to duel her father.
But after she swore never to tattle to her family, it shifted to turning her into a Battōjutsu practitioner to spread the art's glory.
And now, knowing her ancestor was a fellow reincarnator like me, my purpose had changed yet again.
Pier wrote his diary in Korean beyond what's on his tombstone, right?
That meant the original Jessica might have kept a diary in Korean too, just like Pier.
Nobles often used personal ciphers no one else could read.
And if it was important enough for such secrecy, it could hold clues about possessions—or at least useful info.
For that, I need to deepen my bond with Jessica, no matter what.
Whether by provoking a duel with her father like before to snag the ancestor's relics, or cozying up to her for a peek at them from afar—that was my aim.
Of course, her hilarious reactions when teased made it hard to stop playing around.
“Plus, at this rate, you won't challenge me to a duel even by graduation.”
“W-what did you say?!”
“If I'm wrong, pick a date right here and now. When suits you? Tomorrow? Next month? Next year?”
When I pressed for a specific date, Jessica—who knew her own skill level—went silent.
“So... you're saying that no matter how much time passes, I'll never duel you unless you train me?”
“Exactly!! You nailed it!!”
“H-how dare you mock me like that!! Do you think I'd swallow such nonsense...?”
As Jessica gripped her hammer tighter in fury, I raised my hands to calm her.
“Whoa, whoa~ Easy, Jessica. I've treated you like a kid sometimes, but I've never once seen you as a joke!!”
“Then what the hell was that just now?!”
“An objective assessment of your skills. If anyone's underestimating you, isn't it you?”
“What?”
Trying to take down someone far superior in talent and physique—without Battōjutsu, no less—was laughable if anything was.
If it had been a stricter practitioner, they'd have sliced her throat on the spot for saying that.
“Jessica, don't you have a guess why Peter, who was supposed to be your homeroom teacher, locked himself away...?”
“......”
I might baby her, but Jessica wasn't stupid. She'd seen the class assignment ceremony and could piece together what happened.
She just didn't want to believe it.
Peter—superior to her in every way except her roll-bread hair—losing meant she stood no chance.
“No way... you really beat Sir Peter...?”
Jessica tried denying it at first, but recalling the ceremony made her face drain of color as the truth sank in.
She wasn't the only shocked one. Rain, who'd been eavesdropping primly from the side, stared in disbelief too.
“You really... really beat him? The captain of the Royal Knights, no less!”
“Katana versus hammer. Even a stray dog passing by could've predicted the outcome.”
I couldn't fathom why Jessica and Rain were so surprised.
Everyone knew a hammer shatters or gets sliced against a katana. Common sense.
“Does it still sound like I'm mocking you by offering to train you?”
“Even so...”
She was teetering on the edge, but her last scraps of pride held her back.
To snap her out of it, I whispered in her ear.
“Jessica, do you really want to win?”
“Eek...! W-what are you...?”
“Come on. You hate learning to draw the sword. And you won't swallow your pride to train under someone stronger. Doesn't scream 'I wanna win' to me.”
“Ughhh...!!”
To the hesitating Jessica, I extended my hand.
“Discarding pride to win isn't shameful. It's brave—something most can't do. Stay a proud loser? Or become a brave winner who shed her pride?”
Staring at my hand, Jessica hesitated before nodding firmly and grabbing it.
“I-I've decided!! To beat you, I'll swallow my shame and train under you!!”
“Train under me?”
“Yes! You said it yourself!!”
“Then why's your tone still like that?”
“Huh?”
Even if we were peers and her family outranked mine, forming a master-disciple bond demanded proper respect. No way that casual talk would fly.
“Try begging more politely. Make me feel your desperation.”
“Y-you offered to teach me!!”
“So I did. Does that mean you can talk like a slob? Is that proper noble conduct?”
“Ughhh...!!”
When I brought up etiquette, Jessica scowled but bowed her waist obediently.
“P-please...! Let me train under you...!”
“Not quite enough... If you're doing it, kneel instead of just bowing.”
“K-kneel...?!! Me, a lady of House von Grind?!”
“Jessica... If our positions were reversed, would you stop at making me kneel?”
If roles were flipped, even if I knelt and groveled, Jessica wouldn't teach me.
She knew that, yet her pride wouldn't let her knees bend.
“Haa...”
Seeing her like that sparked my mischief. With a heavy sigh, I pretended to turn away.
Panicking, Jessica dropped to one knee without thinking. I whipped back around.
“Whoa? You actually knelt? I was just kidding... Why take it so seriously...?”
“You...!! You bastard!!!”
Using the momentum, Jessica sprang up and swung her hammer at me.
But like before, her rage-fueled sloppy strike missed easily as I sidestepped—no threat at all.
“Jessica! Like I said, letting anger control you isn't wise—”
“Shut up!! Die!! I'll kill you and erase this humiliation from the world!!”
“To erase it, you'd have to kill Rain over there too, right?”
Glancing where Rain had stood, she was already gone from the training ground.
“Tsk tsk... Half-baked talent and skipping training... Jessica! Don't you dare end up like that! Got it? Promise your teacher~!!”
“Shut up!!”
She slapped away my pinky but swung wildly at my head—another miss, obviously.
How much time passed? The morning classroom scene replayed: exhausted, Jessica collapsed to the ground.
“Haa... haa...”
“Hmm... Jessica, your attacks showed me your problems clearly.”
“Haa... What... did you say?”
“I figured out your issues. Your attacks are too predictable—one-note.”
Peter's were simple too, but he had the Sword Master trait's foresight and physique that forced hits.
Jessica lacked both.
“Diversify your arsenal. Martial arts like I mentioned, a shield for stability, or utility magic tools and daggers at your waist to throw in a pinch.”
“...Surprisingly sound advice.”
“Of course, learn Battōjutsu and you won't need those tricks...”
“...No thanks.”
“...Figured. Oh, one last thing, Jessica.”
“What?”
“Shower when you get back... I'm used to sweat, but as a roll-bread lady, better air it out quick...”
Her uniform, already damp before coming, was soaked from her rampage.
“N-no!! This isn't my smell...!!”
“What do you mean? Come here.”
“Why wha— Kyaa!!”
I dove into her chest—where sweat pooled most—sniffing. Sweet yet tangy.
“It's your sweat smell. What're you denying...?”
“Y-you pervert...!!!”