Training (3)
After that, Jessica—who must have burned through every last drop of her stamina—bolted upright, trying to slap my cheek. But she couldn't land a single blow and collapsed again.
Having pushed her body too far when she was already spent, Jessica couldn't even walk anymore. Left with no choice, I had to scoop her up and carry her all the way to the carriage.
"Jessica, you know the saying about half getting better if you just stay still?"
"......Shut your mouth."
This time, having truly drained her strength completely, there wasn't a shred of force behind her words.
I saw her off as she was loaded into the carriage like an ambulance patient, then headed back to the training ground.
The serene training ground, empty now except for the lingering scents of me and Jessica, was perfect for practicing Battōjutsu.
Standing in the center, surrounded by Jessica's fragrance, I placed my hand on the sword hilt and assumed my drawing stance.
Just as I was about to slash at the empty air, the door slid open smoothly, and Euclid and Nana stepped inside.
No way—one day and you're already back?
Euclid seemed utterly hooked on the allure of Battōjutsu. Seeing that admirable enthusiasm only solidified my certainty that he wasn't some wicked schemer.
"Didn't expect you back after just one day."
"Huh? Sorry... Should I have waited a day or two?"
"Nah, I was just surprised. Not saying you're in the way. Sorry if it came off rude."
"You should be sorry! You must avoid any words that could be misinterpreted in His Highness's presence!"
Euclid himself stayed quiet, but Nana, who'd overheard from the side, got pissed on his behalf.
"Anyway, what's with this sour smell? How much sweat did you guys shed in here...?"
"Some of it's mine, but... half is..."
I was about to say the other half was Jessica's, but I clamped my mouth shut, worried it'd turn her nickname into "Jess Sour."
"What? You stopped mid-sentence?"
"Nah, it's nothing."
"Whatever... Anyway, help me open the windows. I'm used to sweat smells, but His Highness might find it unpleasant."
"Ah, no... I'm fine too, actually..."
Euclid said he was okay, but his slightly furrowed brow suggested otherwise.
Nana and I circled the training ground, opening the closed windows one by one. Midway through, Nana suddenly stopped and asked me,
"There are these pine-like gouges here and there—what are they?"
What she pointed to were the marks from earlier, when I'd pissed Jessica off and she'd rampaged with her hammer.
"Oh, that? Hammer dents."
"Hammer dents? Why would those even happen?"
"Well... it's complicated, but basically, I sniffed her boobs a bit?"
"Perverted bastard. Your fault, then."
"Hey, I haven't even finished! How's it my fault already?! If you're gonna judge, at least hear me out!!"
"Anything starting like that can't be legit. I don't need to hear the rest—it's definitely your fault."
Well, if we're splitting hairs, it was mostly my bad, but judging without hearing the full story was a bit much.
"Euclid! You think so too?"
"Huh?! Me? Uh, well... Sniffing breasts without permission is kinda iffy, right? They're sensitive spots and all..."
"Sensitive spots?"
As expected of a prince—had he groped a lot of them? I'd only seen it in videos, never touched any for real, so it was beyond me.
So they're sensitive spots, huh...
I'd vaguely heard it varies by person. Was Jessica sensitive too?
I decided to ask her next time we met, then finished opening the last window.
With all the windows open to air out the place, I stood in the center and resumed my drawing stance.
"......"
"......"
Their gazes locked onto me, and the training ground fell into the same heavy silence as before.
Unlike Euclid, whose eyes sparkled like he was watching an exciting show, Nana eyed me with a measuring stare.
Under their watch, I unleashed my skill without a hint of hesitation.
The blade flashed out in an instant, slicing empty air before sliding smoothly back into its sheath.
As the Battōjutsu demo ended, Euclid clapped enthusiastically with a thrilled grin, and Nana followed suit, stepping forward.
"I don't get why you only train Battōjutsu, but damn, the mastery is impressive. Still..."
She trailed off, heading to the weapon rack and drawing a decent-sized greatsword.
"Just swinging at air for a demo? Kinda lacks punch for spectators."
"......Then wanna stand in for me?"
Instead of answering, Nana grabbed a massive shield and greatsword, stepping up as her reply.
Her face was hidden by the helmet, but those excited, childlike steps betrayed how pumped she was.
I totally got it. When you meet a strong sword fighter, you just wanna clash blades at least once—that's what being a swordsman is all about.
But since Euclid wasn't a swordsman, he mistook the tense vibe between us for outright hostility.
"Wh-what? Why are you suddenly fighting?"
"Not fighting... Just testing skills? Like she said, no target means no real practice..."
Well, "slash" was the word, but neither of us had grabbed edged blades.
If we went full force with what we had, it'd hurt more than a little, but you can't call yourself a swordsman if you're scared of that.
But as I said, non-swordsman Euclid couldn't grasp that mindset, so he slapped a restriction on our spar.
"Fine, but just one exchange!! Only one! Nana's my guard—if she gets hurt, I'm in trouble!! Got it? Nana!! Ian!!"
We both nodded, settling into our favored stances.
Naturally, I stepped forward with my right foot, hands poised for sword and sheath. Nana thrust her shield out front, greatsword drawn to the side to counter shield-edge strikes.
Truth be told, I'd been itching for a chance to clash with Nana like this.
Taking over Victor's role from the original story, her skills had to be top-tier.
Even before crossing blades, her presence screamed at least Sword Master level.
"Here I come..."
True to our one-exchange pact, the bout ended in a single heartbeat.
The result? I got shoved back by her shield—but it wasn't just a shove.
The moment before impact, my empty strike toward her face flipped her helmet upward, sending it flying far off.
Knowing full well that in real combat it'd have wrecked her face, a single bead of sweat trickled down Nana's cheek.
Her face had been rigid like hardened wax, but it soon relaxed into a smirk.
"You're... something else. Honestly, I underestimated you for sticking to Battōjutsu. My bad."
"Good you get it now. And you? Pretty damn good without using it yourself."
We'd only traded one clash, but it confirmed she outclassed Peter—at least.
No, unlike Peter, Nana was still young; with more training, she could aim even higher.
"Euclid! How'd you like our little spar demo?"
"Uh... Sorry, Nana, Ian, but it was too fast—I couldn't really..."
"Ah..."
I'd forgotten to pace it for Euclid to see.
After that, I showed Euclid and Nana a few more Battōjutsu techniques, then parted ways amicably and returned to the dorm.
"It was definitely around here somewhere..."
Rummaging through my room back at the dorm, I soon found the gold pouch I'd shoved haphazardly into a drawer.
"Got it."
Checking it over, recent expenses had whittled it down to about 100 coins.
Tucking the pouch with its remaining 100 coins into my bosom, I slipped out the window ninja-style and headed straight for the girls' dorm.
At this hour, she should still be up, right?
Sneaking in like a shadow and positioning myself under Hori's window, sure enough, her room light was on—unlike the mostly dark ones around it.
I scaled the wall without much hope and tapped the window. Moments later, Hori appeared and opened it.
"What's up? Thought you were gonna smash through again today?"
"I was resting. But if you're coming at night, can't you warn me ahead? Breaking windows is a hassle!"
She grumbled about getting reamed by the dorm supervisor last time, so I tossed her the gold pouch from my bosom to shut her up.
"Kyaa! Wh-what's this?!"
"Open it."
Hesitating a moment before untying it, Hori's eyes went wide at the gold inside.
"Th-there's so much! Why dump this huge sum on me all of a sudden...?"
"Why else? Make some potions with it."
"Potions? Poison?"
"No, doping potions!! Might need 'em sometime."
If things followed the original story, a maniac gunning for the next Sword Saint would crash the labyrinth breakthrough exam in a month.
Unlikely it'd play out exactly with the next Sword Saint now a second-year and Rain taking the exam, but better safe than sorry.
"Dunno the details, but doping potions it is? Leave it to me! I've been dying to try some new materials anyway!!"
"Those materials aren't poison herbs, right?"
"......Of course not."
Her suspiciously delayed reply made me raise my fist, and Hori reflexively clutched her head, blurting,
"I-I'll keep it restrained!!"
"Good. Then I'm off."
With that, I left her room under her send-off and headed back to my dorm.
A month flew by in the blink of an eye—days filled with drilling Jessica by day, sparring Nana after, building my skills while awaiting the looming labyrinth breakthrough exam.