Morning Sparring with the Sword Master
I woke early—so early it was nearly dawn. Yuri was already awake and watching me; our eyes met the moment mine opened. The sight of her smiling right in front of my face jolted me fully awake from that half-dreaming haze.
"El, did you sleep well?"
"...Good morning."
I managed the greeting only after steadying the sudden thump of my heart. Since Yuri said nothing more, it seemed my fluster hadn't shown.
"It's not time for morning training yet, is it?"
"Nope. We've got time, so take it slow getting ready. Only the really diligent knights will be out on the training grounds this early."
Still, as a guest receiving instruction in someone else's home, I had no desire to look like a layabout. I returned to my room, washed up quickly, and changed into comfortable clothes—long sleeves and pants that allowed free movement. I tied my hair back roughly so it wouldn't fly everywhere, then took the sword I'd left stored to one side and stepped into the corridor. Yuri was already fully prepared and waiting by the door.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Not at all. We started getting ready at the same time—how long could it take? Shall we head down?"
"Yeah. After spending all day yesterday just eating, playing, and sleeping, my body's already feeling stiff. Let's go."
Together we made our way toward the training grounds. The closer we drew, the more scattered shouts of effort reached our ears. They were all out of sync and independent of one another, so Yuri had been right—everyone was still doing individual drills.
"My lady, you've arrived."
The moment we stepped onto the grounds, the nearest knight offered Yuri a greeting. His face looked quite advanced in years.
"Good morning, Sir Lupin."
After that brief exchange the knight named Lupin returned straight to his personal training. Yuri and I stretched to loosen our muscles before we began, then started jogging laps around the perimeter. Being a marquis's estate, the grounds were spacious enough that a few circuits left us in that pleasant state of just beginning to break a sweat.
"Fall in!"
Right on cue, Lupin—the same man who had greeted Yuri earlier—bellowed the command. The scattered knights snapped into neat ranks with crisp precision. Instead of joining their formation, Yuri and I took places a short distance to the side, standing side by side.
We waited only a moment before Marquis Craig strode slowly into the training grounds and came to a halt in front of Lupin.
"Did you sleep well last night, my lord?"
Lupin welcomed Craig with a simple inquiry after his health rather than any excessive formality. Craig seemed unbothered; he answered with a light nod.
"I did. Looks as though Sir Lupin was first out again today."
"Haha, once you get old the only thing that disappears is the ability to sleep in."
"In that case I'll leave today's training to you as always, Sir Lupin."
"Yes, my lord. Leave it to me."
Receiving the order, Lupin began directing the knights in a loud, perfectly coordinated fashion. From a quick glance it looked more like tactical drills than individual practice—everyone moving together as a unit.
"You two, come with me."
Having entrusted the knights entirely to Lupin, Craig led us off to one side of the grounds. Even though it was a quieter corner, the space was so vast that the three of us still had more than enough room to move.
"Hmm.... Having the two of you spar each other won't let either of you show your true skill, so I'll look at you separately. First, Yuri—draw your sword."
"Yes."
Following Craig's instruction, Yuri drew the blade from her hip. It was the same stance I had seen countless times throughout the semester.
"Swing it for me."
Craig, by contrast, took no stance at all—he didn't even draw his own sword, simply standing there. Yuri paid his posture no mind and swung with everything she had.
Whoosh.
As expected, Craig deflected her attack with almost casual ease.
Whoosh. Whoosh.
No matter how many times she swung, not a single strike so much as brushed the hem of his clothes. After those empty attacks piled up—dozens of them—Yuri's breathing grew steadily rougher.
"Hah... hah..."
At last her stamina gave out. She stopped in place, the tip of her sword trembling and unable to hold still. Only then did Craig speak.
"Your attacks are dull, the flow keeps breaking, and even your feints are clumsy. Seems you learned nothing at the academy."
Under that merciless critique Yuri bit her lip lightly, yet she offered no excuses—every word was true. She simply stood and listened in silence.
"...Still, your stamina has improved compared to before. Rest."
The instant Craig gave permission, Yuri sheathed her sword. Her hands were shaking so badly it took several tries before she managed to seat the blade properly.
"Then we'll continue straight away. Elicia—draw your sword."
In Yuri's place I drew my own blade. It was a real sword, of course, but I wasn't particularly worried. A Sword Master like Craig wasn't about to be injured by me, and even if he somehow were, he wouldn't take it out on his daughter's friend.
Seeing me draw, Craig twitched one eyebrow, then finally pulled his own sword free from its scabbard—the weapon that had remained hidden until now.
He settled into a stance. The way he stood with the sword was thoroughly familiar; it was the exact mirror of the posture Yuri had used all semester. Only the posture matched, though—the sheer presence radiating from him was on an entirely different level.
Ordinarily that gap in pressure would have been enough to cow someone, yet I felt no real disturbance. If I had to measure the weight of it, facing a demon in the past had been far worse. Compared to that miasma and killing intent, this was like standing under the midsummer sun without a scrap of shade. Hard, yes—but not something I couldn't endure.
"Hmm. Your presence isn't bad. Begin when you're ready."
There was nothing left to prepare, so the moment the words left his mouth I launched myself at him.
Clang!
Naturally the attack was blocked. The rebound from putting my full strength into the swing left my hands stinging, yet I forced my grip tighter around the hilt.
I swung again at Craig, who still stood rooted in place after turning aside my first strike. Once more he stopped it with nothing more than a simple lift of his blade.
Skreee—
I angled my edge and flat to keep the rebound from flinging me away, then poured every ounce of strength into clamping my sword against his like a magnet, refusing to let them separate.
Using both hands I tried to slide his blade aside and create an opening, but the raw power in the sword Craig held casually in one hand overwhelmed the force of both of mine. It wasn't merely a difference in muscle; the physical enhancement from Aura itself was absurdly lopsided. Even so, I hadn't expected that putting everything I had into both hands would still fall short of a one-handed, half-hearted lift with no proper stance. Then again, I had never faced a Sword Master before—how could I have known?
Trapped and unable to move, I tried to bounce his sword away and retreat, only for Craig to reverse the situation: he kept our blades locked and refused to let me go. Every time I stepped back he closed the exact same distance, maintaining the bind.
I twisted and swung, trying every angle to free myself, but his sword moved with the fluid freedom of a soft blade, nullifying every attempt.
Desperate for a way out, I flicked my eyes downward and secretly shifted my foot toward where his stood. The instant before I could stomp, his foot slid back and instead kicked my descending sole sideways.
Ordinarily balancing on one leg would have been trivial, yet the kick combined with the sword still glued to mine shattered my equilibrium with ridiculous ease.
I released one hand from the hilt to catch myself as I toppled, rolled quickly, and tried to rise—only to find Craig's sword already leveled at my face.
"Hmm.... Not bad. Considering your age.... No—even setting age aside, excellent. The way you swing, the way you read the situation, the way you hunt for an opening, even the flow of your Aura—all of it is above the level of an ordinary knight."
Watching him withdraw his blade, I dusted off my rear and stood.
"However, there is no form to your swordplay. One could call it free, but in the end it means you have no foundation. It isn't that you've mastered forms and then transcended them—there were never any forms built up in the first place. If I had to put a label on it, it's thoroughly practical."
With only a handful of exchanges Craig had seen straight through my swordsmanship. My blade had never possessed anything grand enough to be called a proper style. If it had, the Guild Master would have founded a swordsmen's guild instead of an assassins' one.
"Fortunately your talent is outstanding. With talent like yours, learning formal swordsmanship from scratch at this point would be less effective than simply swinging as your instincts dictate. I can see traces of someone having corrected you here and there, but whoever touched up your sword clearly understood that and didn't meddle too heavily. Even I would only make a mess of it if I tried to force changes now."
He was almost certainly talking about Cielian. At the very least it meant that Cielian's eye as an instructor stood on equal footing with a Sword Master like Craig.
"Thank you."
"Lupin!"
I couldn't simply stay silent after receiving praise and advice, so I offered my thanks. Instead of answering, Craig turned his head and called to Lupin, who was still commanding the knights far across the grounds.
"You called, my lord?"
At Craig's summons Lupin closed the distance in an instant.
"Leave the rest of the training to someone else, or switch them to free practice. Starting today you will spar with Elicia here as many times as possible every day. I'm certain it will benefit you both."
"Yes, my lord. Understood."
Lupin glanced at me—years younger than himself—yet voiced not a single question to Craig. He simply returned to the knights and began issuing new orders.
"Elicia. From now on you will spar with me once every morning, then continue sparring with Lupin without pause afterward. Your sword relies on talent; a little guidance and experience will be enough for it to grow."
"Yes, I understand."
It was the word of a Sword Master. There was no need to doubt it.
"And Yuri. From now on I will personally oversee you every day. Do not skip a single session."
"Yes."
Craig wrapped everything up with brisk efficiency. Since I had already finished my bout with him, I spent the remainder of the morning sparring repeatedly with Lupin until the day's training came to an end.