21. Women
21. Women
"Huu.... Huu......."
"Caught your breath? Let's start again."
"Yes...!"
As their swords clashed again with a sharp chaeng, chaeng, Noah focused solely on his blade.
He poured everything into his swordsmanship, focusing on his gaze and every other aspect to defeat his opponent.
He channeled Mana into his legs, arms, and even tightened his abs to block his Master's sword.
Even though she was a woman, she was a far stronger opponent, and because she was much more accustomed to the realm of combat—not just swordsmanship—than Noah, winning was difficult.
Though winning was his goal.
In the end, just blocking and enduring was not enough.
"Keuk...."
"I told you not to focus only on the sword just because it's swordsmanship."
"Ugh...."
"Like this, it's perfectly possible to endure and then attack the body with a fist."
"It's... swordsmanship training, after all."
"And you also need to focus on the opponent's steps and shoulder movements. You shouldn't just pay attention to the hand holding the sword and its trajectory. I've told you that how many times now?"
"Haa......."
"Still not enough."
His Master swung her sword effortlessly, moved her body, and in an instant, made Noah drop the sword he was holding.
Even with that process and movement.
Morgan, who continued her nagging advice as if nothing had happened, still valued Noah's potential for growth.
"......One more time."
"I suppose so."
Noah exhaled roughly, but grabbed his sword and continued the training.
It had already been four hours of sparring, and even though he was quite busy, Noah kept going.
And Iris, who was quietly watching the training between Noah and his Master, Morgan.
It was a time that wasn't much different from usual.
Even though the Academy's vacation was slowly coming to an end, Noah continued his Master's slightly coercive training every afternoon.
Despite that, Noah never complained; in fact, a slight smile could be seen on his face as he felt his level and state gradually improving.
'......That's it.'
"Going faster."
"Huu... H-hup......!"
"Don't stop the sword."
Seeing her disciple like that, Morgan smiled inwardly and continued to attack Noah.
They were using real swords, so it was a dangerous training session, but.
To a swordsman, such things didn't really matter.
"Don't stop your feet, and don't let your shoulders stiffen."
"Haa, haa...."
"While keeping an eye on your opponent, don't hesitate in your next move."
On and on, and on....
That's how it continued.
.
.
.
"Noah, you trained a lot again today!"
"I guess so."
"Weren't you very tired? You sweated so much again today."
"I need to go to the dormitory and wash up. Aside from the training, it's summer, so I've been sweating constantly."
"No matter how I think about it, I feel like you're in danger of dehydration. You have to drink more water when you get to the dormitory, okay?"
"Yeah."
When the training ended, it was evening, and the summer sun had completely set.
Noah, still wearing the towel he used in the training room around his neck, was slowly walking with his childhood friend.
Since they had already taken care of dinner with the sandwiches Iris had worked hard to prepare.
It was time to part ways, not much different from usual.
Because it was always like that.
Today, too, it was naturally time to part ways.
"You worked really hard today, too. Go in and rest comfortably... Ummm... See you tomorrow?"
"Yeah, Iris. You worked hard too. The sandwich was delicious."
"Ah... really? Fufu, then I'm super happy. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Noah."
Naturally, the men's dormitory and women's dormitory were separate.
The two were having that conversation at a suitable spot.
The boy's hair was disheveled from the training, and the thin clothes he was wearing were quite soaked in sweat, while the girl, who had just watched from the sidelines in the training room, looked exactly the same as when she left the dormitory.
"......Ah, wait. Iris."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Just a second."
"Oh, u, oh? Why......?"
As they were talking, Noah suddenly took a step closer to his childhood friend and slowly began to reach out his hand toward Iris's hair.
Since it was a sudden action from his childhood friend.
Naturally, Iris was flustered, but....
'I-if it's Noah... i-it's okay...? Rather.......'
She had that thought.
She hesitated for a moment, but was about to quietly accept Noah's touch....
"There was a leaf in your hair."
"Ah......."
But it was nothing special.
It wasn't particularly different from usual.
There was nothing the girl wanted.
"It's gone now, get to your dormitory safely. Rest comfortably. I'm sorry for making you help with my training every day, and thank you. It would be fine to just spend your vacation comfortably."
"Huh? Ah, no way! I'm doing it because I want to? Why else would hometown friends, childhood friends exist? They exist to help each other out during times like this. You don't have to think about it so heavily...!"
"Then that's a relief. It's hot because it's summer. You should take it easy too."
"Noah, you're the one who...."
The two talked for a bit more before parting ways toward their respective dormitories.
Iris felt quite a bit of lingering regret.
Even so, just being able to spend time with her childhood friend, with the boy, today as well, made her smile. On her way back, she even stopped by a bakery to buy bread for tomorrow's sandwiches.
"......Katrina?"
"Hmm.... On your way back from meeting Iris?"
"Yeah."
"I see. You're sweating a ton, did you two do some exercise or something?"
"My Master has been overseeing my training every day. That's why I'm sweating."
"Aha?"
Noah immediately ran into an acquaintance.
They weren't quite close enough to call each other friends yet.
But they had done various activities together at the Academy, and since Katrina had an outgoing personality, they were quite close.
Katrina Valerance.
"I see. Your face is handsome even when soaked in sweat."
"Is that so? You're pretty too."
"......So, are you going to the dormitory now?"
"I have to wash up, anyway. I'm sweaty, and I'm thinking of doing a little more exercise before I sleep."
"You train so much. It doesn't look like there's any need to do that, is it really necessary to go that far?"
"I do it because I want to."
She, who was undoubtedly a popular girl at the Academy, kept talking while looking up at Noah with her characteristic eyes.
Noah, who had been training continuously, was feeling quite uncomfortable with the sweat.
He might have thought to feel a little sorry when considering the other person.
But she was a noble young lady with a personality that didn't care much about such things.
Rather, she was finding quite a bit of charm in Noah's appearance, which was slightly different from usual.
He had a characteristic gentle vibe, but he was much taller, and Noah had a generally strong physique, so naturally, it was only natural for her to feel romantic attraction.
"Hmm, I see."
"Why?"
"Hmm.... I prefer dreaming on midsummer nights. But since you put it that way. I'm thinking of doing some unplanned exercise."
"Exercise?"
"Yeah, you said it was exercise, right? You're washing off the sweat and then burning more stamina. Some simple exercise... how about it?"
That was why she deliberately said that to Noah, who was naturally trying to head to the dormitory.
She wasn't dressed for exercise.
In fact, if she exercised, her clothes would be ruined by sweat or other dust.
But she was a noble young lady who didn't really care about such things, and her own opportunity was more important than the discomfort of Noah, who was drenched in sweat.
Katrina boldly made that suggestion.
While looking up at Noah.
"Hmm......."
"You said you were going to wash up and then exercise, right? You're going to wash off the sweat and then sweat again, so wouldn't it be better to just do it once more right now?"
"......That's true."
When she followed up with a reasonable excuse, there was no reason for Noah to refuse from his perspective.
Even though the other person was a noble.
During the first semester, Katrina had basically never done anything eccentric to Noah, nor had she discriminated based on status, so he accepted it since there was no reason to refuse.
"Let's not make it too long, short is fine, right? I don't know if you prepared, but the clothes look uncomfortable to you, don't they?"
"They are uncomfortable, but I think they're pretty clothes. Katrina, they suit you well, too."
"......Huh. Really?"
"Yeah."
While continuing the small talk without much thought, Noah stretched his body.
In fact, the clothes Katrina was wearing were expensive, pretty, and good clothes, and the young lady named Katrina was basically a very pretty person.
In noble society, she was called the Flower of Valerance; with her characteristic blonde hair, flashy eyes, and a uniquely beautiful body to match.
Not just the first years, but even the second and third years remembered Katrina's name all too well, and they remembered her appearance even better than her name.
In the process of Noah speaking honestly, just as things were, it was just a normal occurrence that compliments would come out.
"We have plenty of time, and you just want to do some finishing exercises, right? Let's not go too hard... shall we do some simple bare-handed sparring?"
"If that's what you want."
"It's bare ground, after all. Let's adjust to each other and just sharpen our senses a bit. Actually, during the vacation, I've had to attend balls and there's a lot of work to do for the family, so it's a bit awkward to do this kind of sparring."
"Yeah."
Thus began the dance under the moonlit night.
Katrina naturally touched, pushed, and pulled Noah's body with her bare hands.
Noah also moved his body in time with the bare-handed sparring.
'......My Master is like that, and Katrina is like that too. I wonder if women find bare-handed, bare-body sparring more fun than sparring with weapons.'
Because it was exercise to finish the day.
He was continuing the sparring while calmly watching his opponent, but.
It was natural for Noah to think that way.
The fact that he didn't care at all about the true meaning of the current bare-handed sparring meant that, except for one person.
It also meant that he hadn't been paying attention to any other opponents recently.