It was finally time to cross blades with Schuren’s parents. Schuren, Luna, and I all sat on a couch in his house, waiting for them to arrive. Mirenka was there too, preparing for guests.
Schuren explained that his family found formalities annoying. At first, his parents had been understanding about his bachelorhood, but for some reason, they’d pestered him about it more over the last few years.
“Do you have any idea why?”
“Not a clue. I haven’t changed, as far as I can tell. Mirenka, do you think I’ve changed?”
“No, my lord. Your zeal for enchanted items is still the same. Admittedly, it wouldn’t be a bad thing if you took more interest in people.”
“Uhh…I’ve been trying.”
Mirenka had been working for him for several years and seemed responsible for his personal needs.
“I’ve told Mirenka where I keep my stash of enchanted items,” said Schuren. “So that she can sell them off if something happens to me.”
“Sell them? I thought you wanted to keep them.”
“As long as I’m alive, yes. But these items have a purpose. I’d rather they’re sold to someone who’ll make use of them, not just leave them in a box to rot. I owe that much to society.”
I had to imagine that the enchanted items themselves were happy to be in his possession.
Just then, we heard the front door open. Mirenka headed off, and a short while later, she came back with a man and woman. We all stood to greet them. Schuren’s parents didn’t look that old at all. They seemed very youthful, standing straight as a pair of arrows. You’d never have guessed they were more than fifty.
“Hmph, forty-six days since we last met.”
“No, honey, it’s been forty-seven.”
They had something of a unique tempo to their conversation. The man was tall, with white hair and an immaculately manicured beard. His veins bulged over taut muscles. This guy was so cool. His wife, on the other hand, had the air of a refined noblewoman. Her hair was white too, but there wasn’t a single wrinkle on her face. She was slender and nowhere near as intimidating as her husband.
“So these are the two people you plan to use to fight us?” the man asked.
“I wish you wouldn’t phrase it like that. I’m not ‘using’ anyone. I might love enchanted items, but I do understand that people aren’t things. I’m sorry, Noir, Luna, my father has never been particularly good with words.”
Luna shook her head, telling him not to worry about it. “My name is Luna Heela,” she said. “I work as a cleric and adventurer.”
“Intriguing…”
“My, what a lovely girl you are.”
Schuren’s parents seemed to come away with a good impression of her. I certainly did. I was always so nervous in front of high-ranked nobles; I was much more comfortable around commoners. All eyes were on me as I hoarsely introduced myself.
“I’m Noir, the third son of the Stardia family. I’m a student at the Hero Academy and an adventurer. My father’s a baronet.”
“Hmm, the Stardia family you say?”
“Father, these two saved Marie, the duke’s daughter,” Schuren said, looking smug.
His parents were utterly stunned. What an incredible reaction.
“Sch-Schuren, you’ve brought some truly incredible people…”
“We’re ready whenever you are.”
“Very well. Let’s go outside.”
Seemingly provoked by the comment, Schuren’s parents were ready to get started. We all moved out into the yard. The two of them tested the turf with their swords—checking to see if there were any traps. After that, servants outfitted their master with armor. It was dazzling silver plate mail that must have been polished regularly. It positively gleamed.
“Seems like my armor’s in tip-top shape. Shall we start this?”
“Fine by us.”
I had just shy of 5,000 LP. The wife had her abilities Concealed so I couldn’t tell what they were, but her husband…
Name: Gandez Trower
Age: 65
Species: Human
Level: 199
Occupation: Fencing Instructor
Skills: Iwasaku School Swordsmanship (Grade A); Power Slash; Earth Slash; Thrust; Stamina Up; Martial Arts (Grade A); Physical Defense (Grade C); Poison Resistance (Grade C); Heat Resistance (Grade B)
S-so powerful…
His skill set was pretty specialized, and he didn’t have any obvious weaknesses either. I’d heard he’d opened a fencing school for common children, but I hadn’t realized he was quite this skilled. His armor wasn’t anything special, so it was probably just to increase his defense. My guess was that Iwasaku School Swordsmanship was some kind of famous sword-fighting style.
“Battle can begin at a moment’s notice,” Gandez boomed. “So hurry up and take your stance.”
“The husband is specialized in swordsmanship,” I whispered to Luna, raising my sword. “I don’t know about the wife.”
“My intuition is telling me that she’s a magic user. I’ll keep her busy and back you up when I see an opportunity.”
I agreed and faced my opponent. Suddenly, my entire field of vision was filled by Gandez charging in with his blade.
“What?!” I barely stepped out of the way in time.
“That was underhanded, father!” Schuren shouted.
“Silence! I warned him that battle could begin at any moment!”
“Counterattacks can too,” I said, performing a Power Slash.
The move increased the speed of my blade and attack power, but the swing was large and tiring. Our blades screeched together as Gandez blocked, but he couldn’t dampen enough of the force and tumbled back. Still, he got up immediately and made no attempt to retreat.
“I like you!” he said. “Now you will see a real swordsman’s technique!”
He came at me in a mad rush, but that was just what I was hoping for. I Bestowed the skill +5lbs—not onto him, but his plate mail. Between his significant stamina and heightened emotional state, he didn’t seem to notice.
I’d never seen this sword technique before, so I focused on dodging—making full use of my Improved Lunge, Side Step, and Back Step. They had to be my three most-used skills by that point.
“Struggling already?” Gandez asked. “You haven’t even seen the essence of the Iwasaku School yet.”
He raised his sword to the sky, then swung down in one glorious motion. I dodged, but his blade hit the ground, sending earth flying.
“Bleh…”
Dirt got in my eyes and mouth. Gandez seemed entirely unconcerned and repeated the motion over and over, opening a hole in the ground. That was likely his Earth Slash skill. I wasn’t going to spend the entire fight on the defensive, so I added another ten pounds to his armor, for a total of fifteen.
“You can run, but you can’t escape my blade!”
Not yet. I had to be patient. I added another fifteen pounds.
“Ah…”
“Hah! Hah! Hah! You have nowhere to run now!”
The yard was in a bad state. If I tried to step back, I’d probably stumble, and Gandez was standing triumphant in front of me.
“This plate mail protects me from my own technique,” he said. “Preparation…invites…victory…”
“Oh, it’s not over yet,” I said. “If anyone’s getting exhausted, it’s you.”
His shoulders heaved as he struggled for breath. But then, of course he was tired, he was charging around with an extra thirty pounds of weight.
“Haah, haah… H-how strange. Why is my armor so heavy…? Noir, you didn’t—”
“I sure did. But the ability in question is a secret.”
“I knew it,” he said. “Very well, let us settle this with one last decisive stri—?!”
With a loud, heavy thump, Gandez fell dramatically to the ground. Luna had hit him in the foot with an Impact Shot.
“Shame on you,” she said. “For forgetting there are two of us in this fight.”
She was too perfect!
I stepped toward Gandez and swung to knock his sword away.
“This isn’t a battle to the death,” I said. “You’ve lost your sword. Give up.”
“I hate to admit it…but you’ve got me.”
Thankfully, Gandez admitted defeat.
“So, Father, how does it feel to lose?” Schuren called from where he was watching. “You grew over reliant on your armor, trusting it more than the swordsmanship you’ve spent so much time cultivating. No wonder you lost.”
“Where do you get off?! You didn’t even do anything!”
They both had a point, but this was no time to get caught up in a father-son squabble. I turned toward the other fight going on in the yard. At a glance, Luna seemed to have the advantage. The wife had lost her elegance—her clothes were in tatters, and she looked exhausted. I moved in front of her, keeping clear of Luna’s line of fire.
“Sir Noir, she’s adept at water magic.”
That explained why the ground was wet.
“You needn’t worry,” she said. “I won’t use any more water magic.”
She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender. I supposed she was already at a disadvantage when I joined the fray.
“Mother, why?” Schuren exclaimed. “If you don’t give up, surely you can turn things around!”
“I don’t want to hear comments from the peanut gallery!”
Once again, they both had a point. Maybe I should start calling them the Trower Family of Sensible Points…. Although only to myself.