“Krai’s here,” Luke, soaked in blood, whispered fervently. “That hasn’t happened in a long time!”
He seemed in a good mood, though I had absolutely no idea why.
The damage looked bad from above, but it seemed even worse when viewed up close. I had absolutely no idea what had happened, but the sight of the broken spire, the gates that were now rubble, and the deep cracks that scarred the ground all made my stomach churn.
I had absolutely no idea what had happened, but I felt a number of glares directed at me. The students of the esteemed Sword Saint pulled themselves up from the ground like zombies. I had absolutely no idea what had happened, but Luke was drenched in blood and inexplicably cheerful.
I have absolutely no idea what happened! Absolutely none!
Lucia clutched her head and let out a sigh. She was probably thinking she had another mess she had to take care of. She wasn’t wrong; we’d just have another catastrophe if we let Luke clean up.
Parties are all about mutual assistance, I thought as I patted her on the back.
“Not many people want to spar with me these days, and my blade was getting thirsty for blood. Thank you, Krai! Para siempre!”
“No gracias, para siempre, yay!”
Luke held out his hand for a high five, so I went along with it and obliged him. I was just glad he was enjoying himself. But as I suspected, that wasn’t his own blood he was coated in. We made him use a wooden sword to prevent him from indiscriminately cutting people, but there was no point if he kept doing it anyway!
But this was hardly the first time I had wanted to tell him that. This was also hardly the first time he had caused trouble for the Sword Saint. Most people would die if they got cut by Luke, but a Swordsman with mana material was made of stern stuff. Their vitality surpassed what was normal for a human. If anyone had died, he’d be in a lot more trouble, so he had once again narrowly avoided that. Luke’s violent rampages had once been a big source of anxiety for me, but now I was used to them.
“Are you all right?” I asked. I figured I may as well, since I was his friend and all.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I managed to dodge most of them. If I had to say, this is my only huge wound.”
Luke rolled up his sleeve, revealing a muscular arm with a deep horizontal wound. It was obviously a deep cut. I would’ve died from something like that, but Luke didn’t look like he was in any pain at all.
What’s going on with your body?
While I struggled for words, Luke calmly replaced his sleeve, then looked at Lucia.
“Right, Lucia,” he said. “Could you call Ansem? We’ve got several guys with missing arms.”
I could hear those guys saying something.
I figured I could leave the wounded in Lucia’s care and just not think too hard about any of this, but the glares were getting unbearably intense. The people at this dojo treated me like I was responsible for Luke’s behavior. Or maybe it was more accurate to say Luke didn’t listen to people, so all complaints ended up directed at me.
What a mess he had caused this time around. Luke loved cutting people, but if he had nearly destroyed the dojo, perhaps he was testing a new technique or something?
I pretended not to notice the countless gazes on me, and tried to improve the mood. “M-Man, I haven’t been here in a while. Did something about this place change?”
Silence.
“I dunno, it just feels more open,” I went on. “B-But I’d say this has its own appeal.”
Crickets.
I quickly caved and apologized.
“S-Sorry. I never imagined this would happen. Soln’s apprentices are all first-rate, after all. Not even the preterhuman artificer could have foreseen this. Here, you can send an invoice to First Steps...”
I know it sounded like I was making excuses, but this was all Luke’s fault. Luke’s.
I gave the grounds another look. Rubble could be cleared with magic, but not even Lucia had yet learned a spell that could fix things that had been broken. I was particularly concerned by the bent spire. This looked like it would cost money, meaning this wasn’t a job for Lucia, but rather for Sitri or Eva.
I’ve got it! We can get Ryuulan’s help! Even though we still can’t communicate!
It was then that I realized that I wasn’t hearing any of the gripes that the apprentices would normally be sending my way. After constantly avoiding looking at them, I timidly glanced in their direction. They were looking my way—but not at me. They were looking behind me, at my dour sister.
It occurred to me that this might be the first time Lucia had ever come to the dojo. It was in the opposite direction from the academy she studied at. The only Grievers who came here were myself, or Ansem if there were people to be healed.
What’s this all about?
For some reason, the apprentices were all still, as if frozen by ice magic.
“Freezing at the sight of someone’s sister is awfully rude,” I said.
“F-Forgive us,” the one at the front stammered awkwardly. “It’s just, she’s quite beautiful...”
Wha?
“Huh? What are you talking about, Nadoli?” Luke said.
I couldn’t stop myself from looking at Lucia, who was blinking, mystified. This was a first. I didn’t really know what to do, but I made an attempt.
“Just because it’s true doesn’t make it a compliment,” I said hesitantly.
“B-Brother?!”
The apprentices began to chatter among each other.
Oh?
Perhaps these guys were weak to Lucia in the same way Matthis was weak to Tino. Despite their rugged exteriors, these guys actually had a cute side to them.
“You gotta train your spirit more, my friend,” I said, giving the one in front a jovial pat on the back.
“Urgh. S-Sorry...”
“See, this is why you got cut by Luke.”
“Hm?! I-I don’t think it has anything to—”
Right. Next time they want to complain, I’ll bring Lucia along. I wonder if this will also work on the Sword Saint.
These guys must have been really soft if they were stunned by just a girl. I thought they said training the mind, body, and technique was central to the Soln school of swordsmanship, but these guys were coming up awfully short. On the other hand, Luke was stupidly strong, while lacking in one very key aspect, so maybe I shouldn’t say anything.