Chapter 546:
The Bear Duels Seleiyu
WE DECIDED TO SET UP our duel in a corner of the training grounds where Shia’s classmates were practicing. The students from the capital stopped practicing to watch us.
Uh, please don’t stare.
They couldn’t hear my mental plea, of course, so stare they did. Soon, I realized they were looking at Seleiyu in particular, almost like they were sizing her up. I really needed to make sure I didn’t win in a really memorable way, just like I’d decided at the start.
Seleiyu and I took up our stances, a short distance from each other.
“You may start at any time,” she said as she readied her wooden sword.
Okay, now what...
I didn’t know what to do. Winning would be easy, but I had to hold back. If I overpowered her while dressed in a uniform, with my face completely visible, it was going to cause me a lot of grief later. I needed to fight Seleiyu on an even footing and make it seem like a close match.
“If you won’t act, then I will.”
Since I wasn’t making a move, Seleiyu struck first. She approached, closing the distance between us, and brought her sword straight down toward me. I parried the blow lightly. Seleiyu looked surprised, but it was just a simple parry.
Scowling, she tried to attack me from the right, then the left. I matched her movements, smoothly blocking the blows. She had good technique, but I wasn’t sure I’d call it smooth. She didn’t let the sword control her as she swung it.
A heavy sword could take you with it when you brought it down. To put it simply, it was kind of like holding a gigantic hammer. Once you start swinging, it was hard to keep control. If someone as weak as me tried, I’d end up spinning right around with the hammer (don’t ask me how I know).
A wooden sword was lighter than a real one, but even wood could make you lose your balance, especially if someone was striking back in an effort to repel you. But Seleiyu never wavered. She was even able to strike again.
✦ ✦ ✦
SELEIYU
I AM SELEIYU, daughter of the noble Forinth family.
When I was young, I had never touched a sword and was much too frightened of those who did to approach them. But after a certain incident, I changed.
My mother was killed. Her death made me resolve to become stronger. I learned how to wield a sword and protect myself. When I learned I had an aptitude for magic, I began to practice that as well. Naturally, I dedicated myself to my other studies and made sure I would honor the Forinth name as I matured into the lady of the house.
I was pleased to have been selected for the magic gathering. Though I wished to practice in order to avoid bringing shame to myself in the competition, the students from the capital were currently using the campus grounds, so the Yufarian students could not. Unable to practice, I decided to take a stroll. My mother loved this town, and so do I. The lake and townscape are both beautiful, and a source of pride for me. Taking strolls was one of my favorite pastimes.
As I walked, gazing out across the lake, I saw a girl walking backward. She hadn’t noticed me. The moment I pivoted to avoid running into her, she tripped and began to fall backward. I immediately caught her, stopping her fall.
The girl in my arms was cute, in her early teens, and wore a look of surprise on her face. She seemed familiar, although I did not immediately recognize her.
“Have we met before?” I asked, which prompted the girl to look more closely at me. I stared back at her.
...Oh, I remember now.
“Lady Seleiyu?”
“It was Noir, wasn’t it?”
We both said each other’s names at almost the same time.
Yes, she was the Fochrosés’ daughter, Noir. It seemed she had recalled who I was as well. We had only met a few times before; the last time had been at His Majesty’s banquet during his birthday festivities. Even then, we had only exchanged simple pleasantries. As we were far apart in age, I had spoken to Noir infrequently. I had spoken more often to her sister, Shia, who was closer in age to me. But why was Noir here?
I asked and found that she was visiting to support Shia. To my shock, Noir claimed she had come to Yufaria without a guard, despite the fact that she was a noble. Well, more precisely, she claimed that the student with her was her escort.
This girl’s name was Yuna. Though she was fifteen, Yuna was short for her age. She had long hair and seemed charming enough, but she did not appear capable of protecting Noir should they be attacked by monsters. At first, I considered that Noir’s family might not know how she had arrived here, but it seemed her parents, Lord Cliff and Lady Ellelaura, were aware of everything. I couldn’t believe it.
I proposed assigning Noir a guard while she sojourned in our town. Though the town was safe, if anything at all were to happen to the Fochrosés’ daughter, my father, the lord of the town, would lose face. Noir, however, claimed that the girl protecting her was sufficiently powerful to protect her. She refused my request.
It seemed Noir truly trusted the girl. However, despite being a student from the capital, she hadn’t been selected for the gathering. I considered that she may be a skilled swordfighter, but her palms were soft. It seemed she had not put long hours into studying the blade.
Guilty as I felt to countermand Noir, this girl simply could not be as powerful as she claimed.
“You were not chosen to participate in the magic gathering and you do not seem to have ever held a sword in your life. I can’t accept you as a fitting guard for Noir.”
After I said this, the girl began to argue with me. She first pointed out that I was walking around on my own, despite being a noble myself. This town was indeed safe, but I still wished to give Noir a guard on the chance something might happen. In addition, I was capable of defending myself with a blade. I had been selected for the upcoming magic gathering, after all.
When I said this, she proposed a duel. If she won, she said she wanted me to acknowledge her as Noir’s guard. It was a reasonable request.
As I could not withdraw now, I accepted her proposal. She had not been chosen for the gathering, meaning her magical abilities were lacking, and I doubted she had experience holding a sword. If I humored her, she would likely accept that she was not a satisfactory guard for Noir.
And now, the duel had begun.
I struck directly, attempting to be somewhat firm with her. I expected this would knock the wooden sword out of her hands. But she met my blow. This surprised me. When swords clash, even wooden practice swords, the impact is strong. Despite all that, the girl easily blocked my blow.
I backed away slightly and attempted to attack her from the left this time. However, she easily blocked me. I attempted to be faster and firmer with my next blow. This, too, was blocked. She hadn’t simply met my blow this time—she warded off my strike in order to dampen the impact.
When it came to offense versus defense, the offense had the advantage. The one attacking could decide where to bring their sword down, so blocking a strike that could come from any angle required considerably higher skill. It was no easy task for her to parry my blows like this.
In addition, the defender often cannot compel their body to move as they wish it to because they fear being struck. However, this girl did not so much as blink. Her beautiful eyes stared straight through me. It was as though she could predict everything I was doing.
I attempted to bring my sword down on her, but she evaded once more.
When my instructor had first attempted to strike at me, I had been too afraid to defend myself, while my instructor could block all my strikes. To fight this way, one had to read the minute details of their opponent’s movements, examining not only their opponent’s sword, but also their arms, hands, and gaze. In addition to looking above, looking down was crucial as well. One has to track their opponent’s step forward, and how much power they carry in it.
When my instructor had first told me this, I replied that it was impossible. My instructor said that I must observe my opponent in their entirety, and I simply couldn’t do it. I couldn’t help but look at my opponent’s sword as it approached me.
However, with practice, I was gradually able to improve.
The girl in front of me was putting into practice exactly what my instructor had described. She was observing me in my entirety. I could see it in her eyes. I attempted to strike again, but she easily blocked me. This was becoming interesting. I couldn’t help but smile. No other girl at the academy could exchange blows with me, and few of the boys were capable of doing so as well.
Normally, my opponents became flustered after exchanging so many blows, but she remained composed as she handled her blade. It was clear she was holding back. If she were using her full strength, she could have counterattacked. For some reason, she hadn’t. It seemed as though she was thinking something over. She was simply blocking all my attacks.
In that case, what about this? I attempted a feint and attacked her. But, of course, she blocked even that. The last time she blocked me, her sword flowed by to my right. I attempted to strike her side, where she was unguarded, but she immediately corrected her sword’s positioning and blocked me. It was impressive.
I took my distance, took in a light breath, then exhaled. Just as Noir had said, she was powerful. Somehow, despite her small hands that seemed like they had never held a blade before, she was clearly stronger than I was.
It occurred to me that this girl had talent. That said, there were some obstacles that even natural talent couldn’t overcome. I couldn’t allow myself to lose.
“I’m sorry. This may hurt, but we have an infirmary, so please don’t worry.”
I thrust at her with a move that was not allowed during practice. The only way to handle the move was to dodge it. It would be difficult to parry with a sword. Any attempt to repel it head-on would result in being hit.
I didn’t plan on actually striking her, however. If she really had all of this skill, she would be able to avoid it. If I thrust slightly to the right, she would dodge to the left. That was where my opportunity lay.