As for Mom, she fully recovered without issue. Today was her first day back to her usual routine around the house. She was taking it easy, though.
After breakfast, the four of us gathered in the living room. Nobody had told Mom about the magic or the goblin incident yet. She had been bedridden with her injury, after all. Now there was little trace of the wound left. It was such a relief to see her back to her old self again.
“So, what is it that we need to talk about?” Mom asked.
Facing her gentle smile, I told her everything. Dad and Marie chimed in with additional details.
When I finished, Mom nodded. “I see, I see. Is it really true? I don’t think I fully understand it, but you should follow your passion, Shion.”
Her simple response took me off guard. It made sense once I thought about it more. She always watched over me with so much patience and kindness. It was inevitable that she would accept me.
She sat there beaming at me with her trademark soft smile. Her broad-hearted generosity moved me. Are there really parents out there like this? They are so composed and kind? I felt so grateful to have been born into this family.
“Just make sure to tell me and your father if anything happens, okay?” she said. “We’ll be here to help you. Even if we can’t, it’ll feel better to get things off your chest.”
“Yes, I will from now on.” I said. “I already promised Dad I would.”
Mom giggled. “Then we’re good to go. Good luck, darling.”
I felt almost bewildered in the face of her cheery expression. Mom and Dad were both so magnanimous. I had freedom thanks to them.
Overcome by the combination of gratitude and respect, I finally smiled. The last of my anxieties were all cleared up. I had new determination in my heart. I could now devote myself to magic to the fullest extent.
Let’s do this!
✦ ✦ ✦
Time passed. The house repairs finally concluded, and everything calmed down. It was time to resume the sword fighting training in earnest. That is, Marie and Rose began their training, while I ran around them in circles.
Dad told me I had to work on my fitness alongside my magic, so I started exercising regularly. It was true that not being fit would lead to its fair share of problems. Who knew what could happen? It was possible that more monsters would attack. I’d need to be ready. With that in mind, I made up my mind and managed to convince myself to exercise more.
Marie and Rose sparred. They were evenly matched. Marie’s fighting style overwhelmed an opponent with fast, athletic moves, whereas Rose kept her movements sparse while making sharp judgments in timing her strikes. Of course, they were both kids, so they’d be useless in a real battle now. Even so, Dad was training them from the ground up, while keeping their age and aptitudes in mind.
Marie’s instinctual attacks gave her a lot of edge . Rose couldn’t mix in a series of bluffs and blows the way that Marie could. With a flurry of swift assaults, Marie’s sword managed to catch Rose’s arm. Rose dropped her wooden sword to the ground and grabbed her arm to rub it.
“Ugh! I lost.”
They both collapsed to the ground and gasped for breath. They had really fought to the limit.
“Nice work!” Dad called. “That’s enough training for the day.”
Rose popped up and started to tidy up as though her defeat were in the distant past.
I had seen them fight many times now. I could tell that Marie had the slight edge. Rose had a good eye, and she responded to Marie’s attacks well, but she didn’t have the endurance to win.
Rose wandered over toward me.
“Good job, Rose,” I said.
“The same to you,” she replied. She wiped away her sweat. “You don’t seem to be out of breath from your running.”
“I’m getting used to it. You get into decent shape when you run this much.”
“Indeed.”
Rose looked pensive, overly so for our small talk.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“Well, I don’t feel like I’m getting much better at fighting.”
“That’s not true, Rose,” I said. She must have been disappointed at losing the duel, although she didn’t seem to care much before. Rose tended to keep her true feelings hidden. She wasn’t cold, but she was guarded around others, especially when troubled.
“I think I want to try combining magic with my fighting,” she said. “But since you need one hand to use Magicluster, that means I’d wield a sword one-handed as well. I can’t do that skillfully enough right now.”
“That’s a good thought, Rose.” Dad came over. He sounded impressed. “It would certainly be difficult for a child of your age to wield a sword with one hand. You could pull it off with a lightweight rapier or dagger, but I don’t recommend that for beginners. Longswords are the fundamental basics, you know. They’ll develop your muscles and keep your options open to changing weapons in the future.”
“Right, I see. Maybe I can’t fight with magic right now, after all. I suppose that’s just how it is.”
It would be one thing to focus solely on using magic, like me, but to do so while fighting with a blade seemed tough. Maybe, with new discoveries, that would change in the future.
“I have to go home now,” Rose said.
“Be careful on the road,” Dad said.
“See you later, Rose!”
Once we saw Rose off, I looked for Marie. She was still practicing in the garden. She’d been at it nonstop the past few weeks. Even after her training with Dad finished, she’d go right back into the garden to practice swipes and jabs by herself.
Marie had changed ever since the goblin attack. She was herself most of the time, but she was more devoted to the blade than ever.
“Marie, that’s enough for today,” Dad said.
“No, I’m fine,” she replied. “I’ll come inside for dinner. You said that the more I train the stronger I’ll get, right?”
“I did say that, but there’s a limit.” I think he was concerned Marie was overdoing it. I had to agree with him.
“Marie, listen to Dad. Why won’t you take a break?”
Marie dropped her arms. I thought we had convinced her, but then she glared at me. I was taken aback. I’d never seen her like that before. It was shocking to have someone you’re so close with get mad at you like that. It shook me to my core, and my heart rattled in my chest.
The glare only lasted for a second. She looked at the ground.
“Yeah, I know. You’re probably right.” With that, she went back inside.
I couldn’t respond. All I could do was stand there motionless.
“Don’t worry about it, Shion. Marie’s just a little on edge.” Dad patted me on the head.
“I know.”
She’d been through a lot. It would be difficult to just go back to the way things were before. Dad and Mom managed to carry along like usual, but I’m sure there was a lot that they worried over. Not only had Marie put her life on the line to protect us, but Mom sacrificed herself and was injured in the process. It was an earth-shattering event. Personally, I found the incident inspiring. It helped me figure out how to protect my family by using magic.
Does she hate me now? Marie was so important to me that the unbidden thought terrified me.
Dad and I went inside together. The day ended with awkwardness lingering in the air.