Oh, the old, abandoned house? I think I remember father mentioning someone renovating and moving in there... Still, I had no idea that they’d moved in. If I was to be a good noble adult, then I had better keep track of these things. For now, I need to make a good impression.
“O-Oh. Nice to meet you, Ms. Soreya. My name is Ca’al Sasphorora. As heir to the territory, I grace... I graciously welcome you.” I hope she didn’t notice me fumbling over my words.
“Yeah, I know who you are,” she said with a wry smile.
Right! She said my name already, so of course she knows it! I’m so stupid! “M-My apologies!” For some reason, I saw her lips curl. Does that mean she accepted my apology?
“So, despite being the heir to the territory, you’re in the forest slackin’ off from your duties? You’re never gonna become a proper noble like this.”
My shoulders slumped from her words. Oh no. If my parents find out...
“You’re being bad, and I’m sure you’re gonna get punished if your parents find out,” she smirked.
The bruise on my stomach suddenly began to hurt as I imagined the punishments that would await me if my parents found out I’d been bad. My body began to tremble.
“N-No. Please don’t tell my parents!” I begged, tears welling up in my eyes.
“O-Oh hey, calm down. Sorry, I was just teasing you. Seriously, I’m just kidding.”
I desperately tried to steady my breathing as she scrambled to help me calm down.
“Uh...oh, I know! How about this? You’re supposed to survey your subjects, right? I just moved here, so I’m one of them! How about we hang out together? That way you’re doing your job. I’ll even help you find a better stick than this one I found!”
“But that stick’s mine...”
“Ah, don’t sweat the details. My stick, your stick—it’s all the same!”
“If it’s all the same, then can I have the stick?”
She seemed pleased by my answer from how she was smiling. “Well, well. Look who’s comin’ to life with the comeback!” she said, playfully slapping me on the back. “Y’know what? How about this: After we find you a good stick, we play my favorite game, Blade Saint?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s only the best game ever!” she exclaimed, her eyes practically sparkling. “Come on, let’s go find you a stick so I can teach you!”
Before I could question her more, she grabbed me by the hand and dragged me further into the woods. I...don’t understand what’s happening, but I don’t think she’s a bad person...even though she stole my stick. Stick thief as she was, I strangely didn’t feel too mad or anything. Before I knew it, I was excitedly running alongside her, and soon she found me a new stick. It wasn’t as cool and perfect as my stick, but it was still pretty nice.
“Okay, now you have a stick, and I have my stick!” she said happily.
“My stick... So, what happens now?”
“Well, you know about the Blade Saint, right?” she asked.
“Yeah, I guess...”
“What’s with that sad reaction?! The first Blade Saint was a hero with a capital H! Show some respect!”
“S-Sorry!” I cowered. Is she going to hit me?
“Oh. I’m not actually mad... A-Anyway, the Blade Saint was really cool! People said he was the weakest of the ten Saints, but then, he was the only one who could go toe-to-toe with the greatest threat the world’s faced since the Fissure! You at least know about the demon, right?”
“I know about that, of course. The demon that could cut through anything, right?” I said. That much is common knowledge.
“Yeah! And in a battle where one small cut from that demon could end his existence entirely, he didn’t falter and actually won the fight! How cool is that?!”
“P-Pretty cool!” I exclaimed.
I began imagining a battle of life-and-death where a single mistake meant defeat. The stakes could never be higher and yet the Blade Saint was masterfully dancing around his opponent, slowly but surely overwhelming them. If only I could be a hero like that...
Soreya practically beamed at my answer. “I know, right?! So, the game, Blade Saint, is pretty simple. We each have a sword, and we both play the role of the Blade Saint. First one to surrender or lose their sword loses.”
“What does that have to do with the Blade Saint or anything you just talked about?”
“Everything!” She let out an exasperated sigh. “You don’t get it, do you? We’re honoring him by fighting with swords!”
“Yeah, I don’t get it...” How is it honoring him by fighting? I don’t think this makes any sen—
“Then I’ll make your body understand! En garde!”
“En what? Ack!”
Without any notice, she quickly swiped at me. I immediately dropped my stick and curled into a ball, covering my head with my hands.
“Uh, no. You’re playing the game wrong,” she chuckled dryly.
“This game’s scary!”
“No, it’s not. Come on, they’re just sticks. They don’t hurt. See?” she said, hitting herself on the arm with the stick.
“You winced!” Though she quickly tried to cover it up, I hadn’t missed the flash of pain in her face.
“Did not! It doesn’t hurt. I promise! Come on, let’s play!”
But before I could argue any further, she began chasing me around with my stick. At a certain point, I felt cornered and blocked her attack with the stick that she’d found for me.
I nervously looked up at her and saw her grinning at me.
“Nice block!”
This actually does...kinda feel like fun.
Before I knew it, I was grinning back at her like a stupid idiot. Thanks to her, I was having fun for maybe the first time in my life. I probably never would’ve known if she hadn’t forced me to play.
And that was just how it always was between the two of us. She’d randomly pop up with some crazy idea that she claimed was fun, and it’d always scare me to death until I eventually very reluctantly tried it.
Maybe it was because we were the only two kids in the territory, but she played with me all the time. I could tell back then that as long as I lived, no matter what, she’d always be the most important friend I’d ever made.