Leticiel wasn’t sure how to react. “Um, ‘many reasons’ doesn’t tell me much. I’d be grateful if you could list them for us.”
“Ohhh, right! Sorry!” Not having noticed it until she pointed it out, Hilmes suddenly stopped moving and scratched his head in embarrassment. “I came to learn swordsmanship from you, Miss Drossell!”
“…What?” Leticiel blurted out stupidly at Hilmes’s declaration. “I’m not teaching anyone swordsmanship.”
“I know! But I still want you to teach me no matter what!”
“First of all, where did you learn that I can use a sword?” Leticiel was proficient with a sword, but she didn’t think she was skilled enough to teach others. She hadn’t mentioned that fact to anyone or showed off anywhere, but everything made sense after she heard Hilmes’s explanation.
About half a month ago, he had met a mysterious warrior princess. During a break between classes, he had stopped by the booth next to Leticiel’s in the sword training hall to pick up something he’d forgotten. Since the sword training hall’s booths didn’t have doors, he had seen Drossell practicing with a wooden sword.
At first, he had been amazed that a woman was using a sword. By the third time he saw her practice, he realized that her form was the most beautiful out of anyone else’s he’d ever seen, with absolutely no meaningless movements or openings. It had been specialized for slashing her enemies, not for showing off. He had been fascinated.
Apparently, he was quite confident in his own swordsmanship, but seeing the warrior princess had opened his eyes to more refined techniques.
“Every class since then, I’ve peeked into the booth next door to observe your techniques, Miss Drossell!”
“…I had no idea I was being watched.” Leticiel had completely forgotten that the sword training hall’s booths didn’t have doors. She had assumed that everyone else would be in class; she regretted letting her guard down.
“I’m the eldest of three sons and I thought I was the strongest out of all my brothers. I even selfishly thought that there weren’t many people who could match my strength that were the same age as me, but now I’ve realized that I’m still no better than an ant!”
Leticiel had only learned swordsmanship for self-defense. She’d never been praised for it before, so she felt uncomfortable—half-happy, half-uneasy—when she heard that her form had changed someone’s life.
“Over time, just watching you at the training hall stopped being enough. Then, when my father returned from Lulu’s home yesterday, he mentioned that she’s always studying with you, Miss Drossell, after classes. I thought, ‘This is my chance!’ and came today.”
“I see. So that’s why you’re here now.”
“Yep! Plus, I haven’t been able to spend much time with Lulu lately, so being able to be with her is another plus. I feel like I need to join your group!” Hilmes declared.
“Oh?” Leticiel said, tilting her head. Mirandalette looked like a pigeon who’d been hit by a peashooter.
“Leif, in other words, you came here because…”
“Yeah! If I come here, I can have Miss Drossell teach me and I can spend time with you, Lulu! Plus, we can go home together like we used to! It’d be hitting three birds with one stone!” Hilmes stated with complete confidence. Mirandalette’s blush grew darker with every second.
“D-Dummy! Leif, you dummy! How can you say something like that so flippantly?!”
“Huh? U-Uh… Did I say something weird?”
“W-Well, this is… Um… heartwarming, isn’t it?” Leticiel commented.
“Y-Yeah,” Zeke agreed.
“You two! Stop making it worse!”
“Huh? Oh, right. My apologies?” Leticiel said questioningly, taken aback by the menacing look Mirandalette threw them. Zeke let out a small laugh, though Leticiel didn’t know what was funny. Why had things turned out like this when they had just been asking Hilmes his reason for coming?
“In any case,” Leticiel clapped loudly, cutting through the thick atmosphere and trying to get the topic back on track, “I’m not talented enough to receive all of your praise.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! I’ve never seen such an efficient and beautiful form before! Not even my father’s form is that clean!”
“Uh…thank you?”
Hilmes kept gushing over Leticiel’s skills, but she still didn’t understand why. After all, she had only practiced enough to be able to defend herself. If you asked her if she thought she was skilled with a sword, she would say no.
“I’ve only been watching up until now, but I’ve reached my limit for that! I want to learn swordsmanship from you directly, Miss Drossell! Please allow me to practice with you! If you can’t agree to that, at least allow me to challenge you to a match just once!” Hilmes smoothly pulled out something dark brown, elongated, and slightly curved, and offered it to her.
“Hilmes, this is…”
“I brought it from the sword training hall!”
“Uh, I don’t think you’re supposed to take these out of there.”
It was one of the wooden practice swords kept in the training hall. She wanted to tell him to take it back immediately, but Hilmes didn’t seem like he would give up.
“I didn’t know you’ve been practicing your swordsmanship, Miss Drossell! I want to see it!” Mirandalette said.
“Huh?”
“I’m interested, as well,” Zeke added. He and Mirandalette were on board with the idea.
With no way to escape, Leticiel gave in and took the wooden sword from Hilmes. “Just so you know, I only know some light self-defense techniques,” she warned.
“That’s fine!” Hilmes answered. “I just want to try fighting the owner of the swordsmanship that has captivated me!”
Leticiel still didn’t know what was so great about her form, but since she had agreed to the match, there was no point in thinking about it any longer. Moving to an open area, they both held their wooden swords up. She asked Zeke to give the signal to start the match.
“In that case… You may begin!”
“Haaaah!”
Hilmes rushed her the instant Zeke finished speaking. Since he was trained in both swordsmanship and martial arts, it was a fairly sharp blow.
Leticiel parried by hitting his wooden sword. The hollow sound of the swords clashing together echoed in the magic training ground.
Repelled by the attack, Hilmes immediately drew back, retreating, before attacking again. In contrast, Leticiel made no move to attack, focusing on defense and observing his skills. From her point of view, he was a talented sword wielder. He was somewhat sluggish, perhaps because he was still young, but if he kept training, he’d be able to become much stronger.
Still, he was missing something. He must have known this, because he was avoiding Leticiel’s vital points. He’d never faced an enemy before. That was why something about his sword felt insubstantial. In other words, his swordsmanship was artistic, not practical.
Well, there’s not much point for people in a peaceful world to prepare themselves for battle, I suppose, Leticiel thought while leaping to gain some distance, nimbly dodging Hilmes’s two-step attack, which he’d unleashed right in front of her.
“Gaaah!” Hilmes dug his feet into the ground and slammed his sword into hers. Still carefully assessing his swordsmanship, Leticiel stepped back while holding her sword sideways, at the ready.
The swords clashed again. Leticiel pulled away, making Hilmes stagger, unable to handle the recoil of the speed he’d attacked with.
His skills weren’t bad at all. Each blow had proper weight to it and his movements were instinctive. But he used too many big swings which left him open to such attacks. They might be useful in group battles, but the fact that he had too many openings was still a problem.
Their spar lasted for about five minutes with Hilmes on the offensive. Leticiel simply parried his attacks, resolutely staying on the defense. Over time, Hilmes’s frustration started to make itself apparent.
That was only natural. As the person he was sparring with, Leticiel knew best that he was going all out in his challenge. Despite that, he hadn’t been able to get even one hit in, and Leticiel’s expression had remained unchanged the entire time. Zeke and Mirandalette were speechless, as well.
Hilmes’s swings grew larger and faster as his impatience grew. Rather than prioritizing each individual blow, he had switched to a fighting style that prioritized speed.
Ah, this feels so nostalgic. Without meaning to, a smile lit up Leticiel’s face in the midst of their fierce bout. She hadn’t used her sword on the battlefield much, but she had used it to fight the strong enemies who had survived the storm that was her sorcery.
Naturally, she wasn’t using sorcery during their match the way she had back then, but she still enjoyed reminiscing about the past.
Cutting through the air, Hilmes rushed at her with his sword at the ready. After repelling him with the hilt of her wooden sword, Leticiel stomped on the completely defenseless man’s foot. It was the first time she’d made an offensive move.
Unable to deal with the attack on his feet, Hilmes lost his balance and fell over. Knowing that it was her chance to deal the final blow, Leticiel swung her wooden sword down toward him. Noticing the sword’s tip, which was coming down only a hair’s breadth away from his face, Hilmes immediately rolled to the side to dodge it.
At that point, the tables turned. Leticiel slashed at him with bullet-like speed before he could finish regaining his footing. Hilmes gritted his teeth at the speed and weight of her attack, focusing on sharpening his mind and defending against the attack.
They didn’t exchange blows for very long, but to Hilmes, it felt like ages. In the split second that Leticiel’s onslaught slowed, Hilmes speedily leapt back to regain his footing and face the warrior princess in front of him.
Hilmes was gasping for air, but Leticiel only took a few deep breaths. He shuddered at her monstrous strength, his awe and respect for it fueling his desire to beat her.
As if intending this blow to be his winning move, Hilmes changed his stance. Holding the hilt of his wooden sword in both hands, he raised it up to his shoulder and lowered his center of balance. With a small smile, Leticiel held her wooden sword horizontally.
“Arrrrgh!” Roaring, Hilmes used every bit of his strength to close the distance between himself and Leticiel, raising his sword high in the sky. He swung down in a blow that held all of his power and Leticiel brought her weapon up in an arc to meet him.
Their swords clashed. Faced by Leticiel’s efficient power technique, which had no unnecessary movements, Hilmes’s sword left his hands with a hollow clacking sound, soaring high into the air. By the time it hit the ground, he had a sword thrust against his throat.