Chapter 11: Sword Saint II
“I yield.”
After exchanging several bouts of swordplay, I had my blade pointed at her throat.
“After all, I…”
She covered her eyes with her left hand, which held no sword, and looked up. The trembling of her shoulders made her appear unusually small.
There were no words I could offer her, having just met. All I could do was stay by her side until she calmed down.
After a moment passed, I asked her, “Eris, do you love your father?”
“…I respect my father more than anyone else. He disciplines himself strictly and is considerate of others.”
Indeed, the Knight Commander was the person she described. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to train a novice into a competent warrior for an entire month without rest.
“Then, if you trust your father, why not trust me, the one he praised so highly?”
“You…? That is—”
“We haven’t known each other for long. I get that it’s far too soon for you to trust my character. But can you leave your future in my hands?”
“Eh… does that mean… you want to… take me…?”
Seeing Eris’s face turn as red as her ears, I suddenly realized something.
Wait, did she misunderstand? Did I make her think that…?
“No, no! That’s not what I meant!”
It seemed my words weren’t getting through to her.
“No! No! It’s not allowed! With a gentleman! With Lord Yamada!? But…! But…! Hyaaaaaah!”
Eris shook her head vigorously, flustered.
“Are you saying you want children who can form a knight order!?”
I hadn’t said that (though I was a bit annoyed).
It appeared that despite her strict self-discipline, she was surprisingly clueless about such matters.
Eris, the Sword Saint, had dedicated herself to swordsmanship since childhood. Her foundational techniques were from the same school as her father and the Order of Knights, known as Sword Style Swordsmanship.
From our exchanges, I could see her earnestness. Her strikes were direct, and her counters were efficient. These were the fruits of her long years of training.
However, there was a flaw in her superior swordsmanship. It was too straightforward. Her innate honesty and earnestness sometimes worked against her.
I wasn’t saying she was weak. Against opponents with similar physical abilities, she would easily dominate. Even someone with five or six levels higher physical prowess would quickly lose to her in combat.
Moreover, she possessed rare skills beyond her swordsmanship: Mighty Arm and Great Strength Enhancement. With her overwhelming strength, she could wield Sword Style Swordsmanship with ease. Even the vice commander of the Arcana Knights would be overwhelmed by her.
But that was all there was to it.
Eris couldn’t match me, nor could she surpass her father, the Knight Commander.
However, that was only true for now. Through our sparring, I had noticed her latent potential. She herself didn’t fully understand all her strengths.
Perhaps it was only someone like me, with honed reflexes from relentless training, who could see this.
In our exchanges, there were strikes so powerful that even a normal person (even the Knight Commander) would be unable to withstand them, let alone break a sword in half.
Though she wasn’t fighting at full strength, Eris was still able to engage me in combat.
What made this possible was her flexibility, which she herself was unaware of.
She possessed an extraordinary fluidity, akin to water. It was clear to me that this fluidity was key to maximizing her abilities.
It’s difficult for anyone to have an objective view of themselves. Even the greatest masters often fail to fully understand their own capabilities. I was no exception to this.
Thus, for her to reach even greater heights, it was crucial for her to understand herself better than ever before.
Remaining at the Guild Training Grounds, I conveyed my thoughts to Eris.
“Really!? You think that of me…?”
“Yeah, well, if you’re okay with it, I can train with you.”
“Train… with me…?”
“No, that’s not it!”
Why was this clueless girl…?
“I’m saying I’ll train with you!”
“Train… with you…?”
“I didn’t say that!”
“What do you mean by ‘train’ in the context of the novels I’ve read, where men and women do those things? Isn’t it too early for me…? No, maybe it’s not too early—do you want to create two knight orders with children!?”
As she spun her eyes around, muttering to herself, I—
Once Eris had calmed down again, I explained our training plan. I would relentlessly attack, and she would defend. When she got tired, she could use a Potion to recover and continue training. Essentially, it was the same training I had done at the Royal Castle, but tailored for Eris.
Since our dungeon explorations had been progressing too smoothly, extending our rest period wouldn’t cause any issues. Besides, I wouldn’t let anyone complain about it. If they wanted to dive into the dungeons, they could do so without me.
I resolved to stick to that.
“Alright, let’s meet here at six in the morning—the Guild Training Grounds! Get ready for some serious training! And don’t be late!”
“Yes! Understood! Master Ichiro!”
“Don’t call me master! Just call me Ichiro!”
“Yes! Master Ichiro!”
She just said it right after I told her not to!
“Geez… well, whatever. Let’s call it a day! I’m heading back to the inn.”
I quickly finished packing up and started my way back to the inn. Eris followed closely behind.
“Is your inn this way?”
“Yes.”
“Where exactly?”
“I’m staying at the same inn as you, Master Ichiro.”
“That’s just a coincidence, right?”
“Yes! Just a coincidence!”
Right? I was overthinking it.
“I’m in the same room as you, Master Ichiro!”
It wasn’t a coincidence at all!
“Get away from me!!”
“I won’t!”
“Get away, ohhhh!!!”
“We’re in the same inn, same room, same bed!!”
That day, I bickered with Eris like a couple of fools. As I thought about how I would continue to mess around with her like this, I realized I was looking forward to it, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at how easily I was swayed.
Though it was a wry smile, I would later recall that it was the first time I had genuinely laughed in a long while.