Chapter 926: Growth and Empathy
As the snow grew deeper day by day, Fiona’s intensive training continued. Every time, Laila would take on her dragon form and lightly scrape away the snow to clear a training area, where Fiona would engage in grueling daily drills alongside Aurora, Anzeros, and the other sword-wielding girls who loved nothing more than intense training. No matter how exhausted she became, no matter how many bruises and fractures she sustained, or even if she lost consciousness, as long as she was carried to the Spirit Spring, she would always be fine. ……That said, normally, anyone subjected to that much pain would have their spirit broken. Even if they were to recover, it’s only human nature to want to run away screaming 「I can’t take this anymore」 before you even have a chance to improve, especially if your bones are being snapped left and right. Yet no matter how many times Fiona collapsed and was forced back to her feet, her resolve remained unwavering.
“Isn’t she abnormal?”
“She is abnormal. ……It’s not as if she’s cutting off the pain like a holy beast, yet the moment she heals, she acts as if even the memory of the pain has vanished”
“……Is her mental discipline that impressive?”
“Not at all. She was deceived by a game-like charade into believing she was strong, and she was getting carried away by it. Where would she even find the time for such discipline?”
The tone of Laila and I’s whispered conversation is gradually shifting from one of 「Impressive, impressive」 to something more like 「Isn’t she a little off?」, tinged with a sense of unease. Her body might even be immortal. If you live long enough, you might learn how to block out pain through sheer mindset alone. But to repel immense pain and terror with nothing but sheer willpower, without even reaching that stage, isn’t something you can do very often. People think I’m good at that sort of thing too, but I’ve just developed a pattern of using the unique adrenaline rush that comes when I’m cornered to cover it up. And even that doesn’t last very long. I can feel it myself, if I push too hard, the part of me that could be called my humanity starts to erode. ……In short.
“What on earth is driving her to go that far……”
It’s not like we were pushing her that hard. Or rather, we were hoping she’d stop being the 「Delusional strongest female knight」 and develop just enough skill to survive a basic swordfight, we didn’t expect her to show this much grit. Even Dianne stopped at the basics. She didn’t say it outright, but that cutoff point was likely a pragmatic decision that 「This is as far as she can go regardless of talent」 and Dianne herself is busy. It probably meant that spending any more time on her would be inefficient. Yet, writhing in pain, vomiting, and groaning, Fiona learned 「Swordsmanship」……no, 「Defensive techniques」, from Aurora and the others, and was rapidly approaching ace knight status.
“Defense and offense are two sides of the same coin; you must not make it merely a 『Defense that only defends』. You must always retain an offensive mindset, knowing that if your opponent attacks beyond that, they will inevitably strike at your opening. To do so, you must keep your body fluid and avoid becoming a 『Dead weight』. You must value the stability of your posture, maintaining the stance that if they overcommit, you can step in at any moment”
“For someone who says that, you often end up in a vulnerable position, Aurora-dono”
“……You are correct. I am still unskilled. However”
As she spoke, Aurora carved a vertical line into the snow wall with a single, light swing of her sword. A slash wave.
“……Just because I’m in a vulnerable position doesn’t mean I can’t attack, you know?”
“……!”
“I wouldn’t say it’s easy to imitate. ……But with a single trump card, one can turn one’s own weakness to one’s advantage and create a fatal sequence that exploits the opponent’s lapse in concentration. ……If you possess such a move, feel free to ignore my earlier lecture”
“……I, I see……so you’re saying I can’t pull that off”
“Yes. ……Shall we continue?”
As always, Aurora’s swordplay was sharp and elegant, and just as she’d shown Fiona, she frequently demonstrated the terrifying ability to unleash projectiles, her slash waves, from any stance. Because of that, Fiona couldn’t quite commit to closing the distance. ……It wasn’t just the slash waves; Anzeros’ shockwaves and Sharon’s earth drive were likely crucial components as well for luring out an opponent’s movements and creating fatal openings. However, Fiona’s movements have become polished enough that she isn’t getting completely overwhelmed by Aurora’s slashes. She doesn’t just block; occasionally, she displays skillful maneuvers, reading the next attack, closing the distance first, dodging, and deflecting strikes. That, too, is likely thanks to Aurora’s teaching, though Aurora is holding back significantly since she’s fighting with only one sword in one hand.
“……It looks like even the guard duo won’t be a match for her anymore”
“Well, I doubt she’ll let them get beaten. But her offensive moves are still pretty one-dimensional. If they can figure that out, even those two might be able to put up a good fight”
“Really? I’d think she’d just smash through their defenses, wouldn’t she?”
“You don’t use a sword, do you? That style isn’t exactly run-of-the-mill. Especially the tavern boy, parrying is his specialty”
“Seriously?”
If Johnny found out he’d been praised by Laila, he’d probably get a little carried away. ……Just as we were watching the match and making comments like that, Princess Ran appeared.
“……That Fiona to think she can actually hold her own against Princess Aurora, however barely”
“Your Highness. ……Her grit is a bit abnormal”
“……I’m amazed, but I also understand”
Princess Ran narrowed her eyes slightly.
“……Her father is Eduardo Gennil, the renowned general hailed as the greatest in Saint Gardo. It seems he never showed his true swordsmanship because of the way he raised Fiona……but he is also a master swordsman who has won countless one-on-one duels in major battles”
“……It’s in her blood, then”
“Of course, one can’t ignore her natural talent either……but precisely because her father is who he is, Fiona remains silent and fights desperately to avoid dishonoring his name”
“……I see”
In times of hardship, when I feel like giving up, I always think of my father. I feel his invisible hand supporting my back time and again, so I can’t help but empathize with Fiona’s pride. Crying from pain, sinking into exhaustion, yet still, Fiona……must be continuing to deny herself the option of running away so as not to bring shame upon her revered father. ……Laila gave a wry smile to Princess Ran, who was watching her.
“Above all, it seems that girl is spurred on precisely because you are risking your very life”
“That is……”
“If need be, just cast aside your status and everything else. Let history record that she was devoured by a dragon, and just vanished on her own. The fact that you, despite all that, still return to your homeland and seek a way to live is also for that girl’s sake. ……If I think of it that way, I can’t afford to show weakness”
“……”
“……What a fine master and servant. Don’t ever lose that spirit”
Laila, too, seemed to feel a sense of sympathy for a master and servant who cared for one another and risked their lives for each other.
The special training continued, and eventually, other idle swordsmaidens besides Aurora came by, each offering their own instruction.
“W, Wait a second! Hold on! Hey, Neia, the Neptune Ring! It’s about time you gave the Neptune Ring back!”
“You shouldn’t let an amateur use something like that, Beatrice. This is a sacred artifact meant for fighting monsters”
“But calling her an amateur is a bit……ah, forget it!”
Beatrice was starting to feel completely overwhelmed. ……Come to think of it, Beatrice had only been a Hero for a few months herself, and even with the bracelet, she was treated like a full-fledged Hero already.
“I guess I need to retrain too”
“Yeah……”
“Huh!?”
As Laila and Neia sighed at her, Beatrice broke out in a cold sweat. ……Hang in there.