In the front yard of Callius’ villa, the troops were stoning each other.
“Haap! Hah!!”
Bang! Bang! Bump!
Eleven personnel threw stones at only one person.
The heretic inquisitor standing at the centre was training to dodge and block using his sword.
If he couldn’t use his footwork, he would parry the stones with his sword, or at least block them with minimal damage.
Those who’d passed a certain level of physical fitness test were now doing this kind of training.
“Ouch! Stop, stop!”
The inquisitor who was beaten all over declared surrender.
There was a light stream of blood running from his head.
“Treat your wound. Next.”
“Whew… here I come!”
Next was the lieutenant of the Sixth Squad.
Callius shook his head at the hearty enthusiasm.
“Start throwing.”
“Haap! Haaah!!”
Clang! Claaaang!
The first five minutes went well.
He cut, deflected, and avoided the stones that came flying in, and didn’t look pressured.
But after six minutes –
A stone Callius put some serious divine power into, struck Diego’s side!
Thud!
“Kgh!”
He collapsed rapidly after that.
Bang! Bang! Thud!
“Kgh! You bastards! Stop throwing!”
“Throw some more.”
Then, a stray stone somehow managed to hit quite a sad place for the lieutenant.
The red-faced lieutenant grabbed his crotch in pain.
“Ah! You motherfuckers! Who did it!”
He screamed loudly and indignantly.
Callius followed up with a few more pebbles, hitting him in the forehead and the groin.
“Ugh! Fuck!! Who is it!!”
Callius calmly raised his hand.
“It’s me. If you hate it that much, just avoid it. Enemies won’t stop attacking because they’re considerate of your situation.”
“Damn it!”
Perhaps he got aggravated at the blatant unfairness, because the lieutenant bit his lip and faced the stones again.
But he was soon hit by a few more and had to come down from the centre stage.
His body was covered with bruises.
Although this training was limited to fifteen minutes per person –
Hardly anybody lasted the full fifteen minutes.
Callius had decided that the primary purpose of the members of the Sixth Squad was to train, and dodging the stones came as the secondary.
They hadn’t gotten used to it yet, but he thought it would work if they kept at it.
Every drop of sweat they shed here would decrease the amount of blood they’d shed in the future.
‘And, well, it’s pretty fun.’
And it was definitely helping, too.
He could see with his own eyes how the movement of the squad members was becoming sharper and sharper as they suffered through the dodge training.
They ran on the mountains from morning to noon.
From lunch to the afternoon, the training was focused on dodging the stones and sparring.
Considering how intense it was, they had no choice but to get better.
“On the battlefield, this stone can be an arrow, a spear, or a stray axe. Don’t throw it lightly like you’re hitting a friend, throw it harder. That way you won’t die in battle.”
“Yes!!”
The troops responded with a powerful shout, and although the lieutenant looked dissatisfied, he too didn’t disobey the order.
Although on the first day he’d had no choice but to suspicious –
He’d just done what he’d been told to do, and endured in order to have a fighting chance later –
But as one day passed and then two, his thoughts began to change.
“Lieutenant, here, drink.”
“What the hell is this that we keep drinking? Tastes like…”
“But your body feels tingly if you drink it, right? I feel like my body is getting better and better, so there must be something good about it.”
“It tastes sweet, so it must be good.”
Callius looked at the troops drinking the mysterious liquid with meaningful eyes.
Gradually, quietly, their bodies were transforming.
‘It works.’
The beverage was a potion that combined the dragon’s blood purified by Beatrice and the troll potion.
Of course, it’d been water diluted to the extent of counting parts per million, and it was still in the trial stage.
There might be some side effects, but it shouldn’t endanger their lives.
Callius believed it should help regenerate overworked muscles and make them stronger.
‘Because it’s extremely diluted…’
There didn’t seem to be any problems.
It won’t have any exaggerated short-term effect, but he was looking forward to the long-term results.
Callius took a breather and walked over to the lieutenant who’d finished applying medicine on his wounds.
He was sharpening now his sword.
“Oh, Dingo, you managed to find a spirit sword from somewhere? What is its unique ability?”
“It’s Diego. And I have no obligation to tell them. And I don’t really want to tell you, either.”
Callius immediately picked up a stone.
Startled, Diego slowly drew his sword.
“This sword is my father’s carcass. I named it Viego, after him.”
“Was he the fallen king of a long-lost kingdom?[1]”
“What nonsense are you spouting? He was a great paladin. Father always said that swords have weight. That’s why this sword, Viego, too, can become lighter or heavier.”
The ability to change the weight of the sword.
Depending on the swordsman, it could be used for both the quick sword and the heavy sword styles.
“What a great sword.”
In a way, it was similar to the Tyrant Sword. Of course, it was a step lower, but if one used it according to the circumstances, not many paladins would be able to block it.
“But why do you use it the way you do? You are leaving your sword to rot.”
Perhaps he was stung by how true the fact was, because Diego immediately glared back at Callius with bloodshot eyes.
“What’s glaring at me going to achieve? Your sword didn’t even touch my toes. Haven’t you figured out the reality yet?”
“… No.”
“Dingo, do you know why you are weak?”
“It’s Diego. I don’t know.”
“Because you rely on that sword too much. Unplug Viego for a while. If I think you’ve grown up, I’ll let you use it again.”
“What…!”
“It’s an order, Lieutenant.”
“…”
“Until then, use a normal iron sword, or a carcass supplied by the Church.”
Callius left the frozen Diego behind and looked around the yard of the villa.
Those who still needed physical training were running at a cantering pace.
Bruns and the twins were part of it, too.
“Bruns.”
“Yes, yeah. Boss!”
“Prepare a meal, no need to hurry.”
“Hey, are you telling me to do it? But I’m already training so hard!”
“A squad member reported yesterday, that he saw you in the neighbourhood with a woman. How come you’re complaining about how hard things are? Don’t you have enough time to chat women up?”
“… I’ll prepare it right away.”
“And keep your libido in check.”
“Yes.”
On one side, Orphin and other members of the squad were quietly continuing their sparring.
Callius nodded contentedly at the sight.
Orphin was steadily twisting the direction of her sword and her swordsmanship.
It still looked awkward and unnatural, but after doing it a few times, she seemed to have come to the conclusion that it was the right direction for her.
Even if she wasn’t told to, she was immersed in training and swinging her sword all day.
She was still a bit confused about the technique side of things, but time would solve that.
“I hope Bruns can learn something.”
Hwiiish.
A worm construct of the Worm Soul approached Callius. When it landed on the index finger he stretched out, he heard Orcal’s voice.
– This is me. Orcal.
“Did you look into it?”
– Yes, it was as you said. The chief was surprised, and that person was surprised, too.
“Right.”
After a bit more of a back-and-forth, Callius said he understood and sent the worm away.
Then he called in Rinney immediately.
Contrasting results were obtained from the two of them who had attached Orcal’s worms.
“M-, me? You called me! Right?”
She sure was in high spirits.
“You have work to do. Do you remember what I told you last time?”
“You want me to make friends?”
“That’s right.”
“But I haven’t entered the Academy yet?”
“It’s fine. It’s in the same town.”
“In the same town?”
Seeing Rinney tilt her head, Callius’ lips curved up at the corners.
A quiet afternoon.
While Flora was at her house, reading a book, a boy suddenly pounded on the door, shrieking like whale.
“Boss, Boss! Come out! It’s a big deal! All our kids got beaten!!”
“What? Where!”
“Come, quickly!!”
Quickly putting the book down, Flora rushed out of the house with the wooden sword her father had made for her.
Criss-crossing through the alleys, she finally reached an exit that opened up into a vacant lot. But a storm had already swept everything away.
All the boys with wooden swords had fallen down, and only one girl at the centre was standing to meet her.
“Is it her?”
“Be careful, Boss. That kid just moved in today, she’s no joke. Very strong!”
The subordinate who added that was already sporting a puffy black eye.
Flora gulped.
Black hair, which was rare in Carradi.
And unusual grey eyes.
She looked a little bit… mean.
“Hi! I just moved here. They said you’re the strongest around here?”
Contrary to how innocently she waved her hand as if in welcome, the girl’s eyes had a sharp glint as if she’d caught her prey.
“I, am Rinney. You?”
“Flora. No last name.”
Flora immediately clasped her wooden sword tightly with both hands. It was instinctive.
“Let’s see your skills first. I’ve been doing nothing but training these days, so I’m feeling a little bored!”
Rinney, who grabbed a wooden sword lying at her feet, rushed in.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
“You endured it?”
Although the strike was only with a wooden sword, it was as heavy as an iron sword.
Although they certainly looked the same age, the weight of the swords were different.
“Oh, you stopped this too? Great… Yeah!”
Thud! Thud!
Whish!
The wooden sword turned in the air and struck at Flora’s guard with all the force behind its rotation.
Claaang!
Flora’s guard was broken by the single sword strike that came from the bottom up, and her wooden sword flew out.
Her two arms, now missing her sword, spread out wide, and Rinney’s round kick stably pierced through her broken guard.
Thud!
“Kgh!”
Bang! Thud!
Although she got kicking in the stomach, Flora rolled over on the floor once and almost bounced up.
“Wow! You really are strong! I might not be able to get back up like that. You’ve got good stamina! I have a feeling.”
Usually, one wouldn’t be able to get up right away.
Definitely not any of the neighbourhood kids.
Flora bit her lip and asked, enduring the pain.
“Where are you from?”
“North. I come from a place where it snows.”
“North…! The snowfield guarded by the knights of Jervain? Are you from the North?”
“That’s right. You know it too.”
The children who were watching the fight widened their eyes at the mention of the ‘North’.
“Who wouldn’t know! Jervain of the North! Ruydren of the South! Gradas of the East! And Orvid of the West!”
Children who were born and raised in the land of swords couldn’t help but know the famous anecdotes about the four great noble houses.
Among them, of course, Jervain was the most famous.
Flora forgot about the fight and asked Rinney with some kind of hope –
“Are you a Jervain?”
“That’s right.”
“Wow!”
“A Jervain!!”
“Wow! The Jervains have moved in!!”
The children forgot about being beaten and cheered.
Jervain’s prestige was truly remarkable even among these youngsters.
“Come to think of it, Rinney’s hair and eyes are black hair and grey! Really!?”
Soon a flood of questions followed.
Did it really snow up to your head in the North?
These were questions only the children could ask, such as whether the orcs really hunted them at night.
After answering a few questions, Rinney turned to Flora, who was standing a little away by herself.
“You’re the boss here, Flora. Am I right?”
“How do you know my name?”
“You’re famous! The kids around here say they can’t even touch you?”
“That’s right.”
Seeing that Flora hadn’t let down her guard yet, Rinney smiled faintly.
“Would you like to go with me somewhere?”
“Suddenly? You and me?”
“Aren’t you curious? Where would I want to take you? I would’ve been very curious in your place.”
She was indeed curious.
A girl from Jervain suddenly appeared and knocked out all the children.
Flora wondered how she could be so strong even though they looked the same age, but if she was a Jervain, Flora could understand. Rather than resenting the fact that a Jervain was so incredibly strong even at her age, she only unconsciously admired it.
The name of Jervain, a family of renowned masters of the sword, carried a lot of weight.
“I’m going to the Academy. You know, the Royal Academy? A place where you can be knighted just by graduating.”
The Royal Academy!
The Royal Swordsmanship Academy was an institution for elites among elites, that granted knighthood just by completing its four-year curriculum.
When Flora heard about going to such a place, she thought it was truly expected of a Jervain, and she was so envious that she almost burst into tears.
“But the count who recommended me, asked me if there’s anyone I want to recommend, because there’s a spot left. He’s really handsome and has great ability, so he knew I’d be able to find one.”
The explanation was a bit strange, but Flora got the gist of what Rinney was trying to say.
There was a vacancy in the recommendation letter.
And someone had to be found to fill it in.
“The Academy, do you want to go there?”
Gulp.
Was this the kind of temptation that a twelve-year old could resist?
Flora nodded her head involuntarily at the word ‘Academy’.
“Can I really go with you?”
The corners of Rinney’s lips curved up in a grin.
“Naturally.”
Editor’s Notes:
[1] League of Legends reference.
Ashen Clouds 