Hina laughed.
I smiled brightly, using sign language that I had never shown before, but I guess that wasnât an insult.
When asked what he meant, Kyrie avoided Calianâs eyes. So Kalian memorized Hinaâs hand shape.
âIâll have to ask Demirea.â
Demirea will tell you what it means, whether itâs an insult or not.
Anyway, there is no doubt that it has a very bad meaning.
Calian himself didnât think he was in a position to say anything good.
We tried to save him, but he went out five days later with his body not fully healed. I thought it would be okay since Alan went with us, but we moved separately. So I collapsed again, vomiting blood. While I was fixing it, I took a break and went to the 4th floor on my own and ate all those sour tangerines with my stomach still not fully healed.
Iâm glad it ended there.
â The princeâs cat also listens better than the prince.
Calian went to the training center as soon as the conversation with Plants was over. Even if you lie down for a full week, itâs not enough and you just wonât sit still.
In the end, Hina caught me at the training center and I got scolded. Because the power of blessing or Hinaâs healing cannot make up for the missing blood.
â My brother is bad too. I should have stopped it.
Kirie was also scolded.
Even though I had to stop Kalian on behalf of Yan, who had gone to his parentsâ home for a while, I felt like I was going to be scolded because we were at the training center together.
âDonât worry. I wonât overdo it this time. Iâll just watch Kirieâs training for a bit and then Iâll go up.â
â Even if you get hurt again, I wonât fix it. Just do what you see.
Hina said this with an uncharacteristically stern expression.
In the end, Calian let out a small laugh. I got hurt a few times and it all turned into yarn. Not only Lemain, but also Alan and Hina.
âThank you, Hina. Just worrying about Jan is enough. So stop worrying and go inside. You might catch a cold.â
Who is worried about whom now?
Kalyan thinks Hina catches a cold whenever she goes outside.
Hina nodded as if there was nothing she could do and looked at Kalian, who was worried about her, with distrustful eyes, then turned around and walked away. Kirie, who was watching Hina walk away, asked quietly.
âAre you sure youâre okay? It looks like itâs difficult for you to move.â
It was Kalian who had clearly told Hina not to worry, but was he the kind of person who would remain obedient and quiet? If that were the case, they wouldnât have come to the training center in the first place.
Calian, who was smiling at Kyrie as if Kyrieâs guess was right, was holding a sword in his hand.
âNo matter what, I donât think I can deal with you alone.â
Then, he provoked Kyrie with these quite painful words.
Kyrie smiled slightly, raised the ink-colored sword, and swung it straight at Calian. Calian also quickly raised his arm to block it.
â Kaang!
The reason I donât feel offended when I hear him look down on me is because I know that Kyrie, worried about Calianâs condition, is afraid that he wonât fight properly. Therefore, Kirie did her best to move her sword.
Calian, who was holding the sword with a relaxed expression, was careful not to show his surprised expression.
âIâve become stronger than I thought.â
I wasnât able to see Kirie for quite some time because I was preoccupied with my own swordsmanship, magic, and the surrounding situation. And Kirie was growing at an incredible rate during that time.
â Kagan kang! Kaaaang!
Calianâs sword, which defended itself from repeated strikes, extended out, aiming for Kyrieâs heart. Kyrie, who easily blocked it, attacked again.
I feel happy.
Kirie is definitely a genius who works hard.
âMaybe I was worried for no reason.â
On the day of the Great Desert Warriorsâ attack, it was Kirieâs sword that he tried to give her after meeting Euria and returning to the palace. This is why Kyrie felt that she was facing a âwallâ on the day she sat in front of the training center and talked with Plantz.
Just as a wizard gains enlightenment and completes the next circle, there are times when swordsmanship overcomes its own limitations and grows to the next level. The current Kyrie was going through that exact period.
He was deep in thought as he sat down with his sword in the middle of the training hall, so he grabbed Plantz, who was about to enter the training hall, and made him sit down.
However, I just watched because I thought that if I had practiced the swordsmanship that Calian had taught me, it was now something I had to learn on my own. Then, I felt like I needed to help a little, so I thought I should see Kirie first when I entered the palace, but things got complicated.
â Kagang! Kaaaang!
The sharp sound of metal constantly shook the entire training hall. Most of the attacks were done by Kyrie, and Calian occasionally counterattacked and watched Kyrieâs reaction.
âSlow.â
And in this way, he continued to push Kyrie with words to understand his limitations.
Kyrieâs movements became faster and faster.
Each time, Calian accepted it with a face that seemed like it was nothing special.
At this rate, even if he was compared to Slaymanâs knight Yuran, it would be impossible to know whether he would win or lose. Suddenly, when that thought occurred to me, Kyrieâs sword was aimed at Calian between the eyes.
It was not the attack method that Calian had told me about.
Kalianâs mouth drew a long arc.
â Kaang!
The figure of Calian, who blocked it, disappeared from Kyrieâs sight. Kirie immediately retrieved the extended sword and lowered her upper body in an instinctive movement.
â Hiss!
Calianâs sword passed by where Kyrieâs head had been a moment ago. Feeling this, Kyrie turned around and heard Calianâs footsteps very slightly grazing the floor.
Kirie did not hesitate.
He immediately extended his sword towards the place where the sound was heard.
âI told you.â
And Calianâs voice came from somewhere else.
âItâs slow.â
It is truly a movement of incredible speed.
I wonder if this is the person who walked to this place shakily, as if he was about to collapse.
Kirie retrieved the extended sword once again and kicked it on the floor. Along with that, Kyrieâs new type also disappeared.
â Kaaaang! Kang! Kaang!
The blurry shadows intertwined and clashed once again. Kirie, confident that Calian would never be hit by her attack, wielded her sword with all her might.
When dozens of battles went back and forth like that.
â Peeingâ¦!
Kirieâs eyes sank deeply.
I felt as if I had entered a space where only Calian and Kirie existed, rather than a training ground. Kirie was deeply immersed in that alien feeling she had never had before.
And at the same time, a tremendous change occurred.
Calianâs movements began to become visible. The sound of stepping on the floor was clearly audible. It is now possible to predict where Kalian will move.
I didnât know why. I just found out.
-Ssam!
There was no time to hesitate.
Okay, so just attack.
A sharp sound ripped through the air. Kyrieâs sword stretched out as if it would pierce Calianâs heart at any moment.
And Calianâs
[Shield]
was very poor.
* * *
A shield made of aurors is threatening in itself.
Calianâs shield was ready to shatter Kyrieâs sword at any moment. Of course, that didnât happen because Calianâs will didnât want it to happen.
A âshieldâ that has the power to tear anything to pieces.
Isnât this a truly contradictory force?
Calian grinned inside the shield, which looked as if broken pieces of glass had been put back together.
âIâm sorry. I feel like Iâm going to die.â
Then he made an excuse.
Kyrie looked puzzled as she looked at the tip of her sword, which stopped right in front of Calianâs heart, blocked by the shield. It was because I didnât really understand what was happening. Kalian, who saw this, smiled softly as if he was seeing a special grandchild and said.
âI lost.â
Even after hearing those words, Kirie stood still for a while.
I realized it only after a long time had passed.
â Won⦠everything.
won
Defeated Kalyan.
There was no miracle of realizing the law of the sword or releasing aura in an instant. It is truly something close to a miracle. Kirie was not a person who believed in such things.
Now Kirie has learned how to expand her senses.
It was different from fighting using excellent hearing. It was the ability to feel and assimilate the energy of others and share the sword in a state where only the other person and I existed.
âthank you.â
Although his voice was not very happy, Calian smiled as he looked at Kyrieâs face. How could you not read the touching smile hidden in that face?
âPerhaps in this life, Kirie can also take the path of the sword.â
That thought suddenly occurred to me.
Calian, who had been taking a step with such a happy feeling, faltered.
Calian laughed as he looked at Kyrie, who was startled and came to his aid.
âItâs because Iâm hungry.â
Kyrie let out a low sigh.
Since Chase arrived, my insides have been rotting, and I am comforting Jan, relieving Plantz of his burden, worrying about Hina, and even caring about Kirie. I wanted to know how to overcome his stubbornness, so I took out my sword and sparred, but seeing that he couldnât even walk right away made me feel resentful.
Even if you die soon, you wonât say it hurts.
I donât know the reason, but wouldnât it be nice to tell it at least once?
Itâs really hard right now, so please postpone it a little bit.
Do you think I would be grateful if you came to me in this condition and helped me? Rather, donât you just feel sorry?
Instead of saying that, Kirie just lowered her head. I meant to ask you to excuse me for a moment so you can understand.
âIâll take you there.â
It would be no use asking if he could walk, so Kirie just said this in a calm tone. And then he suddenly lifted Calian up and carried him on his back. It didnât look like I could walk that way anyway.
Surprisingly, Calian calmly rode on Kyrieâs back. Then, he leaned his head on his back and made a voice full of laughter.
âAh, itâs been a while.â
Heâs clearly smiling, but the end of his words hurts.
Kirie, who understood what it might be for, asked briefly.
âHave I ever carried you on my back?â
âhuh.â
Calian nodded. A story that should not come out of the mouth of a fifteen-year-old continued.
âWhen Iâm drunk. A lot.â
Kyrie.
Isnât this the only thread of the past that Kallian can hold on to with ease?
âDid you like drinking?â
âI liked you more than I did.â
It feels really strange.
It may be a thing of the past, but it is not the past, so how can we accept this?
While I was thinking about that, Calian opened his mouth in a deep voice.
âActually, Iâm not completely healed. I donât even move the way I want to.â
âI know.â
âSo work harder. Next time, you wonât lose.â
âyes.â
Kirie chuckled as she answered that way.
No matter what happened in the past, Kirie just needs to listen. Is there anything difficult about it since all you have to do is nod your head every time a weak sound like this comes out?
Thanks to Siegfried, Randel will remain calm for the time being, and since he also warned Tensil as punishment for Randel, he wonât do something foolish like sending a knight again. And since Briesen is blocked by Plantz, heâs fine too. The attackers also retreated.
âDonât worry, just rest.â
âhuh.â
So first of all, put everything aside and rest.
Thatâs what I said and thatâs how I understood it.