"What? Jumyeong was part of a sect? Then why is he a slave?" I thought, surprised.
Even Ghislaine, who always seemed serious, was surprised. Luckily, Jumyeong saw our faces and answered our questions right away.
"I wasn't old enough to practice martial arts, so I wasn't a student. I don't know my father, and my mother was one of the cleaning staff, so I helped her too," he said, waving his hand to downplay it.
Hearing this, I couldn't help but ask, "Then how are you a slave?"
Ghislaine turned to look at me, hitting me on the head after hearing me. Jumyeong smiled at us before answering, looking sad.
"My mother was fired because she fell ill, and when we went to another town to treat her, we were ambushed. I remember her covering me with a blanket while I sat next to some boxes to hide, but it didn't work, and they caught me. We were captured, and I haven't seen her since."
"I guess I shouldn't have asked... Still, I envy him. He was protected by his mother..." As I stared at the ground, I began to smile sadly, remembering how I had been enslaved.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that even Ghislaine was staring at the ground, looking defeated. Jumyeong returned the question, seeming more curious about me.
"And you, Conan, how were you enslaved?"
"They invaded my village. I don't know why, since I was knocked out after a guy kicked me, and on the trip to where they sold me, they never talked about it," I said, shaking my head as I felt a sharp pain coming from where I had been kicked.
"I hate that memory. I don't even know why they attacked us, and that's what angers me the most. I'm sure they didn't even have good reasons." Trying to distract myself from my memories, I looked to my side, seeing Ghislaine before asking her the same question.
"And your parents? What happened to them?" Ghislaine asked me, seeming much more curious.
"I never knew them. The townspeople told me that I had been abandoned in front of the mayor's door when I was a baby," I replied, letting out a tired sigh.
"What about you, Ghislaine?" Jumyeong and I asked at the same time. Luckily, I wasn't the only one who wanted to know.
Ghislaine looked at us both with a surprised expression, before scratching his head with a smile and saying, "I've always been a slave, according to what the guys on the farm told me. My mother sold me when I was a baby, so I've never been anywhere else."
"So this is the first time you've left that place?" I asked, surprised. I never would have expected Ghislaine to have been a slave since he was a baby.
"Yes, it's the first time," he said, with a smile on his face.
Wow... I thought Jumyeong and I had been through some bad things, but Ghislaine actually grew up in that place.
"So, did someone from there name you? Or was it the woman?" Jumyeong asked.
"I gave myself my name. I learned to read first and saw my name in a book," Ghislaine told us, looking up at the ceiling as he remembered.
After that, the three of us remained silent, staring at the books, except for me, who was the only one on the floor practicing the breathing technique I had read about in the book.
Honestly, I lost track of time after a while, but looking at the window and the orange sky, it seemed like several hours had passed. During that time, I was able to maintain the breathing technique, which was good considering it was my first time trying it.
I let out a long sigh as I breathed normally, lying down on the floor to rest. Jumyeong looked at me strangely before saying
"Why are you stopping? The breathing technique has to continue even while you sleep," he said, lifting the book so I could see it, while pointing to a part of the book in his hands.
"W-What? Even while I sleep?" I asked, exhausted. "I can't even keep it up that long now, and you're telling me I have to do it while asleep? What the hell!"
I didn't even try to continue with the technique, I stayed on the floor while I rested, before standing up and putting the book back on the shelf. Ghislaine and Jumyeong did the same before following me outside and heading to our cabins to sleep.
<<<>>>
Several blows from sticks echoed through the place as I kept my eyes fixed on the elders who were practicing. We had woken up annoyed because it was much earlier than the time we usually got up, but even after seeing us all around them, the elders continued, smiling at us as they kept bothering us.
"Do you think we admire you?" Claire asked, sounding annoyed. Not even a few seconds later, she was already picking up a rock from the ground.
I was alarmed to see what Claire was planning, but I saw that Jumyeong had approached her and taken the stone away from her. I thought he would stop her, but he just took the stone from her hand and gave her a bigger one, forcing me to approach her and take it away myself.
Looking back at the older ones, I saw that they were also looking at them, just as upset as we were. The others returned to their rooms after watching them for a few minutes, but unlike them, I stayed. I was already awake, so why would I go back to sleep now?
It seems that since I was the only one there, the elders felt free, because instantly the blows became much more annoying than before. Now that I could see them clearly, their movements were super fast and strong, and even their wooden swords were leaving pieces on the floor.
The older one, who had fox ears and a tail, jumped and spun around before striking his sword against the girl's. The blow echoed through the room before the girl counterattacked and made several lunges at the fox boy. He quickly dodged them before making a downward cut that left him free to strike.
The girl, who I just noticed had ears a little longer than mine, put her hand on the one holding the sword before pushing her elbow back, aiming for the boy's neck. But without her noticing, a strong kick hit her in the nose, pushing her back and leaving her hands exposed. In an instant, the boy's sword hit her in the side, knocking her to the ground in pain. The older boy pointed his sword at her head before smiling at her and saying something I didn't hear.
"Wow... I could barely see their blows," I thought, surprised after watching them practice.
Near them, several others were practicing in the same way. I had concentrated so much on the ones in front of me that I didn't look at the others at all, but I felt motivated after watching them practice.
The girl with the long ears approached me, smiling before sitting down next to me, looking tired.
"You look anxious, do you want to practice?" she asked me with a smile.
"Of course I do!" I replied loudly, jumping up.
It seems that my words were funny, because as soon as I said it, the girl laughed while looking at me. I don't think I said anything funny, so I don't understand her laughter.
"Do you want to practice with us?"
"No!"
I had seen them a few seconds ago, if I practice with them I'm going to die, something I don't want.