A few days later, they finally arrived at Shimotsuki Village.
"Excuse me, how do we get to Master Koushirou's dojo?"
"Oh? You here to study swordsmanship too?"
"Yeah, I've heard great things."
"Just keep walking down this road—you'll find it."
"Thanks!"
Eric led Akame along the road. "What a peaceful village," Akame sighed.
"Is it?" Eric couldn't quite relate, never having experienced the chaos and darkness of the empire Akame came from.
Along the way, they spotted several people cloaked in gray robes—one of whom had a face too big to be hidden no matter how hard the robe tried.
"Wha—" Eric nearly jumped in surprise. The Revolutionary Army?! And that huge face… that's Emporio Ivankov! (Eric only read the main manga and anime—he skips cover stories and doesn't remember fine details. Don't judge him. It's been over a decade.)
"Hmm? What's wrong, boy?" Ivankov noticed Eric's stare and shocked expression.
"Oh, just surprised to see… such a large face," Eric recovered quickly and offered an apology.
"Polite little boy~ It's fine. This world's full of strange and wonderful people, boy~ You should go out to sea more and open your eyes." Ivankov didn't seem concerned. Their ship was leaving tonight anyway—even if Eric reported them, the Navy wouldn't catch up in time.
"Understood. I'll remember your advice, sir."
As they walked away, Eric glanced at Akame again. In the original timeline, she would've left the empire and joined the Revolutionary Army's elite assassin squad Night Raid. That meant she also harbored dreams of toppling corrupt systems. What if one day she turns to me and says, "I'm going to overthrow the World Government. Thank you for everything," and leaves? What would he do then?
"What's wrong?" Akame tilted her head cutely, puzzled by Eric's silence.
"…Nothing."
A single man nearly 30, with terminal "straight-guy syndrome," Eric was suddenly struck by a wave of helplessness. He didn't know how to please girls, didn't know how to say sweet things, and couldn't make anyone want to stay by his side. If Akame chose to leave, he had no way to stop her—nor should he.
Sensing his unease, Akame gently wrapped his right hand in both of hers and gave him a soft smile. In that moment, the sunlight seemed warmer, the air fresher.
"What are they doing?"
A child's voice shattered the mood.
"No idea."
Another child chimed in.
"Are they about to kiss?"
A third one asked innocently.
Eric snapped back to reality and turned to face three children in dojo robes, each holding a bamboo sword. "Tch…" He clicked his tongue and gave them a death stare.
"Wah! He's scary!"
"Run!"
The three kids bolted toward the dojo.
"…Let's go."
"Mm."
At the dojo entrance, they saw a black-haired child in a white t-shirt practicing bamboo strikes on a straw dummy. The thwack, thwack of her strikes rang crisp and sharp.
"Hey, kiddo, is the dojo master in?" Eric called out.
The child glanced up at him. "Huh…" Eric blinked in surprise. Wait—that's Kuina?! Oh crap—I called her 'little brother'!
"You seriously can't tell?" Akame rolled her eyes.
"I mean—sorry, little sister, is your master in?" Eric corrected himself with a sheepish smile.
"He is. Follow me." Kuina sheathed her bamboo sword and led them to Koushirou.
Inside the dojo, the master greeted them. "Yes? Who might you be?"
"I'm Daren Eric, and this is Akame. We've come to study swordsmanship." Eric bowed and handed over 1 million Berries. "This is for tuition."
"That's far too much—we can't accept this," Koushirou protested.
"It also covers our meals. Please take it. If it's not enough, we'll pay more." Eric already knew how much Akame could eat—he wasn't about to let her bankrupt the dojo.
After much back and forth, Koushirou reluctantly accepted.
At that moment—
"You know how to use a sword, right? Spar with me—I want to see how strong you are."
Kuina challenged him, still angry about being mistaken for a boy.
"Kuina! That's no way to talk to a new student," Koushirou scolded.
"It's fine. I'm curious to see where I stand too," Eric said, getting to his feet.
"Kuina! Duel me!" came a familiar voice before its owner even appeared.
A green-haired, scowling kid—Zoro—stormed into the dojo.
Whoa… even though he's scowling, little Zoro's kinda cute, Eric thought.
"Wait your turn. I'm sparring with the new guy first," Kuina said, going to get a bamboo sword.
"Bow to the altar."
"Bow to each other."
"Begin!"
Kuina opened with a simple downward strike—
Heavy! Eric blocked, stunned by her power. He tried a counter, but Kuina dodged right and launched into a seamless flurry of slashes, thrusts, and sweeps.
In just a minute, Eric was on the defensive, barely able to parry, unable to counter. She's just a girl, but her sword technique feels like it's been forged by endless practice… and she's so strong… Is this because I mistook her for a boy?!
Eric had assumed she just wanted to assess his level so they could tailor his training. Now he realized it was revenge for calling her "little brother."
Minutes passed—he was still overwhelmed. "Soru!"
He vanished.
"She disappeared?!" both Kuina and Zoro exclaimed.
Thwack! From the side, Eric disarmed Kuina with a strike.
"Victory goes to Eric," Koushirou declared.
Kuina silently picked up her sword and ran off.
"Kuina!" Zoro shouted, chasing after her.
"Will she be okay?" Eric asked, concerned.
"She'll be fine. She's just stubborn—won't do anything reckless," Koushirou smiled. "By the way… that was Navy's Rokushiki, wasn't it?"
"Uh, yeah… I saw someone use it once and tried imitating it." Eric lied without blinking.
"Incredible. You learned it just by watching?" Koushirou praised.
"Not really… My swordsmanship's not that great. I would've lost without relying on physical skills," Eric said modestly, blushing now that the pressure was off.
"Yeah, your sword skills are far below Kuina's," Akame added bluntly.
"Master, please teach us!" Eric bowed deeply.
"Of course. Isn't that why you came here?" Koushirou smiled. "Are you ready?"
Later that night…
"Girls grow up to be weaker than boys. I'll probably fall behind you soon," Kuina said, looking away.
"You always say you want to become the world's greatest swordsman," she continued. "But my father told me girls can't do that."
"I know… I've known that for a long time. But… I just can't accept it! You're lucky, Zoro—because you're a boy. I want to be the world's greatest swordsman too! And now my chest is starting to develop…" She placed her hand over her chest. Zoro's face turned bright red.
"If only I had been born a boy…"
"You've beaten me 1,682 times! Stop whining already! That's just unfair! You're my goal!" Zoro snapped.
"What's with all this boy-girl crap? When I beat you someday, will you say the same thing? Like I didn't win on my own strength? That would make all my effort meaningless—like I've been training for nothing! Don't say stuff like that!"
"Promise me—one day, it'll be either me or you. One of us will become the world's strongest swordsman! Let's see who gets there first!" Zoro held out his hand.
"…Idiot. You're still so weak."
"It's a promise!"
And in the sunlight, they made their vow.
(End of Chapter)