"I don't want to? Why would I?"
Chris refused my request without the slightest hesitation.
'I figured as much.'
Of course, I had somewhat expected it.
She lost her parents in a war when she was young and was picked up by a mercenary group. Chris, raised by mercenaries, mercilessly refused anything that didn't benefit her.
That was, of course, the same in the 4th regression.
'Please, just once! I'm begging you like this!' 'Ugh, you're persistent…. I said no!' 'So please, just consider it one more time!' 'You're just going to cling to me until I grant your favor, aren't you! Do you think I don't know?!' 'If you know, then just accept it!' 'No!!'
Back then, it took me nearly two weeks to break Chris's will.
At the time, I was just a mere extra who wasn't good at anything. There was nothing valuable I could offer her.
And there was no other way to create a connection with her except by asking for swordsmanship training. So after that, I didn't stop asking until she gave up.
That's how the strategy for the 4th regression began, but….
'I don't have enough time this regression….'
The 6th regression is different. In the 4th regression, I approached Chris right after admission, so there was plenty of time until the next event. But now, I've skipped a significant amount of time by focusing on Mari. If I spend two weeks asking her now, I might not make it in time for the next event.
"Are you really sure you can't?"
"Yeah, you're bothering me." At my last question, Chris stood up and picked up her wooden sword. Then, taking her eyes off me, she looked back at the dummy.
Whoosh! Thwack! The sturdy wooden sword began striking the dummy again. She focused solely on the dummy, as if she wouldn't speak another word.
'No choice, then….' She probably wouldn't answer my questions anymore today. Even if she did, she wouldn't grant my request. I had experienced her stubbornness enough in the 4th regression.
'Now where…' So instead of asking, I looked around the training ground.
'Found it.' Finding what I wanted, I walked straight towards it. Chris, who had been striking the dummy, glanced at me once, probably thinking I was leaving, then refocused on the dummy.
And then.
Whoosh—!! "What…!!" Thwack—!! "What are you doing…!"
I swung the wooden sword I found in the corner of the training ground straight at Chris. She lightly blocked my surprise attack, then glared at me with sharp eyes.
Although I had initiated the attack myself. Facing those eyes still sent a chill down my spine.
'Still, I can't back down now…!'
If I just kept asking like this, I'd have to spend two weeks clinging to her leg, just like in the 4th regression. But I don't have time now. Therefore.
Whoosh—!! I chose to proceed aggressively.
Thwack—!! My wooden sword, aimed at her side, was blocked by Chris once again, letting out a loud impact sound.
"You…. Are you trying to pick a fight?"
"No, my purpose is simply a request. Teach me swordsmanship…!"
"I said no—!"
Whoosh! While our swords clashed and we exchanged a few words, Chris spun her body and swung her leg.
'Damn it…!' Her surprise attack, which would have hit in the 4th regression. But.
Ding! [Your five senses sharpen due to the effect of 'Blooming Talent'!]
Swoosh! Having gained the power of the Easy Mode perk, I narrowly dodged her kick.
"..." Chris then corrected her stance and looked at me with surprised eyes.
"…I felt this last time too. …Your swordsmanship is terrible, but your body movements are good."
"Do you like it? Then teach me some swordsmanship."
"Hmph, no." Chris smiled as if amused by my words.
And this time, she took up her wooden sword and lunged at me.
Whoosh—! A sharp sword strike flew accurately, aiming for the top of my head. An obvious attack. But very fast.
"Ugh…!" Thwack! I blocked that attack by a hair's breadth.
But Chris didn't stop there; she put her weight into it and pushed her sword.
"Haha! Interesting, …so what are you trying to do now? You're not saying you'll accept it if you win, are you?"
"…It's good that I don't need to explain."
"Then let me tell you in advance, give up. ━There's no way you'll win!"
Thud! Whoosh—!! No sooner had she finished speaking, Chris dropped her wooden sword and unleashed a horizontal slash.
'I can't block this…!' Realizing instinctively that blocking was impossible, I threw my body aside.
Whoosh! Swoosh…!
"Haa, haa…." After rolling on the training ground floor, I put my hands on the ground and regained my posture.
Then Chris, with an admiring smile, looked down at me.
"See? You won't win. So stop bothering me and disappear."
"…I know I can't win." If I could beat her in the first place, I wouldn't need to learn swordsmanship from her. So my goal isn't to defeat her.
"So, let's make a bet."
"...A bet?" I stood up, keeping my eyes fixed on the puzzled Chris. Then I gripped my wooden sword properly and grinned.
"Five times. …If I succeed in attacking five times, count it as my win."
Having spent a long time with Chris in the 4th regression, I knew very well. Even with the Easy Mode perks, it would be impossible for me to defeat her before the next event.
Of course, if I were as skilled as Malcolm, I might be able to win with physical ability and talent. But Chris is different from Malcolm. Malcolm simply learned swordsmanship from a good swordsmanship teacher since he was young. Chris, who had wielded a sword while wandering battlefields since childhood, was on a completely different level than someone like Malcolm.
"Why should I accept that bet? No, it's troublesome and a waste of time." Chris naturally refused outright with an indifferent expression.
Of course, I knew she would refuse. That's why, just like before, I pushed my luck a little.
"Why? Are you afraid you'll lose?"
"..." At my words, Chris's expression twisted for a moment.
Provocation. As I felt in the 4th regression, Chris easily falls for provocation. That's how belligerent and proud she is.
But this time, she didn't fall for it so easily.
"Hah…. I'm sorry, but there's no way I'd lose to you. As I said, it's a waste of time." She, who had rushed at me excitedly during the last swordsmanship lesson, responded calmly this time.
'She's calm, probably because it's a bet….' Perhaps unlike last time when I simply asked for a sparring partner, this time it's a bet about teaching swordsmanship.
"Phew…. Alright, well, I guess there's no choice then."
"..." Therefore, I had no choice but to… provoke her a little more.
"Seeing you run away, it seems the swordsmanship you learned is only that level."
"...What?"
"Perhaps the person who taught you was terrible too?"
"..."
Hiss—. 'I'm screwed….'
The desperate provocation I threw as a last resort. After hearing that provocation, Chris's demeanor changed. The fierce aura emanating from her made all the fine hairs on my body stand on end.
I stared at Chris, who had gone coldly serious, and froze with a smile on my face.
Facing me, in that state.
"Hah." Chris let out a small snort.
Then she raised the wooden sword in her hand and pointed it at me.
"Alright, five times. …If you succeed in attacking five times, I'll grant your request."
"Wow, woah…. Really…?"
"Instead." The wooden sword pointed at me felt like a real blade. Chris glared at me with that much intensity.
"If you don't land an attack, you're dead."
"..."
As expected. Even in Easy Mode, I have to give my all to conquer the heroines.
"I'm in your hands…." I gripped my wooden sword, steeling myself for the fierce pain that was about to come.
…
"Wow…. What on earth happened?" "..." The next morning. Sierra appeared at the morning training session as she had declared the day before.
And seeing my bruised arms, legs, and shoulders, her eyes widened in surprise.
"You didn't draw those on, did you…?"
Poke. "Ow—!" "Ah, sorry."
Yesterday was a terrible time. Naturally, I failed the bet. Afterward, Chris grabbed me as I tried to apologize and escape, forcing the sparring to continue.
It was sparring in name only; it was a clubbing session. A hellish game where if I couldn't block her attacks coming with full force, I'd get hit directly.
Fortunately, perhaps due to survival instinct, I managed to block all the attacks aimed at my head.
"Emil…. Where have you been getting beaten up?"
"It's a long story…. If you're going to train with me, just train quietly."
"Surely you're not getting bullied by some bad students because you're good at studying or something…."
"If you're not going to train, go back."
Well, Sierra's guess wasn't entirely wrong. Because it was true that I got beaten up by a 'bad student.'
Anyway. Afterward, I continued the morning training with Sierra.
"Ugh~, I'm so tired~." Naturally, Sierra, who had joined the training from today by following me, also ran with me.
The running course, which would normally have been desolate, was filled with Sierra's whining. After finishing the run and then completing the bodyweight exercises.
"Wait a moment, Emil."
"Huh? Wait…. No, where are you going!"
"Just wait!" With only those words, Sierra left.
And I sat down on the grass, staring blankly in the direction she had disappeared.
A moment later.
"What is this…?"
"Heheh, watch closely. I'm actually good at things like this." Sierra came from the dormitory with a basket and settled down in front of me.
Then, puffing out her chest proudly, she took something out of the basket. What she took out was ointment and bandages.
"…It's fine if you just leave it."
"Stay still. You have broken skin here too. You have to take good care of these so they don't scar."
It turned out she had gone into the dormitory to get medical supplies for my treatment. Afterward, she gave me some simple first aid.
"..." She leaned closer to wrap the bandage. Focused on my wounds, Sierra was calm and quiet, unlike her usual self. Perhaps because of this different atmosphere, I found myself staring blankly at her face.
'Her eyelashes are really long….'
Seeing Sierra up close made me realize why she was the protagonist of the original story. Although I had thought it before, her calm face was truly beautiful.
"All done! How is it? Isn't it perfect?"
"Ah, yeah." As I was staring blankly at Sierra's face, her treatment finished. When Sierra lifted her head and smiled, I instinctively turned my head away and avoided her gaze.
"Hey, what about a thank you?"
"What?"
"In situations like this, shouldn't you say, 'Thank you?'"
"…Did you do it just to get thanked?"
"There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world."
Sierra gave her characteristic playful smile and urged me with her eyes, as if telling me to hurry up and say it. Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed by this, I subtly scratched my cheek, avoided her gaze, and replied awkwardly.
"Thank you…."
"Hehe." Then Sierra smiled in satisfaction.
…
After finishing the somehow embarrassing morning training. 'Still, the bandage helps.' Thanks to Sierra's treatment, the pain of my wounds rubbing against my clothes disappeared, and I changed my clothes with ease.
Afterward, I went to the academy as usual.
'…She'll probably accept the bet today too, right? …After all, her foster mother's honor is at stake.'
I continued to ponder Chris's strategy while attending classes as usual.
The bet to land five attacks on Chris. It was certainly a difficult bet.
However, unlike in the 4th regression, there was a possibility thanks to the 'Blooming Talent' perk. I had, after all, made the bet trusting this perk. It was a method I could never have used in the 4th regression, where I had no perks.
'I hope to settle this within a week, if possible….'
Thus, I spent all my time at the academy reviewing yesterday's sparring session with Chris. I simulated in my mind, thinking of opportunities to land five attacks on her.
And then.
"...Emil." Having focused too much on Chris,
"Ah." "Y-you're covered in injuries…!! What on earth happened?!" I hadn't noticed Mari approaching in the hallway. Upon seeing me, Mari saw the bandages wrapped around my arm and rushed towards me with a pale face.
"Who did this…." And then.
"Ah, no, Mari…." With those eerie eyes I had seen before, she looked up at me and asked.
"Who did this…?" "..."