A week had passed since I started taking swordsmanship lessons from Chris.
"Hup—!!"
"Don't just focus on your sword—! Attacks come from all directions—!"
*Whoosh!*
*Thwack—!!*
Chris's swordsmanship lessons were something I had experienced even in the 4th playthrough, but even after going through it once, it was incredibly harsh.
Her teaching method was solely sparring.
It was a method of learning swordsmanship by swinging swords and clashing them together.
As expected, it was physically very demanding.
It wasn't a method of simply practicing and correcting postures.
It was a realistic combat simulation, where I truly got hit, moved my body, and swung my sword.
What's more, I even did morning training and then took lessons in the afternoon.
In a way, it was even harder than the 4th playthrough.
However.
"Haa, haa…. Ugh…. I'm going to die…."
"Heh, but you catch on quickly again, don't you? Honestly, it's amazing to watch you."
As difficult as it was, there were results.
Chris, who at first considered teaching me a great bother.
She saw me immediately keeping up with her lessons, and before I knew it, she became more immersed in conducting the class herself.
"Here, water."
"Ah…. Thank you…."
And as a result, my relationship with her also grew considerably closer.
At first, it was awkward.
As we clashed swords and practiced together, the awkwardness disappeared, and a slight sense of familiarity began to form.
Even without much conversation, it was easy to get closer.
"By the way, Emil."
"Hmm?"
"It's just that I have the chance to ask…. Why are you so obsessed with swordsmanship?"
"...Huh?"
Chris had come to regard me as close enough to ask such a personal question.
…But that question is a bit tough.
'I can't exactly say… "to capture you."'
I pretended to ponder, staring into space, and tried to come up with the most plausible excuse.
"...Because I need to get good grades?"
Of course, I didn't have that kind of quick wit.
It would have been great if I had received a perk for this kind of situation too.
However.
"Pfft."
"...Is that funny?"
"Because of grades, huh? That's just like you, I guess…."
Fortunately, thanks to my image as the top student in the year, Chris believed me without much suspicion.
Perhaps this was also thanks to my 'Sweet Voice' trait.
"Only you, Emil, could get so heated up just to get good grades."
Chris chuckled at my hastily concocted answer.
It was the first time I'd seen her bright side in this playthrough.
'It's going smoothly.'
As planned, my relationship with her was gradually getting closer.
However.
Something was still missing.
That was the decisive blow.
Even if I put it nicely, Chris and I were just friends; Chris didn't feel anything more than friendship for me.
'I'd hoped for the perk's effect, but it's no use here.'
The 'Charm Teardrop' effect, which had worked well with Mari, was not very effective on Chris.
In fact, I had somewhat expected it.
Chris wasn't the type to feel romantic attraction based solely on someone's appearance or initial impression.
That's why a decisive blow was needed.
And that decisive blow, if my memory served me right, would come soon.
"Come to think of it, isn't there a first-year group practical training soon?"
"...Huh? …Ah, right."
Chris answered my question, and a tense expression instantly clouded her face.
The group practical training I had brought up.
That was the decisive blow I was waiting for.
And at the mention of the group practical training, Chris fell into thought, her face hardened.
Of course, having already captured her once, I knew what she was thinking now.
'She must be scared.'
The group practical training starting now.
Its stage was a dungeon.
It involved students splitting into groups to experience the early parts of a large, beginner-level dungeon.
. . .
"Everyone, inspect your weapons. If anyone's weapon is in poor condition, or if any student is scared, speak up now and you'll be excused, so don't hesitate."
The professor who always oversaw practical lessons shouted loudly in front of the numerous students once again.
'It's starting….'
All the students were gathered in a disorganized manner, wearing identical equipment.
Attached to their waists were the longswords they had been issued.
However, these were not practice dull swords, but real swords with sharp blades.
The students gave off various atmospheres as they chatted with their friends beside them.
Some with worried faces, others with excited expressions.
Among these numerous students.
I secretly watched only one student.
Chris Belmore.
She wasn't talking to anyone, just silently staring straight ahead.
But even from a distance, I noticed.
Her hand, gripping the hilt of her sword, was trembling.
'Will I be able to find it inside…?'
I watched Chris intently, pondering only one thing.
Just then.
"Hey!"
"Agh!"
"Ahahaha! You get startled so easily."
Sierra appeared.
…For some reason, lately she's been popping up in unexpected places.
Or perhaps she's targeting moments when I'm distracted?
"Scaredy-cat~, are you scared thinking about entering the dungeon?"
As always, Sierra teased me with a mocking smile, genuinely making fun of me.
And I, as always, subtly glared back at her.
"What~, I was just trying to ease your tension."
"I wasn't tense enough to need easing."
"Then why were you standing there with such a serious face?"
"...Huh?"
"You had a really grim expression just now."
I hadn't really made such a face.
It seemed I looked quite serious from the side.
Just as I was recalling my demeanor from a moment ago.
"Alright! The practical training will now begin! Everyone, absolutely do not lose your issued bracelets! Enter in order!"
The voice of the professor in charge of the practical training echoed around.
"Ah, it's started."
"Yeah."
"I have an early number, so I need to go to the front."
"...Huh? Oh, well, then hurry on."
"..."
Sierra, who had said she needed to go, was just standing blankly in place when I told her to hurry.
When I looked at her, feeling curious.
"Emil, if it feels dangerous, come to me."
"...Huh?"
"Hehe, because we're friends."
"No, what kind of…"
Sierra, having said that, chuckled and blended into the crowd of other students entering the dungeon.
And as she walked away, she called out to me.
"But Emil, you're such a weakling~!"
"..."
Was that meant as consideration?
'How unfair.'
Honestly, just by looking at my morning training, I'm physically ahead of Sierra.
But what's with that confident expression of hers?
It was like, 'I'll help you!' kind of look.
…From the perspective of someone who had recently undergone Chris's hellish swordsmanship training, there was no greater provocation than this.
More than anything.
The fact that Sierra was genuinely trying to help me.
That part was what made me most annoyed.
Just as I was feeling a small surge of irritation, a ticklish sensation.
"Ah, Chris…!"
I remembered my real goal, which I had forgotten, and immediately looked towards the dungeon entrance.
But by the time I realized, she had already entered the dungeon.
"Oh, dear…."
I had at least intended to see when she entered.
'Since it's come to this, I'll just have to run.'
This strategy is physically demanding in many ways.
. . .
*Dash-dash-dash—!!*
*Whoosh—!*
"Screeeech—!!"
The larval monster was split in two by the longsword I swung after quickly dashing towards it.
The loud shriek of the monster.
*Thunk!*
"Guh…!"
As I aimed for its head and stabbed with my sword, the noisy sound immediately subsided.
"Now, where…"
Not forgetting to pick up the magic stone as a result of the practical training.
Having finished, I let out a sigh of relief and looked around.
The large beginner dungeon.
It was a cave-type dungeon inhabited by the easiest class of monsters, used as the first practical training ground for first-year students who were encountering real combat for the first time.
The interior was very spacious for a cave.
Of course, that was also because my current location was in the central part of the dungeon.
Roughly half the size of a sports field.
Because of this, I occasionally saw students confronting monsters in the distance, just like me.
'…Chris isn't here.'
She was probably avoiding crowded areas.
Because, just as she appeared, she disliked showing weakness to anyone.
"Kyaaaaaaah—!"
Just then, a woman's scream echoed from somewhere within the cave.
Chris came to mind, and I instinctively turned towards the scream.
There, an unknown female student was being attacked by a monster.
The attacker was a slime.
Compared to its seemingly easy appearance, it was an annoying monster that couldn't be easily killed without attacking its core.
*Dash-dash-dash—!!*
Since it had caught my eye.
I moved without hesitation.
*Swish!*
*Spliiish—!*
The slime's body and core were simultaneously split in half by the horizontally swung longsword.
'As expected, it's easy in easy mode.'
In previous playthroughs, which were always on hard mode, the core wasn't cut so easily, nor did the monsters react so sluggishly.
Now that it was easy mode, it was the opposite.
However, seeing as other students were still struggling with monster hunting, no different from when it was hard mode.
Perhaps it wasn't the monsters that had changed, but me.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh? Uh, yeah…."
I gently extended my hand to the female student who was drenched in slime fluid.
She looked at me, then shyly lowered her head and took my hand.
*Squeeze….*
Feeling a sense of reliance in her grip, I pulled her hand, helping her stand up.
"Thank you…."
"If you can't handle it, remember to use your bracelet."
"Okay…."
"Then I'm going."
"Ah, hey, over here…!"
I heard the call of the female student I had just helped from behind me as I moved, but I ignored it and ran forward.
Whatever it was, I had done my part.
I was busy now because I had to find Chris.
. . .
Inside a dark, narrow cave.
Chris, having moved away from the dungeon's center, was passing through a narrow cave.
*Thump, thump….*
She hadn't encountered any monsters yet.
Therefore, Chris hadn't even started fighting yet.
However.
*Tremble, tremble….*
Her hand resting on the sword's hilt was trembling ceaselessly.
And similarly, her eyes, fixed straight ahead, were violently shaking, and cold sweat streamed down her cheeks.
Just then.
*Clang—!!*
Had another student swung a sword somewhere?
The sound of a blade clashing against something hard echoed inside the cave.
And then.
"Kyaa—!!"
The moment Chris, who had been trembling, heard that sound, she collapsed onto the ground.
"Haa, haa…."
Rough breathing and a rapidly beating pulse.
Though she had experienced battlefields countless times, at this very moment, she felt like a little child of about ten years old again.
That day, buried in the depths of her memory, resurfaced.
Blazing heat and screams.
Her familiar room, horribly transformed.
And the smell of blood.
Although such things didn't actually exist within the cave.
"Hnngh…, uh, hnngh…."
Chris was confronting them.
Confronting them.
Trembling in fear, she collapsed onto the ground.
The ten-year-old girl hugged her knees, crying in terror.
"Mom…."
Alone in the quiet cave, hearing the sounds of war.
Chris quietly murmured.