"Ah. What a pleasant surprise."
Ian's humble voice was calm and smooth. He wore the comfortable, form-fitting sparring uniform. Julian quickly changed into it as well, grabbing a wooden sword off the rack.
Besides the spars he got here and there with Rosette, Julian was a beginner swordsman.
"Wow. You really are a beginner," Ian immediately said.
"You can tell?"
"Yeah. From your grip to your feet. Even the expression on your face says it," Ian laughed ever-so-slightly.
Julian quickly tried to change his expression.
"You weren't here yesterday. I assume you had detention?" Ian asked. Julian sighed.
"Yeah. What happened yesterday?"
"Just introductions and things like that. For today, he just told us to find someone to spar with.
"Would you like to spar with me, Julian?"
Julian nodded, with obvious hesitation. Ian laughed.
The two stood parallel to each other, with their wooden swords held out. Julian copied the style that Ian was trying to emulate.
Surprisingly, Cera also had this class. So she was designated to count them down.
"3... 2... 1... Go!"
Julian's grip tightened.
With my demonic strength, this'll be easy, right?-
Within seconds, his wooden sword was sent into the air, spinning rapidly.
"Whoa..." Cera stared in awe. Ian smirked.
"Come on, Julian. Is that seriously all you've got?"
"Haha... today's a bad day, I don't know. Maybe I just need to warm up. Hey, why don't you two spar while I'm warming up, hehe?" Julian spoke very weakly.
It's even more embarrassing to lose in front of a girl.
This is the second time she's seen me get humiliated! Agh!
Julian sat down on a bench. Cera and Ian repeated the process, holding their swords out. Julian counted.
"3... 2... 1... Go.."
Within seconds, the distance was cleared between Cera and Ian. Now that Julian was spectating, he realized this was the move that finished the match off.
Clack!
To his surprise, Cera raised her sword, blocking the incoming strike.
Wow..
Clack!
Clack!
Ian maintained the offensive, striking and breaking down Cera's guard. This was until she backhandspringed away, giving herself some distance.
"..."
Immediately, she dashed forward. They clashed again. However, this time, the offensive was taken by Cera.
Seeing Cera have the capability to do such a thing, such skillful swordsmanship.
So she just watched me get beaten up for no reason? Julian quietly watched.
.
Gonteno, the capital of Anore. Early morning.
Lyrei sprang awake in a pool of nervous sweat. She panted, her chest heaving. Quickly, she scanned her room.
"I-it was just another nightmare…"
Julian… you bastard. I cannot rest peacefully anymore.
She sighed, slowly getting up. Currently, she was in the Saint's Castle. Several things had transpired from all those months ago. Everyone had been safely transported back to the Venichian.
But Lyrei managed to grab the opportunity and fell under the saint's wing.
Despite her short time in the capital, she was surprisingly well known as a sister of the church of Ogthos. Her numerous good deeds spread quickly through the city.
"Lyrei! Are you ready?" Saint Meri called out to her. Lyrei quickly got ready, changing into her uniform. She yelled back, promptly.
"One moment! I'll be down there in a second!"
Sunlight was beginning to reach the surface. The dark blue sky brightened slightly.
She ran downstairs. There, the Saint stood, with a calm smile on her face. She grabbed Lyrei's hand and walked her downstairs to a cellar.
In the center of the stone cellar, Lyrei sat cross-legged. Meri kneeled behind her, placing a wide palm on Lyrei's back.
A warm energy surged into her body.
In this process, Meri was slowly transferring some of her holy mana into Lyrei's system, so that she would eventually be able to cycle it herself, and properly inherit the Divinely Arts. In this way, she was a contingency plan.
. .
Julian and Cera sat quietly outside, with nothing but the chirping of birds filling the air. They sat on a bench beside the school's garden. The sun was incredibly pleasant.
Cera bought a meal from home, while Julian ate school lunch, which was still pretty good.
"That Ian guy, he seems pretty nice," Cera finally said something. She chewed quietly, with class and a glow of superiority. Julian watched with envy as he chowed down a lot more fervently.
"Yeah... he's nice, that's for sure. Life saver."
His words came out very muffled.
"And, he's pretty skilled."
"You're skilled too, though?"
"Not as much as him. His footwork— it's superb. You yourself might not have noticed it because you weren't actively fighting him, and you're... a bit subpar, but the way he moves really limits any counterattacks."
Subpar? She's getting comfortable now, eh? Julian silently repressed any insults he would throw.
"Hm. Okay, I see."
"Julian, I wonder... before this school, have you had any sort of formal training?"
"Eh? You can tell that I haven't?"
"Hah... yes. Your swordsmanship is worse than that of a beginner. I'd have to say it's otherworldly," she scoffed.
Well, that's not too far off...
She's getting way too comfortable now!
"Before here, I didn't really get any type of education."
"I can teach you a little something. I-If you'd like!"
The two of them stood up. They picked up two long branches from a nearby sapling, using them as acting swords. Cera cleared her throat.
"Sword dueling, to put it simply in my own definition, is a conversation. Or rather, an argument. The two combatants don't really exist anymore; the swords are your words. Through your swordsmanship, you have to convey this kind of idea, whatever that idea may be.
"Of course, this is a very unorthodox, idealist way of thinking of it, haha... I'm rambling. Keep it in your head, though. It might help you later. With a lighter sword, you'll want to hold it with one hand. Two hands can be a liability at times."
Julian nodded, properly holding the sword out with one hand. Seeing this, Cera continued.
"Now, your footing. Dominant foot in front of the other, like any other martial art. Naturally, this will shift in the course of a fight.
"The basic strike is the downward strike. Raise your hand, and lower it quickly. The way I'm explaining it is arbitrary; maybe I should just show you."
She did so, swinging her sword down quickly.
"There are eight directions that can be made. North to South, South to North. East to West, West to East. Northeast to Southwest, Southwest to Northeast, Northwest to Southeast, and Southeast to Northwest. Oh, of course, there is more than this. But again, this is just the basics. Knowing this, we can enact a simple duel. I'll try to go easy on you."
Julian nodded.