Krische and Berry enjoyed their cookies and tea as they watched the training in the sunny lawn below through the window.

Bogan loosely held his sword at his side in his right hand while Selene braced her sword in front of herself with both hands.

Selene’s stance is solid and sturdy, far better compared to others of similar age that Krische has seen.

She is comparable to the village’s sword instructors, the former soldiers, but not quite at Zaal’s level. Around there? Krische analysed.

They faced off for a while, then Selene tensed slightly――and stepped forward in one smooth motion.

Her blade swung down diagonally in a sharp motion――but it was a feint.

Making use of her small build, she sank low and thrust forward.

She stretched her flexible body making the tip of the blade reach further than you would expect.

But Bogan dodged it by pulling back half a step and countered.

Selene twisted her body and blocked with her sword. Their swords were real, just with dulled blades, they were much heavier than wooden swords.

Frowning at the impact, Selene pushed back.

Bogan only held his sword with one hand and Selene managed to knock it away and step closer――but that was Bogan’s ploy.

He let her knock away his own sword and used that momentum to turn and dodge Selene’s thrust.

He then stepped behind her and thrust the tip of his sword to the back of her neck.

“……I lost.”

“Mhm, the first movement was good. But you were too anxious to end the bout. That’s why your attacks were simple and you fell for my ploy.”

Bogan is a large man, but his swordsmanship is surprisingly refined.

He does not rely on strength to deflect his opponent’s blade.

Of course it is also partly because his opponent is Selene, but his movements are refined with no sign of roughness.

It was quite different from what Zaal called the sword of the battlefield.

“……Krische. How about it, would you like to try too?”

“……!”

Bogan invited Krische who had been looking at them through the window, making Selene grimace.

“I’ve heard about you from your ojii-san. I would like to see it for myself…… and it will be good stimulus for Selene.”

“Otou-sama.”

Krische saw Selene glaring at her, but decided that she could not refuse Bogan’s request.

Especially since she has not been able to fulfill Bogan’s request to ‘talk to Selene’, she could not let Bogan’s opinion of Krische drop any further.

“Yes, master.”

“……Krische-sama.”

Bery looked at Krische worriedly. Krische looked back, tilting her head in question.

Then she realised why Bery was worried and nodded.

“Krische will not get hurt or hurt him, so it is okay.”

“Er……okay……?”

Krische’s words were so confident that Bery was bewildered.

Having enjoyed their cookies and tea, Krische went downstairs with Bery to the garden.

Selene’s mood seemed to have grown even worse and she glared at Krische, but did not say anything.

Urged by Bogan, she handed her practice sword to Krische then went to lean against a wall with her arms crossed.

Krische checked how the long sword felt in her hand.

It was slightly heavy and the blade is long, making the center of gravity quite far out.

Since Krische controlled her body using mana, strength is not a problem, but balance is a large problem.

When she swings a sword, her small body can be dragged in that direction and she can lose her balance.

The wooden sword she usually used was not this heavy and the sword she had borrowed from the bandits was a small curved sword.

This long sword only had it’s blade dulled and is still slightly difficult for Krische to wield.

“It’s the same kind that soldiers’ use, so it might be a little heavy but it’s what we use for training. Can you handle it?”

“Can I do a few practice swings?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Krische casually swung the sword.

She lost her balance and frowned.

She adjusted her footwork, stepping in the direction the sword is pulling her, but the sword is still quite heavy.

Seeing how sharp Krische’s swings were, Bogan’s eyes widened, as did Selene’s.

But with every swing, Krische lost her balance, ruining it.

Bogan considered changing to a lighter sword for her while Selene looked somewhat relieved.

But Krische’s clumsiness was temporary.

If her body is going to be dragged along, then just follow the sword.

Krische gave up trying to maintain her stance and entrusted her body to the weight of the blade.

“……this is”

Bogan muttered to himself.

Krische held herself low and swung the sword horizontally, using her forward leg as an axis to spin her body around.

Her blade drew circles as Krische danced.

Occasionally, she made sharp thrusts, slashed upwards and swung down.

She switched from her right hand to her left hand to holding it backhanded.

Krische’s acrobatic swordsmanship pursued only efficiency and was being refined at an astonishing speed.

When the blade storm, when Krische’s danced finally stopped, Bogan was frowning with a serious expression and Selene was stunned into a daze.

Only Bery smiled in relief and applauded her.

“Amazing, Krische-sama, it was like a martial artist’s sword dance.”

Krische could understand the characteristics of a weapon, derive the logic behind its movements and refine it into technique.

She eliminated inefficiencies and simply looked for the most efficient movements.

She has already perfected the concept of battle, the type of weapon is a trivial matter.

To her it was natural――this was simply warm up.

“……? Thank you very much……”

Not sure why she was praised, Krische cocked her head and thanked Bery.

Krische has a tendency of taking things that are ‘natural for her’ lightly and does not see much value in them.

This thinking is the root of her distorted virtue of always returning more than what was received.

Krische put it out of her mind and checked the condition of her body.

Because she has not moved like this in a while, her joints hurt.

Although Krische does not experience muscle pain, moving her body strains it.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed and her breathing was a little rough.

“……wow, so this is a genius? I understand what captain meant now…… Krische, could I ask for a bout?”

“Yes, sorry to have kept you waiting.”

Krische spun the sword around in her hand, getting used to it and settled into a relaxed stance.

She is outside of his reach. Krische always takes the most effective stance for the situation.

She looked defenseless, just standing there, but Bogan could see that there were no weak spots at all. He raised his empty left hand before him and turned side-on towards Krische.

A battlefield sword style known as the Rolka style uses a shield in the left hand to deflect the opponent’s sword and make him lose his balance while striking with the sword in the right hand. This style does not lose its strength even when the left hand is empty.

In this case, the left hand is used to grab the opponent’s hand or body if there is the chance, serving as bait for the opponent’s sword and making sure the opponent does not get too close.

Krische observed that unfamiliar stance with cold, inhuman eyes.

She considered the strengths and weaknesses of that stance and thought about how to defeat it.

If she targeted the outstretched left hand, Bogan would pull his hand back and knock away Krische’s sword with his.

But if she closed the distance and aimed for his torso, his left hand would be free to catch Krische.

Krische could see the ‘floofy thing’――the thing Bogan called mana, around his body, so there will not be that much of a difference in the speed of their blades.

As long as Bogan did not move, his stance could not be broken with a single attack.

Coming to that conclusion, Krische continued her planning while waiting for Bogan to move.

Bogan also sensed that it was dangerous for him to approach her carelessly.

Krische’s eyes were clear like the surface of a calm lake.

Her eyes would not miss his slightest movement and her composure felt like that of an old veteran’s.

Bogan has an overwhelming advantage in reach.

For Krische to land a deciding blow on Bogan, she would naturally need to step in closer than Bogan.

Since that is her greatest weakness, Bogan could not make the first move.

If Bogan stepped forward, that would make it easier for Krische to get in range.

“……mu.”

Krische started walking defenselessly.

She moved clockwise around Bogan, drawing an arc.

Is she trying to disturb my stance?

Bogan pondered her intentions while maintaining his stance, keeping Krische in front of him.

Krische finally made a her move when she was close to the estate’s wall.

She stepped in and swung the sword in her left hand horizontally.

She was aiming for Bogan’s left arm.

She displayed flexibility and agility that was unimaginable from her.

Her body was supple like a whip and all her strength was channeled into her sword――generating terrifying speed.

But Bogan calmly kept track her sword.

He had seen how fast she could move and swing her sword, this is within his expectations.

Did she get impatient? Bogan pulled his left arm back and regained the initiative.

He knocked Krische’s sword aside with his own――and in that instant, he realised he was mistaken.

There was no resistance from her sword as he knocked it away. She followed the swords momentum, turning away from Bogan.

Krische landed on the wall and kicked off, doing a back flip over Bogan’s head and landing like a cat.

“……!”

But Bogan is an experienced fighter.

He instantly understood he was disadvantaged and intentionally fell backwards.

“Ah……”

This is a training bout. She couldn’t cut him.

Krische slowed her sword so that she could stop it in time, leading to it merely pass before Bogan’s eyes.

And the tip of Bogan’s blade was already at Krische’s throat.

“Uuu……I lost.”

Krische had aimed to win and blushed at her own defeat, but had no choice but to admit it.

Hearing Krische’s relaxed voice, the two watching let out the breaths they had been holding.

Bogan sighed as he lowered his sword.

Borrowing Krische’s hand, Bogan stood up.

“I had thought I could win with that method……but it did not work.”

“……no, it did.”

If she had a sword that matched her better.

Or if this was not a simple bout and was a real fight.

――I would probably have been killed by this girl.

Bogan felt a chill run down his spine.

As a weak noble, Bogan had built his career on his sword and rose through the ranks to become a general, he had confidence in his own strength.

He had not intended to hold back and even used physical enhancement in the bout against Krische.

But she had calculated that she could win and acted.

Krische’s abnormality could not be described by natural genius. Seeing it for himself, Bogan understood why she had been expelled from the village.

On the other hand, Krische did not consider such excuses.

They used the same sword and were under the same conditions to stop before hurting the opponent. It was a fair match.

She believed that she had been defeated simply because she was still inexperienced and blushed.

Krische frowned slightly as she handed Bogan the sword, messaging her wrists and elbows.

“Do they hurt?”

“……not really, just a little because I have not moved this much in a while……it is not an injury.”

“……Bery, take a look at her. The sword must’ve been too heavy.”

“Y, yes…… Krische-sama, let us go to your room.”

Krische followed Bery back into the estate.

Selene watched her leave with her fists clenched tight, trembling.

I thought it would be good stimulus for her, but this might’ve been too much, thought Bogan as he scratched his head awkwardly.

Krische was too abnormal to simply be stimulus for her.

“There are exceptional cases like her in this world. Don’t let it weigh on your mind.”

Selene relaxed the tension in her shoulders and calmed her breathing, then snatched the sword that Krische had been using from Bogan.

“……otou-sama, one more round please.”

Selene’s sword was even wilder this time, as if channeling the raging emotions within.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, Krische can begin anytime.”

Krische and Selene faced each other under the moonlight.

After returning to her room, Bery had bandaged Krische and then they prepared dinner.

Bery had told Krische to rest but gave in when Krische insisted on cooking, so they prepared dinner together like usual.

Selene did not come down for dinner, so the remaining three had dinner after Bery brought Selene’s dinner to her room.

During the meal, Bogan asked Krische about how she learnt her swordsmanship, interrogating her about each and every detail of her time in the village, only to be lectured by Bery for his rapid-fire questions and they ended their meal peacefully.

After dinner, they bathed.

Most homes would not have a bath, but public baths exists and upper class homes like the Christand estate have a bath.

Although it did not quite take up an entire room, it was large enough for two, three people to enter at the same time, awing Krische with the sheer extravagance of it when she first saw it.

Krische is so much of a clean freak that she bathes in the river everyday, even in winter.

Krische has taken a liking to this bath where she can clean herself with warm water and then relax and soak in it.

Except for when he is out for work, Bogan goes first, then Selene.

After that is Krische’s turn, but Krische bathes with Bery.

At first it was so that Bery could explain to Krische how to use the bath, but Krische really enjoyed being washed by Bery and it naturally led to them bathing together.

After their bath, they enjoyed some tea in Krische’s room, then Krische headed to Selene’s room.

Bogan had requested for her to ‘talk to Selene’, so it is Krische’s duty to fulfill it.

Krische believes it is natural to fulfill the requests of her guardian, Bogan, who is providing this environment for her and felt no doubts about doing this.

Since she has strong expectations for herself to be superior, she believes it is natural to be able to fulfill his request and felt pathetic that she still cannot do it.

Both Bogan and Bery are impressed by Krische for not giving up despite being chased away with cold words every time, but Krische’s standard is always herself.

They told her there is no need to force herself, but she still stubbornly visited Selene’s room today.

Selene seemed to be expecting Krische and today, instead of her usual sleepwear, she was dressed in her training clothes.

Sitting on a chair with her arms crossed, the first thing she said when she saw Krische was.

“Could you join me for a bout?”

Since Krische was looking for an opportunity to ‘talk’, she had no reason to refuse and that leads to the current situation.

Bery anxiously watched over them and Selene was gripping her sword too hard.

Selene had learnt the same physical enhancement that Bogan uses, but from what Krische observed, there is a lot of inefficiencies in the movements of her mana.

Selene is much weaker than Bogan, but she asked for a bout, so she must be asking for training, Krische came to that conclusion and honestly said what she was thinking.

“Ojou-sama, you are gathering too much mana around your right hand and left leg.”

By looking at the concentration of mana, Selene clearly intends to leap forward with her left leg and slash diagonally.

Krische could easily predict her movements.

“……haa?”

Selene grimaced, blushing.

Was it hard to understand? Krische chose to use the simpler words she usually used.

“Er……there is not enough of the ‘floofy thing’ to escape backwards. In that case you can only use it to step forward……like this.”

Krische stepped forward in a smooth motion and swung her sword towards Selene’s neck.

Bery screamed, but the sword stopped right before Selene’s neck and a moment later, Selene leapt backwards.

Selene uses a standard stance with the sword held in front and right leg forward.

The left leg behind can be used to move forward but is hard to use for dodging backwards.

“That will lead to losing in one move. But――”

Feeling the ‘floof’ move to Selene’s right leg, Krische stepped in again.

This time Selene dodged backwards before Krische’s sword could reach her.

“By moving the ‘floof’ to your forward leg, you can dodge the first attack.”

“Y, you……who do you think you are!”

Selene stepped forward this time.

Krische saw through her motions and did not move, letting Selene’s sword cut air, then thrust her sword to Selene’s throat and smiled.

“This time is the opposite. There is not enough ‘floof’ around the leg you used to step forward. Also you are tensing up and negating the strength of the ‘floof’.”

Selene made a large leap backwards.

From that short exchange, there was already beads of sweat on Selene’s forehead.

“The ‘floof’ is like very strong muscles, so you have relax your body. Trying to use your own muscles just gets in the way of the ‘floof’s’ movements, so Krische is always fully relaxed.”

“What, are you……”

Constructing imaginary muscles.

Physical enhancement using mana can be summed up with those words, by wrapping semi-physical mana around your body, you can control it and replace the stretching and contractions of muscles with mana.

This way, there is no need to tense up and using real muscles often gets in the way of the movements of the imaginary muscles.

But momentary tensing and stiffening of muscles happen subconsciously.

It is impossible to completely avoid and all masters that have come infinitely close to achieving this have spent their whole life training.

Selene knows that is how to theoretically achieve the perfected form of physical enhancement, but this girl that is not so different in age had easily demonstrated it.

A user of physical enhancement that has perfectly removed all inefficiencies can move exactly as they imagine.

Like a puppet controlled by their thoughts through mana.

Krische is completely relaxed with no stiffening or tension in her body.

“……? Krische is Krische.”

“That’s not what I’m, asking!”

Selene stepped forward.

This girl is something unknown.

She easily dodged Selene’s best attack and politely explained what was wrong with it.

Krische saw through Selene’s mistakes, explaining them like she was pointing out problems in a formula.

It was like she was observing Selene from an overwhelming height.

――Selene’s parents had wished for a son.

Bogan wished for an heir and so did her mother.

It is normal for nobles to wish for a son and even more so for a military family.

Of course, she was still loved and Selene was in no way dissatisfied with their love for her.

As first. Selene picked up the sword so that her parents could entrust the family name to her with peace of mind.

She worked quite hard and was said to be talented in her generation――but it was also said, ‘if only she is a man’.

Her parents told her there is no need to force herself, but Selene was infuriated.

Her parents still wished for a son, a second child and consulted a doctor about their infertility.

Her mother finally became pregnant with a second child, but her body was already weak in the first place, it ended in a stillbirth and after developing puerperal fever, her mother passed away.

Selene believed that if she had been born a man, this would not have happened.

Selene had heard of Krische from Gallen a few times.

Although Gallen could not use physical enhancement, he was her father’s former superior and his swordsmanship was wonderful, he was also good at teaching. Selene had begged a reluctant Gallen to teach her and during their breaks, Gallen had mentioned his granddaughter a few times.

A girl of similar age to Selene is already unbeatable not only by those of her age but also the adult men and is feared by the men. Even Gallen was not sure if he could beat her.

Gallen had been talking about being worried for Krische’s future, but Selene remembers Bogan voicing his interest to meet the girl that his captain calls a genius.

Selene worked even harder.

She did not want to admit that there was a girl better than her and wanted to believe that she also had the strength to defeat adults.

That’s why she felt very anxious when she heard that Bogan was adopting that girl because she had killed more than ten bandits and could no longer stay in the village.

Admitting Krische is superior would be like admitting her efforts until now was pointless.

Selene would be admitting that in the end, she is just a normal girl. She could not admit that a girl of similar age was better, she could not accept it.

But the girl right here, has clearly demonstrated it.

Selene swung her sword. Krische dodged. Krische pointed out Selene’s mistakes.

Krische made enough space or counter attacked to stop Selene from attacking a second time.

It was all Selene could do to dodge, she could only stare at those inhuman purple eyes as Krische used the timing when their swords could not reach each other to quickly point out Selene’s mistakes.

Those words were from a much higher position.

She precisely explained the problems that Selene had felt subconsciously, but could not identify the reasons behind.

Selene did not want to listen, but still heard them and almost subconsciously made corrections, surprising and vexing herself at the same time.

Selene just kept moving.

No matter how many times her attack failed, Selene kept moving.

Dodge, receive, attack.

But that did not last for long.

She finally reached the limits of her stamina and could no longer hold back her tears of frustration.

“Er…… are you okay?”

“Hic, sh, shut, up……”

Krische was dumbfounded when Selene suddenly crouched down and started crying.

Was I too strict? Krische considered that, but Krische had been teaching extremely kindly by Krische’s standards. Although Selene might be grateful, there is no reason for her to cry.

For now, Krische put down her sword and with no hesitation, hugged Selene.

The best way to deal with crying children is to give them a hug.

Krische applied what she had learnt.

Naturally, Selene struggled, but Krische did not let go.

Instead, Krische gently stroked Selene’s head as she cried.

Bery hovered around them, but chose to stay on the sidelines.

She could see that Krische was trying to comfort Selene.

“Sto, stop it, why, do you……”

“Krische learnt from Kaa-sama to do this for crying children. Krische does not really understand why ojou-sama is crying though.”

Krische declared that as she continued stroking Selene’s head, ignoring her struggles.

Eventually Selene gave up struggling and relaxed into Krische’s arms.

“Krische has not been able to talk to ojou-sama at all, so if possible Krische would like ojou-sama to stop crying so we can talk. We cannot talk while you are crying and it would be such a waste to not be able to talk today.”

“Talk……?”

“Yes, Krische wanted to talk to ojou-sama. It has been a week, yet we have not talked at all.”

Selene sniffed.

“That’s stupid. Talk, what do you even want to talk about……”

“Ah.”

Krische blushed.

“I didn’t think of that.”

Selene looked at Krische in surprise, tears still streaming down her face, and asked.

“……you, after coming to me so much this week and then be treated that way, don’t you hate me?”

“……? Krische does not remember being treated badly.”

“Just how carefree are you……”

“Carefree……?”

Krische cocked her head in confusion. Selene sniffled, then sighed.

“Haa……now I feel ridiculous. I feel so stupid for being so stubborn……”

“Krische thinks Ojou-sama studies a lot and is very smart though.”

“That’s not what I mean, aah, never mind……”

It is cold outside.

Krische is starting to want to go back inside and looked towards Bery.

Bery looked confused for a moment, then smiled and picked up the swords, calling to them to go back inside.

Krische nodded and picked up Selene in her arms.

“Wh, what are you doing, let me go, I can walk by myself……”

“Fufu, Krische-sama, please carry ojou-sama to her room. I will clean up and then come up. It is a bit late, but I will bring some tea.”

“Okay……”

Krische nodded with a smile and headed back to Selene’s room with Selene struggling in her arms.

Bery’s request is more important to Krische than Selene.

Perhaps because she was seen crying or because she was carried back, Selene was sulking after they got back to her room, burying her bright red face under the blankets.

Bery dragged her out by force, distributed the leftover cookies from lunch and brewed tea, setting up a small night tea party.

While they drank the sweetened tea, Krische reviewed the training they had just done, unable to think of anything else to talk about. Selene was unwilling but still listened.

No matter how Selene felt, Krische’s explanation is clear and simple.

Selene is passionate about the sword and could not stay indifferent.

Soon she started asking questions and eventually those questions turned to how Krische learned those skills and how her life was like.

Krische answered matter-of-factly, not showing any emotion, but her story made Selene imagine what Krische must have felt. Feeling guilty, Selene explained about herself and why she treated Krische badly, then apologised sincerely.

Krische felt there was nothing for Selene to apologise for but Selene insisted and they continued back and forth for a while.

Smiling wryly, Bery threw both of them into the same bed, telling them to continue in bed.

Obtaining a nice, warm body pillow to hug, Krische quickly fell asleep. Selene watched her with an exasperated expression, but was tired and quickly fell asleep.

“……this girl.”

When Selene woke up the next morning, Krische was still blissfully asleep.

Watching her, Selene once again felt that she had been ridiculous and smiled wryly as she stroked Krische’s head.

Krische’s eyes opened slightly, she rubbed them sleepily then greeted Selene sleepily.

“Good morning, ojou-sama.”

“Just call me Selene.”

“Selene……?”

“……yes. It’s still early, you can sleep a little longer.”

“Oka……”

When Selene petted Krische’s head again, Krische hugged Selene and quickly returned to her blissful slumber.

As Selene listened to Krische’s breathing, she fell asleep, oversleeping for the first time in a while. They slept until Bery woke them up with a wry smile.

Selene and Bery.

This is how Krische met these two people, whom she will have a long relationship with.

-End-