LGHTNOVELBOOK 7 - It's a Secret
In the early morning as the sun was just beginning to rise.
Thwack! Thwack!
The sound of a blunt training sword striking a scarecrow echoes throughout the Dibos mansion.
The one continuing her training with her sky-blue hair fluttering is Sheena Astorius; the sword of the hardworking genius shows no signs of stopping.
Crack!
The training sword, wielded with heavy force, smashed the scarecrow halfway.
“Hmm, Miss Sheena. Even though we’ve become friends, destroying your friend’s property so mercilessly is… Ah, perhaps in the Kirinus Empire, it’s considered polite to damage a friend’s belongings?”
I approached with a very troubled expression while watching Sheena from a distance.
“…! Mr. Sion, how long have you been watching?”
“I felt someone’s presence in the training ground early this morning, so I came to check, but it seems I’ve caught you at a bad time. Ah, since it’s come to this, let me bring you a spare scarecrow. Please don’t hold back and feel free to destroy your friend’s property to your heart’s content.”
“Oh, you misunderstand! I don’t have a hobby of damaging my friend’s belongings!”
“For someone who doesn’t, you were smashing it quite refreshingly…”
“This is… I’m sorry. I will definitely compensate for this scarecrow that I accidentally destroyed.”
Ah, seeing her apologizing while taking my joke seriously makes me laugh involuntarily.
“No, no. How could I dare to ask the noble Miss Sheena for compensation? I’ll somehow manage with my pocket money, so please don’t worry about it.”
“No, if Mr. Sion says that, then I become an inconsiderate person who destroys a friend’s property without taking responsibility… No, no! I will definitely compensate for it. If you refuse until the end, I’ll really get upset, so you should know better.”
“Khu-uh. Ah, I understand. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
Sheena tilted her head upon seeing my laughter that burst out for a moment. Before she could question it, I changed the topic.
“By the way, Miss Sheena, you’re really diligent. To wield your sword so early in the morning. If everyone in the world were as hardworking as Miss Sheena, the world would be completely different.”
“Mr. Sion, who speaks like that, has also woken up early, hasn’t he?”
“Ah, I was sleeping soundly, but I was inevitably awakened by the noise made by an unnecessarily diligent person from the morning…”
“Either compliment or criticize, but pick just one!”
“Hahaha, I’m just joking, Miss Sheena.”
I approached her slowly, laughing frivolously.
Then, grabbing a practice sword from the stand, I said.
“Miss Sheena, since we’re both at the training ground so early in the morning by coincidence, how about continuing the sparring we did yesterday?”
“Sparring, you say? I’m fine with it, but…”
Sheena slightly frowned, as if recalling yesterday’s disaster.
“That time, wasn’t it because Miss Sheena deliberately approached the sparring seriously because she wanted to bully me? This time, please adjust your level to mine appropriately.”
“I never wanted to bully Mr. Sion!”
“Of course not. May I ask for a favor, then? I’ve been concerned about those two powers that Miss Sheena mentioned yesterday.”
“Of course. Take this opportunity to fully showcase your capabilities.”
Sheena nodded and turned around, moving away from me, and I slightly smirked.
One of the nicknames Grand Fantasia users call Sheena.
‘Experience Vending Machine.’
When sparring with Sheena, the character’s trait experience increases at a very rapid rate.
However, Sheena is a very busy person at the academy. Therefore, to set up a sparring appointment with her, one had to build up a certain level of affection, and even then, one could only schedule a sparring match once a week at most.
But now, it’s before the academy reopens, and I am her friend. Unlike in the game, I can request sparring as I please.
‘I should accumulate a lot of Counterforce experience while I have the chance. And I need to develop some basic combat sense.’
Until two days ago, I was just a person who worked part-time jobs day by day and played computer games. There’s no way I’d know how to fight.
For someone like me, sparring with Sheena is an opportunity flowing with honey and milk.
“I’m ready! How about you, Miss Sheena?”
“I’m ready too. Let’s begin.”
Firmly gripping the blunt training sword, I rushed towards Sheena.
Clang!
My training sword was easily blocked.
Naturally, anticipating this situation, I was about to withdraw my sword-
“Ah…!”
But I couldn’t.
Like water flowing, Sheena deflected my sword and closed in on me.
She forcefully pushed me down with her shoulder, then pinned me down and pointed the training sword at my neck.
This happened in less than 10 seconds from the start of the sparring.
“If this were a real battle, Mr. Sion would be dead right now.”
“If it were a real battle, I would have run away the moment I saw Miss Sheena. By the way, how is my skill?”
“Hmm… It’s a free-form swordsmanship that’s not trapped by formalities.”
“In other words, it lacks fundamentals, right?”
“Do you want to trample on my sincere effort to not hurt your feelings?”
“Oops, that wasn’t my intention. By the way, Miss Sheena, how about getting up now?”
Sheena briefly looked down, then blushed and quickly got up.
“I, I apologize for the discourtesy.”
“Miss Sheena is as light as a feather… Ah, I shouldn’t lie. Well, you’re as light as a pebble, so it wasn’t much of a burden.”
Sheena’s face hardened, looking at me coldly, seemingly displeased with my comparison.
“…I’ll take that as a compliment. This time, I’ll attack Mr. Sion, so please respond to the best of your ability.”
“Ah, Miss Sheena? Somehow your eyes seem different? It’s scary!”
“Please grab your sword.”
Sheena swings her sword with the same look in her eyes as yesterday. But the speed is noticeably slower than before.
Unlike yesterday when I missed the counterattack timing because it was too fast, at this speed… it might be possible.
Clang!
“Oops!”
As I activated Counterforce with the right timing, my sword deflected Sheena’s sword and directly hit her shoulder.
“Oh, I was lucky. I blocked Miss Sheena’s sword… Miss Sheena? Is there a problem?”
I was scratching my head with a hearty laugh, but upon noticing that Sheena’s expression was unusual, I carefully asked.
“What was that just now?”
“What? Unfortunately, since I’ve lost my memory, there’s a limit to what I can understand when you speak so abstractly.”
“I’m talking about that technique where you completely neutralized my attack and immediately attacked me just now.”
“Hmm… even if you say that, it’s hard for me, who is completely ignorant about swordsmanship, to understand. Can’t others do it?”
She nodded vigorously to my question. She seemed very excited about something.
“The technique Mr. Sion just showed is impossible by normal common sense. Even my brother might not be able to perform such a technique… Oh, could it be?”
Sheena, who had been speaking excitedly, suddenly opened her eyes wide as if she had realized something, and muttered.
“Perhaps one of the two powers that Mr. Sion possesses is exactly this… Mr. Sion, can you do that technique again?”
“Of course. If it’s Miss Sheena’s request, I’ll do it even if my body breaks down.”
Normally, she would have objected upon hearing my words, but for the current Sheena who has discovered an unknown territory, such minor elements don’t seem to matter.
If Weak Strike is this much… what about Medium Strike? I suddenly became curious about her reaction.
“Then, here I come.”
Sheena’s sword rushes towards me once more.
Watching her sword while holding my breath, I activated Medium Strike at the right timing.
Clang!
My training sword, which absorbed Sheena’s sword strike, directly hit her wrist.
“…?”
Sheena couldn’t hide her confusion at my counterattack, which was much stronger than before. Isn’t this exactly what an earthling’s dumbfounded face would look like upon seeing an alien’s technology?
For her, who boasts the greatest talent among humanity, to show such a half-dazed appearance was nothing short of the greatest reward for me.
[Main Character — Sheena Astorius holds you in awe]
[You receive 500 points as a reward]
Oh, the points are sweet.
“Miss Sheena? If you could say something…”
I waved my hands in front of her eyes as she couldn’t easily escape from her confusion, but my bizarre action was so shocking that it seems it will take some time for her to return to her normal state.
“Miss Sheena has died— no, hardened while standing!”
“…What? Miss Sheena? You’ve finally gone crazy?!”
Just then, a voice with a sharp aura was heard from the entrance of the training ground.
“Oh! Isn’t it Lady Frelia? I was just about to go wake her up, but this is unfortunate!”
“Be quiet. And, how long will you keep calling me by my family name? I don’t mind, but other people might find it strange if siblings call each other by their family names, so just call me by my name.”
Chloe, who was sighing, approached me with big steps, grabbed my ear, and whispered.
“By the way, haven’t you come to your senses? What discourtesy are you committing to Lady Astorius? I explained yesterday that it’s impolite to call someone by their first name when you’ve just met…”
“Hmm… your words are just, but between friends, wouldn’t it be fine to call each other by their first names?”
“What are you talking about? You’ve only met for about a day, how can you be friends?”
I shook my finger and head, speaking with an attitude as if looking at an ignorant person.
“Tsk tsk, Tloe. Unlike your old-fashioned way of thinking, today’s world moves at a speed.”
“T-Tloe?”
Chloe frowned as her name changed into some stiff appellation. I opened my mouth as if to show her.
“Miss Sheena, are you feeling better now?”
“…Honestly, I still don’t fully understand. May I ask you to do it once more? Mr. Sion?”
“Mr. Sion…?”
Hearing the words that came from Sheena’s mouth, Chloe’s eyes trembled, and she immediately grabbed my collar and whispered quietly.
“What on earth did you do to bake and boil Lady Astorius?! Lady Astorius is famous for not giving her heart to others!”
Is that so? It was easy though.
“Hmm, well…”
“Well…?”
To that question, I slightly raised the corners of my mouth and answered cunningly.
“It’s a secret.”