CH 108

Words : 955 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

I started my sword training As I watched Tilura with Leo, I thought about how much her laugh resembled Ms. Claire’s. But I suppose it was no surprise, because they were sisters. Once they had greeted each other, Leo got to her feet and stretched her limbs. She was fully awake now. “So that’s what you do when you wake up, Leo.” “Wuff.” Tilura was looking at Leo stretch with great interest. Her feeling of nervousness seemed to be completely gone now. Tilura always seemed to be at her most normal when playing with Leo or Sherry. Now that Leo was awake, she played with Tilura for a while and the time passed peacefully. And then Ms. Lyra arrived to tell us that breakfast was ready, and so we went down to the dining hall together. “Good morning, Ms. Claire. …I see that Mr. Ekenhart isn’t here again?” “Good morning, Mr. Takumi. That’s right. He hasn’t come down yet.” “Good morning, sister. And Sherry.” “Wuff. Wuff!” “Kyuu!” I greeted Ms. Claire, who was already waiting for us, and then asked about Mr. Ekenhart. “Morning, all. Ah, I see Mr. Takumi and Tilura are here.” “Good morning, Mr. Ekenhart.” “Father… Good morning.” The sight of her father seemed to bring back the nervousness, and Tilura’s face grew tense. Hmm. And it had been such a relaxing time as she played with Sherry… Well, it was probably good to be nervous when it came to training… I think. “Have you finished eating?” “Yes.” “I ate a lot!” As Mr. Ekenhart scanned the room to see that we had finished eating, Sebastian stepped in from the side. However, just like yesterday, Mr. Ekenhart did not want to eat. And then he looked at me and Tilura and nodded. “All right, you two are ready then. I think we better begin. As for the place…” “Perhaps the back garden?” “Indeed. Then we will train in the back garden.” “Yes!” “Certainly!” As Sebastian had suggested, the back garden was large enough so that you could swing a sword without disturbing anyone. And so Mr. Ekenhart decided it was the best place. Tilura and I braced ourselves and replied. The training would finally begin. I was starting to feel a little nervous as well… Aside from knowing that we would be handling swords, I had no idea what Mr. Ekenhart would make us do… Perhaps it would start with simply swinging through the air? Or maybe we would learn the right way to hold them? I tried to guess what it would be as I returned to my room in order to retrieve the sword. And then I headed to the garden where the others waited. “Good, you’re both here now. Are you ready, Mr. Takumi and Tilura?” Me and Tilura stood side by side, and Mr. Ekenhart stood in front of us. He looked at us and nodded. Ms. Claire, Sebastian, and even Ms. Lyra and Ms. Gelda was in the garden as well. Apparently, they wanted to watch. Leo and Sherry were also sitting quietly near Ms. Claire and looking our way. Well, Sherry was on Leo’s back and seemed to be enjoying herself. “First, you must learn how to hold your weapon. You are both right handed, yes?” “That’s right.” “Yes.” Mr. Ekenhart unsheathed the sword at his waist, and showed us how to grip it. The blade of his sword was very long. I suppose it would have been categorized as a longsword. The handle was decorated, and the blade was polished so that it reflected the sunlight. …It looked very expensive. Tilura and I were wielding much smaller short swords. Hers looked a little heavy and unwieldy, but I suppose they had nothing for someone of her height. Besides, even if they did have something that fitted her, it would likely be of little use in actual combat. And so the two of us watched Mr. Ekenhart and copied the way he gripped the handle. “That’s right. Now, hold it like that and swing. And remember to focus on the direction that the blade is facing. And swing it so that it follows the trajectory you have set!” Mr. Ekenhart swung as if to show us an example. It was so fast and powerful, that I thought it would scare away little children who watched. While I doubted we would be expected to do it exactly the same, we would have to get close… This training was not going to be easy. “Like this? Hmmph! …It hurts.” Tilura watched her father swing and then copied the movement. But she was not used to the weight of the sword, and it swung down to the ground instead. Her hands became numb, and her eyes welled up with tears… “Now, that will not do, Tilura. It didn’t follow any trajectory. It won’t matter how great a sword you have, you will never be able to cut something like that.” And so under Mr. Ekenhart’s guidance, I swung my sword a few times. It seemed like I was getting better? It was then that he told us to sheath our swords again. “…Now you know how to swing them. However…you two are being swung by your swords. Of course, it’s only natural for beginners.” “Sorry…” “Yes…” Yes, we really weren’t used to the weight, and so we could not focus on the direction of the blade or its trajectory. So I did not think he was wrong when saying I wasn’t swinging the blade, so much as I was being swung by it.

CH 108

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