Chapter 230
Interaction
Translator : PolterGlast
We all played a card game together, but in terms of
excitement, it was somewhat lacking. Led by Aoi, Lia and Anne
were having a great time making a fuss, but the newly arrived members still had
an air of awkwardness about them. However, I could see them itching to join in
here and there, and I feel like they could open up all at once if the timing
just aligned.
The next day arrived while I was thinking about such things. After everyone ate breakfast,
we plan to hold mock battles in the courtyard starting this morning. Following
yesterday's card game, Aoi, Lia, and Anne were fired up,
and Gree, who hadn't been enthusiastic yesterday, had been restless
since the morning.
「Sato-san, the weather is pleasant, isn't it. All four of them
are really fired up, and I'm glad we've been blessed with clear skies.」
「Lia, Gree, and Anne are one thing, but I have my
doubts about Aoi getting so intensely fired up.」
「I think it's easier for Tracy-san
and the others to participate if she's that fired up, you know?」
Hmm... Rather than trying to get Tracy and the others
used to things, it looks like Aoi is conscious about not letting them
look down on her. After doing surprisingly thorough stretches, she was even
doing shadow training with complete seriousness. Well, it might be true that
not being overly concerned about what others think might actually make it
easier to blend in.
「Is everyone ready? What should we do
first. For now, as a light warm-up, how about everyone tries a mock battle with
me?」
「I'll do it, I'll do it! I'm going
first!」
「Ah, Aoi-chan, that's unfair!
I want to fight Graham-sama first too!」
「Nooo way! It's a meritocracy here,
so weak people don't have the right!」
Lightly provoking Lia, Aoi stepped forward
holding a wooden short sword. Lia puffed out her cheeks, but even I
couldn't help but think Aoi was the most suitable for the first match.
「Well then, here I go! Are you ready,
Graham?」
「Yeah. Anytime.」
At the exact same time I gave that signal, Aoi
charged in. Lowering her upper body as much as possible, Aoi approached
as if slipping underneath, but paying it no mind, I remained motionless in my
stance. Sure enough, Aoi stopped right at the edge of my range and began
circling around me while performing footwork.
Excited voices rose from Mal and Hayden at
such fast and tricky movements, but to me, it was nothing more than a trivial
movement. After throwing in numerous feints, Aoi finally launched an
attack while circling around to my back. Normally, one might be toyed with, but
for me, who could react in time even after Aoi launched her attack, all
her movements were meaningless.
I swung my sword down with about 50% of my strength against Aoi's
incoming short sword.
「Fugyaa!」
Letting out a pathetic cry, Aoi rolled across the
ground. Because she had allocated everything to her offense, she was sent
flying quite spectacularly.
「Will Lia fight next?」
「Yes! I look forward to your
instruction!」
Lia readied
her weapon as if switching places with Aoi, and I proceeded to exchange
blows with everyone one after another. Their capabilities are still at a level
where I could handle them without even using a sword, but compared to the early
days, their growth is amazing. Gree in particular was coming to defeat
me seriously, and his swings had become visibly faster. Even so, it will
probably take at least a few more years before he can win against Aoi,
but he is showing good growth.
And next was finally Tracy's turn. She seemed
nervous, and her body had become completely stiff.
「Have you ever held a weapon, Tracy?」
「Only lightly. However, I have never
fought seriously like everyone else.」
「In that case, I want you to attack
me with all your might while switching between various weapons first. I think
you understand from watching the battles up to this point, but it's fine to
slash at me seriously.」
「Understood. I will attack with all
my might without thinking about anything.」
Tracy, who
seemed to have made up her mind, first attacked holding a simple wooden sword.
Because there was no unity in her movement and the power wasn't transmitted to
the sword, its sharpness was close to zero, but it was good that she slashed at
me with all her might just as she was told. From there, I had her try a short
sword, spear, wooden mallet, and staff, intending to have her use the weapon
that felt the most right to her from here on out.
After Tracy came Mal, followed by Peter
and Hayden. Only Hayden chose the spear, while everyone else ended
up using wooden swords. Partly because they slashed at me seriously, they were
all exhausted and looked ready to collapse at any moment. However, there is no
such thing as holding back in a mock battle, and it seemed they hadn't even
reached the thought of trying to hold back; they showed me their true selves
for the first time.
More than anything, all four of them looked like they were
having fun, and that is what makes me happier than anything else.
From here, we will hold a round-robin tournament with their
chosen weapons. As far as I can see, there is a gap between them and Lia's
group, so the four of them will do a round-robin amongst themselves. For the
other side, I'll have Lia, Gree, Anne, Aoi, and Ginia
fight each other, and I basically intend to stick close to Tracy's group
and instruct them.
At first, I want them to relax and enjoy themselves, so I have no intention of nitpicking the details. Yesterday's card game ended up being a dud, but the mock battles have already yielded results that can be called a huge success, so I want to keep going like this while simply making sure no one gets injured.
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