During the first few hours, Taliah made it quite clear that she had never lived in a place like that.
She observed everything, asked a lot of questions, and compared absolutely everything to the capital.
"The streets are very small."
She said while Draven guided her through the town.
"They’re not that small."
"In the capital they’re wider."
"This isn’t the capital."
"I know that."
They walked a little farther and Taliah looked at a house.
"Do people live there?"
Draven followed her gaze.
"Of course they do."
"It looks small."
Draven looked at her and Taliah reacted.
"What?"
"That sounded bad."
"I just said it looks small."
"Yeah, I heard you clearly."
"And isn’t it?"
"..."
At that silence, Taliah frowned.
"Then I’m right."
Draven sighed.
"The problem isn’t whether you’re right."
"Then what?"
"That you can sound like you’re insulting people."
Taliah’s eyes widened slightly.
"I wasn’t insulting anyone."
"I know."
"Then I don’t see the problem."
Draven thought for a moment.
"Imagine someone visits your house but says it’s too big and that you must be spending money on unnecessary things."
Taliah fell silent.
"That would be rude."
"Exactly."
She looked at the house again.
"I understand."
Draven smiled.
"That’s what your father wanted you to learn, right?"
Taliah watched him.
"Maybe."
They kept walking and Draven showed her the plaza, the small shops, the blacksmith, the fields, even the area where some families raised animals.
Taliah seemed interested, though every so often she said something that forced Draven to correct her.
"Don’t they have public magic fountains?"
"No."
"That seems inconvenient."
"It is."
"In the capital there are several."
"I know."
"Have you been?"
Draven stopped.
’I mustn’t sound suspicious.’
"I read about it."
Taliah nodded.
"You read a lot."
"That’s right."
"So do I."
"What do you read?"
"History."
"Just history?"
"And sword manuals."
Draven turned his head.
"Sword?"
Taliah looked at him.
"Yes."
That part did match.
The Valdegrim were known for their swordsmanship and Eliot had been a prodigy, so if Taliah was taking his place...
"Do you practice?"
Draven asked.
"Every day."
"So do I."
For the first time since she had arrived, Taliah’s expression showed real interest.
"You?"
"Yes."
"With whom?"
"With someone named Yruza."
Taliah didn’t recognize the name, so Draven added.
"She’s a friend."
That was simpler than explaining the whole situation with Fernus.
"Is she good?"
Draven remembered the twenty-seven losses from his other life.
"Very."
Taliah lifted her chin slightly.
"Then I want to see what you know."
Draven smiled.
"Is that a challenge?"
"Of course it is."
"All right."
It didn’t take them long to get two wooden swords.
Draven had several at home thanks to his training with Yruza, so Taliah took one, checked the weight, and then performed two basic movements.
Draven stopped smiling.
’That’s way too clean.’
Her stance was correct, her feet were well placed, the way she held the sword was almost perfect, and she was still only ten years old.
"Ready?"
Taliah asked, to which Draven took position.
"Yes, completely ready."
Kevar and Kali watched from a certain distance.
Taliah attacked first and Draven blocked, but the impact was much stronger than he expected, so he stepped back.
Taliah advanced immediately with a second attack, which Draven deflected, and on the third he ducked.
’She’s fast.’
Draven used what Yruza had taught him.
He didn’t try to compete in strength; instead he started moving, controlling distance, and waiting for a mistake.
Taliah attacked again, but Draven took a lateral step to strike toward her shoulder, so Taliah blocked and both separated their swords.
"Good."
She said, to which Draven smiled.
"Thanks."
"But you’re slow."
"I guess that wasn’t a compliment anymore."
Taliah attacked again, but this time Draven was prepared, so the exchange lasted longer and he finally managed to touch Taliah’s side.
She stayed still, looked at the sword, and then at Draven.
"I won."
He said, so Taliah frowned.
"Again."
Draven let out a small laugh.
"Gladly."
The second one ended with Taliah’s sword touching his neck.
"Tie."
She said.
"Although technically you’re winning."
Draven won the third fight and Taliah won the fourth, as well as the fifth, but the sixth went to Draven.
When they finished, both were breathing hard, so Taliah sat on the grass and Draven did the same.
"You learned well."
She said and Draven looked at her.
"You too."
That was an understatement.
Taliah’s technique was much more polished.
Draven had learned with Yruza and had quite a bit of practice for his age, but a large part of his advantage came from knowing some combat principles from the videogame along with using small mana reinforcements.
Taliah had superior fundamentals, since her movements seemed to have been corrected thousands of times.
’Just like Eliot.’
Draven felt that discomfort again.
Everything else matched, even the competitive personality, only Eliot was no longer there, because now it was Taliah.
"Again tomorrow?"
She asked, so Draven looked at her.
"You want to continue?"
"I want to win more."
Draven smiled.
"Then you’ll have to work hard."
Taliah narrowed her eyes.
"I’m winning."
"By a little."
"That still counts as winning."
"We’ll see tomorrow."
Taliah extended a hand and Draven looked at it.
"What?"
"Deal."
Draven shook her hand.
"Deal."
A small window appeared in front of his eyes.
[The bond with Taliah Valdegrim has been strengthened.]
Draven stayed motionless while Taliah let go of his hand.
"What’s wrong?"
"No, nothing."
The window disappeared, so Draven looked at the girl in front of him with golden hair and violet eyes, with extraordinary talent for the sword.
That descendant of the Valdegrim had, apparently, taken the place of the hero he remembered.
’So you count too.’
That confirmed something important: the blessing recognized her as someone relevant, very relevant, probably.
Draven smiled again.
"What’s with you?"
Taliah asked.
"Nothing important."
"You’re acting weird."
"People tell me that a lot."
Taliah stood up.
"Tomorrow I’m going to beat you."
Draven also got to his feet.
"That’s what you said today."
"And I won more times."
"By one."
"One is enough."
Draven watched her walk away toward the house and then looked at his own hands.
The bond had reacted.
That meant Taliah Valdegrim was truly occupying Eliot’s place in this story, and that opened a much bigger problem.
’If the protagonist changed sex...’
Draven frowned.
’What other things changed radically?’
There was something he couldn’t deny.
Taliah was strong, she had talent, and training with her could help him a lot.
The next day they faced each other again, and the day after that as well, then again.
Sometimes Draven won, other times Taliah.
Neither wanted to accept a defeat easily and, without Draven realizing it, that childish rivalry began to turn into another important relationship in his new life.
A relationship that the original game had never shown him.