A man and a woman stood facing each other in the clearing, each holding a keen-edged sword.
It was not a sight one encountered often.
Especially not at this hour before dawn.
Erdin suddenly wondered what they were doing and opened her mouth.
The man was still smiling.
“What do you mean by putting our lives at stake?”
“Exactly what I said. Think of this not as a sparring match, but as a real battle.”
“That is what I am asking. What do you⋯”
“Focus.”
His smile vanished in an instant.
A chilling green gleam shone from his eyes as he glared at her.
Her spine stiffened, and her breathing quickened.
Erdin swallowed dryly without realizing it.
“Take this seriously. Otherwise, I truly will kill you.”
His voice sounded like a broom scraping across parched earth.
“Ugh⋯.”
A thick, cloying killing intent abruptly wrapped itself around her entire body.
At the same time, her breath caught in her throat.
Is that man truly trying to kill me?
All of a sudden? Why?
Every fine hair on her body stood on end.
“⋯!”
Just as those questions crossed her mind, his figure closed the distance in an instant.
Erdin swung the sword in her hand almost entirely on reflex.
It was a Steel Sword, but she had no leisure to concern herself with that.
Her survival instinct was screaming an urgent warning.
‘Straight ahead⋯ No, from the left!’
The moment the thought occurred to her, she changed the direction of her sword.
The blade that had been thrusting straight toward her abruptly changed course and drove toward her left side.
The man had pretended to clash swords with her before twisting his body around.
CLANG—!
She barely managed to block the blade.
Her brief sense of relief lasted only a moment.
‘It is not over.’
Her instincts told her as much.
However, she had no idea what form the next attack would take.
In that case—
‘Attack!’
Her body moved of its own accord, carrying out the fastest attack available to her.
She drove her left elbow directly toward his face.
However, he naturally received the blow with his shoulder.
‘Immediately follow up!’
She changed the angle of their already-crossed blades and lunged into the man’s guard.
Just as she tried to drive the Pommel into his chin—
THUD.
“Ugh!”
Her head rang.
Her vision tilted toward the sky.
⋯What was that? Ah, a headbutt.
The instant she understood what had happened, she reflexively swung her sword in a wide horizontal arc.
It naturally collided with the man’s sword.
SLICE—.
Hm? What was that sound?
Her sword had been cut apart.
That was right.
Quite literally, her sword had been severed.
“Haa… Haa… What in the world…?”
She stared blankly at the sword, which had been cleanly split in two.
It was cut this cleanly? Could it be?
She hurriedly raised her head and looked toward the man.
“Th-That is… impossible….”
At the same time, her eyes widened in shock.
HUM—!
A faint reddish glow surrounded the blade of his sword.
It was Mana.
No, although it was weak, it was coating the blade, so should it be called Aura?
An eighteen-year-old man who had only just reached the level of a Sword User was wielding Aura?
“A-A Sword Owner….”
It was the highest level of the Sword Expert realm.
Among Sword Experts, who were considered high-ranking knights, a Sword Owner stood at the very peak and had begun to wield Aura in earnest.
It was a realm that knights who devoted their entire lives to the sword could only hope to reach in their mid-forties.
Even that assumed they possessed talent.
Then what in the world was the man standing before her?
“No. Even if you judge me generously, I am merely a Sword Expert. For now, at least.”
Along with his answer, the faint Aura vanished cleanly.
At the same time, the killing intent constricting Erdin disappeared.
THUMP.
She collapsed onto the ground without realizing it.
However, her gaze remained fixed on the man’s sword.
Two seconds—no, perhaps three.
It had been brief, but that had unquestionably been Aura.
Still looking somewhat dazed, Erdin asked without realizing it.
“But… j-just now, was that not Aura?”
“Displaying Mana along the edge of a sword is not particularly difficult. It is closer to a somewhat elaborate trick.”
The man smiled wearily and sheathed his sword once more.
“A trick, you say? But it actually…”
Her gaze flickered toward the sword that had been split in two before her.
“The technique is called ‘Parrying.’”
“…You call that Parrying?”
Parrying.
It was a technique in which one anticipated the path of an opponent’s attack and lightly deflected it with one’s weapon or body.
It was different from blocking or evading.
One forcefully redirected the opponent’s attack during a split-second opening.
When successful, it allowed one to defend with minimal effort while simultaneously setting up a counterattack.
Naturally, it was an extraordinarily difficult technique.
It was not something an ordinary Full Knight could speak of lightly.
“To be precise, it is an application of that technique. One might call it ‘Offensive Parry.’ You understand the basic principles of Parrying, do you not?”
“I believe that I do, but….”
Unlike Erdin, who hesitated slightly, the man’s tone remained perfectly calm.
He seemed to assume that she naturally understood.
“Then it is simple. You merely use Parrying at the moment you attack. Imagine releasing Aura instantaneously at the point of impact. That is an Offensive Parry. In truth, it is not especially difficult.”
“What do you mean…?”
“Since I am not a Sword Master and cannot continuously pour out Aura, learning little tricks like this can be useful.”
A little trick?
Was that not practically a divine technique?
She had never heard of a knight who was not a Sword Master using a technique of this caliber.
And yet, strangely enough, Erdin did not find his explanation completely absurd.
It would be difficult, certainly, but was it truly impossible?
The man watched her expression and grinned.
“You will probably understand it naturally someday. After all, the one who taught it to me was also you….”
“What?”
“…A talented knight much like you.”
Though her personality was terrible. She tormented me endlessly for being unable to do even this. Tsk.
The man continued grumbling under his breath.
As she watched him, Erdin finally regained her awareness of the situation.
She glared at him with a somewhat resentful expression.
“⋯Then what was that killing intent earlier?”
“You could consider it a type of examination or test.”
“A test?”
“I will come straight to the point. Join the Lion Knights.”
What?
“What⋯ did you say?”
The question in her mind escaped her lips before she could stop it.
“Why? Do you not wish to?”
Was he teasing her?
His expression was far too serious for that.
“That is not what I mean⋯ Why are you asking me when I lost?”
“Hmm. From what I can see, your ability does not match your talent. Of course, your skill is already outstanding for someone your age. But it is nowhere near the level your natural talent should have brought you. Judging by your personality, you do not seem like someone who neglects her training. Am I wrong?”
“⋯I believe I train hard enough that I have no reason to feel ashamed of myself.”
“Then there is only one answer. It is the environment surrounding you.”
Pure confusion appeared on Erdin’s face.
She had never expected him to say such a thing.
“My environment⋯?”
“Yes. It may be inappropriate for me to say this, but the Northshine Knights are⋯ merely adequate. I am not trying to insult them. That is simply how they appear to me. House Northshine is certainly a renowned knightly house, but that is all.”
“You are saying that a better environment exists?”
“That is correct. It may sound strange coming from me, but the Lion Knights are precisely such a place.”
“I know that the Lion Knights are renowned throughout the continent. What knight born in the North has never admired them?”
Erdin was no exception.
The Lion Knights were effectively the symbol of the North’s military might.
Their prestige might have faded somewhat in recent years, but they still remained an object of admiration to her.
“I am not merely speaking of their reputation⋯ Think about the sparring match we just had. Then compare it to those we fought earlier today.”
“⋯.”
Her first thought was that she had lost both times.
Did that make eight consecutive defeats?
The instant she frowned at the thought, Glen continued.
“As the person who faced you in both situations, I can say this with certainty: you were at your best just now. Why do you think that was?”
I performed best just now? Why?
All I did was⋯.
“⋯Because I thought I was going to die.”
The man nodded as though she had given the correct answer.
“Yes. It may sound strange, but I truly intended to kill you just now.”
Erdin had felt that herself.
She had never experienced such viscous killing intent in her life.
“People react to mortal danger in many different ways. However, there are rare individuals like you among them—those who resist death and evolve.”
Erdin stared blankly at the man.
“The principle is simple. You do not wish to die, so you evolve in order to survive. And that is what the Lion Knights are.”
“What do you mean by that⋯?”
“The Lion Knights constantly face mortal danger. That is what it means to hold back the Orcs at the border. Therefore, they are always training to overcome death. Their training is exceedingly harsh, much like a blizzard in the North.”
“⋯Are you saying…”
The man shrugged.
“Join the Lion Knights. I will write you a letter of recommendation.”
“How can you be certain that I will grow stronger there?”
“Why does a knight wish to become stronger? Honor? Advancement? Personal satisfaction? For the Lion Knights, the answer is survival. If they do not become stronger, they die. That is why I believe it is the perfect place for you. Our match just now convinced me.”
Another knight order⋯.
She had never even considered it.
But the Lion Knights?
It would have been a lie to claim that the idea did not interest her.
⋯Would Father permit it?
As Erdin sank into those thoughts, she heard the man chuckle.
“No matter how much I say, it will only sound as though I am boasting about my own order. Take your time and think about it.”
With that, he slowly began to leave.
Erdin stared blankly at his retreating back, but he suddenly turned around and spoke.
“I will say it again. You are a genius. I can guarantee that. So stop feeling dejected merely because you lost to me. It does not suit you at all⋯”
“When did I ever do that? I was only⋯ thinking.”
“Then let us leave it at that. I will see you tomorrow.”
“….”
“Ah, let us keep the matter concerning my Aura a secret between the two of us.”
“Very… well.”
When she answered reluctantly, he turned and disappeared without the slightest hesitation.
⋯What in the world is that man?
Erdin suddenly realized that she was still sitting on the ground and rose to her feet.
A cold wind swept past, sending her golden hair fluttering.
At the same time, the sword split in two entered her field of vision.
“Hmm…”
Aura, of all things.
Honestly, when the difference between them was this vast, she felt more admiration and curiosity than jealousy or resentment.
After all, would it not be strange to feel jealous of a natural disaster?
That did not mean her competitive spirit had vanished entirely.
She calmly recalled the sparring match they had just fought.
Her decisions had been faster and more immediate than usual, and her actions had been bolder.
Even when she assessed herself objectively, she had certainly performed better than before.
It would not be unreasonable to say that she had grown, if only slightly.
“Haa⋯.”
Once she thought of it that way, she felt strangely refreshed.
It was as though the suffocating confusion clouding her thoughts had suddenly cleared away.
With complicated emotions, she looked in the direction Glen had disappeared.
Should I thank him?
No, that would be strange.
He had clearly tried to kill me.
What exactly was that Aura? He said it was a technique similar to Parrying? Why does he wish to keep it secret?
As countless questions filled her mind, she recalled his infuriating smile.
“⋯What an irritating man.”
The sunlight that had risen before she knew it brushed across her hair.