Chapter 23
“Hey, everyone! Looks like Lisandera-san is going to spar with someone!”
“Seriously? Is she fighting that old guy? Who is he?”
“Who knows... He doesn’t look much like an adventurer, though...”
The place was buzzing.
It was only natural. Black-Rank adventurers were the envy of all adventurers, and it was no surprise that a crowd would gather to watch her spar.
It would’ve made for a better spectacle if her opponent weren’t an old guy like me.
“This is the guild’s training ground. I believe the size should be sufficient.”
“...Yes, I think it’ll be fine.”
I nodded in response to Nidas’s words.
“Heh heh heh, this should be fun! Oh, this should be fun!”
This bastard was acting like it had nothing to do with him.
I should be allowed to smack Lucy at least once, right?
After that, things proceeded so smoothly that before I knew it, Surena and I had been set to spar.
The venue was the training ground attached to the Adventurers’ Guild. Unlike the Knights’ training grounds, it was outdoors and fairly spacious.
Looking around, I saw wooden dummies standing here and there, and quite a number of adventurers.
Since this was a training area, though, most of them seemed to be rookies and younger adventurers. Specifically, most of the plates I could see were White and Bronze.
Well, once adventurers reached Gold or higher and became full-fledged, they probably had no reason to swing swords around at a training ground. They were likely honing their skills on jobs and in actual combat.
“Hmph.”
Surena was as composed as ever.
She was probably used to this level of attention.
As for me, sure, people watched me at the dojo sometimes, but I wasn’t used to sparring with such a huge crowd watching.
Teaching at the Leberio Knights’ headquarters was still a new experience, too. Being surrounded by adventurers was obviously a first. This old man was a little nervous.
“Well then, Sensei. I look forward to our match.”
“Yeah. Go easy on me.”
Surena and I faced each other in the center of the grounds.
Seriously, please go easy on me. I mean it.
After saying only that, Surena bowed neatly at the waist.
It was the bow I’d taught her at the dojo when she was little.
She still remembered it, and that warmed my heart a little.
We each held a wooden sword. Mine was about the size of a longsword, while Surena held a pair that were somewhat shorter and thinner.
She fought with two swords. The difference in weapons made quite a difference in how one fought. Now, how was I supposed to handle a dual-wielding opponent again?
No, this was only a spar.
We weren’t competing to see who won.
And letting my mind wander over one thing or another would be rude to Surena.
All right, focus. Focus!
“—Here I come!”
“...!”
Surena raised the opening battle cry.
With a short roar, the woman before my eyes disappeared from view.
――Did she lower her body?
A running start—fast—from the right—a windup—both hands—no, one is a feint—a strike to the torso—block—overhead slash—deflect—kick—hold it off—leap back—she’s following—two-handed thrust—dodge—then a sweeping slash—block—another thrust—turn—spinning slash—block!
“Haaaaaaah!”
“Ngh...! Damn!”
Whoa, she’s fast! My thoughts can’t keep up!
It was truly lightning-fast, a storm of attacks. She attacked so relentlessly that even taking a breath seemed like an opening.
There wasn’t even a gap to think about counterattacking. This wasn’t the time to talk about striking after my opponent; dodging almost entirely on reflex was all I could manage.
Damn, Surena was ridiculously strong!
Well, of course she was. She was a top-ranked adventurer; there was no way she could be weak!
Having two swords meant, simply put, twice as many attacks. Of course, it also changed how they had to be wielded, so a novice holding two swords wouldn’t pose much of a threat.
But Surena was different. Her movements were perfectly optimized for dual swords.
At times delicate, at times bold, her two swords danced wildly in every direction.
This was bad. At this rate, I’d be crushed without being able to do anything.
I hadn’t expected to win easily, but I was supposed to be a sword instructor, at least. Losing miserably without landing a single attack wouldn’t look good.
Not that this was the time to worry about appearances!
Whoa, that was close! It grazed me!
“Kuhahahaha! That’s Beryl for you!”
“Wait, he hasn’t been hit even once...? I can’t believe it...”
“He’s deflecting every attack...? Who is that old guy?!”
Damn it, I could hear the spectators. Proof I wasn’t fully focused.
Focus, focus! If I let my guard down, I’ll get hit and it’ll be over in an instant!
――Rising slash, overhead slash, strike to the torso, sweep the legs, diagonal slash, thrust, slash aside, kick, flying slash, another sweep, spinning slash, two-handed thrust――!
The time spent weathering her torrential assault went on.
How many seconds had passed? Time moved so quickly right in front of me that I couldn’t get a good sense of it.
Still, there was one thing I’d figured out from crossing swords with her, even if only for a short time.
Although Surena seemed to wield both hands skillfully, she used her left hand just a little less. She probably wasn’t fully ambidextrous.
Even when I taught her swordsmanship as a child, she was right-handed.
Of course, her skill was more than enough for an ordinary fight. You could even say she was already a fully polished fighter.
A gap that could barely be called a gap. A flaw smaller than the eye of a needle.
――If I was going to strike, this was my only chance.
I put all my focus into weathering her attacks, waiting for one from her left.
“Hah!”
“――Sh!”
Our fighting spirits crossed.
A diagonal slash from her left hand. This was it.
This was the only way I could counter it.
I brought my wooden sword alongside the wooden blade approaching from above at an angle, then gave it a deft twist.
It was the same little trick I’d once used on Henblitz-kun, the Knights’ vice-commander. It forcibly shifted the flow of force sideways, throwing her off balance.
Surena was moving so fast that I could only concentrate every nerve on meeting that one strike.
Of course, I didn’t think a little trick like this could stop a swordswoman of Surena’s caliber.
With her skill, she should be able to adjust her center of gravity to my deflection without any trouble.
But just a fraction of a second...
That was all I needed.
“...Tch!”
Surena’s eyes widened for a moment at my move, but she quickly switched her footing and tried to regain her balance.
Impressive as that was, this one instant—
For this one instant, I was faster!
“――――!!”
“...I guess that’s a point.”
At that moment,
Surena’s twin swords came to a dead stop in midair,
and my wooden sword was at her throat.
“――Thank you very much.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Though I’d stopped just short, my single strike had decided the match, and our spar was over.
We exchanged bows, then turned toward Nidas and the others.
“Woooooooo! Amazing!”
“What was that?! What was that?! What was that?!”
“I just saw something incredible! That was incredible!”
The training ground, already buzzing, suddenly erupted in a roar of voices far louder than before.
Well, the spectators’ shock was only natural.
Surena’s rapid-fire attacks had been incredible. Her skill really was on a different level, as you’d expect from one of the highest-ranked adventurers. Surely the rookie adventurers here had seen something worthwhile.
All I’d done was barely slip in a single attack.
I’d done nothing but endure, so I probably looked pretty pathetic, too.
Actually, after that brief exchange, I was already drenched in sweat.
Surena was sweating too, but she didn’t look tired.
And here I was, completely worn out.
If we’d kept going, I was sure I’d eventually have been swallowed up by her attacks. I doubt an ordinary person could keep weathering that assault.
“Whew... You were amazing, Surena.”
“Not at all, Sensei. You were incredible. I can’t believe you deflected everything...”
We walked on, exchanging a few thoughts about the match.
“But you still haven’t completely mastered using your left hand, have you?”
“You saw through me... I still have a long way to go before I can use it as well as my dominant hand.”
I added a few things I’d noticed while I was at it.
I wasn’t her teacher anymore, but I didn’t mind helping Surena if I could, so she could reach even greater heights.
“Heh heh heh, giving a Black-Rank adventurer pointers, are you? Nicely done.”
Up ahead stood Lucy, beaming.
Nidas greeted us with a smile, despite his surprise, while Meigen stood there with his mouth hanging open in a daze.