Swordsmanship and Exam Results

I went to the garden with Lucien, but no one was there.

Huh? Had the teacher not arrived yet? Just as I was thinking that, Jack-san stepped out in front of us.

What was going on? He was usually keeping a watchful eye on Lucien from behind.

"Shall we begin practice?"

"Jack, Leon is here today, so start with the basics."

What!? Jack-san is the teacher!?

But come to think of it, as Lucien's guard, he was always with him, so maybe he was perfect for the job.

"So Jack-san is our teacher?"

"That's right. I'm strict."

Jack-san said that with a teasing expression. Bring it on!

"Please be as strict as possible!"

"Oh, you've got some enthusiasm. Have you ever held a sword?"

"No."

"Then we'll start with how to hold it."

Saying that, Jack-san handed me a wooden sword.

"Lucien-sama, please practice your swings."

"Understood."

Lucien was practicing his swings by himself. He already had good form and looked cool. I wanted to try it myself soon.

"As for how to hold it, you generally put your right hand above your left and hold the sword with both hands. However, some people with a dominant left hand hold it the other way around."

"I understand."

So swords in this world were meant to be wielded with both hands. Did people not use shields?

"If you hold a sword with both hands, don't you use a shield?"

"Most people don't. Some do, but generally, armor is used for defense. Even if you decide to use a shield later, two-handed swordsmanship is fundamental, so there is no harm in learning the basics."

"Yes. I look forward to learning from you!"

"Then give it a try."

I gripped the wooden sword as instructed and held it out in front of me. This was pretty heavy.

"Is this right?"

"That's right. Now we'll start with the most basic swing. Swing downward from overhead fifty times. It would normally be a hundred, but you're a beginner. Begin!"

"Yes!"

I began practicing downward swings with the wooden sword.

This was harder than I'd expected... The wooden sword was so heavy that my arms quickly grew tired, and my swings became slower and less precise.

"Twenty more! Don't slow down!"

"Yes!"

Even though he told me not to slow down, this was incredibly hard. In addition to practicing magic, I had been working on my stamina and doing strength training, but swinging a sword was this difficult? A child's body made it even tougher...

Lucien, however, continued practicing his swings despite sweating. Practicing every day was important, after all. I would do my best too.

I could use body-enhancement magic, but it enhances one's existing physical abilities, so the more trained the body is to begin with, the stronger the enhancement. That's why I wanted to train without using it except in actual combat.

"Fifty!"

I was finally done... My arms hurt, and I was breathing pretty heavily. This was tough. I had prioritized magic practice and left physical conditioning for later, so I really needed to work harder.

"Next, swing downward from the upper right to the lower left. Another fifty times. Begin!"

"What!? There's more!?"

"You didn't think that was the end, did you?"

Seriously...? If there was a downward swing from the upper right to the lower left, did that mean there was one in the opposite direction too? Seriously...?

I forced my tired body onward and somehow began practicing my swings again.

"One... two... three... four... ...forty-nine... fifty!"

"Huff... huff... huff..."

This was bad. I was incredibly tired. I bent over with my hands on my knees and panted heavily. Sweat covered my entire body.

Jack-san was far too strict!

"Can you keep going?"

"W-wait a moment! Can I rest a little?"

"All right. Just for a little while."

The moment I heard that, I sat down on the ground. I hadn't expected it to be this hard...

Did Lucien always do such difficult training? When I looked over at him, he had finished practicing his swings and was sparring with Jack-san.

It seemed that Lucien was attacking while Jack-san defended, practicing how to break through his defense.

Lucien was amazing... From where I stood, he seemed to wield the sword freely. Jack-san kept correcting him, so he still had a long way to go, but to an amateur like me, he looked extremely skilled. And he was only ten years old.

I could tell from practicing my swings that wielding a sword freely required a great deal of training. He must have been training with a sword since he was very young.

As I was thinking that, Jack-san came back over. Lucien seemed to be taking a break.

"Jack-san, Lucien seems really skilled to me. Can all nobles handle a sword as well as Lucien?"

"Not at all. The younger sons of noble families generally become either knights or civil officials, so those aiming to become knights tend to be fairly skilled. However, many eldest sons who will inherit their houses, as well as those aiming to become civil officials, can barely handle a sword. There are swordsmanship classes at the Royal Academy, so nobles can at least meet the minimum standard, but few train beyond that."

I see. Without a reason to train with a sword, no one would want to do something this difficult.

But Lucien was the eldest son, wasn't he? Why was he training so seriously?

"But Lucien is the eldest son, right?"

"That's right. Lucien-sama simply likes swords. He became interested in them when he was young, and he has trained every day without fail ever since. Apparently, he also has a talent for swordsmanship, so he's quite skilled despite being only ten years old."

Lucien was amazing... I had to work hard so I wouldn't lose to him. I stood up again, filled with renewed determination.

"Please let me continue!"

"All right! Next is a downward swing from the upper left to the lower right."

"Yes!"

After that, I practiced upward swings from the lower right to the upper left and from the lower left to the upper right, and then the practice swings were finally over.

I was seriously exhausted...

"I didn't think you'd make it to the end. Anyone with that kind of grit is suited to swordsmanship. If you practice every day from now on, you'll definitely become stronger. I'll lend you that sword."

"Thank you very much!"

I was strangely moved by my sense of accomplishment. I would practice every day with this wooden sword!

Just as I was making that resolution, Lucien came over.

"Leon, you completed fifty swings of each type? That's amazing. I was sure you wouldn't be able to do it. Even I find that too difficult."

Huh? Wasn't the normal amount a hundred?

"But Jack-san said that people normally do a hundred."

"That's just normal for Jack, isn't it? I'm still a child, so my body isn't fully developed. I started with ten swings of each, and now I do thirty."

What the heck!? I knew it was far too difficult!

"Jack-san!!"

"Sorry, sorry. I meant it as a little prank. But you kept up with the training far better than I expected, and it became fun, so I had you continue. Before I knew it, you'd made it to the end."

Jack-san scratched his head with a wry smile.

A prank? It had been so hard!!

Whew... Well, it had been useful training, so I supposed I could let it go. From now on, though, I would start with about thirty swings of each every day and gradually increase the number. If I did this every day, I'd probably hurt myself.

"Then let's call it a day."

"Right. Thank you, Jack."

"Thank you very much."

Although I wasn't entirely willing, I bowed deeply. Gratitude was important, after all.

After that, we returned to our respective rooms.

As soon as I returned to my room, I washed away my sweat in the bath. I was drenched in sweat and felt gross. Much better!

Then, as I relaxed and rested until dinner, a servant came to my room. I had never seen this person before. What could they want?

After Roger dealt with the visitor, he returned to the room with an envelope in his hand.

"Leon-sama, it seems the Royal Academy entrance exam results have arrived."

Oh! They were here already? That was fast.

I carefully opened the envelope Roger handed me and looked inside. There were two sheets of paper.

The first one appeared to be the exam results. I took the paper out of the envelope with a slight sense of nervousness.

...I passed!

The word "Passed" was written in large letters!

Thank goodness. I had expected to pass, but I had still been a little nervous. At least I could relax now. Reassured, I took out the other sheet.

The other sheet contained the schedule for the entrance ceremony. So there was an entrance ceremony? I wondered if it would be completely different from a ceremony in Japan. I was looking forward to it a little.

I wanted to tell Lucien about my results, so I asked Roger to find out whether I could visit Lucien's room.

I waited somewhat restlessly for Roger to return. When he did, Lucien came with him, looking slightly perplexed.

"Leon, did you pass!?"

"Lucien-sama!? Why are you here? I was planning to go to your room."

"It was quicker for me to come here."

"Well, I suppose that's true, but..."

Normally, I would be expected to visit Lucien-sama... But perhaps we didn't need to be so strict about it inside this estate.

"More importantly, how did it go? You passed, right, Leon?"

"Yes. I passed. You did too, right, Lucien-sama?"

"Of course. All right! Now we can attend school together!"

Lucien was openly delighted. It was rare to see him this carefree, since he was normally so mature. Well, he could be fairly childish when it was just the two of us.

I was a little surprised, but Lucien's delight made me even happier.

"I'm looking forward to attending together. I hope we continue to get along!"

"Of course. Likewise."

Lucien and I shook hands and exchanged broad smiles. I was starting to look forward to what lay ahead.

"Oh, right. I brought this too."

Saying that, Lucien handed me a book on etiquette.

"Thank you very much. I'll read it carefully. How long may I borrow it?"

"I've already memorized what's in it, so you can keep it for as long as you like. Just return it once you've learned it all, Leon."

"Understood. Then I'll borrow it for a while."

With this, I wouldn't make any more mistakes with etiquette. If I couldn't memorize everything, I could always copy it onto paper. I should buy a lot of paper next time. I would probably use it at the Royal Academy too.

"Well, it's nearly dinnertime, so I'll return to my room. Sorry for barging in so suddenly."

"Not at all. Thank you for coming all this way."

Lucien swept out like a storm. He must have been extremely happy about passing. No matter how mature he seemed, he was still only a ten-year-old child. Realizing that, I found it rather endearing.

"Leon-sama, shall we head to the dining hall soon?"

"Yes, let's go."