Chapter 56. Sparring

After attending the snack party with the Young Lady.

“Puppy, next is here!”

“This time, a snack party here….”

“Let’s go shopping!”

The Young Lady seemed to have an endless list of places to go.

She started dragging me all over the Capital.

From shopping to snack parties and various other events.

I didn’t know how she managed to stay cooped up in the mansion for so long. She was surprisingly active.

I guess after going to Magic School and seeing the wider world, she finally broke free.

Well, it’s obviously better to be out and about than stuck in a well…

“Sigh.”

That’s true when Lowell’s around.

I'm the one following her, and I'm exhausted as fuck.

That's why I'm currently photosynthesizing during the Young Lady's lesson time.

I haven't even been able to do *this* lately.

I lay down and stared at the clear blue sky.

I’d rather be back investigating the Mountain Range. It was painful and physically demanding, but mentally, it was way less tiring.

Following the Young Lady around, meeting all these people, and all of them being Nobles or high-ranking officials, meant I had to constantly watch my words and actions. The fatigue just piled up.

I hope Lowell comes back soon.

Speaking of that old geezer, the mansion’s running fine even with him gone for a while. Maybe he wasn’t doing anything that important?

Well, he did spend all day in his office acting all important, so I guess he *did* have some work to do.

“What are you doing lying here?”

As I was relaxing alone in the garden.

A shadow fell over me, and someone appeared.

“What?”

It was Daren. Seeing his face made me frown involuntarily.

“Hey, you, why are you frowning at me?”

“Just in a bad mood.”

Usually, the only people who bother me when I'm like this are Sienna or the maids.

Some random dude showing up is a real mood killer.

“Living the good life, aren’t you?”

“Are you kidding me?”

I said, getting up.

“It’s been hell lately.”

“So what? You’re famous in the Capital now.”

“…”

As Daren said, I’ve gained some notoriety in the Capital recently thanks to following the Young Lady around.

“The Void Young Lady’s loyal Hound, wasn't it?”

Yeah, I even got a nickname.

Loyal, my ass.

And Hound probably came from the way the Young Lady calls me.

“You don’t usually get a nickname that fast. Must be nice having such a recognizable face.”

“So, why are you here?”

“So curt.”

Daren said, tossing a wooden sword at me.

“Sparring?”

I caught the wooden sword and asked. He nodded.

“Yeah, let’s go. It's been a while.”

Music to my ears.

I've been feeling cooped up lately, following the Young Lady around. Good timing.

“Where's Kaiden?”

“Already at the training grounds.”

“Nice. Let’s go.”

With that, I headed to the training grounds with Daren.

***

After arriving at the training grounds.

“It’s been a while since we sparred.”

“Yeah, we used to do it a lot, just the two of us.”

I stood facing Daren and Kaiden.

“So, which one of us do you want to go against first?”

These two… they seem pretty close every time I see them.

What was it again? They said they were from the same orphanage.

That's why they work so well together.

“Both of you. Come at me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Let’s see.”

I’d tried to take them both on at the same time before and got my ass handed to me.

But I’ve learned a lot since then.

I’ve experienced fighting multiple opponents during the Kain Mountains investigation, and I also saw how Alden handles being ganged up on.

And I’ve trained a lot at the mansion these past few months, so I’m going to give it another shot.

“Alright, then I’ll go first.”

As soon as I finished speaking.

Daren rushed forward, and Kaiden followed close behind.

The typical two-man attack, sending the bigger guy in first.

Seeing this, I pulled out a training throwing axe from my belt and threw it.

“Cheap tricks!”

*Thud!*

I threw it pretty fast, but Daren easily deflected the wooden axe and closed the distance in a single breath.

He swung his wooden sword.

*Whoosh!*

I twisted my body, dodging the downward arc.

I pulled out another training throwing axe with my left hand and threw it at the approaching Kaiden.

Then, putting strength into my right arm, I swung my wooden sword. Daren raised his sword to block it.

"This…."

"You think strength alone will do it?"

We locked swords in a brief struggle of strength.

*Crack.*

“What the…!”

In the end, my downward pressure forced Daren down.

*Whoosh!*

Unfortunately, since I was being double-teamed, I had to break off and turn.

*Crack!*

Kaiden had somehow appeared where I'd been standing a moment before and slammed his sword down.

*Wham!*

Using the momentum of my turn, I kicked Kaiden.

“Haa….”

I kicked him, but the impact felt weak. Did he guard with his arm at the last second?

I was curious how he blocked it, but I didn’t have time to think.

Daren, who'd been pushed down earlier, charged at me fiercely, probably feeling his pride was hurt.

*Boom!*

I was pushed back, but I planted my feet and grabbed Daren.

And then.

*Slam!!*

“Urgh!”

I lifted him bodily and slammed him onto the ground.

Then, I raised my sword to block Kaiden's incoming attack.

“No rest for the wicked!”

“You monster!”

This is a whole different level of intensity compared to those Demon Worshippers’ attacks.

They’re really pushing me.

Well, this is where the real fun begins.

‘Guard.’

The shift in the air behind me was a dead giveaway. I slapped up Vision Guard without a second thought.

It's a Void Family Secret Technique. If you get hit, the Guard explodes in that direction, like a Rush.

I wasn't exactly a master, but I'd practiced enough to use it for the advanced version.

*BANG!!*

"Gah!"

Daren, the sneaky bastard, had gotten the jump on me. But I countered with Vision Guard, then immediately followed up with Track.

We were Aura Users, after all, so it was bound to turn into a technical fight.

Sure enough, Kaiden was suddenly right there in front of me, swinging his sword with Fleet activated.

Perfect angle.

I wanted to save my own Fleet, so I channeled Aura into my wooden sword, aiming straight at Kaiden.

*'Rush.'*

*KABOOM-!!*

Just like Alden had done when he took down those Royal Knights, I unleashed Rush directly in Kaiden’s path.

"Urgh!"

He couldn't withstand the impact. His body was thrown back, and Fleet cut out.

"...That actually worked."

"What the fuck…."

Even Kaiden seemed surprised. He stared at me blankly, which wasn’t like him at all.

I was a little taken aback, too. So *this* was how Aura Users fought?

I’d thought it was just a simple game of rock-paper-scissors, but clearly, I was wrong.

"Piece of cake. Is that all you got?"

"Not even close."

I got a little cocky, and then a voice came from behind me.

Oh right, Daren. The one I’d blasted with Vision Guard.

*WHOOSH-*

I felt the presence behind me, spun around, and dodged the attack.

*SWISH-*

Lowering my stance, I locked eyes with Daren as he lunged at me.

He looked pissed.

Well, yeah, I hadn't landed a single hit on him yet.

His wooden sword started to swell. Looks like he was going for a Rush. I threw myself back.

But…

*WHOOSH-*

Daren extended his leg and closed the distance in a single stride. He wasn't letting me go that easily.

Fine by me.

*'Vision Fleet.'*

Might as well try out all the techniques today.

Using Vision Fleet, I left an afterimage and teleported behind Daren.

I was about to tap him on the back to get the forfeit when—

*THUD!*

It felt less like a back and more like solid steel. The sensation shot up the hilt of my sword.

"Ah."

"Gotcha."

And then…

*KABOOM-!!*

Daren’s Vision Rush detonated. …Right. I wasn’t the only one who’d learned the Secret Techniques.

After that, I spent some quality time rolling across the floor. The sparring match was over.

"Easy there! Take it easy on the old bones!"

We all ended up in the infirmary, getting chewed out by the Healer.

"Why so rough?! It's just sparring!"

"...It was the Rush."

Everything else was manageable, but Rush was hard to control. That’s how people got hurt.

I had a few bruises, and so did Daren and Kaiden.

"Hmph! Honestly! You all need to take better care of yourselves!"

Thanks to us, the Healer, who I hadn't seen much of lately, was on a tear.

"At least you weren’t bored, right?"

"Are you being serious?"

"...No, ma'am."

Just dug myself a deeper hole.

Anyway…

"Be careful, all of you!"

Luckily, none of us were seriously injured. We got bandaged up and headed out.

"We *do* need to be more careful."

"Got a little carried away."

Daren and Kaiden were still reeling from the Healer's scolding. They went off to reflect on their life choices.

"Yeah, you should've been more careful."

They had a duty to protect the Young Lady. Sparring like that…were Daren and Kaiden out of their fucking minds?

Me? The Young Lady wasn’t going out today, so I was off duty.

"You little shit…"

"Later, guys."

I felt good after stretching my muscles for once. I left Daren and Kaiden to their brooding and headed back to the garden.

The Young Lady had lessons scheduled until tomorrow, so I planned to take it easy again. As I left the Mansion—

"Ah, Sir Rain."

A Maid stopped me as she was coming in.

"What is it?"

"You have a letter, Sir Rain."

"A letter?"

Who would be sending *me* a letter?

"Here. It came to the Mercenary Guild."

"Huh? Oh."

I took the letter and realized who it was from.

The Guild employee I'd silenced with the Void Family seal. I’d gone to the Mercenary Guild a while back, and Jebeon-i had told me to send word when he arrived in the Capital.

I opened the letter.

[Jebeon has returned.]

Just as I'd hoped.

That fucker finally made it. About damn time.

"I need to step out for a bit."

"Oh? Yes, of course."

I went back to my room, changed into normal clothes, and strapped my sword to my hip.

"Something good happen?"

As I was leaving, I ran into Sienna coming back from her walk.

"Not really. Just meeting an acquaintance."

"A close friend? You look happy."

"Not exactly."

Happy? I felt more…relieved.

I’d been surrounded by Nobles lately. It was a nice change of pace to go see some mercenaries.

Mercenaries were my kind of people.

And so, with a spring in my step, I headed for the Mercenary Guild.