If I had to summarize, things are going pretty well. I've evolved from a sworn enemy to a servant teaching anti-Water God Style techniques, then a personal chef, and finally, I've become Eris's friend (?). She's less violent without reason now, and instead of taking her excess energy out on others, she's found me—someone she can drag out for sparring whenever she feels like it. Of course, I also frankly exchange sword practice with her for time spent listening to my etiquette instructions.
Although Eris still refuses to apologize to Thomas for what happened 6 months ago, I don't think I should dig that up.
Besides etiquette, Eris has also made great strides in swordsmanship.
If evaluated specifically, Eris's stats would look like this:
- Strength: Intermediate
- Speed: Intermediate
- Reflexes: Intermediate
- Perception: Beginner
- Defense: Beginner
- Stamina: Intermediate
- Sword God Style Skills: Beginner
- North God Style Skills: Beginner
Based on this assessment, the red-haired young lady is truly not average. As far as I know, Eris has only been practicing the sword for nearly two years, yet she is already a solid Beginner-rank Sword God Style swordsman. Along with Ghislaine's assessment, perhaps in just another half a year or a year, Eris will become an Intermediate-rank swordswoman. Then maybe when she's 12 or 13, or maybe even sooner, she'll be an Advanced-rank Sword God Style swordswoman.
Now, after I stuffed a few heretical things into her head, she became a Beginner-rank North God Style swordswoman in just another 6 months. So now, Eris's attacks, which are both fast and strong, have added an unpredictable variability that has made me almost taste defeat a few times due to my own complacency.
At this rate, I'll probably be left in the dust by Eris in a short time.
What is wrong with my luck that I keep meeting geniuses?
As for me, I've also made some certain progress.
After 6 months of being beaten black and blue by Ghislaine, it seems to be like this:
- Strength: Beginner
- Speed: Intermediate
- Reflexes: Advanced
- Perception: Saint
- Defense: Intermediate
- Stamina: Intermediate
- Water God Style Skills: Beginner
- North God Style Skills: Beginner
Still all over the place, but this still satisfies me somewhat.
And not just in terms of stats, I've also improved somewhat in my combat skills against different types of opponents. Compared to before, when I only knew how to deal with Isolde—someone many times stronger than me—now I have to find a way to counter Eris's pursuit.
To explain the difficulty of this, it's quite simple. It's like when you encounter a difficult math problem; you just need to think about how to solve it. But if you *are* the math problem, you can't do anything against the opponent decoding you, while the speed of increasing difficulty cannot match the speed of finding the solution, if the opponent isn't stupid.
Meanwhile, I also have to find a way to defeat Ghislaine by using my secret art on the Longsword of Silence or the Longsword of Light. So my development has split into two separate directions, one offensive, one defensive.
It sounds like an exhausting process, but Ghislaine is a better swordsmanship teacher than I thought. She taught me how to attack and defend not only against Sword God Style swordsmen but also gave useful advice on the 'unique' fighting style I possess.
Like the fact that my active dodging or countering is currently completely based on reacting to the opponent. Or taking a hit is still just trying to endure the pain and maintain mental stability.
"When you get hit, instead of tensing up to resist, move with the blow to minimize damage."
Just like 'Flow', but instead of using a sword, I use my body to reduce damage. Thinking back, it seems swordsmanship doesn't just use a sword to fight. Recalling the time I used my left hand to punch out a Perfect Reverse also counts as using a secret art. And now I'm gradually learning to use my whole body for 'Flow' too.
That gave me a heretical idea. Once, I tried punching a wall with my bare hands instead of slashing with a sword, and it hurt so much I thought I broke a bone. It seems if my strength far exceeds what my body can withstand, it will cause more serious damage than I thought. But I have a hypothesis about using the body to take hits to increase resilience. Defensive battle aura seems to be enhanced like that too, so I wondered if my hands became tougher through training like that, would they punch harder?
Like how boxers on Earth do.
But after I tried pitching that idea to Ghislaine, she immediately rejected it.
"If you use bare hands, before you can even swing a punch, you'll already be slashed a few times by the opponent's sword."
She said that, and I found it quite reasonable. In a duel, reach is indeed a huge advantage.
"In that case, wouldn't holding a bow be the most advantageous?"
"Archers can't use battle aura."
"Oh, I see."
That's a pity. Whenever I play a game, I always choose a 'class' with ranged weapons because I'm a coward. Actually, archers still exist in the army; it's just that they can't be as strong as Saint-rank swordsmen. That's why the walls of this mansion still have watchtowers for archers. Hunters and adventurers also use that weapon normally.
Come to think of it, this world is the complete opposite of Kamakura-era Japan. Back then, samurai were warriors famous for their mounted archery skills; later, in the Sengoku period, they preferred using... guns. Only when forced into close combat did they need katanas. Although according to many people, and I'm not sure, they preferred using Naginatas.
But speaking of Naginatas, long-handled weapons in this world, especially spears, always have a rather low status. It's all because of the existence of a race called the Supard, extremely ferocious in history. I heard they are battle-crazed, willing to kill even allies to satisfy their bloodlust. Because of that, spears—their main weapon—became a weapon shunned worldwide.
Luckily, that race only exists on the Demon Continent, so I don't have to worry much. Thinking back, Mia sometimes used the name 'Supard' to scare me into obedience, but I just played along to make her happy.
Anyway, after 4 years of holding a sword, I'm used to using this thing; changing now would be too much work to learn from scratch.
Oh, and I think my 'perception' has kept up with the speed of the Longsword of Silence. Even though I still can't use Perfect Reverse Flow, I can see the skill.
Master Reida was right; only when standing before stronger opponents in dire situations do I improve strangely.
So, after 6 months of hard training, I have barely managed to avoid about 80-90% of Ghislaine's Longsword of Silence strikes. At this rate, perhaps in another half year, my reflexes will match the speed of the skill, and I can use Perfect Reverse Flow.
As for the Longsword of Light... maybe that's still a long way off.
Indeed, training Perfect Reverse seems to be a thornier path than I thought. If you want to defeat an opponent, you also have to grasp their skills... Instead, the other four secret arts just need to enhance the user's existing skills.
Because of that, I train even harder to enhance my reflexes. So that when I can't use the ultimate secret art, I can still dodge successfully. If it's too hard, I'll just say 'nigerundayo' and run away.
Back to the present, as always, I'm trying to push my dodge count to a new level. I requested Ghislaine to use strength around Advanced to near-Saint rank in today's sparring session.
*Whoosh* *Whoosh*
The result was that I dodged ten consecutive Longsword of Silence strikes perfectly, before losing my streak to a hit on the forehead, sending me flying a distance. Also thanks to actively focusing battle aura on my head for defense and applying 'Flow' to reduce damage, I haven't been knocked unconscious lately.
"Not bad, Atur." Ghislaine walked over to my 'corpse' and helped me up. Even though her face was still expressionless, I could feel the pride from the Sword King through... that wagging tail. "Sooner or later, you will complete your mission."
"Huff... thank you, Ms. Ghislaine."
"Just Ghislaine is fine."
Even if she says that, I still have a habit of calling her 'Ms.'. Hard to break, sorry.
Although to be honest, I quite admire the chivalrous spirit of the sword world. Even knowing I might be aiming to confront the Sword God Style in the future while training here, Ghislaine doesn't seem to see a problem with it and genuinely puts her heart into helping me achieve it.
I'm really serious about proposing to her when I'm of age. I hope this time there isn't another Pilemon existing.
"Hmph." Meanwhile, Eris, who was sitting and watching, pouted. "What's so great about dodging a few sword strikes? You're not hitting anyone."
And yet, if I'm not mistaken, she was watching excitedly just now. So this is what a tsundere is like in real life?
"Eris, actually dodging is very important." Ghislaine, as always, explained seriously, even though Eris was clearly just sulking because I was getting more attention than her. "Even without dealing damage, you can still draw damage from the opponent, creating openings for others. In my old party, there was someone like that; she saved my life several times in battle."
"Oh oh! So Ms. Ghislaine really used to be an adventurer. Not just a story Eris made up."
"Hey!" Eris threw a punch, and I dodged it artfully. "I never make up stories about other people!"
"I know, sorry. But Ms. Ghislaine, you must have been in a famous party, right?"
"Just call me Ghislaine, no need to add 'Ms.'. And yes, I used to be in a party called the Fangs of the Black Wolf with five others."
And it's times like these that I realize how small the earth—ah, no—this world (?) is.
"Fangs of the Black Wolf? So Ms. Ghislaine used to be in Uncle Paul's party?"
"Yeah, our leader was named Paul." Ghislaine, leaning against a tree, nodded and turned her gaze toward me. "You know him?"
"Yes, Paul is my uncle."
I knew Uncle Paul used to be an S-rank adventurer in a party called Fangs of the Black Wolf. Given that this party is considered a legend, I thought their members were extraordinary, but I didn't expect there to be a Sword King.
"You don't look like Paul at all."
"Hehe, everyone says that."
Yeah, well... everyone says that, don't they? Indeed, based on hair color, saying I'm related to Ghislaine would be much more plausible.
Could I be part Beast Folk? Maybe I should try to investigate this deeper.
But wait, what if Ms. Ghislaine means I don't have sword talent like Paul? People often compare the talents of relatives, so it's possible.
"But that's good. Don't be like Paul."
What does that mean now?
"Um... so the entire Fangs of the Black Wolf party was full of strong warriors like you, Ms. Ghislaine?" I asked, deliberately steering the topic away.
Ken also told me about how talented a swordsman my Uncle Paul is. I heard that before he was twenty, he had reached Advanced rank in all three sword styles. Someone like that having been in a party with a Sword King, the other members must have all been monsters too.
"That's not true; not everyone was strong."
"Eh?" I tilted my head. "In a party, isn't everyone usually equally strong?"
"That's right." Eris tilted her head too. "Wasn't Ghislaine's whole party S-rank adventurers?"
S-rank = strong; on this simple deduction, I'm on Eris's side.
"Adventurer rank doesn't evaluate strength but the achievements of the party." Ghislaine began to explain. "Our group accomplished many difficult missions, but not all were solved purely by strength, but also by coordination, information gathering, resources, and tactics."
Listening a bit more, I grasped a part about the Fangs of the Black Wolf adventurer group. They were a combination of 6 people with different roles and unbalanced strength. They included a warrior, a swordsman, a swordswoman, a mage, a priest, and a... thief. Except for Ghislaine, no one in the party reached a rank higher than Saint. However, like a powerful engine, every gear, no matter the difference in size, played an extremely important role in that chain.
Specifically, they had a warrior who acted as a tank to take damage and draw fire. An all-rounder swordsman like Uncle Paul could both attack and defend. Ms. Ghislaine naturally played the role of main damage dealer. The mage also played a damage role but held the position of large-scale fire support. The priest naturally held the position of healing and sometimes exorcism.
Finally, the 'thief'... According to what I found out while hanging around the adventurer's guild with Henry, that's the term for people with non-combat and support abilities like lockpicking, setting up tents, communication, being a know-it-all, and cooking, etc., etc...
In short, quite like me.
That's right, Henry registered me on my adventurer card as a 'thief' instead of a swordsman.
Damn you, Henry.
"Actually, there's something I don't quite understand. Why are many swordsmen called 'warriors' instead of 'swordsmen'?"
If I'm not mistaken, Henry also wrote 'warrior' on his adventurer card. But when asked, he just said 'this fits better' and didn't bother to explain further. I didn't bother asking then either.
"If you use a sword and techniques from one of the three main schools, you are considered a swordsman. If you use a sword but not the three main schools, you are considered a warrior. And if you use one of the three main schools but don't hold a sword, you are also considered a warrior."
"So is there any case where someone uses a sword and is a Sword God Style swordsman but is a warrior?"
"No, unless that person is stupid."
I knew Henry was kind of stupid, but I didn't think he would be so careless when it came to being an adventurer. Maybe later, if I'm lucky enough to meet him again, I'll ask about this.
"But why did such a strong party disband?" putting the job title aside, I curiously asked about the Fangs of the Black Wolf. "I heard Uncle Paul suddenly left, but what exactly happened?"
"Paul got Zenith pregnant, so he left the party to start a family with her."
Zenith seems to be the name of a member of the group. And my uncle got her pregnant. Wow... I heard Henry say members of an adventurer group are usually close. But to the point of dating and having a kid together sounds pretty romantic.
"Adventuring together and finding true love. How interesting." I nodded with a smile. Even though that script is a bit old, it's still very poetic. A man like that is worthy of respect. "Honestly, I want a romance like that too."
"It was because he 'accidentally' got Zenith pregnant, so he had to take responsibility. Otherwise, he'd probably still be hitting on every girl he met on the road. And I heard lately he even got his maid pregnant."
Oh wow. So my respect for my uncle just fell straight to hell. Turns out the lechery and irresponsibility of House Notos spare no one, huh? But wait a minute! If adventurers can be close to each other and Paul is a lady-killer, has that damn uncle ever touched Ghislaine?
Suddenly I feel like I'm being NTR'd by another Notos family member again.
I hope not.
If it's true, I'll be forced to write Paul's name on my list of sworn enemies. Then I'll go to church and curse that uncle.
"Hmm..." While Ghislaine and I were discussing Paul's depravity, Eris stared at me for some reason. "Atur, you once said you were an adventurer too, right?"
"Huh? Ah... Yeah." I nodded. "Last time I gave you my card, you threw it away."
"Really? What rank are you?" Eris's eyes lit up. "You've adventured and fought magical beasts too, right? Have you entered any Labyrinths?"
"Uh... actually, I'm only E-rank." I said honestly. "And I haven't gone adventuring or anything. Just odd jobs like finding lost pets or sweeping streets. In winter, there are snow-clearing quests too."
"Eh??? What adventurer does those things? If you go adventuring, you have to go into labyrinths and slash magical beasts."
I heard labyrinths are full of D-rank or even C-rank and above magical beasts, so no, I don't think I'll step foot in such a place. Since I've already died once, I won't let myself die again before having a wife, children, grandchildren, and passing away at the age of one hundred.
"Are you telling the truth?" Suddenly Eris got right in my face, those ruby eyes suddenly scrutinizing every pore on my face. "Ghislaine said you have the look of someone who has 'faced life and death'."
"What's that?" I looked blank.
"Who knows! Basically, you look like you've fought a lot of magical beasts but are trying to hide it from me, right?"
"Why would I hide it?"
"Who knows about you Water God Style people!"
Helpless, I looked at Ghislaine as if seeking an explanation. "What's this about, Ms. Ghislaine?"
"Hmm..." Ghislaine didn't answer immediately; she just slightly turned her right eye towards me. "You have the look of someone who has been in a near-death situation."
"Well, every time I fight you, Ms. Ghislaine, I feel like I'm about to die, haha..."
"That's not it." Ghislaine shook her head. "I mean you have fought a death match. The way you face me isn't like a normal rookie."
"Um..."
What is it now? The terribly strong people of this world always surprise me with their sharpness. How can they tell just by looking?
Although I trust Ghislaine and Eris quite a bit, not to the point of telling them about Tristina and Henry. So now I can only make up a story.
"Actually, there was something like that."
I sighed, pretending to give in. So Eris immediately leaned in.
"What, what? Tell me!"
So I started pretending to tell a story about a mission in the forest where we were attacked by a pack of Treant beasts. A member of my party got lost, so the whole team had to go find and rescue our friend from a large pig magical beast that intended to eat her. We used distraction tactics and successfully rescued our friend in the dark. However, on the way to escape, we were blocked by giant crow type beasts. The party was scattered again; a teammate and I had to face a terribly strong one, almost losing our lives. In the end, I used my magic tool to create light to temporarily blind the beast and let my teammate finish it off.
That's the reskinned version of what actually happened.
The result was that Eris was extremely interested in that story. Her eyes lit up with utmost admiration.
"So cool! You should take a quest to conquer that pig beast!"
"Can't help it; as an E-rank adventurer, I can't take dangerous conquest quests."
Believe me, I really want to slit that 'pig's' throat, but not now.
"Pfft! Boring. This adventurer's guild is stupid."
"Everyone has to start like that, Eris." Ghislaine spoke up to explain. "At the beginning, everyone has to start from F-rank and do the things Atur listed. Only when doing D-rank quests and above are there real conquest missions. Because having this ranking system minimizes danger and assigns tasks according to the ability of each person and party."
"So Ms. Ghislaine also had to find pets?" I asked, imagining the Sword King running after a cat; looks cute too, right?
"Actually, those tasks were quite easy; I just followed the scent to find them, so in three days I was E-rank."
And it took me half a year. Truly, in every fantasy world, being human is always the weakest race with the fewest skills. How unfair.
"Hmph, F-rank, E-rank, D-rank, whatever." Eris crossed her arms, clearly annoyed, though I didn't understand why. Then, she turned back, pointed her finger at my face, and ordered as usual. "Atur! Take me to register as an adventurer! Then you and I will go find that pig beast and settle the score!"
Now I looked at Eris with the gorilla face she usually gave me.
"Please spare me. Lord Philip will kill me."
I understand why Eris demanded I take her. Probably because she sees me going out occasionally, she thinks I have the right to take her if I want. True, I could. But I'm here to teach Eris to be gentle and able to dance. Taking her to be an adventurer now would be blatant 'match-fixing'.
"But I want to be an adventurer! Why can you do it but I can't?"
"Because I'm not a noble."
"Then I'll renounce being a noble like you, and that's it."
"Please don't. You don't know how life will be as a commoner."
"Hmph! I don't care, find a way."
And as usual, when she wants something, Eris throws a tantrum, screams in my ear, and punches repeatedly, even though I dodge them all. Usually, when she just demands cooking, I can accept it. But now that it involves work, I give up.
Unless...
"How about this. If you agree to learn and can dance at your 10th birthday, I'll take you to register as an adventurer."
"Deal!"
...
So after half a year since I arrived in Roa, Eris finally took the initiative to learn dancing with the goal of becoming an adventurer in the future.
I was so happy I almost cried. Meanwhile, Ms. Edna cried and thanked me profusely. She even called what I did a miracle and thanked Saint Milis with a prayer chain lasting more than five minutes.
Speaking of this etiquette teacher, I also discovered a few interesting things. That is, Edna is not only an etiquette teacher but also Eris's wet nurse. You could say she has been by that unruly young lady's side since the very first days. That explains why Edna was willing to sacrifice her salary or even lose her job teaching etiquette to me, as long as Eris could be better.
A respectable person. However, she still didn't like the panna cotta I made, so I'll deduct 3 relationship points.
I swear I'll hug and kiss the first person who says my panna cotta is delicious. If it's a girl, I'll definitely marry her!
But let's put the wife and kids thing aside for now. The immediate problem is that teaching Eris to dance is not as simple as I thought. Even though I spent half a year preparing the foundation by training sword footwork and rhythm, it seems that's still not enough.
What's the problem? It's that she really sees this dancing as fighting.
Does anyone enter the dance floor with such intense killing intent?!
Every step of Eris, though graceful and flexible, is extremely powerful. Every glide is on the beat, but not Edna's clapping beat, but the Sword God Style combat rhythm. Not to mention when that young lady enters the Chasse segment, she inevitably tries to step on my foot (the person who has to dance with her), turning the movement that should be slow and smooth of a noble Waltz into a modified Cha Cha Cha.
Not to mention the problem that Eris insists on leading. I don't mean to be sexist, but dancing is gendered like that. And unfortunately, this isn't the 21st century on Earth.
Yet at the end of the session, Eris smiled very brightly, hands on hips.
"I danced well, right Atur? Stepped on your foot three whole times! Sooner or later I'll beat you!"
The dance teaching mission is totally screwed.
Luckily, Eris's 10th birthday is more than a year and a half away. That means I still have time; I'll definitely find a way to solve this problem.
I hope so.
Otherwise, goodbye 70 gold coins.
…
NAME: "Eris B. Greyrat"
OCCUPATION: Granddaughter of Fittoa's liege lord
PERSONALITY: A little violent
DOESN'T: Mind listening to what people have to say
READING/WRITING: Can write her own name
ARITHMETIC: Can add single digit numbers
MAGIC: No clue
FENCING: Sword God Style – Beginner-tier, North God Style – Beginner-tier
ETIQUETTE: Can do etiquette awkwardly and fighting-like dance
PEOPLE SHE LIKES: Grandfather, Ghislaine
WANT TO: Becoming an S rank adventurer with Atur
LIKE: Deep Fry Chicken KFC Style and punching Atur