Chapter 204: Sluggish Body
I’m currently facing Eleonora-neesan in the courtyard while holding a wooden sword.
Though it was only nothing but standing there, there’s this oppressive feeling like my heart being squeezed.
Even if I don’t like it, I can still feel my heart pounding *dokudoku*.
Eleonora-neesan is standing in front of me with a dignified look in her eyes. She was holding her sword in chudan(chudan no kamae) stance, but that stance look quite natural for her. I understand that there’s no chance for me just by facing each other like this.
I was already under pressure even when we faced each other before this, but it seems that her vigor has increased ever since she came back from the royal capital.
……no image of me winning comes to mind, no matter where I strike her.
The only image where I can win that comes to my mind is, when I approach her while swinging my sword and make a feint by kicking up sand in her direction to make her close her eyes. And in that gap when she closes her eyes, I stab her from the blind spot and take Eleonora-neesan’s wooden sword away using the non-attributed magic Psychic. I named it the killer magic-combi move.
But, even if I use such a dirty move in a sword-only practice, there is no reason for me to use magic, and I shouldn’t do it since I don’t know what I would suffer after that.
I wonder how do I defeat my sister - who had finished her training part in the royal capital - with such a single, unreliable wooden sword?
I stare at the wooden sword in my hand.
Though I would be able to do something if it has some sort of gimmicks like a blade, thorn, or some kind of gimmick where something popped out.
「Now then, let’s begin!」
The moment Eleonora-neesan said that and looked toward Sylvio-niisan, I weakened my presence to the limit and start running without making any sound.
Nimbly rushing in as if crawling on the ground, I sent a finishing blow toward Eleonora-neesan - who is trying to shout something to Sylvio-niisan - with all my might.
「Sylvio! Please give the sig――eh! Kuh!?」
Darn! Did my bloodlust leak out?
My attack got defended before it reached Eleonora-neesan’s chest by a wooden sword somehow.
「The signal hadn’t been given yet, you know!?」
「But Eleonora-neesan said ‘Let’s begin’ a short while ago, right!」
The match started when Eleonora-neesan said ‘begin’. A third person’s signal was not needed.
「……you did something those rowdy guys in the Knight’s Order, huh」
「I see, so there are smart guys in the royal capital’s Knight’s Order」
I thought that those knights in the capital would still stick on only fighting in a clean way of fighting, I need to reconsider it.
「That’s not it. They are the type of coward who strikes you from your blind spot or throws something to blind your eyes in melee」
H, hmーm, so for me who don’t think of them as cowards, would that make me the same as them?
If I were to object to her more than this, Eleonora-neesan would just be displeased with me so let’s not say anything here.
I just keep on pushing my sword, trying to make Eleonora-neesan’s posture collapse but she’s unperturbed.
「Uoooohhhh, I can’t push anymore! Eleonora-neesan is heavy! 」
「That’s rude. I just have more power and a firm center of gravity you know!」
Eleonora-neesan strongly pushes the wooden sword in her hand even while emphasizing that.
I restore my posture while stumbling forward so that I won’t fall down.
My surprise attack was being flawlessly prevented. With the current exchange of offense and defense, I have completely lost my chance to win, what should I do now.
「I give up」
「Your surprise attack just didn’t connect and you gave up, are you kidding me? 」
Even though I said I give up, Eleonora-neesan didn’t acknowledge it. Can such tyranny be allowed?
「I’m going to attack next!」
Just when I was amazed at her, Eleonora-neesan attacked me this time.
It was not the fast moves she displayed against Sylvio-niisan but it’s fast enough for the mediocre me.
I completely observe the trajectory while holding my sword at the ready.
Several seconds after that, I immediately backstep-ped after feeling a sharp sweeping attack coming toward me.
Eh? My mind was able to react perfectly but my body was doesn’t respond that well. I won’t be able to make it if I avoid it with the timing just now!?
I’m surprised at my own body’s poor reaction time.
In the meantime, Eleonora-neesan’s wooden sword is approaching my stomach――and splendidly struck my stomach.
「Uguuh!?」
「Haa?」
I can feel the solid wooden sword hitting my stomach protector hard. And when the sword hit me, a stupid-sounding voice escaped Eleonora-neesan.
The leather protector is absorbing some of the impacts but, part of the impact went through, without being absorbed by the leather protector.
Receiving such a sudden impact, I unintentionally crouch.
「……just what are you doing」
Seeing that, Eleonora-neesan can only let out an amazed voice.
「Al! Are you all right!?」
「……I, I’m fine. But, my stomach is a bit painful」
I somehow managed to tell Sylvio-niisan that I’m fine, as he approached and worried about me.
Checking at the armor I took off, there’s only a slight red mark on my stomach and I got no internal bleeding anywhere.
While being relieved of that, I crate ice with Ice magic and applied it to my stomach.
They say that this first treatment is important for this kind of thing.
And Eleonora-neesan is looking down at me with an unsatisfied expression on her face as I did that.
「You should be able to dodge something like that normally, right? Could it be that you deliberately get hit?」
「I’m not」
「Then, why can’t you dodge that kind of attack!」
「…………」
What now. I know the exact reason for that but I don’t want to say it since she’ll get angry at me if I really say it to her.
However, if I keep silent like this, she will get angry as she misunderstood me and think that I deliberately got hit because I want to slack off in practice. Just what should I do now?
「So I take it that you just want to cut corner since you keep silent, and deliberately got hit」
Not good, Eleonora-neesan’s expression is getting grimmer by the second.
If the misunderstanding continues like this, I have a hunch that the biggest wrath in history is going to rain down on me.
And so I have no choice but to tell her the reason.
「I’m not!」
「Then why!」
「……that’s cause my body is heavier than I expected so my reaction was getting slow」
「Meaning, you tried to dodge that attack with a backstep, but your body didn’t move as you wished it since it’s fat?」
「……guh, yeah」
Even though someone says it politely in a round-about way, she said it directly, it's as if she’s tearing off the ‘wrapping’ for my reason. Fine, it’s exactly as you said!
「……haa, so shameful」
When I made a justification for my action, Eleonora-neesan looked at my stomach and sighed.
Since my body became like this, there was no case where I had to practice with Eleonora-neesan. So it can’t be helped that my body can’t immediately react to it, right?
Humans are creatures that are used to their surroundings, it’s natural for one to be used to having a leisurely pace after spending their time comfortably.
「By the way Al, did Al practice when you went to Kagura?」
「……in magic, yes」
「That’s why you’re getting fat. I knew it, it’s should be better if you went with me, isn’t it」
That’s not a joke. If I were to go on that kind of trip with Eleonora-neesan, then it would just turn out to be a sword practice every time, even when in the carriage, resting time, or on the ship.
Maybe it’s a sightseeing tour or training camp, I don’t know what kind of journey it will turn out, so no thanks.
「You should have learned by observing Sylvio even a little. Sylvio has improved his overall swordsmanship, you know? Though, his offensive is still terrible as usual」
Sylvio-niisan was happy after being praised like that, but then he dropped his shoulders with the words she added at the end.
「Sylvio is also getting better when he uses a shield, so Al won’t be able to win a fight against him if he also gains more experience, right?」
Hmーm, I’m not that overly concerned with swordsmanship, it doesn’t matter to me if my swordsmanship is lacking since I still have magic.
「Al had specially learned about swordsmanship, after all, so please try your best. You’re skillful at attacking with all sorts of attacks so it would be wasteful not to do your best」
Maybe she found that my reaction was dull, that Eleonora-neesan changed her perspective in lecturing me and started encouraging me.
For that Eleonora-neesan to encourage me, was she sick or something!? No, that’s wrong. This might be due to the idea given by some knights in the royal capital.
It’s kinda cheap for it coming from Eleonora-neesan, so I immediately understand the cause.
However, the atmosphere turns out to be somewhat nice. Let’s not worsen the mood this time. Let’s just say some proper and positive replies here and make everything ambiguous as usual.
「Un, I’ll do my best a little more」
「Right! Then let’s do it immediately, let’s run to lose your weight today!」
「Eeehhhh!? But you said that we’re just going to spar today!」
「But I did not say that we will not do a long training run. Besides, you said that you will do your best a little more today?」
Th, this is a set-up. So Eleonora-neesan invited me to practice together and cleverly used these kinds of words………
Darn it! Everything was all for this moment and to make me say that I will do my best.
「Come, you’re going to run again today Al! Do a long training run to lose that heavy weight!」
The days when I can’t use a sword in practice continued for some time as I ran nonstop on the road of Koryatt village with Eleonora-neesan.
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