The elevated platform offered a wide, unobstructed view, taking in the entire circular open-air main training ground below, ringed by white stone bricks. But no sooner had Haimer found his footing than movement stirred in the rest area along the edge of the grounds below.
Onigawara Rin, Kikakujou Mary, Hanasaka Warabi and the others were gathered together, taking a breather.
As one, they turned their heads, their eyes locking dead onto Haimer's figure up on the platform.
Several pairs of eyes lit up in an instant.
"Kami-sama!" Their crisp calls overlapped one another.
Such eager devotion made Loki turn and glance down at the pack of girls whose eyes were full of nothing but Haimer, then look back at Haimer himself, one eyelid twitching hard.
Then she went bounding up the stairs to the platform, taking them two at a time, and sidled right up next to him.
And without the slightest ceremony, she jabbed her elbow into his side, twice, hard.
"Hey, aren't you gonna go rein in that girl down there?"
Loki cut her eyes sideways, her gaze sweeping past the edge of the platform to the very center of the training ground below.
There stood Narukami Koharu, that pitch-black tachi [Weeping Blood] hanging from one hand, squared off against Ais, who held the [Sword of Despair].
"That girl's got her sights set on my Ais, y'know."
"And if my Ais slips up just a little on holding back her strength and ends up snapping a few of her bones, don't come crying to me that I didn't warn you."
Faced with Loki's remark, half warning and half stirring the pot, Haimer showed little reaction.
"Wouldn't that be all the better?"
"It'd let her see clearly just how wide the gap is between herself and the strong."
That gave Loki pause, and her lips instantly pushed out into a pout.
She folded her arms across her chest and stared suspiciously at the side of his face for a good long while. This old friend of hers was becoming more and more of a mystery.
After all, this was a promising rookie he'd just brought in. The [Grace] shouldn't even have gone warm on her back yet, and here he was, tossing her straight out to get beaten black and blue by a Lv.5 first-rank adventurer?
Wasn't he afraid of crushing the confidence she'd only just managed to build?
Meanwhile, Riveria, who had led Haimer up here, stood only a few steps away and had heard every word of their exchange clearly. Her emerald eyes drifted a couple of times toward Koharu, out in the middle of the grounds.
"Lord Haimer, you seem quite confident in this new recruit of yours?"
"Do you truly believe she can defeat Ais?" There was some hesitation in Riveria as well. She took a step forward, coming to stand shoulder to shoulder with Haimer, her tone measured.
Hearing the question, Haimer gave a light shake of his head, not even half a second's hesitation, shattering the premise outright.
"Of course not."
Haimer's gaze remained fixed on Koharu's back.
"Lady Ais is very strong. Whether by the numbers or by combat experience, she isn't someone the Koharu of now can defeat."
"That much is beyond doubt."
Just as Riveria was about to nod in agreement—
"However…" His tone shifted ever so slightly.
"I think Koharu will bring you all a surprise all the same."
A surprise? At those words, Loki and Riveria both furrowed their brows a fraction, their eyes following Haimer's line of sight back to the center of the field.
Besides the killing intent that hung about her, so thick it wouldn't disperse, what else could that girl possibly bring to bear against a Lv.5 [Sword Princess]?
The conversation on the platform had only just fallen quiet.
Down on the training ground, the change came all at once.
Narukami Koharu gripped the hilt of [Weeping Blood] in both hands and wrenched the blade up hard.
A high stance over the right shoulder.
—The opening form of the [Yakumaru Jigen-ryu].
The next instant.
"BOOM—"
A ring of air blasted violently across the smooth white stone bricks of the grounds.
A tearing shriek burst through the air, like silk being ripped apart. It was the sonic boom born of compressing the speed of a sword swing to its absolute limit!
—[Cloud Radiance].
Almost the very instant the sound rang out!
Koharu's figure had already vanished from where she stood, dissolving into an afterimage!
The pure black tachi, wrapped in a suffocating, wicked wind, came slashing straight down at Ais.
Ais's gold-foil eyes narrowed a fraction.
Her right foot stamped hard against the ground, her body forcing itself into a slide to the right.
At the same time, she flicked a backhand up.
Even as her frame was still moving, the [Sword of Despair] had already been brought precisely level at her side!
"CLANG—!"
A tremendous crash of metal on metal. Sparks scattered everywhere. Ais had dodged.
But not completely.
In that razor-thin exchange just now, a single strand of golden hair still slipped free, drifting lightly from the hair at Ais's left temple.
Under the morning sun, so fierce it was almost blinding, it looked like an impossibly fine golden thread. It spun through the air and finally, unhurriedly, settled onto the stone floor.
Ais had had her hair cut.
Their first clash. And it had ended with Koharu very nearly drawing blood on Ais.
The crucial thing was—
"So fast…" Raul, the [Extraordinary Man] of the second regiment, stood on the second-floor balcony, his mouth hanging wide open, unable to close it for the longest time.
Just moments ago he'd sworn up and down, betting that this rookie wouldn't last thirty seconds.
And the result? Koharu's speed—even he, a Lv.4, couldn't follow it clearly.
It wasn't only Raul. Anakity and Alicia likewise failed to make it out.
As for Riveria up on the platform, and Finn, Gareth and the other high-ranking officers of the [Loki Familia] watching from the edge of the grounds—their faces were, every one of them, uncommonly astonished.
After all, with their eyes, they could of course trace the full arc of the strike Koharu had just made.
But seeing it clearly was one thing.
The sheer speed that single stroke displayed, and the near-seamless continuity from draw to landing blow, had already, in solid fact, closed in on the striking speed of a Lv.5 adventurer.
Though everyone in the first regiment knew it—
Ais had clearly underestimated her opponent in her opening read. She'd treated the girl as a rookie who couldn't so much as pierce her armor, and so hadn't gone all out to anticipate that blow.
But still.
You had to remember: Koharu's own base abilities were only Lv.1.
What kind of terrifying skill did that take?
…
In the center of the training ground, Ais lowered her head slightly, her gaze falling on the little tuft of hair lying quietly on the ground beside her.
With fingers clad in a metal gauntlet, she gently pinched up that severed strand. She rolled it between her fingertips.
She looked at it for about two seconds. Then Ais released her fingers, letting the cut strand drift away on the wind.
Only now, the emptiness in her eyes had been swept clean away.
In its place was a wholly kindled earnestness.
Slowly, Ais raised the [Sword of Despair].
The point of the blade rose bit by bit until, for the first time in this standoff, it formally leveled at Narukami Koharu across from her.
The air around her began to churn. Fine slivers of wind blades gathered and coiled around the silver-white blade.
The meaning of this stance, everyone present—even a layman—could read.
The [Sword Princess] had gotten serious.
And yet. What had been a bowstring drawn taut—
ended with—"Clang!" A crisp ring.
Koharu, the one who had issued the challenge, did not set up for another attack. Instead she twisted her wrist and, with unusual finality, slid that pitch-black [Weeping Blood] back into the sheath at her waist.
By now the web of her hand had split open in the clash just now, a gash torn across it. Her palm was dripping blood. Even so.
Koharu looked at Ais across from her, fully braced in a combat stance, wind spirits swirling about her—and felt not the slightest flinch. If anything, she grinned.
"Very interesting."
"Just now—you saw through the path of my blade, didn't you?"
At that, the Wind Spirit Magic circling Ais faltered for a moment.
She looked at this girl who had just cut off her hair and blinked, stunned for a second. She tilted her head, as though confirming something.
Then, once she realized what Koharu meant, Ais nodded, honestly and firmly.
That opening burst had been terrifying indeed. But so long as she'd prepared her guard in advance, a second time she would no longer be driven into a corner by the same technique.
Seeing Ais's confirming gesture, Koharu realized she had indeed lost. The fervor in her eyes drew in at once, and she let out a sigh.
After all. What she and Tsukuyo had both learned was the [Yakumaru Jigen-ryu]. And the core essence of the [Yakumaru Jigen-ryu] lay in the one-strike kill.
—Draw the blade, kill, sheathe the blade.
Every ounce of power, of speed, even of spirit, was forged into that first stroke. Its whole doctrine was: "Win with one cut. Never need a second."
Now that the strongest first blow had been seen through and read by her opponent, it was like the fastest, finest horse in the stable dropping dead the very moment it stepped onto the field.
The finest horse was already dead. What could you possibly race others with now?
So forcing out a second stroke would lose all meaning outright.
Koharu understood this principle perfectly well.
What was more, even on a first encounter, Ais had managed to catch it, caught off guard, and parry with her blade. That alone was enough to show that Ais was, in every respect, far above her.
At that thought, Koharu was left without a shred of lingering reluctance. She gave it up, decisively.
"Since you've seen through the speed of my draw just now."
"Then this round, I concede."
Koharu threw up her hands in surrender without hesitation, turning her head with an air of indifference. She lifted her gaze from Ais—who was left in a state of confusion over why she'd suddenly conceded—and looked straight past everyone else, up to Haimer on the platform.
Koharu's ease in advancing and retreating was, of course, plain to Haimer at a glance.
Unlike Amaha. Koharu wasn't just a battle-obsessed fanatic; she was a cunning beast who knew how to read the moment.
"Loki, mind if I borrow a room here?"
Catching the signal Koharu's gaze had sent, Haimer gave a slight nod, turned, and looked at Loki, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Huh? Borrow a room?" The line left Loki a bit lost.
"You're only half done with the fight. What are you up to?"
"You'll know soon enough." Haimer didn't waste breath explaining, simply tossing out that one line.
Seeing Haimer wearing the look of a dead pig that fears no boiling water, with no intention of explaining himself—
Loki rolled her eyes, tilted her head back, and turned her gaze toward the crowd of the second regiment, who had been craning their necks over on the second floor of the Twilight Manor to watch the show all this while.
After all, the first regiment still had instructing to attend to. And so.
Loki stretched out a finger and pointed.
"Alicia! Get over here and take Haimer to find any empty guest room he likes!"
Called out so suddenly, Alicia was startled. But the head god's command was not to be defied.
Alicia quickly left the window and hurried down the stairs, coming to stand before Haimer.
"Lord Haimer, this way, please." Alicia kept a respectful posture.
"Koharu, come on." Seeing this, Haimer called out to Koharu.
By now Koharu had already walked out from the center of the training ground, her hand resting on the hilt at her waist, sauntering along behind Haimer, loose and easy.
And so. Under the dubious gazes of the crowd, the three of them entered the interior of the Twilight Manor and came to a spacious, quiet guest room.
Having just finished her task of showing the way, Alicia stood by the door, about to bow and withdraw.
Who knew—the scene that followed gave Alicia a fright.
"Heave-ho!"
Without a single word, right in front of Alicia, Koharu simply grabbed the hem of her top with both hands and yanked it up!
In one clean motion she pulled the top off and tossed it carelessly onto a chair beside her. She bared, without the slightest cover, her entire back—flat, yet not without smooth, flowing lines of muscle—to the open air. Only a few thin straps at the front held the undergarment in place.
Alicia, being an elf, froze on the spot. The fair, pure face unique to elves flushed as though set aflame, the redness spreading all the way to the pointed tips of her ears.
Alicia was, after all, a traditional elf who revered the elf royalty, born carrying the reserved doctrines of elven tradition. And so, faced with a human girl stripping off her top so unabashedly before a male god—she felt rather caught off guard, not daring to let her eyes wander.
"You… what are you doing?" Alicia asked, flustered and at a loss, her face red.
Koharu turned her head and, with those distinctive spiral eyes, glanced at the crimson-faced elf Alicia.
"You can only update the [Grace] with the clothes off."
"Isn't this a process every one of you adventurers has to go through? What's so surprising about it?"
Alicia was left speechless by that. She swallowed, then, still somewhat stunned, said:
"But… in front of Lord Loki, none of us are ever this bold…"
The moment she finished the sentence, Alicia's mind had already begun running wild with imaginings.
Especially once she felt her own cheeks burning.
"You… you two go ahead. I'll wait outside first!" Alicia yanked the door open on the spot and darted out!
Leaving only Haimer and Koharu in the room.
"Such a fuss over nothing." Faced with Alicia's reaction, Koharu remained unimpressed.
As for Haimer, though he felt a touch of helplessness that Koharu could be so utterly at ease before him, a male god, there was nothing to say. He walked to the bedside and gestured.
"Lie down."
"Yes." At that, Koharu naturally did as told at once, lying face-down on the soft bedding.
What came next was, of course, the very step the two of them had left unfinished the night before. Rank Sublimation.
After all, now—having witnessed the strength of a Lv.5 like Ais, Koharu's eagerness to sublimate her own level had risen especially high.
And so. Haimer extended a finger.
He took the long, slender silver needle he carried on him and lightly pricked a bit of skin on his fingertip.
The next second, a single drop of Divine Blood, faintly threaded with a dark gleam, seeped out.
Then Haimer ran his fingertip across Koharu's firm, smooth back, and the sacred script that had lain hidden beneath the skin swiftly surfaced, its intricate patterns kindling like glowing embers, shimmering with light!
The Grace update began. A moment later, the light faded.
Koharu's level rose.
—[Level]: Lv.1 → Lv.2.
After Haimer began completing the Rank Sublimation process for Koharu, two faintly glowing Development Ability options appeared, plain to see, on her back.
They were: [Swordsman]—greatly increases the power of sword-type weapons. [Preemptive]—grants a reaction speed a step ahead of others.
"After Rank Sublimation, two Development Ability options have appeared on you."
"Both are options derived from your combat experience."
"They're the equivalent of a buff, one that can help you grow stronger under certain conditions."
"Do you need me to read them out for you?"
Not knowing whether Tsukuyo had ever taught Koharu this kind of common knowledge, Haimer explained in advance.
"Of course."
"Tsukuyo hasn't told me any of this yet. I'd imagine she wanted to leave it for you, Kami-sama, to read to me." Hearing this, Koharu, lying on the bed, gave a light nod.
So Haimer went on to explain [Swordsman] and [Preemptive]. Hearing these two options, a glint of light flashed through Koharu's eyes as well.
It seemed one of these two was to her liking.
Watching her, Haimer had a fair idea of what Koharu's choice would be. After all—
For someone who practiced the [Yakumaru Jigen-ryu], who believed in deciding life and death in a single stroke, who had cast away her own defense to the very limit—the stable power boost that [Swordsman] offered could never compare to [Preemptive], which let her seize the initiative in the instant of an exchange and slit an enemy's throat within a millisecond.
"I choose [Preemptive]."
Sure enough, in the end, Koharu gave the very answer Haimer had thought of.
"As you wish."
With that. Haimer's hand came down!
The [Preemptive] Development Ability was granted, complete!
And so. Once everything was accomplished and Haimer brought Koharu back—
Loki fixed her stare on the returning Koharu, her eyelid twitching away.
After all, as the head god who had spent several decades in the Lower World and dragged the [Loki Familia] up to be one of Orario's top powers, Loki's eye for such things was quite sharp.
Before Koharu went in, her aura had still been that sharp, keen edge that lacked underlying depth. But after these few steps out here now, it was utterly different from before.
At that thought, Loki whipped her head around and glared hard at Haimer.
"I'm telling you, Haimer."
"Don't tell me…"
"That room you just borrowed from me—you actually went and updated her Grace…"
"And then went ahead and sublimated her level while you were at it?"
Watching Loki carry on so flustered and alarmed, Haimer's expression stayed as calm as ever, and he did not deny it.
"Of course. Her feats were enough. If she wants to rank up, she ranks up."
"Is that something worth being surprised over?"
He answered so lightly, as if he'd just gone in to drink a cup of tea. But Loki, by contrast, felt her blood and qi come slamming up into her skull.
After all, without comparison there is no pain.
____
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