The short break ended, and combat training began again.
This round of training was a mock battle.
A faint tension spread among the students. This was different from simple footwork drills or basic sparring.
A mock battle was training that moved like a real fight.
Of course, they used training swords, and a defensive barrier had been laid over the training ground,
but even so, pointing a sword at someone in order to win carried a distinct pressure.
The instructor checked the roster with the students’ names, then called out the opponents in order.
“Elysia Valerion.”
Elysia stepped forward.
I was back on top of her head.
After resting on her lap for a short while during the break, my body had loosened up quite a bit.
Of course, that did not mean the current situation was comfortable.
A baby fox sitting on someone’s head during a mock battle—no matter how I thought about it, it was strange.
But the moment I heard the next name, my ears shot up.
“Richard Krazen.”
‘……Ha.’
Could there really be such a coincidence?
No, calling it a coincidence felt far too contrived.
But it was also hard to say the instructor had deliberately matched Elysia with Richard.
He should have known the atmosphere between the two was unpleasant because of what happened earlier,
yet the instructor did not change his expression at all.
Perhaps it really was intentional.
Richard walked forward with the corners of his mouth raised.
One look at his face made it clear he thought this had worked out nicely.
Just seeing that expression put me in a bad mood.
‘I really don’t like that face.’
I could not see Elysia’s expression.
I was on top of her head, after all.
But strangely, I could feel a little of her emotions.
A very small, suppressed anger.
Displeasure she was trying not to show outwardly.
And concern directed toward me.
‘……Is this a connection?’
It seemed to be because I had been continuously letting small amounts of my spiritual power flow into Elysia.
Riding that thin current, the emotions contained in Elysia’s aura were returning to me, ever so faintly.
It was not a complete contract, nor was it proper communion.
But the distance where we touched through her hair.
The spiritual power I had been steadily pouring in.
And Elysia’s awareness of me.
As those things overlapped, a connection like a thin thread seemed to have formed.
It seemed Elysia, like me, now got angry just from looking at Richard’s face.
It was a little admirable.
And a little troublesome.
“Both sides, prepare.”
The instructor’s voice rang out.
Elysia and Richard faced each other.
Even though they were only training swords, the atmosphere was not light with the two of them holding them.
The surrounding students naturally stopped talking as well.
“The rules are simple. No attacks on vital points. No excessive use of mana.
It ends when your opponent surrenders, loses their weapon, or I stop the match.”
The instructor’s gaze rested on Richard for a moment.
“And as I said just now, uncontrolled mana is not permitted.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Richard answered politely.
Only his words were polite.
Seeing the look in his eyes, I sighed inwardly.
‘Keep it in mind, my foot.’
He would definitely try something again.
That was the kind of face he had.
“Begin.”
The instructor gave the signal.
Richard moved first.
He was faster than I expected.
He stepped forward lightly to close the distance, lowering the tip of his sword to aim at Elysia’s lower body.
At the same time, his shoulders and gaze were directed upward.
A movement meant to deceive the opponent’s eyes.
He had the basics down.
Elysia took one step back and lowered her sword.
Klang!
The training swords collided with a dull sound.
I lowered my body atop her head.
Keeping my balance in line with Elysia’s movements was no longer difficult.
The problem was Richard.
While pretending to attack Elysia, he subtly twisted the trajectory of his sword here and there.
The sword tip seemed to skim past Elysia’s shoulder, then suddenly sprang upward.
To be precise, toward me.
Elysia reacted at once.
She dipped her head slightly and raised her sword, pushing the trajectory away.
Clack!
The training sword glanced off.
I narrowed my eyes.
‘As expected.’
It was not a coincidence.
He was not openly aiming at me.
But the end of his attacks kept brushing toward me.
The trajectory of his sword.
The direction of his feet.
Everything was off by the slightest degree.
On the surface, it looked like an attack pressuring Elysia, but in reality, he was calculating even the position where I was.
His malice was truly shallow.
“Valerion, your sword is slow because you’re worrying about your familiar.”
Richard spoke in a low voice.
Elysia did not answer.
Instead, she adjusted her grip on her sword.
But I could feel it.
Elysia’s breathing wavered slightly.
Because she wanted to protect me, her sword was lagging by half a beat.
At moments when she should have attacked, she thought of defense; at moments when she should have advanced, she checked my position.
It was because of me.
‘How annoying.’
He really was an annoying bastard.
If I followed my heart, I would shoot out a streak of foxfire and lightly singe only Richard’s bangs.
No, I could not guarantee it would end with just his bangs.
‘No. Hold back.’
If I stepped in here, the situation would only grow bigger.
The instructor would certainly become suspicious, and the students would make even more noise.
Richard would act like the victim, and Elysia would be put in an even more difficult position.
Then there was only one way.
I would not step in directly.
Instead, I would help Elysia.
‘You just have to win.’
I lowered my body even further on Elysia’s head.
Then I let a little more spiritual power flow into her than before.
Very carefully.
But clearly.
A silver-pink energy flowed from the tips of my fur and seeped between Elysia’s strands of hair.
It passed down the nape of her neck to her shoulders, from her shoulders to her arms, and then to her fingertips.
I did not force her to move.
That would not be Elysia’s sword.
What I had to do was push open what was blocked.
Give direction to the disrupted flow.
And remind her of the movements she had originally been capable of.
Elysia’s body trembled very slightly.
She had felt it too.
The sensation of the aura tangled inside her loosening a little.
The sensation of the power that had always rushed ahead first now moving along with her sword.
Richard charged in again.
“Slow.”
He pretended to aim for Elysia’s right shoulder, then flicked the tip of his sword upward.
It was another trajectory aimed at me.
But this time was different.
Elysia’s foot moved first.
One step.
No, half a step.
She did not retreat.
Instead, she stepped inward.
Klang!
Before Richard’s sword could spring upward, Elysia’s sword pressed down toward his wrist.
“……!”
Richard’s eyes widened.
Elysia did not stop.
Her sword changed direction as if flowing downward.
It was not a sword that blocked.
Nor was it a sword that pushed away.
It was a sword that let the opponent’s force flow to the side, then slipped into the opening.
The instructor’s eyes narrowed.
The surrounding students held their breath.
“Just now……”
“Valerion went in first.”
“She’s much faster than usual?”
Richard gritted his teeth and tried to regain his stance.
But Elysia was already beside his center of gravity.
Her aura was still rough.
It was not perfect.
But the direction was right.
Her power gathered at the tip of her sword.
The flow that had been scattering needlessly was, for this one instant, connected as one.
‘Yes.’
I thought quietly.
‘That’s the way.’
Elysia’s sword moved briefly.
Tap.
The tip of her training sword struck the inside of Richard’s wrist.
It was not a powerful attack.
But it was precise.
The strength left Richard’s hand.
The training sword spun half a turn in the air before falling to the floor.
A clear sound rang through the training ground.
A moment of silence.
Then the instructor’s voice.
“Stop.”
Elysia halted her sword.
The tip of her blade was stopped precisely below Richard’s neck.
It did not touch him.
But if it had moved just a little farther, it would have been close enough to decide the match.
The instructor said,
“The winner is Elysia Valerion.”
The training ground stirred.
“She won?”
“Lady Valerion did?”
“Against Richard?”
“She knocked his sword down.”
“Did you see that movement just now?”
The students’ voices spread in low murmurs.
Elysia stood there with her sword raised, as if she still could not believe it.
Her breathing was a little rough.
But she did not collapse.
I quietly waved my tail atop her head.
‘Well done.’
Truly.
I had opened the path for her a little.
But the one who entered at the end was Elysia herself.
Striking Richard’s wrist, stopping her sword, and not crossing the line—all of it was her judgment.
Richard was staring at the sword that had fallen to the floor.
His face had stiffened.
An expression of disbelief.
And humiliation even deeper than that.
“……A fluke.”
He muttered lowly.
Elysia did not answer.
She simply lowered her sword.
That composure seemed to irritate Richard’s pride even more.
I looked at him, then let out a very small yawn.
This time, it was not a real yawn.
It was somewhat deliberate.
A few of the nearby students flinched.
“It yawned again.”
“While looking at Lord Richard……”
“Shh.”
Richard’s face stiffened further.
I nonchalantly buried my face back into Elysia’s hair.
‘Interpret that however you like.’
Elysia’s hand rose slightly.
Because they were still in training, she could not stroke my back, but her fingertips paused for a moment near the top of her head.
It seemed like she wanted to express her thanks, or perhaps to check whether I was truly all right.
I lightly touched the back of her hand with the tip of my tail.
I’m fine.
And you did fine too.
The instructor looked back and forth between the two of them.
In particular, his gaze lingered on Elysia a little longer.
“Valerion.”
“Yes.”
“Do not forget the sense you had just now.”
Elysia’s eyes wavered slightly.
“……Yes.”
“Until now, your sword has sent your strength ahead first, with your body following afterward.
But just now was different. Your body, breath, and sword moved almost at the same time.”
Elysia looked down at her own hand.
She knew it too.
That the sensation just now had been different from usual.
And that it had not been mere coincidence.
I quickly closed my eyes.
‘I didn’t do anything.’
Of course, it was not that I had done nothing.
But at the very least, I had not fought in her place.
I thought that was conscientious enough.
The instructor turned his gaze toward Richard.
“Richard.”
“……Yes.”
“Your sword lost its form. Because you were conscious of something other than your opponent.”
Richard’s lips hardened.
The instructor’s words were not blatant.
But those who understood could understand them.
Elysia.
Richard.
And me.
“The moment you aim for something other than your opponent in a mock battle, your sword is already late. Keep that in mind.”
“……I will keep it in mind.”
Richard barely managed to answer.
I snorted inwardly.
‘This time, really keep it in mind.’
The instructor clapped his hands.
“Next pair, prepare.”
Only then did the air in the training ground begin to move again.
Elysia returned to her place.
The students’ gazes followed her.
They were different from before.
They were no longer simply looks of curiosity at the baby fox on her head.
The sword Elysia had just shown them.
That brief but unmistakable change.
Those were the gazes of people who had seen it.
Perhaps Elysia felt it too, because her steps became a little more cautious.
I shifted slightly on her head.
‘Walk with confidence.’
I did not say it out loud.
But strangely, as if Elysia had understood what I meant, she straightened her back a little more.
Her steps steadied.
I closed my eyes in satisfaction.
‘Good.’
The first mock battle.
The result was Elysia’s victory.
Richard had tasted humiliation, and Elysia had felt, however slightly, the direction her sword should take.
Not bad.
Of course, there were problems too.
Richard now hated me even more.
‘It’s already becoming annoying to think about what he’ll try next.’
The students had noticed Elysia’s change.
And Elysia was beginning to feel my spiritual power more and more clearly.
‘……Not bad.’
I curled up again on top of Elysia’s head.
Then one of the students beside us muttered softly,
“Is it going to sleep right after winning?”
“Incredible……”
I ignored every assessment with my eyes closed.
In any case, we had won.
That was enough.