Chapter 233 - Talk

"One more time!"

"Y-yes!"

A little girl replied in a high pitched voice as she once again began swinging a short wooden sword. After completing a set number of swings the little girl immediately dropped the sword and collapsed down on the ground.

"...tired already?"

"B-but...its break time..."

"Hm...That's for you to decide. If you think you can keep going then keep going, but if this is all it takes to tire you out...then you're dream of becoming a Sword Saintess will only amount to that, a mere dream!"

"..."

The little girl stood up and picked up her wooden sword. She began swinging the sword while moving around in the set of movement techniques her mother taught her.

"Later today, I'll be introducing you to my second apprentice. She's a girl just like you, but she's shown much more zeal over the sword than you. Please watch over her and don't disgrace your mother by showing her that earlier pitiful performance."

******

After a couple of years, that same girl was brought to the castle and was placed next to the crown prince as an aid.

"Is something wrong, Serilla?"

"...nothing."

The young Zephyr smiled at her and said, "Lighten up a little, it's been a while since you've last visited. I'm sure Eliza would be very happy to see you! She'll be even more ecstatic to hear that you're going to be living here with us."

"Yes...I can't wait to see her."

"Then go."

"Your Highness?"

"Just go, and, don't act like a stranger! Just because you're here under the King's decree doesn't mean you should start acting any differently like you used to!"

"...okay."

"Good, Eliza would be sad to see you treat her this way. I recall you two being very close friends, almost like sisters, right?"

The young Serilla smiled. She bowed and took her leave to go meet up with her friend, the Kingdom's Princess, Elizabeth Arks.

She found the girl currently practicing with her rapier at the castle's training grounds. The soldiers had just finished their training routine and it appeared that Elizabeth had also participated with them.

Evidence of it was the heavy perspiration and rough breathing the girl was sporting. With how she normally trained alongside Serilla under the tutelage of their master, the Sword Saintess, just doing light swings wasn't enough to exhaust her.

So Serilla deduced that Elizabeth had once again gone against her father's orders and trained with the soldiers. It wasn't like the soldiers or the captain could stop her from doing so. Elizabeth was the princess after all.

"Eliza!"

"Hm?" The young Elizabeth froze mid-swing and turned to look at the source of the familiar voice. She saw a pink-haired bunnykin girl waving at her.

"Seri! You're here!" Elizabeth rushed over to Serilla and was just about to dive in for a hug, but remembering that she had just finished training with the soldiers earlier, she stopped.

"W-wait...let me shower first! I just finished training!"

"Ehehe~ okay."

Elizabeth quickly rushed off to take a shower and Serilla waited for her at the training grounds. She looked around and sighed tiredly.

Remembering her friend practicing as zealously as ever, Serilla couldn't help but grow envious.

"I've reached the end of the road...other than experience; I'm not sure what else to gain from training anymore..."

At the young age of 14, Serilla had already fully understood the sword arts that her mother taught to her and she had long since entered into the ranks of a Sword Maiden, the potential candidates who would become the kingdom's next Sword Saintess.

She found training to no longer be useful since she couldn't improve no matter how hard she tried. She needed experience and live combat in order to improve any further. Training alone won't suffice and sparring with other people besides her mother proved to be of little use as well since they were too easily defeated.

She wouldn't be able to gleam anything from a spar like that and her mother couldn't always accompany her every day to spar.

Her dream and aspiration as a child was beginning look more and more unattractive as the days passed. She aspired to be a Sword Saintess just like her mother since she admired and deeply loved her.

However, as Serilla grew older, the monotonous training to become a Sword Saintess and the duties tied to the title was instead eating away at her motivation to the point where she no longer sought after that dream.

"I don't want to be the Sword Saintess anymore...since Eli's still going at it...I'll let her have it..."

Right now, she only saw the current end of her sword path and that's what's causing her to feel unmotivated as of late. However, even though she found being a Sword Saintess unappealing now, she still dearly loved the sword and continued to training daily in hopes of finding a way forward down her path.

But despite the long days of training, she still couldn't find a path forward and thought that she had really reached the end.

Serilla was frustrated at the thought that she could no longer learn anymore and walk further down her path. She was desperate to find a way forward, but no matter how and where she looked, she couldn't find it.

At least, not until 4 years later when she met a certain someone who immediately opened up her eyes and showed her a much vaster world.

******

"So because you reached the end of the road...you almost gave up?" Foxkin-form Lucia asked.

"Yup...I know it's pathetic, laugh all you want!"

"I won't laugh...I haven't reached that point yet in my training so I don't have any right to laugh at you, Seri. After all, I can't even begin to imagine how frustrated you were at that time...especially since no one was helping you at all..."

Serilla smiled sadly. During those times, she had to practice alone because her mother was always busy with her duties as a Sword Saintess and she had to guide Elizabeth with her training as well as the other pupils that her mother took in.

She looked up at Lucia and smiled brightly. That was then, and this was now. She finally found her way forward and she was ever so thankful.

"...Thanks, Lulu...also...THANK YOU DARLING!" Serilla jumped up from her seat and dove onto the bed where Cecil was currently reading his magic tome in leisure.

"W-woah!"

Serilla landed on top of Cecil and moved to kiss him.

"Stop! Not. Now!" Cecil said as he pushed away the rabbitkin's face.

"That means later is okay?"

"NO!"

"Awww~"

"Why are you being like this?!"

"Because~ I wuv you~"

"..."

"Ehehehe~ it's because of darling that I was able to take a step onto my own sword path!"

"...You're welcome?"

"Hihihi~"

The party was currently staying at the inn where the Kil'gor Merchant Company's gathering was held. They were staying inside one of the rooms that the merchant company had reserved for their party with their disguises dispelled.

Cecil was currently in his 'human form' and had already told Serilla about his backstory and how he got here. Since they were going to be traveling together, he thought he should get that out of the way so as to not cause any misunderstandings later down the road.

Serilla was of course very much surprised to hear about Cecil's story and circ.u.mstances, but she was even happier at the fact that he shared it with her. This meant that the boy trusted and had opened up to her.

'It's only a matter of time before darling falls for me as well, right?' Those were her thoughts when she took in the information of Cecil being an actual human and a person not of this world. It didn't matter where he was from because the Cecil right now was the person she dearly loved.

This was also why Serilla had shared her stories from childhood to her two travel companions. The girl had just finished and was about to express her thanks to her beloved, but was once again blocked.

Ever since Serilla had gotten away from the beastkin kingdom, she became very clingy and bubbly all of a sudden. Of course this was only when the 3 were alone. On any other occasion, Serilla would retain her calm and big sister-like attitude.

Although, it seemed that Cecil was preoccupied with something else, he was still listening in on Serilla's story about her past. He found it intriguing. If Serilla at such a young age had already faced the 'wall' then what would have happened if they had met earlier?

Serilla wouldn't have had to waste her time in stagnation. Just thinking about it caused Cecil to feel bothered for some reason. He also wanted to reprimand the old Serilla for giving up so easily like that.

If her current path had ended, then she should have just turned back and walked down another path! There was more than one way forward. If one path had ended go down another, if that path was blocked then just crush the obstacle and continue forwards!

At least, that was what Cecil did when he was young. He was able to master many of his family's techniques at an early age and at one point in time he did feel his progress stagnate no matter what he did.

However, through sheer force of will, coupled with many life threatening experiences he had gone through while on his family's private island, he was able to break past many of the bottlenecks he had come across and continued walking down on his martial path.

It was a little sad to find that Serilla's mother, Celia Lunarts, the current Sword Saintess, was always too busy with her duties and obligations to the kingdom that she couldn't continue to guide her very own daughter down her martial path.

Cecil didn't blame her since everyone had their own circ.u.mstances, but he did sort of blame Serilla for giving up too early.

However, it was a relief that the girl herself had realized how stupid and childish she was back then and had now found her very own path to walk on, not one that her mother forged for her.

"Y'know Cel, you should at least indulge and spoil Seri a little..." Lucia came up to Cecil's side and snuggled up to him.

Serilla brightened up and looked at Cecil hopefully when Lucia spoke up to support her. Cecil's brow twitched a little seeing her expression, but there was something more important to ask here.

"There's something even more important to address here," Cecil said in all seriousness.

"And that is?"

"Why...are you two in my room?"

"?"

"Hm?"

The two girls only responded with a puzzled look and this caused Cecil's face to twitch a little.

"...the merchant company had reserved rooms for every participating member of the quest...so you two have your own rooms..."

"And?"

"Yeah, and?"

"And that means...GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

"NO!"

"Noooo~"

Lucia responded by wrapping her arms tighter around his body while Serilla wrapped her arms and legs around him. Then the two said in unison.

"We belong here!"

Cecil grew exasperated at their synchronized response and just as he was about to say something, his MID began ringing.