CH 105

Episode 105 – The True Strength of the Captain of the Knights

TL Note: Sponsored chapter (3/4)

It was the next day after it was decided that I would study under Kirty. The moment I opened my eyes, I immediately got ready and went outside, where I found Kirty standing outside the rundown inn with her arms crossed in an imposing stance. I came outside just as early as yesterday, Kirty had showed up even earlier than me. When Kirty saw me walk out of the rundown inn, she grinned broadly, looking even more fired up than I was for some reason.

“Kirty-san, good morning. I’ll be in your care from today onwards.” (Lewin)

“Morning, Lewin. I’m gonna put a lot of effort into training you, so make sure you follow along without complaining.” (Kirty)

I wondered about this yesterday, but even though I had only agreed to not disclose what happened between us and was essentially receiving her guidance for free, for some reason Kirty looked incredibly happy to be teaching me. I didn’t know what Kirty was normally like, so this could just be how she normally acted though.

“Alright! Good response. Then let’s get right down to it. For starters, how about you swing your sword like always?” (Kirty)

“Okay.” (Lewin)

As Kirty indicated, I started swinging my sword in my usual fashion. She was watching me closely with her arms crossed, so I started feeling a bit nervous, but I did my best to swing my wooden sword without thinking about it. It definitely felt awkward at first because I was being examined, but, after a while, I was able to concentrate entirely on my sword and began to make more solid sword swings. I thought it was looking good, but at that moment, Kirty stopped me.

“Okay. You can stop there for now. As I thought, you have a strange distortion in your swing. It seems that the more you concentrate, the worse it becomes. Have you noticed this yourself?” (Kirty)

“Yes. I was using a certain person’s way of swinging the sword as a reference, so that might be the cause of the distortion that you were referring to.” (Lewin)

“I don’t know who this person that you were using as a reference is, but I think it might be better to erase their style from your mind and start over from scratch. I think that person’s sword style is probably a style that is completely unique to them and is directed to their own personal way of fighting. But… the one thing I can say for sure is that this person’s way of swinging their sword is not well-suited for you,” Kirty told me flatly. If she was able to declare that with such confidence, then it was most likely a sword style not suited for me. Considering Ahmed’s character, it was totally like her to have polished her own unique sword style, so I was surprised that Kirty was able to discern this so precisely.

“Then what should I do? It’s a bit embarrassing, but I’ve never had anyone teach me how to use a sword before.” (Lewin)

“It’s alright. That’s why I’m here to guide you, Lewin. Then for now, I’ll demonstrate some examples for you, and you can try to imitate it as you swing your sword.” (Kirty)

After Kirty said this, she drew her own wooden sword from her waist, raised it overhead, and then lightly swung downwards. Draw the sword, raise it overhead, and swing down. It was such an exceedingly simple set of actions, but without a single wasted movement, they flowed from one right into the other. It was a swing so refined and well-honed that it was hard not to admire it. If I was capable of performing such a beautiful sword swing, I was sure that my world would look entirely different. Just her one sword swing made me sure of that.

“―Fuuu. How was it? That was the basic overhead slash.” (Kirty)

“Yes! That was so cool!” (Lewin)

“…I wasn’t really asking you if it was cool though. Well, I’m glad you thought so, but I was thinking that you could start by imitating this overhead slash.” (Kirty)

“I have the image ingrained into my mind, so I think I can probably imitate it… Should I try once?” (Lewin)

“Yeah. Give it a shot.” (Kirty)

As soon as Kirty gave me the go-ahead, I raised my sword overhead before swinging it straight down as I saw her do just now.

…….It was so bad that I was at a loss for words. Comparing it to Kirty’s swing just now, even I could see that it was a mess. From a third party’s perspective, it probably looked even worse.

“…That was completely awful. Am I even going to be able to have a swing that beautiful one day?” (Lewin)

“Right now, you still have a lot of bad habits ingrained in your technique, Lewin. It’ll take some time, but if you correct it little by little, I’m sure you’ll have a proper swing very soon.” (Kirty)

I felt relieved when I heard Kirty say that. It had already been about 4 months since I started practicing with the sword. For that duration, I had performed practice swings in the method that [Azure Alliance] taught me. But since there was no one to correct my mistakes, my swing was gradually losing its shape. I was glad that I was able to realize the risks of doing things my own way as an amateur only a few months after I started.

Also, Kirty’s evaluation in my mind went up a lot. She was kind of a weird person, which left me a bit worried for her at first, but she had a keen eye that could identify my mistakes immediately. And then there was her overhead slash, which was so well refined that it was a marvel to behold. Even though she was only using a wooden sword, that one slash could have easily cut through a monster’s flesh. In this short time, I had come to realize what it meant for her to have climbed to the position of Captain in the Knights of the Royal Order using her own ability. As long as I single-mindedly followed what Kirty said, I should definitely be able to get stronger. Thinking about it again, the chance to be taught by a Captain of the Knights of the Royal Order would never come again a second time. I would have to put forth my utmost effort so that I wouldn’t let her down.