05 — Coming Battle

05 — Coming Battle

I awoke feeling well-rested and nostalgic for my old room. It was a little earlier than usual, and the sun had yet to rise.

“Old habits...” I muttered. “That business with Forêt and the spirit probably didn’t help.”

I stretched, just like I used to, and considered the upcoming sparring match. Yesterday’s exercise had shown the Valkyries how much my stats had improved since our past training sessions, at least when it came to Elizabeth and Saran. Catherine and Lumina were on a whole other level, though. I wouldn’t be able to overpower them.

I decided the matter of Forêt and Estia would be best addressed later. Then I realized it might have been possible to speak to the former through the Spirit of Dusk and ask if she preferred staying with Yanbath. And just like that, I had overturned my own decision and ended up spending my whole morning thinking about the two.

I gave myself a light slap on the cheeks to focus, then headed for the Valkyries’ training grounds. By the time I arrived, the sun had begun to lighten the sky.

“Good morning, Catherine,” I said in greeting. “You’re here early.”

“Morning, Luciel,” she replied. “It’s not every day you get to spar with the Lion.”

The captain had an uncharacteristically innocent look in her eyes. Lionel was a frightening person but clearly an idol to her nonetheless. He was definitely popular. I probably should have warned her that as far as I could tell, he and Nalia were already an item.

“He’s strong,” I said.

“It’s exciting. We can test the limits of our abilities without a fight to the death. Say, why don’t we have a little warm-up? I need to do something with all this energy.”

I take it back. She was just itching for a fight. Why was every single strong fighter a battle-crazed lunatic? I guess it stood to reason that people who enjoyed testing their skills against powerful opponents would naturally improve.

“Sure, as long as you promise to go easy on me.”

“Of course. And feel free to use that special weapon of yours.”

“I can’t guarantee it won’t break your sword,” I reminded her.

“Oh, I know.”

She was confident. Well, there was no harm in using her as a stand-in instructor for now.

“All right, then here I come.”

I dove in and quickly struck close with the Illusion Sword, trying to catch her off guard.

“Fast,” Catherine remarked. “But is that all you can do?”

I had charged with all the speed I could, boosted by the Physical Enhancement skill, but still she had dodged my blade by a hair’s breadth.

“I’m just getting started.”

I took out the Holy Dragon spear, switching to my old and faithful sword-and-spear technique, and let loose a barrage of attacks. I had grown through my training, and I wielded the spear, one-handed, with confidence, thrusting smoothly and without breaking form.

“You’ve grown, I’ll give you that,” she noted. “You might even give the others a good show. Except for Lumina, that is.”

“I appreciate the flattery, but I’m still out of my league here,” I admitted. “I’m no captain of the guard, after all.”

“Maybe. I’m sure your teammates can fight this well, can’t they?”

“If they’re going easy on me,” I muttered. She knew firsthand they were even stronger than that. Of course, Catherine was still formidable on her own. “The way you’re acting makes me think you’re the strongest person in the Church. Is there anyone who can beat you?”

“There used to be,” she said, her eyes distant. “People you would aspire to beat. Nowadays, I constantly have to watch myself. Hold back.” Her expression softened into a smile. “So I really am glad you’ve brought some people who can push us to give it our all.”

The Labyrinth of Trials had really placed a heavy burden on her over the years. But still, she had founded the Valkyries. I thought that was worth being proud of.

“Let’s resume, shall we?” I asked, moving to attack. “One day, I’ll build an army so powerful, you’ll never be lacking for rivals again.”

“Excluding yourself, I see.”

“Hey, a support class is a support class.”

I pivoted and thrust my spear out, an opening Catherine did not let pass. She slammed her heel into my chest with a high kick, knocking the wind out of me. I managed to keep my balance, but not before she had placed the tip of her blade at my throat.

“All right,” I panted, “you win.”

“Not bad,” she commented, “but sloppy. Maybe you’ll tighten up your technique with experience. Or maybe it’s your reliance on healing magic.”

I swallowed. True, my ability to heal certainly allowed me to fight more recklessly than I normally would, but was it really still causing me to get sloppy? I thought I’d gotten somewhat stronger, but against Catherine, I was just taking meaningless damage. God forbid I ever lost my magic.

My master would have my head if I showed up to fight him like this. He’d resort to calling me “kid” again.

“How do I get stronger?” I asked.

“Well, you have a guard detail, so you’re pretty safe, all things considered,” Catherine replied. “If you’re ever on the front line, I’d say you need to keep your style at seventy-to-thirty offense-to-defense. Otherwise, you’ll only be subjecting yourself to needless injury.”

“Seventy-thirty,” I repeated. “Can we have a rematch?”

“Hungry today, eh? All right, I’ll bite.” She settled back into her combat stance with a small grin.

I promptly proceeded to lose ten matches in a row before it was time for breakfast.

“When did it get so late?” I mumbled.

Suddenly noticing my surroundings, I realized the Valkyries had been watching us.

“Nice job hanging in there, Luciel.”

“That’s our battle-crazed healer.”

“Didn’t think you’d last that long.”

The audience’s commentary was definitely something I had been missing in my more recent training sessions.

We left for the dining hall together, and on the way I made sure to vehemently address the allegations that I was “battle-crazed.” At the entrance to the dining hall, Lionel, Estia, and the rest were waiting for me.

“Good morning, everyone. Did you sleep well?” I asked.

“While not particularly pleasantly, I did sleep,” Lionel answered.

“Got a good forty winks,” Ketty said.

Kefin’s expression hardened. “Not so much for me. I’m not used to beds being, er, soft.” Life in Yenice was the likely reason for that preference.

“I suggest you learn to adapt,” Lionel told him. “We can’t have you exhausted in the field because the bed wasn’t to your liking.”

“I’m seriously considering the floor as a viable alternative,” Kefin responded.

“Let’s maybe start making our sleeping arrangements a little less firm,” I suggested.

“I’ll get on that,” Dhoran said.

“I’ll help,” offered Pola.

“Now, we’ll be needing some magic stones—” Lycian began.

I gave her a sarcastic smile. “No you won’t.”

And yet I ended up handing them over anyway. A magic stone excursion into the labyrinth soon seemed to be in order.

“Mister Luciel,” Estia said, her eyes fixed on the floor, “I apologize for last night.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I replied. “Are you feeling better?”

Smooth. We could talk normally.

“Yes. I...”

“Let’s talk more later. What are your plans today?” I asked.

“I need to speak with someone,” she said. “I can regroup with you all when I’m finished.”

“Got it.”

“Luciel,” Catherine cut in, “you do know she’s with Her Holiness, right?”

“You know about Estia?” I asked.

“She’s a rare one. Arcanist sword fighters always are. They suspected she would be useful to you because Lord Reinstar could manipulate the spirits back in his day.”

Shoot, I’d forgotten to tell my team about her class. I shouldn’t have spoken so carelessly in front of them. Oops. Maybe they wouldn’t take the information so badly. I wasn’t sure exactly how they felt about the spirits.

The pope was a mixed human and high elf (a high half-elf?), and her father was none other than Lord Reinstar. If her father could commune with the spirits, no wonder she could.

“Let’s just have breakfast,” I suggested. We entered the dining hall. “Morning, Rosa,” I greeted the server.

“And good morning to you,” she replied.

“I’m thinking about getting some new clothes for my companions. Would you mind showing me to that store again? Annie, I think the owner’s name was.”

“You mean Anna? I don’t think you need me for that,” she said. “Unless you’ve forgotten the way.”

“No, not at all,” I said, maintaining a polite smile. The companions in question behind me could not pick their own clothes to save their lives. “I just don’t want my fashion choices to be the next thing under scrutiny.”

I didn’t need much, since I could use purification magic, which negated the need to change all that often. But I was in the public eye, and I had to pay attention to appearances.

“O-Okay, I understand!” Rosa said, flustered. “Lift your head now, dear.”

I glanced up at her, then did as she asked. “I’ll let you know when I end up needing your help.”

“As long as there’s no more bowing involved. Really, now.”

I laughed. “I’ll try to remember. Anyway, an extra-large helping, please.”

“You’re turning my hair white faster than age. Just a minute.” She disappeared into the kitchen with a sigh.

“I didn’t know you had an interest in fashion,” said Lumina mildly.

“Eh, no more than any other guy,” I said. “I just thought we might need extra clothes for when we travel, and I have people who can magically enchant them if needed.”

“Do you...” Lumina seemed to pick her words. “You know of Blanche, yes?”

“The country east of Yenice?” I’d heard from Galba that it was a hotbed of human supremacy. There were a lot of rumors about the place, none of them good.

“Should you find yourself there—and only if you have the chance, really—would you check on the state of the government for me?”

“Sure thing, if we ever go.”

I didn’t bother to ask why Lumina was acting so strange. Luckily, Rosa appeared with my food before we could fall into an awkward silence. I thanked her and found a seat.

The meal was lively with talk of the day’s coming battles, and Lumina’s expression brightened once again, but her somber mood from earlier hadn’t escaped my notice.

Afterwards, Estia went her own way, and the rest of us entered the training grounds.