Chapter 23
Alice's eyes involuntarily followed Cadet Eki's movements. The swordsmanship she had idealized unfolded before her. She was so engrossed in watching Eki's sword that she only reflexively blocked the incoming attacks, just as Ekinesia had only blocked Alice's sword during their duel.
Then, Eki's swordsmanship changed slightly. Alice, who had been watching it with rapt attention, quickly realized. Ekinesia was now mimicking the exact attacks that Alice had used in that duel.
A feint grazing the neck, a retreat, then advancing again with an overhead slash, deflecting the blocked blow, and a thrust aimed at the calf.
A chill ran down her spine. Her grip loosened. Losing strength in her hand while exchanging blows was a fatal mistake. Alice's sword, colliding with Eki's, slipped from her grasp and flew away. The fallen sword rolled across the lawn.
Alice stared at Eki with a dazed expression. Eki sheathed her sword. Approaching Alice's fallen sword, she picked it up and offered it to her.
"Want to continue?"
"Just now, just now, what was that...? What was it? How?"
"Huh? Aren't you going to continue?"
Eki asked with a brazen face, but inwardly, she cautiously gauged Alice's reaction.
If Alice had been someone like Bread, she would have been furious. Or, if she lacked the eye for swordsmanship, she wouldn't have even realized what Ekinesia had done. Also, if she wasn't the type to delve seriously into swordsmanship, she would have placed more importance on the unpleasantness she felt at that moment.
If she hadn't been confident in her ability to see and catch up, she would have been overwhelmed with despair. If she had been more narrow-minded, she would have fallen into inferiority and jealousy.
But Alice was none of those things. With wide eyes, she haltingly accepted her sword from Eki.
"A-Again, again, please."
Eki didn't answer, but raised her sword. She attacked in the same way, as Alice had done, but in an increasingly perfect form.
Ekinesia's attacks came in the same sequence, but each repetition was slightly cleaner, and Alice tried to block them differently each time.
She dropped her sword several more times after that. Each time, Eki waited, and Alice hurriedly picked up her sword again and assumed her stance. The sparring continued without a word.
As the sun began to set, Eki sheathed her sword.
"Good work, Miss Winterbell."
Alice was drenched in sweat, breathing heavily enough that her shoulders were shaking. Eki was also sweaty, though not as much as Alice. This was because she had deliberately refrained from using Mana and purely relied on her swordsmanship.
While Eki picked up the scabbard she had thrown down earlier and sheathed her sword, Alice stood there with a look as if she hadn't woken up from a dream. She only came to her senses when Eki began to walk out of the training grounds.
"Cadet Roaz!"
"Yes, Miss Winterbell."
"Just now... I mean, you were, to me..."
Alice stammered. Eki waited for a moment, then said,
"We were sparring."
"Pardon?"
"We were just sparring, between cadets. It's a common occurrence, isn't it, at the academy?"
Alice's expression changed at Eki's nonchalant words. She looked at Eki with a composed gaze.
"I'm not an idiot."
The end of Alice's voice trembled slightly. She, who would have been the top student this year if not for Ekinesia Roaz, recognized it more clearly because she was outstanding.
Ekinesia had bestowed a fortuitous opportunity upon Alice. She repeatedly showed her swordsmanship that was the same as hers but more developed and perfect. It was as if she had taken Alice's hand and led her down the path she had to walk.
No trivial afterimages remained. Because she had seen the form she was aiming for right before her eyes.
Throughout the sparring, Ekinesia had been silent. But Alice felt as if she had been constantly hearing her words. Not with her ears, but with her body and eyes.
If you move like this, it will be a little better. In this situation, doing it this way suits you and is more useful. In this case, raising your elbow changes the power in the sword, making it more powerful. In this situation, if you change the angle just a little, it becomes sharper.
Your sword can become stronger. Look, like this. There's no need to wander. Just do it like this.
Because she knew how incredibly fortunate this was, she couldn't speak properly. Alice sensed that her sword would be completely different after today. She would become sharper and more precise. Something welled up inside her, making her stammer.
"Cadet Roaz, you, to me..."
"I didn't do anything."
Eki interrupted Alice. She wiped the sweat running down her temple with the back of her hand and said again as if driving a stake into the ground.
"I didn't do anything. I just sparred with you."
"...You didn't do anything?"
"Yes, sorry for disturbing your training. I need to wash up. I'll use the bathroom first, Miss Winterbell."
Eki glared at the sweat on her gloves as if it were unpleasant and turned away without hesitation. Alice blankly watched her walk away, then hurriedly followed. She didn't even have the presence of mind to grab the jacket hanging on the tree branch.
"C-Cadet Roaz. What are you... I mean... Are you serious? That sparring just now, it was just sparring?"
"Sparring is sparring, what else could it be?"
"...Even if my sword is completely different after this sparring?"
"What does that have to do with me? It's the result of Miss Winterbell's efforts."
"No, it's thanks to you."
Alice said honestly. Her eyes were straight. The way she looked at Eki was clearly different from before. There was a subtly sparkling feeling.
What Eki had aimed for was to erase the afterimage of the sword she had left on Alice during their duel with a more intense image. To that end, she had stimulated Alice and showed her the afterimage that would be most impressive to her, namely Alice's own swordsmanship.
How unpleasant would it be if someone imitated you, but did it better? She had expected her to get angry or feel unpleasant, no matter how helpful it was.
"Thank you, Cadet Roaz."
So she hadn't expected her to look at her with such sparkling eyes. She had even less expected her to openly express her gratitude, and Eki was very flustered. She avoided her gaze and said curtly,
"Did I do anything to deserve thanks? We just sparred once."
Alice stared intently at her. Then she smiled faintly.
"I understand. Let's just say that."
Seeing that smile made her feel awkward. Walking close to her and receiving her gaze made her feel burdened. Feeling like her face was about to flush, she said sharply.
"...Walk a little further away, Miss Winterbell."
"Pardon?"
"You smell of sweat."
"......"
Alice blankly looked at Eki, then took a couple of steps back. Walking at a distance, she protested.
"...Cadet Roaz smells of sweat too."
"I know, that's why I'm going to wash up. I'll say it again, I'm going to use the bathroom first. I said it first."
"Yes, I understand. Use the bathroom first."
Even though she was deliberately speaking sharply, Alice was subtly smiling. She seemed to be in a very good mood. To be precise, her sparkling gaze wouldn't leave Eki, to the point that she was more than just in a good mood.
Walking along the path in the fir forest, Alice murmured.
"I had a lot of misunderstandings about Cadet Roaz."
"...No, whatever it is, it's probably not a misunderstanding."
"To be swayed by appearances, I was the one who didn't deserve to be a knight."
"Hey, Miss Winterbell?"
"I thought you weren't interested in swordsmanship and didn't seriously think about the path of a knight. I was full of prejudice. I realized it through the sparring just now. You are actually someone who takes swordsmanship more seriously than anyone else. Cadet Roaz, I'm sorry for arbitrarily judging you by being caught up in trivial appearances."
It was a sincere and polite apology. Eki felt goosebumps all over her body and shook her head wildly.
"No, Miss Winterbell. That's not prejudice. I don't really like swords."
"Yes, I understand. Let's just say that too."
Alice still answered with a smiling face. Her gray eyes looking at her were so clear and straight that Eki lost her words and turned her gaze away. She had never received this kind of goodwill before, so she couldn't adapt to it.
Until she was twenty, she only had friendships with noble ladies who maintained a proper distance, except for her family and Nicole. In her erased past, there were only the curses and grudges of the Demon Sword era, or the dry relationships of the days when she was gathering the Giosa.
Such pure goodwill. Moreover, in a state where she was mistaken for someone great. She would have responded easily if she had been unpleasant. The bigger problem was that she felt a strange feeling that was both embarrassing and warm.
Eki didn't know what to do, so she didn't look back at Alice and walked quickly. As soon as she arrived at her room, she rushed into the bathroom.
Alice saw Eki, who had opened the door earlier, holding the door open for a moment for her to follow. She struggled to hold back her laughter until Eki entered the bathroom.
* * *
The next morning, Eki felt heavy as soon as she woke up.
[See? Why didn't you use Mana?]
Alice had gone out since dawn to fully internalize what she had gained yesterday. Eki was buried deep in her bed and raised her hand. Taking off her white gloves and looking at her bare hands, she saw blisters on her soft hands. She sighed.
"No, it's because Alice Winterbell is too serious."
[Hey, I think you keep forgetting that you're not in your old body?]
"Shut up. It's the same if I use Mana."
[You didn't use it yesterday.]
"I got caught up in the atmosphere."
Her physical condition was definitely bad. She was able to endure much better than her actual physical strength because she had so much skill and technique, but her body was that of a noble lady who had been holding a sword for less than two months.
Without the support of Mana, there was a limit to how efficiently she could move her body, no matter how much she tried. When she was moving a lot, she wouldn't notice it because she was heated up, but the next day, she would suffer the aftereffects in this way.
Her whole body screamed in muscle pain. When she touched her forehead, she also had a slight fever.
Eki put her gloves back on, got up unsteadily, and groaned.
"Ouch."
[Ugh, you idiot.]
"Can't you shut up, you damn Demon Sword?"
As she grumbled and got out of bed, she found a tray on the table.
The dormitory room had each of their own beds, desks, wardrobes, and drawers on both sides, and a table and chairs, a bookshelf, a sofa, and a rug in the center. A curtain could be drawn between them, so a fair amount of personal space was guaranteed.
She was about to part the curtain and go to the bathroom when she noticed the table. On the tray, a covered soup bowl, bread, salad, and a cup of drink were neatly arranged. It was definitely breakfast brought from the communal dining hall.
