act13d5

卡西米尔 1下

(My equipment's all good. My sword... it's the one Margaret used when she was training. It should still be usable, right?)

(Okay, I'm all set. Time to go...)

Oh... Uncle Młynar.

Let me guess. Off to blemish our family's reputation?

Am not—!

I've already heard about the Major from my colleagues.

You don't deserve to stand in an arena for knights. What's more, the Major doesn't deserve the Nearls.

Was it Zofia who gave you the idea?

No! I signed up myself!

I figured as much. She may just be a lady-in-waiting to our family, but she nonetheless made a name for herself in that capitalist charade... She is a knight, for all that's worth.

But what does that make you?

I... I just want to defend our...

Even if we're stripped of our nobility, our ideals remain unchanged. We have nothing to defend.

Even so...

Above all, there is nothing we need you to defend.

Don't be like your sister. Just because she's still young and full of beans, she lost all self-control—

—Yes, Chief?

Good evening. Yes, that's right, it's me...

Worry not. If you have any questions about what we discussed in our last meeting, please do not hesitate... I beg your pardon? No, please. Please reconsider... Yes...

Młynar glares at Maria and walks upstairs indifferently.

My apologies. I take full responsibility. I will have the corrected documents sent to you right away... Tomorrow, yes, I will have it ready for you tomorrow... I am very sorry.

Please. Please reconsider. Definitely. I won't ever make such a mistake again.

—Maria, I'll deal with you another time. I hope you'll know your place.

Uncle Młynar...

Getting intimidated won't do me any good here... If I don't hurry, I'll be late for practice.

Nnngg—!

Watch your footing. And keep your rhythm.

Hnn—

It's been ten minutes, and you haven't returned my attacks once.

Uhh... You said you'd take me on with just one hand, but that's a one-handed sword!

I wouldn't be using one hand If I really fought you. Or would you rather try a Leithanian style?

I knew knights from other countries had different fighting styles... Are you telling me you can fight like them too? You're actually picking on me, aren't you!?

Only a copycat. I lost that fight not for a lack of preparation, you know.

Auntie...?

Well, it's all in the past. It's not something I lose sleep over.

I'm more worried about you. Look how unprepared you are... you're just sending yourself to a quick death, wanting to fight in the Major.

Hnng...

Alright, let's get back to it.

O-Okay, but give me just another minute... My legs are still trembling...

If you can't even handle this much, you'd better give up now.

Nnngg—! Okay, let's go!

The next day.

Haa.... Haaah... H-How's that?

What do you mean, 'How's that?' You're barely standing upright.

Aside from sleeping and eating... we've basically... been working out the whole time... Don't you get tired at all, Zofia...?

...You know about the team melees?

Those are the matches draw the crowds to the Kazimierz Major. Each knightclub sends a single representative—Well, in your case, you're joining the fray as an individual.

You have somewhere around a couple dozen people all in a huge, man-made arena. You rack up points by striking your opponents' armor, and those are added to your overall score.

Of course... if you're defeated or incapacitated before the time limit, you're immediately eliminated, and you score zero points.

...I-I know at least that much...

Uh huh. Then, tell me, do you know how long a single melee lasts?

...A few hours?

The longest melee match ever lasted the entire day and well into the night, after the audience kept cheering and the corporations kept tacking on overtime.

The knights in that match were like a bunch of Gloompincers locked in a cage together. They had to rally themselves over and over to keep fighting each other.

Umm...?

One by one, the contestants fell either from exhaustion or injury, and no one got anything to show for it. On the other hand, the three who lasted till the very end raked in more than enough points to immediately advance to the main competitions.

I-I see... so the match lasted a whole day, and only three made it through...

Once we got the first division sponsor pushing that kind of ruleset, the copycats started to show up left and right across all divisions like Originium Slugs.

It's certainly not a pretty sight, but what's worse is that the audience likes it. So nothing else matters.

Which means you'll have to be ready to fight an entire day!

—An entire day?!

A week later.

Phew...

Let's call it here. You're getting better at this.

Ahh—

Don't just lie down right after you're done working out. Get up and walk around a little. Maybe think about what to have for dinner tonight.

O-Okay. Hmm! My legs are so sore...!

Well, of course. Your pacing is terrible.

We can probably forget about winning the sprint race... All the top knightclubs have members who specialize in that, and if they show up, we've got no hope there.

That said, mobility is still very important in artificial terrain.

Naturally, how well you do in the races has to do with how well-equipped you are. We've got to work on your stamina, but the real bottleneck there is our budget...

...Are you even listening?

Ahh—! I got it!

Hmm?

I just remembered Marcin gave me two meal coupons for fixing the jukebox the other day! Why don't we have dinner there tonight?

What should I even do with you...

D-Don't be mad! I just wanted to do something for you to show my gratitude!

I'm not mad. So, when are we leaving?

We don't eat out together often... Is it okay if I take a shower and get a change of clothes first?

Okay... but we'll get right back to training after dinner. We don't have time for you to slack off.

Yeah!

(Maria is clearly making progress. And here I thought she decided to do this on a whim...)

(She's serious about this... and she's more serious than she looks. I was thinking she wouldn't be ready with so little training... I was even going to talk her out of it.)

(She's working so hard to get there, but she's just as cheerful as always... I wonder who she learned that from.)

(Is this her fighting spirit...?)

Zofia lifts her head up. In the distance, far away from the garden overgrown with weeds, the lights of the towering skyscrapers glitter brilliantly in the city's skyline.

She quietly places her oft-unused hand on her sword's hilt, like she's deceiving herself.

Just as she expected, before she's even managed to unsheathe her sword, she feels an intense muscle pain shoot up her arm from her waist. She quickly lets go before she loses consciousness.

Three weeks later.

When was the last time those two brats showed their faces here? Could've paid the bar a visit on their time off. What are they being so shy for?

Are kids finally coming around to the idea of shutting yourself inside and training all day?

...When did anyone ever do that?

I did, back when I was a kid.

Knights train as they roam the world. Who ever heard of shutting yourself indoors just to train?

...*Sigh*. Filthy rich knights wouldn't know how hard life is for us common folk, with all the Catastrophe Messengers money can buy and the means to travel anywhere... You can't imagine how much hard work went into that sword of yours...

What are you mumbling on about now? If you're trying to pick a fight, then do it. I'm not afraid of you!

You can't possibly think I'm talking about you?!

Quiet down!

...You hear that...? They're working on her swordfighting.