Going their separate ways

"Sylphy? What's she doing here?"

"Tch, that idiot Rolz..."

Paul felt a headache coming on.

He had specifically told Rolz not to let Sylphy wander off, but... no, perhaps Rolz's strange behavior had tipped her off instead? Sylphy was a clever child, after all.

Still, things had come this far. He couldn't cancel the plan just because Sylphy had shown up.

Paul was about to step forward and say something when Sylphy raised her hand as she ran toward them and fired the intermediate wind spell Wind Blade. She wasn't going to listen to anything. Without a word, she went straight on the attack.

A spell that powerful wasn't something you could casually use on another person.

Paul gripped his sword.

But just as he prepared to act, another figure moved to intercept her first.

Whoosh—

The swinging sword traced a flowing arc through the air, deflecting the wind blade hurtling toward them like a bullet in an instant.

Hilde took a deep breath.

Watching Sylphy sprint toward her, she advanced to meet her head-on.

In a fight between a mage and a swordsman, the former had to do everything possible to maintain their distance, while the latter had to close the gap. Distance was a mage's lifeline, even for one capable of chantless magic. The higher a swordsman's rank, the more pronounced that advantage became.

Yet Sylphy had chosen to close the distance herself...

It was simply inexcusable.

Hilde advanced while deflecting the spells with her sword. Sylphy gradually slowed, until she could only stand in place and keep casting. Even then, she couldn't stop Hilde's approach, and panic began to set in.

The gap in their combat experience...

Was an unbridgeable chasm.

As the distance between them shrank, Sylphy instinctively took half a step back.

Only then did she realize she should have kept her distance.

But it was already too late.

Thud—

Hilde closed in swiftly, then kicked Sylphy in the chest, knocking her flat.

Before Sylphy could get up, the wooden sword rested effortlessly against her throat.

Sylphy's pupils trembled.

"Stay out of the way, Sylphy," Hilde said softly.

"No!"

Sylphy bit her lower lip, staring at Hilde through tear-filled eyes. "Why? Why are you taking Rudeus away? Where are you taking him? Please, don't take him away. Without Rudeus, I..."

"You what?"

The more Hilde heard, the more irritated she became. There was nothing she hated more than this tearful whining.

"What right do you have to say no? Does that pathetic excuse for magic give you one?"

"..."

Sylphy pressed her lips together tightly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Paul and the others exchanged glances, wondering whether Hilde was taking things a little too far.

Hilde, however, didn't think so at all.

Especially as she looked at Sylphy's tears and that pitiful, wounded expression.

The irritation and anger inside Hilde burned hotter and hotter.

"What good are your tears? Can your tears protect Rudeus?"

"You're too weak, far too weak! Without Rudeus, you can't do anything. You can't even take care of yourself! What right does someone so spineless have to stay by his side? Just because Rudeus likes you?"

"In the future, Rudeus might have even more women around him, every one of them smarter, prettier, and more attractive than you! Women who can help him more than you can! And you can't do anything. Without Rudeus, you're useless! Will he still like you the way he does now when that happens?"

"I'm telling you, I've put up with you long enough!"

Hilde grabbed Sylphy by the collar.

Under Sylphy's frightened, anxious gaze, she forcibly hauled her up from the ground.

"So if you really like Rudeus, go do what you ought to be doing! Instead of standing here crying like a useless idiot! Do you understand?"

"Hilde, I..."

Sylphy lowered her head, trembling, unable to meet Hilde's eyes.

Those aqua-blue eyes seemed to burn like a boiling ocean, making her instinctively shrink back.

She wasn't merely cowed. She was afraid.

Hilde released her grip, and Sylphy staggered before collapsing into a seated position on the ground.

"That's all I have to say."

Hilde looked down at her, her tone stern.

"Sylphy, I'm not joking. I won't allow a useless ornament to stay by Rudeus's side. If that's all you are, give up now."

"..."

Sylphy hung her head, unable to say anything.

An eerie silence settled over them.

Paul glanced at his two wives, then stepped forward helplessly and reached out to pull Sylphy up.

"All right, Sylphy. Here's what's actually going on..."

After an explanation, Sylphy finally understood the truth.

So Rudeus was going to work as a tutor...

And he was doing it to save up for my tuition.

Since it was so far away, and on a noble family's estate, I couldn't go with him.

So that was it.

Sylphy breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she could see Rudeus again someday, that was enough.

Only...

Sylphy's gaze inadvertently drifted toward Hilde, who stood with a hand on her sword in the shade beneath a nearby tree. Her eyes were half closed, her expression calm, as though nothing had happened.

Yet the words she had spoken kept echoing through Sylphy's mind.

I...

Really do seem useless.

Yes, no wonder Hilde never seemed to like me much.

It was because I was too useless to help Rudeus at all.

With that thought in mind,

she walked over to Hilde of her own accord.

"H-Hilde..."

"What?"

Hilde glanced at her.

Sylphy mustered her courage. "I-I'll work hard to get stronger! Please believe me. In the future, I'll definitely become useful to Rudeus. I'll be able to help him a lot!"

"Is that so? It's good that you realize that," Hilde replied noncommittally.

"Um, that's all I wanted to say..."

"Sylphy."

"Yes?"

"Now that you've said that, I expect to see how much you've grown the next time we meet."

"The next time we meet... what do you mean?" Sylphy froze.

"Because I'll be leaving soon, too."

Hilde turned to look at Ghislaine, who was saying goodbye to Paul and Zenith nearby.

After the earlier incident, Paul had bundled Rudeus into the carriage and arranged for the Sword King named Ghislaine to take him to the estate of a noble family called Boreas. Apparently, Rudeus was going to tutor the Boreas Family's young lady.

Being a noble young lady, she was probably unusually spoiled and headstrong.

It might prove to be a difficult job.

Still, with Rudeus's abilities, he ought to manage. And since she was a girl, perhaps he would gain something else along the way.

During that time, Ghislaine would serve as Rudeus's sword instructor, ensuring that his sword training continued uninterrupted.

The best of both worlds.

Hilde had no objection to Paul's decision.

Before they departed, however, Hilde challenged Ghislaine.

No, "challenged" wasn't quite the right word.

"Asked for a demonstration" was more accurate.

"Please use your strongest Secret Art. Let me experience it firsthand."

With Paul's tacit approval, Hilde said those words and attacked Ghislaine.

To skip straight to the result,

it was a crushing defeat.

That was only natural.

The gap between an Intermediate Swordsman who hadn't even learned how to use battle aura and a Sword King who stood among the very best of an entire style could only be called an unbridgeable chasm. Hilde wasn't afraid of failure, and she had expected to lose. She had witnessed the Light Blade, hailed as the Sword God Style's ultimate Secret Art, wielded by a Sword King no less. She had gained a great deal.

But doubt and unease followed close behind.

"How exactly can that strike be blocked?"

When Hilde asked that question, both Paul and Ghislaine shook their heads.

The answer was that it couldn't.

The Light Blade was the Sword God Style's ultimate Secret Art, a technique that earned anyone who mastered it the rank of [Sword Saint]. More specifically, it embodied the Sword God Style's principle of "one strike, one kill": a blow delivered with maximum strength and speed, with everything poured into it.

It was impossible to follow with the eye, and there was no way to block it.

Of course, being unable to block it didn't mean there was no way to deal with it.

The Sword God Style used a Secret Art called [Light Counter] to intercept it before it reached its maximum speed.

The North God Style used footwork, terrain, timing, and other forms of disruption to deny the opponent an opportunity to use the Light Blade.

As for the Water God Style, it used subtle movements and words to make the opponent misread the situation and unleash the Light Blade at an anticipated angle, completing the defense before the opponent even attacked.

But all of these were ways of dealing with it, not blocking it head-on.

What utter garbage.

If this were a game, the designers ought to be fired.

Not only was the class balance complete shit, even the class specializations were a steaming pile. What kind of game made a single skill from one style worth a lifetime of training in every other style? Everyone might as well give up magic, never touch the Water God Style or North God Style, and all play Sword God Style instead. Sword God Style users were the elite, and everyone else was just some roadside nobody.

...Complaints aside,

swordsmanship wasn't merely for defeating enemies. It was also for protecting those one wanted to protect.

Revenge was necessary, but it was also meaningless.

Hilde didn't want to seek revenge someday after someone she cherished had been killed. She wanted the strength to shelter everyone she cared about.

Even a technique that couldn't be blocked had to be blocked.

If nobody else could do it, she would do it herself.

And so...

Hilde prepared to set out for further training at the Asura Kingdom's largest Water God Style dojo. According to what she had heard, even the current Water God, Leda Lia, personally presided over it. The dojo wasn't in the Fittoa Territory, however. It was in...

The Royal Capital Arus.