Mad Dog and Sword King, a Perfectly Matched Pair

More than a month had quietly passed since Cui Ciyou and Ghislaine had jointly become tutors to Eris Boreas Greyrat.

At present, the young lady had three tutors responsible for her education.

Besides Cui Ciyou's "arithmetic and reading-and-writing lessons" and Ghislaine's "swordsmanship lessons," there was also a middle-aged female teacher named Edna Lelen, who taught the tedious knowledge required in noble society.

Teacher Edna had a kind face and always wore a gentle smile. Her voice was soft as well, full of patience.

Her lessons specifically covered the etiquette, bearing, family histories, and basic noble knowledge required in the noble society of the Asla Kingdom.

Of course, Teacher Edna's teaching results... seemed rather limited.

For instance, just yesterday afternoon, Cui Ciyou happened to pass by the reception room.

He saw Teacher Edna holding a cup of black tea, trying to teach Eris how to hold it elegantly while drinking.

"Young Lady, please remember to naturally raise your little finger. It represents your refinement..."

"Ah—what a pain... Can't I just down it in one gulp?"

Eris impatiently grabbed the teacup and gulped it down like liquor.

She immediately bared her teeth from the scalding tea, then "accidentally" knocked the cup onto the floor with a sharp crash.

Faced with the mess all over the floor, Teacher Edna's gently smiling face stiffened slightly.

Cui Ciyou could only offer the woman his silent sympathy.

Judging by Eris's usual flighty, careless, and even somewhat crude behavior, Teacher Edna's painstaking instruction was clearly useless.

Not to mention arithmetic, reading, and writing; she had only just managed to drag the student back into the classroom.

Of the three teachers, the only one who had achieved noticeable "results" in teaching was Ghislaine.

Every morning, at the broad training ground behind the Boreas Estate,

one could always see Eris and Ghislaine—one tall, one short; one red-haired, one gray-haired—clashing fiercely.

Though more accurately, it was Ghislaine "instructing" Eris one-sidedly.

What was surprising was that Ghislaine, who had originally been solitary and poor at dealing with people,

had somehow developed a wonderful chemistry with Eris, who was equally hot-tempered and difficult to get along with.

They got along exceptionally "well."

Of course, that harmony was built upon their merciless sparring on the training ground, as well as Ghislaine's concise, almost commanding manner of communication in daily life.

More than once, Cui Ciyou had observed and analyzed this peculiar phenomenon with great interest.

Perhaps Ghislaine's formidable strength had won over Eris, who already worshipped power;

perhaps Ghislaine's beast-like directness and refusal to beat around the bush unexpectedly suited Eris's own straightforward and irritable temperament;

or perhaps it was simply because Ghislaine was one of only two people who dared to—and could truly—"suppress" Eris.

Cui Ciyou pondered to himself.

I heard Butler Alphonse mention in private that the only tutors who dared to give the young lady a proper beating seemed to be Ghislaine and me.

Still, Ghislaine beat Eris much harder than I did.

Thus, Cui Ciyou stubbornly believed that the main reason the two got along so well

was definitely because Ghislaine was a beastfolk.

After all, the bloodline of the Boreas Greyrat Family seemed to possess an innate affinity for beastfolk, and Eris was no exception despite being a girl.

In any case, Eris showed unprecedented... closeness and relative obedience toward the silver-gray-haired beastfolk swordswoman.

Eris seriously followed every one of Ghislaine's swordsmanship instructions, though she often yelled in frustration when she could not manage them right away.

During breaks, she also followed Ghislaine everywhere like a little tagalong, asking question after question.

Though most of her questions concerned combat and monsters.

For example: "How can I kill a Doom Boar with one slash?" "What's the strongest monster in Fittoa Forest?" and "How strong are adventurers at each rank?"

Eris's attitude toward Ghislaine had already improved considerably.

Specifically, she no longer called Ghislaine things like "you" or "female cat," instead simply calling her "Ghislaine."

Ghislaine also seemed to enjoy spending time with Eris.

Though she was a woman of few words, whenever she guided Eris through swordsmanship training,

her sharp beast eyes would occasionally reveal an almost imperceptible trace of... satisfaction, like that of an elder looking upon a gifted junior?

More than once, Ghislaine had evaluated Eris before Cui Ciyou in her characteristically concise manner:

"Young Lady Eris... has good potential."

"Natural... combat instincts. Natural... Sword God Style."

Cui Ciyou remembered that, at first, Ghislaine had seemed to dislike Eris because Eris had bitten her.

Yet before anyone realized it, the relationship between these two people with somewhat "special" personalities had become extraordinarily close.

"Her talent for swordsmanship is truly outrageous." Cui Ciyou deeply agreed regarding Eris's aptitude for the sword.

After watching Eris and Ghislaine train several times, he had to admit it:

Although Eris was still young, and her strength, speed, and endurance were all still developing,

the talent she displayed in swordsmanship could only be described as astonishing.

That faint yet already formed Battle Aura, those cheetah-like swift and agile reactions, that innate precision in grasping the timing and angle of attacks, and that ruthless spirit that feared no death and grew braver with every setback...

All of it clearly demonstrated the extraordinary talent for swordsmanship within her.

Her fighting style in particular—that utterly reckless, forward-charging approach that pursued extreme offense, or perhaps it was simply her personality—

was practically tailor-made for the Sword God Style, a school that emphasized one-hit kills and offense above all else.

In just over a month, under Ghislaine's "hellish" rigorous training, Eris's swordsmanship fundamentals had improved by leaps and bounds.

In Ghislaine's words:

"She now... at least knows to stab with the point and cut with the edge."

"No longer... holds a sword... and wildly smashes things."

Though the evaluation sounded plain and simple, coming from a Sword King of the Sword God Style, it was already exceptionally high praise.

On the training ground, the small red-haired girl gritted her teeth as she faced Ghislaine's lightning-fast slashes again and again.

Sweat had long since soaked through her training clothes, yet a blazing fire of fighting spirit burned in her eyes.

Meanwhile, Ghislaine acted like the harshest, coldest instructor, mercilessly correcting every tiny mistake Eris made.

Usually, she simply struck her with the wooden sword in her hand as a reminder.

"Your wrist is too tense—smack."

"Your center of gravity is unstable—smack."

"Your sword swing is off by three centimeters—smack!"

The crisp sounds of impact and Eris's muffled groans as she endured the pain rang across the training ground.

But occasionally, after Eris landed a fine counterattack or successfully imitated a difficult movement,

Ghislaine would give an almost imperceptible nod.

That tiny acknowledgment alone was enough to make Eris leap with joy, as though she had received the whole world's praise.

For these two, perhaps the clash of sword against sword was a better way to communicate their feelings?