106 Episode 105 Dream of Somebody Someday (2/2)

She must have remembered something from the celebration. She seems to remember what happened when she was drunk, and her face is slightly stained.

Don't worry too much about the other day. Forget it if you can.

It seems that Charlotte is aware that the incident was a blunder.

Anyway, if you want me to forget about it.

And the way you talk?

You can't do that. That's what I said the other day. When we're alone, talk normally.

Okay.

That settled the matter.

After that, we exchanged a few words and Charlotte led me into the grounds of the kendo hall.

The land is much larger than I had expected, and there are a number of buildings that look like kendo dojos.

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea. ...... The headquarters of the kendo dojo is in the royal capital, and most of the people who study kendo in the royal capital come here to learn it.

The dojo students are not only nobles and their children, but also soldiers, children of influential merchants, and many other common people.

For this reason, the dojo is divided into two sections, one for commoners and the other for nobles, to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

Eventually, I arrived at the dojo used by the children of the nobility.

Inside the boarded-up room, a number of swordsmen were already wearing protective gear and fighting each other.

I had imagined that the practice would be rougher than it was, since fine sword fighting is used in actual combat, but it was not so bad. Perhaps it was because this was a place where aristocrats came and went.

The use of wooden swords, the thickness of the protective gear, and the way they moved were all different, but the air was filled with fencing practice.

I noticed that there were a surprisingly large number of young people in the kendo hall.

When I asked Charlotte about this, she told me that the older students were at work and were not there except on holidays or at night.

Since Hosokenjutsu is mainly based on thrusting, they use a rolled up cloth over the tip of their swords to strike each other.

They target only the torso to avoid danger.

When I entered the dojo with Charlotte, the dojo students in the vicinity stopped to greet her.

This is probably due to the fact that she is the daughter of a soke.

In the midst of all this, I suddenly felt a tense stare.

At first glance, it was hard to tell from whom or from where.

If I had to say, it was from the whole surrounding area.

(............)

Because of the tense atmosphere in the dojo, I wonder if I'm overly sensitive to even a mere glance of attention.

If not, why in the world should you be looked at like that?

I look around the dojo and wonder a little.

Now that I was in public, I was careful about my language and asked Charlotte.

”It seems that the instructor is not here?

If you look closely, you can see that there is no one supervising, just a bunch of dojo students hitting each other.

Normally, I would expect an instructor to be keeping a close eye on things like this, but I guess not.

Then he said

”I'm usually out of the office for breaks and meetings at this time.

That's the answer I get.

Apparently, she was just now taking a break.

While talking with her, I walked through the dojo students to a corner of the dojo.

Deciding that this was the place to practice, he took out a wooden sword for fine sword fighting.

”Arx-kun, don't you wear a protective gear?

What?　Uh, yes. I've never practiced that way before.

Is that so?

No. My uncle likes to train hard.

That's why Clive is so spartan. He believes that if it doesn't hurt, you don't learn, so he never uses protective gear in training.

Even so, if he was injured, he would use healing magic to fix it.

Thanks to him, I learned how to measure, dodge, and fend off, and this helped me a lot in the battle against Dussaea.

My left arm is still healing, so I hope you'll forgive me if I make some mistakes.

”Yes. Don't worry, it's just a little sword contact. If you don't touch it even a little, your instincts will become dull.

Yes.

If you don't move, you don't move, and your instincts get dull.

Besides, practicing in a place like this is stimulating.

She knows that her body is not in perfect condition. I'm sure she's not thinking of doing any serious hand-to-hand combat, and in fact she's not even pretending to.

I can get by with just fine sword fighting. The stance of the Royal Fine Swordsmanship is one-handed. The left hand is only used to balance the body, so you can fight reasonably well without using it.

She must have taken this into consideration when she invited me to this event.

So, let's start with a quick fight.

Just as we were about to meet face to face.

Suddenly, one of the dojo students walked towards me at a fast pace.

”Master Charlotte. Master Ian wants to see you.

”......?　Your brother?

Yes. Well, he said it was urgent. ......

What's going on?　I told him I would come by later.

When Charlotte looked at her in confusion, the dojo student nodded with a mysterious expression.

They are not looking at each other, and there is a hint of awkwardness in their faces, but what's going on?

Charlotte is also wondering, but it seems that she has to go if she is called.

I'm sorry, Mr. Arx. I have to leave for a while. Wait here for a moment.

Okay. Have a good day.

She bows to Charlotte, pulls her armor and wooden sword to the edge, and leaves the dojo.

And just as her back disappeared into the hallway.

Some of the dojo students stopped and gathered towards her, as if they were in agreement.

...... It was probably not my imagination that the tense stares I had felt earlier seemed to intensify.

In no time at all, I was surrounded by dojo students wearing protective gear.

”What is this?　What the hell is this?

A young man replied as he looked around at those surrounding him.

You're Master Charlotte's fiancé, I hear. She was disinherited.

”...... Yes, well...

I'm sure you're not the only one.　How dare such a person walk into this dojo when he is not even learning how to sword at the dojo. ......

The reason I came to the dojo today is because Charlotte-sama invited me?

I don't care about that.

It's .......

The doctrine was brushed aside.

I guess that means they don't really listen to me.

Do you just want to complain? ...... No, if that's the case, there's no need to surround me like this and intimidate me.

”Let's see if you are qualified enough to come to the dojo.

”Test me?” ......

I suppose this means that the lady is going to rub the man she brought in person.

I see, so the fact that Charlotte was called by her brother earlier is probably a setup by them.

It is a common practice to instruct a cocky newcomer by making him practice hard, but this is a guest and a younger person.

I wonder if it's because Charlotte brought them here, or if it's because they're proud to be a student of fine swordsmanship.

The true nature of the tense atmosphere is probably the will to kill.

It's a situation that I don't understand.

I have the option of refusing and running away, but this may be a good opportunity.

I wonder how good my sword is now.

How does it compare to the standard of the kingdom?

It's not a bad idea to know.

I put away the wooden sword for fine fencing in my bag and took out an oak 'wooden sword' instead.

This is something I've had a woodworker make for me for a while.

I've been ordering it for a while now, and now I've finally got a good one.

I had brought it with me in case I had to play with Charlotte, but I had no idea that this would be the first time I would have to use it.

If I had to say that I was worried about using this, it would be that I could not use my left arm.

The left hand is almost useless, and can only be used for balance.

And since there are times when you have to fight in Tsubagatsu even in Hosekijutsu, you have to be careful not to do so.

Thinking that this would be quite restrictive, I held up my wooden sword and said, ”Thank you very much.