Volume 1 Chapter 20 (1/2)

I’m impressed by Luna’s resilience. Although I caught a glimpse of her talent back when she learnt the thrust in one night, her growth this past month has been even more abnormal to say the least. This girl’s battle sense and learning capacity is far too large. Not only does she have excellent parameters, she has a pair of eyes that sees much more than an average person, capable of seeing and absorbing my battle movements into her own.

[Hou.] (Luna)

She took a deep breath and applied more force into her legs. My movements isn’t something a person can easily imitate and assimilate into their own. I can’t help but wonder how much can this girl grow in the future. She is a jewel that far exceeds even Leonard in talent.

In an instant, Luna closed the distance between us with a large acceleration. Looking at her speed, I assume that she is performing her signature thrust. Unless you are familiar with Luna’s battle style, you will definitely be thrown off by her high-speed rush and her ability to transition into a thrust at that speed.

Having experienced that thrust for the past month, I had made it a point to parry Luna’s thrust the moment I notice her preliminary movement. I wouldn’t be able to parry it in time if I wait for her rush. She has been repeating this for the past 27 minutes, unable to pass through my defense. However, this time she pulled her blade back rather than thrusting it forward, catching me off guard as I didn’t have the time to pull my wooden sword back. I have not seen her done this even once for the past month, could this be her talent at work or is this her plan from the start?

Luna stared firmly at my right shoulder, throwing out a thrust in the moment when I am moving my sword to parry her initial rush.

Can I still intercept with my sword? There isn’t enough time. My sword won’t make it in time.

I twist my body, letting Luna slip through the side of my body.

In the next moment, Luna lands with another powerful step and pushes forcefully off the ground, twisting her body sideways. These series of movements are far too advanced for her to be adapting in the heat of the moment. She must have been training secretly in order to defeat me today. My sword is in a bad position while my balance has been broken. However it’s a shame. Using my left hand, I striked the side of Luna’s dagger with my palm, adjusting it’s trajectory downwards from above. By striking the side of the sword, it is possible to defend yourself with just your bare hands, although it is near impossible to catch a blade with two fingers. While regaining my balance and my form, I rotate my body and move behind Luna.

[Time’s up. It’s a shame but I am the winner again this time.] (Youya)

[Youya said that even if Luna landed an attack then Luna is the winner. But hitting the side of my blade is cheating!] (Luna)

[That is a valid defensive move even in an actual battle. It was regrettable that you weren’t fast enough even with your high-speed combo attacks. If I had defended the way I usually did, you would had definitely succeeded, and I wouldn’t had made it in time.] (Youya)

[Cheater Youya! Youya is an adult! No excuses allowed. Luna properly hit Youya.] (Luna)

Unhappy with the outcome, Luna puffed up her face and complained about the results.

Although, rather than intimidating, her action looks much cuter as the fur on her tail is standing while her face looked like a pufferfish. I don’t mind conceding the win so long as I wasn’t defeated by Luna this quickly. She still has much room to grow.

I will definitely reflect upon this battle later. Her footwork, her pacing and her breathing has improved drastically, even releasing a combinations of movements to perform a feint along with a lethal thrust at the end. There is much to improve on but for now this is sufficient. She should be ready for the tournament tomorrow.

[Alright. You win the challenge, but it’s hard to say that you won the match. I’ll give you the reward but these matches will continue even after the tournament.] (Youya)

[Yay! Luna wanted to continue with Youya too! Luna still has many skills to steal from Youya!] (Luna)

[Starting in the next match, I will begin to counterattack to raise the difficulty a little bit. If you focus on attacking without worrying about defending, I will not hold back on my attacks.] (Youya)

[I’ll do my best!] (Luna)

Luna is burning up. She will become a good swordsman in the future and surpass me for sure. I’ll be sure to drill everything I know into this girl. In order to let her soar through her future from now on.

[If you return to the inn, remember to arrange a meal with the bar for you and Til.] (Youya)

[Youya what about you?] (Luna)

[I made a promise to meet someone today.] (Youya)

It was sudden but Phil asked me to meet her today. If Phil is going out of her way to talk to me outside of the guild, it should be something serious. I’ll be sure to listen to what she says carefully.

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After the training session with Luna, I met up with Phil at her place.

Her house is as well-maintained as ever. Even her equipment back when she was an adventurer looks brand new with a bunch of decorations. It is clear that she cherished her time as an adventurer.

[Youya’s favourite food is still spicy fried noodles isn’t it?] (Phil)

[Yeah. Preferably with extra meat please.] (Youya)

[Your tastes doesn’t change even with time huh. I’m relieved. It’s a good thing that the ingredients I bought beforehand won’t be wasted. You can look forward to my special dishes.] (Phil)

[An old man’s preference wouldn’t change even after a long time.] (Youya)

The kitchen in Phil’s home is large and has all the essential equipment a person would need. Phil changed her clothes and grabbed a frying pan in the kitchen. Noodles covered in a red and spicy sauce began dancing in the air as she began to prepare the dishes. Her cooking skills is still as amazing as ever. While we were traveling together, if there was an interesting dish that caught her eye, she could easily learn the dish and improve it to her liking, adding another dish to her already large repertoire.

[Sorry to keep you waiting. Heres Phil’s specialty, Spicy pasta with meatballs.] (Phil)

[Looks delicious.] (Youya)

[Of course it’s delicious! Do you remember the pasta in the bar back in Kaltara? Back then I asked the chef if he could tell me the recipe and altered it to suit Youya’s taste.] (Phil)

[That is nostalgic. That bar had one of the best food I have ever eaten.] (Youya)

The pasta tastes delicious. She must have seasoned the meat with some miso and cooked it with the tomato sauce and the noodles. Although the noodles was delicious when mixed with the sauce, I like it more when there are plenty of meatballs along with the noodles.

The flavor of the meatball spreads throughout my mouth

[Heres some ale. It’s Youya favourite drink isn’t it?] (Phil)

[Oh. Yeah, ale tests the best after all.] (Phil)

[I’ve always wondered why do you only drink ale although you can afford spending more on alcohol. Now it makes sense.] (Phil)

Phil is currently drinking a honey-flavored sake.

[Aren’t you the same as me. You have always favoured honey sake over wine unlike others. At the end of the day, it’s better to follow what you like rather than worry about what other people think.] (Youya)

[It’s all about our own perspective, that’s what I’ve learnt from you after all this time.] (Phil)

Phil elegantly brought the pasta to her mouth.

Phil mentioned that she made the pasta specially for my liking, and I can’t say that it isn’t true. It is incredibly delicious. It’s been a long time since I’ve ate something so delicious. It even goes well with ale. I hope next time Luna and Til could join us for the next meal. Our conversation continued throughout lunch as the spicy hot pasta slowly entered into our stomachs.

I became increasingly embarrassed as I watched Phil’s bright smile throughout the meal. Being embarrassed, I opened my mouth.