“Roa! I’m here!”
“Yes. Welcome Reny.”
I jump into Roa’s open arms.
“…Did you…?”
“Yes, of course I told them I was going to Roa’s place. They said it’s all right. Forget that, I’ve been training a lot.”
I say strongly while pointing to the training spear on my back.
“Good girl, Reny. Then can you show me your spear dance?”
“Of course!”
I step away from Roa’s arms, and quickly take the spear from my back and hold it.
What’s important is breathing.
Close your eyes until they’re half open, focus your breathing on all your nerves, and block out information from the world on purpose.
Mom and dad say I see too much.
They worry too much. I can’t see well like this.
My breathing is peaceful, and my consciousness and my body are in perfect harmony.
In this moment, the world is just me and the spear in my hand.
And without me even realizing it, my body starts moving in a natural flow.
It’s this moment I like the most.
Apparently this spear dance Roa taught me is really old. I don’t know any other way to move my body so naturally.
A few incorporated patterns, then flowing like water, and then rising like a boulder.
From the outside, it looks like I’m changing shape as I do the spear dance. I dance like a fish in water.
The energy coming from my feet planted on the ground runs through my whole body, with my waist as its center.
It feels like the spear and I are one, and every time I swing it, it sharply cuts through the air.
It’s over before I know it.
I stand up straight and look at Roa.
I’m sweating, and feel a comfortable exhaustion, like I used up my energy to its limit.
“How’s that, Roa?”
“Reny, you’re eleven, right?”
“I am.”
Roa stands still with her eyes closed and her arms crossed. She feels serious.
Oh? I thought I didn’t mess anything up even a bit, and my breathing was perfect. Did I do something wrong?
I think back to the spear dance I just did, but can’t find anything wrong.
“Ah, it was so fast but… You pass, Reny.”
“Eh? Then…”
“You’re a master.”
I feel elated, but I quickly calm myself and hold up my spear while bowing to Roa.
Roa’s voice sounds grave.
“The spear dance is only the foundation. Keep working at it.”
“Yes, Roa.”
That’s all Roa has to say before she turns back to the same Roa as always.
I feel happiness welling up inside me, and before I know it I’m hugging her again.
She puts her arms around me and holds me gently in return.
I finally calm down, and we start chatting.
This fun time goes by in a flash. And then, an adult wearing a military uniform approaches us, walking very naturally.
That person’s demeanor is very…
“Marshal Forth, it is almost time for your meeting with Her Majesty Admiral.”
“I’ll be right there.”
Says Roa while turning away from the person in the military uniform.
“Roa, you can go, I’m all right. Say hello to Miss Kalin for me.”
“…All right.”
“I’m going back for now, but I’m going out with a new friend I made.”
“Where?”
“You know that new parfait place people are talking about?”
“Ah… I want to go there too…”
Roa faces down and drags herself away. I do all I can, give her a big wave as she leaves.
◇◆
“Ah, Hilda! Sorry, did I keep you waiting?”
“No, I just got here.”
I say after running to Hilda, who was waiting in the square near the clock tower.
Her long black hair is beautifully braided, and she’s wearing very nice clothes. Watching her standing in front of the clock tower with her attendant is like looking at a painting.
We don’t even look like we’re the same age.
I raise my hands and she does the same, and we greet each other while holding each other’s hands like that. We both giggle at that.
Her attendant is still standing there, like she’s erasing her presence.
She seems pretty good. It might take three seconds to subdue her at full power.
That thought crosses my mind, but it looks like Hilda can’t wait any longer, and we both go to the parfait place.
“Reny, isn’t that place really busy? It’s the most popular place in the royal capital Putaresque right now, isn’t it?”
“Ah, don’t worry Hilda. Ta-dah! My dad gave me this.”
“What is that? A letter?”
“Check this out.”
I say just as we arrive at our destination. We go around to the back entrance to avoid the line, and I show my dad’s letter to a lady that’s working there.
She looks at us with a suspicious expression at first, but then she sees the letter, and smiles before telling us to go inside.
Hilda and I are taken to a terrace on the top floor.
“This is great, Reny. What’s that letter anyway?”
“Apparently my dad helped out when they were building this place.”
I explain while we wait for the parfaits we ordered.
“Your dad sounds great. Mine made mushrooms grow in all the food in our house the other day. My mom was really mad.”
“Bufu…”
A noise leaks out from the mouth of the attendant standing behind. I think she just barely contained her laughter.
That attendant might be less serious than I thought. I think that while looking at her, and then I turn back to Hilda and respond.
“My mom gets mad at my dad too. Especially when he forgets to come eat dinner, or gets distracted while we eat…”
“Reny, look!”
I look to where Hilda is pointing, the roof of the building next door.
There’s something there that we almost never see in the capital.
It’s a monster.
That thing that looks like a mixture of a monkey and a lion is staring this way.
“Lady! Take shelter!”
Yells Hilda’s attendant with a low and sharp tone. Other people are now noticing it too, and rushing towards the exit.
“I don’t think we can run.”
“I will distract it, so lady…”
Say Hilda and her attendant. The attendant lady is holding really distorted knives in her hands. Where did she get those?
I take my eyes off them, and quickly look around.
A monkey with a lion’s face? Let’s call it monkey-lion for now. If we just had to get away from them, it would be easy to take them and run. But then other people would get hurt.
Ah. It’s getting ready to jump… Here it comes!
The monkey-lion jumps from the roof and comes this way with a savage look on its face.
I take out a scroll from my pocket and flick it with my fingers. It starts unraveling.
“『Activate』, 『Manifest』 Hipota.”
The scroll hangs in the air as it opens, and a transmuted beast is manifested.
It’s a really smart one I got from my dad.
Hipota instantly understands what’s going on, and I jump on it’s back after a little running start.
I pull out the spare spear that’s affixed to its saddle, and Hipota uses its many legs for a strong jump.
We’re going to be crossing paths with the monkey-lion in the air.
It’s my first real battle, but I’m weirdly not nervous. It’s just like when I do the spear dance.
We’re getting closer and closer to the monster, but I don’t feel scared or cocky. I keep calm and watch it.
My body then moves naturally.
As we pass by the monster, I swing my spear and the tip pierces the monkey-lion’s neck like its being sucked into it.
It cuts a major artery in the neck, and I pull the spear back.
Hipota lands on the roof where the monkey-lion was.
I turn around and see the monster crashing into the edge of the terrace. It lost all strength in its limbs, and falls along the building.
“Bumo.”
Hipota calls out.
There’s more. The same kind of monkey-lion pops up on roofs in buildings all around us.
“…That’s weird, Hipota. So many in a town like this.”
I tilt my head in confusion, and suddenly one of the monsters falls flat on the roof.
It has some sort of powder around it.
I look around to see where the powder came from, and see Hilda on the terrace where I was, with three active scrolls hovering around her.
That powder is coming from her hands, and she’s throwing it in the air.
“Hilda’s transmuted beast. Those are spores, right?”
I hold my spear to signal to Hilda, and tell Hipota to jump. Of course, we’re going where the monsters are.
“We have to clean this up right away. I don’t want to miss my chance to eat that parfait.”
I whisper to myself while in the air with Hipota, before starting to take down the monsters one after the other.
Yes, like a spear dance.
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