The three who are seeing Altair for the first time are surprised.
The sight of the big tree behind the castle really is impressive.
I wish I could show them the view from Marte or the mountain range, but we’ll do that another time.
We start by going to the merchant guild in Altair to see if they have laurel tree fruit, but meet Sirk along the way.
It looks like he’s out of breath, Was he looking for us? Did he instinctually sense Hikari was here?
I don’t know, but…
“Hikari, fight me!”
Is the first thing he says.
“Can I?”
She asks, and I nod.
Sirk is going to be annoying if I say no, and it looks like Hikari is really looking forward to facing him too. Especially since she’s probably looking forward to using her skill.
She’s been practicing controlling the power of Projectile Slash, so she can use it during mock battles too now. Its normal effect is to slash when it hits, but now it can also feel like a hit with a blunt weapon.
Getting hit with it would hurt, but it won’t cause a serious wound… I think.
Using the Projectile Slash skill gives Hikari an advantage, so she typically doesn’t use it on weak opponents, but I’m wondering if she sees Sirk as an appropriate target for it.
I’m about to say goodbye and say we’ll meet up later, when Sahana comes running after Sirk. When I say I want to buy laurel tree fruit, she says I should talk to Yuini, so we go to the castle.
“You two are royalty?”
Kotori is surprised when I introduce them.
“Yuini is working, so I’ll go call her. Sora, please teach my brother a painful lesson.”
She says, and then goes to get Yuini.
Sirk is too focused on Hikari to have heard that, and I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it either.
Still, some exercise doesn’t sound bad right now, so I’ll join their training.
I’ve been working as a blacksmith, and then I went to the giants’ village and worked on the barrier, so I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to swing my sword.
In the end, the others also come with me, as we join the guards.
After two hours of exercise, people gather to do mock battles.
First, it’s Hikari and Sirk.
Sirk is looking taller, so his strength has also increased.
When we were training and I peeked his way, the sound he made when he swung his sword was different, and the person he was facing praised him.
But he’s a bad match against Hikari, and she runs circles around him.
Being taller means his arms are also longer, so when she gets close, he can’t attack well and he’s pushed fully on the defense.
But he still manages to defend himself well.
If this happened before, he would have been pushed back completely.
I feel like he grows every time we come here, and I think Hikari thinks so too, because I see a small smile on her face.
…Yes, I want to think she’s just smiling because she’s happy about his growth. And let’s ignore that chill running down my spine.
“Is something wrong?”
“Are you feeling okay, Sora?”
Ask Kotori and Miharu.
“Hello Sora.”
Then Yuini and Sahana casually walk up to us, with Alfriede behind them.
Kotori and Miharu are very surprised when they see Yuini.
“Hum, who are…”
Yuini asks about the two girls she doesn’t know, and I introduce them, and also Shun, who is in the middle of a mock battle.
Yuini also introduces herself to them, and they exchange greetings.
“What do you think of Sirk, Sora?”
“He’s great. I don’t know how their battle will turn out. Hikari is having fun too, so it feels like he’s grown.”
Sahana hears me, and turns to Sirk and Hikari with a happy expression.
She’s strict with Sirk, but in a way, that’s part of her affection. Although she would never admit it.
Then Shun comes back and says hello to Yuini and Sahana, and Sirk’s mock battle with Hikari also ends, without Hikari ever using her Projectile Slash.
Sirk managed to push her back one time, but when she got close again, she made use of her speed to let her attacks toy with him.
Sirk looks frustrated, but…
“You’ve gotten stronger.”
His face loosens when Hikari says that.
Then Sirk challenges me, but Shun gets involved. Looks like he’s fired up from watching them.
He uses a sword, so that might have to do with it.
Their mock battle starts out good, but once Shun goes up a gear, it suddenly ends. Makes sense, considering how he was in the tournament.
People watching are surprised, and even Alfriede is impressed.
And Sirk is dumbfounded, while Shun’s sword is pointed at him.
“Please teach me!”
He says while bowing in front of Shun.
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Thanks for this weeks updates, & have a good weekend. 😎👍
Thanks for the treat, and enjoy a nice weekend.