Beatrix had to excuse herself from that day's knight training, as she still needed to manage the new Forge Workshop that Axel had built.

Aside from her, everyone else was present for training.

This excluded Teruria, Eve, and Nina, who were watching the training from the shade of the nearby barracks. Maria and Cherry were with them, serving drinks and snacks as they waited.

"Swing your sword like it means everything to you! Tighten your grip; don't let go, no matter what! Your enemy won't wait for you to pick up your sword!"

Arianne was, as always, serving as the instructor. She participated in the practice swings alongside the others, leading by example.

"One thousand...! Good! Now, return to running around the perimeter of the training ground!" After the first set was complete, she instructed the group to run.

Except for Axel.

"As for you, Sir Axel..." She paused, pondering.

Axel was a fast learner. With just a few adjustments, his stances had reached perfection, his sword form mastery improved to the point where Arianne was running out of things to teach him.

"For today, let's spar." Thus, she decided to elevate the training.

"Spar?" Axel tilted his head, confused. "Would it be safe...?"

"We're using wooden swords, so it should be safe. The rules are to stop your sword right before hitting a vital point, or if the other party surrenders. This applies both ways."

Axel wasn't well-versed in sports, but he understood that it should be similar to "sundome" in Kendo. With that in mind, he felt relatively safe from Arianne...

What about the reverse? He couldn't be certain. His control was good, but not perfect. At worst, there were potions to heal them.

Still, it was a good opportunity to test his sword skills against a master.

"Alright. Let's do it," Axel said, nodding as he adjusted his stance.

Arianne smiled at his eagerness. She stepped back, standing about five meters away from him, and took a similar stance.

"Ready when you are," Arianne said, still smiling.

The spar was intended to test Axel's skills; she certainly wouldn't take the initiative, as that would be putting the cart before the horse.

"Then," Axel took a deep breath, leaned forward, and dashed. "Here I go!"

His movements were quick but controlled. He wasn't using all his strength since it was just a simple spar. Relatively speaking, his speed was already about 1.5 times Arianne's!

Despite his speed, Arianne's smile remained unchanged.

Their swords clashed with a loud crack, sending shards flying. The impact of the initial strike nearly chipped Axel's wooden sword!

"Haap!"

But he didn't stop there.

After his vertical strike was blocked, Axel lightly pulled his wrist, maneuvering into a side sweep, going diagonally upward.

It was a good choice and a seamless transition, but Arianne still blocked it with ease.

"You're using what you learned properly. That's good," she praised as she parried the next few slashes effortlessly. "However, it's too much by the book. It's easy to read. It might be effective against normal monsters, but you might struggle against intelligent ones!"

"Ugh!"

A sudden kick to his stomach broke Axel's onslaught. It was a simple sign from her that indicated he was full of openings.

"Again...!"

Axel refused to give up just yet.

This wasn't a fight he was supposed to win, but he didn't want to fall without trying.

'If going by the book makes it easy to read, then I just need to chain my strikes unconventionally!' he thought.

As he stepped forward, entering Arianne's range, he stabbed his wooden sword forward, aiming for her neck. Of course, such a straightforward attack was easy to predict and dodge.

In fact, she didn't even bother using her sword; simply stepping a half step to the right and tilting her head was more than enough.

...Or so she thought.

"...!"

The sword's trajectory suddenly changed mid-flight, transforming from a stab into a spinning slash!

"Brilliant!" Arianne growled as she swung her sword. "However, the pre-move is too large; it's easy to block!"

Arianne's blade easily parried the spinning slash, tilting it to allow Axel's sword to slide off over her head.

She maintained a solid posture and prepared her sword, determined to impart another lesson to Axel. But as she watched his swing pass by, his back exposed... just as she attempted to attack, she felt a sudden impact on the side of her head.

She didn't see what or where it came from, but by reflex, she followed the motion, minimizing the damage. However, that led her to slam into the dirt, her posture broken and her vision spinning slightly.

The next moment, a wooden sword flashed toward her neck, stopping just a few inches away. Axel panted, staring at her with a broad smile.

"Haha, I win?"

"...Cheeky student!"

Now that she had time to think, Arianne realized what had hit her.

It was a roundhouse kick!

She wasn't sure if it was a payback for her earlier kick, but she allowed the strike to land.

'But to think he used not one, but two feints to land that strike...' she thought, amazed.

Using the stab as a feint and transitioning to a spinning attack focused Arianne's attention on Axel's blade. Thus, she completely missed that the spinning motion wasn't actually for a slash but rather for a high kick.

It was elementary, but with the fluency and speed of execution, it still succeeded!

"Although I did lower my guard a bit, a win is a win," Arianne said, taking Axel's hand to help him up. "But I won't let that happen again!"

"Try me! I'll show you how I'll replace you as everyone's sword instructor!"

After that, they sparred for a total of twelve rounds. But despite his big words, Axel's record was 1:11. Aside from his first win, Arianne had him swept off his feet!

"Although you were only training for two days, your swordsmanship is already solid," Arianne said, panting as she wiped the sweat from her face.

"At this pace, you'll be a master by the time the Empire's soldiers arrive..."

"A master, huh..." Axel grumbled, lying on the ground, breathing heavily, and feeling as if he was beaten to a pulp. "You didn't let me hit you once after the first round. What master?"

Seeing his grumpy expression, Arianne giggled.

Then she walked over, grabbed Axel by his collar, and pulled his face closer to hers, whispering teasingly,

"Sorry, but I can't let you hit on me yet. Not until you hit on Princess Eve first, at least~!"

"…"

Axel understood that the word she used had a different meaning than what he had intended, but he could only shrug. It was a topic beyond his control, after all.

Just like that, the training session came to an end...

And after a short break, a new one began.

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