Chapter 61

In the practical training ground of the magic university, where offensive magic and other training exercises are conducted,

Today, during the store's lunch break, I had scheduled a sparring session with Cody.

We don't use practice wooden swords. We fight with the premise that minor injuries can be healed by my recovery magic, engaging in a battle that mimics real combat.

"--- There!"

"Whoa...!"

Cody wields a 'Light Sword' summoned by a sword spirit, attacking with a speed that leaves no time for a blink.

I use a steel sword, constantly enhanced by 'Slash Enhancement' to prevent it from being broken by the Light Sword. However, the blade gradually chips away---the hardness of the Light Sword, when converted to a material form, is extraordinary.

The 'sword spirit' also enhances Cody's movements with the sword, making her strength about SSS rank. By adding my enhancement magic, we were able to break through Verlene's defenses in the past battle against the Demon King.

Verlene had laid out a magic circle in the throne room of the Demon King's castle, significantly boosting her defensive power. We won by depleting Verlene's magic power, which was maintaining the magic circle---but even as I recall this, Cody continues her relentless attacks, slashing, thrusting, and parrying.

(With the limit release, I can keep up with the reactions, but... it's really terrifying...!)

"You're being careless, Dick!"

"--- What's that!"

Cody, judging from the resistance that my sword can withstand, increases the output of her sword to aim for weapon destruction.

--- 'Slash Count Enhancement' ---

Instead of taking the sword head-on, I generate multiple blades of magic power. The power of the magic blades increases if the sword is not damaged, but even with my battered sword, the attack power is sufficient, forcing Cody to defend and evade.

"--- 'Infinite Sword Wall'!"

Damn, I want to click my tongue---just because she's a weapon spirit doesn't mean she lacks defensive means.

An automatic counterattack with the Light Sword, as if to say that the best defense is a good offense. It's a wall of swords---the range of the Light Sword is almost infinite, so if you let your guard down, you might get hit by stray attacks.

As expected, she repels all of my magic blades, and attacks me with a speed of light that cannot be seen---but since the Light Sword cannot bend, I can predict the impact point with years of intuition and manage to block it.

However, my sword finally breaks. I want to say it held up well this long. There is no weapon that can withstand the Light Sword, which I confirm to be the strongest weapon on earth. An unenhanced steel sword would be cut like butter when faced with the Light Sword.

However, I haven't lost my weapon. There is a way to compensate for the broken sword, with a success rate of about half during practice.

In a limit-released state, I explosively compress my magic power---and this is what happens.

"Got you, Dick!"

"--- No, not yet...!"

--- 'Magic Power Sword - Material Conversion' ---

"--- You... restored the broken sword...!?"

"It's a fake...!"

The feel of the steel blade when it was enhanced and when it received the Light Sword is completely different. I can now take the initiative and launch a series of attacks on Cody.

Due to the increased power of my sword, Cody's magic power consumption increases with each clash. The same applies to me, and if we keep clashing, one of us will eventually run out of strength.

Still, both Cody and I were smiling. We continued the intense reading and swordplay, where a moment of inattention could result in a fatal wound, but we couldn't help but enjoy it.

"Ugh...!"

Cody, who had been perfectly defending, slightly miscalculated the trajectory of the sword and lost her balance.

--- If I hold back, I won't be forgiven.

Cody's eyes say that. She's telling me to go for the point without hesitation---so I launch a follow-up attack without hesitation.

I launch 'Slash Count Enhancement' with the material-converted magic power sword. The single strike that Cody struggled to receive is now multiplied into sixteen slashes, attacking Cody from all directions.

"--- Not yet!"

Cody, who had only lost her balance for a moment, stood firm and explosively increased the magic power used for automatic counterattacks, repelling my magic blades. However, she couldn't defend completely, and her practice clothes started to tear.

Still, she managed to block the 14th and 15th slashes, which came almost simultaneously, and then...

"--- !?"

After blocking the 15th slash from the front, the 16th slash immediately followed, and Cody was finally left defenseless and about to receive a hit.

"--- Haaa!"

Emergency evasion---the ability to intrude without permission, made possible by manipulating the fastest 'light'. I exploded magic power from my entire body to avoid receiving the magic blade with my bare skin.

The slash seemed to run through the center of Cody's body, but it was too shallow. However, I couldn't immediately follow up.

Material conversion is powerful, but the time it can be maintained is short. The magic blade added to my broken sword disappeared---Cody, seeing this, stepped in before I could regenerate my sword and thrust her Light Sword at me.

"--- This... is a difficult one to judge. Can I consider myself the winner...?"

"No, it's a point for Cody. My follow-up was too weak."

The control of the magic blade with the material-converted sword is not yet perfect. If I let my guard down, the material conversion will dissolve on the spot, and it becomes difficult to maintain the magic sword immediately after using a technique, as it did just now.

The two slashes overlapping was a coincidence. To intentionally set it up and force Cody into a situation where she can't avoid it, I need to improve further to score a point.

Cody is strict with herself, so she was considering whether to accept my words as they were---but eventually, she smiled, retracted her Light Sword, and dismissed the summoning of the sword spirit.

"Because the single strike was so heavy, I remembered something. Losing happens in moments like this."

"Even though the performance of the Light Sword is unmatched, I couldn't win against almost bare-handed Cody, despite constantly enhancing myself."

"The sword spirit brings out my fighting strength. Still, when the opponent's strike is heavy, I need to focus on maintaining the sword. There's still room for refinement."

Cody, wiping the sweat from her face and brushing the hair that stuck to her cheeks, said this.

I absentmindedly looked at the direction the sweat was flowing down her cheek---and I couldn't help but doubt my eyes.

"Dick, what are you looking at... ah..."

Cody finally noticed. She had been in emergency evasion, but the shallow slash had torn her clothes.

The bandages that were firmly pressing her chest had also torn, revealing the skin underneath. Cody quickly pulled the broken bandages to cover her chest and turned her back to me.

"...S-Sorry. When I get absorbed in the battle, I tend to lose awareness..."

"No... I'm the one who's sorry..."

I was surprisingly flustered. I didn't realize how much the bandages contributed to hiding her figure.

I thought she had almost no chest, making it easier for her to dress as a man, but that wasn't the case. If she hadn't worn the bandages, my perception of her would have been completely different.

(No, no... thinking about this is wrong. I know it's bad, but... no, there's something I should do first.)

Even though she had defended against my attack, her practice clothes were torn to shreds by the aftereffects of the magic blades, revealing her white shoulders and back. Given the attacks from all directions, it was inevitable.

I hadn't used the towel I had for wiping sweat during training, so I took it and placed it on Cody's back.

"Ah, thank you. Don't you need to use it, Dick?"

"There's another one in the changing room, so I'll use it after I wash off the sweat."

"...It doesn't smell like our towels. It smells like soap, a nice smell. Or is this the smell of Dick's house?"

"What are you talking about... I guess each house has its own characteristic smell."

Cody, unusually concerned about such things, made me laugh. Cody, observing my reaction, laughed happily and wiped the sweat from her neck with the towel.

Cody's hairstyle is distinctive, with her hair cut short, but a part of it is left long and tied back into a ponytail. This is a hairstyle her mother likes, and she has had it since she was young.

When she tried to wipe her neck by lifting her ponytail, her white nape was exposed, making me catch my breath.

Despite trying not to be unsightly, I couldn't help but ruminate on what I had just seen, continuing to look at Cody's feminine parts.

"...But, it's good that Dick attacked without holding back."

"Well, that's true. I can't hold back against someone like you, and a moment of inattention could be fatal."

"Ahaha... I thought it was dangerous a few times. The last strike, if I hadn't evaded, would have cut me vertically between my breasts."

The thought of the wound I left from her cleavage to her navel---I'm glad it didn't happen. If it weren't a severe injury, it could be healed with recovery magic.

"Still, it's frustrating. I thought I could match any weapon by drawing out Ragnar's power. How many times I wanted to step back because of the weight of Dick's strikes..."

"I'm always researching. But maintaining the sword was a challenge."

"Magic sword. Considering its nature, I think it will eventually match the performance of the Light Sword. I need to keep up, too."

While talking, Cody removed the torn bandages and wrapped the towel I gave her instead. The length was just right, and she managed to tie the ends together.

She stood up, still pressing her chest over the towel, and turned to me.

"Phew. I thought it would sting, but it seems I have abrasions in various places. The place where I was almost cut earlier..."

"R-Right... I'm sorry, Cody doesn't like to use recovery magic on such areas."

Now that she knows I know she's a woman, she probably doesn't want to show them even more.

However, unlike in the past, Cody hesitated a little and then showed her abdomen. It was toned, but not with multiple abs, and her build was different from a male swordsman.

I thought she wouldn't want to be seen, and the difference from me was obvious---the curve of her waist was something I could never imitate.

"...There are some abrasions here... Can you try not to look and heal them? They will sting if I get wet."

I thought this was too bold, but Cody was asking for treatment. The faint red marks extended to the space between her breasts, which were still pressed by the towel.

My head was suddenly hot, and I regretted even more when I noticed Cody's face. Her cheeks were flushed, and her body, glistening with sweat, was embarrassed. She looked like a female swordsman, not a knight captain.

I reached out to the red marks on Cody's skin, as she had requested, trying not to look directly.

"I'll try not to look. 'Healing'..."

"Dick, it's better to look properly and heal. Should I do it for you?"

Just as I was about to start the treatment, I was interrupted. My master had somehow appeared beside us.

"Wh-When did you get here? Did you teleport?"

"You said you might come to watch Cody practice with the Light Sword. So, I came... Was I interrupting?"

"N-No, not at all. Thank you, Master."

Cody, using a more formal title, accepted the master's treatment. The master used 'Healing Light' generously, and the wounds healed with just a touch of her fingers.

"That's better. Dick, you were going all out, weren't you? I think that's great."

"It's an honor. Well, our sparring is always all-out. Otherwise, it wouldn't be meaningful."

"I didn't think I could win against the current Dick, but it seems I can keep up. I'll keep practicing for the next sparring."

Thanks to Cody's dedication, I have been greatly helped.

I don't have the feeling of being left far behind, alone, more than anyone else.

"...Dick, it was really good that you traveled with the Demon King extermination team. You look much better than before."

"T-That's... Master, don't say such embarrassing things."

"Ahaha. Dick is still awkward in front of Master. It's fun to watch."

Cody, freed from her awkwardness, returned to her usual self. However, she was still aware of being seen, and her eyes sometimes met mine differently.

--- But now, I can't be so lighthearted. The master is about to be judged by the inquisitors, and I have to go with her.

"Master... let's go. Wait for us to change."

"Okay. I won't run away."

Unlike the battle attire she wore at the White Goat Inn, the master, wearing a monochrome outfit borrowed from Verlene, behaved more quietly, showing her awareness as a criminal.

In addition to the inquisitors, people related to me will be present. The master will not be crucified without a fair trial, but the possibility of being imprisoned cannot be ruled out.

Cody, looking at us solemnly, headed to change. I, still excited from the training, walked to my changing room.