Chapter 21

### Chapter 21: A Peaceful Week (3)

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#7

Of course, I didn't mean for you to fight recklessly.

— This is to gauge your level roughly. The sparring will involve stopping the sword just before physical contact. If any mistakes occur during the process, I'll intervene, so there's no need to worry.

Abel explained the simple rules and took up the role of the referee.

Thus,

a rather sudden sparring match was set up.

"Edgio! Are you sure you're okay! He's really strong! Don't get hurt!"

"Y-You can do it... Mr. Edgio...!"

"Yikes! Just go all out, Miu! Sasha is cheering for you!"

Edgio sighed lightly.

They're all excited and chatting away, but I'm the one who's worried.

The other students, except for Edgio and Miu, sat in a large circle outside the designated area, and Abel, standing in the center, slowly stepped back and raised one hand.

"Prepare yourselves."

"......"

"......"

Following Abel's instructions reluctantly, Edgio and Miu, standing about ten steps apart, faced each other and tried to focus on the battle by regulating their breathing.

Regardless of what they were thinking, Abel, with his hand raised, thought calmly.

'Epic Class Freshman 1, Miu.'

Very impressive.

Swish—

Drawing a white sword that scattered brilliant light, Miu focused all her attention in a single breath.

The level of her sword-drawing was so refined that it directly conveyed the extent of her training.

For a moment, her thoughts were filled with worry.

But eventually, with a single breath, Miu entered a state of no-mind, placing her sword precisely at her opponent's center and executing a flawless middle guard stance.

Her hand holding the sword was steady, without a single tremor.

Her feet, planted firmly on the ground, maintained a parallel balance that would not be shaken by any impact. Her posture was as solid as steel.

The flow of air along the long blade was transmitted directly to Miu's will. The moment she held the sword, she instinctively began to control all her bodily movements as if she had become one with it.

Abel faintly sensed the shadows of countless swordsmen who had commanded their blades under their names passing behind Miu.

In Abel's judgment, Miu's level was no longer that of an ordinary student.

The students present would need at least five of them to barely match her.

Especially considering that Miu was younger than them, it was truly an unfair situation.

However, Abel soon understood.

Geniuses are inherently like that.

Moreover, Abel was purely impressed.

Miu, at such a young age,

had achieved the unity of sword and body.

'Even I only realized it when I was just past my youth... What a formidable child.'

...In contrast,

the young man, Edgio, who was Miu's sparring partner, seemed to have many shortcomings.

His posture was not bad, and the sword he drew had a decent appearance, but that was about it.

He thought he had a good grip on his sword, but his timing was clearly exposed, and the optimal sword path was clearly visible.

Of course, no one else in this place, except for Abel and Miu, could see through it, but Edgio's sword skills were undoubtedly far superior to those of his peers.

However, the comparison was not favorable.

Judging by the relative difference in levels, Abel had a strong premonition that this sparring match would end with a single strike. He was almost certain of it.

Miu felt the same way.

'Sparring with Edgio-senpai...'

It had been a long time since Miu had faced Edgio in a sword duel.

The last time she saw Edgio's sword skills, she secretly felt that teaching him more would be futile, but she didn't give up.

She just wanted to see Edgio happy because he could handle the sword well thanks to her.

Although that wish didn't come true,

it was clear that the current Edgio had reached the level he had long aspired to.

Miu was secretly pleased.

...At the same time, she felt a bit guilty.

It was a bit unfair to Edgio, who had grown so much, but Miu hadn't been idle either. After parting ways with Edgio, she had stopped all other activities and immersed herself in the sword.

Therefore, it was clear to the current Miu.

The result of this sparring match would not show a significant difference compared to the past.

One strike would be enough to handle Edgio.

But Miu had one concern...

She had to face Edgio with a real sword.

No one thought that someone at Miu's level would make a mistake, and she didn't think so either.

However, she always had to consider the possibility of an unexpected situation.

Honestly, because she was less focused than usual, Miu was vaguely afraid that if she stumbled during the sparring, she might seriously wound Edgio.

Abel would intervene if a dangerous situation arose, but... wouldn't it have been better to give her a wooden sword instead of a real one? It would have been less realistic, but it would have been fine for gauging the level.

Thinking about asking Abel now, she turned to look at him—

Abel lowered his hand and quietly announced.

"Begin."

Miu swallowed her breath.

...There's no choice.

I have to end it as quickly as possible.

I can't go easy on Edgio in a sparring match.

Edgio, who was looking at her with a calm gaze, wouldn't want that either.

Swish—

As soon as the start signal sounded,

Miu stepped forward with her right foot and took a stance.

Whoosh—

"......!"

In an instant, Miu's body disappeared.

Without making a sound, she pushed off the ground and reached Edgio at high speed, her jet-black hair fluttering like silk in the air.

Edgio's eyes widened in surprise.

Unable to follow the extremely fast sword strike that tore through the air, he hastily twisted his body.

Swoosh!

Seizing the moment when Edgio lost his balance, Miu's sword trajectory was beautifully perfect. Without needing to engage in further combat, she thrust her sword into the gap created by his collapsed posture.

With her strength far surpassing Edgio's, the outcome of the clash would be immediately decided the moment their swords crossed.

Clang—!

Seeing Edgio and Miu's swords clash, Abel confirmed that his judgment was correct and was about to declare Miu's victory when—

"......Hm?"

The unexpected turn of events that followed made Abel, who was about to speak, show a rather interested expression.

#8

"......Huh?!"

This time, it was not Edgio who was surprised.

Clank—!

At the moment when Miu's sword should have pushed Edgio's away, Miu was receiving Edgio's sword strike, which was sliding up her blade.

'What?'

Just now...

Something strange happened.

For a moment, Miu's breath was disrupted.

The clear path suddenly narrowed, and her body movements, which had become awkward, broke the state of no-mind that had been embedded in her sword.

"Focus, Miu."

"......!"

A cold voice pierced her ears.

Losing her balance as she needed to launch a continuous attack, Miu's center of gravity was also disrupted.

This effect spread like dominoes, gradually overwhelming Miu and violently sweeping away her momentum.

Clang—!

Miu, who had allowed a counterattack, stepped back in confusion.

Her grip on the hilt loosened, and she almost dropped her sword.

Most importantly...

When Edgio's cold blue eyes met hers through the crossed swords, Miu felt an inexplicable shiver.

...What was that? Just now?

As she put some distance between herself and Edgio, her will began to re-embed itself in her sword, but the current situation was something Miu had not anticipated at all.

How should she describe it?

It felt like she thought she had taken three steps forward, but in reality, she had only taken one.

Did she make a mistake?

She didn't know. Maybe it was just a feeling.

Clang—!

Miu calmed her mind and, with a strong push off the ground, lunged at Edgio again.

"......Ugh!"

But, this time too,

Clang—!

As the resonating sword light echoed from the crossed swords, Miu could not help but feel that unpleasant sensation throughout her body.

Her grip on the hilt weakened slightly, and the timing she had seen clearly was now obscured by darkness.

For a moment, like a traveler who has lost their destination, a rather embarrassing sword technique unfolded.

However, she was not being overpowered by Edgio. She had thought she could end it with one strike, but this strange occurrence left Miu flustered.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

After that,

a few more rounds of combat took place.

"......What, you're surprisingly good at fighting?"

Seeing Edgio's surprising performance, which defied everyone's expectations, Abel, who was watching their sparring, and the students, including Sasha, who were watching from a distance, expressed their surprise.

Whenever it seemed like the end was near, Miu's sword strike would slightly loosen, and Edgio would take advantage of the gap.

This repeated a few times.

Some of the students thought,

...Miu must be going easy on Edgio.

Of course,

Miu, who was taking the sparring seriously, was putting in her full effort, but most of them, except for Gabriel who knew Edgio's abilities, thought so.

Regardless of how they viewed the sparring,

'...You've become strong, senpai.'

When the number of sword marks drawn by Miu and Edgio in the air exceeded dozens, Miu finally acknowledged that Edgio had a hidden secret.

Even without understanding the mysterious ability, Edgio's sword skills had improved to an unbelievable and astonishing level.

If he had this strange ability,

he might have been able to match Miu during their middle school days.

This made her secretly happy.

However, when she thought about the process Edgio must have gone through to become this strong, a sudden pain in her heart made her...

'Congratulations, senpai.'

Miu smiled faintly and

decided to end the sparring with Edgio.

It wasn't difficult for Miu to gain the upper hand in this sparring. There was a fundamental difference between her and Edgio.

Edgio was well aware of this.

As Miu gradually adapted to the strange sensation, he knew that even with his improved sword skills, she would quickly overpower him.

It was an unexpected situation, and he had never experienced anything like it before.

Miu and Edgio's thoughts were not wrong.

— Clang!

A short sword light sounded.

"Ugh!"

Edgio, who was pushed back in the clash, lost his grip on the sword and fell to the ground.

The winner of the sparring was decided.

Thud—

Leaving the sword rolling on the ground, Miu, out of habit, was about to point her sword at Edgio's neck.

"......A, Ah! Are you okay, senpai?!"

Realizing her opponent was Edgio, she was startled and quickly put down her sword, extending her right hand to the kneeling Edgio.

She was so flustered by pointing the sword at Edgio's neck that she even forgot she had said something wrong and bent down hurriedly.

Edgio didn't add any comments.

He just smiled bitterly and said,

"You're really strong, Miu."

"......"

Edgio said this sincerely.

He thought he had worked hard, but it seemed he was still far from Miu's level.

However, compared to the time when their training sessions were more like torment, he was satisfied just to be able to spar with Miu in a proper setting.

Edgio didn't refuse Miu's offer.

"Thanks. Ugh—"

"......!"

Reaching out reflexively, Miu was about to pull back her right hand, worried that Edgio might be uncomfortable, but he firmly grabbed it.

'Ah, ah...'

As Edgio's warm, large hand enveloped Miu's, her heart skipped a beat and raced.

Bowing her head, her face flushed, Miu was pulled up by Edgio, who brushed off the dust from his uniform. Abel nodded at him.

"......I overlooked quite a bit. This is a place where not everything is as it seems."

Abel smiled satisfactorily and continued,

"The sparring is a victory for Miu. I wanted to gauge the minimum and maximum levels, but this ended up being a complete failure. ...However, it was a good sparring match. I can roughly determine the direction of guidance."

He then looked at the students sitting in a circle.

"You... well, show me the sword techniques you've learned so far on that dummy."

The students turned to look in the direction Abel pointed.

"I'll observe everything here. I'll record everything that goes wrong, from one to ten. I'll read your momentum and determine the direction of guidance for each of you, so start now."

Swoosh, swoosh...

One by one, the students began to stand up, but one of them remained seated and raised her hand.

"Um, Professor!"

It was Sasha Elne.

Abel nodded reluctantly.

"Hm? It's you again? What is it this time?"

Sasha answered cheerfully.

"I've never learned sword techniques! What should I do?!"

"......"

Abel began to seriously consider whether he should laugh or not.

...Meanwhile.

'Edgio, you liar.'

Determined to make him pay if there was anything between them, Gabriel shook his head.