Chapter 229: Elna-kaasan is Practicing Swordsmanship!?
Chapter 229: Elna-kaasan is Practicing Swordsmanship!?
「……fuu, that was such a terrible experience」
After drying my hair using Wind magic, I left Row-san and the horses and come back to the place near the carriage.
There, Eleonora-neesan is swinging a wooden sword alone. Even though it’s time to take a break, she’s practicing alone.
There’s a large chance that I will just get dragged into her practice if I were to head there, so I quietly move my sight elsewhere. In a place where the grasses were short, there were Nord-tousan, Elna-kaasan, Sylvio-niisan, and Mina.
It looks like they had laid out cloth as they sit there, chatting while eating cookies and drinking tea.
How nice. It’s really peaceful and it’s like they’re having a picnic.
The weather is nice, and it would be great to have tea with a fine view of the plains. It can’t be compared to something like the tiring and dirty practice.
I also wanted to drink tea and take a rest, so I head there without hesitation.
As I slowly walk toward Elna-kaasan and the other’s direction, guess Sylvio-niisan and Nord-tousan noticed me and they turn around. And for some reason, both of them were smiling wryly.
Why are they smiling wryly? Just as I was wondering about it, a hand was placed on my shoulder *ton*.
「You came just at the right time. Al, come practice with me」
When I look back, Eleonora-neesan said that as she came to me with a really nice smile on her face.
Just when, did she close in on me from behind? Just now, she was dozens of meters away over there when I saw her. She closed the distance between us in an instant it was incomprehensible, but now is not the time to think about such a thing.
「No way! I’m going to have a quiet tea time here!」
Having a practice even when it’s break time, gimme a break. Then there’s no point in taking a break, don’t you think?
「What? You still want to sit? Even though you’re going to sit inside the carriage again for a long time when break time is over, don’t you feel tired to keep on sitting?」
「It’s not as tiring as practice time」
It’s not that I don’t understand Eleonora-neesan’s point in doing that, but I don’t think it's necessary to practice now. As for me, it’s fine if I can just take a break and walk around.
However, the meaning of my words is not conveyed to the muscle-brained Eleonora-neesan as she has an unsatisfied expression after listening to my answer.
「These days, Al’s swordsmanship had finally returned to how it was before, but your skill will grow dull again if you don’t make time for the practice you know?」
So it seems that she’s worried about my skill in swordsmanship.
「Besides, I’m also only swinging the sword by myself, it’s boring」
Or not. That was probably the first thing that comes to her mind. I’m sure that my ‘skill in swordsmanship’ is just a front.
「That’s not good Al. You have to move your body a little」
Just as I was about to give a reason to reject Eleonora-neesan, Elna-kaasan said that as if supporting Eleonora-neesan.
「Al will not be going to exercise if Eleonora doesn’t ask him. I’m also worried about him seeing him spacing out with his lifeless eyes inside the carriage all along」
「Aah! I know how it feels! You will be worried if you saw him like that even for a moment!」
Mina says as she nods, following after Elna-kaasan’s remark.
I was wondering why did they look at my face more than once inside the carriage, so they were thinking along those lines, huh?
Truly, worrying over something unnecessarily. Though I just like spacing out like that.
「Come on, move your body a little, and refresh yourself」
From my perspective, having tea here couldn’t be any better way to refresh myself.
「Elna-kaasan can easily say that since you don’t know about the exhaustion of sword practice」
I can’t change the development that I will be practicing anymore. And when I spit out such a sharp remark while half-giving up, Elna-kaasan sink into silence as if she was pondering over it.
After that, she put the teacup in her hand on the plate, and then she blurted out something astonishing.
「……you’re right. I guess it’s not a bad thing for me to train sometimes」
「「「Ehh」」」
Hearing Elna-kaasan’s remark, everyone let out a surprised, stupid-sounding sound.
I was just saying that while half-joking though……no way, will Elna-kaasan really participate in the sword training? She was only watching the practice back in the mansion, not even interrupting us, that Elna-kaasan is going to join us?
Everyone else except Elna-kaasan suspect that we were just mishearing things as we look at each other faces to confirm it.
「What. What is with everyone's faces now? Even you Nord, that’s terrible of you」
Elna-kaasan unhappily says after looking at our reaction.
「N, no, that is because it is unusual for Elna to participate in sword training」
Nord-tousan unintentionally flinched as she looked at him quietly.
「Rather than that, can kaasan do sword practice?」
Eleonora-neesan asked the biggest question in our minds.
Elna-kaasan was an adventurer and a magician who was in the same party in Nord-tousan in the past. Since she fought numerous battles in the past, she might still have her experience and knowledge. You can tell from the advice she gave us during our practice.
But, being knowledgeable and being able to actually move your body in practice is a different matter altogether.
Elna-kaasan’s main job is the same as mine, a magician. Putting aside my level and Sylvio-niisan’, it will be difficult to be Eleonora-neesan’s sparring partner, isn’t it?
While everyone is having such a worried expression on our faces, with a calm expression, Elna-kaasan says.
「I’m still a former adventurer despite looking like this, you know? I can still fight in close quarters even though I’m a magician. Though I’m using a staff technique instead of swordsmanship」
That’s because Elna-kaasan doesn’t give the impression of an adventurer from her usual calm demeanor. It won’t be strange even if someone says that she was a lady from a noble house.
Even so, she was full of confidence in her close-quarter combat. Moreover, it’s surprising that she can use staff techniques.
Probably because she was using a staff as a magician. When you talk about something like staff techniques, it sounded cool since they have the image of an experienced fighter.
「But, at best you can only use that to defend yourself, right?」
Just when I was feeling honestly impressed at her, Eleonora-neesan said that sounding as if she’s provoking her. It looks like she still thinks that Elna-kaasan is unable to fight in close-quarter.
Due to Eleonora-neesan’s provocation, the air around us instantly turns cold.
As I, Sylvio-niisan, and Mina watch over them in suspense, Elna-kaasan smiles and says,
「Yes, you’re right. At best, I can easily deal with someone on the level of Eleonora」
「…………」
Eleonora-neesan falls silent after hearing Elna-kaasan’s reply.
I felt that I heard a snap-like sound in the air. In contrast with the calm weather and plains, a cold atmosphere is drifting around us.
Except for the two of them, everyone else can’t help but stay silent.
Noー! Stop it already! Why does the creature called women like to start an argument arbitrarily? If you want to argue about something then you can do it, but I wish you only do it on the level of amiable argument just like me and Torr.
I wish you were not mixing poisonous remarks and creating a heated atmosphere.
I mean, ‘can easily deal with Eleonora-neesan', that can’t already be said to be on the level of self-defense anymore, isn’t it?
「Heeー, even though I’m like this, I’m quite strong you know?」
Eleonora-neesan says while giving off a dangerous atmosphere around her.
「That’s compared to other children, right?」
However, Elna-kaasan answered while feeling like she was laughing scornfully at Eleonora-neesan, paying no heed to her reaction.
An unfamiliar aura is drifting from Eleonora-neesan beside me.
Can you please stop it Elna-kaasan? The Eleonora-neesan beside me is scary.
「Then, keep me company kaasan」
「Yes, I will go easy on you」
As Eleonora-neesan turns around and starts to walk back, Elna-kaasan quickly stands up and follows after her.
Being left behind, we follow them with our eyes in blank amazement.
「……umm, will kaasan be okay? Tousan?」
「It’s fine. Elna is strong after all」
Nord-tousan firmly nodded to Sylvio-niisan’s questions as he seems to have confidence in Elna-kaasan skill.
「It won’t make any rift in the relationship between parent and her child right?」
「Don’t say something so ominous! I, I think it’s probably going to be okay. If something were to happen, everyone should help patch things up!」
When I tell him the thing I’m most concerned about, Nord-tousan answered while slightly panicking.
I wanted you to answer me confidently though.
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