The conversation with Mr. Lewin was over, and after a while the smell of fish sauce was gone. Lily and the others revive as well. They say they've all had a terrible time, but I was the first to warn them. It wasn't my fault.

'Are you sure you're going to use this?'

Aeon asks. He had tasted such a bad smell. I guess I don't feel like eating. But my answer is a no-brainer.

Of course I'll use it," he says.　What do you think I made it for?

Yeah, I know... but...

I don't think it's very good.

Everyone nodded when Setia said that. Hoho. Don't forget those words, okay? Those who insult fermented products cry over them! I don't know what I'm talking about myself, but it doesn't make sense.

I went to see Hephaistos and of course he was pissed off. Yeah. This is honestly the best I could do. I didn't tell you.

I ask forgiveness and Hephaistos hands me a beautiful sword. It was a sword made of glass.

The Glass Sword: Rare Level 3 One-Handed Sword, Grade E+.
Weight: 10 Endurance Value: 35 Attack Power: 20
Additional effect: Reduced durability when parrying (small)
A sword made of glass. More valuable as a work of art than in combat.
It is light and specialized in slashing. Its durability value is low, so it needs to be handled with care.

'Oh... you were able to make it!

'Yes!　I managed to complete one of them.

Looking at the sword, Aeon raves about it.

''It's a beautiful sword.''

Thank you. I'm very proud of it.

He looks like a man who's done a good job. Now, I've got a new sword. We should give it a try.

"I'll be training with Lily and the others in the meantime.　Wouldn't you like to see how the new sword works?

'Well...I'm sorry to interrupt you then.

Thus, we all join in and begin our special training with Lily and her friends. We start off with Lily.

Duel.
Opponent: Tact and Lily
Victory conditions: no combat, time up
Referee: Ion

This time there's a time limit, and I can do 30 minutes maximum, but it's too long, so I'll make it 5 minutes.

So let's get started.

'Yes!　Tact, can I go all out?

'No pseudo-dragonization. You can use whatever you want after that.

Don't regret what you said.

I hope you'll be sorry. I'm going to draw my glass sword. Normally I would use a wooden sword, but this time I decided to use the glass sword as a test. After pulling it out, I thought it was definitely light. No wonder it's specialized in slashing rather than slashing.

Are you ready?

Aeon asks.

'Anytime!'

I'm good, too.

Then let's begin.

Lily rushes in. And the usual development.

'Heavy slash!'

Lilly uses a heavy slash. I deco-pin Lily when she's that defenseless. The attack hits her, so I make her cancel the skill. Then she goes rigid, so I give her another deco-pin. Lily takes damage from the deco, and she's in tears.

''Ow, that hurts... tact.

That's not what I'm talking about. I almost got cut by a big sword... but that's not the point, we have to be mindful here.

''If I had used the sword, the match would have been over, okay?　Don't hesitate. Love.

What?

I look Lily in the eye, and the next thing I know, there's a fighting spirit in my eyes. That's fine.

The fight resumes. Lily swings her greatsword around, but I play all of it. When the weapon is flicked, as Arthur did with his shield, I become rigid and unable to move. Therefore, I hit Lily's head with a flat surface that has no glass sword blade every time I play her great sword. That's twice if I use the skill. Every time she's hit, Lily says, "Ughhhhhhhh!

''Ugh!　I'm so mad!　Fighting spirit!

He used his fighting spirit and swung his sword at me, but I played it all off and chopped the punishment. Then time was up, and I won, having done the damage.

When the duel is over, Lily sits down on the spot.

''Nah, why~''

And a pathetic voice. The flow of the battle itself is not much different than when I fought Aeon. The decisive difference is that I haven't moved a single step since the battle began. From Lily's point of view, it would make no sense.

''That's great.''

I've never seen Tact-sama fight with a sword before, but he's exceptionally strong.

Aeon and Setia looked shocked. But there's one girl with a different reaction. It's Love Fire.

''It's awesome!　Big brother Takut!　Your posture and use of the sword was so beautiful!　I'm impressed!

Does Love Fire change his personality when it comes to the sword? You're talking passionately about it, but if you can say that, then you understand what I did. But if you can say that, then you understand what I've done, don't you?

Do you think Koihi knows what I've done?

'Yes!　He played the sword noisily!

Yeah. You're right.

Love Fire squints at me as I stroke her. The three girls are not happy. I can't do too much, so let's get to the point.

'Well, first of all, Lily relies too much on big moves. You know what I'm talking about because I've beaten you twice when it comes to big moves, right?

...that's what I meant by that...

Of course. And here's the thing.

'Do you know that when I played Lily's sword, I left myself unprotected?

Yeah. I couldn't move.

Yeah. Which means that after you flick your sword, the big move is sure to hit.

What?

Lily's eyes widen. The words would be very tempting to Lily.

'So, from now on, I'm going to teach you how to play the sword for the rest of your training. If you can do this, you'll be on the same level as Arthur for now. Do you want to do it?

'Of course!　So, let's get to it.

I'm willing to do it, but it's a change of pace, Aeon.

Yeah...

What do you mean, "What...?　It's bound to change!

As he says this, Ion draws his dagger and steps away. Looks like he's ready for battle. But before we fight, I'll have Hephaistos repair the glass sword. The low durability value of this weapon is still a problem. I'm sure Hephaistos feels this as well, and he'll see what he can do about it. Let's wait and hope for the best.

The glass sword is restored and ready to go. Now, let's get to training Aeon.

The duel.
Opponent: Tact and Ion.
Victory conditions: no combat, time up
Judge: Love Fire

Why isn't Lily a referee? I'm not sure Lily can do it. Then I asked the love fire, who knows a lot about swords.

''Then please be the first to do it!

It begins with a signal from the love fire. I don't move, holding my glass sword at mid-level. Ion runs around me, waiting for the right moment to attack. And just as Aeon tries to attack, I unleash a thrust.

Ion barely dodges, but is unable to connect with the attack. I watch him again, and he attacks. He attacks from the right, back, diagonal right, front, and left, but each time my thrusts are accurate, they interfere with Ion's attacks.

And Ion tried to play my sword. Yeah, it's good to imitate quickly like that.

But I'm going to go above and beyond. Ion retracts the sword he tried to play, and Ion's sword flick is struck out. Then he thrusts again. Aeon barely guards with his dagger.

Then he gets out of range and comes to attack again. This time Ion assumes my thrust and tries to counter, but each time he retracts his sword and a second thrust strikes Ion.

But Ion starts to respond to that as well, so I decide to move. Aeon is also wary of me moving. But unfortunately, they're too cautious.

As a result of trying to maintain a certain distance from me, Aeon is trapped in a corner of the dueling field. Aeon has nowhere to run, and when it can't move, I attack it.

I tried desperately to deal with it, but it stopped moving and there was no chance of victory for Ion.

"Wha-why...

The match is over and Ion says the same thing as Lily. Now, it's time to reflect.

'Ion is still smart. The part I showed you where I tried to play the sword flick was good.

'Thank you. But what went wrong?

'What stood out to me about Ion was his laxity in tactics. When you're going around in circles yourself, you think about where you're going to attack from before you come in.

'Yes. Is that not good enough?

Not a bad idea. It's an advantage. But the problem is that it's the only way to go.

What?

Aeon's eyes widen at my point. It looks like he knows he's figured it out.

'The reason you couldn't handle my unexpected thrust at first is because you didn't expect it. And more importantly, you didn't expect me to move, did you?

'...Yes. But when was the last time I went to the corner?

'Think about it. I'm the one moving forward, okay? What do you think would happen if you kept going around in circles the same distance as I did?

'E...ah. It hits the corner at the end.

Yeah. Very good.

Yeah. You were so worried about me that you couldn't see your surroundings. Well, I suppose I deserve a point.

Umm... so what do we do now?

Simplicity. It's just a matter of stopping at a certain distance if you want to keep your distance.

'It's true, but...'

Aeon doesn't seem convinced. That's just as well. There's a good reason.

"Aeon, you're not actually good at close combat, are you?

What?

I point out the perfect figurehead. In fact, Ion has come to counter and slash at me in passing, but I've never tried to stop and attack continuously. It's different only when he's using martial arts and skills, though.

''That's not...''

If you don't have a problem with that, fine. From now on, your training will be in close combat with me. When you do, I'll be with Lily and I will teach you how to play the sword.

Yes, yes...

Aeon is probably remembering his last close call with me. But what smart Aeon lacks is the intuition for battle. This is something that can only be honed in actual battle.

Lily, on the other hand, has a good instinct for battle and is a treasure trove of mindlessness. This is what I felt during my second battle against the Wolfman. Lily had perfectly matched her attacks against Wolfman's attacks. Moreover, she was challenging him, knowing that she could win by force. I think this was the result of Lily's battle instincts.

That's why I decided to teach Lily the technique for now. I don't need to force tactics, because Lily's battle instincts should be able to determine what to do.

This is how we decided on their training policy, and once again, we realize that these two are really the opposite type of people.