One of the girls is fidgeting as Lily and Ion finish training. It's Love Fire.

''Oh, um... I want to fight with Takuto brother too...''

'No problem. I just have a wooden sword, would you like to try a glass sword?

As I say this, I take out my wooden sword and hand the glass sword I was holding to Koibibi. I take the glass sword to Koibibi and check the feel of it. Seeing this, I am convinced. As I thought, this girl is strong. It's like fighting in a pure kendo style. It's been a long time since I've had this feeling. I'm enjoying this.

A duel.
Opponent: Tact and Koibito
Victory conditions: no combat, time up
Referee: Ion

At Lilly, we asked Ion to be the referee as well. Aeon is a safe bet.

I draw my wooden sword and we're ready for battle.

'Are you ready?'

Yeah.
Yes!

Then let's begin.

At Aeon's signal, they simultaneously hold their swords at the same time. We are both in the middle stance. From there, they gradually close the distance, feinting at each other with their feet, body movements, sword movements, and gaze.

And then close range. Finally, me and Koibito's sword fight begins.

''Hey!''

The first to set it off was Love Fire. He unleashes a sharp thrust. I shrug it off and dive into my pocket and sidestep the wooden sword.

''Hah!''

In response to my attack, Love Fire steps back and dodges the attack. Then she swings down a glass sword from the top step. I spin and dodge it, and use the rotation to sidestep it further. Love Fire guards it with the glass sword. We get into a battle of wits and keep our distance from each other.

Oh man...this is fun. Pure Kendo, after all. Excellent in both offense and defense. More importantly, she knows exactly what to attack. What do you think he will do if he hits you with a thrust and gets in your pocket? He steps back and dodges the attack. You have a clear image of a further attack.

Now, then, let's see how good it is.

Once again, the distance closes in and a real sword fight begins. They dodge each other's sword fights, sometimes receiving, sometimes flushing, and sometimes attacking each other. It was a beautiful exchange of sword fights that came from pure kendo.

But it's not going to be a training session at this point. It was a fun time, but it's time to end it.

I forcefully flick the sword of love fire and forcefully jump into my pocket.

''Huh!''

Love Fire couldn't cope with my sudden change in style. I tried to swing my sword to stay in the bosom, but it was deadly with a sword that wasn't strong enough. I flicked that sword and jumped into the pocket. Love Fire steps back to manage it, but whoever rushes forward and whoever steps back, that's the crucial difference. I've succeeded in forcing Love Fire to the corner of the field.

But here I take my distance. If I continue to attack here, I'll win, but this is training. There's no point in continuing to attack here.

Perhaps sensing my intentions, Koihi breathes and slowly takes a stance. A unique stance that hides the sword in his body. It is an ancient martial art that is different from Kendo and was born from the same sword. The name is called Iai or the name is called Battoujutsu.

In contrast to Koihi's Battoujutsu stance, I also take the Battoujutsu stance. I wanted to try and see which one is better. I was surprised at my stance, but soon a fighting spirit dwells in my eyes. I'm sure the feeling is the same. Decide which Battoujutsu is better. That's all that mattered.

The two sides closed the distance between them, keeping their Battoujutsu stances. Then, when they entered the special kill pause, they stepped into each other and unleashed the Battoujutsu with all their might.

A moment later, the field of dueling falls silent.

And we dodge words.

'...This is as far as it goes.
...Yes?

The game is staggering. The moment our battoujutsu hit the ground, the wooden sword broke. There's no way to win in this situation.

Aeon. You have to call this game a draw.

What?　Are you sure?　Because Mr. Tact was pushing it once.

Yeah. But my wooden sword is in this state. That's why I want to call this game a draw. My pride won't allow me to take the win from this.

It's wrong to put a win or a loss on the training in the first place, but if I had to put a win or a loss on the training, this game would be a draw. According to my will, Aeon will declare the winner.

''This match is a draw!

And the training called dueling is over. That's where the love fire levels up. And at the same time, my one-handed sword has also leveled up.

'The level of my one-handed sword has reached 5. I've acquired the martial art [Heavy Slash].''
'Love Fire Sword level has reached 5. Martial skill [Return Flash] has been acquired.

Oops. I've learned Lily's favorite technique. Love fire is too high level. Do I have that much experience? And Love Fire's return flash is probably a return technique, even if it's not by any chance.

The counterattack is one of Kendo techniques. It is a technique to return an attack in response to an opponent's attack. In other words, it is a counter technique. I'm using it normally, but when it's used in martial arts, it's going to change a lot.

While thinking about this, I called out to Koibito.

It's a good thing. It was a good match.

'Yes!　But there are swordsmanship techniques like that.

What Love Fire is talking about is my forceful swordsmanship. I have to be careful about this.

''Love Fire, don't force yourself to imitate me, okay?　There are people who imitate poorly and lose sight of their own swords.

This is a common story we hear in sports. When you develop your own style and then try a new style in order to go further, you lose sight of your own style and your strength falls away.

This is often compared to being a baggage carrier. There is a certain amount of baggage that one person can carry on their own. But if you train yourself, you can increase the amount of baggage you can carry. On the other hand, if you can't stand the amount of baggage you have, you will be crushed.

In terms of love fire, the part where you train yourself is to level up. I'm still talking about the amount of luggage you can carry in a level 6 love fire. So I'll tell Love Fire what I'm looking for.

Love Fire is smart and has good instincts in battle. You should be able to resist my forceful swordsmanship in your own style.

'Yes!　I'll do my best!

The love fire that replies cheerfully. Mmmm. Straightforward and quick to understand. I will lose to this girl someday. At this time, I was convinced of that.

Name Takuto Intermediate Summoner Lv3

Vitality 37
Magical power 74
Strength 27
Defensive Strength 18
Agility 24
Dexterity value 53

skill

Fighting Lv 1 Kicking Lv 12 Staff Lv 15 One-handed sword Lv 1 to Lv 6 Throwing Lv 1 Summoning magic Lv 19　
Alchemy Lv 9 Mining Lv 12 Logging Lv 10 Dismantling Lv 14 Appraisal Lv 9 Identification Lv 15　
Wind magic lv19 Fire magic lv19 Earth magic lv18 Water magic lv19 Dark magic lv18　
Light magic Lv 22, lightning magic Lv 15, explosive magic Lv 15, wood magic Lv 15, ice magic Lv 15.　
Spacetime magic Lv13 Reading Lv5 Cooking Lv18 -> Lv19 Feeding Lv5 Fishing Lv5 Synchro Lv2

Name Lilly, Dragoneut Lv21

Vitality 36
Magical power 26
Strength 67
Defensive Strength 25
Agility 20
Dexterity value 16

skill

Bare-handed Lv 6 One-handed sword Lv 17 Large sword Lv 2 -> Lv 4 Fighting qi Lv 6 Pseudo-dragonization Lv 1

Name Aeon Dragon Newt Lv 20

Vitality 35
Magical power 45
Strength 30
Defensive Strength 20
Agility 65
Dexterity value 55

skill

Two swords Lv 16 -> Lv 17 Throwing Lv 1 Underwater action Lv 5 Water blade Lv 9 Pseudo dragonization Lv 2

Name Love Fire Cerian Beast Lv 1 -> Lv 6

Life force 15 to 25.
Magic power 12 to 20.
Strength 15 to 20.
Defensive strength 8 to 10.
Agility 15 to 23
Dexterous value 10 to 15.

skill

Sword Lv 1 -> Lv 5 Flame magic Lv 1, foxfire Lv 1, presence detection Lv 1 -> Lv 5