They held each other's swords and measured their spacing. They jigged and jammed together, and it was Shelly who moved first.


''Haaaaah!''


　She runs through the earth and uses her momentum to make a flash. However, Belle easily brushed it off and swung her own sword as if to flick her sword away as it was.


''........do it.''


　Belle mumbles to herself in a blur. She is basically an introvert and is not very talkative. But in battle, for example, her tone of voice, despite her introverted nature, becomes quite normal. And when she spoke, it was more out of admiration than surprise.


　That's because Sherry had so easily deflected Belle's attack. It hadn't been long since Sherry had held a sword. Nevertheless, the more she trained, the stronger she became. Like a sponge that had not absorbed anything, Shelly had absorbed all of Belle's skills and made them her own. There was no such thing as stagnation in Sherry.


　And her ability was already at the top of the list of first-class anti-magicians.


''Guh, ugh........''


　It was Belle who let out that voice. Pressured. Even though it was really a small gap, Shelly didn't miss it. It wasn't just Belle that was already reflected in her eyes. She sees something else. Belle couldn't help but think that. Every move she made was being understood. All of our counters will be crushed as well. Shelley's sword fire was already trying to reach Belle's territory.


(Terrible talent ... but ... you're still so young.)


　Bell acknowledged Shelley's tremendous talent, but didn't see himself as a loser. Then Bell backsteps backwards in one fell swoop and gets out of range. Of course, it wasn't Shelley who missed it. She immediately followed and swung her sword diagonally as if to tear her cesa.

　But that blow never reached Bell.



''--The Eighth Secret Sword, Shiden Issen!



　As soon as Belle dropped backwards, she delivered her sword. And when he perceived that Shelly was firmly packed in, he activated his secret sword over her sword.


''Wha...?


　Shelley is surprised. At this moment, I thought I had won. I was the one who had been oppressed. I could see the path to victory. He thought that Belle had fled backwards in anguish...but then he realized that it was in fact an invitation from Belle.

　Belle had invited Sherry to run away in order to activate her secret sword.

　By the time Shelly found out, she knew it was too late. Because her sword had been cut cleanly from the base. One of Belle's ten secret swords was one of the ten secret swords, the Purple Electric Flash. It is a super-fast electromagnetic battling technique, it is a fast sword technique that can take the first move even if you are behind.


''Huh.......I was almost able to beat my teacher.......''
''Hmm. I still can't........lose to Shelly........


　Belle delivers the sword she holds and approaches Sherry. By the way, Shelly calls Belle her teacher. According to her, Belle offered to use Sensei because it was too exaggerated to be a master.


''That........was very good.......right?　I'm a little bit too serious about it...
Is that last one a secret sword?　It's tremendous.
There are ten secret swords in all, but I never thought I'd be able to bring out one of them...?
Am I growing up?
Yeah. It's amazing ... it's growing.
But I don't feel like I can beat the doctor yet.
''Hmm. That's........ten years early........


　Shelly was definitely getting stronger. But that was already reaching its ceiling. The basic skills are almost perfect now. So what makes her different from Belle? It's the presence or absence of sword skills. Belle possesses a secret sword as her absolute power. Sherry, on the other hand, has no swordsmanship to call it. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

　It may be time for this to happen. Belle thought about that and opened her mouth.


''Maybe it's time for Shelly-chan to have her own sword skills........''
Your sword skills...?
''Yeah........I.......have grown so much since I became able to use the secret sword.......so.......I've grown up......''
I'll give it some thought.
Yeah I get it.


　Bell knew at this point that the next few months were going to take a long time. If it was bad, it would be years. And yet, within a few days, Shelly had created the prototype of her sword technique.



''How do you feel?''
'Huh ... hah ... hah ... um ... well ... well, I think it's fine ...'


　Since then, Belle had been working with Shelly again. Shelly wanted to get an idea of her sword skills, so she took her sword skills.......but it was more than she expected. It was frightening to see that this was still a work in progress. No...........................who the hell is Shelly really? Such a degree of growth. It's also not that she had always been talented, but a sudden flowering in recent times.

　To say that a talent that had been sleeping has awakened, that would be true, but................................but Belle had a different premonition in her head.


''.........Its proper name is Rikka, the Six Flowers. I'm going to use this sword technique in six different ways.
Well I'm sure you can make it happen, Shelly.


　Smiling, Belle patted Shelly's head. She had a lot on her mind, but it was only natural to be pleased with her apprentice's growth. And she was so far with Belle, who was not very good at talking and socializing, that she was willing to go along with him. There were times when she couldn't say what she wanted to say. Still, Sherry did her best to deal with Belle.


　Belle wasn't so emotionless as to disrespect it.



　◇



"Senpai, have you been eating a lot lately?
Munching ... is that right?


　Shelly had finished her training and had come to the dining room. And what comes into view is the sight of Yulia and Eira. Lately, I've seen those two together a lot. Sherry also wanted to be in that one...............................but she held it in.


　She wasn't strong enough for herself yet. The only person who can stay in there is a special class anti-magician. Somewhere along the line, that thought had grown in Shelly. Julia and Eira. The two of them are the hope of this humanity, the Special Class Counter-Magician. To stand side by side with such two people.............I would never be able to do it. They have meals and conversations together as an association. Even so, Sherry had a definite coiled feeling.


''Huh?　What's up, Shelly?
Sofia.


　I turned around when I was approached from behind, and there was Sophia. She's always smiling and laughing, a cheerful friend. We've known each other for a good while now, but Sophia has helped me in any way she can.


'Aren't you going to Yuria and the others?'
I can't go.
What's up?
I'm still too weak.
Oh dear. This is a bit sulky.
What do you mean?
Maybe you think you're not strong enough to stand by them?
...Ug.


　It's a figurehead. It's that obvious........Shelly thought. It's always a good idea to be able to see right through it. If it's off the mark, there's still an argument to be made, but it's hard to say because it's right on target every time.


''Well, Shelly should sort it out herself, right?
Well you're right.
'I want to be stronger. It's the same for me. We've got to work hard so that one day we can stand next to those two.
"...Sofia, is that unusual?
Hmm?　Well it's been a lot of things.


　Later, Shelly and Sophia ate their meals side by side.