Half a year had passed since Ardis began teaching Minerva the art of swordplay.

　Minerva, who at first was constantly being pushed around by the weight of the wooden sword, gradually began to show the results of her training after four months of holding it.
　His sword strikes were also increasing in sharpness day by day.

　The dry sound of two wooden swords clashing together echoed in the forge.
　Minerva launches a series of sword strikes against Ardis from both sides.

'Your attacks are getting more monotonous!　Think harder and put more thought into it!

　Ardis pointed out with a strengthened voice as he stopped in his tracks and played the attack from Minerva with his wooden sword with ease (easily).

'Yes!'

　With a short answer, Minerva strikes a blow with her full strength.
　As if to parry that power, the momentum of the wooden sword is deflected and Ardis continues to defend.

　In the beginning, Minerva was out of breath and slumped down after a few minutes, but now she is able to continue striking for more than five minutes.
　Of course, it's still a long way from the standard of an ordinary swordsman, but considering that the person in question is a nobleman's daughter, it's a different story.

''It's about time we went over here too!

　Aldis's wooden sword, which had been focused on defense until then, took advantage of Minerva's gap and turned into an attack.

　Needless to say, it's not a serious sword strike.
　She swings her sword at the very edge of speed that Minerva can react to and strikes with the very edge of force that she can receive.

　If the other party is a rookie mercenary, I would feel free to hammer the lesson into his body with pain, but as expected, I wouldn't be able to teach a noblewoman that way.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a lot of good reasons for this.

''Kutu.''

　Minerva was pushed in after failing to catch Aldis' sword shot.

'Don't take it from the front!　In a contest of strength, consider yourself beaten!

Yes!

　While replying, Minerva takes a step back and adjusts her stance.

　If you are pushed back by the opponent's attack in actual battle, that will result in an increase in the enemy's momentum and the situation will not improve at all.
　But in this training, the assumption that Aldis would fight with his feet stopped is probably what made Minerva take that choice.

''Don't back down!

　Naturally, Aldis would not allow it.

'What?'

　The iris-colored eyes were tinted with surprise, as if they hadn't expected Aldis to chase after them.

　Minerva immediately tried to take another step back, but there was no way she could escape from Aldis's step with such bluntness.
　With a sharp swinging blow, the wooden sword in Minerva's hand is flicked off and flies through the air, falling backwards in an arc.

''It's terrible, Master.''

　Minerva gives him a frustrated look.

'You said you wouldn't move from your standing position, didn't you?

'Basically, I wasn't going to move my feet, but if you miss that one, you'll get bad habits.

　It's not a good idea to step back while your opponent is still in control.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with taking a step back. "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with taking a step back," he says, "but it's good to take a step back to encourage your opponent to attack, or to link up with your teammates. But it's not okay to fall back and let your opponent's momentum push you back. If you do that easily, you will be cornered in an instant.

　Originally, it might be a terrible thing to ask a noblewoman to go that far.

　If this is training for the purpose of self-defense, just being able to endure a few puffs would be enough.
　It is unlikely that she would face the enemy alone since she is a duchess, and even if the enemy attacked her after passing through her guards, if she could prevent the first attack, her survival rate would increase significantly.

　But what Minerva is looking for is sword magic. If you are satisfied with the level of self-defense, you won't be able to learn it.
　The current Minerva is only able to finally stand at the entrance to it.

　Slumping her shoulders, Minerva weakly questions him.

'Am I getting stronger?'

　He must have felt uneasy about just swinging his sword every day, even after six months.

　At any rate, the person with whom he crossed swords was Aldis.
　You can't help but say that the other party is bad, but it was inevitable that Minerva is treated as a baby.

　The tone of Ardis's reply is joking.

''She's getting stronger. I don't think there's a noblewoman in the kingdom who can match you, at least not in the world. If you want to get together with other noble ladies and hold a swordsmanship tournament under the auspices of the duke.

I don't think we'll get many participants.

　In the first place, how many warrior girls besides Minerva are studying swordsmanship themselves?
　There are a certain number of people among the nobility who are curious about things, but as expected, you can probably count on one hand the number of young ladies who train in swordsmanship.
　Moreover, there are probably no warrior girls who profess to do so.
　If there was, Minerva would be actively trying to contact them.

''That's right,''

　Aldis shrugs at Minerva, who gives him a reproachful look.

''When are you going to teach me how to use sword magic?''

　Minerva's eyebrows were raised as she questioned her swordsmanship master about his lack of appreciation for the instructor's disagreement.

I told you first.　He said sword magic is an extension of swordsmanship. Are you doing your assignments right?

...... Yes, like you said, every day before bedtime.

　The momentum from earlier suddenly becomes weak.

　It is not out of malice that Ardis only trains in swordsmanship against Minerva.
　Swordsmanship is a skill that is impossible to master unless you can control magic power above all else.

　It is fundamentally different from the magic generally recognized in this world.
　It's not "magic with chanting" but "magic based on the law of magic power", so naturally the minimum requirement for learning it is to "clearly perceive the magic power".
　The task that Ardis gave to Minerva was to perceive that magic power.

'There's no way to teach it without the results of that one. Or rather, if you teach it, you won't understand it.''

If that's the case, shouldn't we be prioritizing your task over your swordsmanship training?

It's not simply a matter of taking a long time. It's not a simple matter of taking a long time. It's more of an awareness than a discipline. It's not a matter of whether you notice it or not; it doesn't matter if you notice it or not. That's just the way it is. It's about concentrating for a short time and doing it every day.

　The highest hurdle would be to be able to perceive magic power.
　As long as you can perceive magic, it's not much of a hurdle to learn how to control the sword from there.
　If a person was a quick learner, it probably wouldn't take them more than half a year to learn.

　On the other hand, techniques such as the degree of force, how to construct an attack, how to measure the timing, and how to tactics when crossing swords cannot be mastered in half a year or so.

　Swordsmanship forms the basis of swordsmanship.
　It's a good thing that you're in the right place at the right time, because it will help you learn swordsmanship faster.

　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get your hands on it.
　It's a good thing that you're not going to have to worry about the fact that you're not going to be able to get your hands on any of these things.

'There's no need to rush. You don't notice it yourself, but you are definitely getting stronger. I don't say that to make you feel better. I can assure you of that.





　That night.
　Minerva was in her room working on the assignment Aldis had given her before bedtime.

'Today is the day: ......'

　Aldis handed me a pebble about three months ago.
　About three centimeters in diameter, it is a very ordinary stone, slightly rounded, but it looks like something you would find on the side of the road.
　It is not shining like a jewel, nor is it heavy or light despite its appearance, nor is it any different to the touch.

　Placing it on the table, Minerva sits back in her chair and focuses her attention on it.
　She fixed her gaze on the pebble and continued to stare at it, trying not to miss a single thing.

　It's a good idea to have a good time with them.

　What is this pebble, what is the meaning of this task, and how can it be considered an achievement? None of this has been revealed by Aldis.
　Minerva honestly believes Aldis's words that she should just look at this pebble, even if it's just for five minutes every day, and she does this unintelligible act every night as part of her daily routine.

'No matter how many times I look at it, it just looks like a pebble: ......

　Minerva felt as if her vision was blurred from staring at the pebbles too much, and she rubbed her tired eyes with her fingers.

　As long as her concentration was broken, she picked up the pebble with her fingers and let the light shine through it, as if it was the end of the day.
　I thought that the magical light would cause some changes, but apparently I was off the mark. Nothing changed.

　The center of his vision was hazy and difficult to see.
　His eyes still didn't seem to get tired.

　Minerva had no idea how this, which looked like a mere stone no matter how you looked at it, was going to be of any use in learning sword magic.
　Once a month, Ardis picks it up to check the condition of the pebble, but in the end, even then, he only lightly pinches it with his finger and it doesn't cause any special changes.

''At this rate, I'm going to become a swordsman instead of a sorcerer, aren't I?

　She sighs loudly, not hiding her disappointment.

　It's an unbecoming act for a young lady, but fortunately, this is her own room, and since it's before bedtime, there are no eyes on her.
　Even a duchess has the right to relax, at least when she's alone.

　Minerva settles the pebbles in a drawer in her glove compartment, then turns off the light in her room and gets into bed.
　When she first started receiving instruction in swordsmanship, she was constantly plagued with muscle pain, but now, half a year later, she still feels tired, but not to the point where she feels pain.
　Feeling a slight sense of fatigue, Minerva's consciousness quickly fell into a deeper state.