Chapter 15 - Trust

Miya and I exited the castle and headed straight towards the training grounds. Fiya, who really wanted to see both her big sister and me in action, followed suit closely behind. Looking around the courtyard, I realised just how much the facilities here expanded since my arrival. Being here, witnessing the change as it was happening, it was hard to notice, as each change was relatively small, so it was easy to get used to them quickly. When I first arrived in Katerial, this area had nothing more than two or three punching dummies. Currently, there were a total of five dummies, three archery targets, each with its own, fenced off range, and even a proper shed purposely constructed for storing equipment. And most of that was created by the soldiers who simply wanted to keep improving. Having a proper training field, instead of just gathering on a random flat surface of the courtyard, was definitely a great help to improve their training efficiency and the overall quality of the troops too. This was shown not only by how efficiently they dispatched the bandits, but could be seen even with the naked eye. The soldiers seemed more confident in themselves and were also taking a certain level of pride in their occupation now. They also generally looked better and more fit.
Currently, the training grounds are occupied by a couple of members from the City Guard. They generally rarely got access to the facility but since most of the soldiers had a day off today, they were free to train themselves. As we got closer, I hailed one of the guardsmen and asked him to retrieve a practice sword, a shield and, after asking Miya about her preferences again, a set of two practice daggers. As he walked off, I stretched my arms, feeling my back muscles still complain about all the climbing done the other day. I was really hoping this won’t affect my combat capability too much.
-Alright, let's warm up a bit before we start.
-Warm up? But it's not that cold today. If anything…
Miya, tilting her head, clearly misunderstood what I meant. Come to think of it, the soldiers here were also fairly confused whenever I first mentioned doing certain exercises as a warm-up to them. I turned towards the girl, which caused her to immediately stop questioning me and cower sheepishly, muttering a quiet apology. I let out a heavy sigh, not really being angry at her but, just yet again, being generally disappointed in the common logic of people in this realm.
-No, it's fine. I just forgot people in this region have different customs than what I'm used to. You guys really like jumping head first into whatever you do, don't you?
The girl didn't know how to respond to it and simply nodded her head. At that time the guardsman came back. Taking our equipment from him, I noticed that most of the other people here stopped their training and were now curiously observing us. Some were trying to be sneaky about it, others were fairly blatantly staring.
-If you guys finished already, then stop hogging the grounds and leave.
Hearing my annoyed tone, the guardsmen reluctantly returned to training. They still couldn't stop glancing over at us every now and again, however, clearly curious about the two girls. I guess I couldn't really blame them, wolfgirls weren't particularly common even among beastfolks and the Red Wolf Pack seemed to have a particularly notorious reputation. I decided to ignore them for now and returned my attention to Miya instead.
-Tell me, except for the ears and tail, your body is basically identical to that of a normal human girl, right?
The twitch of the girl's ears told me that the sudden inquiry surprised her and that she likely had no idea where I was taking this. She took a few seconds to answer, likely trying to overthink this simple question and find some other meaning to it.
-Y-yes, generally speaking.
-That likely means the same principles should still apply. If you don't properly warm-up your muscles before exercise, you are significantly increasing the risk of injuries. You won't see me doing too much warm-up but that's because I work out regularly and my body is already used to it. If that was the case for you too, remember that you were enslaved until recently and pushing your limit straight up would simply be reckless. You have to ease up your routine for the time being, slowly get back into training and regain your previous strength.
Miya had her ears flat against her head for nearly the whole time I was talking, meaning she either didn't really understand anything I was telling her or that she felt like I was scolding her. It looked like she had something to say about my short lecture but decided to keep it to herself. Honestly, I'd rather she didn't and was just speaking to me openly but I also understood her hesitation. Glancing over at Fiya, I noticed her ears being perked up and tail slowly swishing behind her. Seemed like she was intently listening, interested in learning new things or understanding different perspectives on them. Noticing me looking, she seemed to take this as a cue for her to speak up, so she cleared her throat, drawing her sister's attention.
-Fiya thinks Sir Edward has a point. Sister Miya always complained about how her whole body hurts after working. Maybe Sir Edward's advice will help sis Miya?
The older girl clicked her tongue and I just couldn’t help myself but put a smug smirk on my face. Seeing her younger sister point that out seemed to have convinced her though, as she agreed to give it a try. We started with a short jog, during which I explained what further activities we will do and how they affect the body and help it prepare for the actual training. The girl still seemed unconvinced that tiring oneself out before even starting to train would have any positive effect but she still continued to follow my lead. Since we weren't planning on doing any actual training and only wanted to spar, I made sure we only go through the more basic stretches and exercises, so that she doesn't actually tire herself out but that it is still enough to make her break a little bit of sweat. Once we finished, I glanced over at her, to gauge her constitution. She seemed to be holding up no problem, her breath was slow and controlled, not particularly deep either. She seems to look a little uncomfortable and fidgety after the warm-up, however. Could it be that she was actually more tired than she expected to be? Has the time in slavery affected her this much?
Before I could ask her, I noticed a familiar figure exit the castle's keep. The moment Liyanne spotted us, she paced up towards us.
-Are you guys planning on a sparring match?
-That's what we were just about to do, why?
-Can you let me fight with her? I'm also curious about her abilities.
-While the idea of a duel against two body enhancers is enticing, you'll have to schedule one later. If I am to train Miya, I need to know precisely just how strong she really is. It'd be a lot easier for me to estimate her potential and spot her mistakes being the one personally fighting against her.
-That is fair, I guess. Give us a good show, then. And be careful, I have a feeling that even weakened she’s still a fairly powerful opponent, at least for you.
-Will do. And don't forget to invite me when you two plan to spar, too. I can learn a lot from observing you as well.
Liyanne smirked as she took a few steps back. Overhearing our conversation and seeing us prepare for the duel, all of the guardsmen also stopped their training and started gathering up to observe us, albeit from a fairly safe distance. I picked up the sword and the shield while Miya took the knives. She gave them a few spins and struck the air a few times, getting the feel for them. From that, I could already speculate she's mostly betting on her speed and doesn't have much strength behind her attacks. That was good, this meant I likely don't have to worry about my arms breaking from tanking the hits, but defending against a barrage of attacks isn't something I particularly like doing either. Having two weapons, while cumbersome and requiring a very specific fighting style, had its own advantages as well. Being able to enhance her abilities, she shouldn't have much trouble both blocking and redirecting my hits, so landing a good hit on her might require me either to be able to somehow power through her block or to deploy some sneaky feints. I had my doubts about either of the strategies but I couldn't know what my chances truly are before we start anyway.
As we prepared for the duel, I took a look at her stance, seeing if I can learn anything from it. The only way I could describe her posture, though, was very relaxed. She was leaning forward quite a bit, putting a lot of weight on her front leg. Her arms were hanging freely to her sides. She let her knives sit loosely in her hands, the tips casually directed towards the ground. By all means, she didn’t seem like she was about to enter combat. And yet, as I peered over the top rim of my shield, I couldn’t really find any openings. I knew I was very likely to be outsped by her, which was making any initial engagements risky. It’s almost as if she was leaving herself open on purpose, hoping to catch me off-guard after I push for the attack. By all means, she seemed to be employing the same principles of combat that I did in this world but was just banking on different qualities. This fight should indeed be interesting, and definitely tough.
Once Miya gave me a sign that she’s ready to begin, I made my first move. I took a step forward, lowering my shield just a little bit, and started taking a swing, purposely going wider than I generally would. The wolfgirl reacted almost instantly, shifting her balance back, as if ready to jump away from me at a moment’s notice. I responded by dashing forward with as much momentum as I could gather. As expected, Miya did jump back, however I managed to turn my slash into a thrust, which forced her to back away again. This unplanned move seemed to throw her off a little, which is precisely what I was hoping to achieve. I pressed my advantage, pushing the girl onto her back leg with fluid attacks. Now that she was on the defensive, she seemed to struggle in figuring out a way to counter me. Soon, she started to run out of the space to back away and had to try and push against me. Her knives didn’t offer much reach and what she could reach could easily be blocked by my shield. I knew if she wanted to score any good hits, she had to get really close and personal with me. That’s why, when she suddenly dashed under one of my horizontal slashes, I was prepared for it. Once she got down and pushed up, getting close to me, a smug expression appeared on the girl’s face. It quickly turned into utter shock, however, when she noticed my boot flying towards her. The kick was more effective than I expected, be it due to her poor balance, the surprise aspect, her generally thin posture or any combination of the above, but the girl ended up being thrown back a good metre or two. Still tumbling, she pushed on the ground and managed to jump back, crouching down and stopping her momentum. The kick left a nasty mark on her cheek, nothing a little bit of healing magic couldn’t fix… although I had no idea where the one soldier capable of using it even was at the moment. The girl, however, seemed pretty impressed, if anything else, that I managed to perform an attack that even she couldn’t see coming.
I gave Miya a moment to compose herself. In a normal fight, I would have to push and try to pin the opponent down, but this was meant to be just a friendly duel. If I wanted to learn from her, I had to let the fight go on and keep observing her. This duel also felt refreshing. Miya was truly relying on her own strength, even if it was strengthened by Skills. Perhaps because it was a Skill, and not a spell, like in Liyanne’s case, she was much more conscious of her own body and the way she fought. To me, this felt like I was back in my world, fencing against someone simply more physically fit than I was. Because of that, because of that familiar feeling, I wanted this duel to go on for just a little longer. I didn’t care if I won or lost this one, I just wanted to enjoy myself. And the look in the girl’s eyes clearly told me that she is also curious about me and wants to keep going.
Focusing back on Miya, I quickly rearranged my thoughts and analyzed what I learned about her so far. I knew that she relies on her speed a lot more than I originally assumed. She’s very much an offensive type of character and doesn’t really know how to handle defense very well. In some ways, she seems like the complete opposite of Liyanne, who, thanks to my pointers and recent training, is getting really good at tanking hits and counter-attacking but still has trouble pushing through and tends to stick to her back leg.
After catching her breath and recollecting herself, Miya got back up and wiped some of the dirt off her face, smudging the rest across her cheek. With a deep breath, the look in her eyes suddenly changed. Until now, she was confident in her abilities. Right now, she was regarding me as a serious enemy. I don’t know if she just overestimated herself or underestimated me but, clearly, she was not expecting to get hit in our fight. It’s likely she wanted to switch up her strategy, so I should be ready for anything. As a warrior, she should know how unconventional my fighting style was compared to your average soldier. As a warrior, I was really curious how she’s planning on dealing with this.
She gave me a nod that she’s ready to continue. I exhaled slowly, bringing the shield back up and putting my weight on my front leg. I was prepared to go on the defensive, however. I had a feeling Miya won’t give me another chance to pressure her this easily. I spun my sword around my wrist and brought it up high, resting the flat part of the blade against the shield’s rim. We stood there like that for two or three seconds before Miya jumped in. She closed the distance way quicker than I anticipated and I didn’t have time to go on the defensive before receiving the first strike to my shield. The wolfgirl attacked with both knives, slashing at me from both left and right. She was using a reverse grip, which in this case seemed to help her transfer a little more force into the attack as she tried to force the strike through. In this position she could easily either force my shield away or strike around it, so I opted to try to force her to back away and gain some ground. When I wanted to strike, however, the pressure on my shield suddenly dissipated. Miya pulled her knives back, lifting one leg up and using the momentum of the strike to spin around on her toes. Nothing could prepare me for the speed she did it at, though, and the amount of force behind the kick that followed. The attack completely broke my guard, and the shield as I could hear the wood crack, forcing me to lift the shield up to prevent it from hitting my teeth with its top rim. This left my lower half completely exposed. I still tried to perform a blind low slash, hoping I can at least keep her away from me while I regain my balance and positioning. Before I could even properly attack, however, I felt a sudden pain in the side of my stomach. Miya got a hit on me. In a normal fight, it would be unlikely it would cause any significant damage, though. Any gambeson would have easily protected against it striking too deep into the flesh, but it would still hurt for sure. It was still a good hit, though. Hearing the wolfgirl now behind me, I redirected my attack and half-turned to face her, slashing wide in hopes to gain any ground. It worked, forcing her to duck away, but only to just outside my strike range. She pushed in immediately after, giving me just barely enough time to bring my shield up. Sensing she’s aiming to repeat her attack I held the shield a little bit more loosely and more to the side of me. And, somewhat unsurprisingly, the girl performed the same attack again right after I was pushed on my back foot. While she seemed to have expected me to be ready for her attack this time, she didn’t seem to realise I could easily counter it. The moment she contacted the shield, I let it loose, allowing it to twist and knock her off her balance. This, combined with the momentum of the strike, caused her to push by me, leaving her flank completely exposed to me. Meanwhile, I dropped my sword and punched with fist, grabbing at her blouse. With a hook on her leg, I pushed forward and down, using her lack of balance to help me force her onto the ground. This bold move was enough to completely surprise her, leaving her completely defenceless and unable to react against it. Once I knocked her down, I tossed the shield away and pinned her to the ground, reaching back with my other hand and pulling out my dagger. While it was very much a sharp weapon, I only stabbed it into the ground next to her head, far enough for it to still be safe but close enough to leave no doubts as to the meaning of this action.
At that point, we both stopped moving. We were both breathing quite heavily. This maneuver took a lot out of me to execute, especially at this speed. Meanwhile, being knocked down so suddenly pushed all air out of Miya’s lungs, leaving her unable to struggle too much even if she tried to. We remained like that for a few seconds before I finally pulled out the dagger and pushed myself up to my feet. I glanced around. Everyone was observing us silently, unsure as to what just happened, but when I stood up and sheathed my dagger back, they seemed to figure out it was the end of the duel and all the soldiers suddenly erupted in applause. Liyanne let out a heavy sigh. She looked like she was holding her breath for a moment, likely seeing me reach for the knife, but I couldn’t read her emotions or thoughts at all. Fiya was sitting completely calm, her head tilted to the side. It looked like she didn’t quite fully understand what just happened and didn’t seem frightened or worried, which was, on one hand, a good thing.
I turned back towards Miya, who was still laying flat on the ground, catching her breath in shock. I couldn’t tell if her widened eyes were the result of the lost battle or the fact I ended up stabbing a sharp knife just a couple centimeters away from her face. Either way, I completely understood her reaction and hoped it wasn’t the latter that caused it. I might have gone just a little overboard with that but my instincts from full-contact melees in plated armour kicked in there and I barely managed to spot myself in time. Habits can truly be a terrifying thing sometimes.
Miya seemed to have snapped out of her shock when I extended my hand and offered to help her stand up. She gladly took me up on that offer, pulling herself up and dusting her pants off. She didn’t seem any more distant to me because of what I pulled, which I welcomed with a sigh of relief. I really hoped to avoid damaging relations as much as I could here. Personal lesson for the future, I shouldn’t just get lost in the flow of things like I did today, especially in friendly duels. In normal fights, relying on my muscle memory and instincts can help me survive, here I might only end up harming someone unnecessarily. I’ll have to be more careful going forward.
Since the fight was now over, and the clapping and whistling was starting to get on my nerves, I ordered all of the guardsmen to disperse. They groaned a little but seeing there won’t be any more entertainment to be had here, they all agreed to finish their training for the day and headed to a tavern. Within the next several seconds, I was left alone in the courtyard with the three girls. Miya still looked to be in a little bit of a shock, though, staring intently at one of her practice knives. Was she just surprised by the sudden attack, the fact that she lost to me or did I accidentally trigger some PTSD of hers? Seeing my worried glance, she let out an awkward laugh, waving her hand dismissively in an attempt to reassure me.
-I’m fine, I’m fine. I just wasn’t expecting this… I’ve never seen anyone fight like you do.
She seemed to be shifting uncomfortably in place as she said that. Because of this, I wasn’t able to tell if she was praising me or just looking for a more polite way of saying I’m about as weird as my fighting style is.
-My style is a bit… original, you can say. I don’t exactly have any Skills I can use in combat, so I had to cope somehow.
Hearing me say that made the wolfgirl look down at her feet. She seemed pretty dejected by it.
-Ah, I thought I just missed you activating your Skills. If that was your raw strength, then I guess I really am weak, aren’t I?
-Not at all!
Miya jumped hearing Liyanne suddenly exclaim behind her. The princess started walking up to us, completely ignoring the wolfgirl’s reaction, and continued talking:
-You’re the first one in this castle who managed to land a hit on him. You also had him reveal another unusual technique of his. He hasn’t shown me anything new in days when fighting against me. If anything, you might be the strongest one here.
Miya gave her a confused look and then looked back at me, as if to confirm it. Seeing her stand there like that suddenly reminded me of the looks my students were giving me, somehow doubtful but yet full of hope, whenever they heard a praise from one of their fellow classmates and wanted me to confirm whatever they said. That’s why I didn’t even realise when I reached out and petted her head, just like I used to do with my students sometimes, and gave her a reassuring, warm and honest smile.
-It’s true. That was definitely the toughest battle I have fought since coming here. You’ll definitely be able to beat me once you regain your strength. With this much fighting prowess and your keen senses, I’ll be honoured to have you as my bodyguard.
Miya seemed to be even more confused by my reaction, same as Liyanne for that matter, but she didn’t seem to be quite opposed to it. She did look extremely embarrassed about it though, which made me finally realise what I’ve been doing and I quickly retracted my hand, apologising. Before Miya could reply, however, her younger sister jumped up, ran up to me and started tugging at my sleeve.
-Fiya too! Fiya wants head pats too!
This very much caught me off-guard but seeing the expectant stare of the little girl, I had no choice but to comply. Somehow, this helped break the awkward atmosphere that started to build up. Miya let out a short laugh before sighing and speaking up:
-Maybe so, but it seems like I still have a long way to go.
-I cannot deny that. However, as long as you are aware of the areas where you can improve, you’re on a good track to becoming better. And if I may, you seem to rely mainly on your speed when fighting. There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with it, it’s good to know your strong suits, but it almost looks like you’re almost sure you will alway be able to outspeed your opponent and come out on top only thanks to that. While your speed clearly gives you an edge, overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.
-I’ll remember this. But I’m curious about something myself. How did you become this strong without using any Skills?
-I told you I come from fairly far away, right? Back there, we used to fight without the use of Skills or magic to make sure we can maintain our strength no matter the circumstances we fight in. Thanks to that, it’s easy for me to adapt on the fly in combat.
-I see. Will you, please, help me train?
-I was already planning to do so. I’m training the soldiers basically every day, you’re free to join up with any group you want. But since your fighting style is fairly unique, I’ll also be giving you personal courses each morning, shortly after breakfast.
-Yes! And thank you.
Miya seemed to be in much higher spirits now. She seemed genuinely optimistic about her and her sister’s position now. She indeed had the soul of a warrior and was feeling grateful to be given a chance to serve as one, too. It seemed to me that now, when she knew I was both strong enough to protect both her and Fiya and that I really did mean well for them, she finally brought herself to start trusting me. That made me obviously fairly happy. Since we would now be working together, having mixed or awkward feelings between us would make any cooperation difficult. Still, I now had to figure out a training regime for her, taking into account her unique fighting style and physical properties. Now that I gained her trust, I couldn’t just betray it. Luckily, I can probably use Liyanne for those sessions, she usually trained alone and only came to me for some small advice. Since she was interested in sparring with Miya earlier, she should agree to help out. It’ll be beneficial to her as well, after all. But I’ll worry about it later.
I noticed Mearyl walking out of the manor and motioning me to walk over. She had a mischievous smirk on her face, as if she just prepared a prank on someone and was waiting for the show to start. This made me instinctively walk up to her a little slower, check my surroundings more carefully and maintain a slightly bigger distance between the two of us. Because of that, she looked at me with a mix of confusion and worry.
-Why so distant? Are you flustered meeting with me?
-I don’t trust that grin you’re making. What’s the matter?
The maid narrowed her eyes, putting on an even move smug smile, as she leaned in closer to me. I couldn’t quite make out what her expression might mean but I definitely didn’t like it. Instinctively, I pulled back a little myself.
-So, did you figure out where your two new girls will be sleeping?
-Please, don’t put it that way… and no, I assumed they’ll be given a room just like I was. Is something wrong with that?
-Well, here's the thing: all~ the rooms are occupied~.
I tried my best not to cringe at how she dragged out the words. I went through what she just told me again, repeating it in a normal voice and accent, and then the implication of it hit me. I could feel all of the blood escape from my face as I paled.
-Wait! Wait, wait, wait, no, you’re messing with me, right?
-Normally, I probably would.
The girl giggled but when I shot her an angry look, she got slightly flustered. She cleared her throat and straightened up a little, becoming a little more serious with the next statement, at least for a moment:
-But no, there’s really no place for them. So they’ll have to stay in your room for the time being. I hope you don’t mind sharing~.
-Can I sleep on the couch somewhere? Move to the soldier’s barracks? Rent a tavern, get a tent, stay up all night, anything?
Mearyl simply shook her head at every suggestion I made. I didn’t know if she actually would have any say in this matter though. I probably could still move into an inn and I don’t think anyone would stop me.
-What’s wrong, getting cold feet now? You seemed to be getting pretty close to that girl earlier when you were fighting.
Even though I knew she meant that as a tease, her voice sounded pretty cold, almost as if she was angry at me because of it. While it gave me a weird feeling, since I couldn’t quite place it and had nothing to go off on, I decided to ignore it for now and simply tease her back:
-You were watching? No, of course you were. You’re always sneaking out and ditching your work just to watch me train.
-You knew!?
Mearyl pulled back and faked a gasp, theatrically bringing her hand to her mouth. She then let out a giggle and leaned in closer to me once again, speaking more naturally this time, sounding almost relieved at her own words:
-Don’t worry, the king has already ordered an extension of the living quarters. Sister Hearyl is also looking through to see if there’s any room that could be temporarily repurposed buuuut I wouldn’t really expect that to happen. We’re really low on space in this castle as it is already.
-How long will the construction take?
-We have the materials basically at hand, so it shouldn’t be more than two weeks. Probably not sooner than a week, though.
I let out a heavy sigh and, deciding to stop entertaining the girl, returned to a completely neutral expression and tone of voice.
-I see. I’ll let the girls know and see if I can figure something out myself then.
-Why don’t you want to share the room with them, though? Aren’t you finding at least one of them attractiv-geh!
I raised my hand and brought it down on top of Mearyl’s head, making sure the hit is not too powerful but not trying to be too kind with her either.
-It’s not appropriate. And I don’t care for local customs and morals either.
-Fine, fine… Ugh, that hurt.
-Good.
-Well, I’ll be going then. Good luck.
I rolled my eyes and motioned with my hand for her to get going. While I wasn’t feeling particularly embarrassed about sharing a room with the two wolfgirls, I still wasn’t entirely fine with it either. But then again, I never thought about it when I decided to bring them in, so I was, at least partially, responsible. I again considered moving into the inn for the time being but that just seemed like a misallocation of the king’s funds. Well, I just hope this won’t turn awkward or negatively affect our relations, especially this soon after increasing them. If anything it should help dispel Miya’s doubts about me having ulterior motives of any kind, but who knows how she’s going to be acting before that.
I noticed that Liyanne has already left, apparently leaving for the bathhouse. Walking up to the two wolfgirls, I explained the situation to the best of my abilities. As I expected, Miya did give me a sharp look when I mentioned living together. She didn’t say anything, though. I guess she started to trust me enough already to not be immediately calling me titles but it wouldn’t surprise me if she stayed awake the whole night keeping watch. I couldn’t blame her, she already reacted more calmly than I expected her to, and if this will help her believe me more, she can even stand over me with a sword in hand. Fiya, meanwhile, seemed to not mind at all. If anything, she even seemed excited to share a room with more people. But she was still young and innocent and likely didn’t yet know the negative implications of it yet.
When we entered the room, I decided to give the bed to the girls. I took the alternative, which was just a pillow and some rugs to cover myself with. I had a feeling Mearyl knew I would be the one using them so she pulled a prank on me and gave me the absolute bare minimum instead of what she was supposed to bring me. I’ll likely have to catch Hearyl tomorrow and ask her about anything I could use for an actual bed substitute. Still, I took my pillow and made my bedding in the far corner of the room, turning my back on the girls, hoping this will help convince Miya I was willing to put my trust in them and that I really did not harbour any ill intents. It was hard for me to fall asleep as I could clearly feel her gaze on me for quite some time. At one point I finally heard her yawn and rustle under the sheets. This finally allowed me to relax a little myself and fall asleep shortly after.