Chapter Twelve: Trainning both body and mind

I headed for the courtyard in front of the garden with the old training sword Leon had given me. Leon was leaning on the wall, waiting for me. He turned his head towards me as I walked into the courtyard. "Wow, Lenka, you look like you've been through a lot. What were you doing today?"

How brazen of him, but then again, that's why he seems like someone I can trust. Someone who is as brazen as he tends not to tell lies or beat around the bush, which is something I can relate to. "Building a city is hard work, which you would know about if you bothered to show up." He let out a laugh. "You're right, but I unfortunately got stuck with patrol duty today." Patrol duty? Well, I guess I can also relate to that. I used to do that all the time in my previous life, but things weren't as peaceful as life here. "What were you even patrolling for?"

"Don't know. I guess anything that seems odd, but unfortunately, the only odd thing around here is you." "Come again," I said sternly, and he panicked. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to insult you. It's just...You're very odd for a noble." "How so?" "Well, most nobles won't even pay us, peasants, any mind, but here you are, getting your own hands dirty to help us. It's honestly so surprising that most people didn't even believe me until people started talking about the whole city revival project and how you have been paying them to help."

"I see. How do other nobles act?" "Well, besides your father, who is also an odd one, the other nobles are terrible people who would use their authority as nobles to do whatever they want. If you merely bump into one, they would have you beaten. There would even..."

His eyes and voice were full of anger, but there was an awkward silence as Leon clearly did not want to finish what he was about to say. What he said would explain why the citizens here had some hatred against my family. It's not that my father is bad, but rather that he was a noble, and in their eyes, nobles are considered evil. It's probably for the best that I haven't met any other nobles yet. I don't think I would be able to hold back against them.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..." "It's fine. I asked, and you answered. However, we should start training while we still have sunlight." "You're right, Lenka, I mean that's why we are here." He smiled and straightened up his posture.

"All right, go ahead and grab your sword. Show me your stance." I unwrap the training sword and take a stance, holding the sword towards him. "Not bad, but your grip is wrong, and your legs are too close together. Here, let me help." He reached over and moved my hands.

"This is a long sword, so you put your right hand on top and move your left hand right below it. Good, now tighten your grip. You use your left hand to help guide the sword." This reminds me of the time when my mentor first trained me how to use a gun. Not that I like remembering that man, but I guess not every moment with him was terrible. "Good, now let's give it a swing." He guides my hands in a swinging motion. "Pretty easy, huh. Now, let's do some practice swings."

We spent around an hour practicing with the sword, and the sun started setting. "Wow, Lenka, you're a quick learner." Well, fighting with a sword is not too far off from the hand-to-hand combat training I used to do, but it's not like I can tell him that. "Hey, why don't we try some combat practice?" he asked.

"Okay, but like I said yesterday, I won't hold back." He let out a laugh. "I think I can handle a little girl." He grabbed his training sword and readied it. I grinned as I also readied my sword. "We'll see," I said as I took a large overhead swing at him. he moved to block it, but right before my sword made contact, I pulled it back and thrust my sword toward his chest. He was caught off guard, but he managed to backstep and used the crossguard of his sword to direct my thrust away from his chest and barely miss him. He took a few more steps back.

"Wow, I wasn't expecting a feint from you, Lenka." "Rule one of combat: never underestimate your opponent, no matter how big or small they are." He gave a slight chuckle. "What, you think you're the teacher now?" He swung his sword at me, and I moved to block it, but he was clearly stronger than I was.

My sword was knocked to the side when the swords collided, and then he immediately swung in the opposite direction towards my neck, but stopped just before hitting me. "Never underestimate your opponent." He said in a mocking tone. I used my sword to push away his, then took a few steps back and readied my sword. He took a few steps back and also readied his sword.

How long has it been since I felt like this? My hands stung, my muscles were sore, I was out of breath, and my heart pumped fast. The adrenaline coursed through my body, pushing me past my body's breaking point. ...you just love the chaos! That voice rings in my head again. So what if I love the chaos and the thrill of fighting, as if my life depends on it? In the end, it doesn't matter how I feel!

Our swords clashed, but the strength of his hit nearly threw me off balance. He tried to thrust at me, but I braced myself and swung at his sword, knocking it away. He then used his crossguard to catch my blade and then twisted it, forcing my blade away. I pulled away and managed to dislodge my blade from his crossguard, but he was already thrusting his blade towards me again.

Here we are again, trying to do the same thing all over again. So what? Fighting is all I know! It's the only thing that I am good at! You must fight to survive, fight for the things you need, fight for the things you want, and you must fight the world while it slowly takes everything from you!

I dodged to the left, and his blade missed me, but he still had momentum and swung at my side. I pulled my sword to my side and braced myself. His sword slammed into mine, making a loud metallic sound. The hit numbed my hands and nearly knocked me off my feet.

...Does living really mean that much to us? No, living is simply a means to an end! A suffering that we all must face! Only in the end, when we are battered and broken, can we ask ourselves if life means anything!

I thrust my sword towards Leon, and he backstepped and hit my sword to the side. I continued to attack relentlessly so as not to give him time to recover and move. Slowly, I pushed him back, thrust my sword at him again, and he backstepped to dodge. ...Is that really the only reason for you to continue like this? To hell with reason! To hell with this world, those gods, and the damn wars to come!

Leon lost his balance when his foot fell off the stone path into the garden. Not letting this opening go to waste, I charged toward him and swept his leg. He fell backward into the bed of blue roses that gave off a slight blue glow. I then pointed my sword at his neck.

What are you trying to accomplish? My anger vanished when I remembered those words. I lowered my sword. I still don't have an answer, and I don't know if I ever will. Everything I did in my past was for survival, and to protect...

You... weren't kidding... when you said you wouldn't hold back. You hit pretty hard for a little girl, but I think we should call it here for tonight." "Why are you scared to be beaten by a kid again?" He let out a laugh. "No, but it's getting kind of hard to see." I looked around and didn't even notice that it was already night.

"Little help here?" Leon reached his hand out towards me. I reached down and pulled him up. "To think you would ask a little girl for help." "Well, most little girls don't knock me on my ass." He looked at me, somewhat puzzled. "Is something wrong, Leon?" "No... It's just you look different when you smile." Smile? "Hey Lenka, why don't we relax and talk for a bit?"

I had no reason to turn him down, so we headed for the gazebo. When we arrived, blue rose tea was already set up for us. I lit the lantern that was hanging above the table. "Who made the tea?" Leon asked. "Annabelle probably did when we weren't looking. She has a habit of doing unnecessary things."

"Yeah, that does sound like her. You should have seen what she used to dress Mary in when she was a child." I took a sip of tea, and it was still warm. "You knew Mary that long?" "Yeah, we've known each other since we were little kids. We used to play and get into all sorts of trouble when we were kids, but after your mom died, we went our separate ways. She had to help care for you, and I had to start training."

"I see, and what about now?" He pounded for a little bit and took a sip of tea. "Well, I guess we have gotten quite distant. Annabelle was always an overprotective mother, and Mary was like an older sister I never had. Still, we all had a lot of growing up to do after all of the responsibilities that got dumped on us."

"Older?" I thought that they were the same age. "Yeah, she's a year older than me. Oh, right, you just reminded me that she is about to turn sixteen, and I still don't have a present." So that would make Leon around fifteen. I always thought they were both older than that, but then again, I'm not very good at judging age, considering that in my previous life, there weren't many young people around. "Lenka, can you help me? You know how angry Mary can get."

I take another sip of tea. "Fine, but I need you to answer a question first." "Sure." I'm curious about why he wanted to train me and talk to me, because it sounds like he's not here for Mary. Is he interested in... No, that's not it. It's very clear he only sees me as a kid.

"What's the real reason you wanted to train me?" He looked away and scratched his head, then let out a sigh. "I guess nothing gets past you. You know you're like Annabelle in that regard. When I was a kid, I quickly learned how terrible this world is. I realized that we are nothing but toys in someone's game. We must follow the role we were given, or else."

"I knew that no matter what I did, I couldn't change anything. That was until that day you made that proclamation and spared those people in the city. It was then that I realized that you were different and didn't see people as toys. You see people as people and don't care about their status. You also seem to possess an exceptional talent and intelligence that far exceeds your age."

"I got to thinking if there is one person in this world who can change it, then that person would be you. As for the training, you always seem stressed from overworking yourself. I thought if there was one thing I could do to help you, then I could, at the very least, help you relieve some stress by swinging a sword around. However, I wasn't expecting to have a fierce battle with you."

I'm not sure how to respond to that. I can't deny that our little battle helped me release some stress, but can I really change the world? This is the second time I have been rendered speechless. Is this what it's like when I talk to people?

I take another sip of tea. If I could truly change the world, then I would have already done it. However, something tells me that a certain devil and her games will ensure that nothing I do will matter. I still have much to do to prepare for the worst, but I can only assume that I have a limited amount of time.