Not a barbarian warrior.

Clang-! Clang!

The sound of swords clashing rings out continuously in the training ground.

Sparks dance in the air, and the two swords cross again and again.

One is Eugene’s sword, and the other is Clea’s sword.

“Okay, here I come… Now!”

In the middle of the intense exchange, Clea gives a signal, and Eugene concentrates.

Her sword falls heavily from above to below.

It comes down with enough force to split Eugene in half.

Eugene swung his sword exactly as Clea had taught him.

Like her, it falls in a large arc from top to bottom.

Eugene’s sword, which was coming down diagonally, slightly changes its trajectory midway and then extends straight in a straight line.

The secret technique, Indomitable Strike, that Clea demonstrated in the previous duel is now reproduced in Eugene’s sword.

The moment the two swords cross-

Clang-!

Clea’s sword is forcefully pushed to the side.

Rather than being gently pushed away, it was more accurate to say it was forcefully knocked aside.

She looks at her sword ringing with a “woong-” sound, then approaches Eugene and bursts out angrily:

“No-! How many times do I have to tell you that’s not how you do it! You blockhead! I told you not to use force!”

She beat her chest in frustration, and Eugene frowned and asked the same question he had asked earlier:

“…Do I need to do it even weaker than this?”

“In a real fight, it wouldn’t matter. You can’t have the technique fail because of insufficient strength.”

“Then why do you keep telling me to reduce my strength?”

“Because this technique isn’t about crudely pushing with force like you’re doing!”

“Hmm… Clea, I think it would be better if you put in a bit more strength. It’s not familiar for me to reduce my strength any further than this.”

“I told you it would be difficult to match the timing if I did that! If I use more strength, the speed will increase accordingly, you know?”

“Will you try it that way just once, trusting my words?”

“Haah… Really…!”

Even as she said that, she obediently complied with Eugene’s request.

She had a mind to let him fail ungracefully.

She swung her sword with much more strength than before.

Whoosh-!

Clea’s sword falls towards Eugene at high speed, making a sound of cutting through the air.

“…Now!”

As Clea gives the signal, Eugene’s eyes flash for a moment.

For Clea’s secret sword technique ‘Indomitable Strike’ to succeed, three conditions had to be met.

One. Attack with sufficient force.

Two. Accurately attack the weak part of the opponent’s sword with the strong part of one’s own sword.

Three. The moment and angle of attack must match precisely.

Eugene, who didn’t need to adjust his strength, only had to solve the remaining two conditions.

No matter how much faster Clea’s sword had become, Eugene was confident he could meet the remaining two conditions.

As the two swords cross once again, this time a different metallic sound is heard.

Swiish-

It was just for an instant, but Clea clearly saw it.

Eugene’s sword smoothly sliding down her sword and pushing it away.

“…!”

Clea’s sword, which had been about to split Eugene’s head, falls to the side cutting through empty air.

Meanwhile, Eugene’s sword stops just before touching her head.

“How…!”

Clea looked at Eugene with wide eyes.

“How was that, did I succeed this time?”

She couldn’t believe it. She thought it must have been just extremely good luck, a mere coincidence.

“Do, do it again!”

Clea crossed swords with Eugene dozens more times after that.

Once he got the hang of it, Eugene continued to successfully execute the technique.

He spoke with a voice full of confidence:

“This time you don’t need to give a signal. I’ll do it on my own.”

“…Alright. Let’s see you try.”

By now, their comrades had gathered around to watch.

The comrades were amazed at how quickly Eugene was absorbing Clea’s skills.

“Hey… Do you remember how long Clea practiced to master that technique?”

“Well… It took her months before she could use it in actual combat…”

“And he’s already using it so proficiently?”

“Yeah…”

While they were murmuring, Eugene and Clea’s swords crossed several more times.

Eugene used the technique on his own without Clea giving a signal, and performed it perfectly.

With a “swiish” sound, Eugene once again pushed away Clea’s attack and subdued her with a single strike.

The comrades watching this scene couldn’t help but grab their heads in amazement.

“Wow! Did you see that? He succeeded in less than a day?”

“Haah… Is this the difference in talent… My spirit is crushed, brother…”

“Oh God… Isn’t this too unfair…”

Clea irritably shouted at the murmuring comrades:

“…Hey! Stop watching and get out of here! There’s only two weeks left until the tournament, are you that free? Huh?”

As she glared at them, the comrades scattered like clouds.

After clearing away all the spectators, she turned her head and spoke to Eugene:

“Until now, we’ve been practicing assuming the opponent doesn’t know this technique at all, but now it’s going to be more difficult. Don’t get cocky.”

“I wasn’t being cocky…”

“Nevermind that, just pick up your sword. Get into position again.”

As she raised her sword and emitted a sharp aura, Eugene tensed up and gripped his sword.

Eugene, who had dueled with Clea until sunset, dragged his exhausted body towards the square.

The parts of his body that had been hit while dueling with her all day were still aching.

The blunt practice sword was essentially no different from an iron club.

‘At this rate, my body will be ruined before I even get to the tournament…’

Eugene trudged along towards where Lorena was.

‘Come to think of it, I forgot to bring something to cover my face.’

He had no choice but to walk with his face exposed.

As Eugene arrived near the stall, Lorena was at a loss for what to do.

“…?”

Looking closer, a customer was flipping through a book in front of the stall.

‘Hmm, …?’

While Eugene watched secretly with a smirk, Lorena’s customer closed the book and clicked his tongue.

“Tsk… You’d better stop selling this book.”

“Wh… Why…?”

“Because if you’re not careful, you could be arrested as a heretic.”

Startled by the word heretic, Lorena opened her mouth:

“Bu-But… This book is even in the Sorbonne University library…”

As Lorena tried to argue that it was not that kind of item at all, the customer said firmly:

“Try saying that in front of an inquisitor dressed like that. They’ll surely believe you…”

“Wh-What’s wrong with my appearance…? Ah…!”

She had wrapped a handkerchief around her face like a mask to cover it and was wearing a dark-colored robe pulled over her head.

“…Anyway, if you don’t want to get involved in unnecessary trouble, hide this book.”

“O-Okay…”

Eugene quietly laughed at the sight of Lorena suddenly being lectured by a customer.

After returning the book, the customer began to show interest in another item.

“What’s this?”

“Um… Th-That’s an, an aphrodisiac…”

She was momentarily flustered and forgot to add the word ‘for livestock’ in front.

“Selling such a thing openly in the square… Are you in your right mind…?”

“No, no… That’s not it…! This isn’t that kind of str-strange item…!”

Just as Eugene was about to step in before she was branded as a suspicious person, a small child quietly passing by the stall tried to steal the pouch hanging from the customer’s waist and run away.

Eugene moved quickly and grabbed the child by the scruff of the neck.

“Aack! What! Let me go!”

“Kid. I understand your situation, but now that you’ve been caught, there’s nothing you can do. Quickly return the pouch you stole.”

“Eek…! Ba-Barbarian…”

The struggling child saw Eugene’s face and immediately turned pale, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Lorena’s customer approached him and said:

“It’s fine. Please let this child go.”

Eugene looked at her, recognizing the voice from somewhere. Her face was somewhat familiar.

“…Weren’t you pickpocketed by a kid in the square before?”

“That’s right. That’s why I told you last time. It was unnecessary meddling.”

The other person also remembered Eugene.

She was staring intently at Eugene’s face just like last time.

“Hmm… Is it the same this time too?”

“That’s right. Just let him go.”

Eugene obediently followed her words.

The child, freed from his grasp, instantly ran far away.

“All that was inside were a few copper coins anyway. It’s not much money, but for those children, those coins are like their lives.”

She explained why his action was unnecessary meddling.

Her pouch, deliberately left easy to steal, was an act of charity towards the street children of this city.

“It really was unnecessary meddling. I’m sorry.”

At Eugene’s words, she slightly bowed her head and answered:

“I understand. You also stepped in thinking I was in trouble, didn’t you?”

As a warm atmosphere briefly passed between them, Lorena, standing at the stall, interjected between the two:

“So, so you’re saying you only had a few copper coins but… pre-pretended to be a customer…?”

Lorena, with only her eyes peeking out, seemed somewhat angry.

The woman who had pretended to be a customer spoke to Lorena with a calm expression:

“I never said with my own mouth that I was a customer. More importantly, shouldn’t you be grateful for the advice I gave you?”

“Ugh… Th-That’s true, but…”

“I hope you didn’t take my words lightly… If you’re unlucky, you could end up in prison.”

“No, no… This isn’t that kind of item, I’m telling you…?”

“You don’t need to make excuses to me. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything today. Well then, I’ll be going now.”

She left without even listening to Lorena’s explanation.

Lorena, who had returned to the mansion, expressed her indignation while jumping up and down:

“No… Ho-How can someone just leave without listening to what others have to say…? Don’t you agree?”

“That’s exactly what I did yesterday. Do you understand how I felt now?”

“Th-This is different from that…!”

“Well… There is a difference in that someone used a person like a pack horse, while someone else just turned a blind eye.”

“Wh-What did you say…?”

Lorena hit Eugene’s arm repeatedly with a red face.

Already bruised from getting hit a lot by Clea, Eugene quickly ran away instead of taking the hits as usual.

“He-Hey, stop right there! You’ll pay for making fun of your master, disciple…!”

“Master, I merely spoke the truth. How can a person always swallow only sweet things? Sometimes you have to swallow bitter things too…”

Before Eugene could finish his words, Lorena raised her staff and fired a spell.

The misdirected spell hit a wooden shelf, causing objects to crash down with a loud noise.

Eugene, who had narrowly avoided it, opened his mouth again:

“Master, you can’t cover the sky with your palm. How can you try to conceal the truth by killing your only disciple?”

“Ugh…! Ar-Are you going to stand still or not?”

As Lorena swung her staff again, there was another crashing sound. The house was becoming more and more of a mess.

Eugene kept dodging her spells until he suddenly realized something.

That he was the housekeeper of this home.

‘Wait… In the end, I’ll have to clean all this up, won’t I?’

Her staff showed no signs of stopping until it hit Eugene with a spell.

‘Ah…’

Eugene had no choice but to stop moving before the house became even more of a disaster.

“Kuhk…!”

Soon after, Eugene let out a painful groan and collapsed from the impact that hit his solar plexus.

Lorena, who had finally landed a hit, smiled brightly and jumped up and down.