Swordsmanship Talent

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“I was fed up,” I thought to myself as I looked out at the familiar courtyard, which was now presenting an unfamiliar scene. Marie, along with Maron, Red, and Rose, were all standing in a row next to me. In front of us stood our father in a fierce stance.

Oh no, I didn’t want to be here.

“Today, we’ll be practicing together. Please take care of us!” we all bowed simultaneously.

The other four were probably eager to begin, but I wasn’t. I was filled with the desire to escape from this situation. I would much rather practice gathering magic than participate in sword training.

I still couldn’t smoothly move the magic throughout my body, nor was I able to gather enough of it. I questioned what it would even achieve, but being able to manipulate magic made me feel like I could accomplish something.

I strongly believed that it was easier to manifest magic through the concentration of magic than it was through dispersed magic. For now, I just wanted to produce light orbs like trout did. I was almost certain that those were magic balls.

Putting that aside, all five of us held wooden swords in our hands. It was clear what that meant.

“Alright, let’s begin training with swords as a group of five. Don’t fool around and stay focused. Even with wooden swords, people can die. Understood?”

“Yes!” we all answered in unison.

I understood that, so I thought I’d watch from the sidelines. But Marie, who was standing next to me, glared at me.

It was all her idea in the first place, which led us to this situation. I wasn’t good at swordplay. I knew that even though I hadn’t practiced much.

Or rather, I was mentally weak. I didn’t want to do it. So when Marie was receiving swordplay lessons from our father, I would either watch or practice magic.

However, it seems that Marie didn’t appreciate that situation. She urged our father to teach me swordplay as well. Unfortunately, our father seemed to agree with her, saying that as the son of the lord, I should learn swordplay just in case.

And so, I was forced to participate, and today was the first day. The other three apparently requested to be taught swordplay by our father, showing their eagerness to learn. They were very determined children.

I didn’t understand why they wanted to learn swordplay, but I was the only one who wanted to be excluded. My body, as well as my previous body, weren’t particularly athletic. I was the type to survive until the end of dodgeball, but even then, I wasn’t good at throwing or dodging.

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I was the type that was good at dodging, for some reason, but not quite sure why. I might be the type that could be found in every class.

I was particularly bad at sports that involved the use of equipment. If it was a sport that only required my body, I was slightly better at it.

Swordsmanship, of course, involves using a sword, so I didn’t really want to do it. But since there’s no escaping it anymore, I had no choice but to do it.”

“Alright, let’s measure everyone’s abilities one by one by fighting against me. Of course, I’ll go easy on you, so don’t hold back. First up, Red.”

“Yes! Please take care of me!” replied the enthusiastic young Red.

He faced father and prepared his sword. From the looks of it, he seemed to have excellent athleticism.

Since it would take too long to watch everyone’s practice, I’ll just say the results. Red seemed to have pretty good muscles, but he couldn’t take a single sword from father. However, there was some glimmer of talent in him. Although his swordsmanship was rough, father said he could become a great swordsman with practice.

Next was Maron. She seemed to be quite agile and able to move swiftly. However, since she was a child, she lacked strength. She was bounced around quite a bit just by defending against one swing. She also didn’t seem to have a strong grip, dropping her wooden sword multiple times. She needed to work on strengthening her muscles.

Then there was Rose. She seemed to have an average skill level in swordsmanship. Of course, since no one had really learned swordsmanship before, this was based on the premise that they were all amateurs. She had decent athleticism and didn’t have any major shortcomings, but at the same time, she didn’t seem to have any outstanding strengths. She was likely to become an all-around type of swordsman.

Finally, it was my turn. The results were already in, and I was struggling to catch my breath while lying on the ground. My wooden sword lay scattered beside me, and my body was covered in bruises.

These weren’t from my father’s attacks.

Father was covering his face with his hand, sighing deeply.

“I never expected that you would lack talent in swordsmanship to this extent…”

“I…I never thought it would come to this,” I said.

I had been running with my sister and helping out around the village, so I had pretty good stamina. But that was about it. If I continued to swing my sword recklessly, I would quickly run out of energy. The answer to which consumes more energy, repeatedly throwing a large punch or a punch with a strong hip thrust, was simple.

In the end, I was so exhausted that I stumbled and fell to the ground, rolling around with my wooden sword thrown aside. As a result, I had wounds all over my body.

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Even though I thought I was able to dodge my father’s attacks quite quickly, I was embarrassed by how poor my swordsmanship was. I was weak and feeble.

“Your aim isn’t bad. You’re able to dodge decently enough. But it’s not a matter of sword skills. Your movements are too unrefined. You’re swinging your wooden sword around aimlessly and your motions are disjointed. I mean… Your lack of coordination is just terrible.”

“I-I know that. I had a feeling that was the case…”

I gave a dry laugh and stood up.

“You may be able to dodge, and my reflexes aren’t bad, but… If I recall correctly, you’re not that slow when it comes to running, right?”

Father turned to Marie and asked.

Marie nodded twice.

“He’s got good stamina and he’s not slow when he runs, I don’t think…”

“Hmm, it seems like your athletic ability isn’t completely terrible. There are some people who are just not good at using certain tools for exercise, so maybe that’s the case.”

That’s it. Sorry about that. I apologized inwardly and brushed off the dirt from my body.

“So what would you do? If you work really hard, you could become average.”

That’s it! I yelled out to him in an instant.

“No! Father! I don’t have any talent for swordsmanship, and there are other things I want to do, so I’ll pass on it!”

“Is that so? But as a young man, you should at least have some basic sword skills.”

“Father! Swordsmanship isn’t everything! I’m sure there are things I can do that are unique to me! If you try to lump everything together, you can’t cultivate individuality or talent! I’m pretty good at studying, so I want to work hard in that area!”

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“…I see your point. Even with your studies, I was going to leave anything beyond basic education up to your own decision. You don’t have to practice swordsmanship if you don’t want to. But, you should still exercise his body. It’s better to be able to move if something happens, rather than not. Plus, it can be helpful for assisting with village work.”

“Yes! I understand completely, Father!”

As I snapped to attention with a sharp salute, my father let out a sigh of exasperation. However, he soon shook his head with a wry smile and muttered, “He’s hopeless.”

Meanwhile, Marie was standing next to him, watching me with a look of disbelief on her face. I couldn’t help feeling a bit uncomfortable with the way she was staring at me, but I knew it was just because of my lack of skill.

“Alright, let’s see how much Marie has improved,” he said, turning to face her.

“Please, let me show you!” She took her stance, holding her sword at the ready, and faced father.

Compared to the rest of us, she had a clear advantage, and it showed in her confident posture and poised demeanor.

In fact, she looked like a completely different person, with an air of determination and strength that I found rather impressive.

If I had to describe her in one word, it would definitely be “cool”.

As I watched, Marie kicked off the ground and lunged forward with her sword.

She moved so fast that I almost lost track of her, but my eyes soon caught up and saw that she had already closed in on my father. With a swift strike aimed at his shoulder, she swung her sword in a diagonal arc.

However, father was quick to react, and he raised his wooden sword to block the attack. In the split second before their swords clashed, Marie suddenly stopped her strike, feinting with a cunning move.

Then, she spun around and swung her sword horizontally, aiming at my father’s feet. It was a tricky attack that would be hard to dodge, but my father managed to take a step back and avoid it with ease.

In that moment, Marie was left wide open, and my father took advantage of it, striking her on the head with his wooden sword.

“I win,” he declared triumphantly.

Marie looked disappointed, but she quickly recovered and bowed to my father, showing her respect and admiration. “Thank you.”

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“Not bad, your movements were a bit too big, but your attempt to exploit your opponent’s weaknesses was good. Keep practicing and you’ll become quite skilled in a few years, Marie.”

“Yeah, I’ll do my best. I want to become even stronger,” she replied, with determination in her eyes, though she still felt frustrated.

She kept her frustration but her eyes were filled with fighting spirit. She wanted to become stronger, not just for herself but to protect me. That was a big reason for her, and I was happy to hear that. But it also made me feel anxious because I needed to find ways to improve myself too. I knew that I couldn’t do anything in swordsmanship, but I had to do something.

Anyway, the sword practice was over, and I was planning to leave. I guessed they would do some basic training now. It didn’t concern me, so I tried to sneak away from the courtyard.

“Next up is… Theon? What are you doing?”

I was trying to slip quietly into the house, but my father called me back.

“W-well, I think I don’t need to do it anymore,” I replied.

“What are you talking about? Sword practice has just begun. Everyone starts with wooden swords. I agree that you don’t need sword practice, but physical training is necessary for you. So, you will do something else.”

“What should I do?”

“Run.”

No, no, no, no, no! Why do I have to run all the time?

Ugh! Is running the only way to train in this world? Is it a common sense that training means running? I understand that running is important, but there must be other ways to train, right? Why do I have to run?

But my father’s pressure was so intense that I had no choice but to obey. As Marie’s father, he was stubborn and once he decided something, there was no way to go against it.

I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed and obediently followed his orders. I actually wanted to train my magic power, but there was nothing I could do. Oh well, maybe this will be useful someday, or maybe not.

I started running as my father instructed and kept running for three hours until the others were finished with their practice.

 

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