Void and Riona, whom I had expected to remain at odds, surprisingly got along without much issue. It was a bit anticlimactic.

Regarding that, Void had this to say:

Since Riona wasn’t someone who would bring harm to me, he no longer cared. Quite a detached attitude. But I had a feeling that wasn’t his true reason.

Void Scale is more softhearted than anyone else. Today, I caught a glimpse of why. It wasn’t something I could joke about.

“See you later.”

Having finished his breakfast in no time, Void casually waved a hand behind him and walked toward the main school building. There was still plenty of time before classes started, and he didn’t even have a bag, let alone a single textbook.

“...That slacker is probably heading to the rooftop to nap, huh?”

“I figured as much. That’s just like him.”

Oh. A brilliant idea just came to me.

“Heh heh heh. As payback for calling me a runt earlier, I’ll report him to Lili.”

“El-tan... So small...”

“I—I—I am NOT small! I’ll grow soon!”

“I meant your maturity~”

“Ugh... J-just a joke...”

“Right, right~”

Now then, next up was Oujin.

Since Riona would no longer be Miku Orunkaim but Riona Belzhein from now on, I wanted to at least prepare the groundwork with Class 1 team 3.

After finishing the bread Void had given us, we headed to the training grounds.

Just as Lili and I did our morning stretches, Oujin trained with a wooden sword in the training grounds every morning. Unlike the ones used in the entrance exam, these training swords contained a metal core to match the weight of real swords. Getting hit by one would hurt.

As we reached the deepest part of the club activity hall, just before the training grounds, Riona muttered anxiously.

“...Ryoka-chan is so serious, I feel like he’s going to scold me.”

“Really? He might not even be here.”

“He is~...”

I had no idea.

He was within my detection range, but a single wall or door could dull my senses considerably. However, when I opened the door, I immediately saw Oujin swinging his wooden sword at the edge of the training grounds.

Even as we entered, he didn’t spare us a single glance, meticulously going through the forms of the Karaburi Ittō-ryū. It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed us. If not for the wall and door, someone as skilled as Oujin would have sensed us before we even stepped within this distance.

Riona and I stood at the entrance, waiting for his sequence to end.

His movements flowed effortlessly, like a gently rippling stream. Unlike Lili and me, his blade never once came to a halt.

His swings weren’t particularly fast, but they traced elegant arcs, smoothly flowing in all directions. In real combat, he would introduce variations in speed, making his attacks difficult to read.

However, this also revealed his self-proclaimed inexperience.

In other words, that ‘Rock-Cutting’ technique likely didn’t require any buildup at all. In its perfected form, every single slash would be a rock-cutting strike. A poorly calculated clash would result in a sword being cleaved in two.

The Eastern ‘Sword Demon’ might surpass our ‘Sword Saint.’

The thought alone sent chills down my spine. I had to see the perfected Karaburi Ittō-ryū, even if I had to cross the sea.

“Ryoka-chan is amazing. It’s like he’s dancing.”

“Yeah.”

Oh. So it resembles a dancer’s sword dance?

Perhaps sword dancing originated from someone who had studied Eastern swordsmanship and translated it into dance. If that were the case, I might be able to learn something from it. But at ten years old, I couldn’t enter those kinds of establishments. Unless... in Elva’s slums, maybe...

“El-tan?”

“It’s nothing.”

After a while, Oujin made a motion as if sheathing his wooden sword. Of course, there was no actual scabbard. He must have been imagining it as part of his technique.

Then, as if exchanging a bow with an unseen opponent, he lowered his head.

“Phew...”

At last, he turned toward us.

Oujin placed his wooden sword back in the wall rack and wiped his sweat with a towel draped around his neck as he approached.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Eremia... and Orunkaim-san.”

But his gaze wasn’t on me. It was fixed straight on Riona.

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah.”

“I know you must have your own circumstances. But at the very least, you saved my life. If you hadn’t struck the homunculus in the eye, I wouldn’t have had the time to evade its fist, and I would’ve suffered the same mortal wound as Ilga.”

After a brief pause, Oujin sighed.

“I’m still so inexperienced.”

“I have no idea what you’re getting at, Oujin. Don’t get sentimental and go off-topic.”

“Ah, right.”

Oujin was still looking at Riona. Riona, on the other hand, couldn’t even meet his gaze, shrinking into herself.

“In my country, we have a saying—‘A single night’s shelter and a single meal—’”

“Too long. Say it more simply. Why are you suddenly giving a language lesson?”

I cut him off.

“Ehhh~...?”

For some reason, Oujin looked dejected. Riona hurriedly stepped in to stop me.

“E-El-tan~... Let’s hear Ryoka-chan out a little more...”

“I am listening. That’s exactly why I’m telling him to say it more clearly!”

“Sorry, sorry, Ryoka-chan. El-tan’s only ten, so he’s not great at reading the room yet. Plus, that stray dog just teased him earlier, so he’s a bit grumpy.”

“Riona! Are you my mother or something!? Why does everyone keep treating me like a child—mmph!”

Riona clamped a hand over my mouth.

“Ah, um... I-I don’t mind...”

Why was Oujin the one looking so down?

Riona, who should have been the one weighed down by guilt, still looked more composed than he did. What was going on here?