In the hot sunshine, my brother Silvio and I stood side by side in the courtyard, wielding our wooden swords.

　We traced endlessly the swings and kata we had learned from Nord's father.

　I understand the importance of bare swings, but it's a practice that can be done so compactly.

　Can't we go to the entrance of the house, which is cooler than here? There is enough space and room to swing the wooden sword there. The risk of heat stroke is low, and it is much better than the practice in the hot courtyard.

'Al, your swing is a mess. You need to get your sides in and swing through more.

Yes, sir.

　I wonder if it was because I had an evil thought. My swing was disorganized.

　I drove those thoughts away for a moment and swung it aside as I was told.

　After a few swings like that, I felt my swing became more stable.

　But I don't know why. I felt that my swing was less sharp than before.

　Is this a bad effect of skipping practice for a long time?

　When I was thinking about this, I could hear the sound of sharp movement from next door.

　When I glanced next to him, I saw Brother Silvio wielding a wooden sword.

　It's the same type as mine, and yet it's very different in its sharpness.

　The swing of Brother Silvio's sword is more natural and less wasteful.

　It's as if he's slicing through the air.

　I knew Brother Silvio's swordsmanship was improving as well. He's grown into a fine person in the short time I've been away.

　As a younger brother, I'm genuinely happy to see my brother growing up, but as a friend of the alliance who is not very good with swords, I'm a little sad.

　As brother Silvio's sword level rises, so does his training level.

　I'm fine with just sitting back and forth with Brother Silvio, though.

　As I'm swinging my sword while thinking about that, Nord Dad's hand rings again.

''Okay, bare swinging is over. Let's try to strike each other next time, shall we?

　Apparently, the next one is one-on-one with Silvio-san.

　Looking at the skill and strength of the sword, I don't think we'll be able to win.

　Still, I'll just have to do what I can. This time, I'm going to challenge Brother Silvio with the intention of leaning heavily on his chest.

　Brother Silvio and I face each other at a distance, as usual.

　Brother Silvio usually has a soft expression on his face, but it's different during practice.

　His eyebrows and mouth are tightened and his expression is more dignified than usual.

''Al, are you ready to go?''

Yeah, I'm fine.

　On the other hand, I don't seem to be able to keep a tight expression on my face, and I'm always asked questions like this.

　It's my intention to keep my face clear, but it seems that my face looks absent-minded.

　At first, Elinora saw the expression on my face and asked, "Do you want to do it? He even got angry at me for asking him about it.

　Now he's used to it and doesn't seem to mind, but brother Silvio is always giving me words of concern, probably because he's kind.

　That kindness seems to make me happy and sad at the same time.

''Well then, begin!''

　Dad Nord claps his hands and sounds a signal.

"...........

　But me and my brother Silvio didn't move as we stared at each other.

　It's natural. Brother Silvio is good at countering from defense.

　From Brother Silvio's point of view, the moment I stepped in would be the perfect opportunity.

　You can't make a mistake if you go out of your way to jump into your opponent's area of strength. I'm not going to charge in blindly.

　But it's the same for them. Silvio-san is not good at making a move on his own. You can fully draw out your strength by getting on the defensive without hurrying.

　Perhaps it's because of that mutual thought, me and brother Silvio only glare at each other.

　Seeing such a situation, Nord Dad lets out a sigh of dismay.

　Perhaps he thought it was uncomfortable, but finally Brother Silvio himself made a move on me.

　Fool. How dare you throw away your advantage.

　With a wry smile, I stepped back from Silvio's swing and ducked.

　Then I launched a horizontal slash at Silvio's swinging brother.

　However, Brother Silvio easily blocked it.

　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.

　He is still an older brother who is quick to move in defense.

　While clicking my tongue in my mind, I stepped in and set up a series of front swings, cleaves, and slashes down from an angle.

　However, Brother Silvio carefully strikes off each one of them. His defensive techniques are extremely refined and lean. Its accuracy is like a machine and there are no gaps anywhere.

I'm going to try to break the situation up by attacking with slow and steady steps. But the belly of the wooden sword I swung down was struck from the side by Brother Silvio.

　The impact of the sword being struck so vigorously causes my body to flow outward.

　This is bad. When I had a tongue battle with Eric, it should have been won like this.

　If I continue like this, I'll be morosely swung down by the wooden sword, so I don't resist the impact in my body and fall backwards heavily, using the energy as it is.

''Eh?''

　Then, using the collapse of his body and energy, he unleashes a spinning slash at the surprised Brother Silvio.

　It seemed like a blow to Brother Silvio's side, but I could feel the impact of a hard object striking my hand.

　If you look closely, you can see that brother Silvio was just barely in the side, and brother Silvio was holding up his wooden sword to guard it.

　Brother Silvio's stance is bad, so I try to push off with my weight on it.

　However, Brother Silvio immediately pulled back and adjusted his stance.

''Isn't that a bit unfair?　I don't feel like the attack is going to go through no matter where I hit it.

　It's funny how they prevented the first, but not the last blow. I thought that attack definitely went through........ Brother Silvio, doesn't he have another arm?　

'Al's the one who thought he could have beaten me with his last attack, but he avoided me and even countered with an anomalous one. Where the hell did you learn that move?

'No, that wasn't so much that I learned it, but that I had beaten it in a similar pattern. I just twisted my body as quickly as I could.

　I don't want to end up like Eric. It's just those thoughts that drove my body. It's not like I've learned it or anything.

　This isn't good. The current pattern of avoidance won't work next time either.

　Silvio's brother has more physical strength than I do, and if this continues, I can only see a future where I'll be impoverished.

　Let's try to regain our strength here for now.

　Just as I was thinking this, Brother Silvio charged at me again with his sword at the ready.

''I didn't know Brother Silvio was going to attack us!

I've been practicing my attacks, too!

　So that's it. I'm not my brother, who knows his weaknesses and leaves them unattended.

　Besides, if I let up on my attacks here, my strength will be restored. From the point of view of Brother Silvio, who has a lot of physical strength, it would be a waste of time.

　Brother Silvio comes closer to me and releases a thrust.

　d*mn, it's disgusting that he suddenly released a thrust that is difficult to avoid - I thought, but Brother Silvio's thrust is very monotonous and slow.

　Is it because he or she always eats the murderous thrusts of Elinora's sister? It feels raw and lukewarm.

　Each of Elinora sister's thrusts are not only deadly but also sharp and fast.

　And even if you avoid them, they come to you like a siege. Compared to that stormy thrust, Brother Silvio's thrust is like a gentle breeze.

　You are able to avoid Brother Silvio's monotonous thrusts by stepping, and on the contrary, I stepped in and released a thrust into the empty body.

　The sound of a dry wooden sword ringing out.

　........Again, Brother Silvio blocked the attack again.

''You're too quick to put your sword back even after you released a thrust. If only you could thrust at that speed...''

I know what I'm doing.

　As expected, whether he was aware of it or not, Brother Silvio was gulped down.



　◆


　In the end, it became an endurance game after that, and I couldn't break brother Silvio's defense and lost.

　Because no matter how hard I hit, my attacks couldn't get through. There's no way I can win. It's only natural that I would run out of energy first and lose.

　As I sat down in the courtyard, Silvio's brother called out to me.

You've lost your strength, Al," he says. Is it because you've gained some weight?

Stop!　I don't want to hear that word!

　Is it because I pointed out the thrust? Brother Silvio's words are more sarcastic than usual.

　I cover my ears as if I were holding my head up, and brother Silvio, perhaps satisfied, laughs at me.

''But Brother Silvio has improved his sword so much, hasn't he?

Thank you.

Especially the defense.

　When I said to add, Brother Silviot was stumped.

　No, because Brother Silvio's defense is amazing. The sword handling itself was also getting better, but that is insignificant compared to the defense.

''If you had a shield, wouldn't you be able to defend against even Elinora sister's attacks?

　This is without a shield. What happens if a shield is added to the other hand?

　Perhaps he could take on Elinora sister.

　That way, Brother Silvio could become a shield exclusively for Elinora sister against her.

　Brother Silvio would have to deal with Brother Silvio more often in his normal practice.

''Unfortunately, you can't use me as a shield. Before, I was able to block your sister's attacks a little bit, but...''

Can't you do it now?

　I asked, and Brother Silvio gave me a shadowy look.

'You're in King's Landing mixing in with the Knights' exercises, you know?　It's bound to get stronger.

　.........Oh, it was totally true.

　I see, Elinora sister is coming back after finishing her training part. I'm sure she'll come back with even more unreasonable strength than before.

　Me and brother Silvio looked up at the clear blue sky with a somewhat distant expression.