You have to eat breakfast before you practice in the morning, otherwise you won't have strength. Breakfast is very important.

In Japan, we say 'You can skip it at night, but don't skip it in the morning! I've been told that a lot.
There are days when I'm not so hungry in the morning.
In that case, it's probably because I've eaten too much dinner or my eating habits are out of whack.

But if I keep missing breakfast, it will affect my future health. It's important to have a healthy body in order to have a good slow life.

So, let's have another breakfast that Bartolo made for us early today.

I walk into the dining room and see Erna's mother at the table, sipping tea in an elegant manner.

Good morning, Mother Erna.

Oh, Al. Good morning you look good today.

We smiled at each other and exchanged greetings. I feel like there was a long pause after the 'good morning'.

Was he checking to see how I was doing today?　I feel like I've been staring at my forehead awfully hard for that.

I wonder if Mother Erna is still sleepy, and she lets out a choking noise as soon as I take my seat in front of her.

My sleepiness?　Thanks to the love of Elinora's sister, I was blown away by such things. I almost skipped consciousness, though. I stroked my sore forehead, which was tingling.

Maybe Elinora sister's iron claw has made my head look like a gourd.

'Hey, Mother Erna,'

What?

Do you think I'm going crazy?

What do you mean?

Any gourd deformation or dents?

It's okay. I'm not deformed.........

'What?　Why did you just laugh?



'You just laughed!　You laughed, didn't you!

Your body is shaking, and you put your cup on the table earlier!　Because if you have it, you'll spill it when you laugh!

'Mr. Alfried. I have brought your breakfast.

Just as I was about to question Mother Erna, Saara brought me breakfast.

That's what I call a good maid. She's good at following up with Mother Erna. You can read the air unlike Meena, who is a bad maid.

But it's a shame she doesn't use her powers to interrogate me.

"Thank you. "Thank you, Serra.

There's no way around it when breakfast comes. Let's put Mother Erna's suspicious attitude aside for now.



'Now Sarra's laughing!'

Yeah, Sarra just sneezed.

Mother Erna takes my appealing cries with a resolute attitude.

Me and Mother Erna's brown eyes collide head on.

(That was a very short and lovely sneeze, wasn't it?)

It's a girl, okay?　(I'll be careful not to sneeze.)

A long silence settles over the refreshing dining room.

I see. I'm a girl, and I can't help it.
Reluctantly, I sit down from my leaning position and pick up my fork.

Mother Erna nods in satisfaction and sips her tea.

I sneezed, though I didn't feel exasperated, but I sneezed, Saara wasn't in this room already.

To clear her mind, she munches on some fresh vegetables with a bit of dressing on them.
The vegetables are full of water, which seems to help circulate throughout the body.
The sour, white dressing blended well with the sweetness of the vegetables.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm...

As I was tucking into the deliciousness of the vegetables, Meena, the spoiled maid, came into the room humming a song.

It's quite a lovely and unique song.

''Ah, Erna-sama, albufufu!　Hahahahahaha!　Master Alfried, what is the matter with you!　That forehead!

What!　What?　Mom!

Oh, no, Meena. You must be patient.

I looked hurriedly at Erna's mother, but she couldn't hold back and started laughing too.

'Because you have a handprint on your forehead!　You'll laugh if you see it out of the blue!

'Huh. Don't laugh like that. This must be Elinora's handwriting.

Hmmmmm!

I left them laughing forever and went straight to mom Erna and dad Nord's bedroom where the mirror was.
On the large mirror was the handprint of sister Elinora, clearly marked on her forehead.
What a strong grip!　What is the power that would leave a clear mark? Onion!


Totally laugh at that, and so does Mother Erna, Saara, and Meena. I wish they would have taught me to be honest.

Be that as it may, it seems that today is the day I need to take advantage of my morning practice and repay my sister Elinora with plenty of money for the debt I owe her on a daily basis.

In order to do that, I need to eat a good breakfast first. I'm still only eating vegetables.

Because vegetables alone aren't going to win against that guy.


× X X X



After I finished my breakfast, I headed out to my usual courtyard.

When I went back to the dining room for breakfast with a straight face, Mom Erna and Meena apologized to me.

I'm not mad at them, okay?　Hey, it's not that kind of thing, I just have higher priorities in front of me right now. So I'm not even mad at Sarra for laughing at me in the hallway, you know?

Al, it's late. You've been spending too much time on your breakfast.

There's the Mad King!　I'm going to beat you...

What?

"Sorry for the delay.

Ugh!　One look at me made me faint. I was already trained!　No, not yet. Alfried must not have been trained yet. If he had been, he couldn't even muster the strength to resist, as he had in his previous life!

'Don't use strange language in the morning. I'll warm you up.

Yes, sir.

I didn't feel any discomfort as I followed my sister Elinora's back as she started to run.

'Yo, Al!　How are you doing?

Finally, you're late.

The ones who approached me were Lumumba and Count Merna. Both of them seemed to be hitting each other quickly, holding a wooden sword in one hand and wiping sweat off their faces.

''Hey, Lumumba. I'm fine. I'm not sure I need to ask you, but you're looking good. And Count Merna, too.

Can we get on with it?

'No, no, I can't. I don't think I can hit the rumba. Besides, you don't seem to be very good at controlling your strength.

If you swing from such a huge body, you're bound to be blown away with one swing.

Then you'll be able to do it with me.

For sure, Count Merna is the same type of person as Father Nord, isn't he?

He's certainly more of a martial aristocrat.

No, he's a nobleman who can be identified as a martial artist without hesitation. Count Merna is.

''Well, I'm teaching my own kids how to use the sword too, so don't worry.

Well, I'll take care of that later.

God, I wish I could have a shot at Al.

You're dangerous enough to break my wooden sword.

Count Merna looks at Roomba, who looks bored and puts his arms behind his head.

"You say that a lot!　Even the Count cracked my wooden sword!

''I just got a little hot at the time. There was damage accumulated on that wooden sword to begin with......................I'm sure.

'What?　I heard some unheard-of lines...

'Yes, yes, yes, stop dawdling and let's get you warmed up. You'll run out of time.

'What?　Cancel it!　Let me cancel the meeting!

My wishes didn't come through, and Elinora's sister pulled my arms away.



I relax my muscles by doing gymnastics and running.

At the usual place of pretending, Silvio-san is enthusiastically pretending. No, that's just a swing to imagine someone's opponent. Is it training like the shadow training that boxers do?

The expression on your face today is quite eerie.

Why is this?　Brother Silvio has always taken his training seriously. There is no doubt about this.

But today, Brother Silvio is not serious, he is serious. It is as if he has a clear idea of who he wants and must defeat. Perhaps it's not an intention, but a will.

I don't know what in the world made Brother Silvio go that far.

My opponent to defeat is Sister Elinora. I'm sure Silvio's aspirations are the same as mine.

It's a good thing that you're able to get the best out of this, because it's the only way you'll be able to get the best out of it.

You'll see. You're not the only one.

With confidence in my heart, I began to swing near Silvio's brother.

Brother Silvio's shadow was still very defensive.


× X X X


After finishing the one menu we always do, it was time for a meeting.
Today, Brother Silvio was less talkative, his gaze was pointed, and he was tense.

''Well then, shall we have a meeting soon?

"Father Nord shows up and tells us.

''Let's go all out today to see how good you three are. Al is just in time for a meeting with Count Merna, just in time to see how good he is.

Yeah!

No way!　You need friends to fight the Demon King, right?　You know, brave men and women have wise men and saints!

Okay.

I get it.


Sister Elinora and Brother Silvio turn their evil smiles towards me.

I can understand sister Elinora, but why did even brother Silvio have that kind of smile towards me?

Something is beginning to go wrong.

This is how I lost my shield《Silvio Brother》and my hope to fight against the Demon King《Erinora Sis》.



''Well then, let's start with Al and Silvio for the first fight.

f*ck!　If sister Elinora and brother Silvio would do it, one of them would be battered and weak. I don't think one of them needs to be told.

I stare at Brother Silvio with my wooden sword at the ready, regretting that things didn't go the way I wanted in my mind.

''Which one is stronger?''

I don't know. But you're usually stronger than your brother. And Al is supposed to be better at magic than he is at swords!

''Oh, I could even use rare ice magic to cool fruit water or make a box with earth magic and do amazing things.

I was in the woods with you, and I saw you shoot a huge icicle!　I mean, what's so awesome about earth magic?

'What, Roomba, didn't you come to the reversi tournament yesterday?'

No, I'm not...

At a slight distance, such as, I can hear Count Merna and Rumba talking.
They're both very close to each other. As I recall, the two of them were supposed to have never met before, right?

Then let's begin.

As soon as Father Nord shouts to start, Brother Silvio starts to move.

I was momentarily surprised by Brother Silvio's offensive stance, which was different from the usual, but I didn't panic and dealt with it.

A sword fight between wooden swords that continues to strike with a thump.

After all, the offense is not suitable for Brother Silvio. Compared to the usual counter swing, the taijishio is several levels inferior to the usual counter swing.

''You're on the offensive today, right?

....

I only asked a simple question, but Brother Silviot twisted his face in frustration.

Then Brother Silvio attacked me with his wooden sword with even greater vigor than before.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to dodge and occasionally catch it.

I'm sure you'll find that you're not the only one who has to deal with my sister, who is attacking me like a fiery fire. The only thing I've gotten better at is ducking and evading.

I'm sure we'll find out why their swords are of that type.....................

Well that's true Roomba.

Perhaps...

How are you two holding up?

No ... nothing.

Is that so?



I stepped away from Brother Silvio's big swinging blow and ducked into his pocket.

However, Brother Silvio brings his wooden sword back to the opposite hand and unleashes a counter thrust.

''Watch out!''

Nice try.

At this point, he suddenly came with a sharp counter. Perhaps the big swing just now was also done on purpose. Brother Silvio moved into a defensive stance, which made it difficult for him to attack.

The distance between us was reduced and we had to start over.

Both of us were more tired than usual, perhaps because we kept attacking each other so hard. Brother Silvio in particular is sweating a lot and is out of breath.

Is it because I'm always being chased around?　You can still have some energy to spare.
If you want to attack, Silvio's fatigue is thick, so now is the time to do it.

I put all my strength into my legs and start running--

Yes, that's it!

The stillness of Dad Nord's voice stops me in my tracks.

'I didn't take one, though?'

'Yes. It's just to see if you're capable, so you don't have to take one.

Nah, that's good. I was tired already.

Me too. Al, I'll get you one next time.

After telling him that, Brother Silvio turned his back and went to the outfield.

''Brother Silvio was awfully belligerent today.

'Haha. Silvio has a few things on his mind too. You see, Silvio is also the first son. He doesn't want to lose to his brother.

...something tells me that if it continues like this, we'll be separated in a flash, like chess.

Brother Silvio is a hard worker, and there's a good chance he'll be able to do it.

Then Al will have to work hard to keep them apart.

...because I have magic.

'Just so you know, no magic in a fight, okay?

'Oh no!　No magic then!　Just no magic!

Not yet.

My plea didn't get through to Dad Nord, who dismissed it with a refreshing smile.

'Well, I guess Elinora and Al are next, then.

Perhaps she heard Dad Nord's voice, but Elinora's sister comes over to her, swinging her ponytail in a lively manner.

Wow, you have a very nice smile.

I mean, why am I the first one to do it?　Brother Silvio's here!

No, Al is looking good, and he's still here.

When I turned my head toward Brother Silvio, he was wiping the sweat off his face with a fresh face, as if he'd just had a good sweat. Then our gazes met. Brother Silvio gingerly held up his thumb.

And the movement of his mouth--

　You pushed it on me!

Al, are you ready to go?

When I turned around, I saw the Demon King standing there, ready for battle.
His gentle smile is scary. His expression and the killing intent don't match up at all.

''Please........be gentle with me.

The voice I managed to squeeze out was this.

Brave Alfried. I challenge the Demon King!



''Well that's not going to happen, even for Al, whose sword specializes in survival.

Yeah, even that zombie-like guy couldn't do it.