Selena Yohaiden (3)
The brilliant moonlight illuminated the night.
Selena, changed into her training attire, and Zeke, in his usual military uniform, stepped out into the courtyard.
Zeke crossed his arms and observed Selena.
Her entire body was stiff with tension.
“Don’t be so nervous. This is just a light assessment. Show me the swordsmanship you’re capable of.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
With a soft ring, Selena drew her sword from its scabbard.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and assumed her stance.
She had never received formal instruction in swordsmanship.
However, the White Tiger Knights of the Yohaiden Dukedom were considered one of the strongest elite units in the Empire.
As a beloved pet, she had listened to their training methods and practices, committing them to memory.
She had observed their swordsmanship, stealing glances at the training grounds whenever she could.
Every night, when everyone was asleep, she would sneak out to the backyard and practice diligently for seven years.
Despite the inevitable nervousness of displaying her self-taught skills before a master, she was confident.
Her efforts wouldn't betray her.
*Whoosh*
With unparalleled grace, her sword flowed from top to bottom.
*Swoosh*
She sliced through the air, commencing her sword dance.
Her body swayed like a reed.
*Thud!*
She stamped her foot.
Selena's figure soared into the air, her sword slashing upward.
Her blade darted through the air three times with incredible speed, then curved gently.
*Clang! Clang! Whoosh!*
“Haa!”
Selena cried out, spreading her arms wide and spinning swiftly.
Her movements resembled a bird taking flight, wings spread wide, as her sword followed through with each graceful motion.
*Thud.*
Landing gracefully, she lowered her stance, touching the ground lightly.
It was a practical swordsmanship style as if a beast were to strike at an ankle.
‘Fighting like a ferocious tiger!’
Without pausing, she released the sword from her right hand.
Catching it with her left, she resumed her attack.
Once, twice, thrice, four times.
She spun her movements a whirlwind of merciless strikes that could grind an enemy to dust.
‘Tiger's Fury!’
Her assault didn’t end there.
As if wary of enemies from behind, she thrust her sword backward.
Then, with a twist of the hilt, she finished the move completely.
The pressure emanating from her swordsmanship was palpable, reminiscent of a white tiger baring its fangs.
‘White Fang!!!’
Selena gritted her teeth, attacking as if a phantom opponent stood before her.
Her relentless assault continued, her sword a blur of motion.
The moonlight seemed to linger on the tip of her blade, creating the illusion of flowing light.
*Gasp*
*Gasp*
*Whoosh*
Selena sheathed her sword, trying to catch her breath as her chest heaved.
‘Why is my swordsmanship so sharp today? Is it because the instructor is watching!?’
Her body moved with an unprecedented fluidity.
She could feel the power coursing through her, reaching the tip of her blade.
It was the most perfect display of swordsmanship she had ever achieved, surpassing all her previous attempts.
She had been worried about making mistakes, but even she had to admit it was flawless.
Movements that had always felt awkward before now flowed naturally, one after another.
‘If only Father could see me now… He might have changed his mind…!’
Selena’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Zeke.
“H-how was it?”
* * *
‘Hmm… What was that?’
Zeke struggled to comprehend what Selena had just demonstrated.
He frowned, trying his best to make sense of her swordsmanship.
‘…Could that be… the Floundering Swordsmanship!?'
He couldn’t understand it at all.
Why waste so much movement on unnecessary actions?
Instead of following through with a strike, she would retract her sword and start over.
The tip of her blade wavered so much that its intended target remained unclear.
And the way she would suddenly spin around, exposing her back… It made the grumpy old man inside him scream.
‘A wound on the back is a swordsman's shame!!!’
Zeke forcibly swallowed his brewing groan.
This… This was truly painful to watch.
Even if it was a world of romance fantasy, how could swordsmanship be so fundamentally flawed?
A sword wasn't good just because it looked pretty or flashy.
Even a flashy sword had its own level of sophistication. Every strike, every form, should carry meaning.
‘It’s not like she’s using her flamboyance to distract her opponent… What is this…?’
This swordsmanship…
‘No, can you even call this swordsmanship?’
Zeke tilted his head in bewilderment.
How could he possibly fix this disaster?
First, he needed confirmation.
He addressed Selena, who was still catching her breath.
“Selena, let me ask you one thing.”
“Yes, Instructor!”
“Did anyone ever teach you how to use a sword?”
“No! I learned by myself, stealing glances at the knights’ training!”
“Ah, I see… That’s why… No, even so…”
Selena grew slightly uneasy as she observed Zeke’s furrowed brows and muttered words.
‘Hmm. I thought I was pretty good at the White Tiger Swordsmanship… Maybe it’s lacking in the eyes of someone at his level…?’
After a long silence, he finally spoke, his words shocking her to her core.
“First, you need to change your sword.”
“What!?”
“That sword was probably made for a man.”
“…Yes.”
Selena glanced down at the sword in her hand.
It was the first gift she had ever bought for herself, purchased with her allowance on her birthday.
Seven years. Seven years of studying during the day and sneaking out at dawn to practice with this sword.
The sky-blue hilt, the same color as her eyes, was wrapped in a hand-worn cloth. The blade gleamed, polished to perfection through daily care.
‘But this sword is precious to me…’
“It doesn’t suit you.”
“…”
Selena couldn’t accept Zeke’s words without a fight.
She had been training in swordsmanship for seven years, even if it was self-taught and without a proper instructor.
How could he tell her to change her sword so easily?
It was simply absurd.
As if oblivious to her turmoil, Zeke continued with a stoic expression.
“You will use a rapier.”
“How can you tell just by looking!!!”
For the first time since they met, Selena raised her voice, her usual gentle tone replaced by an outburst of frustration.
Zeke had struck a nerve.
‘Of all swords, a rapier?’
The rapier, with its thin and lightweight design, prioritized thrusting over slashing.
Despite being a one-handed sword, it wasn’t as light as it looked.
It was typically used in duels or against a small number of human opponents.
It wasn’t suitable for knights who faced monsters and fought multiple enemies at once.
She aspired to wield a knight’s sword, but Zeke’s words implied that she should treat swordsmanship as a mere hobby, like any other noble.
“I will never… use a rapier.”
* * *
‘This is a problem.’
Zeke understood Selena’s reluctance to switch to a rapier.
However, he had his reasons for suggesting it.
It wasn’t about her physique or strength.
The problem was that the sword itself clashed with her very being.
Her bone structure, agility, flexibility, muscles – everything about her was ill-suited for wielding that kind of sword.
Perhaps she had already sensed this incompatibility deep down.
And that unanswered question, that nagging feeling of dissonance, had driven her to the academy, seeking a solution.
‘But if I guide her, it might be possible.’
During his time in the dark fantasy world, Zeke had collected and mastered countless swordsmanship styles.
Among them was a rapier technique used by women.
[Heavenly Dance of a Thousand Swords (？？？)]
‘One of the angel girls used it. I thought about learning it, but it was exclusive to women, almost cost me my manhood.’
Zeke shuddered, recalling that day.
It was a rapier technique designed for women, relying heavily on magical power to enhance their movements and minimize strain on their physical bodies.
Naturally, it required the use of mana.
‘If this were Earth, it would be impossible…’
Unlike Earth, Zeke could sense mana in this world of romance fantasy.
At first, he thought it might be a unique ability due to his origins in the dark fantasy world.
But he was wrong.
Among the subjects he had studied, there was one called ‘Magic Theory.’
It proved that the existence of mana was acknowledged in this world as well.
While extremely rare, mages did exist.
And although incredibly expensive and primarily accessible only to the imperial family, magical tools that utilized mana were being developed.
This meant that utilizing magical power was possible.
Magical power was the power to manipulate mana. It was a miracle that allowed one to transcend the limitations of their species.
‘If I teach her the right mana cultivation technique and how to apply it to the Heavenly Dance… ’
Even a girl as fundamentally unsuited for swordsmanship as Selena could become proficient.
Even a thin blade like a rapier could be imbued with enough durability and destructive power.
‘But if mana exists, why is the swordsmanship here so terrible?’
It seemed that even the knights in this romance fantasy world couldn’t grasp such concepts.
‘No, if anything, their swordsmanship should be cleaner and more concise. Why are they using such…’
Zeke sighed internally, reminded once again of why he had been summoned to this world.
It was all because of the atrocious state of swordsmanship in this realm.
Damn romance fantasy.
He glanced at Selena. She was still clutching her sword defiantly, refusing to accept his assessment.
‘…How do I convince her?’
If Selena were a stranger, Zeke wouldn’t bother.
He saw no reason to force someone to change their sword if they were adamant about keeping it.
However, Selena was different.
She was the only one who had shown him kindness in this world.
‘…If it weren’t for her… I would have been robbed blind by that old hag of a general and left with nothing for food or lodging. She saved me from becoming the academy’s first homeless instructor. And she taught me about common sense and basic knowledge.’
If she continued to wield that ridiculous sword, her body would eventually break down.
He couldn’t stand by and watch it happen.
Zeke made a difficult decision.
‘I need to break her completely.’
“Selena.”
“…”
He called her name, but she refused to answer, her cheeks puffed out in a pout.
“Are you sulking?”
“I am not!”
She trembled with indignation, her face flushed crimson as if on the verge of tears.
‘She’s definitely sulking…’
Zeke clicked his tongue.
“I didn’t say those things to hurt you.”
“Then why?!”
“You can become a knight even with a rapier. Strong enough to face any monster.”
“Lies!”
If she wouldn’t believe the truth, it seemed like this would take longer than he thought.
As Zeke pondered his next move, he let out a sigh.
*Sigh*
‘As long as she doesn’t have a sword in her hand… Just this once. This is an exception because Selena is my benefactor.’
He reached out and plucked a small flower from the wall.
Bathed in the cool moonlight, the man held a single flower. Before him stood a bewildered woman, clutching her sword.
To an outsider, it might have looked like a scene straight out of a romance novel, a confession of love about to unfold.
But Zeke knew better than anyone how he changed when he held a sword. This was the only way.
“Then come at me.”
* * *
‘What is the instructor doing?’
Selena was baffled. One minute he was claiming she could become a knight with a rapier, and the next he was challenging her with a flower.
She briefly wondered if Zeke was some kind of con artist.
‘But his name was definitely listed as Zeke Clayman, Swordsmanship Instructor, at the academy.’
She had confirmed it herself.
Still, the idea of facing a sword with a flower, as if plucked from a fantastical tale, was beyond her comprehension.
A flower was just a flower.
This one wasn’t even special; it was a common plant plucked from the wall.
A single swing of her sword, a simple clash of metal against delicate petals, would be enough to crush or slice it in two.
That was common sense, the undeniable truth.
‘Is there some hidden meaning… Does he want me to avoid hitting him altogether…? No, that’s not his style.’
Distrust flickered in Selena’s eyes, but Zeke’s past actions, the way he had treated her, gave her a sliver of hope, urging her to trust him one more time.
Of course, that didn’t mean she would switch to a rapier.
Zeke stood before her, his expression sincere, holding a small, dainty violet.
She happened to be wearing a hairpin adorned with the same type of flower.
‘Violets… My favorite…’
Selena’s gaze shifted from the flower to Zeke’s eyes.
“Instructor.”
“Yes.”
Zeke nodded, a knowing look in his eyes.
“To be honest, I have no idea what you’re doing.”
“I figured.”
“But I don’t believe you would do something like this without a reason. So, because I trust you, I’ll do it.”
“Good. Come at me.”
Selena didn’t hesitate. The moment he finished his sentence, she lunged.
“Haa!”
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