An Unfamiliar Person, And The Training Grounds

When I entered the corridor, I felt the warmth created by Shia’s magic.

As I turned a corner on my way to the training grounds Shia and the others had shown me before, I saw a woman walking toward me a short distance down the corridor.

“…………”

“…………”

Her sudden appearance surprised me, but when she bowed her head, I returned the gesture.

When I raised my head and got a proper look at her, something caught my attention.

The woman had neatly cut short black hair and refined features, and she continued walking toward me as though we were simply going to pass each other.

Her clothes were different from the uniforms worn by the maids in this manor, so I wondered if she might be a guest and glanced at her profile.

One gray eye passed just below my line of sight.

(!?)

A sensation like every hair on my body standing on end washed over me, and I froze in place.

By the time I turned around, the woman was already rounding the corner I had just come from, and a moment later she disappeared from sight.

(…Who was that?)

I hadn’t felt anything unusual until we passed one another, but the instant we did, I sensed something I couldn’t put into words.

It was similar to the feeling I got from Zeroad-niiue when he cloaked himself in Haki—the unmistakable sense that she was no ordinary person.

“…………”

I briefly recalled the woman’s appearance.

She had seemed slightly older than Shia.

Perhaps around Yuti-san’s age.

And those gray eyes… Was she also a member of House Ark Gate?

Even so, the aura I felt from her was unlike anything I had ever sensed from Yuti-san or Shia.

I was a little curious, but I turned back around and continued toward my original destination, the training grounds.

When I placed a hand on one of the double doors and opened it, I was greeted by the same sight I had seen when the place was introduced to me before.

A woman who had been sitting nearby stood up and cried out in surprise.

“…D-Danna-sama!?”

“Ah, h-hello… I’d like to do some sword training. Would that be possible?”

Everything within sight consisted of unfamiliar devices and equipment that looked like it was meant for magic training.

There wasn’t even a wooden sword in sight, so I asked, and the woman nodded several times.

“Yes. They’re stored away, so I’ll bring them out for you. Is there anything else you would like besides a wooden sword?”

“Hmm, I think just a wooden sword will be fine for now.”

Since I didn’t know what other facilities were available, I decided to borrow only a wooden sword for the time being.

At the very least, that would be enough to occupy my time.

After hearing my answer, the woman bowed and hurried toward the back of the room.

Apparently there was another room beside this one where the equipment was stored.

After waiting a little while, the woman reappeared, dragging along a barrel filled with wooden swords.

“Ah, a-are you all right!?”

I hurried over, and the woman let out a breath as she wiped her forehead.

I had thought House Ark Gate might not even own wooden swords because they were famous for magic, so I certainly hadn’t expected this many to appear.

The barrel looked quite heavy too, so it would probably be easier for her if I chose one here before she put it away again.

“I’ll borrow one… Let’s see…”

My outstretched hand stopped as I tried to choose.

Even from what I could see, every wooden sword showed signs of considerable use.

I casually picked one up and pulled it from the barrel, only to find the blade portion badly battered.

“Um… which one should I choose…?”

I returned it, took out another, and repeated the process several times.

Every wooden sword had been heavily used to varying degrees.

Some were so worn out that I wondered if they shouldn’t simply be replaced.

“All right, I’ll take this one.”

I picked out one of the relatively less-worn wooden swords.

The blade section was slightly damaged, but it shouldn’t be a problem.

“Please feel free to use any part of this room. If you need anything, just let me know and I’ll take care of it.”

“Thank you, that really helps… Ah, I’ll help you put this back.”

The woman bowed and prepared to return the barrel.

I couldn’t leave something like that entirely to her, so I leaned the wooden sword against the wall.

“Huh? B-But…”

“It’s fine. Strength is one thing I do have.”

Even though it was filled with wooden swords, the barrel wasn’t all that heavy.

I lifted it with both hands and headed toward the adjoining room the woman had come from.

Beyond the wall was something like a storeroom, lined not only with magical equipment but also with supplies that looked usable for sword training.

“Do people here use swords as well as magic?”

“Not much anymore. The sword-related equipment here was used in the past. There was a time when it was common to fight using both swords and magic.”

“I see.”

Maybe it was possible to fight by coating a sword in magic or something like that.

I’d ask Shia about it sometime.

After returning the barrel of wooden swords, the woman and I went back into the training grounds and entered the wide open space.

It was spacious enough that I could swing a sword freely without worrying about hitting anything.

“Whew… time to get started.”

I tightened my grip on the sword and began by reviewing my forms.

I reviewed my sword forms, then the forms I had learned from books.

After that, I fought an imaginary opponent by picturing Zeroad-niiue, followed by a mock battle against the strongest person I had ever met.

Once I finished all of that, I lowered the wooden sword.

Perhaps because I had kept swinging it in the slightly warm training grounds, I was drenched in sweat.

“…That was splendid, Danna-sama.”

I turned at the voice behind me and saw the woman from earlier watching me while applauding.

The sudden praise caught me off guard, but since she was clapping for me, I gave her a small bow.

“Ah, thank you.”

“It has truly been a long time since I saw someone accomplish that much with nothing but a wooden sword. Thank you for showing me something so impressive.”

“Y-You’re making me embarrassed…”

I had only trained the way I normally did, so I hadn’t expected her to praise me this much, and I scratched my head awkwardly.

“Are you finished for today?”

“Yes, that was the plan.”

“Understood. In that case, would you like to wash up?”

“Huh? Is that all right?”

I had just been thinking how unpleasant my sweat-soaked clothes felt, so that would be a big help.

Ah, but…

“I didn’t bring a change of clothes.”

If I had known I would be swinging a sword at House Ark Gate, I would have brought one.

Or rather, I probably should have held back a little and trained lightly enough that I wouldn’t sweat this much.

“That won’t be a problem. This is House Ark Gate, after all. Magic that can clean soiled clothes is easy enough for us.”

The woman smiled as she said that.

So they even had magic like that. Magic really was convenient.

“Then, right this way.”

The door she pointed toward was different from the entrance.

It was on the opposite side from the room where the barrel of wooden swords had been kept.

I headed toward it with her, but when she reached the door, she suddenly stopped and murmured, “Ah.”

“I’m sorry, but could you wait just a moment? It hasn’t been activated in quite some time, so I’m a little worried whether it still works properly.”

“Huh? Oh, sure.”

“My apologies…”

The woman opened the door and went inside.

Judging from what she had said earlier, people didn’t use swords much these days, so perhaps there simply weren’t many people who worked up enough of a sweat to need this place.

Magic wasn’t exactly strenuous exercise, after all.

Still, I turned around and looked toward the preparation room where the barrel of wooden swords had been stored.

Everything in there, including the wooden swords, had been heavily used.

Enough that it wasn’t all that different from House Fols, my family home.

The nearby library also contained mostly books on magic, but there had been quite a few books on swordsmanship as well.

Maybe in the past they really had trained in both swords and magic.

As I thought about that, the door in front of me opened.

“Thank you for waiting. It hasn’t been used in quite a while, but everything seems to be working properly. Please come in.”

At the woman’s invitation, I entered the room.

She led me through a changing area and into the place where the equipment was installed.

She slid open a door and showed me inside.

It was surprisingly spacious and didn’t feel cramped at all.

After teaching me how to use it, the woman left the changing room.

Before she went, she told me that it would take a little while for my clothes to dry, so I should wait in the changing area afterward.

When she handed me a highly absorbent robe to use in the meantime, I couldn’t help giving a wry smile. They were taking care of absolutely everything.

I washed away the sweat with hot water and felt completely refreshed.

House Ark Gate’s magic really was incredible. After I finished washing and waited in the special robe so I wouldn’t get chilled, the woman from before brought my clothes back to me.

The clothes that had been soaked with sweat now looked freshly laundered, and I was able to put them on immediately.

With both myself and my clothes clean again, I left the changing room.

When I opened the door, the woman from earlier was waiting just outside.

Beside her stood a maid who hadn’t been there before.

“U-Um… Danna-sama!”

“Y-Yes…?”

I had never seen her before today.

She had probably arrived while I was washing up, but had something happened?

“I’m sorry. Lisa told me you were here… Would you please lend us your help regarding Yustitia-ojou-sama?”

“…Yuti-san?”

“Yes… The truth is, Ojou-sama has been shut away in her room continuously, and we are at a loss. Her room does contain everything she needs to live, and she is eating her meals, but…”

Apparently the situation had become even more serious than when I visited last time.

The maid’s downcast eyes made it clear that she was genuinely worried.

“I see… I don’t know if I’ll be able to help, but I’ll try.”

“Yes! Please!”

The maid’s face blossomed into a bright smile.

I followed her as she offered to guide me toward the entrance of the training grounds.

“Thank you for letting me use the facilities.”

“Not at all. You are always welcome here, Danna-sama. I am the caretaker of these training grounds, and I am usually here, so please come whenever you like.”

“I see. Thank you.”

Just as I had thought, she was indeed the caretaker of the training grounds.

After bowing to her, I headed toward Yuti-san’s room together with the maid.