Peace Hunter

"Hey, would you like to spar with me?" asked Miss Violetta.

"Spar with you?" I asked.

"Yes. You're waiting for your friends for morning practice, right? Instead of exercising alone, why don't you spar with me? After all, sparring counts as exercise," said Miss Violetta.

"You're right," I said.

"I'm asking you to spar because I haven't sparred since I arrived in this kingdom. Even though I always train alone, I feel like something's missing from my training if I don't spar with someone," said Miss Violetta.

"You're right, sparring with others helps us learn how strong we are. Sometimes we lose in those sparring matches, but those losses help us identify our weaknesses and can make us stronger," I said.

"That's right," said Miss Violetta.

"Hmm, you said you just arrived in this kingdom. Are you from another kingdom?" I asked.

"I'm from this kingdom, but I went to another kingdom for work before," said Miss Violetta.

"I see. I thought you were from another kingdom," I said.

"If I were from another kingdom, there's no way I would have been appointed commander of the knights guarding this academy. Because almost all the ordinary knights and those above are from this kingdom," said Miss Violetta.

"You're right," I said.

"So, how about it? Would you like to accompany me in a sparring match?" asked Miss Violetta.

"It's not that I don't want to, Miss, but I'm just a student at the academy. I'm afraid I can't compete with you in this sparring match. Why don't you spar with the knights guarding this academy?" I asked.

"I've already invited some knights to spar, but they seemed reluctant. That's why I decided to find another sparring partner, and I happened to run into you. You said you were afraid you wouldn't be able to match me in this sparring match? You seem quite humble, huh, even though you were dubbed a 'hero' because of the incident that attacked this academy some time ago," Miss Violetta said.

"Ah, that's right. Miss Violetta found out about me from the newspaper. It seems I can't avoid her and have to do this sparring match. But well, this sparring match seems good for me, considering Miss Violetta is the commander of the knights guarding this academy. She's undoubtedly very strong," I thought.

"Okay, then I'll accept your offer of sparring. But before we do, I have something to worry about," I said.

"Worried about what?" Miss Violetta asked.

I looked at the sword Miss Violetta was holding.

"The sword you're using is a real sword, isn't it, Miss?" I asked.

"Yes, it's a real sword. I see, you're worried about this sword because even though this is a sparring match, it's still dangerous for you. Also, as an academy student, you only use special weapons made by the academy, not real weapons. Because the quality of the weapons we use is different, this sparring match could be unfair," Miss Violetta said.

"You're right, Miss, that's what I'm worried about," I said.

Miss Violetta suddenly raised her sword high with her right hand.

~Unenhanced Weapon: Blunt~

Then Miss Violetta suddenly tried to stab herself with it, but it couldn't penetrate her body.

"I've blunted my sword, as you saw just now. Even if this sword does hurt, it won't be deep, so don't worry," Miss Violetta said.

"I didn't expect Miss Violetta to be able to use the weapon drop technique. If she can use the drop technique, then she can definitely use the elevation technique too. Well, it's not a secret technique, maybe she learned it somewhere," I thought.

"Okay, Miss, if that's the case then I won't worry anymore, but I have a question before we start this sparring," I said.

"What question is that?" Miss Violetta asked.

"It might be a little late for me to ask this, but where are we going to have the sparring?" I asked.

"Here, of course," Miss Violetta said.

"In this garden?" I asked, a little surprised.

"Yes," Miss Violetta said.

"But in this garden there are many flowers cared for by several students and academy staff. If we spar in this garden, the flowers will be destroyed by our attacks," I said.

"Regarding that, to minimize the impact of the sparring training we will be conducting, we will only use weapons and physical attacks in this sparring training. So, magical attacks are not allowed, what do you think?" Miss Violetta asked.

"I don't mind if we only use weapons and physical attacks in this sparring match, but won't there still be damage even if we only use weapons and physical attacks?" I asked.

"If there is any damage to these flowers, I will take care of it. You don't need to worry," said Miss Violetta.

"Ok, Miss," I said.

"Then, let's begin the sparring," said Miss Violetta.

Miss Violetta and I prepared ourselves, each holding our swords. Luckily, the part of the park I was in was quite spacious, so we didn't need to move to another part of the park. Miss Violetta and I faced each other.

"Are you ready?" asked Miss Violetta.

"Ready," I said.

"Then...begin!" said Miss Violetta.

Miss Violetta immediately darted at me and slashed her sword at me, but I blocked it with my own.

"When I read about you in the newspapers, I thought the title 'hero' was an exaggeration. But now I'm convinced it's not. Seeing you block my sword is enough to prove you're truly strong," said Miss Violetta.

Although I managed to block Miss Violetta's sword attack, I realized her physical strength was immense. Slowly, I began to be pushed back, even though I managed to block her sword attack. Then, Miss Violetta knocked me back several meters. When I stopped being knocked back by the attack, Miss Violetta quickly darted back toward me and tried to slash me again with her sword. But I managed to block her sword attack again with my own. I increased my strength to match Miss Violetta's so I wouldn't be pushed back in this contest of strength.

"Previously, he was pushed back in this contest of strength, but now he's not pushed back anymore. Has he adapted to my strength yet?" Miss Violetta thought.

While we were still clashing with our swords, Miss Violetta suddenly tried to kick me in the head. Her kick was so high it could have reached my head. But I managed to dodge the kick. After that, I tried to increase my strength even more to push Miss Violetta back. Miss Violetta did the same. We tried to push each other until finally, we were both pushed back by the clash of our increasing strength.

"You're very strong," Miss Violetta said.

"I haven't even attacked you yet, so I guess I'm not as strong as you think, Miss," I said.

"You're too modest. If you can dodge or block this attack, then my previous statement was not wrong," said Miss Violetta.

Miss Violetta was preparing herself by taking an attack stance.

~Flower Sword Art : Sword Dance In The Flower Garden~

Miss Violetta then quickly darted towards me and immediately tried to slash my head with her sword. But I managed to dodge the slash by moving back. But the slashing attacks didn't stop there, as Miss Violetta continued to try to slash me elsewhere. Besides my head, she also targeted my torso, legs, and arms. But I managed to dodge and block all of the attacks with my sword. However, even though I managed to dodge some of the attacks, I was still injured because some of the attacks I avoided still scratched my skin, though not very deeply. Miss Violetta's current slashes were so fast that it was difficult for me to perfectly dodge them all.

Not only were they fast, but Miss Violetta's current attacks were also quite unique. Each time she slashed her sword in a certain direction, The garden flowers around us also moved in the direction the slash was aimed. For example, if Miss Violetta slashed to her right, the flowers would also move to the right. This could be a result of her technique.

Miss Violetta's attacks continued, and I remained focused on dodging and blocking them. The cuts on my body increased as I dodged more and more slashes. I might have been unharmed if I had blocked them all, but some attacks were so fast that I didn't have time to block them and chose to dodge them. Even though I managed to dodge them, I still suffered cuts from the attacks due to their speed. This attack clearly demonstrated the difference in strength between us. Well, it's clear that Miss Violetta is very strong, considering she was appointed as the commander of the knights guarding this academy.

After launching numerous slashing attacks at me, Miss Violetta suddenly launched a thrusting attack at me.

~Flower Sword Art : Chaenomeles Thorn Thrust~

The thrusting attack was aimed at me quickly, but I immediately used my sword to block it. I used the side of my sword to block the thrusting attack. I was successful in blocking the attack. Then, we competed in that situation, pushing each other back.

However, Miss Violetta's thrusting attack grew stronger. Miss Violetta's sword slowly shifted upward from the side of my sword as we clashed. It continued to slide upward until it finally passed through my sword. The thrusting attack penetrated my defense and struck my cheek, drawing blood. I was fortunate that Miss Violetta had upgraded her sword to match mine; otherwise, this thrust would have not only pierced my cheek but also my head.

Even though I was hit by the stab, this was also my opportunity. I swung my sword and slashed at Miss Violetta, directly at her hands, which were still holding the sword that had pierced my cheek. I struck both of Miss Violetta's hands so hard that her sword flew from her grasp. I saw Miss Violetta's hands bleed from the impact. Although it was a powerful blow, because my sword wasn't as sharp as a real sword, the resulting wound wasn't fatal.

After successfully striking Miss Violetta, I waited for her to move to retrieve her thrown sword and continue the sparring, but Miss Violetta didn't move at all. She simply stared silently at her injured hands. I, too, observed her hands closely. I noticed that Miss Violetta's hands were shaking quite violently. I called out to Miss Violetta, but there was no response. She remained silent, staring at her hands. I began to approach Miss Violetta and was slightly surprised to see her blank stare.

"What exactly happened?" I thought.

-To be continued