TYWS Chapter 36
AN: Oh man, I'm so tired lol, I'm glad my busy two weeks are finally over~
Now we can go back to the regularly scheduled twice a week posting!
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As was only appropriate, the pair changed out of their dresses and into apparel much more suitable for training in. Eris, being a head taller than Siffia due to her longer legs, was unable to lend any of her pants to her. Instead it was decided that they would borrow clothes from Eris’s youngest brother, who was still around Siffia’s height.
Siffia found herself greatly embarrassed, however, when she wasn’t able to come even close to fitting into the shirt she was given, let alone buttoning it.
Giving up on even trying any longer, she’d informed the maids that were assigned to assist her, who quickly went to fetch one of Eris’s training shirts, this time thankfully without buttons. But when Siffia came out of the changing room with an uncomfortable frown on her face and a shirt that looked like it might just burst any second from the strain of what it was holding back, Eris could only stare wide eyed in astonishment for a moment until words finally once more came back to her.
“...I knew that we had a… difference in size, but…”
Her eyes drifted down to her own ample chest, only slightly flattened down by the suitable tightness of a similar shirt, before drifting back to the close to bursting dam in front of her with a very dubious expression.
“...Is your mana perhaps being stored in there or-”
“Lady Eris!”
“-Ah… Hmm. Excuse me.”
In the end, a slightly loose-fitting shirt was happily donated by Eris’s father, and once creatively tucked into the borrowed pants and held in place with a belt, the pair was finally able to make their way towards the training ground together.
~~~
As it was only the two of them going off to train, Siffia was brought to Eris’s private training ground, blocked off by walls from the others. It was a decently sized place, much larger than what Siffia would have expected from something ‘private’, with six target dummies arranged in choice locations, one of which even peeked out of a raised window as if it might shoot you with a crossbow at any moment.
“The targets have had a certain amount of resistance magic added to them so as not to immediately break and ruin the training, and also have the function of briefly glowing when they’ve taken deadly damage. That being the case-”
Eris motioned behind them, where a cushy looking couch meant for resting had been set up next to a pitcher of water.
“-It would be for the best if we went one at a time while the other watched. Though the mages in our employ are befittingly excellent at their jobs, I cannot promise that our combined attacks will not overwhelm the protection magic placed upon these targets. And as it has been a bit of time since the last instance of us fighting together, it would also be wise to separate us just for the sake of safety.”
“Ah… Yes, you’re right.”
Siffia couldn’t help but immediately nod her head and fall back towards the couch, memories of the war swirling in her mind. The battlefield had most often been heavily wooded, making it easier for stray magic to be shielded from hitting her allies, unlike in this place. Though she wanted to have the confidence to believe that she wouldn’t accidentally hurt Eris, the fact that it had been months since she’d used certain magical disciplines made her apprehensive over how much control she could exert.
-And there was also the added bonus of being allowed to sit comfortably and admire the stunning Eris in front of her as much as she wished like this.
Eris, seemingly missing the shining glint in Siffia’s eyes as she made her way to the couch, simply nodded with her usual stern expression.
“Then it would appear that I’m going first. Was there anything in particular that you had hoped to witness me training in?”
Siffia blinked, unsure of what to say. Though it was true that she’d snuck multiple peeks at Eris on the battlefield while her magic was unneeded, Siffia had almost little to no knowledge of the technical side of sword fighting, let alone what the names of anything associated with it might be. Afraid to embarrass herself on the topic of Eris’s beloved hobby, she could only shake her head and give up.
“...No. Lady Eris can simply train as she usually would; I didn’t have anything special in mind.”
Eris’s face scrunched up for a moment as if she hadn’t expected such a reply, but soon she relaxed a bit, wryly pursing the corner of her mouth.
“I see… Well then, give me a moment to prepare myself, and then perhaps I can give you a bit of a show.”
Without further ado, Eris began her simple stretching movements. It was something that Siffia had witnessed knights doing many a time, even having caught Eris doing so once or twice before heading into a few of their tougher battles. But now that there was no danger, now that there was nothing to worry about or prepare for, and now that Siffia’s feelings had begun to blossom and bloom-
It was impossible for her gaze not to be sticky with lust as she scanned Eris over.
There had been many times in Siffia’s life that she’d been thankful for having an interest in the art of magic instead of anything more physically based. Pain and overwork was also a part of the path to training one’s magic, and even bruising one’s magic core was possible from sudden overuse, so in a way, the difference between the two was not so pronounced.
But the fact that people who fought physically had to do something as embarrassing as stretching made it an absolute impossibility for Siffia!
Many stretches she’d witnessed forced the person doing them into all kinds of perverse positions that one might never see outside of a bedroom. It was more than lewd, Siffia had always found it downright disgusting to see whenever she accidentally caught sight of someone doing them. Though she knew stretching was necessary, lest someone pull something with all the sudden movement, she couldn’t help but wonder why anyone would be willing to show themselves doing such grossly embarrassing things in front of so many others.
And yet, when she watched Eris doing such previously vile seeming movements, she couldn’t help but feel as if she were witnessing some kind of dance. Such grace and poise was in every practiced movement that not a one of them could ever feel vulgar. The way that Eris's body curved and twisted, it was as if she were viewing a moving piece of art.
It moved her into awe just as equally as it sped up the beating of her heart.
At first, when she’d seen Eris’s rather normal training clothes, Siffia had actually been a bit disappointed. Her mind’s eye still remembered the dashing armor that Eris had adorned herself with during the war. The hope of perhaps witnessing her valiantly wearing that armor again was great, but now, with the beauteous scene she was so graciously being blessed with…
Siffia could only be thankful that such light and clinging clothing had been worn.
As was only natural, eventually Eris’s stretches came to an end, and the beginning to sweat and slightly dazed Siffia was forced to come back to herself. She watched with an appreciative eye as Eris grabbed a nearby greatsword and entered into her usual powerful yet graceful starting stance, following swing after swing of the blade as Eris slowly practiced different controlled slashes against the dummy in front of her. Even doing such basic movements, Eris looked gallant and strong, more so than anyone else. Siffia was sure that the repeated actions that Eris was performing, though slow, should have still been quite tough just owing to the largeness of the sword she was handling. Perhaps they would even be more difficult than usual, simply because of how much precision and control Eris was showing with every slow movement. And yet, not a single bit of exertion was shown. It was amazing, speaking of a boundless energy that Siffia couldn’t even hope to possess a fraction of.
Why, if she were the one trying to do such things, it wouldn’t take even a minute for her to be reduced to a sniveling pile of useless goo.
…Speaking of such things, hadn’t she heard of something like this before? Some bit of anecdotal gossip that she’d heard from eavesdropping on the ladies time and time again? How did it go… Something about how having a vigorous lover was the best? That one could be quite happy if their partner had energy throughout the night?
Siffia’s head slightly tilted as she pondered on the words. It wasn’t even a moment later that her eyelids drooped darkly in revelation.
If what those ladies had said was true, then surely no one would make for a better partner than Eris ever could-
“Hmm… Yes, this should be enough. Are you still paying attention, Lady Siffia?”
“Eep!”
When Eris suddenly spoke up and turned around, Siffia couldn’t help but jump and squeak, afraid that the lustful thoughts that had been running around in her mind would immediately be caught.
“Ah, er, y-yes! I’m, I’m paying attention, I promise!!!”
Though Eris looked at her doubtfully for a moment, she eventually just nodded, turning around once again to focus on the dummies in front of her.
“...Alright then. If that’s the case, then here I go. Watch me closely.”
Eris lowered herself into a slight lunge, horizontally raising her greatsword away from her just under shoulder height. With a deep breath she stilled herself, and in the next moment she dashed forward, almost disappearing from Siffia’s view. Like a blur, she sped towards her targets, leaving behind twirl after twirl of attack as she hit them one after another, until finally she lept high into the air, delivering a slash so strong to the dummy in the high window that it fell from its perch, crashing down just behind where Eris gracefully landed.
In less than a few seconds, Eris had executed each and every one of the target dummies spread around the room.