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Al's Lazur Royal Swordsmanship
「……that actually looks like a proper form, doesn’t it?」
「Yeah?」
Seeing my stance, Eleonora-neesan shows signs of raising her vigilance.
I wonder why she becomes so wary? I’ve only been taught this swordsmanship once, though.
The Jambiya knife is small, but since it is pushed out straight ahead at the opponent, the blade will always be in the opponent’s line of sight, and this can also put significant pressure on them.
I can quickly switch between a thrust and a cut, allowing me to be a step ahead of the opponent, but since I don’t use my left hand, my ability to defend and close-quarters grapple is weak. It is a stance that aims at a short-term offensive instead of a drawn-out battle, a targeted approach.
「That’s bold. But, I have a better advantage in terms of reach, you know?」
「I know」
It seems Eleonora-neesan understands that just from seeing my stance.
She says that with a provocative smile on her face.
Still, that’s not a problem. I never had a chance to win against Eleonora-neesan in a drawn-out fight anyway.
So I should just continue attacking without caring about defense.
I launch myself forward.
I close the distance while slightly swaying the Jambiya knife pushed out right in front of me.
Eleonora-neesan still stands there holding her wooden sword without moving an inch, giving the air of preparing to meet my attack head-on.
But, I won’t falter. I pause for a moment and then show a light upward slash.
She reacts immediately and blocks with her sword.
In response, I quickly change the blade’s direction and aim at her torso at a low arc.
「……!」
Eleonora-neesan is lagging behind.
No, it's not late. Her reaction is late because of my intentional disruption of her rhythm.
The Jambiya knife - created with Earth Magic - collides with the wooden sword.
I immediately redirect the Jambiya knife and slide in along Eleonora-neesan’s flank. It’s a walking technique that minimizes the shift in the center of gravity, allowing for comfortable walking across Lazur’s desert. That causes Eleonora-neesan to misjudge the distance.
「Wha…..!」
But even if Eleonora-neesan is surprised, she quickly reacts and swings her wooden sword.
However, that swing is not as sharp as usual.
It seems that the irregular rhythm I’m setting is disturbing her reaction.
I dodge her wooden sword by twisting my body and quickly launch a stab with the Jambiya knife.
Eleonora-neesan immediately pulls back her wooden sword to block.
Normal people will be caught off guard and unable to react against such an attack, but as expected of Eleonora-neesan. A real monster.
「What? What’s with that walking style?」
「Who knows」
I continue to press on the attacks while keeping up the momentum.
Just when she thinks she’s a step too late, I suddenly accelerate and move from feint to the main attack.
「……this is tricky」
Leading Eleonora-neesan around with the varying tempo and speed of my knife, impatience starts to show on her expression.
Eleonora-neesan is usually at the upper hand during sword practice, so it’s fun to toy around with her.
……oops, not good. It’s because I’m considering something devious that Salva and the others keep trying to persuade me to learn the Lazur Royal Swordsmanship.
Let’s empty my mind right now and continue to do things that Eleonora-neesan hates.
I abruptly lure her into an overhead position, and make it look like a light attack, and launch a heavy blow.
Each time my Jambiya knife traces an arc, Eleonora-neesan’s swordsmanship certainly starts to get disturbed.
If I continue to throw her off balance with the tempo like this, wouldn’t I be able to land a hit on Eleonora-neesan?
The moment I decide to press the attack instead of falling onto the defensive, my eyes meet Eleonora-neesan.
「Aaah, mou! This is annoying! Stop using small tricks!」
The hesitation vanishes from Eleonora-neesan’s eyes.
The next moment, her wooden sword flashes toward me.
It’s a strike of pure strength and speed, devoid of any tactics or calculation.
「……dangerous!」
I hastily block it with my Jambiya knife.
While my arm is numb from the impact, I hurriedly regain my posture and launch another succession of attacks.
I shake the tip of my blade, and I thrust at her with an upward arc.
But――.
「There!」
「What!?」
Eleonora-neesan’s wooden sword flashes.
She accurately repels the knife that I swing with an irregular trajectory.
Clenching my teeth, I press on with another, and then another attack, attacking relentlessly without a care.
It’s an irregular rhythm, trajectories that ignore standard technique. But all of them end up being knocked aside.
What’s this? Eleonora-neesan suddenly changes?
Her inhuman reaction speed that is intercepting every single one of my attacks without exception.
「I won’t be misled anymore」
The next moment, Eleonora-neesan’s sword hit the Jambiya knife from below hard.
The powerful blow knocks the knife out of my hand as it spins through the air and buries itself in the ground.
Then, the tip of her sword is pressed against my throat.
「……I lost」
「Hm hm, it’s my win」
Eleonora-neesan smiles in satisfaction when I raise my hand and admit my defeat honestly.
Well, now matter how new the swordsmanship I learn, I have no talent in swordsmanship, so there’s no way for me to defeat Eleonora-neesan. It’s even more true since it’s just superficial knowledge.
「Hey, I thought you were struggling at the start but how did you suddenly get the knack for it?」
Eleonora-neesan is definitely being led around by the unique rhythm, tempo, and attacks that ignore the standard technique from the Lazur Royal swordsmanship. But midway, those attacks became ineffective, and I got overwhelmed by her usual sword technique. I can’t understand why.
「I just ignore all of Al’s tricks you threw at me」
「……ignoring?」
「My sword speed is faster no matter how Al changes the tempo or throws in the feints. So I just need to see the opponent’s attack trajectory without caring about any pointless mind games, you know?」
「……what the heck is that?」
That’s too overbearing and I don’t understand it.
「Eeh? You still don’t understand even after I say this much?」
「No, that’s not it. I’m just saying that doing that it’s absurd」
I kind of understand the theory from what Eleonora-neesan is saying, but the ordinary person will find it difficult to do such a feat.
When in battle, people will observe things such as the opponent’s line of sight, the direction of the body, and the weapon’s movements. So, to ignore all of that and swing your sword faster than the opponent is just brute-forcing your way a bit too far.
But, even Salva said that he dislikes the fact that the Lazur Royal swordsmanship is a swordmanship that forces your way while ignoring feints and tactics. For better or worse, using it against an opponent like Eleonora-neesan who doesn’t think deeply about her moves might not be a good idea.
「Rather than that, that was Lazur-style swordsmanship, right? Where did you learn something like that?」
「I’m also curious about that. Al was just practicing magic at the Misfid House’s mansion so you should not practice any swordsmanship at all, right?」
I guess Nord-tousan has been watching our mock battle as he joins in the conversation.
I teleported to the Lazur Kingdom and was taught by the second prince in person. No way I can say that.
But, I have prepared a reason for that.
「It was when I was buying spices. I learned it from the adventurer who served as the escort for Lazur’s merchant caravan」
「Lazur’s adventurers! They grew up in such a harsh environment so they are very skilled. I get it now」
「Eeh? But, Al - who hates swordsmanship - goes out of his way to ask to be taught swordsmanship from that country?」
The reason I made up taking reality into consideration is enough for the good-natured Nord-tousan.
However, Eleonora-neesan - who knows me so well - looks at me with doubts.
……Eleonora-neesan is going to actively learn a foreign country’s magic in the royal capital. When I try to put it that way, it feels really strange.
「No, I was forced to learn it somehow. I was told that I have the aptitude to learn the Lazur Royal swordsmanship or something……」
The suspicion finally fades from Eleonora-neesan’s eyes when I explain that I didn’t actively go out of my way to learn it myself.
「How long did you learn it? Judging by your level of skill earlier, you must have spent quite a long time learning it, right?」
「Nope, around half a day」
No matter how much you try to force me, I’m not such a pushover that I will spend days to start practicing swordsmanship from someone else.
Setting aside magic practice, I’m confident I will run away after having sword practice for two days in a row.
「You got that skilled just from half a day!? Tha, that’s definitely a talent, isn’t it!」
「Un, that’s a talent」
O, ooh. I got praised by Nord-tousan and Eleonora-neesan for my talent in swordsmanship for the first time.
But, I’m not happy at all since it is said that the more they have a bad personality, the better they are suited to the Lazur Royal Swordsmanship. If anything, I feel like I’m being provoked.
「Still, this is a problem. I am not that familiar with Lazur Royal swordsmanship. I can not teach Al」
「It’s fine. I’m not planning on mastering Lazur Royal swordsmanship.....」
「How about Luna’s okaasan? I’ve heard she used to practice the Lazur Royal swordsmanship back in Lazur」
「Ah, Natasha-san! Certainly, Egar-san said that she’s pretty skilled with it! I shall write a letter asking if she would be willing to provide guidance to Al!」
「……are the two of you listening to me?」
Nord-tousan and Eleonora-neesan leave the person concerned in this matter - me - alone and get excited themselves.
The excited Nord-tousan and Eleonora-neesan are planning on a new training menu but I reject them all.
To me, sword practice is just an exercise I will only do a week, no, once every two weeks.
Even if I have some talent in swordsmanship, I have no plan on becoming completely absorbed in it. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Author Note:
『Monster-Eating Adventurers 魔物喰らいの冒険者』 light anime is currently airing!
https://animationid.com/en/mamonogurai/
Thanks for the chapter!
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