"Hah!"
"My lord, your footwork is too straightforward! You must move lightly and unpredictably, as though riding the wind or swaying leaves!"
In a forest clearing where the morning chill had not yet faded, I gripped a wooden sword and chased the airborne trail of Ushiwakamaru, sweat streaming down my face.
What I learned from her was wholly unlike the weighty Western swordsmanship taught by Merlin and Ector.
It was not the swordsmanship of knights, who struck with strength and guarded with shields, but a thoroughly Eastern style that relied on speed to cut into an enemy’s blind spots.
On top of that, the Tengu footwork she had inherited from her master, along with the Tengu tactics of riding the wind to torment one’s enemies, represented unpredictability taken to its absolute extreme.
"Hah!"
I drew Mana from my dragon heart and concentrated it in my legs.
The muscles hardened through enduring Atlas’s crushing pressure exploded with force, launching me onto a tree branch as though gravity had lost its hold on me.
Then, recalling the Tengu footwork Ushiwakamaru had shown me, I twisted through the air and swung my wooden sword down into her blind spot.
Crack!
"Splendid, my lord! You have only just begun learning, and you are already imitating Tengu footwork! Of course, you still have a very long way to go!"
Ushiwakamaru lightly deflected my wooden sword with Usumidori’s sheath and beamed.
"You learn so quickly! Your talent truly is remarkable!"
"Huff, huff... Thank you for the praise, but compared to your movements, I still have a long way to go."
"Hehe. There is no need to rush. Fighting is like a game, after all!"
A game.
It was a word she used constantly. Unless it was a war that decided one’s fate, struggles such as battles and hunts for magical beasts were, to her, pure enjoyment—a game.
"Excellent! Let us see how much you have improved through a little practical play! Please wait here a moment!"
Like an excited puppy, Ushiwakamaru sprang away into the depths of the forest.
A short while later—
"Squeeeal!!"
With the thunderous crash of trees snapping apart, a colossal boar the size of a house charged into the clearing, its red eyes flashing.
Behind it, Ushiwakamaru hopped along as she drove the boar forward.
"There, my lord! This is how I used to play with my master on Kurama Mountain! Warm yourself up against that one!"
"That is one impressive scale for a game. Seriously."
With a hollow laugh, I tossed my wooden sword aside.
Swinging a light wooden sword at a hulking brute like that would only break it.
The monstrous boar kicked off the ground and charged.
Just before its dreadful tusks could pierce my abdomen, I adapted the Tengu footwork and evaded its charge by less than a hair’s breadth.
I immediately twisted at the waist and drove my steel-hardened right fist squarely into the boar’s brow.
Boom!
"Ghk, squeal...!"
With the sickening sound of a skull collapsing, the house-sized boar rolled across the ground, its eyes turned back from a single blow. It died instantly.
"Ooh! What a magnificent strike, my lord!"
Ushiwakamaru clapped, her eyes sparkling.
"Your strength never fails to astonish me, my lord! I think we can play a little more! I shall bring more at once!"
"Hey, wait—!"
Ignoring my attempt to stop her, she vanished into the forest again. Before long, she returned driving a whole pack of wolf-like magical beasts and monsters before her.
In the end, I spent the entire morning smashing magical beasts apart with my bare hands, turning the clearing into a sea of blood.
"Huff... huff... Enough. The smell of blood will draw even more of them here."
"You are amazing, my lord. You are learning swordsmanship from me, but in pure physical strength, you have already surpassed even me, a Heroic Spirit."
Ushiwakamaru gazed in admiration at my bloodied fists.
It made sense. She was a sword-wielding Servant who fought through speed and technique.
Even among Heroic Spirits, she ranked on the weaker side in sheer strength. It was only natural that my brutal physical power, built through mad training while fully driving my dragon heart, surpassed hers.
Besides, this was not her true self, but a divided manifestation. Her true self was probably stronger.
Of course, true manifestations never appeared directly. Only Grand Servants could likely display strength on that level. Since I had never actually seen a true manifestation prove stronger than its divided form, it was hard to grasp in practical terms.
"This reminds me of the days when I trained with my master on Kurama Mountain. To think that I would find a lord who enjoys playing alongside me like this... Ushiwakamaru is truly happy!"
Ushiwakamaru bounced up and down, delighted from the bottom of her heart.
Every time she leapt, my attention was inevitably drawn to her daringly impractical outfit.
The breastplate pieces that were meant to cover the gaps in her armor shifted loosely whenever she moved with vigor.
It was a remarkable amount of exposure for clothing meant to be worn in battle.
I seemed to remember the outfit being somewhat more restrained in the anime. So that had been censorship after all.
The Ushiwakamaru summoned into reality wore something with scarcely more coverage than strips of cloth.
Though I was still in the body of a ten-year-old, my mind was that of an adult man. Her outfit was an outright hazard that left me unsure where to look.
Then again, this body had already entered puberty. I was already over 150 centimeters tall, and while I was not growing as unnaturally fast as a homunculus, I had always developed quickly.
Arthur’s body was originally frozen at age fifteen, standing 181 centimeters tall—one centimeter taller than Gawain.
Perhaps boys simply finished growing earlier. I had heard that girls’ growth plates closed later than boys’; something along those lines.
"Ushiwakamaru, do you not think your outfit is a little... cold? Or perhaps overly thin?"
At my observation, she tilted her head.
"Does it make you uncomfortable? Do you dislike this outfit, my lord?"
"No, I do not dislike it. But it is rather distracting, to be honest."
At my blunt answer, Ushiwakamaru’s pale cheeks flushed crimson. Covering them with both hands, she gave a bashful smile.
"M-my lord, you are quite teasing! Still, if you find it pleasing, then Ushiwakamaru is glad! If you wish it, I shall continue wearing it!"
She was embarrassed, yet perfectly willing to accept anything if it pleased me.
I appreciated that, but sometimes her blind devotion felt like a burden. She was the sort of person I could not carelessly ask for anything, because she might genuinely do it.
Later, I would ask Medea to create a few sets of ordinary clothes for her to wear day to day.
Her Spirit Origin outfit might be comfortable in battle, but if she kept walking around dressed like that in everyday life, I did not know how long my self-control would hold.
Besides, I did not particularly want the others seeing Ushiwakamaru looking so exposed.
Everyone would see her during a war eventually, but I would rather they did not during our ordinary days. Was that possessiveness? We were not even lovers yet.
Still, aside from Merlin, Ushiwakamaru was probably the most likely to become one of the first members of my harem.
Merlin almost seemed to be looking forward to it already, while Ushiwakamaru was the type to devote herself entirely to her lord.
But I had no intention of crossing that line now.
If I was going to do anything, it should be once this body had properly matured—at fifteen, or at least fourteen.
For now, I needed to restrain my desires as much as possible and focus on training this body to completion.
As I sank into those thoughts, Ushiwakamaru approached hesitantly.
"My lord."
"Yes?"
"I saw it before... Merlin gave you a reward. I-I would like to do something for you as well, my lord."
Her face red, she stood before me with earnest determination.
"This is a reward for playing with me today! If you wish it, my lord... I will do whatever I can for you."
"..."
"Will you not accept it? Ah, was it too sudden? Are you embarrassed, perhaps?"
Reason told me that I needed restraint, but rejecting her sincere offer outright would not have been kind either.
"Then I will accept, without hesitation."
I reached out and gave her a brief, gentle embrace—a simple gesture of gratitude rather than anything more.
"Ah... my lord...!"
Ushiwakamaru trembled slightly and let out a soft, startled sound.
Her reaction was so endearing that I rested a hand reassuringly on her shoulder before stepping back.
"My lord..."
That was my own way of easing the desires I had kept in check: small, harmless gestures of affection.
This body was still too young to indulge desire, but such closeness was a fine remedy for stress.
More than anything, seeing Ushiwakamaru sincerely happy simply because she believed she had helped her lord left me with a strange mixture of guilt and satisfaction.
"Thank you, Ushiwakamaru. That was a wonderful reward."
"Hehe... If you are happy, my lord, then I am happy too. Please call upon me whenever you wish!"
At my praise, Ushiwakamaru smiled brightly and swayed with delight, like a puppy wagging its tail.
Somehow, it already felt as though my harem was beginning to take shape.
Was that not a good thing?
I was working hard. It was only natural to have rewards enough to keep me motivated.
But... why did I suddenly feel someone watching me?
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