Inside the courtyard.
At that moment, a special sparring match was underway.
Fen, wearing his casual clothes, was swinging his sword as usual.
But what made it special was that he was currently exchanging blows with a floating Light Sword.
The source of the spell was Elena, standing quietly on the other side of the courtyard.
Two weeks had flown by.
Under Kelly’s tutelage, Elena could now use magic to properly perform sword techniques and spar with Fen.
The familiar downward slashes, the familiar swings, the familiar sequence of moves—they were no different from when Elian used to spar with them.
“If it’s just that… you might lose in a moment——”
Fen laughed and looked at the distant Silver-haired Girl, reminding her.
“Your sword’s power is much weaker than it used to be.”
“Is that so——”
Elena replied with a smile as well.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Respect your opponent—that’s the attitude a qualified knight should maintain, Fen.”
As she said this, another Light Sword materialized from the girl’s palm.
“Wh—What!”
Elena still had the energy to summon another Light Sword!
Not giving Fen time to react, the Light Sword immediately turned into a straight line and thrust directly at him.
He could only sidestep, letting the Light Sword miss.
“Hey——Elena, you were once a proper knight…”
Fen said while blocking the fierce assault with his sword.
“Summoning two swords against me—may I consider this behavior contrary to Chivalry?”
“I don’t understand——big brother.”
“When I sparred with you before… you used magic to cheat quite a lot.”
Back when Elian had no magic, Fen had countless cases of “winning unworthily” by relying on magic.
The dissatisfaction in Elena’s resentful gaze seemed about to pour out.
“The one standing here now… is your little sister Elena——”
“During a spar… letting your little sister win a bit isn’t a big deal, right?”
The girl tilted her head.
As she finished speaking, another Light Sword followed suit.
“Clang——”
It was the crisp sound of a shield blocking a blade.
A massive Light Shield materialized in front of Fen, firmly locking between him and the two swords.
He used the Light Shield technique commonly employed by Paladins… well… or according to the Church, it had a chuunibyou name—Holy Light Shelter.
The two swords and the shield rubbed tightly against each other, sparks faintly appearing at the contact points.
He hadn’t expected… Elena had a hidden sadistic streak…
At this rate… it wouldn’t work.
Since Elena was going all out… Fen wouldn’t hold back either.
Fen started moving, dodging around the field.
Although two swords were more troublesome, there was some good news.
Perhaps because she was distracted controlling two swords, Fen could feel that Elena’s sword techniques were not as sharp.
Maybe he could just…
As they say, capture the leader to capture the bandits.
After once again summoning a Holy Shield in place to block the strikes, Fen abandoned the large shield and charged straight at the girl.
But such an obvious intention—Elena couldn’t help but notice.
The two swords that were pressing against the Light Shield immediately lost strength, flew into the air, and then chased after Fen from behind.
However, Fen didn’t stop; he still sprinted forward.
He was going to race the Light Sword for speed.
“Huh?”
Elena didn’t dare use full power—because the Light Sword was very close to Fen, but Fen was also very close to her.
If she used full power and sent the sword flying, she might also be caught in the crossfire.
Was this distance… also within his calculations?
“Tch.”
The girl snorted coldly.
Facing the man who was getting closer, she had to dismiss her control.
The two swords turned into particles and then disappeared without a trace.
The distance was too close; there was no time to maneuver or restrain.
Then, Elena immediately activated a spell, and a sword condensed in her hand.
The girl could only personally step in and use the sword to defend against the attack.
Blades clashed, and for a moment, neither could gain the upper hand.
But after all, she had a girl’s physique; Elena gradually lost ground, and her sword-holding posture became more and more strained.
“Ugh!”
Fen performed an upward slash, a sudden change in rhythm, and knocked her sword away.
The girl lost her balance and fell flat on her bottom.
The man extended his hand to the somewhat disheveled girl, signaling the end of the spar.
“Ugh… I lost…”
“You’re very strong… I was really startled when you summoned another sword just now…”
Fen comforted the slightly sullen girl.
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that someone with strong magical talent… has such good endurance… your ranged suppression is powerful, and you keep launching waves of attacks… without any intention of stopping.”
“But from the moment you closed in, I had already lost——”
“That can’t be helped… you win some, you lose some——”
“Then don’t you know how to be a little ‘gentle’?”
Elena gritted her teeth and stood up, rubbing her backside.
“And you used so much strength…”
“Uh——”
“In the end, it’s still because my current body is too weak…”
The girl stared gloomily at her hands, which were smaller now.
“And these hands are too small… it still feels weird when I hold a sword.”
“Speaking of which——did you get leave from the Knight Order?”
The girl patted the dust off her clothes and regained her usual dignified posture.
“After all, we’re leaving in two days.”
“Already approved. I haven’t taken much leave this year.”
Fen casually threw his knight’s sword onto the grass and stretched.
“I told them I’m going back to my hometown. The Pope tacitly approved this kind of thing, so it was easy to handle.”
“Speaking of that… have you packed your luggage?”
“I don’t have much to bring…”
“By the way——what kind of place is Novalis, where we’re going?”
What Fen had heard most about Ironpivot City in the Holy Capital was that it was prosperous, a city of magic and machinery, freedom, and so on.
He had also heard that they used Magic Steam Engines instead of human labor for energy…
It sounded a bit like the Europe during the First Industrial Revolution?
“You’re going on a business trip… and you didn’t even do some research?”
Elena covered her forehead with a somewhat disgusted expression.
“And with this carefree attitude of yours… you don’t really think we’re going on vacation, do you? The Pope entrusted you with such an important matter… don’t forget we have a mission——”
“Ah——when did you become as naggy as an old woman in the street——?”
Fen reverted to his grinning, unserious demeanor.
“Little Elena… you’re cuter when you’re your usual cold self——”
He found that as long as he acted this way, even if Elena wanted to lecture him, she couldn’t do much and would instead become embarrassed.
After all, you don’t hit a smiling face.
“Hey, hey! Kelly calling me that is one thing… but why are you copying her?”
Elena immediately bristled.
Being called that by her own good friend suddenly gave her a feeling of taboo and immorality.
“You know very well that I’m older than you… calling me that… it’s like…”
“Because this way it suits Elena’s identity as a cute little sister more——”
Fen continued to shamelessly explain.
Seeing the girl’s flushed cheeks, he couldn’t help but feel a mischievous urge.
He wanted to see more of Elena’s shy expressions, this coy attitude.
To be honest… although Sir Knight Elian was a good person…
These pleasures were something that dense, cuckolded man couldn’t bring Fen…
This was probably a very popular term from his previous life’s internet…
Hmm… right! It’s called… Emotional Value!
…
The girl twitched the corner of her mouth.
This guy Fen… although he joked with her… he always put on a righteous front in front of others… and used to be so respectful and polite to her…
Why was his attitude so flippant now, hey!
Should she say this was his true nature, hey!
Elena suddenly felt that becoming a girl wasn’t all bad.
At least she could now get a glimpse into Fen’s inner world… and understand him a little better as a friend.
Elena recalled her past interactions with Fen.
When they became friends…
There was a hint of helplessness of an introvert being drawn into social relationships by an extrovert.
After they became friends…
Fen would also crack small jokes with her, but Elena could sense, could sense that there was a hint of forced effort in them.
Just like how many animals instinctively move toward light.
Fen had always carried a purpose of “I need to get along with you,” and there was a feeling of him forcing himself.
It was almost like… like he was on a mission…
Like forcing someone who isn’t good at telling jokes to go on stage and lighten the mood…
His attitude toward me before… sure enough, it still carried a bit of careful probing, wariness… and pretense…
Not that Elena minded, though…
But at least now… this man was starting to open up to her…
“In any case… don’t say that! Never mention that word in front of outsiders in the future!”
Although she had accepted her identity as a girl… being called Little Elena all the time made her unconsciously gravitate toward the image of a weak little sister, which was something the remaining male dignity in this body of hers could not allow.
Seeing that Fen did not answer, the girl’s face took on a pleading expression, with a hint of softness that was hard to detect, completely different from her sharpness in battle and her dignified posture just now.
Well… it seemed Elena didn’t have much male dignity left either…
“No problem——Little Elena~”
“Hey! I just said don’t call me that——”
……