Hulim replied, “No problem, I trust Semilis’s arrangements.”
“Haha~! Then it’s decided! You’d better prepare yourself mentally, there’ll be all kinds of battles coming up~!”
Whoosh——!
The two figures streaked across the sky at incredible speed, without attracting the attention of any creatures below. Only the creatures flying in the sky occasionally sensed something flashing past, but when they turned their heads to look, there was nothing there.
Early morning,
In the courtyard of the Hayeral family.
Hulim gripped a practice wooden sword tightly in both hands, eyes closed, standing motionless in place.
Not far away, Rezelian stood with arms crossed, watching Hulim with a solemn face.
In that moment, time in the courtyard seemed to freeze.
At a certain moment,
Hulim suddenly opened her eyes wide, and in that instant, her hands moved as well. In the slow flow of time, the wooden sword traced out a strange trajectory around Hulim, gradually seeming to fill the surrounding space.
On the other side, Rezelian watched his daughter’s movements, his heart suspended with anxiety.
Bang!
Just as the space around was about to be filled with sword shadows, the trajectory slipped slightly off, and her following movements rapidly unraveled, until finally Hulim fell to the ground.
The heart that had been held up crashed down; a trace of regret flashed in Rezelian’s eyes.
So close.
“Ugh, I failed again… …”
Hulim stared blankly at the wooden sword in her hand.
“Don’t lose heart, Hulim.”
Rezelian walked over with a smile and consoled her, saying:
“You’re already very close to success. Sometimes, not rushing things is also a path to success. And your current level is already outstanding among all the generations of our family.”
Hearing this, Hulim couldn’t help but reflect.
Was she being impatient for results?
Maybe a bit… …
After all, she’d never received any blessing in swordsmanship, so it was impossible to compare with magic. Because of how smoothly her magic progressed, she’d unconsciously tried to bring her swordsmanship up to the same standard.
Even though they were completely different things. “I understand, Father.”
Hulim stood up, showing a posture of having learned her lesson.
Rezelian nodded in satisfaction, then said, “That’s enough for today. You should get ready to head to school. Isn’t it the midterm of the half-year today? Do your best on the exams.”
The preparatory school year was divided into two semesters, with a short semester break in between. But unlike the roughly two-month annual break, the semester break only lasted about ten days.
“I will, Father.”
After bowing, Hulim put down her sword and went back inside.
After washing up to remove the sweat from morning practice, Hulim changed into her outdoor clothes and went to the dining room.
“Good morning, Mother.”
Lilia had been up for a while already, but wanting to eat with Hulim, she’d waited until now.
“Come quickly, my Hulim, the food is just warm enough. It’s healthiest to eat it like this.”
Lilia called her over with a smile.
Hulim sat down at the table, sitting across from Lilia, and picked up her fork to take some food from her plate.
“Sigh, this house feels emptier and emptier these days… …”
As Hulim ate, Lilia started to complain.
“A few years ago, this table was full at breakfast. Now it’s just the two of us left. Honestly, Amon really shouldn’t have followed his brothers and sisters and gone out so early. They were all still so young… …”
“Especially Amon, always making a fuss about becoming a world-renowned swordsman. Ever since he ran off, we haven’t even had a letter from him. The others, at least, are living somewhere safe. But him—how can I not worry!”
“At the very least, he should have mastered Second Tier Enhancement before going out. That way he’d have a bit more ability to protect himself… …”
“… …”
Just like Amon used to complain, his talent in magic was indeed terrible; after so many years, he could only use First Tier non-elemental magic.
But in swordsmanship, he was quite gifted—that’s why he was determined to make a name for himself as a swordsman.
Still, as Mother said, he really should have learned Enhancement before leaving… …
No matter how brilliant your swordsmanship, you need the physical ability to put it into action. Against enemies of the same tier, maybe you could rely on sword skills to win, but against a higher-tier opponent, you couldn’t even break through their defenses.
Not to mention, Hayeral swordsmanship isn’t ordinary swordsmanship—it has entry requirements. For example, Last Style: Like Thunder requires at least Third Tier non-elemental magic-level Enhancement to even attempt learning.
Amon’s future… … Well, all I can say is, may the gods bless him.
“… …Sigh, this house is so empty now, I’m starting to think about having another child.” Lilia sighed as she grumbled.
“… …”
Hulim just kept her head down, eating in silence.
She understood her mother’s feelings, but the reality is, in this world, most people leave home to seek their future after finishing the four-year preparatory school—at around age twelve. Some go to be apprentices, some to further their studies at higher academies, some become Preparatory Soldiers, and so on.
As for adventurers… …
Well, a twelve-year-old adventurer is still very young, only able to do odd jobs at that age. But the Adventurers’ Guild does provide special protections for this, so there’s no need to worry too much about bullying.
Of course, people like Amon are very rare.
In any case, the time between graduating preparatory school and adulthood is the most important period for determining one’s future.
Also, though it may not be my place as the seventh child to say this, I really think Mother should consider our family’s finances before adding any more members.
Honestly, before Big Brother Zieg left home, things were really tight here. Even as Reserve, the Knight Order offers subsidies and salary, so things only got better after that.
Now, the other siblings who’ve left home still depend on the family for tuition and living expenses, since they aren’t truly independent yet.
Amon is the only exception.
“Mother, I’m done eating.”
Hulim put down her utensils, wiped her mouth, and said politely.
“Oh, Hulim’s already finished? I’d better speed up as well.”
Lilia picked up her pace a little.
Hulim stood up and left the table.
“Mother, I’m off to school.”
“Mm, all right, be careful on the way!”
After saying goodbye to her mother, Hulim straightened her clothes and set out for school.
“Hu——lim——!”
Just as she arrived at the school gates,
A figure rushed toward Hulim, grabbing her arm in a tight hug.
“Good morning!”
“… …Good morning, Fran.”
Looking at Fran clinging to her arm, Hulim felt a slight headache. Ever since she rescued Fran from the kidnappers, Fran had become attached to her, sticking close no matter where she went.
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