Frida announced our impromptu fight to the rest of the class, telling them to stop their training before instructing us to face each other on the rectangular courtyard. Naturally, confusion broke out among the rest of her students, questioning my uninvited presence there. But she readily told them to shut up (putting it harshly) and just watch the show.

I looked at the girl I was about to fight once more. Sara of The Gazelle. Another one of the Three Schools of the Galahad Order. Unlike Peacock School, it preferred a balance between evasion and defense, making its practitioners wear some armor but not too much that it would impede their movement too much. In her case, she wore a leather one.

“Show her no mercy, Miss Sara!”

“Yeah, kick her butt!"

From the small crowd, cheers of encouragement flooded towards her, making her beam with pride. How cute. She's just like him. He'd be all smiling like that whenever I praised him. Though I am concerned how some of her cheerers were middle-aged men.

It was now clear to me that the rest of the rabble feel the same way as her, that a stuck up, noble brat like me should be taught her place.

Ha, too bad I won't give them the satisfaction.

And it seems Miss Twintail here is quite the popular one too. So if I could win against her—no, that wouldn't be enough. I need to humiliate her thoroughly as well. That way, I would prove my superiority, and none of them would dare mess with me as a result. 

That is how you deal with your tormentors. I taught that once to a weak-willed girl, back when I still attended that academy, She never really acted on it though. Too kind for her own good, to the point of martyrdom. How fitting for a priestess-to-be.

Frida then told us to put a distance of fifty steps between us. Considering the spacious nature of the inner courtyard we were in, it was an easy task to do. We were allowed to draw our blades and prepare our stances, but we were not to move a single muscle until she gave the signal. I opted not to do the former, making the girl send a death glare towards my direction. If I had to guess, her poor little honor was insulted by it, and she probably believed I wasn’t taking her seriously in the slightest.

Good. The more you’re angry, the more you’re going to be more predictable in combat.

The crowd fell silent.. As if observing a decorum, they all sat down cross-legged on the sides, with only Frida standing as the referee of our match. She walked to the middle of the field between me and Sara and raised her sword to the skies with a smile on her face.

“Hear me, O Great Galahad! Bear witness to this spar between them and punish those who would dare defile your sacred traditions!”

Ah, the classic pre-spar speech. I imagine they do this every time a duel like this happens, just to make sure that everyone involved will engage in it in an honorable way.

Apologies, but I have no interest in fighting honorably. Not when I need to make an example out of my opponent.

The moment Frida left the field, was the moment where our match began.

As expected, the hothead took the initiative. She flew all the way to my side of the field, using Graceful Step to boost her speed considerably. I, however, opted not to move a single feet. Why should I? Let the opponent tire herself coming to you. That’s how a wise swordsman would fight.

“Scattato! Turbulence!"

Unlike my Scattato: Storm, this technique is noticeably slower. However, thanks to her larger sword, and how the technique sharpened the immediate air around said sword, she didn't have to be so accurate with it to land a blow.

Well, nothing that I couldn't handle, of course.

"N-no way! She's—she's dodging every one her blows!"

"And she does it without even using her sword!"

Whispers of awe and confusion spread around the crowd, granting a smile to my face. She probably heard them too, so I decided to twist the knife even more into her pride.

"Well, this is disappointing. Your movements… they're just too slow and predictable."

"SHUT UP!"

My taunt worked. The girl now swung her sword around even faster, in her exasperation to land a hit on me. It only had the opposite effect though, as her swings became even more imprecise and predictable.

"Predict the movements of your opponent by their eyes and muscle movement. Utilize your peripheral sight to see every blow, not just the one right in front of you. Feel the shift and twist in the air and learn of your opponent's intention. React in an instant without hesitation. Imagine them as your dance partner in the ballroom. It's your job to follow up to their every movement so their feet wouldn't hit yours."

Such was the words of my teacher when she forced me to dodge her blows over and over. Heh, she's really a hard mistress, not even caring about beating up a small kid until she loses her consciousness day in and out.

But, thanks to that, I can dodge these pathetic slashes and thrusts without any problem. Not to mention how I’ve gotten even faster in my travels as well, thanks to his training. Comparing her sword to his spells, she's a complete joke of a swordswoman. My honed motor skills and reflexes were simply too much for her to overcome.

...Oh, that might be too harsh. Sword to sword she's probably around that boy's level, objectively speaking, which is decent. But decent is never going to be good enough to defeat me.

I sighed. I think it's time I end this charade. It's already enough time for her admirers to see how weak she is.

I waited for an opening, which there were many, and struck back with lightning-fast precisition. In a millisecond, I drew my blade and parried hers. She, completely taken by surprise by my maneuver, lost her grip on her sword, sending her sword flying away from her hand. It landed on the ground ten steps away from her. Not that far of a distance normally, but in a swordfight like this, it’s a clear sign of defeat.

“Gah!”

I wasn’t done however. Like I said, I aimed for her complete humiliation.

She leaped towards her sword in a vain attempt to grab it back, but I prevented her from doing so by landing a kick on her crotch. Unlike what the common knowledge imagined, it still hurt terribly for a girl to be kicked in that spot, even without a male’s equipment.

She went flying for a short distance, whimpering from the pain I had inflicted on her. And yet, she still refused to surrender as she tried to roll herself towards her sword. I have to applaud her perseverance.

Of course, I didn’t allow her to do so. I kicked her pretty little face and thrust my sword right towards her forehead. Naturally, I didn’t actually pierce her head with it, not wanting to actually kill her and all, but I gave her the illusion that I did, using my aura to convey killing intent. To cut the spirit without cutting the flesh. That’s what my teacher said the technique was about.

She flinched, closing her eyes out of reflex. She whimpered, tears of fear leaking out from her eyes. It wasn’t just that who leaked out, however, as a stream of shame exited her crotch as well.

And then, she stopped moving entirely. She had fainted.

The crowd fell silent, their jaws agape by the sight in front of them. Their best student, the so-called young genius, had been defeated in the most humiliating manner by this disrespectful noble brat who had come out of nowhere without any invitation.

Frida declared me to be the winner, before telling them to take the unconscious girl to the infirmary. She then came to me with a glare on her face. Understandable. She probably didn’t take kindly to what I did to her pupil.

“Was it really necessary?”

I smirked. “Yes. To be accepted here, I have to prove my strength, no?”

She sighed. “The poor girl would be livid when she wakes up to be sure.” She shook her head. “Though I have to thank you as well. She has gotten too confident for her own good lately. It’s nice for someone to show her that her swordsmanship still has much to improve.”

“I see.”

She drew her blade in a flash, pointing its tip right to my forehead, just like the way I pointed mine to that redhead. “But so are you. If I choose to, I could humiliate you the same way you humiliated her.”

“Of course you could.” I kept up my smile, even though I flinched from how fast she did it. “That’s why I am here. I desire more strength. I want to reach your level, Lady Frida.”

“...Very well. Follow me. From this day onward, you’ll be learning the blade from me personally. If Lady Solis wills it anyway.”

My ears perked up. “Are you taking me to see her?”

“Yes. Knowing who you are, I have to report you to her first.”

A smile brightened my face. Of course I would be excited to meet her. My goal was to be trained by her, but I suppose Frida would do for now.

---------

We made our way to the second bridge, running as fast as we could through the trees, jumping on the tree branches in the process. Well, I was the only one who did, as I knew she slowed down her movements so I could catch up.

When we arrived there, once again, there weren't any guards around. She didn't seem to be bothered by it however as she took out her own key from her pocket, opening the gate on her own.

“You know, you can just jump over this wall. I wonder why you didn’t do so. Looking at your skill, you’re too strong to be training on the Cymbal Shrine,” the swordmaster asked me with a curious look.

“To show respect,” I replied with a smirk. “I defeated the guards of the first gate fair and square. And I wanted to do the same with the second, to prove to the people here that I am worthy. And besides, my teacher told me I was around Expert-rank as a swordswoman, so I figured I would test if her assessment still held any water. And as you witnessed by yourself, I clearly had surpassed that level.”

“Hmph, you’re a cocky one, aren’t you?” she returned with a scowl, though it quickly transformed back into a smile. “You’re right though. Your skill back there… you’re already worthy of the Champion title.”

“Good. One more step for my goal to be a Virtuoso.”

“Then prepare yourself for my merciless training,” she replied with a smirk. “You’ll train day and night without rest for years. Are you ready for that?”

“Of course.” I looked her right in the eyes, not showing any signs of weakness. “I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t.”

---------

After we had our short conversation, we made our way across the bridge. The weather was windy, making it away more than one would be comfortable with. Well, if you weren't a pair of skilled swordswoman, that is. For us, we ran straight across it, with Frida even running on the left rope, and not the bridge itself. It was an amazing display of balance from her.

"Oh, do be careful." She yelled as she ran. "It's not advised to utilize Feather Step to cross. It's hard to step on the air when the wind is this strong."

Her mentioning it only made me want to try it though. So I jumped and began to use the technique, only to slip immediately. I recovered nicely though, thankfully enough. I didn't want to be seen by her landing on my face like a clumsy maid. That, and falling off the bridge.

"The air is thin and slippery. You'll need better control than that." She yelled again, followed by a chuckle. And of course, she then utilized the technique flawlessly, mocking me and my weakness.

Once we made it across, we journeyed on even higher up the mountains. At this time, snow started to fall around us.

"The snow here lasts all year, since this place is so high up," she explained. "And I expect you to do your training, even if there's a blizzard."

Hmph, if she thinks a mere blizzard will stop me, then she doesn't know how stubborn I could get.

Eventually, we made our way to the third shrine, the Shrine of the Harpsichord. Unlike the previous shrine, it consisted of three smaller pagodas standing near each other in a triangle. We decided to stop and rest there for a bit. Or rather, she decided so. Secretly, I was thankful for it. We had run all the way up here and I was now out of breath—my dress clinging into my skin with sweat. And yet, the swordmaster remained unruffled in the slightest. Another showcase on the difference between our strengths.

"Three pagodas, representing the three prominent schools and families of the Galahad Order.” She began her tour-guide like explanation. “My school, the Peacock, Sara’s school, the Gazelle, and the Cassowary, whose practitioner you haven’t met yet.” She sighed. “To be fair, we have a problem in that department. After Gloria, who was supposed to be the inheritor of the school, left us to be an Imperial Knight, everyone who wants to train in the school would enter themselves in the Empire’s Knight school instead, since she would actually train the people there.”

“Oh, by the way, I haven’t mentioned it yet, have I? That my master is Gloria herself.” I couldn’t help to add a proud smirk at the end of my sentence.

“Hmm, really?” She turned to face me and narrowed her eyes. “Ah, I suppose it makes sense. If you’re really the Second Imperial Princess, of course you can obtain such a privileged treatment. Though that makes me question why you choose my style instead.”

“Because that’s what she told me to train in,” I answered with a shrug. “She told me that I wasn’t suited to her style, to wear heavy armor like her and to block attacks instead of dodging them. And I’m grateful for that.” I added with a small grin. “Wearing a full plate armor sounds much less comfortable than wearing a simple dress like this.”

“I see. Well, I agree with you. I too won’t be able to bear lugging all that steel around." She gave me a smirk.

We made our way inside one of them, the one on the left to be exact. The statue of two peacocks greeted us at the entrance, signifying the school the building belonged to. Just like the second shrine, there weren't any people walking around in the entrance hallway, so we made it to the center courtyard without stopping for a greeting.

"Here is where you would do your morning practice, along with other Champion-rank swordsmen. Well, truthfully speaking, there aren't that many of them. And they're all middle-aged men and women too. Hope you don't mind," she added with a smirk. "As for where they are now, they're doing an assignment I've given to them somewhere else. So yeah, the place is pretty empty."

"I presume each school trains their students separately, judging from the three separated buildings?" I asked, out of pure curiosity.

"Yes, you are correct. At this level, a swordsman has to have pledged their service into a house, and since we don’t really openly share the teachings of our techniques with other houses…” She smirked, with an all-too-obvious expression of cockiness coloring her face.

“So, you want me to pledge some oath to you then. What, that I would spread the good name of the Peacock School all across the world? Hmph, if people know their empress belongs to that school, you’ll get the promotion you wanted.”

“Empress?” She raised her eyebrows. “Now that’s a curious declaration. You have an older sister and a brother, if I’m not mistaken. They should inherit the throne before you do.”

I didn’t need to answer. She put two and two together immediately, looking back towards me with a frown.

“To use our art in a civil war… our Lady wouldn’t like that to be sure.”

“I care not what she likes. For someone who’s really strong like her, she sure is happy just keeping to herself like this, away from the world. With her strength, she can transform the world to be better. And yet, she chooses not to. Personally, I don’t find that to be an admirable trait. It is the duty of the strong to rule over the weak. To refuse that over some naive idealism is foolishness.”

In a flash, she drew her blade to my forehead once more.

“I would duly appreciate if you do not badmouth her in that way, little girl.”

A demon. That's what I saw in front of me now. Bloodlust filled her gaze, making my knees buckle in terror. I saw a vision—of her piercing my head with her blade. I could even feel the steel tip piercing through, even though it didn't actually happen.

"Y-you're right. I am sorry."

"Good." She sheathed her blade. "I see now that I need to teach you what it means to be a Galahad swordmaster as well. I'm not teaching you if you're just going to use my sword skills for evil."

"Evil, huh?" I smirked, quickly recovering from my terror. "I don't know about that. I want to rule so I can reform the Empire. That change won't be easy, and a lot of people will suffer from it, but it is my will as their ruler."

"...Hmph, you sure talked big for a kid." She wrinkled her nose. "What change are you talking about anyway?"

"Oh, nothing big. I simply wish to eradicate all slavery, that's all."

She paused, seemingly surprised by my answer.

"Call me surprised. An imperial princess, wanting to free slaves?"

"I shall not tell you my reasons. You have to earn my trust first," I replied with a smirk.

Earning me a hard knock on top of my head.

"If you're going to train with me, you'd better show some more respect, little girl." She scolded, before returning to a sigh. "Aah, now I am reminded of that tale. Of a knight in shining armor who stroke down evil wherever he went. He particularly despises slavers and would kill any slave merchants he met, even when they were just peacefully conducting their trade in the middle of a town."

I shrugged. "Let me guess. It's a cautionary tale at how one can go too far in pursuing righteousness, or something like that."

"Hmph, I guess you're too old to be taken by a simple morality play like that." She gave a small grin. "You're right. In the end, he grew despised by the people, and so he chose to live as a demon, believing that we humans as a whole deserved his scorn." She rested her arms under her chest and looked to the distance. "Oh, by the way, this isn't just some made-up morality tale to make kids behave. This is history, for that knight used to belong to the Order a really long time ago. Hundreds of years ago in fact." She turned back to face me. "Beowulf The Executioner. That was his name. Remember that well."

She resumed her walk, towards the other exit on the other side of the courtyard. I followed, giving another series of glances towards the building before leaving it.

Beowulf the Executioner, eh? Never heard of him up before. Wonder why she never even gave him a mention.

And then, we made our way to the last bridge.