第７８７堀：草原で訓練 (Part1)
### Chapter 787: Training on the Grasslands
**Side: Deryu**
"Hah!"
I poured my spirit into the strike, slamming my fist into the ground. At the point of impact, the earth collapsed inward in an instant.
*Thud!!*
"Eek!?"
"No way!?"
"Awa-wa-wa!?"
Watching the ground cave in, Kagura and the others scrambled to jump back, but they were caught off balance by the lingering tremors of the collapsing earth, failing to retreat effectively.
How naive. The moment I moved, they should have started their own maneuver. If they waited until now, they wouldn't make it in time.
"Your initial reaction is too slow."
I said this while leaping toward Solo, who was right in front of me.
"Here I come."
"Wait—!?"
"The enemy won't wait for you."
Ignoring the three idiots' protests, I drove my fist into her defenseless stomach.
"Gobo—!?"
She let out a sound that no young lady should ever make, flying backward and curling up on the ground, clutching her midsection.
"Ugh..."
Oh, she actually threw up. Well, it was a clean hit, after all. Seeing that, Kagura panicked...
"Solo!?"
"Kagura!! Don't!"
Mikos tried to warn her, but that momentary lapse in focus is a death sentence. I leaped toward her in the same fashion, preparing to strike...
*Whoosh!!*
"Oh?"
*Swish, swish!!*
Just before my fist connected, I dodged the sword strikes Agil unleashed from the side, stepping out of her blade's reach.
However, Agil didn't pursue me as I retreated. She stood her ground, gripping her sword firmly in one hand while holding her small shield at the ready, never letting her guard down.
"To swing three times in that short window... impressive. As expected of someone serving as an active-duty general."
"It's a bit awkward to be complimented after you dodged that so easily~"
Indeed. Her ability to pivot is also top-tier. She maintains her composure even in the heat of battle. It’s good to be serious, but if you get *too* serious during a fight, your field of vision narrows.
"Now then, Kagura, Mikos, Solo. You’ve seen and felt the weight of a single blow from Deryu—you understand now that training with a half-hearted attitude leads to serious injury, right? If you don’t take this seriously next time, I’ll cut you down myself. How long do you intend to keep acting like students?"
"Yes!!"
"Gah, cough... Yes!"
At the sound of Agil’s stern, gravelly voice, I could see the shift in Kagura and the others—their panicked, wavering expressions hardened, and a new light entered their eyes. They had finally gotten serious.
"Good. In that case, we’re picking up the pace."
With that, I charged toward the four of them. They responded with a coordinated magical barrage, moving with speed that was leagues ahead of their previous attempts. As expected of students from the Magic Academy; once they actually focused, they were capable of decent magical attacks.
However, pebbles like these...
"Hmph."
*Crack, thud, snap, pop-pop-pop!!*
They were nothing my fists couldn't handle.
"No way!?"
"Wait, with your bare hands!?"
"…Gah. Damn it!!"
Kagura and Mikos are surprisingly fragile. They have a bad habit of freezing up whenever something unexpected happens. Solo, on the other hand—perhaps because she’d already taken a hit, or perhaps because she’s just got more grit—immediately tried to launch a follow-up attack.
But a single attack from Solo, rather than a coordinated effort from all three, wasn't enough to stop me. I easily dodged her magic and prepared to deliver another blow to the group...
*Thud, smack.*
"Ugh!"
"Gah!"
I was about to follow through, but Agil stepped in, striking the two of them aside to clear them out of the way while simultaneously blocking my fist and preparing a spell of her own. I pulled back immediately.
The moment I did, her magic sword began to discharge, crackling with electricity.
"Tch. As expected of Deryu. You won't let me touch you for long, will you?"
"Indeed. I’ve taken enough electric damage from Yuki to know better."
That was close. I really can't stand lightning magic. The damage itself isn't a problem, but it makes my muscles twitch and prevents me from moving properly. I’ve been on the receiving end of Yuki’s magic barriers enough times to know that.
As I kept my distance, Agil called out to Kagura and the others, whom she had just knocked aside.
"Get a grip, you girls. Don't freeze up just because of one unexpected move. You'll die. Learn from Solo."
"Y-yes!"
"U-understood..."
"Huff, huff..."
And so, the reason we were training like this was simply because we had nothing else to do. Well, it wasn't exactly "boredom," as there was a genuine need to whip Kagura and the others into shape.
As for what happened to the preparations for receiving the Kingdom of Saisaif, which we were working on earlier?
*"Since they insisted so strongly on wanting to handle the preparations for welcoming the Saisaif Kingdom, I decided to leave the rest to those idiots—ahem, to the Count and the other nobles,"* Princess Carrie had said with a smile, and the logistics were taken out of our hands.
After that whole ordeal with the luggage transport, the faces and reputations of those who hadn't cooperated with Princess Carrie were completely ruined, especially since they’d been outdone by Aslin and the others. Furthermore, since we had evidence recorded via cameras and such, punishment was inevitable. The nobles gathered from the provinces didn't know about the cameras. After we used them once to kick out that "Assembly of Wisdom" group, we only used them to record conversations with the Saisaif envoys, so the newcomers were completely in the dark.
At first, I wondered why they wouldn't cooperate with Princess Carrie despite everything that had happened, but it turned out they had been kept out of the loop from start to finish, and this was their first time being summoned to the Royal Capital. That’s why they doubted Kagura’s results and were dissatisfied with the preferential treatment. And because they knew nothing, they looked down on the Saisaif Kingdom’s reconstruction support army and responded with half-hearted, sluggish efforts.
Well, even so, defying a royal decree just makes them idiots. But now, with the evidence shoved in their faces and their heads on the chopping block, they were tasked with handling the remaining preparations.
*"Since they were talking such a big game, I’m sure they’ll manage to pull it off beautifully,"* she had said. They were being forced to do the impossible, and they were working desperately to keep up.
Of course, there was a chance they might slack off or try to flee, so we were training here to keep an eye on them. I didn't think they’d actually run, though—not when they knew there was no future for them if they did. Besides, if it looked like they truly wouldn't make the deadline, we planned to step in and help, so there was no risk of the reception preparations failing.
As I was thinking about this, Agil and the others launched another attack—a clumsy, unrefined coordination.
"Thinking during training? You've got some nerve."
"Well, if I don't think while I fight, I'll end up cornered."
Especially in combat training with Yuki; if you let your guard down for even a second, it’s over.
As I dodged Agil’s sword and dealt with Mikos’s magic, a voice suddenly called out.
"Hey! Let's wrap it up and have some lunch."
"Food time~"
"It's lunchtime~"
Hearing the voices from Yuki and the others, I realized it was already that time of day, when suddenly...
"Mole!!"
"Hm?"
Kagura, who hadn't been participating in the magic barrage, unleashed a spell. At her shout of "Mole," the firm ground beneath my feet turned into soft, tilled soil, causing me to lose my footing and balance.
"Whoops."
Seizing the opening, Agil dove in. She didn't say a word; she just came to cut me down. It’s fine to shout and pump yourself up, but this kind of cold, silent strike is also good.
However...
*Snap.*
"Ugh!?"
A sound of surprise escaped Agil, who had been scolding the others just a moment ago. Well, that couldn't be helped. After all, I had parried her blade.
Not blocking it with my gauntlet, but parrying it.
*Zzzzt.*