Daiki Greyrat
It was the night after the kidnapping. The day had flown by, and Eris had insisted on sparring with me, though she couldn't so much as graze my heel or keep up with my footwork. From what I could see, my style left her completely at sea.
My brother was across the room, separated only by a door left ajar. I watched him, lost in thought as he read his book, and decided to offer at least a little encouragement. I pushed the door open and stepped in, nearly making him jump.
"What's on your mind, brother?"
My sudden appearance seemed to jolt him, and he turned almost immediately.
"I was thinking... about how weak I am."
Did he really say that? Did he truly believe it? I was confused. He was a great mage, undeniably; why would he see himself as weak?
"What are you talking about?"
He swallowed hard, as if gulping down something invisible.
"You see... well, I was useless in that fight. I could barely keep up with you."
Ah, I see. But that wasn't a flaw, simply a lack of sword training.
"Do you want me to teach you?" The words tumbled out before I could think. To be honest, it was the only thing I could offer to lift his spirits. Even so, when I saw him nod almost instinctively, something inside me stirred with surprise.
My brother had changed; now he wanted to get stronger. It made sense—he needed real danger to find his drive. And perhaps I was the cause, having shielded him too much physically without considering how he felt.
"I... I'm sorry, brother. But I'll make it up to you. Tomorrow we start training. Mind you, it'll be intense. And it happens after my practice with Ghislaine and your lessons with Eris, understood?"
"If it'll make me better, I'm in. I want to be able to protect you too, brother."
"And you will. With your mana control, your capacity, your talent, and your creativity, you'll be one of the best mages, without a doubt."
And that was how I inspired my brother to become a "sword-mage," capable of applying the principles of the blade while wielding magic.
The next day, my brother arrived at the training field—really just the mansion's garden—looking completely drained. I wanted to believe it was due to his lessons with Eris, as I knew they were anything but easy.
"Right, brother," I said, tossing him the wooden sword.
He tried to catch it, but I used wind magic to deflect it away.
"First lesson: anticipate your enemy. You can't win a fight if you lack initiative. An enemy won't wait for you to finish thinking."
To drive the point home, I rushed him at full speed, sword raised high. He didn't expect it at all, but instinctively released a gust of wind that knocked him back perhaps ten meters.
"Very good, but that's just instinct. Even if you escaped, I would have closed the distance regardless. You must learn to dodge without leaving openings. What would you do if I caught you in mid-air? How would you dodge then?"
Exactly three hours and two minutes passed, and the sun began to set. I watched my brother panting while Ghislaine observed everything from afar. Truth be told, I still can't keep pace with her, but one day I will. I want to.
Back to the training: my brother had learned to dodge. However, he kept making a fatal error by separating movement from attack. He would move, pause, and then cast. That single pause was all an Advanced-tier swordsman would need to kill him three times over before he even hit the ground.
I wanted to change that, so I approached with renewed resolve.
"You're thinking like an artillery mage. You move, you plant your feet, you fire. That works if you have a tank in front of you, but you are the tank and the gunner wrapped in one."
"It's... hard... to focus on two things..." Rudeus panted.
"It's not two things. It's one." I raised my wooden sword. "We're changing the rules."
I walked over to a nearby tree.
"Watch this."
I placed my bare hand against the trunk. Without winding up and without moving my shoulder, I executed the spell.
"Shockwave."
But I didn't cast the spell outward; instead, I detonated it within my palm the moment my muscles tensed.
BOOM!
Rudeus's eyes went wide.
"Physical reinforcement? No... That was Shockwave."
"It's propulsion," I explained. "I didn't use the wind to push the tree; I used the wind to drive my hand into the tree at explosive speed from zero distance."
I turned to him, dusting off my clothes.
"Rudeus, your body is slow, but your magic is fast. Stop using magic to attack the enemy and use it to accelerate your body."
"Micro-explosions..." he murmured. "In the elbows to strike and in the heels to dodge."
"Exactly. You don't need to run fast; you need to burst."
"Let me try!"
He took his stance. This time his posture was different, less rigid, more alive. I lunged at him, but Rudeus didn't retreat. I saw the mana concentrate in his right heel and his left shoulder simultaneously.
Paff!
A small air pocket burst beneath his foot. His body didn't run; it slid, almost floating, moving at an impossible angle toward my open guard. It was messy, and he nearly lost his balance, but he was inside my guard. Then he released a second micro-explosion from his elbow, launching his fist toward my stomach with a speed he hadn't possessed before.
I stopped his fist inches from my gut. Rudeus stared at his own hand, trembling with excitement.
"I... I did it. I moved without thinking about running."
I lowered my hand, feeling a slight tingle.
"It was clumsy. You almost fell, your balance was terrible, and if that had been a real sword, you would have cut yourself on your own momentum."
Rudeus bowed his head, expecting a scolding, but then I smiled.
"But you still did well for your first time. That is the foundation, brother." I poked his chest. "Turn your body into the projectile. That will be your 'Sword'."
"Yes!" he shouted with renewed energy.
I was glad to see I could help my brother be better. I turned to see Eris watching from a window.
"You can't teach her, can you?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Is she bored?"
"Of course. She says she only wants to be an adventurer and isn't interested in anything else. She insists on wanting to beat you, but that's impossible for now."
"She won't be able to lay a finger on you either, at least for now."
I looked at the sky.
"Right. Now do it a hundred more times before dinner."
"A HUNDRED?!"
"Do you want to survive Eris tomorrow or not?"
"..."
"Thought so. I'm going to grab a bite; I'm starving."
And so I left him alone. Perhaps finally he would see that he can stand by my side without weakening me. He remains the prodigy of magic, and I of the sword. Together, we are unstoppable.
I smiled broadly as I entered the mansion. I walked straight to the kitchen to ask the chef for those desserts whose names I had forgotten. For the first time, I'd forgotten something, and that made me feel more human.
---
Rudeus Greyrat
My brother had gone, leaving me alone with Ghislaine watching from high atop a roof. Part of me didn't know how to move forward without him. But if there is one thing my older brother would hate, it's for me to depend solely on him.
I can be better. I can stand by his side without overshadowing him or being a burden, and I will do it even if I can't sleep a wink. I won't repeat the mistakes of my past life, nor will I be someone who needs to be coddled by his family.
"AAAAH!" I screamed as I applied the same principle he did, causing the tree to crack.
I had more mana and more magic control than my brother, but even so, the result was imperfect. How does he do it? I'm sure he could pulp my organs without damaging anything else around. I stared at my own hand. It wasn't fear—or perhaps it was—but mixed with frustration. I took a deep breath and tried again.
The tree creaked again, louder this time. The leaves trembled, but the crack expanded where it shouldn't have. My control had dispersed.
"Tch..." I bit my tongue.
From above, I could feel Ghislaine's eyes pinned on me. She never speaks much; she only watches and waits. But I know that if I stray, she'll notice in an instant. Perhaps she wants to see if I can stand on my own two feet without Daiki nearby.
I can do it.
I raised my hand again as Daiki had done. I concentrated the slow flow at first and then applied a spin, just as I had seen in his movements. No brute force, just feeling.
The result was the same, but I had the basics down. I just had to study and practice. I took an effective leap using wind beneath my feet.
"I can be better!"
And so I began my training, casting the spell a hundred times in a row. I had the confidence to pull it off. My brother had already taught me that the past is just memory and that this life is new. He always seemed to know everything.
---
Daiki Greyrat
Exactly one month had passed since we arrived at this mansion. The training sessions with Ghislaine had intensified, and I strove twice as hard as before out of pure obsession. I couldn't fall behind.
Even so, it seems my brother is having a hard time with Eris. She wouldn't pay him any mind during lessons and would disappear when it was time for reading or arithmetic. With me it was different, as every day she came to challenge me, believing she had surpassed me, though she still couldn't manage to touch me.
My brother was already much faster thanks to his control of wind magic. He had learned to optimize it so well that he could move by softening his steps, taking advantage of his enormous mana pool.
Magic class was the only one Eris paid attention to. The first time she produced a fireball, she was enthusiastic.
"Someday I'm going to create fireworks in the sky just like you did," she said.
I hope Rudeus warned her not to use fire magic inside the mansion.
I walked into the stables one day and saw my brother approaching Eris in a strange manner while she slept. Quickly, I grabbed him by the collar and threw him out.
"Rudeus..." I said in Japanese.
He only smiled nervously.
"I was just going to keep her from getting cold!"
I couldn't help but smile a little.
"Fine, but next time I don't want to catch you doing something like that, understood?"
He nodded, nervous.
---
One Year Later
There was barely a week left until Eris's tenth birthday. The entire mansion was in chaos, and Edna seemed incapable of containing the "Red Whirlwind." Though, truth be told, that was part of her charm.
I was walking with my brother when a voice stopped us in the hallway.
"Rudeus-sama, Daiki-sama, Eris-sama has run away from her dance lesson again."
Rudeus sighed.
"Again. I'll go look for her."
"No," I stopped him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You have to prepare the gifts. I'll go."
I found Eris in the stable striking a sack of hay with a stick. She was sweaty and frustrated.
"Get out..." she growled without looking at me.
I leaned against the pillar, crossing my arms.
"Edna says you're running away."
"I'm not running away!" she shouted, throwing the stick. "It's stupid! Dancing is for the weak! I am a swordswoman!"
I walked toward her.
"Dancing isn't for the weak, young Eris. It is control, rhythm, and anticipation. It is combat without blood."
Eris snorted.
"Nonsense. Edna just says 'one, two, three, turn.' It makes no sense."
"It makes sense if you know where to look."
I took off my jacket and extended my hand toward her.
"Attack me. Try to step on my foot. Now."
Eris smiled maliciously and lunged forward. I slid back one step. She adjusted and attacked again, and I moved to the left in two steps. She spun, trying to sweep me, so I caught her hand and turned with her on the third step.
We ended up chest to chest, my hand still resting on her waist.
"That was a basic waltz," I whispered to her. "Movement, counter-movement, and turn."
Eris's eyes went wide.
"That was dancing?"
"Dancing is fighting with rules, Eris. Your partner is a cooperative opponent. You have to read their intention and anticipate their turn. If you can predict my sword, you can predict my feet."
I released her slowly.
"Edna teaches ladies, but you are a warrior."
Eris looked at her feet and then at mine.
"Teach me," she said with determination. "Teach me to fight with music."
I offered her my hand with a smile.
"Do you remember when I made you dance the first day we met? I believe you turned red."
"T-That was...!" She choked on her pride. "Whatever! I am going to surpass you!"
And so began her dance lessons, just weeks away from her grand debut.