After the second lunch of others and the first lunch of Lys and Selene, everyone stayed around the table for a while. The bowls sat empty in front of them as they chatted for a while.
After about half an hour, Elara, Mitsu, and Helga had moved to the small basin beside the kitchen counter and started washing the dishes. The sound of water and soft conversation filled the room.
Tresta had already gone up to her room to rest. Selene just sat in her chair, where she ate, now resting her hands on the table. Mira was still chewing on a long green vegetable that looked a lot like a cucumber from Earth.
Lys leaned back and glanced at the sword resting near Mira's chair. The metal caught a bit of the afternoon light coming through the window. He watched it for a second, then spoke.
"Mira, you just made an enchanted sword and say you want to join us on our future adventures," he continued while taking a pause. "But do you even know how to fight? All I remember is you failing at placing even the smallest traps in the forest, when you used to sneak into the forest to play hunter. Even when I told you exactly how to do it, I remember you'd still fail."
Mira stopped chewing suddenly. She looked at him with a gruff expression and started mumbling by herself a single word, "Just?", while looking at the half-eaten cucumber in her hand.
Though Lys was waiting for her answer, Mira stared at the vegetable for a couple of seconds, then finally set it down on the table, stood up, and crouched a little to pick up the sword by the hilt.
"Huh…so you think making a sword is easy, huh? Do you think anybody can make it?"
Seeing how Mira's tone changed, Lys couldn't understand what exactly he said wrong.
Mira continued, "Who do you think I am?"
"Yeah, you might have more experience with swords and hunting stuff, but I also know a couple of things. I'll let you know!"
Lys raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Let me see then. What can you do?"
Mira started to lift the sword to show her stupid brother what she was capable of, but Elara's voice came from the counter right away, knowing something was about to break in the house.
"Hey, Mira. No sword-swinging in the house. Go outside."
Both Mira and Lys stopped moving almost instantly. Mira lowered the sword with a small pout. Lys stood up from his chair without arguing.
Knowing they can't really go against their mother, the two of them headed for the back door. Selene watched them for a moment, then stood as well. She picked up a chair and dragged it outside after them, setting it down in the open yard so she could sit and watch the show of these two's stupidity.
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The backyard was mostly quiet. A few patches of new types of herbs Mitsu had planted grew near the side of the house. The ground was mostly open dirt, short grass, and a little garden in a corner, made by the whole family.
Mira walked a few steps out into the middle of the space and turned to face Lys. She held the sword with both hands, trying to keep her feet apart to position herself. Though she was a little amateurish, from her leg movement Lys could see clearly that she wasn't a complete noob at this.
Lys crossed his arms and watched, determined in his mind that he wasn't going to be impressed by simple tricks of hers. Going outside in the quests and stuff meant facing real danger. So even though she got their mother's permission, he wasn't ready to take her with him yet.
Selene sat in the chair, leaning forward a little, looking at Lys's face, knowing a little what was going on in his head right now.
Without delay, Mira raised the sword and swung it once. The movement looked awkward. Her shoulders were too stiff, and the follow-through stopped short. But shrugging it off, she swung again.
The second try was a little better, but it was still clearly the swing of someone who had not spent much time training with a real blade. Even Lys, who only had a few days of real experience with his own sword, could tell her form was off.
But through this awkward show of Mira, something else caught his attention right away.
Each time the blade moved, a small sharp sound cut through the air. A thin stream of wind followed the edge. It was not strong, but it was there.
Lys narrowed his eyes. The sword itself looked like something that could have been bought ready-made from a market stall. The balance, though, felt different just from the way it moved in Mira's hands. It looked lighter than it should have been. The edge stayed steady even when her grip was not perfect.
While unaware of what was in Lys's mind, Mira swung a third time. The same soft whistling sound came again. The wind that followed the blade brushed across the short grass and made the tips bend.
Lys stepped a little closer. The more he looked, the more impressed he was getting with the sword's uniqueness.
"The balance on that thing is good," he said finally, without realising himself. "Even if the blade itself looks plain, whatever you did to it looks like it made it sharper and lighter. That is not a normal sword anymore that we see on everyone's hand outside."
Mira lowered the sword for a second, caught off guard by his comment. Then, realizing he practically praised her, she grinned, putting her sword down. "What, impressed already? I have not even put any mana into any swings yet. Here, let me do this…"
She raised the sword again. This time she focused. Her brow tightened a little. She stepped forward and swung in a wide arc.
A sharp whistling sound filled the yard. A curved blade of wind shot out from the edge of the sword. It sliced across the ground in a clean line, cutting the short grass it passed over cleanly. The cut stopped just an inch away from the edge of Mitsu's new herb patch. Small bits of cut grass floated up and then settled on the ground.
Seeing this scene, Lys's eyes widened. Selene also sat up straight in her chair, both hands gripping the sides.
The wind blade had not been strong enough to dig into the dirt, but it had cut everything in its path without any real force behind Mira's swing. That alone was enough to make both of them freeze for a second, as they clearly realised the potential it had.
Mira held the sword up and looked at the line she had made in the grass. She looked proud, but also a little surprised at how clean the cut had been. Her earlier demonstration to others in the family hadn't been this impressive, if she remembers correctly. So, she was also a little surprised at how she managed to do this.
Lys opened his mouth to say something about control and practice, about how impressive they were, but before he could say anything, a voice called from the back door.
"Lys!"
Mitsu stood in the doorway, holding a big basket in her hands. She looked toward the yard and then at him.
"Someone from the gate is looking for you," she said. "They said it is important."
Lys turned his head toward her. The surprised look on his face from Mira's swing was still there, but it shifted into something more curious at this sudden summons.
He glanced back at Mira once, then at the clean cut in the grass, and finally toward the house.
"Alright, I'm coming," he said as he started going toward the house to see what he was being summoned for.