It was the third day since Irene, and his party met Judith and Bratt.
They naturally blended into the party as if they have been traveling together since the beginning.
Of course Lulu was someone people liked and the good-natured Kuvar had gotten close to Judith. Irene did expect them to get to know each other but not so quickly.
Most of all the relationship between Kuvar and Bratt was surprising.
“Bourbon? I’ve heard of that but I never drank it… may I have a sip?”
“Sure here you go.”
“Hmm… it’s better than I thought. It’s sweeter and thicker than the regular whiskey but…”
“Haha. That’s the charm of bourbon. Since the raw material is corn and the oak barrels used are different for each the taste differs. And you know what. The bourbon here is only three years old.”
“What… if it’s just 3 years old why does it taste like that?”
“Haha. It’s said that the region where the bourbon was made is so hot that it doesn’t have to age for a long time. But are you fine?”
“Hmm… and it isn’t bad.”
Irene wasn’t sure when the hobby started but Bratt Lloyd was pretty savvy.
However even he couldn’t beat Kuvar in one of his majors.
The orc had a broader knowledge of alcohol than the noble.
And Kuvar had no choice but to be happy with Bratt.
It was his first time having a drinking buddy. He couldn’t help but feel excited.
Thanks to that the two quickly became friends without needing Irene’s help.
The appearance of a high-ranked noble who listened about alcohol while sitting next to a wandering orc driving a carriage was out of place but in Irene’s eyes it seemed like the two had known each other for 10 years.
Of course Kuvar was not only the friend of Bratt.
Rather he showed a strong bond with Judith too but the medium that connected them was… none other than divination.
“You was there a persimmon tree in the town where you lived when you were little?”
“… how did you know?”
“And there were a lot of cats too?”
“…!”
“Was there a sign with a picture of a marlin?”
“H-How did you know that!”
The beginning was ordinary.
As usually the case with quack fortune tellers Kuvar opened a story that would be readily accepted.
What kind of town doesn’t have a persimmon tree?
And was there ever a town without cats?
Judith even said that a black cat roamed where she lived when she was drunk.
But she doesn’t remember saying it.
The only thing hard to find would be the marlin but that wasn’t so strange considering where Judith lived.
The east Pavar coast is known for catching marlins so having a sign made of it wouldn’t be weird.
But because of that Judith came to believe Kuvar’s skills.
Not just that she even thanked him for giving her a free divination.
“Pathetic. Like I said before you are too superstitious. You went ahead and even made a mistake with Lulu…”
“If you bring up that story one more time you’ll regret it I mean it!”
“… anyways don’t get too caught up in it. When I say other things a hundred times you never even listen but for this…”
“Are you cursing Mr. Kuvar now?”
“No I’m close with Kuvar too but that isn’t what I mean…”
“Astrology is an important branch of science which predicts what will happen on earth by analyzing what happens in the sky. A rational approach to human destiny would be based on information accumulated by closely observing the sun moon constellations and comets…”
“…”
Bratt couldn’t say anything to Judith who was already engrossed with Kuvar who was talking about astrology.
Rather than them Lulu was the one who had little interaction but there was nothing to worry about.
It wasn’t that she didn’t get along with them but it was because Lulu wanted to concentrate on her sorcery.
She meditated in the seated position during the journey and after eating she went back to training so there was no time for conversation.
“Judith Brat Lloyd. Would you like to eat this?”
“… not brat it’s Bratt.”
“Ah right sorry. Would you like to eat this? There’s a special sauce on the raw salmon which is quite suitable for human taste. Right Irene?”
“Yes. I enjoyed it.”
“Really? I never had raw fish… well! What is this! This is better than I thought!”
“…it’s definitely not bad.”
However whenever there was time Lulu would interact with the two so Irene could push aside his worries.
‘I was worried that she was nervous after what happened in Derinku…’
The ambush of Charlotte and Victor who threatened their lives.
And then Ignet who left a stronger impression than the twins.
Because of that Lulu was looking nervous and restless recently but thanks to Bratt and Judith Lulu seemed to have calmed down.
“Irene have you eaten?”
As he was thinking Judith who finished her meal called Irene.
“Yes why?”
“What do you mean why? Do you have anything to do after lunch? Hurry up and raise your sword.”
Judith who took out her sword from its sheath moved her red hair and smiled.
“Let’s battle.”
“… okay.”
Practice matches after meals.
This too was different from before.
The practice matches between Irene Judith and Bratt weren’t done with bare hands.
As long as one used a sword to fight they could get injured if they didn’t use the right energy to control it.
They didn’t use them in cities or villages since people moved close by but they would use the empty roads once in a while.
But that didn’t mean they weren’t using their full force to battle while being over conscious about people moving around.
Around 80-90% of their strength was used.
It was at a level sufficient to differentiate between who was superior and Irene also came to realize his position through the matches.
‘I’m the weakest.’
As expected.
He felt it while fighting at Cora Murray’s manor but the swordsmanship of his friends was at perfection.
‘Actually this isn’t wrong. Because I was never actually able to win against them at school…’
It was all thanks to his one slash that he got second place in the final evaluation.
In reality he was far short of Judith and Bratt.
In fact having one-on-one matches with the two geniuses was enough to make anyone arrogant.
But not Irene.
Rather he was thinking of doing his best to catch up with the two who were a step ahead of him.
‘Judith’s swordsmanship…’
Judith’s sword was free and light with an inclination to the wild and violent side.
Maybe it was because her sword resembled a formless fire in the first place or her foot technique which held her balance and sword was something that Irene couldn’t imitate.
The same went for Bratt Lloyd. He too was showing off more sophisticated swordsmanship than Irene’s last memory of it.
To be precise it was much softer and smoother.
Compared to Bratt who washed away all the attacks like a river flowing profusely the technique that Irene learned was much duller.
Besides there was a part that widened the gap even more.
It was the use of ‘aura’ that Judith and Bratt would occasionally do.
Kwang!
Kwang!
As usual Judith’s burst of fire was intense.
But that wasn’t the end.
Whenever the swords collided the aura which came out like sparks was burdensome for Irene.
But it was nothing compared to a Sword Master’s Aura Sword.
Let alone Aura Swords they were extremely lacking when compared to Charlotte and Victor.
It would be safe to say that they contained almost no energy that could damage the opponent.
However the story is completely different when the flames would form with a small amount of aura imbued in them.
Dread and fear would flow through him knowing that the aura that would strike him was like lava.
“Phew I lost.”
“Great! With this it’s 8 wins and 1 loss!”
Irene smiled bitterly as he saw Judith celebrate her victory.
Maybe it would have been acceptable in the past but not now.
As he realized fighting spirit when he met with Ignet defeat was painful.
Of course he wasn’t afraid of losing so he didn’t just shy away or run away from the matches.
Bratt Lloyd who was waiting for his turn came over and said.
“Is your body okay? To go again right away?”
“No problem.”
“Well there’s nothing more foolish than worrying about your stamina. Here I come.”
The second match followed.
Contrary to the disastrous results against Judith Irene’s record against Bratt was 4 draws and 2 losses.
Considering the past it can be seen that they are on the same level.
In reality however that wasn’t the case.
Irene had little to no confidence in beating Bratt while Bratt was confident in not losing to Irene.
There were so many draws because Bratt’s swordsmanship was better on defense than offense and Irene’s skills were excellent.
And Bratt used aura to widen the gap between him and his opponent.
It would flow out little by little in the battle.
Shhh…
The light energy that anyone could feel when walking beside a river at dawn.
However it had the uncomfortable existence of making the opponent’s body moist and heavy.
Bratt’s aura was like moisture.
With every swing of his sword it radiated a little less than Judith’s but it still radiated and the appearance wasn’t intimidating at all.
However thanks to the aura the heaviness accumulates more and more and Irene would have no choice but to feel his movements slow down.
‘At least my physical strength is good so I can hold out for a long time.’
Amid his thoughts Bratt’s aura kept flowing limiting Irene’s actions.
The battle lasted for 20 minutes.
And there was no conclusion. It was because Judith who was becoming bored cried out loudly.
“Ah it’s no fun! Stop it now!”
“I’m having fun.”
“How long do you two plan on playing alone?”
“What are you talking about? Once with you once with me. This is still the second match he’s having.”
“It takes 5 minutes if I do it and you two have been going at it for an hour. Is this really the same? Move it’s Irene and me.”
Bratt shook his head and looked at Irene.
Irene smiled lightly and nodded his head.
Eventually another draw Bratt stepped down and Judith took his place.
Kwang!
Kwang!
Kwang!
Seeing the two collide with more intense movements Bratt Lloyd thought.
‘Looks like Judith is also hyped up.’
He nodded to himself.
Irene might not realize it.
Despite caring for Bratt and Judith a lot more than they know.
But it was natural.
Bratt looked away from them.
His eyes looked at the sky but his mind was lost in the slash that Irene did at the Murray manor.
The manifestation of aura and focus.
And most importantly the talent to rise to the status of Sword Master Irene Pareira possessed both of them.
Which meant that Irene had the highest chance of becoming a Sword Master out of the three.
Thinking that he laughed.
It had been 6 years since Irene first touched a sword. No it has been a year since he passionately went after the sword to become a Master.
There would be no swordsman who can stay proud in front of such a genius.
‘He says that the man in his dreams helped him but… being able to follow him is a great feat.’
Kwang!
Kwang!
“Kuak…”
“Oh yeah! 9 wings and 1 loss! 90% win rate!”
As he saw Judith yelling Bratt clicked his tongue.
If one wins they win. Why was she taunting him?
There was a time when he thought such things but later he realized that Judith had been that way since they were young.
He sighed and walked over to them.
When Judith said.
“What? Why the long face? Do you want me to battle you instead of Irene?”
“It’s been two wins and two losses for you and me recently. And I can destroy you instead…”
Huff huff he looked at Irene who was panting for air and said.
“We fought with our bodies to this extent and this time let’s fight with our mouths.”
