Ah, this was bliss. This was his real reward for being forced to stay away from the sword. His body was sent back in a violent burst as Elizabeth bashed his stomach in with a shield. His body flailed in the air but he managed to position himself so he hit the roof by his feet and jumped off, turning right side up before he hit the ground. Once again, he threw himself into the fight, a grin on his face as his muscles started to fail him. He ignored the pain, ignored the numbness, ignored the rather hurtful look of concern the female knight seemed to have for him.

Ducking under her weapon, he used his sword to pole vault into the air and slash down, bringing the greatsword down like lightning. Nothing, he just bounced off like nothing. The girl’s strength rivaled his own, and her body was so unshakeable that she barely flinched as she blocked his attacks. She wasn’t as overbearing as Keyla, but her strength was beyond anything he could do anything about. If Keyla was a hurricane, then the knight Elizabeth was a mountain.

At first, she’d been so overpowering that Elliot had no idea how the five had taken her down. As he kept fighting her, though, he understood why she couldn’t take on the ambush. The girl was a mountain, sure, but that was it. Every time she swung her sword he could dodge it easily. Her shield was the only threat, to the point where it was the only reason she was winning. She had no battle awareness, only following a certain pattern. Whenever he hit, she’d hit back, whenever he dodged, she’d fall back.

He couldn’t help but think that if he really wanted to, he’d be able to disarm her if he combined hand-to-hand combat with his sword skills. Why would he do that, though? This was fun! “Hah!” He twisted in the air, bringing the sword crashing down on the girl. As she pushed his sword off, he used the force to turn, bringing her strength right back at her. This time he finally managed to push her back. He grinned wildly, a far cry from his training partner’s serious expression. Polar opposites, both in the sword and in spirit.

Eventually, though, he lost, brought down by the shield that he secretly cursed with all his might. His body was bruised and battered, but his mind had never felt clearer. The knight laughed, her chest puffed up in pride. “How about it? I’m quite proficient when I don’t get a club to the back of the head.” She was right, the ambushers must have gotten lucky if they were able to take down this behemoth. “Goddamn… Classes. Unfair.” He managed to sputter out, gasping in between breaths.

The knight gave looked at him like one would a spoiled egg. “Unfair? You goddamn Dresmrs’ and your fucking talents… You wouldn’t know what unfair was until it fell from the sky and struck you like lightning.” Whoah, the misses had a potty mouth. “Goddmanit, if you’re like this then I’m making sure not to backtalk your sister. You little demon.” He laughed despite the rotten words. She had a smirk on her face, which irked him more than he wanted to admit.

Demon? If she thought he was a demon then his sister would be evil incarnate herself! He couldn’t help but resign himself to the fact that while Elizabeth simply had to keep to herself, he was cursed to have to deal with his sister every day. He stood up, finally regaining his strength. “Yeah, try not to talk to her unless she speaks to you first… Trust me, that doesn’t end well.” She gave him a look of pity, and for a second, he felt a sick sense in his stomach, having bad-mouthed his sister.

Something was telling him he was in danger unless he did something quick. “Ah, but she’s kind when you get to know her. Sometimes at night when I’m lonely she comes to my room to watch over-” A hand covered his mouth, thin and covered in callouses. “Mmhmm?” He was in danger. He looked up at his sister, who had an emotionless look on her face. He turned to look at Elizabeth but the girl was nowhere to be found. For a knight meant to stand her ground, she sure could move fast. “Elliot. What did you just say?” The grip on his mouth tightened, and he could feel his jaw aching from the pressure.

She let go just enough for him to talk, though. “I was just making sure she wouldn’t annoy you! I wasn’t trying to-” She pulled his chin up to look her in the eyes, he was surprised to see how troubled she looked. It was almost like she was panicking. “Not that. When did you know about… about… that.” He was confused for a second, but realized she must have been talking about the times she looked over him whenever he slept. She’d only done it a couple of times, but it always seemed to be when Elliot was troubled.

“...since always?” It was always kinda nice to have that companionship. He didn’t understand why his sister was troubled. Her worried face turned into one of complete dread, and Elliot didn’t know what to say. “Keyla, why are you so sad about this, I just…” Her hand let go of his chin, and she walked away at a brisk pace, not turning back. Elliot just stood there, confused to all hell about what just happened.

An hour later, he was still exercising in the training hall, practicing his aerial slashes with all the satisfaction in the world. Elliot felt a bit sad knowing he wouldn’t be able to train like this as much as back then. At first, he’d been excited to lock himself back inside the dojo and never leave, constantly training the sword until his body gave out. That had been before Elizabeth's father had decided to make him a sword. His current strength wouldn’t be enough to handle that kind of size, that kind of weight.

He cursed the fact that his strength wasn’t affected by one of his skills. If that had been the case then he’d already have had more than 10 times the strength of a normal person. It may have been greedy to want more, but he couldn’t help but look at the modifier for his charm and wonder just how powerful he’d be if that had gone to literally any other stat. It was a shame, a downright shame to have so much dedicated to looking like a wastrel. Maybe he should let a sword gash his face open, and put some manly scars on him.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Speaking of which, was his mother still busy? He knew a sword wouldn’t just pop out in two hours, but surely they’d finished talking about now? It was funny, how such a little thing as helping a brat had led to him owning a real sword… god, a real sword. He shuddered, thinking about how much stronger he’d be with the sword he had in his head. It'd be impossible to swing it with his current strength, he’d need to raise it if he had any chance to bring down hell with it.

…It would be absolutely beautiful. He heard the harsh sound of his mother’s voice soon after leaving the training hall, and ran to meet up with her. Why did she sound angry? Did negotiations turn awry? He panicked for a bit as the sword in his head threatened to dissolve in front of him, only to meet up with both an angry mother and sister. “You think you can go and become a hero!? People die on the outside, Keyla!” Was his sister trying to leave the nest? Why? The girl didn’t seem fazed, in fact, the fire in her eyes only grew stronger, bordering on rage.

“...Do you hear yourself, mother? On the day of your awakening, you left everything behind just the same. I’m much better prepared, and my class outshines your own!” She bared her teeth at mother for the first time, and Elliot let out a gasp loud enough for both to hear. Keyla turned to look at him in surprise, but Maribelle took the chance to raise her hand. She was about to hit Keyla. Elliot couldn’t help his stupid self, jumping in the way to protect his sister.

…and in a way, his mother.

His agility was good enough to get in the way, pulling back Keyla and pushing himself in front of her. He flinched as he expected the slap to send him flying, but instead only felt the intense air pressure of the hand stopping inches from his face. “Gah, auh… mom… ah” He was sweating, more than he ever had in training. This was more than just backtalk, he vehemently went against his mother’s wishes. “M-mom, I know this seems bad, but I know… we can talk… talk this out?”

He almost let out a pathetic chuckle at his own blatant lie. Keyla and Maribelle were cut from the same cloth, and while his mother was more mature due to her age, she still had trouble controlling her emotions when it really mattered. Her face right now was full of anger, worry, and a hint, just a hint of betrayal. That almost made him crumple to the ground in apology right then and there. This was his mom, even if she truly wasn’t his. The memories he’d gained from Elliot had seeped into his core, developing him as a person more than he cared for.

Alongside the memories came a pure love and admiration for his mom, The Sword Princess. “Mom… please don’t make that face… I don’t… I…” He choked up, remembering just how bad the past Elliot used to be as a kid, and yet... The little rascal had never earned these eyes. There was no betrayal from someone who you expected nothing from. These past two years, he’d spent all this time earning his mother’s trust, only to let her down today.

In a way, it was worse than just continuing to be the rascal he was before. He tried to get another word out but couldn’t and eventually, Keyla pulled away from him. “I’m going. Stop me if you actually believe I’m making the wrong choice.” She walked towards her room, not looking back. Elliot felt his throat dry, was this going to affect the family he’d worked so hard to obtain? “Ah… no, wait…” The voice was barely a whisper, coming from none other than Elliot’s mom. It caused Keyla to stop for a second, still not turning, but shaking a bit.

“I’ll make you proud, mom.”

Elliot's mouth dried up as he realized the gravity of the situation. No, oh god. She was serious… The house was already so lonely with just the three of them, how isolated would a world of only two feel? He needed to say something, anything. He wanted to be selfish, tell her that he’d fall apart without her. Something to guilt her into staying, or shame her into thinking this was a bad idea. This family of his was just that, his. He had just gained a sister, he wasn't going to just lose her now!

But like a coward, his heart told him it was for the best. Like a coward, his love for her trampled his greed. He turned to look at his mom, at anything that could stop this. But he could see the same feelings in his mother’s eyes as she watched Keyla walk away from the two. They were both cowards. They both loved her too much.

The rest of the day went by somberly, Maribelle had begrudgingly taken a pouch of coins and set them on the table in front of the entrance, refusing to hand them herself or even look at her daughter. Elliot wasn’t so tough, standing by the entrance with his hands clamped together, nervously. The girl went down the stairs with somber eyes, decked out with a stylish green leather armor and the sword given to her at her awakening.

She looked like a warrior, and he felt pride mix with the grief in his heart. Was this how his old man felt in his past life when Elliot left? Proud to see someone grow so well, yet terrified that it wouldn’t be enough? That’d it would never be enough? He’d been so happy to leave the old decrepit house in his past life, only to die so stupidly… “Elliot, move. You can’t change my mind.” He looked up at her in surprise, for some reason he moved in front of the door while he was deep in thought.

He looked the girl in the eyes, the same girl who berated him and constantly put him down. The same girl who he knew held him with all the care in her heart. He didn’t know what words to say, the old man had refused to speak to him on the day of his departure. What did he want from her? He didn’t want her to end up like him, slowly losing memories of his past life day by day, filling them with new memories. He wanted at least his name to remain with her, ironically, the only thing he couldn’t remember about his old man.

It was selfish, but he was only twelve so it fit him. Reaching out to hug her, he squeezed with all the might in the world, as if he’d fall forever if he let go. “Please don’t forget me, Keyla.” He struggled not to let out a tear, suddenly realizing why his mother and the old man had refused to speak. It was hard not to do anything that might fill the person with guilt. …The two must have had quite a lot of experience leaving people behind. The warm feeling of her hand rested on his hair, and she slowly ran her fingers through his scalp.

“I’ll never forget you, Elliot.” The words came out soft and sincere, uncharacteristically so. He didn’t look up, knowing that the resolve in her eyes would break him. She had grown, much more than he ever had in both lives. He unclamped himself from her, keeping his head down as he went to the side. His heart was no longer full of grief, but instead an empty, unsettling feeling. Things would be different without her, and he’d have to change in order to adapt. He watched her back as she left, only now noticing how big she looked, how broad her shoulders were.

Maybe... he was fine with this.

Exactly a year, 10 months, and four days later, Keyla Dresmr had been reported dead.