Once they were done talking, Nobina headed home early for the day with Pausers to clear her head. Like before, she summoned her diary and began writing about her day. Afterward, she enjoyed a nice, solitary dinner by herself. It was a nice moment of alone time that she wasn’t used to, so it was a good change of pace. Thoughts of her old world appeared here and there, but she was able to keep them at bay.

Afterward, she went to Harris and asked her about food and water for her new bunny.

“A bunny pet, eh?” spoke the innkeeper, focusing on cleaning the empty mugs. “Well… I do have carrots for it. Water I can also provide, but all of it will cost a few bronze coins. Is that fine?”

“Of course,” Nobina nodded.

She gathered the supplies from the innkeeper and brought them to her room. As she laid everything down, the innkeeper warned her to make sure the bunny didn’t bother the guests, and any mess it made was her responsibility.

“I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy a fluffy companion like this,” smiled Nobina.

“Well… If you haven’t met a Death Hare yet, then yeah… That’s true,” said Harris, giving a nod.

The words Death Hare instantly caused Nobina to freeze as she stared at Pausers. In return, Pauser seemed to stare at her for a bit before going back to hopping around.

“Uh… What’s a Death Hare?” asked Nobina, hesitant to learn about such a terrifying creature.

“Well… think of your bunny, but it moves insanely fast, bites extremely hard, and… well, it’s very aggressive and carnivorous. Also very lethal. Probably a mortality rate of… Well, better to not know that.”

Harris’ very serious face made it clear he wasn’t joking either. Nobina found herself shuddering upon hearing that. The thought that such a cute and fluffy bunny could do something so horrific wasn’t one she needed.

“You aren’t a Death Hare, right Pausers?” asked Nobina, looking at its face.

In response, Pausers merely hopped next to her and gave a snuggle, causing her to melt.

“I can get used to this,” she said with a face full of bliss.

“Well… Let me know if you need anything else,” said Harris as he left.

With that, she fed Pausers and prepared to call it a day. The next day would be the big day. Nobina would try to resolve things with Mimiki once and for all. If she failed… she didn’t know what she’d do about Mimiki.

The following day, Nobina found herself waking up to a fluffy object sitting directly on her. Her head tilted to see Pausers, her newly acquired bunny companion relaxing on her.

“Yesterday was something, huh…”

Today was the day she’d try to work things out with Mimiki. She took a deep breath, got ready, and headed out for the guild. She left Pausers as she didn’t want it to get hurt. Pausers looked a bit sad, but there wasn’t much she could do. Bringing a bunny to the workplace was something she wanted to do eventually, but perhaps not too soon.

Walking to the guild felt different that day. It felt as if she was walking into some major event, with pressure building on her to succeed. Memories of important meetings from her past filled her as she took each step. The pressure not to mess up. The pressure to make sure to execute everything perfectly. It was nerve racking, but she was managing to keep as much focus as possible.

“I’ll make sure to succeed, no matter what,” she told herself, trying to pump herself up.

With that, she made her way into the guild. Once inside, she saw Mimiki was merely watching over the front desk as usual. Her sight of Nobina prompted a “hmph” as she ignored her soon after. Nobina did the same, walking towards the desk. As she passed by Mimiki, she casually asked Mimiki a question.

“So. When’s the next training session?” asked Nobina.

Mimiki couldn’t help but scoff at her words.

“Exercise? What makes you think I want to teach you again,” she said.

There was clear hostility in her voice, but Nobina was unfazed. She was focused on executing her plan and wouldn’t let anything Mimiki said derail it.

“Oh… It’s a shame. I guess I’ll teach myself then. Probably for the best.”

As Nobina took a few steps, she heard Mimiki approach, grabbing her like before.

“What? You’re going to train yourself?”

Nobina chuckled, shaking her head.

“Why are you surprised Mimiki? You don’t want to teach me. I want to learn. Why should I not just teach myself? I’ll at least do better than that mess of a training session from last time.”

Mimiki let go, shaking her head as she walked back to the front.

“Do what you want,” she sighed. “I’m not getting into a shouting match with you over something like this.”

“I didn’t intend for that,” said Nobina. “I’m sure a book would teach me better than you ever could.”

At that point, Nobina smiled as Mimiki approached her, jabbing her finger into her.

“Alright. I’ll teach you if you really want. Right now. Outside.”

Nobina smiled, giving a nod.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

She went to Lare and told her what was happening. Lare’s face looked to be in pain before turning to Mimiki.

“Please… Don’t go too far this time Mimiki,” said Lare.

“I don’t intend to. I’ll teach her if it’s the last thing I do,” said Mimiki, fired up.

Nobina could tell Mimiki intended to teach her, but at the same time, she had a feeling it would be the same as last time.

The two stepped outside into the back, grabbing wooden training swords like last time. Nobina stood ready while Mimiki did the same, facing her.

“Now then,” said Mimiki, now focusing up. “Instead of you striking me, I’ll go ahead and strike you this time. I want you to show me what you picked up from last time watching me defend and dodge.”

Nobina gave a nod. Despite all the frustrations of the previous day, she could recall at least a bit of what she saw yesterday, with Mimiki dodging and blocking. Of course, she could only attempt to replicate a fraction of what Mimiki did. She didn’t have the skills or trained body of Mimiki, but it was better than nothing. To her surprise, Mimiki began actually giving instructions.

“Now if you don’t recall any of it, the basics are simple. Blocking is all about stance, form, and strength. A bad stance or form holding the sword and your block does nothing. Once that is sorted, it’s all about a contest of strength. I don’t expect you to be able to block any of this but show me what you got at least.”

“Ok,” said Nobina, giving a nod.

She was feeling excited thanks to Mimiki giving her instructions, but that was quickly dashed as Mimiki went at her. The first strike was powerful enough to knock the sword out of her hand. The second one hit her straight in the ride side, causing a grunt of pain as she retreated. Mimiki scoffed, stepping back to let her pick up her sword.

“Do better, since I’ll add more hits until you can show you learned what I said.”

Nobina nodded, ready for the next block.

Each time Mimiki went at her, Nobina did her best to block. However, the problem was that she didn’t know the proper form or stance to properly block. She desperately tried to recall what she saw Mimiki do, but it wasn’t successful.

“Come on! Did you learn nothing from last time?” yelled Mimiki as she landed another strike.

Nobina couldn’t help but speak back.

“It was rather…”

She was immediately cut off as Mimiki landed another strike.

“Not an excuse to talk,” said Mimiki, retreating.

That time, she had landed four hits, prompting Nobina to realize this was far more intense than last time. If she had to guess, she only could go up to six strikes. At that point, she’d probably be in too much pain to continue.

Nobina needed more time to think, but she didn’t have it. All she could do was try her best.

“Ready,” she said, huffing as she gathered her breath.

Mimiki went at her again and once again her sword was knocked out. As Mimiki hit her twice, the third time she had actually managed to dodge the hit. Her excitement was through the roof, but Mimiki’s following two hits brought her back to earth.

“Don’t get excited for such a simple dodge,” said Mimiki.

“Right,” replied Nobina.

This went on for one more time before Nobina found herself too hurt to actually continue. As she thought, after taking six hits in a row, there was no way she’d be able to continue. Especially since Mimiki, despite holding back, was making her feel every hit.

On the flip side, it seemed Mimiki was still frustrated. She looked as if she wanted to say something but was holding back.

“What’s wrong Mimiki?” asked Nobina, now leaning on her sword.

“I can’t believe you got me back here to waste my time again,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m going back in. Teach yourself.”

Nobina was surprised, considering she felt she learned something from this training. She couldn’t tell if she really wasn’t learning anything or if Mimiki’s past was still blinding her.

“Mimiki… Do you think I learned nothing from this?” asked Nobina as she stood there with a surprised face.

She turned to Nobina, shaking her head.

“Honestly. That’s how I feel. I’ve saw nothing to convince me you are taking this seriously.”

With that, Nobina stood up, her sword ready.

“Then come at me one more time. I’ll stop that hit no matter what,” said Nobina as seriously as she could.

Nobina knew there was little chance of that happening, but she had a plan. The moment Mimiki came at her, Nobina intended to deflect and dodge the hit this time.

Her logic was simple. Mimiki would be focusing on breaking through her guard to prove a point. However, if she didn’t expect a deflection and dodge, the odds of it working were higher. Of course, Mimiki was a former A-rank adventurer. For all Nobina knew, her plan would fail immediately as Mimiki would notice the act and merely get around her deflection. However, she intended to show Mimiki she was learning. This wasn’t a lesson on blocking or deflecting but a lesson on being able to handle an opponent much stronger than you. After all, if it was supposed to be the former, Mimiki would have told her more about stances and form rather than barking at her.

“Hey,” yelled Mimiki. “Focus.”

“Right,” said Nobina.

Nobina stood at the ready. Looking at Mimiki, she saw her gripping her sword particularly forcefully. Memories of the last time she saw that appeared, telling Nobina she’d actually get seriously hurt if she failed to stop the hit. She took a deep breath, staring at the sword. If she was right, she’d try to hit the same spot again as she never changed its location.

Mimiki charged at her at a speed far faster than she had gone so far. However, she was waiting for any movement to begin her deflection. Nobina’s sword moved into the spot she hoped, which would result in a deflection. To aid in that matter, she also moved right to keep her stance as firm as possible and also potentially dodge the strike. When she was in position, Nobina was shocked to see Mimiki was right there in front of her. Her sword was swinging right towards the expected spot and collided directly with Nobina’s sword.

It was only for a moment, but she saw the sword move slightly off of its intended path, but it wasn’t enough. The hit was far too strong, and it still hit her enough to knock her back. The sheer force caused her to fly a few feet, and soon everything went black.

Mimiki’s face changed immediately upon realizing what had happened. She looked at Nobina, who was lying on the ground, and immediately panicked.

“No…”

Mimiki knew that the hit was far too strong. She intended to hold back, but the moment Nobina moved unexpectedly, her instincts kicked in. She saw her trying to dodge and deflect, forcing her to redirect her own blade. While Nobina was still able to cause a partial deflection, Mimiki angled the sword enough to land a hit. The end result was Mimiki’s blade being a bit off course, but the force was far greater than she wanted to use against her, and Nobina was knocked back. Not only that, but the force was great enough that she hit her head against the ground hard.

She immediately called for Eric, who was there in an instant.

“Mimiki,” said Eric, looking at Nobina.

“I’m… I’m so sorry Master Eric,” she said, tears falling from her eyes. “I… I made a mistake.”

Eric shook his head.

“Mimiki… Go home for the day. I’ll tell you what will happen tomorrow.”

She nodded, taking her training sword and holding it tightly. As she was close to entering the building, she turned to Eric, trying to hold it together.

“Am… Am I fired Master?”

Eric, only looking towards Nobina, shook his head.

“You should be more concerned about Nobina and whether she’s fine. I’ll do my best to make sure of it at least.”

Mimiki gave a nod. As she turned away, she heard her master speak to her with a disappointed voice.

“There’s a limit to everything Mimiki. I thought I taught you that. This matter… Is not something I can overlook.”

Hearing that, she could only nod again before walking back into the guild.

As Eric crouched down next to Nobina, he took out a potion of red liquid and dripped a bit of it onto Nobina’s head. The result was a soft green glow before Eric shook his head.

“She wasn’t the only one who needs to apologize to you Nobina,” said Eric in a somber tone. “I should have handled this myself instead of hoping you’d resolve it. Now… I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to leave. You didn’t deserve any of this and you could have gotten seriously hurt… I’m sorry Nobina.”

Eric went ahead and picked her up, heading to the medical office to have her checked up and healed.