Preparing for the Tournament

The next day, Bar went to class as normal. As expected, once class was over, Alice grabbed his arm.

“You're coming to club again today, right?” she said, with her usual pressing smile.

Bar nodded, “I said I'd go once a week.”

Alice nodded, before dragging him along, causing them to receive a few stares as they went past.

Arriving in the club room, there was already several practice duels going on, including Rolf, who was swinging at his opponent with quick, heavy strikes.

As Bar sat his bag down, he commented, “I didn't remember it being this busy last time.”

Alice nodded, “It wasn't, but everyone wants to get as much practice as they can before the tournament.”

Bar winced, “Tournament? Does...everyone have to participate?”

Alice raised an eyebrow. “No, but...are you saying you don't want to even try for the prize?”

“Prize?”

Alice pointed to a poster on the wall. “Yes, an orichalum sword.”

Bar, who was reaching over for a wooden sword, stopped in his tracks. “An...orichalum sword?”

Alice smiled, nodding “I thought you might be interested. Orichalum's swords are a big status symbol.”

Bar nodded. Yes, and they're also worth a small house in gold. It may not pay for all of it, but that would still be a huge chunk. Thinking of how happy Joan and Claire would be, he greedily rubbed his hands together.

Alice, seeing his excitement, gave a devious smile. “Of course, I'll be attempting to win it as well.”

“And me,” Rolf explained, wiping his forehead with a towel as he walked over.

“I'm surprised they're putting up that...expensive of a reward,” Bar responded.

Rolf nodded, “It's a big recruiting event for the military. They run it every year, but the prizes have never been this much before. They must really want to draw out the reluctant folks that might not compete otherwise.”

Bar winced a bit, knowing he was in that category.

“Shall we warm up with some exchanges?” Alice asked, taking off her jacket and holding out her sword.

Bar nodded, making sure to not stare at her breasts.

As they clacked their wooden swords together, Alice continued, “The tournament isn't normal dueling rules, since it's held in one day. It's first to three hits, and they don't count glancing blows.”

“No giving up?” Bar asked, practicing his swing.

Rolf, who was watching them, laughed, “Haha, you can still give up, but if you're giving up before you've been hit three times, you probably shouldn't be entering.”

“Shall we go, then?” Alice asked.

Bar nodded.

At first, it was all he could do to parry Alice, but after a bit, he was able to start going on the offensive. While he was occasionally able to land a blow on Alice, she was landing four or five for every one he did.

Urgh...I stand no chance if Alice is part of it.

After another few blows, Bar held up his hand. “Let's stop there, I wanna be able to walk tomorrow.”

Alice giggled, “You did well, but you're going to need to practice a lot if you wanna have a chance.”

Bar sat down, airing out his shirt as he was sweating, shaking his head. “Yeah, maybe I shouldn't bother.”

Alice sat down next to him, also airing out her shirt. Bar made a point to not glance over at her breasts that were (probably) visible at this angle. “Are you sure? I was hoping you would practice and enter.”

Bar closed his eyes, I really should. Even if it's just a small chance, winning that sword would be huge.

As he opened them back up, Alice's breasts were plainly in his view, as she was leaning over towards him. “If you enter, I was thinking of giving you a reward.”

Bar gulped. “A reward?”

Alice nodded, pulling back. “Yes. You don't even need to win, just enter, and duel to your utmost.”

Bar raised an eyebrow. “What...kind of reward?”

She gave devious smile, “You'll just have enter to find out.”

“Well...I guess I will.” Less for your reward and more for the sword. Depending on what it is... “When is the tournament?”

“Two weeks, and then the last day of classes that week. Everyone actually gets the afternoon off, as encouragement to attend,” Alice said, still smiling. “I suspect you may be coming to club more than once a week now?”

Bar nodded. I guess I'll need to work on this, too.

At dinner that night, Bar explained the situation to the others.

“You must try for it. I don't know how good you are, but even a small chance is worth it, and there isn't much of downside besides a few weeks of no working, right?” Claire responded.

Joan nodded. “I agree, put working on hold for now. Winning that would be more than you can even make in three years.”

Belle nodded vigorously in agreement.

“But...aren't you concerned about this 'reward' from Alice? What if she tries to pull something over on me?” Bar asked, shaking his head.

Joan and Claire looked at each other.

“We discussed this when she came, she probably wants to get engaged to you,” Joan reminded him.

“Or maybe...she'll give you her body...” Claire suggested, holding herself and turning back and forth.

Joan raised an eyebrow, “I don't think most noblewoman would do that. Especially ones they aren't engaged too.”

Claire just blushed and looked down.

The others sat there in silence.

“Umm...” Belle started. “Is a reward from her...a bad thing?”

They all turned to look at her, causing her to blush.

Bar sighed. “Maybe it won't be. But she's been a thorn in my side since I've arrived here. It's hard for me to completely trust her.”

Over the next week, Bar alternated between practicing dueling one day, and then resting his body while studying the next. He couldn't escape from Alice, who either dragged him to the dueling club, or to the library, depending on which was being done.

Luckily, she hadn't invited herself over to dinner again.

“I really wish she would leave me alone,” Bar said, as they all sat down for dinner.

Joan gave a weak smile. “Maybe you can drop out of the club after the tournament. You could say you need to spend more time studying. Which, honestly, you should...

Bar sighed. “She would still be bothering me at the library, though.”

Claire, who had a large piece of bread in her mouth, swallowed it and said “Hey shouldn't you be more excited? We have our date tomorrow!”

Bar gave a weak smile. “I am excited, dealing with Alice just has me worn down.”

The next day, Bar met up with Claire outside of Dolly's in the afternoon.

“Hehehe, what do you think?” Claire asked. She was wearing a red sundress, a bit redder than her hair, which was hanging down instead of in her normal braids.

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Bar smiled, “You look really pretty in that.”

Claire blushed and smiled, grabbing his arm. “Let's go, I have a lunch reservation!” she said, pointing in the distance.

She led him south, to the upscale part of the city. There, they stopped at a fancy-looking restaurant.

“Um...you wanna eat here? Isn't it expensive?” Bar asked.

“Hehehe, you're forgetting you're engaged to a woman with a full-time job! Well, it's not the best pay, but since my housing is paid for, I have extra money for stuff like this!” Claire puffed out her chest proudly.

“But, shouldn't we be saving it for the house...” Bar protested.

Claire pouted, “It's not like we're eating here every day! I wanna...” she looked down, “I wanna treat you sometimes too, since you make me feel so...” she held her hands to her cheeks, which looked to be burning.

Bar understood. “Sorry, let's go,” he said, grabbing her hand in his and walking in, causing her to blush even more.

As they entered, a man in a butler outfit greeted them. “Hello there, sir, ma'am. Do you have a reservation?”

Claire reached in and grabbed a card, handing it to the man.

The butler read it and nodded. “Right this way...” he said, before leading them into the main restaurant.

“What if someone from the academy recognizes us. Don't nobles eat here?” Bar whispered.

Claire gave her now-trademark laugh, “Hehehe, I planned for that too!”

After a bit of walking, including up a flight of stairs, the butler led them into a private room. It was open to the outside, and overlooked the countryside south of the town. When they sat down a the table, they couldn't even see the city, just the farmland going out to the horizon.

The butler slipped a notebook out of his pocket. “Do you know what you'll have?” he asked, looking at Bar.

Bar looked at Claire, who answered, “We'll each have an eight ounce steak. Actually, make his a 10 ounce. And we'll share a bottle of the house wine,” she added with a smile at Bar.

The butler nodded, writing down in his notebook, before leaving and closing the door after himself.

Bar looked around at the room they were in. It wasn't too large, just enough for their table, chairs, and a bit of room that turned into a veranda, but it had fine wood paneling and dark silk curtains.

Claire grabbed his hand, pulling him up and towards the railing. “You live that way, don't you?” she asked.

Bar nodded, “Yes, well, I used too. Don't know if I'll be invited back.”

Claire seemed a little disappointed. “I did always look forward to the 'meeting the parents' part, but I guess that isn't an option for us.”

Bar chuckled. “Well, you wouldn't be an issue to introduce, since you're a noblewoman. Although...” Bar thought about how his mother acted around other woman, and about his father's...taste in woman. “Actually, nevermind, I don't think they'd like you.”

Claire pouted, “What are you saying?”

“I just mean them, I like you enough,” Bar said, reaching down and giving her a kiss.

Claire reciprocated but then pretended to slap him. “What are you doing, someone might see us...” she giggled.

They held hands while looking out over the city, before eventually a knock came at the door. They sat down as the butler came in, wheeling a tray with two plates and a bottle of wine. He first uncorked the bottle before pouring them both a glass, before setting the dishes down and taking off the covers, big wafts of steam coming out from under as the steaks were revealed.

Wow, I'm not a food connoisseur, but even I can tell these are high-class, he thought, having to stop himself from drooling at the steak in front of him. Looking over at Claire to see her reaction, he could see she was not able to stop herself from drooling.

The butler bowed, “Please enjoy. Since you've already paid, feel free to take your time and leave whenever you're done,” he explained, closing the door.

“You already paid?” Bar asked after he had left.

Claire nodded as she took a swig of wine and started hungrily cutting a slice off the steak. “You have to prepay for a private room like this. You basically rent out the room instead of purchasing the meal. Although...it only includes the house wine, if you want something higher shelf, the price is a lot more” she explained.

Bar took a sip of the wine. “Well, even this is probably the best wine I've had. It'd probably ruin my palate if I had a higher-tier one.”

Claire giggled, “Eat your steak too! It's really good.”

Bar nodded, slicing off a piece of steak and savoring it. It's as good as it looks.

Bar was about halfway done when Claire finished off hers. She then drained the rest of her wine and poured some more.

“Did you not eat at all today?” Bar chuckled, before putting another piece in his mouth.

Claire slowly put down the bottle, blushing. “No, I...I was too nervous to eat earlier.”

Bar raised an eyebrow, “Why were you nervous?”

Claire blushed even more, looking down. “Do...”

Bar stopped chewing to look at her.

“Do...do you love me?” she asked, head still titled down but eyes looking up at him.

Bar put his fork and knife down. Is this why Joan brought this up last week?

Claire continued, “It's okay if you don't, I...I just...”

Bar leaned over and grabbed her hand. “I...really appreciate you. I just...I need time to sort out my feelings.”

Claire looked down and nodded. “It's okay. Even if you don't love me, I'll still marry you, and contribute to the house, and have your kids, I just...I just want someone to need me,” she got out.

While Bar expected her to cry, instead, she let out a big breath, and smiled at him.

“Okay, now you know what I'm thinking. I feel a lot better now,” she explained, taking another swig from her glass.

I need to give her some sort of answer... “I...I just need...”

Claire waved her hand, before taking another swig. “It's okay, it's okay...” she sat down her now empty glass, before standing up and walking over to him.

He thought maybe she wanted to leave, but instead, she jumped up in his lap, straddling him. “Hehehe, now I got you.”

Bar's eyes went wide as Claire wrapped her arms around his neck, sloppily making out with him.

“Are you drunk?” he asked, unlatching herself.

Claire giggled, “Not after just that much. I told you, right? Even if you don't love me, I'll still have your kids.”

Bar grew red, as Claire pulled down his pants a bit, revealing his enlarging member. “This guy seems to agree.”

“Should we really do it here!?” Bar asked, looking between the door, and the opening to the outside.

Claire nodded, “One of my dreams was to do it in a place like this,” she explained.

“Do you have a whole list of things you want to do?” Bar asked.

Claire looked down, “...Yes. I wanted to get through as many as I could in case you grew tired of me.”

Bar sighed, “I'm not going to grow tired of you...”

Claire rebutted, “How do I know that though!? You say that now, but-”

Bar interrupted her with a kiss. She has trouble trusting nobles, or maybe just anyone...

“I won't. If I do, Joan will kill me. You can too, if you want,” Bar suggested.

Claire smiled, before holding his face into her chest. “I don't want to kill you.”

“That's good...”

They both looked at each other, before bursting out laughing.

Claire reached down and pulled down her panties, her favorite color of pink, and slid onto Bar's member.

They made out again, Bar holding her to him as he did quick, short thrusts into her.

Bar could hear her moaning in between her kisses. Her voice would probably leak out into the town if we weren't kissing.

After a couple minutes of this, Bar held her close as he released into her. After he finished, she leaned back, red in the face, still being held by Bar. “That was amazing...”

Bar smiled, “I'm glad you feel the same. We should probably go before someone gets suspicious, though.”

They quickly pulled up their respective undergarments, finished the last of the wine, and held hands as they walked out.

Well, she seems happy for now, but I'll make sure I sort out my feelings soon.

The next day, Bar went through another grueling training session with Alice.

Breathing heavily, Bar held up his hand. “Hold on, give me a minute,” he asked.

Alice crossed her arms, although she was also breathing heavily “You can't expect to win like this.”

Rolf, who was watching them, laughed, “Haha, Alice, you can't compare everyone to yourself. I think Bar is doing well enough.”

Alice shook her head, “'Well enough' won't win the tournament.”

I hate to say it, but she's right. Bar readied himself to go back to dueling, which caused Alice to smile and ready as well.

Bar was starting to learn Alice's patterns, but every time he thought he had them down, she would change it up or pull something else out that would cause him to misjudge and get hit.

After a few more rounds, club was over and Bar went to leave. As he was leaving, Alice quickly caught up to him. “Would it be fine if I joined you again for dinner?”

Bar bit his lip. I don't want too, but...no, she's been helping me out with the dueling practice, too. Nodding, Bar accepted, “Yes, that's fine.”

As they left, Bar noticed Alice was walking abnormally close to him. It wasn't enough to accidentally touch him, but it was close enough that she was obviously comfortable near him. I'm starting to think they might be right...

As they reached Bar's dorm, he opened the door to find Claire and Joan drinking tea and chatting.

“I don't know if...” Claire started, but stopped as the door opened. She turned red, while Joan stood up and welcomed them.

“Master Bar, Lady Alice, welcome.”

Claire stood up, awkwardly saying, “Thanks for the tea Joan, I best be going...”

Bar, as Joan was taking his bag, asked, “Won't you join us for dinner, Miss Claire? I presume Belle made enough for five.”

Belle responded from the kitchen bar with a nod.

Claire blushed, but nodded, “Ah, thank you, Belle's cooking is always...delightful.”

As they sat down at the table, an awkward silence filled the room.

Claire, maybe thinking talking was better than the oppressive silence, asked, “So, Alice, you are entering the same tournament as Bar, correct? Who do you think will win?”

Alice raised an eyebrow, “Myself. Bar could have a chance if he applies himself, but at the rate he's going, I doubt it.”

Well that was blunt. Claire didn't really have a response, so she simply nodded awkwardly and looked at the table.

Thankfully, they were saved by Belle, who brought over their plates of food.

Claire, forgetting herself for a moment, greedily dug into her plate, eating quickly, before stopping when she noticed Alice staring at her.

Bar, on the other hand, had noticed an issue. There was one empty chair next to Alice, but both Joan and Belle were standing around. Belle was trying to get Joan to sit down, who was refusing. Eventually, she gave in, sitting down with a plate next to Alice, while Belle stood behind them.

Alice, who had seen this the time before, merely glanced at Joan while continuing to eat.

After they finished, Alice nodded, “Thank you, your servant's food was excellent again,” before getting up and heading to the door.

I guess she really just wanted dinner.

After she left, Claire let out a big sigh.

“She is probably getting suspicious of us. Especially Claire,” Joan explained, grabbing her bowl and heading up.

Belle sat down in Alice's space, chomping away.

Bar looked at her, “Sorry Belle, we need a bigger table.”

Belle blushed, “Ah...don't mind me...” she said meekly, before taking another bite of a roll.

Claire (replying to Joan) said, “You're...probably right. Maybe I shouldn't come over until after dinner.”

Bar shook his head, “Nah, I just won't let her invite herself over anymore.”

Claire acted like she was going to protest, but instead just blushed and nodded.

“Is what she said about the tournament true?” Joan asked.

Bar sighed, “Probably. I can do well if I'm up against anyone else, but against Alice, I might not get a single hit in before she wins.”

Claire crossed her arms. “Maybe...maybe we can take her out somehow.”

Bar looked at her surprised, and Belle dropped her fork at the comment.

“You...you're gonna kill her?” Bar asked.

Claire shook her head, “No, silly, I wouldn't go that far. Like...maybe I can get her suspended so she can't compete.”

Joan jumped in, “I had been trying to think of something similar, as well.”

“You too Joan!?” Bar asked.

Claire raised an eyebrow. “I don't know why you're so surprised. You're fiance's want what's best for the family. And us getting our hands on that sword is for the best.”

Joan stood behind her nodding, “A less...discerning noble family might poison her the day before.”

Bar shook his head, “I wouldn't want to go that far.”

Claire replied, “Neither would I, but that doesn't mean...”

Bar thought for a moment. “No, I don't want to risk it. If something happens and we get found out, then we'd be losing too much.”

Joan and Claire looked at each other before nodding.