“Seriously, Katja? You want me to fight Iroha again? Didn’t we just do that a few days ago?” Carol’s annoyed voice echoed through the small dojo.

“We did, but Iroha suddenly got a lot stronger after sparring with you. Sorry, but I need you to help with her training.”

“Fine, I’ll do it, so don’t apologize to me. You do not need to do that. *Sigh…* What a waste of time.”

Me, Carol, Katja, and Narumi gathered again at the dojo for another sparring match. The second time is not as big of an event, so Hecate said she had other things to do and decided not to join us. After she finished convincing Carol to spar with me, Katja joined Narumi in the spectator’s seat. Carol and I faced each other in the middle of the dojo. It’s time for another match between the two of us.

Yesterday, after I returned from the other world, I was very excited about how much I was improving. Katja asked me about it, and I got carried away. I joined her for a small training session to show her all the new things I had learned, which impressed her.

“How did you improve so much so quickly? I knew sparring and self-training could be a good idea for you, but I never expected this level of results.” She asked me yesterday.

I couldn’t exactly reveal the reason why, so I played dumb.

“You gotta spar with Carol again! How about tomorrow? If you’re improving this fast, you’re gonna be able to match Carol in no time. How much stronger are you gonna get if we do this a few more times? I can’t wait to find out.”

Katja is so pushy when it comes to other people’s training that I had no choice but to accept sparring with Carol. And now, we’re doing this again. I can’t say I’m not interested either. It’s true that I’ve gotten stronger after going into the other world, so I wanna see how much I’ve improved. Last time, I was barely able to keep up with Carol, and I knew from the beginning that I had no hope of winning. I need to get some revenge.

“How much could she have improved in just a few days? Seriously…” Carol muttered to herself as she scratched her bright hair. “Why did you agree to this, Iroha? Did you think it’s gonna go differently from last time? Don’t get mad at me if you get hurt. I’m not gonna hold back. Come on, let’s finish this quickly.” Carol clenched her grip on her wooden sword with a composed look.

Is it going to go differently? Is it going to end the same way as last time? Who knows? But I’ve gotten stronger since last time, and I’m not interested in losing again. “Let’s have a good match.”

“Are you two ready?” The two of us in the center of the dojo nodded in response. “Then, start!”

*Clack!*

As soon as Katja lowered her arm, our wooden swords clashed. I had already learned how important it was to be on the offensive, so I immediately lunged forward as an opening. Carol made me pay for that mistake last time. Just like me, she was also aware of how important it was to be on the offensive, so her first move was also to charge forward.

Carol said she wasn’t going to hold back, and neither am I. If I don’t use my skills again, I’m gonna lose. This time, I’m going to do things differently. I don’t wanna get found out, so I can’t go overboard, but I can still use Agility Burst and Slash Flurry. If I’m careful, I can actually use Agility Burst while making it look natural. I won’t be able to use it to its fullest potential, but it should be good enough. With Slash Flurry, all I need to do is not chain any attacks. If I use it for singular strikes, I can enhance their speed and power without it looking too unnatural. I’ve got a chance this time.

Our swords clashed many more times, until Carol got tired of doing the same thing. She hit me with a weak but quick attack, followed by a heavy but just as quick attack from the opposite direction. This would have been too much for me last time. I easily blocked the first attack and moved my sword around just in time to block the heavier hit.

“How is that possible?” She looked at me with anger in her eyes as her heavy attack pushed me back. She was expecting to finish things off with that move.

I wasn’t immediately able to move, so Carol should have attacked. Maybe that heavy attack caused her to lose her momentum, or maybe she’s upset that I was able to block. Either way, I regained my balance and rushed towards her.

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I had the upper hand, and I was able to attack her a couple more times. Carol had no choice but to block my strikes. This wasn’t going to defeat her, but if I keep putting pressure on her, I’m going to create an opening eventually.

Carol got tired of defending, and the opening I longed for finally appeared. Carol tried to retaliate in between my attacks. She slashed down, but she was too slow to hit me. I pressured her so much that there was no way she could have made a good attack from her position. I swiped her sword to side, and used Agility Burst in the opposite direction. I was almost able to get behind her, and now she had no way to defend herself.

That was the plan, but Carol was more agile than I thought, and she managed to turn and block my attack. Her block was as rushed as her previous attack. After defending against my sword, she lost balance and stumbled back. This should have been my opportunity, but I couldn’t follow up. The momentum from circling her with Agility Burst made it impossible to do so.

Carol was the first one to move, and she ran my way with a low stance. I remember this one. Carol swiped away at my feet with a kick, but I managed to dodge by taking a step back. Hah! Serves you right! Did you think you were gonna get me with the same trick again? It’s easy to dodge if I know it’s coming.

I raised my head and locked eyes with a smiling Carol. “You fell for it.” Carol was playing with my expectations, and that kick of hers was yet another trick. She made me look at the floor before lunging at me with a thrusting motion. That looks like it’s gonna hurt. I don’t want that! I can’t go out like this! I didn’t have any other way to defend myself, so I used Slash Flurry to knock her sword to the side.

Carol’s cocky face turned into awe, and her lunge into a tackle. Ouch! She may be small, but her tackle still hurts. The distance between us increased, and we’re back in a neutral position. “How did that not work?” Carol mutters to herself, growing visibly more annoyed.

If she’s not going to attack, then I’ll make the first move. She wants to fight with tricks, so I’m not gonna hold back either. I wanted to throw off her guard timing, so I swung my sword at her and activated Slash Flurry in the middle of my swing. The sword’s speed suddenly increased, and Carol winced as she struggled to block it. “You’re trying to mess with me…” She’s mad that I tricked her now. She’s the one who started it, though.

Carol continued to block my attacks until another opening showed up. I swung down at her with all my might, but she disappeared. How? As soon as she saw I was aiming for a big hit, she gave up on blocking and dodged to my side. I couldn’t stop my swing in time, and my sword hit the ground with a big sound. “Payback, bitch.” This is bad. I’m completely exposed now, and Carol’s right next to me. This is intense! My heart’s pounding so much. Am I gonna lose again? I can’t afford to hold anything back anymore.

I used Agility Burst at full strength and quickly got out of the bad position I was in. Carol wasn’t bothered that I managed to dodge. In fact, she may have been expecting it. Her sword whiffed, but she chased after me without missing a beat. Her face carried a confident and excited smile. The momentum from the Agility Burst makes it hard for me to defend myself. I really wanna win this time! I used Agility Burst once more to break my bad momentum and shot towards Carol. Her eyes widened in surprise due to my strange movement, and I used Slash Flurry to knock the sword out of her hands.

“That’s it! Iroha wins!” Katja’s voice resounds through the room, putting an end to our match.

What’s this? It’s over? Did I hear it right? I won? Against Carol? There’s no way… I can’t believe it… I have gotten stronger, but it shouldn’t have been enough for me to beat Carol. She is so much stronger than me…

Narumi jumped up from her seat and ran towards me. “That was amazing, Iroha! That was so fun to watch! You had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!” What Narumi cared about the most was having fun, so she was quick to celebrate my performance.

Katja was also quite excited, and she was also quick to come to my side. “That was a big surprise. I wasn’t expecting you’d be able to win. You improved even more than I imagined.”

“And the way you closed out the fight… I think my heart stopped when I saw you charging at her. You were like, voosh!” Narumi gestured in a silly way, trying to replicate my final swing.

“That was really impressive. What was that at the end?” Katja asked with an inquisitive look.

Oh no! She noticed, didn’t she? I got so caught up in the fight with Carol, that I used Agility Burst two times in a row. What was I thinking? Of course it’s gonna look unnatural if I use it like that! She’s onto me. How can I get out of this one?

“Uhmm… I don’t know… My body just kinda moved on its own…” What a stupid excuse. Is she going to let it slide.

“I see… It’s a shame you didn’t do it on purpose. Still, it’s impressive you were even able to pull it off. That’s another sign that your training is bearing fruit.” What? She’s not mad? It actually kinda sounds like she was excepting it. Was I supposed to be able to do that kind of movement with her training one day? Isn’t that a little too much? I can only do that because of the skill. It’s practically a cheat. Then again, the way she jumped over my sword the other way was also absurd. I guess that’s how high her standards are.

Either way, Katja and Narumi are both happy with me, and my secret is still safe. I guess it’s fine for me to hang back and enjoy. “Thanks, you two.”

“How is this possible? It’s been more than two years. How did she improve so much so quickly? Why am I so useless? I’ve been working so hard. Why did this happen? Why did she have to show up? Why is she so strong?” This is bad. Carol is once again whispering to herself. Carol was behind Narumi and Katja with her hair covering her face. She’s taking this really poorly. Have Katja and Narumi not noticed? They should say something to her. Poor Carol… She did really well too.

Since they don’t seem to notice, I’ll have to be the one who says something to her. I tried to speak with Carol, but both Katja and Narumi were in my way. They were still merrily discussing the details of the fight, and I was more than happy to continue basking in their praise. What do I do? I don’t want to leave Carol like that, but I also don’t want to interrupt Katja and Narumi and ruin the mood.

“W- wait!” Before I was able to make a decision, Carol sprinted out of the dojo. I reached out to her, but I was too late, and she left. Was she crying?

“Was that Carol?” Katja looked at the entrance, trying to identify the source of the noise.

“Yeah… I think she was upset.” I should have said something sooner…

“For sure! Ahahahaha! She’s gonna be pissed! Carol hates losing.” Narumi laughed it off, like it wasn’t that big of a deal. She hates losing? Is that really all there is to it?

“I’m worried about her. Is she gonna be okay?”

“Hmm… It will be fine. None of us could have imagined how much you have grown already, so it must have come as a shock to her. Me and Hecate will talk to her later, so don’t worry, Iroha.” Katja saw me worry about Carol, and tried her best to reassure me. I’m not the one who needs to be reassured, though.

It wasn’t late yet, and I didn’t have anything else to do, so I spent the rest of the day with the others at the House. It was a good opportunity to train with Katja again and to catch up with the rest of the girls. I’ve been getting better, but it’s gonna take more than to get to their level. I had a good time, but, for the rest of the day, Carol was nowhere to be seen.