84 Child – No you

A wooden sword blurred, trying to smack my head.

I stepped back and parried it with one of my own before stepping in with a stab.

My attack was parried as well, and then my attacker leaped back, clearing the space.

Eris clicked her tongue and scowled at me. "It's not fair!" She stomped on the ground and pointed her sword at me. "You're only beating me because you're faster!"

I shrugged and said, "The whole point of the Sword God style is speed, so it doesn't really master if my form's sloppy, right?"

Eris stopped to think about that.

Wait.

Before I could react properly, there was a flash of silver by Eris's feet and she crossed the distance, her sword flying up at an awkward angle.

My eyes widened and I leaned back, barely dodging the strike.

And then she spun around to kick me, whipping her leg around just as fast as the sword.

"Oi!" I threw myself back with a gust of wind and then pointed my sword at Eris. "What the heck has my dad been teaching you! That's not sword fighting!"

Eris spun around a few times, her momentum leaving her dizzy. But then she shook her head and gave me a smug look. "Hah! I made you use magic! I win!"

"...Sure. You win." I sighed and rubbed my nose. After that, I took a look around.

Everyone was busy today... is what I would like to say. But the truth was that I had snuck off by myself.

Of course, it was just my luck that I got caught by Eris and forced into sparring practice. She dragged me all the way to the fields by the forest and tossed me a wooden sword before starting a fight.

Even so, that was better than the alternative.

Ever since Dad left, Mom had been ranting various scripture to me from the Milis religion or whatever. The usual 'thou shalt treat thy neighbor with kindness' stuff like in the Bible. Except, unlike in the Bible where the words came from God and had a theme of self-sacrifice, the Milis religion was just based off a master swordsman who killed some Demon Lord or whatever.

Apparently, since they were words that came from some strong guy who saved a bunch of people, they were supposed to mean something.

Seriously. All it meant was that strength was power. And going by that logic, if I went to kill a giant monster or something, I could say whatever I wanted and it would be treated as gospel truth.

I mean, they were good moral guidelines. But morality was overrated anyway. They were just shackles that made the strong act according to what the weak thought.

There was no good and evil, only power and those who were too weak to seek it. Social constructs created as a check to those who society deemed as threats to the social order.

What mattered was what you did with that power.

"Are you ignoring me again?!"

A sudden shout broke me out of my thoughts.

Eris growled and crossed her arms. "I don't get it! Am I really that boring? Or do you just hate me or something? What did I ever do to you!"

I blinked and said, "Hate is a very strong word. But yes, I don't really like you."

She was technically family. But she was also someone who just got plopped into the happy family life we had already. And if not for her, we would all still be doing just fine. Or at least, life would be less complicated.

Eris flinched and her lower lip started trembling. But she stepped forward anyway and said, "W-Well I don't like you either! Sylphy's much nicer to me!"

I nodded. "I agree. She's really patient and kind. I just don't have the capacity to deal with someone like you."

"Capa- What?" Eris furrowed her brow and said, "Stop using complicated words to make fun of me!"

I blinked. "...Aren't you older than me? And a proper noble? How do you not know what capacity means?"

Eris huffed and said, "Why are you pretending to be an adult? Isn't it boring sitting and reading all day?"

"...Is this how a kid usually acts?" I frowned and placed my hand on my chin. "Maybe I was mistaken on something..."

Could it be that Dad's genes just gave birth to geniuses or something?

Norn and Aisha were much smarter than the average two-year olds and I was... well, me.

I didn't think I was a genius since Norn and Aisha seemed to be following on similar tracks as me while not being reincarnated, but seeing Eris now...

Sylphy was smart, so I thought that most people around my age were like that. But maybe we were special?

...No way. I was a hundred percent sure that anyone else from Earth in my situation would be able to do what I did.

Right?

...Then again, I *had* always been pretty smart. I think. The exact details were blurry, but I remembered being able to easily pass exams and everything with just attending class. And it was only after I stopped showing up to class that grades started to slip.

Hm.

Still not sure if I was a *genius*, but I guess I was definitely gifted?

"Stop that!"

Eris's voice broke me out of my thoughts again.

I blinked and said, "Stop what?"

She pointed at me and said, "That! You stopped talking and ignored me again!"

"Ah." I shrugged and said, "It's a bad habit. I'm not trying to ignore you."

Considering her personality, I couldn't even if I wanted to.

Eris pouted and then crossed her arms together. "I still don't get it. Why does Dad want me to marry someone like you anyway?"

My ears perked up at that and I quickly crossed the space to grab her hand. "You don't want it either, right? Great. Let's dissolve the contract then. Since you don't like me, it's a win-win, right?"

Eris's face suddenly turned red and she quickly backed up, wrenching her hand back. "W-W-What are you doing?! Don't grab me so suddenly like that!"

"Oh. Right." I laughed and rubbed the back of my head. "Sorry. I got a little excited."

Dammit. Wasn't going to be that easy, huh?

Eris frowned and then said, "...Do you not want to marry me that bad?"

"Hm?" I blinked and said, "What do you mean?"

Eris's frown deepened and she said, "I apologized to Sylphy. I play with Norn and Aisha. And I get along with everyone. But... Why don't you like me?"

I blinked again and said, "I mean, it's not that I don't like you, but-"

"But you said it!" Eris stepped forward and glared at me. "You said you don't like me earlier!"

"I said I don't 'really' like you. Not that I don't like you." I stared at Eris and said, "I mean... I think our personality types just don't match?"

I hadn't spent much time just chatting with Eris... in fact, this was pretty much the first time I got alone with her since she got here. From what I could see though, she was impatient, stubborn, and quick to anger. She also had a habit of acting first and thinking later. Not only that, but I could see that she was physically resisting against lashing out when she was angry. Like she had to visibly hold herself back.

Granted, she wasn't all bad. She was definitely hard-working considering how she spent as much time swinging her sword around as I did studying. And she got along with Sylphy and my younger sisters, like she said. That, plus considering how even Mom seemed to be warming up to Eris meant that there were parts of her I didn't know.

Like Dad said, she was probably a good girl if you got to know her.

I just... didn't really want to know her?

Eris flinched and bit her lips. "...We don't match...?"

I nodded and said, "I mean, take right now. You're the one who dragged me out here, weren't you?" I frowned and said, "I just wanted some peace and quiet for myself, but you grabbed me and made me spar with you."

"T-That's..."

My frown deepened and I said, "Do you want to show that you're better than me that much? Because you are, you know?"

"H-Huh?" Eris blinked, confusion in her red eyes.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. "Honestly... What's with all the geniuses around me? Are people stealing my talents or something? Or am I radiating experience buffs?"

Everyone that I had met seemed to either be a genius or suddenly improve. Just a bit of advice and help from me and BOOM, instantly stronger, smarter, or faster.

Eris glared at me.

I blinked. "What?"

"Don't do that!"

"Don't do what?" I frowned, confused. "Thinking out loud?"

"No! You keep saying that you're not a genius! Do you think the rest of us are that stupid?"

"No...? I'm saying that everyone else seems to be a natural genius except for me. Like you." I pointed at Eris and said, "Just earlier, I said something and then you suddenly got better. It just clicked for you and then you could do it. That's a natural genius, you know? I have to actually think about each and everything thing I do."

Eris stomped on the ground and said, "That's what a genius does!"

I nodded. "I know. And I agree. A genius just gets it."

Eris gave me a blank stare and then got really angry. Gnashing her teeth, she said, "You... you're making fun of me!"

"But I'm not?"

She grabbed her wooden sword and jabbed me with it. "You are! You think it's fun pretending to be dumb like that?"

I blinked and said, "I... really don't know what you're talking about? What do you mean, pretend to be dumb?"

Eris glared at me, staring into my eyes. But then she blinked and lowered her sword, looking confused. "Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me." I frowned and said, "What do you mean I'm pretending to be dumb?"

I mean, I was kind of doing that a bit with Master Roxy since it would make things awkward, but I didn't think I was doing it with anything or anyone else.

Eris blinked and then said, "You... Do you not know what a genius is?"

"Of course I do." I rolled my eyes and said, "It's someone who's naturally good at something. A genius. Like how you're naturally good at the sword."

Eris's face turned a bit red, but then she shook her head and said, "You're doing it again!"

"Doing what?" I frowned, starting to feel a bit frustrated.

Eris pointed at me and said, "You're a genius!"

"No. You're a genius. I'm just smart."

"That's a genius!"

I frowned and said, "Being smart doesn't make you a genius."

"But you're not just smart!" Eris kept pointing at me and said, "Rudy can look at something and figure out how it works! Fighting, magic... even the big things the adults talk about!"

"Well, yeah." I nodded and said, "But that doesn't make me a genius. Anyone can do it."

"I can't!"

"Mm, true. But Sylphy can."

"Because you've been friends with her for a long time!"

I paused.

...Now that Eris mentioned it, I did talk about a bunch of random things with Sylphy when we first met. And I did make sure to keep her curious and question a bunch of things... but she was already pretty mature.

Plus...

"She doesn't count. She's a half-elf."

Right. I bet there was some magical DNA thing going on that helped with that maturity of hers.

Eris growled and said, "Why are you like this? Stupid! Idiot! Dummy!"

I rolled my eyes. "What? Since I don't think I'm a genius, I'm suddenly dumb?"

Eris spun around and ran off. "Why do I even think you're cool anyway?!"

Wait, what?

"I'm telling your mom you ran away!"

"W-Wait!" I ran after Eris. "We can talk about this!"

"No! You're stupid! I don't want to talk to you anymore!"

"Fine, I'm a genius! Please don't tell-"

"MISS ZENITH! RUDY'S OVER HERE!"

"Argh!" I ran my hand through my hair and said, "See! This is why we can't get along!"

Freaking bipolar tsunderes... Definitely needed to spread mental health awareness and train some therapists in the future to fix this...

[author]No chapter tomorrow. Taking a day off to read and refuel creative juices.[/author]