Chapter 14: The art of sword fighting

Kanae made the skeptical Miao weave some tiny cups. She slowly poured the warm nettle tea into the cups, the fragrance wafting out of the homemade vessels. 

All of them sat in silence for once and sipped the tea in peace. 

Slowly, the colour on Ed's face returned and he sat back up. 

"Honoured Miss… What actually happened to me there?" Ed asked Kanae, pursing his lips. He had never fallen sick in his entire life. This episode truly scared him. He really thought he would die… To be fair, he knew that day would come sooner or later but Ed never expected it to be because of a food item. 

He had thought the herbs were poisonous but Kanae could eat them just fine. Why was he different?

"That's because you're allergic to Peppermint."

Kanae sniffed, feeling her fever go down a bit. 

Ed and Miao shared the same look on their faces. A complete question mark. 

"Peppermint? Allergic? What does that mean?" 

"Peppermint is what you tasted. The spicy but cool flavoured herb. Allergy is… How the heck do I explain that?" 

Kanae rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was never a good teacher, especially when it came to something as basic as an allergy. 

"Our bodies are very mysterious. Every person's body is different. So, this herb here won't make me sick. But it'll make you sick. Do you understand?" 

Kanae's face was serious. Except the way she explained was as if she was making a child understand. 

Ed and Miao tried not to get offended by the fact that they just got treated like children by someone who looked like a child herself. 

Ed nodded and dropped the matter. 

As long as Ed was fine, Miao didn't bring it up either. The snow outside was starting to clear a bit. But it was still nighttime. 

Kanae thought for a bit. The day and night cycle here seemed very odd. She couldn't tell the time gap at all. 

"How many hours are there in a day?" 

The couple was taken aback by this dumb question. 

"Why of course, it's 24 hours…"

"Oh really? I see."

Ignoring their confusion, Kanae was still lost in thoughts. She had to find a watch once she got out of here. 

'System, what's the time right now?' 

<It's 2 in the morning.>

'Hey, how many *unknown*s do I have left, again?' 

<Checking the inventory… Player White has 2 *unknown*s left.>

'Open one *unknown*.'

<Opening one *unknown*.>

The system's familiar hovering blue screen appeared. To her surprise, the *unknown* she got this time was actually of some use. It was a compass. 

Sneakily, she held the compass in her tiny palm. After inspecting it for a bit, she put it inside her pocket. 

'I feel like the system usually gives me *unknown*s based on my situation. Except for that one time with the bear monster… Oh well, I guess I'll have to test it again next time.'

"Honoured Miss… If you don't mind answering… What are you?" 

Kanae was pulled out of her thoughts by Miao's low voice. 

"Sorry, what? What am I? Am I supposed to answer that in a philosophical manner?" 

Miao shook her head quickly, "No, no. As in, are you a nymph? A werewolf? Or maybe… A… A g-ghoul?" 

Kanae blinked her beautiful blue eyes. She didn't expect this world to have this wide variety of races. 

As for her race, she wasn't sure either. 

'System, what am I?' 

<Player White is a human.>

'Oh… That's underwhelming.'

"I'm just a human. And you? What are you? What about Ed?" 

"We both are Warriors."

"A Warrior? What do you all do?" 

"We train and fight Dungeon Masters! With our swords…"

"But…. Can't anyone do that?" Kanae tilted her head. 

"I-I guess so." Ed answered sheepishly. 

"You all are weird."

'Says the most weird one!!' thought both Ed and Miao in their minds, almost glaring at Kanae. 

"Wait. Does that mean you both have been trained? Can you both practice sword fighting? Do you know magic?" 

"Yes! I'm bad at infusing mana but Ed is really, really good at it!" Miao's eyes sparkled and she smiled. 

Kanae's eyebrows rose up. 

"Is that so? What kind of sword fighting do you do, Ed?" 

"I perform Kenjutsu, Honoured Miss."

'Kenjutsu? System, what exactly is Kenjutsu?' 

<Originating with the Samurai class of Japan, Kenjutsu means "the method of" or "the technique of" the sword. It consists of actually battling with swords, and the main weapon used is the Katana, although wooden bokkens can be used to reduce the chances of serious injury. Some schools will train with a bamboo sword covered in leather (fukuro shinai), particularly in the case of a student being new to the art form and not as well versed in controlling a sword, which can lead to injuries on the part of the sparring partner.>

'That sounds fun.'

"Along with Kenjutsu, I've also been studying Ryotojutsu."

'System—' 

<Ryotojutsu is the art of using both long and short sword.>

Why did that sound so cool? It was like those documentaries she watched as a child!

Kanae's eyes sparkled like stars. Ed noticed her change of behaviour and asked," Does Miss wish to learn Ryotojutsu?" 

"Yes! But from you? I doubt you know it that well. I'll find another Master." Kanae scoffed, remembering his duel with the bear. He wasn't that good at it. 

Ed looked miffed but Miao was happy at Kanae's reaction. She couldn't bear to see her Ed away from her, especially since he'd have to be near her for teaching sword fighting. 

"Honoured Miss, if we reach Blackwood City, I can take you to my Master. He's one of the most powerful Warriors to exist." Miao said excitedly, smiling and holding Kanae's hand. 

As amiable as she was now, Kanae still couldn't bear to be near anyone physically. It was just a mental barrier but she shook off Miao's hand and nodded. 

"That works. You'll repay me in that way as well. I need to learn some sword fighting to go kaboom on these monsters' butts."

Her eyes glowed evilly. 

Just then, a loud crackling sound made the ground shake. Kanae's body hair rose up. She could sense the monster again… The same Dungeon Boss from before.