CHAPTER 23: STRUGGLES (3)

When Seraphin wakes up, she is in Melka’s house. Birds are chirping outside and the sun’s light is passing through the small holes in the roof that still aren’t fixed entirely. Her usual scene since she came here.

“Wait? What?”

She tries to stand up and manages to do so without trouble. Was everything a dream? She has no wounds, not even on her cheek. Her shoulder is not hurting, nor is her back.

“T-that can’t be, right?”

As she is thinking, Melka enters.

“Ah, you are up. Good. How do you feel?”

“What? No, wait.”

“What? Are you still ill? Yesterday’s training was pretty tough, I know but…”

“No, no, no, no. There is definitely something wrong. You sent me to fight vampires and I managed to… But then…and that’s when…”

“What? What are you talking about? Vampires? It’s way too early for you to fight something like that. you were still throwing up yesterday.”

Seraphin couldn’t believe it. Everything was a dream? How? Why?

“I-I see.” Seraphin turns around to grab her sword but she doesn’t see it anywhere.

“I took it outside to let it see the sun.”

“O-okay. No, wait…” Let it see the sun? In all those three years, Melka never touched her sword, not even once. She was always focused on her own sword, polishing it every single day like a child she was bathing. So why would she…

“You are lying.”

“Eh?”

“You never took as much as a glance at my sword so why would you take it outside now?”

“I-I told you. It was because-“

“I don’t buy it.”

“Pfft.”

From the roof, a slight and almost inaudible laugh finally reveals the truth. Seraphin understands everything as she hears it. It was almost impossible to hear it, but she did.

“You are a real pain in the neck when you want, you know that?!!”

Seraphin takes the chair and throws it on the roof, breaking the roof while the chair flies outside. Whoever was staying there had already moved though.

“Sorry, he made me do it.”

To Seraphin, hearing that somebody managed to force Melka to do something would normally be unbelievable, impossible even, but because she is focused on one person right now, she only hears it with an half ear.

“Wait until I catch you!!”

Seraphin runs outside and finds a man with green hair and a mask sitting on a tree trunk.

“Would it kill you to act like a normal person for once!!”

“But then, I wouldn’t get to see you all flustered.”

“Argh!! You!!”

Seraphin runs like she is going to smack him but then simply jumps on him, making them both fall.

“Sob…Sob... I-I missed you so much! You big dummy!!”

Seraphin starts crying on the man’s chest. He simply starts caressing her hair with his only hand as an answer, whispering ‘It’s okay’ to her in the ear.

Melka, who is watching the whole scene from the door of her house, only had one thought.

‘Who is going to repair my roof?’

***

“So how was it? Training with a master?”

“Well, she is more than I deserved, that’s for sure.”

Seraphin and Lekas are sitting face to face on the tree trunks outside of Melka’s house. Melka herself is sitting a bit far from them, only listening to the lovers’ conversation. Because of her uneasy expression, one would have thought that she was jealous of them but the reality was something else entirely.

‘She managed to learn aura by herself, and used it to kill vampires. Maybe she is more than I thought then. Is time for me to leave this stupid place then?’

***

Melka is deeply thinking about Seraphin’s performance. Killing vampires with aura is no easy feat.

Aura is the peak of all swordsmanship. It is the manifestation of a swordsman’s very life force. Even her grandfather who was known as the third-best swordsman of the north never managed to use it. Melka herself only discovered aura four years ago. She, who was betrayed by her brother and her father, had lost everything and decided to focus only on the sword, the only thing that would never betray her.

Melka was the daughter of the old ruler of Guthenberg, as well as the sister of the new one. But because she was a girl, normally, succeeding her father would have been impossible. However, Melka was strong, really strong. She had inherited the strength of her grandfather and made an error: she defeated her brother in public one day. Although it was only a light spar, defeating the known-to-be future ruler proved her right and capacity to rule. After all, the north had only iron rule: the strong only can lead.

From then, it was the beginning of Melka’s nightmare. Poisoning, assassination attempts, and whatnot. Her brother who she loved more than anything started to plan her assassination in secret. For five whole years, she endured it, thinking that everything was a coincidence. Until she finally caught him and her own father, planning for her death. She felt her heart sinking and fled, she fled before doing something she would probably regret.

‘If she really managed to use aura, then there is no need for me to stay, I will finally be able to leave and die.’

Now that Melka had transmitted her knowledge, she thought it was time to see her brother and end this suffering she had endured for so long. But somebody had a different plan in mind for her.

***

The night had fallen by the time Seraphin and Lekas stopped talking about their struggles. Though it was mostly Lekas asking questions and her answering. They are now all inside Melka’s house. Melka and Seraphin are sitting on the bed while Lekas is sitting on the ground, near the fireplace.

“So, he is the reason why you wanted to become stronger?”

“I…yes, mistress.”

“I see.”

Melka looks at Lekas. Her eyes are shining. Then her mouth slowly moves as if she is whispering.

“Well, with somebody that strong protecting you, I guess you don’t need me anymore.”

“What?”

“No, nothing.”

“Melka, I want you to continue teaching my wife.”

“Ah?!!”

Melka stands up straight from the bed when she hears that.

“Listen here, boy.” Yes, Melka is over thirty years old so to her, even if he is stronger, he is still a boy. “I trained her for three years. Not only that, you have come here, beat me up, and threaten to kill me. Who do you think you are?!! Do you think I am a pushover?!!!”

Melka’s eyes are filled with rage. She doesn’t like Lekas’s attitude at all.

“Then, let’s spar then. If you can win, then you are free to do whatever you planned to.”

“You really confident, huh?”

Melka knows that she cannot defeat Lekas in a proper fight. Her body still vividly remembers the killing intent that gave her a nosebleed after all. But even so, her honor as a swordsman couldn’t be stained like that. Besides, there is no proof that he can use a sword as well as her.

“Then, I have one condition.”

“Which one?”

“No magic, no aura. We will spar using only swords techniques.”