Sparring

'The Northern Tribes are certainly interesting, while they don't appear to be as advanced as the Empire, they do have their own steam working shops' Seika thought to the time he went outside to take a short walk around.

It's already been a few weeks since he took over the original Seika's body, he got familiar with the Northern Tribes' geography and their capital town's surroundings. His personal started noticing the changes in his attitude and behavior.

"Have you heard the latest rumors about the prince?"

"What rumors?"

"It's being said that for the past week he did nothing but train. In the morning he ate breakfast then he went to train till lunchtime and after eating his lunch, he went back to training until late at night"

"Really?! Is he perhaps feeling the pressure of the threat that the empire might attack us at any moment?"

"Possibly, however, don't you think his action might have a bad influence on army?"

"Quite the opposite, I have heard that everybody from the army intensified their drills. To me, it seems like the prince's actions are firing them up." As the maids and other servants were discussing rumors in the dark corner one person suddenly appeared behind them.

"That's enough of chit-chatting from you, get back to work" It was Dora who was staring down at them with her cold eyes.

"?! We apologize, Dora-sama" Everyone got scared by her sudden appearance causing them to deeply bow to her before scattering into all directions.

*sigh* 'Around a week ago my workload got increased by Seika-sama's numerous requests, however, instead of feeling exhausted, I feel a bit excited to see him taking initiative to strengthen our nation. There are still some small tribes that haven't joined us but everything is in the process of uniting every single one of them under the prince. We even started trading with several villages from the empire so our strategy is going smoothly for now.' When no one was around, Dora smiled warmly while thinking about Seika.

.

.

*Achoo!* Seika who was currently in his personal training grounds sneezed.

'This is the first time I have sneezed despite the cold environment...is someone thinking about me?'

Seika shook his head and firmly grabbed his spear and resumed swinging and thrusting it in the open air. During this week he got much better at controlling the black mist and even though he had no idea what it is, he managed to finally conceal it and call upon it with his own will.

'I couldn't find out why I have been sent here, neither can I remember what I have been doing in my last moments in my old world. This is so frustrating!'

*Bam* Even before the gunshot resounded in the surroundings, Seika already spun around and swung his spear at the bullet that would normally fly past his shoulder completely missing him.

*clap* *clap* "Wow! You got even faster and your instincts got sharper!" The mysterious assailant turned out to be Doya who started cheerfully clapping her hands with an impressed expression.

"Or maybe your assassination skills got duller" Seika teased her with a confident smirk on his face.

"Careful with your words, prince" If it was a week before, Doya would have never dared to utter such threatening words even if they were meant as a joke.

"I should be the one saying that, you are talking to the prince" Seika raised his chin and looked down at her with a serious expression.

"..."

"Pfff...hahaha" After what felt like a minute of tense silence, Doya started laughing and Seika's expression also relaxed, releasing a friendly smile.

"I am glad your mood hasn't changed, you are way more fun this way, prince" Doya showed a genuinely happy smile.

"Have you enjoyed your rest?"

"It was a nice change of pace at least, thank you for asking, though I am itching for some action, after all, I wouldn't want my skills to get dull" She said with a teasing tone and got a bit closer to Seika.

"That's your reason for suddenly attacking me out of nowhere huh? Anyway, it's good that you are here now. How about a little sparring, I am getting bored swinging my spear in the open air."

"Eh? Well, I would like to but my weapons are these two beauties. It would be too dangerous to spar with them." Doya said while showing her two handguns similar to revolvers.

"Just use rubber bullets, we have those around, right?"

"Hmm, maybe there are some lying around but even with rubber bullets, they can still cause serious injuries"

"Don't mind, let's look for them"

After searching for a while amongst practice weapons of all types, they finally found what they were looking for. Seika also grabbed a wooden spear with similar parameters as his real weapon.

"So, how are we going to do it?" Doya asked with an excited tone and confident smile on her face.

"You are an assassin and marksman at that so it is only natural that I will stand in the middle of the training grounds with closed eyes so you can hide somewhere. Once I shout the word GO, you can attack me."

"Hoo? Giving me such a great advantage, I hope you won't regret it later, prince!" Doya seemed surprised by Seika's suggestion but she appreciated it since even she didn't feel confident in fighting him in close-range combat.

Seika went to sit down in the middle and closed his eyes, after a few minutes, he got up and opened his eyes.

"Go!"

"..." He started cautiously looking around him but Doya was taking her time.

"...Is this assassins' some type of psychological warfare tactic?"

'She didn't even use the chance to attack me while I was talking? There is certainly too many obstacles she could hide behind but...' Seeing how Doya had no intention to attack him, Seika started slowly walking around, searching for her.

As he was getting slightly farther from the training grounds, he heard something behind the large boulder. He started approaching the boulder and when he got near enough, he noticed a tree nearby making him form a knowing smile.

He suddenly jumped behind the boulder at quick speed despite wearing his armor but what he saw was only a pebble.

*Bam!* A gunshot resounded from above him, however...

"What?!" Doya exclaimed when the rubber bullet was stopped by the spear's blade that Seika put behind his back.

When he turned his head to the side to look up behind him from the corner of his eye, Doya noticed his cold smile and nimbly jumped down, retreating considerable distance from him.

"Were you aware of my position from the beginning?" Doya frowned and asked while aiming her handguns at Seika who just now turned around completely.

"Not really, I just found it weird for someone skilled like you to make a sound like an amateur!" Seika replied and started running towards her, quickly closing in the distance between them.

"Tch!" Doya started firing straight at Seika who either dodged most of the bullets or blocked them with his spear.

"This is it" When Seika got near enough, he thrust his spear at her surprised face, however, that surprised expression quickly disappeared and a previous confident smile appeared as she tilted her head to the side to dodge his blade in an instant.

She nimbly performed a back handspring to gain some distance while also kicking Seika's spear upwards, forcing him into a vulnerable position. The moment she landed on her feet, she fired a few rounds aimed at his chest. Unfortunately for her, Seika didn't try to hold onto the spear and just let it fly away before ducking and charging at her with his shoulder, tackling her down.

He didn't give her any chance to use either of her arms and bear-hugged her as he laid on top of her.

"It's my win" He announced with a satisfied smile while his face was only a few inches away from Doya's

"How come? You can't move either since you have no weapon, once you release me, I can instantly shoot you." Doya said with a pouting expression.

"Are you kidding me? Why would I let go of you? You are assassin and marksmen while I am a warrior wearing plate armor, if I were to hug you with all my strength I could end up breaking your bones plus I am also wearing a forehead protector I could use to headbutt you till death." Seika explained with an annoying smirk.

"...Fine, it's your win, prince" Doya looked to the side but admitted defeat with an embarrassed expression.

"It was a good training, much better than swinging my spear alone" Seika said with a genuine smile but forgot to let go of her.

"..." Their eyes locked on each other as the adrenaline started to slowly disappear from their bodies.

"Can you please get off me now?" Doya finally looked away and asked with a slightly flushed face.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, sorry about that!" Seika quickly got up and offered his hand.

Doya nodded her head and pulled her body up with his help.

"Umm...I will get going now" Doya awkwardly said before running off, leaving Seika standing there alone.

'Uh...I didn't mean to do that' Seika thought as he watched Doya's distancing back while scratching his cheek.