"So you sat down at my table even after knowing who I am?"
Aliyah put a tomato into her mouth, then pointed her fork at .
"You should also know how I feel about demons."
Of course I do.
I knew a lot about her, since Aliyah had been on the main cover of the ga All Routes Lead to Death several tis.
In fact, it was strange that I didn’t recognize her right away.
She was one of the strongest people in the whole world, with a Gift that could cut through every type of energy.
Aliyah didn’t even need to target the demon core to deal damage to demons.
Basically, she was extrely overpowered, and she was most likely the greatest swordswoman in the world.
But her past is tragic.
Her family and everyone she cared about were massacred by demons, and their bodies were sacrificed in a ritual to summon a Marquess-ranked demon.
All the while, she was in the Academy...
The only person who sohow survived was her little brother, Eric, but he was scarred and had obviously developed a deep hatred toward demons.
Lowering my head, I said:
"If I was an actual demon, your first attack would’ve been enough to kill . I might look like one, but I’m not."
Then, I t her gaze.
"You wouldn’t have let into your ho if you believed I was actually a demon."
She stared at for a mont, then sighed.
"Yeah, I just had to check if you still knew what’s going on. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt either of you. Just eat."
"The food’s delicious. But maybe a little bit on the salty side?"
Clentine...
"Salty?"
Aliyah tilted her head, then bit into the at.
"Oh... You’re right. It is a little salty."
Clentine chuckled and got back to eating, as did Aliyah and I.
We ate in silence until Clentine spoke up again.
"Say, Aliyah. Are you looking for disciples?"
"I don’t have ti for disciples. Also, if you’re suggesting this guy over here, he’s not good enough to be my disciple."
Ouch.
But despite the harsh rejection, Clentine kept going.
"Really? Not good enough? Even after he survived your first attack and didn’t get hit once during the spar?"
Aliyah furrowed her brows.
"If I was fighting seriously, he would’ve been hit."
"Oh? So does that an that you need to be serious to hit him?"
I just watched their back and forth while sipping on so apple juice, trying not to make eye contact with either of them.
This was like sitting in front of both your parents while they’re discussing your shitty grades.
Right as a piece of at was about to enter my mouth, Clentine nudged .
"Amon, won’t you try to show her what you’ve got?"
Seriously...
I stood up and glanced down at Aliyah.
"I won’t try to impress you, because no matter how many tis we spar, I won’t ever win. But if you’re willing to give a chance, I’m sure I’d be able to show you that I have potential."
I just said whatever ca to my head at the mont.
After all, I was sure nothing would work, since Aliyah never had disciples, even in the ga.
And yet...
"How long have you been practicing swordsmanship?"
"Uh? Well, close to six years. Though I stopped almost five years ago."
Aliyah nodded.
"That tells you treat swordsmanship as a joke. You quit swordsmanship."
"I did."
I narrowed my eyes.
"But I ca back, and I want to learn more. The people I’m fighting against and my goals... I need to use everything at my disposal, including swordsmanship, to achieve them."
For a few seconds, we all just sat there in silence.
I knew it was a far shot, really.
Though deep down, I kind of hoped Clentine would sohow convince her.
"One month."
What...?
She suddenly leaned back and pointed her fork at again.
"You have one month to show you an it. In that one month, I don’t want you using your energy even once. Every ti I give you a task, you do it. If you fail, I will imdiately turn you away."
My eyes widened.
"Hold on, are you serious?"
"Don’t get it twisted. I’m not going to take you as my disciple, but if you can prove your desperation to , then I will teach you how to make the most use of your swordsmanship. That’s all. Whether you agree or leave now is up to you."
I exchanged a glance with Clentine.
She just smiled and nodded at , making feel like I was dreaming.
But I wasn’t.
"I agree."
"Good, then give your blade."
Aliyah extended her hand.
Although I was a little confused, I handed my katana over.
"You don’t even have a sheath?"
Grumbling, she tossed my katana into her dinsional ring and crossed her arms.
"From this mont on, you’re not allowed to use any energy."
"Fine by ," I agreed right away, then glanced at Clentine.
"What about Clentine? Can she stay?"
Aliyah thought it over for a mont, then nodded.
"Sure, we have extra space."
It felt like everything was going just a bit too smoothly.
But oh well, I didn’t question it as Clentine and I began to ramble on about random things while finishing up our food.
When we were done, I stood up and stretched.
Just then, Aliyah approached and tapped my shoulder.
"You’re up. Follow ."
...Already?
Watching her get further and further away from , I caught up to her and walked just a single step behind her.
We walked along the valley for several minutes until we arrived in front of a cliff.
As I glanced down, I realized that this cliff leading down was almost vertical.
Moreover, it was surprisingly above the clouds, as well as several other mountains surrounding this place.
Just a bit behind , there were several dozen boulders that were the size of small trucks.
Ah...
She won’t actually...?
"There are around fifty boulders down below. I want you to head down and carry up all fifty. Rember, no using energy."
I imdiately turned pale.
How am I supposed to lift those things?
Also, why am I even lifting them?
Am I not supposed to prove to her that I have what it takes to practice swordsmanship?
Wracking my head over this unfairness, I tried looking for an alternative.
But before I could react, Aliyah grabbed by the arm and tossed off the cliff.
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