Chapter 6: Seeking Strength

“Miss Astraea, it hurts…!”

“I know it does, but just put up with it for a little longer!”

Conrad grit his teeth as he felt Astra pushing down on his back a little more. His muscles screamed in protest for a split second, but then he felt them adjust and his body relaxed just enough for the pain to become bearable. Now bent almost completely in half, he felt Astra apply a bit more pressure and winced.

It was bearable, but…

“Miss, will this really make me stronger?”

Forget the fact that she was extremely close to him, the poses she’d been making him do these days felt so silly that his cheeks were burning with embarrassment.

Astra sighed as she nudged his foot a little farther forwards. “Yes. I told you this already, but it’s not that strength is impossible for you. It’s simply that your concept of strength is flawed.”

That was what she had told him after promising to prove Conrad’s potential to himself. She found the way the boy was putting down his own potential extremely upsetting, and had decided to prove him wrong. 

She repeated her words now.

“I understand that you want to be like Aleron, but you can’t forget that there are years of experience between you both. In addition, Aleron’s body is fully developed, while you’re still growing. You can’t expect that copying his current training regime will grant you the same results.”

After observing Conrad’s efforts, Astra had rapidly begun to understand what the problem was.

Conrad, who greatly admired Aleron, had been faithfully mirroring the older man’s daily training routine with his own. However, Aleron was someone whose body was already toned and hardened from years of battle and constant maintenance. In addition, Aleron and Conrad had different body types – Conrad was only sixteen, and his body was small and compact, where Aleron was tall and his frame firm.

“You have the potential to surpass Aleron in certain areas,” Astra said, taking her weight off his back. “And those areas are flexibility and speed. You can straighten up now.”

Still a little red-faced, the young boy stood back up, wincing as he felt his muscles protest. “What are all these strange exercises you’ve been making me do, miss?”

“They’re special stretches to help improve your range of movement,” Astra replied, thinking back to the days when she had still been taking gymnastics classes. Though it had only been for a few months, it had been enough for her to commit their daily stretching routine to heart. “I know you’re sore now, but just keep at it. It’s a bit risky to push you this hard, but I’m sacrificing safety for speed, just like you asked me to. If you feel your muscles cramping at any point, tell me immediately.”

Though he still didn’t quite understand the reasoning behind all the things Astra had been asking him to do recently, Conrad still nodded.

After that day in the infirmary, the blonde cadet had decided to try throwing all of his trust upon Astra’s shoulders, and so far, she hadn’t given him much reason to regret doing so. For the past two weeks, she, Liam, and Rain had been working in tandem to help him with his training. Astra, with Rain’s advice, taught him a set routine of stretches and exercises to properly compensate for his weaknesses while expounding upon his strengths.

When Conrad had asked how she was so sure that his hidden potential lay in sharpening his instincts and speed, she had grinned at him with a merciless light in her eyes and said, “That’s simple. Those are my area of expertise.”

He’d stopped questioning her instructions after that.

Liam sparred with him each and every day, and as his roommate made sure he was taking the time to eat properly and rest. In order to keep the Raven Knights from getting at the young boy while he was alone, the redhead stuck close by Conrad’s side wherever he went, unless he was with Rain or Astra.

“Cool off for a little, and then we can move on to sparring,” Astra told him, offering him a towel. “Ilia said she’d free up some time for you today.”

Conrad wiped his face. In addition to Liam, Astra had roped in her newfound friend Ilia to help Conrad with one-on-one fights, as Ilia was a shieldwoman who specialized in heavy defense and could offer better insights in dealing with the Raven Knights, who wore specialized armour. With everyone’s advice, Conrad could sense that his instincts were slowly getting better, his ability to perceive the movements of a fight gradually improving. None of those skills had anything to do with physical strength, but he could definitely feel a difference during his sparring matches.

It wasn’t the sort of growth he’d been looking for at first, but he could finally see a glimmer of hope.

“Miss,” he began hesitantly as he lowered the towel, “If you don’t mind my asking… why are you so insistent on helping me?”

Yes, Astra was nice, but they hadn’t known each other for all that long. In Conrad’s eyes, there was a big difference between lending a hand to an injured person and patiently taking the time to meticulously train someone, giving them advice and a training routine that was tailoured for them.

He was grateful, of course, but he could not afford to be naïve. Though Astra was kind, he could not be sure that she wouldn’t ask something of him in the future in return for her help. He also did not know her well enough to be certain that her request wouldn’t be something he couldn’t agree to.

“My dream’s just a small one. Why are you so bent on making sure I don’t give up?”

Astra, who had picked up the padded tunic that the soldiers used for sparring, waved him over. Conrad obediently approached and spread his arms out to let her fasten the jerkin around his torso. As she moved behind him to tie the laces, he heard her calm voice:

“Because I did.”

He stilled, but Astra’s thin fingers continued to deftly tie knots in the leather cords as she went on.

“That sounds a little dramatic. I didn't have any big dreams of obtaining strength like you. I only had small ambitions, but I gave up on them years ago.” As though she were not speaking of herself, there was not a single trace of bitterness in her voice. “You’re young. You still have time to see your commitments through. It’s selfish, but I’m vicariously projecting my goals onto you.” With a light tug, she finished her work and patted his back. “Alright, you’re good to go.”

Conrad, frowning, turned to look at the noirette.

Selfish?

Even if she was projecting, Astra had been patiently guiding and supporting him for the past few weeks without once seeming disappointed in his slow pace or lack of physical strength. She was far from selfish, as far as he could tell. She had pointed out the areas in which he excelled, and encouraged him to focus on honing his talents rather than bemoaning his weak points.

It was a kindness that anyone could offer, but Astra was the first person who had. To Conrad, it was more than enough for the noirette to become someone worthy of being admired almost as much as Aleron. But she was downplaying her contribution, passing it off as a personal whim. He wasn’t sure that sat well with him.

Astra, seeing the vicious glow in Conrad’s eyes, felt a little uncomfortable.

Why is he looking at me like that?

Deciding to ignore it, she gave him a gentle shove towards the courtyard. “Let’s not keep Ilia waiting.”

As usual, Conrad was thoroughly and soundly defeated by Ilia.

That wasn’t all.

“How – many – times – do – I – have – to – tell – you – to – MOVE – YOUR – FEET!” Ilia roared as she swung her shield and knocked the young boy into the dirt. When he fell, she planted the bottom of her shield into the ground, her crimson braid flaring in the sun. “You’re not weighed down by armour and a giant piece of metal like I am! You’re faster and smaller than me, so use that!”

“I see Ilia’s training is as brutal as ever,” someone said from behind Astra, who was watching from the sidelines. "She's not even using a weapon."

Without needing to turn around, Astra replied, “I sincerely hope I never become the target of her ire, that’s for sure.”

Liam and Rain approached and came to stand beside her, watching as Conrad hurriedly wiped the dirt from his face and stood up again, gritting his teeth as he raised his sword.

“The shortsword definitely suits his physique better,” Rain commented, seeing the lightness to Conrad’s movements that hadn’t been there originally. “It was a good idea to have him switch.”

“Given his height, trying to use a longsword like the Captain’s would have just been a waste of time,” Liam agreed, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout some encouragement. “Keep after her, Conrad! If you win, Ilia will let me take her out for dinner!”

“I never promised that!”

“Why would she go with you if I win?!”

Two responses, one hostile and one confused, came back at the same time, making Astra burst out laughing as Liam adopted a hurt expression.

“It seems I’ve been jilted. Little lady, you wouldn’t object to dinner with me, would you?”

“So long as I receive proper compensation,” Astra replied promptly, hearing his groan as he complained that ‘all of their friendships were so conditional, what was a poor soldier to do’. She was rapidly learning that Liam had a great penchant for gentle ribbing. Ever since he’d first called her ‘little lady’ during their talk with Conrad, the name had stuck and he’d refused to stop using it.

And Astra, who had decided to take the teasing in stride and retaliate in kind, was apparently endlessly entertaining for a prankster like Liam. It reminded her of Ladron, so she didn't mind it much.

With a yelp, Conrad was shoved to the ground again, and this time when he went to rise, Ilia shook her head and stepped back, lowering her shield.

“We’re done for now. Rest,” she told him, and with a low groan the blonde cadet flopped back down onto the floor, happy to let his aching muscles stop moving for a moment.

“Now, now.” A pair of hands were suddenly on his shoulders, easing him upwards into a sitting position. “I know you’re exhausted, but do your stretches or your muscles will seize up later.”

Grumbling a little, Conrad nevertheless followed Astra’s instructions. Under the careful gazes of his four caretakers, he performed his cool-down exercises before Liam helped him up. Blowing out a long breath, he shook out his hand, which was shaking from the effort of keeping his grip on his sword.

Rain caught Conrad’s palm in his own to inspect his fingers. “You’ve got a few blisters,” he pronounced, releasing him. “Stop by later this evening so I can bandage them.”

With all of them fussing over him like this, Conrad felt equal parts embarrassed and grateful. Red-faced, he bowed his head and muttered something akin to thanks as he scurried to put away his equipment.

The four adults watched him go with eerily similar smiles, having no idea how alike they looked as they gazed fondly at the young boy.

“Kids grow up so fast,” Liam pronounced, breaking the silence that had fallen over them. “What do you think, Ilia? Can he win against a Raven Knight yet?”

It was a rhetorical question, as they knew that Conrad was not at that level yet given how his bouts against Ilia had gone.

“The two Knights we’re talking about in particular are almost as good as me,” Ilia replied. “He’s rising to the challenge, but I estimate at least another month like this before he’s good and ready.”

At that, the other three adults exchanged looks. “… He’s stubborn, but I don’t know if he can be patient for that long,” Liam murmured in a much more serious tone than he normally used, casting a glance at the cadet who was currently sitting on a bench in the distance.

“Speaking of, who exactly are these two Knights?” Astra cut in curiously. “I’ve met their Captain before, and he was certainly taciturn, but he struck me as a disciplined man.”

“If you mean Sir Azela, your assumptions are correct.” Rain spoke up from his spot a little behind Liam. Though they’d spent quite a lot of time together as a group, the healer still seemed to be oddly on edge around Astra, but she’d learned to accept his odd behaviour. “Most of the Raven Knights are good sorts. The problems are those two specific eyesores, Sir Brin and Sir Castor. I heard they entered the Raven Knights after being demoted from the King’s Guard.”

Just that said a lot about what kinds of characters comprised the King’s Guard, but Astra knew better than to make any of her judgements aloud. “What… virtuous, upright soldiers they must be,” she said dryly instead, hearing Ilia bark out a mirthless laugh at her sarcasm. “A month, huh…” Pursing her lips, Astra’s eyes followed Conrad as the blonde looked up, saw them all looking at him, and got to his feet to approach them.

“What is it…?” he asked timidly, then yelped when a hand came down on his head. Astra suddenly began to ruffle his hair. “M-miss Astraea?”

“Call me Astra,” she told him, looking around at the others. “You all, too. Hearing my full name all the time makes me cringe.” As her eyes lowered back down to the blonde, who was still staring up at her in confusion with her hand on his head, she felt a smile tugging at her lips. “Alright, Conrad. I’ll start special tutoring for you tomorrow, so look forward to it.”

“Special tutoring?” he repeated as she lowered his hand and he stood back up, trying to brush his hair back to its proper place. “What sort of tutoring?”

“I’ll teach you how to win a disadvantaged fight against someone bigger and heavier than you.” Astra winked at him. "Even a mighty Raven Knight."

Hearing her words, Conrad’s eyes grew wider. Actually, everyone’s eyes grew wider.

“That… is that possible? If there's such a large physical gap…” Ilia muttered before adopting an apologetic expression. She hadn’t meant to doubt Astra, but the noirette was making a bold claim.

However, Astra’s expression soon put them at ease; she didn’t look nervous or uncertain at all. If anything, she seemed excited.

Judo. Aikido. Hapkido.

There were plenty of martial arts that had been developed on Earth that allowed for a smaller opponent to quickly overpower a larger one. Those techniques didn’t exist here in Onaria, which meant that Conrad would have the element of surprise once he learned them. She herself, out of mostly sheer boredom, had dabbled in whatever pasttimes she could get her hands on since she was young. Naturally, mixed martial arts were no exception. Astra had never appreciated her jack-of-all-trades self before, since it meant she never excelled in anything, but being relatively capable in a multitude of things was certain paying off during her time here.

A reckless grin spread across Astra’s lips.

"This'll be fun."