(William Rods POV)

Even after eating, I couldn't take away the image of the training field that I had seen before going down.

After I finished my lunch, I immediately went looking for this location.

"Are you well?" Light asks me as I leave the room.

"Yep." I respond without giving a meaningful expression as I walk.

This place is huge... Are all castles like this?

Corridors and more corridors that I didn't even know existed. Getting lost here should be easy...

However, I manage to find the location at the back of the castle after passing through an arched stone entrance.

The floor is made of earth, and there are many tents with knights moving between them. The targets and dummies that I had seen before are also present.

But that violet-haired woman is no longer here...

Maybe she went out for lunch or something.

"Hey kid, are you lost?" A knight with short blonde hair approaches with an arrogant tone of voice.

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Be careful not to get hurt, haha." He comments and goes to a tent with some food.

A few minutes pass, and that woman doesn't appear to be here.

Was it just someone passing through?

When this thought occurs, at the entrance, a woman with amethyst-colored hair and yellow eyes like gold enters with a bottle of beer in her hand.

Her hair is long and divided in the middle. Its eyes are stretched out and small.

Her armor has a white cape that extends to the back of her knee. Her iron breastplate has some engravings of thorny stems.

The armor also has some parts painted white, most notably the shoulder pads, where the top part is painted white and outlined in purple, giving contrast to the silver of the armor.

On her waist, she carries a sword kept in a metal sheath.

The surrounding knights greet her and welcome her by calling her "captain".

She approaches the tents, and her vision soon hits me.

" Huh, what's a kid doing here?" Her voice is sloppy and clearly sounds like someone who is drunk.

I don't think there's much I can do...

When a guard was about to explain the situation, I took the lead.

"My name is William Rods. I'm just passing through." I say while slightly bowing.

"Ah, you're one of those kids who saved the princess's dog..." She takes the drink. "You did a good job, kid."

"Thanks." I answer. "I saw you wear different armor than the other soldiers, are you some kind of sword master or something?" I ask.

"Hahaha. I'm just the captain of the knight squad, nothing much." She says with a smile.

"It can't be just anyone who becomes a squad captain, I'm sure."

"Well, maybe you're right. But, after all, what do you want with me?" She asks while drinking.

What I wanted was to confirm if she was someone different from the other knights.

A squad captain... I need exactly that to improve my swordsmanship!

If I want to be at Light's side, I need to train with the best!

"I want you to be my fencing teacher!" I say out loud.

The knights are silent, their faces are confused. Soon after, they laugh and say sarcastic things, it's difficult to distinguish what they are saying with all the noise...

"I'm sorry, brat, but I don't train children." She responds and walks past me.

They never stop underestimating me...

"A duel!" I say while her back is turned. "A duel between you and me... so you can see that I'm not a child!"

"Hum interesting." She says as she looks at me, turning her head. "Well, I still have some time left, so I might as well see if you're all that." She adds.

"If you lose, you'll have to train me!" I have to grab this opportunity!

"Okay."

She then puts the beer bottle on a table inside one of the tents.

"Follow me." She leads the way to a more open spot, close to the tents.

One of the knights throws two wooden swords onto the ground. The woman then bends down and picks one up.

"I still don't know your name." I question.

"You can call me Yanma." She says. "By the way, if you want to use your dagger, that's no problem. Using a sword must be difficult for you." She says smiling.

In fact, I've never used a sword before, so I wouldn't know how to defend myself, much less attack.

But, I need to show that I'm different!

"Have you already made excuses for when you lose?" I say and pick up the wooden sword on the ground.

I'm not one to tease, but I can't let her say what she wants!

"Hahahaha ..." She just laughs.

The sun is strong and bright in the sky; there are almost no clouds; and the climate is hot and stuffy.

The feeling of holding a sword, even if it is made of wood, is different from holding a dagger.

The sword is the Claymore style, the one that all knights use. It is entirely made of wood and is a little heavy. Its size is almost the same as mine.

I raise the sword and leave it aimed at Yanma.

Around me, more people gather to observe, forming a circle of people like an audience.

"Are you ready?" She asks, preparing for combat.

"Yes."

"Then you can start whenever you want." She says.

I stare at her sword. I need to find a way to match my strengths with my sword.

Maybe that's not possible, but I can try to be faster using my air magic!

Positioning my feet as if I were ready to run, I manipulate the mana so that it becomes compact and released all at once.

When I unlock the mana, it will increase my speed like a cannon!

When all the necessary mana is grouped in my legs, I release it all at once, giving me an absurd boost and getting close to Yanma in the blink of an eye!

Yanma is almost instantly impressed, but it's not over yet!

I bring the sword to the ground and make the air push my arms to deliver a vertical blow from below!

This way, the air compensates for the lack of force!

Yanma manages to block and throw me back with her sword, but as I'm moving away, I make a sharp gust of wind come out of my sword, striking the air!

Yanma just blocks as if breaking the wind.

The surrounding knights are euphoric, shouting as if it were a spectacle.

(Light Rods POV)

After lunch, I went to the library to take some books to my room. However, when I was passing through the corridors on the top floor of the castle, I saw an unusual movement of the knights.

They seemed to be looking at something and were very excited.

As I approached the window, I saw that they were standing around two people, apparently fighting.

A woman with different armor than the others and... William!?

What is happening?!

How did he get involved in this??

Before I could think about anything, I put down the books and went down the stairs to where William is!