Now Midori was cornered as the Valkyrie gave her those words. The child was on the verge of tears as Mavislin continued glaring at her. Then, finally, the Founder of the Barren Pillars shrugged her shoulders, causing the silence in the room to break.
The breath that everyone held was finally released.
"Relax, I'm not angry at anyone. Both of you had strong reasons for why the incident had happened. But I thought you both could've handled the situation better. First off, Rina, as a teacher and senior, you should have the maturity to control your tongue and understand the child's skills."
"You should have known that Midori would be next for the Swordsman title and would be trained as such. Her first offensive skill to show you would be using the sword in combat. There's nothing wrong or disrespectful about that. Please learn about your students before agitating them."
"As for Midori, you aren't out of the woods yet. You are young, a child to most and a baby to me. I don't particularly appreciate giving children lectures, but it would seem that I have to so that I can have a smooth-sailing class from now on. No matter how angry you are, you can't act like this."
"You should never allow emotions to control you, be it on a sunny day or in war, because you're a civilized being, not a beast. I'm well aware of the grudge you've got against Rina, but it doesn't give you the reason to disrespect her. She is still better than you in Magecraft."
"Rina's past as an experimenter and doctor are way behind her now. Currently, she is my First Seat Spearman and the teacher training the five of you in defense, counterattacks, and reaction speeds. I urge you to give her the attention and allow her to train you."
"You don't have to trust her for the time being. I understand that wounds take time to heal, but Rina is also trying to turn over a new leaf. Her first step in doing so would be teaching the five of you. All of you are taking a giant leap into the right direction of recovery."
"If that's too much to ask, feel free to sound out now. I will personally train you. And I won't be as kind and joyful as Rina. I have no compassion when it comes to training my underlings. If you prefer hard labor and strict teachings, then you can leave the class."
The children were dead silent as they shook their heads in unison.
"As for the extension of duels, I don't mind having longer training sessions so long as no one is dying from it. I'm all for long battles, and it helps to fully understand what you need within combat without having to place your life on the line. You can ask the Founders."
"Out of everyone, I was the one constantly asking to duel. The amount times I fought against Baldwin and Z is more than a set of hands can count. And because of that, I could enhance all of my senses and gain knowledge about the different fighting styles," explained Mavislin.
Circe's eyes lit up while Midori cracked a smile. Duncan grinned, seeing that his sister was happy.
"Does that mean we get to challenge you to mini duels?" asked Circe, eyes sparkling.
Whoa there, why were the children so happy about fighting her? Mavislin was shocked for a moment before giving the children a gentle smile.
"Are you sure about that? My fighting styles are everywhere, so that I wouldn't be teaching you guys any proper combat skills. Although I can switch from using a whip to a shield in a matter of seconds, it's not very good for your learning," asked Mavislin, looking at the cheerful kids.
By this time, everyone was finished with their meal and enjoyed the gentle breeze of the afternoon.
"It's alright, Mother Mavislin. We want to duel with you, and it sounds like great fun! But, Besides, we've always wanted to fight someone to get rid of the anger..." said Nasima, shyly.
Even the shy kid needs to vent out her anger sometimes... Raiyen could sense that these kids had been bottling up their feelings for too long. Now that they've woken up from their catatonic states, the children had no control over their feelings or how to feel about certain things.
"Well then, how about a small session with me in the coming days? Don't worry, Midori, I am still going to duel you now. But do give me some time as I need to discuss something with the adults. So for now, all of you can run about and have fun," instructed Mavislin, nodding at Baldwin.
"Just remember not to kill each other."