The next morning, Kaze's body felt heavier than usual as he got up from bed. He didn't even feel like going to train anymore after remembering what Lunaria had told him. At this point, her words had replayed so many times in his head that it was permanently stuck on auto-repeat.
"… Ah, right, I don't have a sword to train with anymore," Kaze muttered, picking up the hilt alone and sighed. "Maybe I can just do physical training for the time being…"
Dragging his feet off the ground, Kaze got changed and headed out to the compound of their house. One good thing about them moving here was that Kaze had more privacy now and was able to secure a much larger piece of land to train. Even without his sword, Kaze went on with the training regime he came up with for himself. It was a mixture between personal and his grandfather's schedule, making it such that he was pushing himself every time.
Kaze balanced himself on both hands and lifted his entire body off the floor, making it such that he was doing a hand-stand. As if that wasn't enough, he began to do push ups while maintaining such a state. From an outsider's point of view, it was likely weird to see someone in such a pose so early in the morning. But it was what Kaze had been doing ever since he was back at the church, which explained his balanced posture of not falling down.
Even training wasn't enough to distract his mind. Many a times he tried to keep his mind empty and calm while training, but it always floated back to Lunaria's face last night. At the thought of seeing tears falling down her face, it made Kaze's heart clenched even tighter. He had never thought that it would be this painful to see someone he cared about telling him their life story, yet accepting it like it was nothing just because it had passed.
Lunaria was never the type to show weakness in front of the people she knew because of being a princess for so long, she 'forgot' how to. Under circumstances like last night, that was the first that Kaze had seen. Maybe one of the other few situations was when he was sleeping for days, but that really wasn't Lunaria showing her weak self, but just her soft spot.
'I told you the story of this girl is not because the girl asked for your pity….'
'When the time comes…'
'Superior species…'
'She regretted it…'
'Kaze…'
'Kaze…'
"Kaze."
Kaze finally snapped out of his daydream when he realized what he thought of was exactly what he was hearing right now. Looking up from his regular push-up stance, he realized that he had been doing the one-hand push up for a little too long now.
Turning his head around, he saw Sera waving at him from the sideline, still dressed in something comfy as a sign of her having just woken up.
"Are you that engrossed in training? I called you a few times but you didn't respond," Sera giggled. "Good morning."
"Ah… good morning," Kaze awkwardly replied and stood back up. "S-Sorry, I was caught up in my own thoughts."
"… Is now a good time? I would like to enquire about yesterday," Sera's soft expression turned tensed at her own words. "I know that we decided not to talk about it, but the way you and Lunaria reacted was obviously irregular."
"Um… okay," Kaze nodded, his heart tensing up as it was sort of a reminder of what happened the night before. "What do you want to ask?"
"Did Lunaria say something that made her react that way?" Sera approached him from the porch and sighed. "Having known her for so long, I can tell when something is going on with her. She was looking at you all funny throughout dinner last night too, but I didn't bring it up since we were all talking about… you know."
Kaze opened his mouth and tried to speak, but found words unable to form. Trying again to speak, nothing came out of him. Trepidation crept back into the pit of his stomach. It wasn't like he was trying to hide anything from Sera since she was a good friend of both him and Lunaria, but yet why was it that he couldn't speak even if he tried to?
Was he afraid that talking about what happened would be equivalent to betraying Lunaria's trust for him?
Sera, who watched as he tried to speak but could only fumble with formless words, made a perplexed face. Slowly, she smoothened it out to form a smile. Removing her sword from her sheath, she managed to catch Kaze's attention. It was a rapier, something that Kaze never expected Sera to be capable of wielding. He had always thought that she was an archer-only archetype, but it seemed like she was very much capable of fighting close-range too.
"If you can't speak, don't force yourself to," Sera told him, standing next to him. "Come on, lets train. I will follow your movements."
At her words, Kaze could only nod. He didn't know why she suddenly wanted to do this, but he wasn't going to stop her since it was rare that he had a training partner. Taking pose as though he already had a sword in hand, Kaze closed his eyes to concentrate on the air around him.
It was still quite early in the day, the sun not even out yet. With nothing but the sound of occasional bird chirping and the wind rustling the tree leaves close by, Kaze let himself drown into the atmosphere surrounding him while being covered in darkness due to him closing his eyes. Instead, he imagined there to be an ambiguous human figure in front of him in the darkness. Similarly, it held a sword in hand and faced him.
"Begin," his grandfather's voice echoed in his head.
Taking a sharp breath, Kaze began thrusting his arm forward and swinging. He moved forward as a result, facing off against the invisible opponent before him. Both swung their swords at the same time and made the same move, as though mimicking each other.
Of course, Sera was unable to see or hear what Kaze could since she was only focused on imitating his movements with her own sword. Being someone who rarely trained with the sword even though she only had the basics mastered, it was quite entertaining to be able to train with something other than her bow for once. When she started to copy what Kaze was doing with her rapier, she was somewhat uncomfortable with the unorthodox movements as compared to the normal steps a rapier training would.
Different sword had different training basics, while not taking into consideration the sword skills a person had developed too. Being an archer, Sera was lacking in movement when using the sword because she was too used to holding a bow. However, being someone who had trained herself in combat for so long, she wasn't going to allow something like this to slow her down.
While Kaze continued to battle against the invisible opponent, he was gradually beginning to get the feeling that he was actually holding a sword in hand. He knew that it was empty, yet it felt like something hard and rough was in his grip. Swinging sideways once more, Kaze took a step backwards and jumped forward quickly to initiate a thrusting movement. The opponent did the same, both swords deflecting as a result of collision.
'This is… how Kaze trains?' Sera wondered to herself as she continued to move, beads of sweat starting to form on her forehead.
After 10 minutes of continuous high-pace movement, Kaze only continued to get faster and more aggressive with his swings. He started to mix in a few irregular movements to his training like making a double-jump mid-air, causing Sera to stumble since she wasn't able to fully replicate his moves. If anything, Sera started to get out of breath. Her clothes were already drenched in sweat at this point from such extreme movement techniques that she was experienced, her rapier trembling due to how strained her hand felt.
'K-Kuh… Kaze…' Sera grunted silently, taking another step backwards before making and upwards swing like Kaze did.
His eyes were still close, Sera observed. With her excellent eyesight, even the lack of light was unable to inhibit her from observing him carefully. It made Sera wonder how was it that Kaze was able to shadow-fight for so long while maintaining such precise movements, even without opening his eyes. Shadow-fighting against an invisible opponent was normal, but the way Kaze did it wasn't. Normally, one would only make a few moves at the time before stopping to correct their stance since they would make a slight mistake from moving against someone else.
However, for Kaze, such a problem didn't occur. He continued to flawlessly beat down the opponent before him without stopping for a rest. With his feet shifting against the ground once more, Kaze was both pushing and being pushed back by the opponent at the same time. The result of having 'mastered' the basic movements was different from having 'learnt to master'. By the time one had mastered it, they would be able to move as well as Kaze could without needing to always correct their stance. This was the different in skill level that Sera felt from watching him fight the other day, something that made her shiver from time to time throughout training.
Time slowly passed as training went on, the sun starting to rise beyond the horizon. Eventually, the light that radiated from the sun started to brush away the darkness of the night. The city of Tristania began illuminating in its glory, welcoming the start of a brand-new day. Replacing the cold and comfort of the night was the warmth of the morning sun.
When Kaze finally came to a slow halt, he took a few deep breaths before dropping his arms back down to both sides. The opponent before him also seemed satisfied with this training schedule, but he knew that he had more to come if he wanted to even have an advantage over him. Right now, Kaze was only on equal level with his illusion.
Taking a deep bow, Kaze felt the warmth of the sun hitting his face. This was usually the sign for him to stop training on a normal day, where the sun rose consistently.
"… Sorry to make you go through all that," Kaze smiled wryly at Sera when he opened his eyes, seeing her lying on the floor while panting in exhaustion. "I didn't dare say anything when you said you were going to accompany me, but I knew that it was going to be too much for an archer like you."
"Haa…. Haa…. You don't say…?" Sera gasped for air desperately, trying to resupply her body with the oxygen level necessary after exhausting her entire being to keep up with Kaze.
After taking a short break with Sera, Kaze got back up to resume the rest of his training. Since the most intense part was over, the rest was just to cool himself off. Sera, too tired to continue, just watched from the side. Her entire body felt drained of energy, her clothes and underwear soaked in sweat. It was both excruciating and extreme, something Sera never thought she would be able to experience at the same time.
"… Lunaria talked to me about her past," Kaze softly muttered while he cooled down. "She was a little upset."
"Ah," Sera widened her eyes at his words, wondering if that was what they were talking about. "I see… so she told you huh…? …How much?"
"The basic parts, enough for me to grasp the entire story in general," Kaze answered without looking at her, still focused on his training. "I was shocked, hence my reaction earlier."
"You seem fine to me throughout dinner, but maybe that was because you hadn't let it sink in yet," Sera grinned, taking Kaze's purposely not-properly-explained statement as though he talked with Lunaria before dinner. "So, what do you think?"
"… Lunaria has suffered a lot, even now," Kaze responded honestly. "I don't know how I should face her after this."
"In my opinion, if she truly had told you as much as I think she did, that meant she believed your opinion of her wouldn't change even after that," Sera spoke thoughtfully. "We, Rena and I, knew Lunaria even longer than Shoko did due to the age difference. Naturally, we would know of Lunaria's past too, even more than you do. I won't compare notes with you because I trust Lunaria had her reasons of keeping this hidden from the rest of us, even me, but my only advice is to treat her like normal. Lunaria must have told you that too, right?"
'Please treat me like a close friend again starting tomorrow.'
Lunaria's words echoed through his head once again at Sera's words, causing him to freeze up temporarily. Kaze gulped at this and ended his training. Walking to Sera's side, he plopped right next to her and let out a long sigh.
"I don't know… it is hard to treat her 'normally' again after hearing about her," Kaze muttered. "How do you expect me to see her in the same light?"
"Ah, I don't expect you to make it like nothing ever happened," Sera smiled at his confusion. "What I meant was that you can start treating her like how you treat everyone else. Instead of placing emphasis of her being a 'princess' before she is your 'friend', make her your 'friend' instead of a 'princess'. You have been looking at her as a princess all this while, so perhaps it's time to accept that Lunaria wants you to be her friend. She will be more appreciative if people can look past who she is, like you can."
Sera's words brought a shade of light to Kaze's understanding. It was true that he was very respectful of the distance between them as she was different than him, but it never occurred to him that he was unintentionally harming her that way too. Remembering the look on Lunaria's face whenever he got closer with her, Kaze started to feel a soothing warmth filling him too. Perhaps the answer had always been right in front of him, but he unconsciously chose to avoid it.
"… Thank you, Sera," Kaze gave her a polite smile. "I think I know what to do."
"Good," Sera returned the smile and got up, groaning in pain. "Let's get cleaned up for breakfast. You are going to get a new sword today, right?"
"Yeah, I need one after what happened to my last," Kaze sighed once more, but for a different reason than the last. "Do you think you can help me pick one?"
"I don't know, I'm not that knowledgeable on swords… ask Yuuji or Lunaria to do it with you."
As the two entered the house, they continued their casual conversation. The previous topic about Lunaria slowly faded away to the back of their heads.
Lunaria was right. Kaze didn't have to treat her any differently like how he always was, all he had to do was to continue treating her like a 'friend', just the way she wanted to. Last night didn't justify her reactions when embracing him, but it did teach Kaze that Lunaria wanted to be treated like any normal person. Her story only served as a reminder that she was tired of being looked at indifferently.
While thinking of such things, the smile on Kaze's face only got wider. From now on, he resolved himself to make Lunaria happy. Instead of focusing on the past, he will guide her to a better future.
However, he got so caught up in his own imagination that he didn't check the bathroom before opening it. Waltzing right in, Kaze found himself standing right in front of Lunaria and Mitsui, both wearing nothing but a piece of towel wrapped around their bodies.
This was the first time that Kaze had seen girls closest to being naked, causing his face to heat up. Instead of focusing on a smirking Mitsui, his eyes were locked on Lunaria, who was equally as stunned as he was. Even Sera, who hadn't expected this to happen, was stunned.
Lunaria's figure that was wrapped in a towel provided a different sort of sensuality compared to what he saw the night before. With her hair tied into a bun before she got into the bathroom, her tail that protruded from behind her gave off a slightly different alluring charm. Her wings were also unfolded and hung by her side. Her plump bosom was a given, but the fact her butt was shown protruding ever so slightly from under the towel served as a gentle reminder of just how developed Lunaria was. No wonder most guys were easily captivated by her figure, as the ever-pure Kaze had never seen Lunaria in such light before.
"L-Lunaria, I swear, it was an accident…"
"Kaze…"
"Fufu~ trying to be a lucky pervert on the first day, Kaze?"
"K…. KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~~~~~~~~~!!!!!"
The sound of a resounding slap was heard following after Lunaria's scream. Afterwards, rules were set as to the usage of the bathroom for the different genders.
So much for making her happy.
- - - - -
"Kaze… why do you have a slap mark on your face?"
"Don't ask…"
Yuuji, who had just joined them at the dining table for breakfast after waking up, asked the same question that the others did when they first came to the dining room.
Kaze sat at his spot silently, a huge red mark spotting on the side of his face. With a few others already at the table, Mitsui was gleefully smirking at a very embarrassed Lunaria, who was sulking at the table. While eating her piece of meat for breakfast, Lunaria kept glaring at Kaze regardless of what her friends said or how they tried to persuade her.
Meanwhile, the other friends tried their best to not get involved. Whatever happened was obviously between them, even though Mitsui seemed somewhat involved as well based on the way she was smirking at the two. As breakfast progressed with a somewhat awkward mood, Yuuji decided to break the ice between Kaze and Lunaria.
"Lunaria, are you free today?" Yuuji asked. "If so, please come with me to the palace for the private meeting with my father."
"… Hm? Sure," Lunaria nodded at Yuuji with a smile. "I wanted to get over the issue quickly anyway."
"Kaze, what about you? We need you to be there to give your side of the story so there is a better chance of convincing my father," Yuuji turned to Kaze.
"Oh, I think I won't be able to make it. I need to look for a sword today," Kaze sighed. "You two can go ahead. I'm sure Lunaria has a better way of convincing your father than I can."
"A sword? Ah right, your sword broke. That won't be an issue," Yuuji grinned. "I can lend you one if you come over. We have a bunch of swords in the palace anyway, I'm sure you can find one."
"Yeah, it's probably better than you buying one right now anyway," Lunaria simply agreed with this and looked at him without the hostility from earlier. "Plus, I want to bring up this issue to the principal again. You deserve to tell your side of the truth too."
"… Alright," Kaze eventually agreed to this. "Is Mitsui coming too?"
"Probably," Mitsui nodded. "I want to see how Uncle is doing. It has been a while since I was at the palace."
"Oh? Don't you live in the palace too?" Sera, glad that the cold war was over, began joining in the conversation too.
"No. While I might be Yuuji's cousin, my family chose to not be too closely affiliated with the royal family," Mitsui shook her head and shrugged. "I don't mind it, since we won't receive as much attention. Plus, people don't swoon over me like they do with Yuuji so that is a bonus."
"Ahaha, you have it easy I see," Yuuji chuckled and nodded. "Sure, do come over. Father might be happy to see you. I know Mia would."
"Oh, how is she?" Mitsui's regular smirk arose yet again at the mention of his fiancé. "Do you two still get nervous sleeping with each other?"
"To clarify, we do sleep on the bed together all the time, thank you," Yuuji rolled his eyes at her usual way of wrongly phrasing her sentence. "While I won't confirm nor deny whether we have 'slept' together before, I can safely say that we are comfortable with showering together. And yes, she is doing well."
"Oh~ Yuuji is rather bold too," Shoko giggled. "I figured you would be more shut off from these sorts of things since you are royalty, Yuuji."
"Hmm, it wouldn't be correct of me to hide these things from you too," Yuuji cleared his throat. "Lunaria and Kaze would likely be meeting Mia later at the palace, so I wanted to clarify certain things before Mitsui ruins the atmosphere."
"Boo, you're no fun," Mitsui grinned at her cousin. "But yes, I do want to meet Mia again. It is rare to see her conveniently since she is home-schooled."
"Yuuji, are you sure you are alright with lending me a sword?" Kaze asked timidly. "I feel bad, in case something like what happened to mine happens on the sword too…"
"Yes, pure magic is something we aren't familiar with and I am aware the sword could shatter upon too much exposure to pure magic," Yuuji sighed. "But as I said, it's fine. We have many swords and we don't need that many. Even the soldiers themselves already have a healthy supply gathered."
After breakfast, Kaze and Lunaria got changed before heading on to the palace with Yuuji and Mia. Before that it seemed like Yuuji had Noel join them too because she was the knight commander's daughter. With three people affiliated to the royal palace located in the heart of Tristania, Kaze and Lunaria got ready to set off.
Right before they left since they waited for Noel to arrive, Lunaria approached Kaze by his side so she could speak to him secretly without her gesture being made too obvious.
"Kaze…"
"Um… yes Lunaria? Are you still angry-"
"No, not that. I wanted to ask if you have spoken to Sera about last night?"
"No… she seems to have thought that we talked about it during the evening."
"… Mm, that's fine then."
Lunaria made a gentle smile at his words, happy to hear that he was being honest with her. However, other concerns continued to plague Kaze.
"…. Lunaria, sorry, for just now."
"… Did I look good?"
"… I'm sorry?"
"D-Did you look at my body?"
"…. Sorry."
"… Hmph... W-What did you think?"
Kaze, slightly surprised by Lunaria's question, wondered if this was a trap or not. He was about to continue remaining silent until he remembered both Sera and Lunaria's own advice.
"… You look incredibly sexy…"
Before he could get a response from Lunaria, Noel had arrived and Lunaria left his side. This caused him to sigh as he wouldn't be able to find out what she thought of his confession. Joining the group himself, the five of them headed for the palace together.
With Kaze's words stuck inside of her head, a slight blush surfaced on Lunaria's cheeks whenever she thought of it.