After resting in her room for a while, Mimi wanted to go and warm up a little more before the appointed time. She wanted to go to the place where her master told her to be there and explore the place.
The place where they were training was not in the woods. What was on her master's mind? That place was open, and they could be seen by the other during their training as well as Mimi's disgraceful fighting style.
Her master came while she was thinking. She was holding a bag that looked like a musical instrument. Mimi asked her question about the training place before asking what it was.
Amy laughed and asked, "Are you afraid of seen to be disgraced by others, missy?" While Mimi was thinking about how to respond, Amy said without waiting for her said, "The training field better be equal for everyone."
After the explanation, Mimi understood why her master chose this place. Having trees nearby was a disadvantage for her. She remembered her first encounter with her master. Amy had blocked Mimi's movement by controlling a tree. There was no tree around to hinder her movement. Unless her master creates one of her own will...
Amy asked, "Shall we start?" Then she turned and took out two swords from the case-like bag she had left on the ground. Mimi was surprised when she saw swords. Would they train with an old-world weapon? In addition, the use of weapons was forbidden to all secondars. Why would they need a weapon anyway? She hesitated to ask for an explanation. Because she was sure, her master knew what she was doing.
Amy tossed one of the swords at Mimi and drew hers. She watched the sunbeams shone on her sword. "I wish they'd given me Gonzales' gorgeous sword as a souvenir?" she thought. She loved beautifully crafted swords.
Mimi also drew the sword she had been given and awaited instructions from her master. Without taking any defensive positions, her master asked Mimi to attack her. Mimi began attacking at full speed, focusing her full attention on her master's open position. But as Mimi thought, her attacks did not work. Amy successfully countered and repulsed each attack. Then she just stood there without attacking, waiting for Mimi to strike again. It took like that for half an hour. Finally, Mimi threw herself on the ground and gave up.
"I don't understand, Master! I have been with you for a year, but I have not improved my skills even a bit. And why are we training with swords anyway?" she asked. Amy smiled bitterly when she saw her apprentice demoralized like that.
She came over to where Mimi was lying and sat down on the grass. Amy asked, "Let me explain it to you.... Mimi, what would you say if someone asks about me?" Mimi replied to the question, "She is a 247-year-old woman who has a medium height, green eyes, dark brown hair. She always listens to music at home. Sometimes plays guitar. She loves vegetable soup and..."
Amy interrupted, "No, no! I did not mean that! If someone asks me about you, I wouldn't say that you are a 14-year-old girl with short blond hair but say your military state and specialties."
After thinking for a while, Mimi said, "Due to her secondar abilities, she can dominate water and earth. But the main thing she dominates is plants. Besides, she feels every living thing at a certain distance. For this reason, she is one of the strongest soldiers in the organization to defend herself." she explained.
Amy lifted her nose and head, said, "Thank you." Mimi got up from where she was lying and muttered, "Get a boyfriend if you want someone to give you compliments." After that, Amy pinched her arm. Mimi asked as she rubbed her arm "I don't understand why you suddenly asked something like that?"
Amy leaned her elbow on her knee and began to explain. "Listen well, Mimi. Fighting to someone with a strong defense makes you a strong person too." Mimi looked at her master as if she did not understand what she said.
Amy smiled then said, "In other words, the harder a person's training is, the stronger a person becomes. You are now strengthening your attack by trying to break through a good defense. Training like this with me shapes your fighting style. You are trying to find a weak spot and an open position to strike towards a defend. You have been thinking about it so much that you can see your opponent's weak points very well in your next fights. My two previous apprentices also became experts in attack strategies. If there was a big war right now, they both would be the leaders of the attacking troops even though one of them was a medical support soldier..."
When Mimi realized why she was fighting against someone whose defense so hard to break, she got excited and said, "I probably won't have an opponent with a stronger defense than you." Then felt down and said, "Of course, it would be better if I showed a little improvement against you in a year."
Amy laughed. She drew a line about half a meter with her sword and said, "Let's say that this is my full defense power." Then she marked ten centimeters from the left side of the line. "Let this be the defense power I showed you in my first practice with you." she said. She marked right in the middle of the last line then added, "This is the defense power I am using against your current attacks right now."
Realizing that she actually felt like she wasn't making any progress because her master had increased her defense, she happily stood up and asked Amy to continue training. Amy did not get up right away. "We can go into the woods if you want to..." she said. Mimi said it would be okay to continue where they were. After Amy lost in her thoughts a little, she said, "Okay." and got up.
Amy tried not to focus on what she was feeling on the main road to the military post as she confronted her apprentice, who was more aggressive this time and was thinking more about technical details.
Amy succeeded to sleep for an hour today, while most people were asleep, but she woke up with the energy she sensed in the 1st City in the morning. It was the same energy that she could not forget its calmness and greatness had been wandering in SOU's administration and coordinators' buildings since morning. Then it went to the main gate of SOU but turned directly from there and entered the main road to where the path leads to the military post.
Mimi trained with her master for another fifteen minutes. However, she suspected that her master had a problem with focusing. The defense that had to be overcome before the break was different from the defense now.
When the owner of the energy stopped on the way to the military post where Amy and Mimi could be seen, Amy tried not to look in that direction for a while. Part of her wished that he had not seen her, while another part of her was happy to think that the owner of the energy might have stopped because he saw her. Thinking she could not focus on Mimi, she asked Mimi for a break, lowered the sword, and turned around.
Mimi noticed that her master was turning to look at someone staring at them on the way to the military post. There was quite a distance between them and the road, and Mimi observed that if her master could sense a person from that far away, that person must have been really strong.
Karen felt embarrassed at first when he saw and noticed Amy. It was both exciting and frightening for him to experience her ability to sense from firsthand. He hesitated whether to greet or not. He was about to raise his hand to bow timidly but Amy greeted him first. Karen, returned the greeting in the same way when he realized her greeting.
Amy asked Mimi for permission to finish their training for today. Wondering who the man was, Mimi gathered her training materials and made her way home. While she was on the way to the military post, the man was coming towards her. When they came face to face, she bowed her head respectfully and passed by. The man also saluted her with a smile.
Mimi changed her route to the academy, remembering that she had to deliver the swords to the warehouse before she could go home. Just before her, there were four people. When she paid more attention, she saw that the women were the same.
She knew the one in military uniform. She was the assistant of one of the coordinators. Mimi remembered that she was the General's daughter's assistant. That assistant had a twin sister? And she was wearing the same brown trousers and white shirt as the man she saw just before.
Mimi stopped for a second. Twin assistants... twin sisters... The man she greeted just before might have been the Lord of the West himself! She turned and looked behind him. The man and her master were sitting side by side on the grass, talking. After watched for a while, she made his way to the warehouse without delay.
...
When they came across, Karen was the one who started to talk first. "I remembered you when I saw you, but I wasn't sure if you remembered me too."
Amy smiled and said, "I was about to say the same thing." Karen smiled too.
They sat down on the grass as they were asking each other how it was going. Karen with one hand was pointing the way to the military post and Amy's clothes with the other and said, "Sword drill in sportswear... a very interesting taste you got."
Amy laughed and said, "Everything has an explanation, but it would take so long."
"I don't have that much time." said Karen.
Without waiting "It is natural for the Lord of the West to be busy." said Amy.
Karen felt happy that even if Amy knew who he was, she did not act any differently than when they first met. He gave up saying to her that he had seen her in the Desert of Rain. He had to bring the topic to his request somehow, but there was something else he was wondering about right now.
"I'm surprised you have an apprentice." he said. Amy asked him why as she lifted her eyebrows. Karen thought for a while about how not to say directly he knew that she was Green Blood. Then he raised his hands and said, "Come on, it's so natural that I'm gathering information about the soldier who's taken down one of the Mighty Ten."
Amy did not answer at first. Then she laughed and said, "It sounds really scary when you hear it from someone else. Seriously, why are they assigning apprentices to me?" ' and they both burst out laughing.
When the laughter was under control, Amy wiped the tears from her eyes and asked, "Well, may I learn what our Lord is doing here? Moreover, why you are left alone? You have no protocol with you."
Karen was surprised by what she said because he was with his protocol just before. This meant that Amy did not feel them. He did not bring up this topic because he wanted to discuss the matter he wanted to come to.
With a sigh, he said, "I was going to request a soldier for a mission, but I couldn't find someone with the qualifications I was looking for. I was on my way to ask a friend."
Amy thought for a moment and said, "It must be hard for you to ask your friend for things like that. What is this mission? Maybe I can help." Karen was once again surprised at Amy's empathy and helpfulness.
"In the 6th City, there is a town called Roseway. Did you hear about it?" he asked.
Amy said, "I've heard of it. It has a beautiful name, and as I heard, the town is full of rose gardens as in its name."
Karen said, "It was like you said before, but that town and a few small villages around it have been in severe drought for the past ten years. Therefore, the flora has also deteriorated."
There was a great river about one hundred and fifty kilometers north of the town. Karen was planning to open a giant waterway from this river to the town. He had found workers with secondar abilities who would open this road as soon as possible, but the workers were living far away. It was necessary to accompany workers safely, bring them food and shelter that they would need during the construction.
While Karen was explaining, Amy said, "I know where those types of workers live. There are also many bandits on the way to Roseway from there. The convoy might be plundered."
Karen said, "Exactly. That's why I have to find someone who can accompany workers since I won't be able to because I got work to do and I have to leave here in an hour."
They stayed silent for a while. Amy said, "So?" when she understood that he would not get what she was trying to refer to with her glance.
Karen said, "So what?" Without holding her laughter back Amy said, "I thought that you would be going to ask me."
"Can you do it if I ask?" asked Karen without hiding his embarrassment.
Amy laughed and said, "I don't think you would have refused if I had a favor to ask you too." After a short silence, Karen said, "Can you help me?" said. Amy smiled.
A great feudal lord would not ask a soldier like that. They would not even ask, nor they would not sit on the grass and chat with a soldier. "Sure!" she said. Then she asked when she should leave and on what days were they supposed to get there. In addition to this information, Karen also talked about the details such as the road map he sent to the workers.
Amy stood up when Karen finished his talking. She was thinking that she had to set off early. He told her how and at what time the workers would get there. When she turned to Karen, Amy realized that Karen was not listening to her. She asked what was wrong.
Karen leaned his hands on the grass from his back and looked at Amy and said, "You are more helpful and understanding than what I heard about you." Amy asked uneasily, "What did you hear about me?"
Karen stood up in one swift move. "I won't tell you if it will change your mind to help me." he said. They both laughed. Karen thanked her and said that he had to leave. Amy said, "I get paid for this mission. No need to thank." They said goodbye to see each other three days later.