Because I went to bed early, I woke up feeling refreshed.
It was still early morning, with a slight chill in the air. After getting dressed and eating breakfast, I decided that there was no need to wait for everyone else, as I had concluded the previous day.
With my stomach full, I wandered through the palace halls, heading back to my room. Along the way, I glanced through one of the passageways that led to the training grounds. There, bathed in the light of the rising sun, was the silver-haired beauty, Rinyu, practicing her sword swings.
The morning sunlight reflected off her silver hair, making her look almost divine. At the same time, the ferocity in her sword movements reminded me that she wasn't just a beauty—she was a warrior through and through, her power akin to that of a demon god.
(…Alright then.)
I picked up a practice sword with a dull blade and headed towards the training grounds, casually acting as if I had just noticed her.
"Oh, I thought I'd be the first one here."
"…? Who are you?" she asked with narrowed eyes.
"I'm the hero."
"Ah, now that you mention it, I think I saw you loitering around yesterday."
"Yep, that's me. You've got a good eye."
"…"
Rinyu frowned in displeasure as I grinned and responded playfully.
"What's wrong?"
"…It's nothing, but your way of speaking is quite different from Ren or Hidaka's."
"Do you dislike it?"
"…I said it doesn't bother me."
"I think that means it does bother you. I could be more respectful if you prefer?"
Rinyu scoffed at my teasing. She sheathed the sword she had been using for practice and took up a fighting stance with her bare hands.
"If you want a fight, just say so."
"I'm not looking for a fight, really," I replied nonchalantly, holding the practice sword in one hand and mimicking a fighting stance as best as I could.
We stared at each other for a moment before Rinyu made the first move.
"If you're not coming, then I will!"
"I was just about to come at you—geez!"
I made sure my words were laced with mockery, trying to rile her up.
Rinyu, however, paid no attention to my provocation and charged at me at full speed, weaving in feints to catch me off guard. I had thought she was coming straight at me, so I planned to swing my sword down, but she outmaneuvered me with her movements, positioning herself behind me.
There was no way I could anticipate her attack. As one of the weakest heroes in terms of stats, all I could do was brace for the impact.
"Take this!" she roared.
"Urgh—!!"
A split second of weightlessness followed by an intense, truck-like collision from behind. I was sent flying over ten meters, tumbling along the dirt of the training ground, unable to properly brace myself. I waited for the momentum to subside before stopping completely.
When I finally came to a halt, I found myself staring up at a bright blue sky. It was... quite beautiful.
"…H-Hey! Are you alright?!"
Rinyu's panicked voice entered my vision along with her figure as she rushed over to me.
Consciously avoiding the sight of her ample chest, I observed her expression. The anger she had shown earlier had faded, replaced with genuine concern.
Seems like she's more emotionally expressive than I thought.
Taking a breath, I slowly sat up.
"Whoa, that surprised me."
"A-Are you really okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry for being so cocky earlier. I just wanted to see how much work I needed to put in, so I kind of dragged you into it."
"I-Is that so? But why…?"
"Well, I'm only a Bronze-level hero, so I wanted to gauge how much effort it'd take to improve."
I revealed my rank, carefully observing Rinyu's reaction. However, she didn't seem particularly bothered. She simply smiled, flashing a bright grin.
"That's a good thing! Hah, if that's the case, I'll train you properly!"
"Really?! But shouldn't you be prioritizing Platinum-level heroes for training…?"
"If you don't mind, I can train you from this early in the morning."
"…You're an early riser, huh."
"I'm a Dragonewt. Sleep isn't something I really need."
(How was I supposed to know that?) I thought, but kept my mouth shut, expressing my gratitude instead.
"Thank you so much! If it's not too much trouble, could we start training right away?"
"Of course. But first… You're acting, aren't you?"
"…Acting? What do you mean?"
"Dragonewts have sharp eyes. I can see through you. That haughty tone you had earlier—that's your true nature, isn't it?"
Her comment immediately raised my mental alert level. I didn't think she could actually read minds, but if I underestimated her as just another muscle-head, I might get caught off guard.
"…Well, yeah. So what?"
"Then stick with that. Nothing's more annoying than fake respect."
(Her sharp perception must be why she gets irritated by those little subtleties.)
After pretending to think for a moment, I replied, "Alright, then. How's this?"
"Hah! That's still irritating!" Rinyu responded, her smile widening even as veins bulged on her forehead.
"Oh, come on, don't be unreasonable. You're not a child, so cut me some slack."
Even as her face twisted into a strange mixture of amusement and irritation, she spoke in a voice shaking with anger.
"I'm going to make you the strongest hero there is. And I won't allow any complaints or whining until you reach that point."
"By the way, my name's Senji Nakura. Shouldn't you at least remember the names of the heroes you summoned?"
"Sorry, I don't waste my time remembering the names of weaklings."
"That brain of yours must be all muscle. I guess that's why, huh? No hard feelings."
"…"
"…"
We glared at each other in silence.
Then, slowly but surely, her eyes filled with nothing but pure irritation.
"I'm going to punch you now."
"Huh?! Wait, aren't we supposed to be training?"
"Consider this dodging practice. Here comes the first hit!"
"Wait, hold on—!"
And so, my early morning training session with Rinyu began.
I had several reasons for engaging with her.
First, I wanted to secure some training to get stronger.
Second, I wanted to gauge her personality and the growth potential of a Bronze-ranked hero.
By provoking her into a fight and portraying myself as an "inferior," I sought to relax her guard and observe her reactions.
The fact that she didn't seem disappointed by my Bronze rank indicated that Rinyu at least believed a Bronze-level hero could become stronger. Or perhaps she thought she could turn even the weakest recruit into a proper soldier. Either way, I'd secured training from her, so it was a win for me.
And, I'd accomplished something else by sparring with her.
"Hahaha! I win, Senji! You weakling! Total loser! Weak, weak, so weak~♡"
"Shut up! I'm smarter than you, at least!"
"Then use that smart head of yours to escape this! Weakling Senji~♡ Loser hero~♡"
"Nngh!"
"What's the matter? Can't move at all?"
With a triumphant grin, Rinyu sat on top of me, teasing me relentlessly after our so-called "training," which was more like an all-out beating. From the look on her face, it was obvious she was having a blast.
As I had suspected from observing her during our training yesterday, Rinyu seemed to have a bit of a sadistic streak.
That's why I purposefully provoked her, hoping that by letting her unleash her frustrations on me, I could actually increase her liking for me.
Although it was extremely annoying, my theory had been proven right. Through this strange, violent bonding, I'd managed to get closer to her.
"Damn it, get off me already!"
"Not yet~♡ Come on, keep trying~♡"
It was a bit bizarre, but hey, if it meant our relationship had improved, then I suppose it was all worth it…
(I think… this is fine? Right? No, maybe this wasn't the best idea after all…)
In the end, I'm a bit of an idiot.
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