Hope you enjoy the chapter~

I had to get a little liberal with the translation at some points, but I hope it flows alright!

Like always, I swing my sword.

After tracing through a series of forms, I imagined Donaldy"s movements within my head. And then, as if I were fighting him, I moved my body.

…..I won"t reach him, huh.

Around the time when I felt chagrin at losing and began to wipe my sweat, people from the same unit as my father began to appear, similarly starting their own training.

"……you"re working hard in the morning."

Before I realized it, father was standing nearby.

"Master! Good morning."

Since we were outside, I greeted father in an appropriate manner for my guard status.

"Umu, morning…….how about it? Would you have a match with me?"

"Certainly. Please take care of me."

And so I began to fight with my father using a sparring sword.

Clang, the sound of swords clashing reverberated.

I cannot win in a battle of brute force, so I quickly fell back.

"I told you that your swordsmanship had changed before, didn"t I?"

"Yes."

"It became more practical. The reasoning behind it is good. However……I can feel hesitation."

"……hesitation, is it?"

"Indeed. Even though you resolutely aim at the opponent"s vitals when swinging your sword, just before you touch the opponent, that resolution weakens. That half-heartedness is creating an opening."

……my sword is weakening?

It is true that lately my movements don"t overlap with the images in my head, so I merely felt a sense of discomfort.

So that was the cause of it.

"In reality you have had an encounter in which lives were taken……so it cannot be helped even if you have become afraid of wielding the sword. That is why I have pardoned you up until now……..however, if you intend on being like that from now on……abandon the sword."

Father"s relentless words stabbed into my chest.

His gaze was a sharp as those words.

His expression was so serious it was scary.

"If you think about it, the sword is a tool for murder. To take it into hand, one needs to have the resolve to kill your opponent and the resolve to be killed yourself. When you received the sword from me, did you not say that you had that intention already?"

"……yes."

"Then this time, I shall ask your sword."

In the next instant, father faced me and swung his sword.

I dodged that swing.

He was different from the usual father.

His spirit was oppressing to a painful degree.

"What"s wrong! Was your resolve that weak!?"

Father yelled at me as I dodged his sword and continued to parry it away.

His bellow ripped through my skin like an electric shock.

It"s scary.

……scary?

Was my resolve that weak?

Was the thing that I cultivated, the thing I spent so much time on, something that would collapse this easily?

……no.

No, no, no!

I swore that I wouldn"t lose to irrationality.

I swore that I would take revenge on everything that had stolen mother away from me.

Even if I had to throw everything away.

Even if there was nothing to gain from it.

From the start, I didn"t hold such weak feelings that would allow me to simply laugh and say "I tried hard, this is my limit", stopping where I was while giving up.

I would persist in my selfishness.

Even if I had to use my surroundings for that sake.

I would complete my objective.

…….that being the case, there"s no way I could let myself be defeated by father in a place like this.

Once I decided that in my heart, my sword felt lighter.

My body reacted exactly like how I imagined it in my head.

Father"s movements……no, even the time being carved into the world felt like it was going slower.

Speedily, I dove close into father"s bosom.

And then, I deflected away father"s sword with a clang.

Father was late in reacting to my movements, and lightly raised up his sword.

Aiming for that gap, I placed my sword against father"s neck.

"……I have indeed seen your resolve."

Hearing that one line, I drew back.

"I must also thank you……..thanks to you, I"ve remembered an important thing."

After saying my thanks with a smile, I returned to the mansion to wash off the sweat.