Chapter title: On your marks!
Translator: TheDoru
Proofreader: EvilMayDie64
「Aomi-sama?」 (Patiyu)
It was night, about a week has passed since summoning ceremony. The five of them had received several lectures about this world, and they were able to get some common sense, knowledge, and culture.
For example, time and the calendar. Although they were not at the level of civilization to be able to make accurate clocks, they could assume that a day was about 24 hours and a year was 365 days, almost the same as in the original world.
The unit of distance is meters, knowledge that was apparently handed down by one of the heroes summoned in the past.
A few days later, after having acquired all the knowledge, the training for the battle finally began.
That night, Patiyu was somewhat dazed and went to the courtyard to take in a little night breeze. There, he spotted Ryou walking alone through the other side of the garden towards the training grounds.
She wasn’t sure if she should call out to him, but in the end she decided to sneak along.
「It’s a little disturbing, like peeping……」 (Patiyu)
Patiyu ducked behind a tree in the training area, keeping just enough distance that Ryou would not notice.
◇◇◇◇◇
He sat down on a wooden bench at the edge of the training area, not expecting anyone to be watching him.
He took out a pair of spikes from his bag, hold them up in front of him, closed his eyes as if in prayer, and touched his forehead.
It was a ritual before putting on the spikes.
「I’m coming, Mia…….」 (Ryou)
It was March, just before he started high school.
The spikes were a gift from Mia for Ryou’s birthday.
The spike pin was replaced with a 12mm earthen run spark from the usual 8mm all-weather Paupila.
He borrowed a tool and measured 100 meters during the day.
He stood in front of the start line he had set and took a deep breath. One…… more time.
Relaxing the unnecessary force on his body, he let his mind melt into the silence.
“On your mark”
A voice echoed in his head.
He sit back and put his hands on the line, spacing his feet to the most comfortable position.
“Set”
He took a breath and then….
The sound of a pistol that only he can hear.
His whole body explodes into motion and for that moment the world pops.
“Dont lift your legs too high”, “Lean forward”
….1….2 He counts in his head.
“Raise your body.”, “Accelerate”, “Accelerate”
The wind rumbles.
….3….4
“Shorten the ground contact time so that your feet don’t drift.”
The scenery flows at a speed that he has never felt before. He doesn’t feel the weight of his body, it’s like he was flying.
….5….6
He jumped into the goal with all his might.
「A little over six seconds…」 (Ryou)
Ryou laughed out loud at the unbelievable time. It was so much faster than the world record, so much faster, that he had to laugh.
「I’ve never gone under 10.9 seconds… If I were Stavro in tartan, I’d probably go under 5 seconds.」 (Ryou)
He knows that his physical abilities have been strengthened by his training during the day. Naoto and Ryou were taught how to use swords, but the iron swords were as lights as if they were just rulers.
They also said that their individual strengths were being further developed. Naoto has power and stamina, and Ryou has speed and agility.
「If I go back to my old world like this, I’m sure I would win a gold medal…」 (Ryou)
He caught his breath and looked back at the starting line.
In fact, he had come here with the intention of practicing his sword.
In fact, there was a big difference between Naoto, who had swordsmanship skills and Ryou, who had no skills at all, even if they trained for only a few hours.
I don’t want to drag them down…. That’s why I came here…
「I can practice swordsmanship tomorrow. Let’s just run as hard as we can today.」 (Ryou)
Ryou looked up at the night sky.
The beautiful moon was shining.
「There’s a moon over here, too.」 (Ryou)
He felt good running in the moonlight.
Ryou didn’t notice until the end that there was someone gazing at him from behind a tree in the corner of the training area.
「……Beautiful……」 (Patiyu)
It wasn’t fast, it wasn’t amazing, it was just something that came naturally out of Patiyu’s mouth.
She has seen soldiers and knights run many times, of course. But what she saw just now was different from any of them, it was the ultimate warm up before a run.
It was as if even the wind had overtaken him and time had stopped for everyone but him.
「Haa……」 (Patiyu)
Patiyu unconsciously let out a sigh.
I can’t take my eyes off you.
But she most not disturb him by calling out to him. She felt that way.
In the end, Patiyu remained watching until Ryou finished his practice.
「Come on.」 (Lester)
In front of Ryou, who was holding a wooden sword in front of his eyes, Lester called out for him to begin, without even taking a stance.
Lester is a knight of the Kingsguard who teaches Ryou how to sword fight, and he is one of the five best swordsmen in the kingdom of Elrain.
He is tall and stocky, with short chestnut hair and a beard, and at first glance he looks stern, but his eyes are always squinting and seem to be smiling, and he is actually a very warm person.
He says, “If I don’t look like I’m smiling like this, the kids will cry.”
But on the training grounds and in battle, his mild mannerism fades.
「Here we go!」 (Ryou)
With a shout, Ryou closes the gap and swings his wooden sword down at Lester’s left shoulder.
Lester’s right hand, holding the wooden sword, hung slack. He knew that this was the farthest he could get from his sword, so he made the move.
But Lester dodged the attack with his body maneuvering to the left and swung at his colleague’s empty right side. It was as if he had known his colleague’s move all along.
A moment before the sword strikes him, Ryou leaps to the left, narrowly ducks, turns and swings sideways.
Lester takes a step back and ducks without a second thought.
He immediately switches back, right to left. He ducks, too.
He doesn’t care, he fires again.
Cut up from below.
From above, a kesagake.
He feints a right, but Lester ducks.
He dodges every single one of them.
Without ever using his sword, just his body language.
Then, after the attack, a thrust is made against the large gap created.
It roared, and the tip of the blade closed in.
“This is not good!!”
Ryou rolls backwards and manages to duck it.
“He is coming.”
Ryou didn’t even get up and jumped backwards, taking a large distance.
「You got me…」 (Ryou)
He has been training a lot, and he still haven’t been able to get a single strike on Lester, let alone make him use his sword.
On the other hand, Naoto had already faced Lester on almost equal terms and had mastered a number of techniques that put attributes on his sword.
The overwhelming difference between Naoto and the others who have titles and skills.
It seemed hopeless, an insurmountable obstacle.
But even so, Ryou did not want to give up.
…There must be something….
「Yes…」 (Ryou)
After a moment’s thought, Ryou glanced snappily at Lester and remained silent.
“SET”
All the power of his body is applied to both of his legs, exploding at once.
A cloud of dust rises and the distance closes in the blink of an eye.
Lester’s face twisted as he saw the speed of Ryou approaching in a straight line. There was no time to think about right or left.
The next moment, Lester saw Ryou’s eyes move slightly to the right, and he didn’t miss it.
“Right”
Ryou’s body swayed to the right.
“It’s coming.”
Lester goes left.
But.
「What!?」 (Lester)
Ryou disappeared from Lester’s sight.
Crack!!
A violent sound was heard of wooden swords colliding with each other.
Lester’s reaction was almost accidental, or perhaps instinctive. It was an unconscious reflex, made possible by his vast experience in the field.
「…I thought it was going to work, but…」 (Ryou)
Ryou looked at the wooden sword that had been broken in half and his shoulders slumped.
「No, that’s not the case.」 (Lester)
I turned around to see Lester slowly approaching me.
Training is over, that’s the look on his face.
「See?」 (Lester)
Lester’s mouth relaxed and he showed me his wooden sword in his right hand.
「Ah…」 (Ryou)
It had been snapped down the middle, just like Ryou’s.
「You made me take a sword for the first time…」 (Lester)
However, Ryou’s expression did not change.
「But… I couldn’t get a hit.」 (Ryou)
Even if he had broken Lester’s sword, he had also broken my own, and he hadn’t beaten him. He was not in the mood to let go and be happy.
「Are you comparing yourself to Hyuga-dono?」 (Lester)
He had seen through him completely.
「He certainly have a gift as a swordsman and a magic warrior. That must be tremendously huge.」 (Lester)
Lester put his hand on Ryou’s shoulder.
「But every person is different. I think you should aim for your own height.」 (Lester)
Ryou looked up and met Lester’s eyes.
「I am aiming for my own height……」 (Ryou)
「Yes, that was an excellent attack, as you disappeared right in front of me for a moment. It seems that Aomi-dono is more suited to fighting at a distance and using his speed to play around with others rather than striking each other.」 (Lester)
Ryou looked down and pondered.
「Make the most of my speed…」 (Ryou)
Something popped in Ryou’s head.
Chapter title: On your marks!
Translator: TheDoru
Proofreader: EvilMayDie64
「Aomi-sama?」 (Patiyu)
It was night, about a week has passed since summoning ceremony. The five of them had received several lectures about this world, and they were able to get some common sense, knowledge, and culture.
For example, time and the calendar. Although they were not at the level of civilization to be able to make accurate clocks, they could assume that a day was about 24 hours and a year was 365 days, almost the same as in the original world.
The unit of distance is meters, knowledge that was apparently handed down by one of the heroes summoned in the past.
A few days later, after having acquired all the knowledge, the training for the battle finally began.
That night, Patiyu was somewhat dazed and went to the courtyard to take in a little night breeze. There, he spotted Ryou walking alone through the other side of the garden towards the training grounds.
She wasn’t sure if she should call out to him, but in the end she decided to sneak along.
「It’s a little disturbing, like peeping……」 (Patiyu)
Patiyu ducked behind a tree in the training area, keeping just enough distance that Ryou would not notice.
◇◇◇◇◇
He sat down on a wooden bench at the edge of the training area, not expecting anyone to be watching him.
He took out a pair of spikes from his bag, hold them up in front of him, closed his eyes as if in prayer, and touched his forehead.
It was a ritual before putting on the spikes.
「I’m coming, Mia…….」 (Ryou)
It was March, just before he started high school.
The spikes were a gift from Mia for Ryou’s birthday.
The spike pin was replaced with a 12mm earthen run spark from the usual 8mm all-weather Paupila.
He borrowed a tool and measured 100 meters during the day.
He stood in front of the start line he had set and took a deep breath. One…… more time.
Relaxing the unnecessary force on his body, he let his mind melt into the silence.
“On your mark”
A voice echoed in his head.
He sit back and put his hands on the line, spacing his feet to the most comfortable position.
“Set”
He took a breath and then….
The sound of a pistol that only he can hear.
His whole body explodes into motion and for that moment the world pops.
“Dont lift your legs too high”, “Lean forward”
….1….2 He counts in his head.
“Raise your body.”, “Accelerate”, “Accelerate”
The wind rumbles.
….3….4
“Shorten the ground contact time so that your feet don’t drift.”
The scenery flows at a speed that he has never felt before. He doesn’t feel the weight of his body, it’s like he was flying.
….5….6
He jumped into the goal with all his might.
「A little over six seconds…」 (Ryou)
Ryou laughed out loud at the unbelievable time. It was so much faster than the world record, so much faster, that he had to laugh.
「I’ve never gone under 10.9 seconds… If I were Stavro in tartan, I’d probably go under 5 seconds.」 (Ryou)
He knows that his physical abilities have been strengthened by his training during the day. Naoto and Ryou were taught how to use swords, but the iron swords were as lights as if they were just rulers.
They also said that their individual strengths were being further developed. Naoto has power and stamina, and Ryou has speed and agility.
「If I go back to my old world like this, I’m sure I would win a gold medal…」 (Ryou)
He caught his breath and looked back at the starting line.
In fact, he had come here with the intention of practicing his sword.
In fact, there was a big difference between Naoto, who had swordsmanship skills and Ryou, who had no skills at all, even if they trained for only a few hours.
I don’t want to drag them down…. That’s why I came here…
「I can practice swordsmanship tomorrow. Let’s just run as hard as we can today.」 (Ryou)
Ryou looked up at the night sky.
The beautiful moon was shining.
「There’s a moon over here, too.」 (Ryou)
He felt good running in the moonlight.
Ryou didn’t notice until the end that there was someone gazing at him from behind a tree in the corner of the training area.
「……Beautiful……」 (Patiyu)
It wasn’t fast, it wasn’t amazing, it was just something that came naturally out of Patiyu’s mouth.
She has seen soldiers and knights run many times, of course. But what she saw just now was different from any of them, it was the ultimate warm up before a run.
It was as if even the wind had overtaken him and time had stopped for everyone but him.
「Haa……」 (Patiyu)
Patiyu unconsciously let out a sigh.
I can’t take my eyes off you.
But she most not disturb him by calling out to him. She felt that way.
In the end, Patiyu remained watching until Ryou finished his practice.
「Come on.」 (Lester)
In front of Ryou, who was holding a wooden sword in front of his eyes, Lester called out for him to begin, without even taking a stance.
Lester is a knight of the Kingsguard who teaches Ryou how to sword fight, and he is one of the five best swordsmen in the kingdom of Elrain.
He is tall and stocky, with short chestnut hair and a beard, and at first glance he looks stern, but his eyes are always squinting and seem to be smiling, and he is actually a very warm person.
He says, “If I don’t look like I’m smiling like this, the kids will cry.”
But on the training grounds and in battle, his mild mannerism fades.
「Here we go!」 (Ryou)
With a shout, Ryou closes the gap and swings his wooden sword down at Lester’s left shoulder.
Lester’s right hand, holding the wooden sword, hung slack. He knew that this was the farthest he could get from his sword, so he made the move.
But Lester dodged the attack with his body maneuvering to the left and swung at his colleague’s empty right side. It was as if he had known his colleague’s move all along.
A moment before the sword strikes him, Ryou leaps to the left, narrowly ducks, turns and swings sideways.
Lester takes a step back and ducks without a second thought.
He immediately switches back, right to left. He ducks, too.
He doesn’t care, he fires again.
Cut up from below.
From above, a kesagake.
He feints a right, but Lester ducks.
He dodges every single one of them.
Without ever using his sword, just his body language.
Then, after the attack, a thrust is made against the large gap created.
It roared, and the tip of the blade closed in.
“This is not good!!”
Ryou rolls backwards and manages to duck it.
“He is coming.”
Ryou didn’t even get up and jumped backwards, taking a large distance.
「You got me…」 (Ryou)
He has been training a lot, and he still haven’t been able to get a single strike on Lester, let alone make him use his sword.
On the other hand, Naoto had already faced Lester on almost equal terms and had mastered a number of techniques that put attributes on his sword.
The overwhelming difference between Naoto and the others who have titles and skills.
It seemed hopeless, an insurmountable obstacle.
But even so, Ryou did not want to give up.
…There must be something….
「Yes…」 (Ryou)
After a moment’s thought, Ryou glanced snappily at Lester and remained silent.
“SET”
All the power of his body is applied to both of his legs, exploding at once.
A cloud of dust rises and the distance closes in the blink of an eye.
Lester’s face twisted as he saw the speed of Ryou approaching in a straight line. There was no time to think about right or left.
The next moment, Lester saw Ryou’s eyes move slightly to the right, and he didn’t miss it.
“Right”
Ryou’s body swayed to the right.
“It’s coming.”
Lester goes left.
But.
「What!?」 (Lester)
Ryou disappeared from Lester’s sight.
Crack!!
A violent sound was heard of wooden swords colliding with each other.
Lester’s reaction was almost accidental, or perhaps instinctive. It was an unconscious reflex, made possible by his vast experience in the field.
「…I thought it was going to work, but…」 (Ryou)
Ryou looked at the wooden sword that had been broken in half and his shoulders slumped.
「No, that’s not the case.」 (Lester)
I turned around to see Lester slowly approaching me.
Training is over, that’s the look on his face.
「See?」 (Lester)
Lester’s mouth relaxed and he showed me his wooden sword in his right hand.
「Ah…」 (Ryou)
It had been snapped down the middle, just like Ryou’s.
「You made me take a sword for the first time…」 (Lester)
However, Ryou’s expression did not change.
「But… I couldn’t get a hit.」 (Ryou)
Even if he had broken Lester’s sword, he had also broken my own, and he hadn’t beaten him. He was not in the mood to let go and be happy.
「Are you comparing yourself to Hyuga-dono?」 (Lester)
He had seen through him completely.
「He certainly have a gift as a swordsman and a magic warrior. That must be tremendously huge.」 (Lester)
Lester put his hand on Ryou’s shoulder.
「But every person is different. I think you should aim for your own height.」 (Lester)
Ryou looked up and met Lester’s eyes.
「I am aiming for my own height……」 (Ryou)
「Yes, that was an excellent attack, as you disappeared right in front of me for a moment. It seems that Aomi-dono is more suited to fighting at a distance and using his speed to play around with others rather than striking each other.」 (Lester)
Ryou looked down and pondered.
「Make the most of my speed…」 (Ryou)
Something popped in Ryou’s head.
