As I exit the bath, I feel an inexplicable chill run down my spine.
How odd… there shouldn't be any opened windows here, no?
Hoping I wasn’t taking up the bathroom from someone else, I quickly drained the water before clothing myself.
Feeling refreshed and recharged, I walk down the hallway and start heading down the stairs, hoping to run into Mother Astraea before anyone else.
I really hope my acceptance into the Familia was, well, accepted by the rest of the girls.
After all, they’re going to be my housemates and allies for at least a while, right?
We should try to get along.
As I finally reach flat ground, I look around the large living room in front of me.
There were quite a lot of couches positioned throughout the room and bookshelves lining the walls, filled with various artifacts, trinkets, and books, obviously.
Turning my head to the side, I see Astraea leaving a room along with four other girls.
There was Alise and Ryuu, who I already recognized.
There was also a tall black-haired beauty who looked to be of Eastern descent and a short girl with medium-length pink hair, her hands placed on the back of her head.
That must be Kaguya and… Lyra, right?
Hmm… should I pretend to not know their names?
No, Astraea said she told them about me, so I should just get this over with.
"Good morning, Astraea, Alise, Ryuu, Kaguya, and Lyra, I assume?"
The girls’ eyes all widen slightly in surprise.
Oh shit.
Did Astraea not explain that part to them?
Or did she use something else?
I look towards Astraea in freight as she calmly smiles back at me.
"It's alright, Sirius. I explained to them your story and how you know their names.” Astraea says.
Oh, thank god.
Thought I fucked up big time there.
But Astraea explained my story, huh?
Hopefully not the complete truth, as she promised.
I’ll have to ask her about the cover story so our stories are straight.
“And feel free to call me Mother, although I understand that it will take time to become comfortable enough to do so." She continues.
“I-I’ll stick with Astraea for now, please.” I respond.
Calling such a beautiful lady ‘Mother’... no way, that was just way too embarrassing.
Alise then steps forward before crossing her arms across her chest.
“Ahem! Well, as expected of my beautiful self, it seems that you already know of me! Now, in case your future visions weren’t clear, I’ll explain it simply! I am Alise Lovell, captain of the Astraea Familia and the one who will be teaching you magic! Be grateful to have such a stunning beauty for a magic instructor!”
“Uh… yeah, thanks. I’ll be in your care.”
Although I was a little put off by the prideful nature of my new captain, knowing how good-natured she was, that’s just part of her charm.
From her words, it seems that my knowledge of, well, everything is explained by a ‘future vision’, which isn’t far off from the truth.
Very cunning, Astraea.
Anyway, although she was a bit prideful… that pride was not baseless.
Flowing red hair that seemed to brighten up the room, piercing emerald eyes, and sharp facial features that held a certain allure…
All in all, Alise Lovell was a very charming beauty.
Hmm… should I tease her a little?
It’s a great way to grow closer, after all.
"You are absolutely right. I am eternally grateful to be blessed with such an alluring captain. Your beauty and charm are truly captivating." I say with an exaggerated bow.
…Maybe that was a little much.
Although I did say that with the purpose of teasing, it seems that they had recognized the sincerity of my words if their stunned silence was anything to go off of.
Astraea, meanwhile, simply looked at the spectacle with mirth evident in her smile.
"U-um, yes! E-Exactly! Hahaha… A-Anyway! Your training will start immediately, with you starting combat lessons with Kaguya!"
After overcoming her initial surprise, Alise returns to her prideful, carefree tone.
…Although she was sporting a slight blush on her cheeks…
It seems that she is unused to sincere compliments on her appearance despite her confidence.
How cute.
I then feel the same chill that I felt leaving the bath, but this time much stronger.
Darting my eyes to the side, I see Kaguya staring at me with squinted eyes and a large smile.
But how odd…
For some reason, seeing that smile only gave me the feeling of wanting to escape.
I’m broken out of my thoughts by Kaguya's light laughter.
"Fufufu~ Despite having only just met, you surely wasted no time in seducing our captain, huh? What a naughty boy… Well, if you’re that eager, then let us begin your training right away, Sirius~"
Scary! Bad news! Very bad news!
I take a step back on instinct as Kaguya steps toward me, and in the next instant, she appears in front of me, holding my arm with an iron grip.
"Now, I'll lead us to the training ground, so let’s do our best~"
Unable to escape, I look over to Astraea and the other three girls as I’m dragged away, hoping for a saviour.
But unfortunately, all I am met with are expressions of pity.
And why was Ryuu bowing her head apologetically?
That was not doing wonders for my confidence here!
Eventually accepting my fate, I picked myself off the ground and walked alongside Kaguya.
Although I was scared, an even bigger part of me was excited to learn under Kaguya, the one who is known as among the best Orario in pure martial skill.
I was hopeful about what boons her training would bring, while at the same time, I was still terrified of what it would entail.
----- Astrea POV -----
After seeing off Sirius who Kaguya was dragging away, I turned towards the girls.
Lyra was smirking at Alise, whose demeanour had been easily shattered from the surprise sincere compliment, while Ryuu was wearing a pout.
Seeing Alise who was pointedly looking away from Lyra's gaze, I decided to tease her a bit.
After all, it was hard to find the confident girl show a hint of vulnerability, so I won’t let this chance get away.
"You know, Alise… I didn't detect a shred of untruth in his compliment."
Hearing that, Alise's face exploded into a blush as she straightened her back.
"I-Is that so? Ahem! A-anyways, I must go review the patrol routes! Yes, captain duties!"
With that, Alise took off to her room, despite the patrol routes being located in the office, leaving me and Lyra to chuckle at her expense while Ryuu devolved into a muttering spree.
How interesting… it seems the combination of Sirius' charming looks, heroic introduction, gentle demeanour, and sincere compliment dealt a critical blow to the egotistic captain.
"Damn human. Such lustful instincts couldn't even be suppressed for one minute. Flirtatious words thrown around like nothing… As expected of a human male. Disgusting."
Hearing Ryuu's words, me and Lyra once again find each other’s eyes before smiling in amusement.
One didn’t need to be a Goddess in order to sense the untruth in her rambling.
Ah… for some reason, I really want to tease her like I did with Alise.
Is this how Loki feels toward her children?
Well… it appears that accepting Sirius into the Familia has brought some unforeseen benefits.
I lean down before lightly speaking into Ryuu’s ear.
"Ryuu, my daughter… You can't lie in front of a Goddess~. Maybe you're just… jealous?"
Ryuu perks her head up as a blush similar to Alise's spreads from her cheeks to the tips of her twitching ears.
"N-No! Absolutely not! I-I'm going to my room!"
As Ryuu runs toward the stairwell, I and Lyra once again explode into another fit of giggles.
Calming down after a good laugh, Lyra then looks towards me with a serious expression.
"Mother. Moving on to more troublesome things, tonight is the meeting with Loki and Ganesha Familias about eliminating Evilus. With the information from the bodies left by the Juggernaut, and with the aid of the Hermes Familia, we have the locations of the remaining bases in or near Orario. With Ouranos' blessing with the operation, it is only a matter of time before we remove them once and for all." She says, her lips curling into a cruel smile.
Yes, while my children were all morally righteous, they were not ones to make enemies of.
"Good. Who will be joining the meeting on our side?" I ask.
"Myself, Alise, and Kaguya are going to be there. Speaking of this… did you tell Sirius of the information and gag order on the Juggernaut?" Lyra asks.
"He already knows how it spawns from excessive damage to the dungeon, but I'll be sure to tell him about the gag order before he leaves the house. Have you decided what to do with the claw it dropped?" I say.
"The girls and I talked briefly after receiving it, and we decided to give it to Sirius as he was the one to hunt it and save us, thinking that it would be a good material for his first weapon." Lyra says.
"Ouranos said that he will commission a weapon to be made from it by a trusted smith and that the guild will pay for it as payment for following the gag order. Apparently, he has a deal with Hephaestus herself for unique situations such as these. Anyway, I'll have it commissioned according to what weapon Sirius finds suitable from his training."
Hmm… I’m guessing he will be a front-line fighter as his magic works well with that position, but even if he doesn’t, one should always have a weapon to defend themselves in close combat.
"Understood, Mother. A weapon will be a good gift to thank him for what he did. Although Alise used it as an excuse to run away, we really should review the patrol routes with the meeting happening, so I’ll get on that. See ya later!"
As Lyra headed back into the office, I decided to do some reading while overviewing the training grounds to see how my otherworldly child was doing.
I hope Kaguya wasn’t going too hard on him…
----- Sirius POV -----
Sadist.
That, I am absolutely certain of.
Gojouno Kaguya, the vice-captain of the Astraea Familia, is a certified sadist.
A devil shrewdly disguised in human clothing.
We are currently finishing up our first combat lesson.
From such a lesson, you would expect to learn proper form, how to defend, how to move efficiently, how to regulate your breathing, and things like that.
No… this was nothing of the sort.
Once we arrived at the large dirt patch, which was the so-called training grounds, she immediately grabbed a wooden sword from the shed and struck me in the waist with astonishing speed, sending me tumbling backward in the dirt.
You would then expect the teacher to say: 'First lesson, always be prepared for combat. Now how you dodge that strike is by turning this way in order to be prepared for a follow-up attack.', or something like that.
Words of wisdom to help the student get back up and try again, attempting to put the teachings into practice.
But once again, my expectations were scattered.
Once I got back up to my feet I was immediately sent back again with a strike to the chest, although this time I got my arms in front of me to guard in time.
Like that the beatings continued.
Eventually, I was able to tell when she was going to strike.
Where she was going to strike was still a problem.
My combat prediction skills needed work, it seems, but this allowed me to focus on evasion.
The two lessons that have been implanted into my body so far, are to always be prepared to dodge or block and to always stay on your feet.
It seems that the sadistic Eastern princess has no qualms with kicking someone when they are already down.
Facing Kaguya, as the sun begins to set, I’m maintaining a stance that allows me to move in any direction in an instant, one that I have discovered by imitating her when she strikes me.
Maybe she is actually not that bad as a teacher after all.
But she’s still a sadist.
While watching her body for any form of movement, I flinch as she brings both hands to her wooden bokken and raises it in an overhead strike stance, one I have yet to see in our training together.
I jump to the side when she moves forward, expecting the overhead strike to be a vertical downward slash.
But as she brings her sword down, I watch as the trajectory of her blade fluidly changes into a horizontal slash, heading toward my head at a near-imperceptible speed.
Ah… I made a mistake, didn’t I?
Feeling a sharp impact on my head, sight and sound become distant as I greet the embrace of unconsciousness.
----- Kaguya POV -----
Seeing the body of Sirius crumple as he falls into unconsciousness, I wipe the sheen of sweat growing on my brow and smile down at my newest student with expectation and slight fear.
"A monster. A true monster of talent." I mutter under my breath.
Yes, Sirius… that guy is truly talented, just as Mother said.
He is already completely different from this morning.
His current level of skill took Ryuu a week to get to, and she is viewed as one of the most outstanding geniuses of Orario.
Although this method of training is harsh, it is extremely efficient.
The shock trains instinct and teaches preparedness, and as many of our members joined during the dark times of Orario, those traits were needed in order to survive.
But while this usually takes a week to ingrain into the student’s body, in one day Sirius had not only reached such a level, he had also gone past it, going as far as to predict my movements.
Simply astounding.
Although his experience with the Juggernaut likely progressed these skills, the growth from today deserves praise.
Even though I won't give it to him.
I'm also interested to see how far his stats have gone in one training session.
Now, while building combat skills was important, it wasn’t the focus for this initial training session, rather this was to see what type of training works best.
There are two sides of the spectrum for training.
One is showing them once or twice and having them learn from experience on their own.
This is usually done near the end of training when students need to find how to further their abilities on their own as their style becomes more unique.
On the other end of the spectrum, is the traditional way, where you clearly explain and demonstrate the proper techniques, laced in drills honing precision and building muscle memory.
Most people's optimal training lies somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, and the same can be said for Sirius.
I said nothing during this training yet he still grew at such a pace, yet he was picking up my techniques by watching my movements, such as my stance.
It was amateurish and inexperienced, for sure, but for someone of his level?
It was amazing.
He was even able to begin breathing properly!
And that’s not all… from this training, I was also able to see his determination and willpower.
Needless to say, it was impressive.
With his drive to progress, his talent, and the intelligence to properly merge them together… he'll definitely be making a name for himself in Orario soon enough.
Hell, he was even able to predict my overhead strike, despite seeing it for the first time, and properly dodge it too.
…Although he left himself wide open afterward, a mistake which I punished him dearly for.
Though, looking at his dozing form… perhaps it was a bit too harsh.
My thoughts are then interrupted by Mother Astraea and Ryuu heading toward us.
As Ryuu kneeled down and began healing Sirius, Mother began speaking to me.
"I see that you had some fun, Kaguya. How did he do?" She asks.
"You were right to call him talented, Mother. He should be ready to begin weapons training by the end of the week if he keeps up the progress." I respond.
From the way he moved naturally… he is most fit for slashing attacks, so spears and rapiers are out of the question.
"I see… Be sure to tell me when he finds the kind of weapon he prefers.” Mother says.
“Oh? And why is that?”
“The claw dropped from the Juggernaut will be used to make his first weapon. Ah, and Lyra wanted you to get ready for the meeting. It is quite soon." She says.
There was that, wasn’t there?
Although I feel bad for not having spoken once during our training, I will have to leave for an important meeting before he wakes.
Too bad, I wanted to give him some encouragement.
Though seeing the worried expression on Ryuu's face as she heals his numerous cuts and bruises, I think he has enough encouragement even without my interference.
In fact, seeing such a sight, I get the urge to tease the usually stoic Elf.
"Ah, Ryuu. I think that he needs some rest after his healing. He’s been at it for nearly six hours straight. Why don’t you carry him to his room?" I say to Ryuu.
"What? Absolutely not! You put him in this state, deal with your own mess!" She responds.
As I watch Ryuu's outburst I catch the still-unconscious Sirius take Ryuu's hand that was brushing near it from her healing and prepare for the inevitable strike of retaliation for touching the innocent Elf.
Haa… I’m sorry Sirius.
You probably won’t even know why, but no doubt Ryuu will make you feel the pain regardless.
"Look! He's waking up! See? There's no reason for me to carry him after all!"
The strike... never came?
I stare at the scene in shock as Ryuu seems undeterred by her hand that was intertwined with the man’s.
Glancing over at Mother Astraea, I notice that she is in a similar state of surprise, at least before her expression turns into one of intense amusement.
"Oh~? How bold, my child! I see you've taken your gratitude in a unique direction. Truly a wonderful reward to give your saviour." Mother Astraea teases.
Ryuu looks at us in confusion before turning to look at her hand.
Her body freezes as her face and ears quickly turn bright crimson.
She unlatches her hand from Sirius' grasp with a jerk and slowly walks backward with sputtering steps.
"I-I-I, n-no, h-h-heal. H-Healing, yes! I w-was just, h-healing."
Meanwhile, I was still somewhat stunned at the events.
Ryuu was an Elf, and despite her best efforts, an extremely prideful one at that.
At least when it comes to skin contact, that is.
If anyone she didn’t know touched her, save for children of course, what greeted them was an intense reaction that was usually in the form of violence, even if the contact was nothing lecherous, like holding hands.
Even me and the other girls the Familia, while not greeting our actions with violence, it was obvious she was uncomfortable when we did so.
But with Sirius, a stranger she had not even properly talked to, much less a man, she did not even notice.
And even when she did, the reaction was embarrassment rather than disgust or anger.
Still sputtering on the spot, Ryuu then decides the only proper course of action for her position.
Retreat.
And she does so with the speed befitting a high-level 4, reaching the house before I could even say a word.
I take a moment to gather myself from my own bewilderment at what had just occurred before hearing a groan come from below.
He shifts slightly before sitting up abruptly and looking around in confusion.
"Uhh? Damn… seems like I got knocked out.” He says.
Indeed you did.
“Huh? Astraea? What are you doing here? I swear I felt something soft on my hand before I got up… was that you?"
Mother Astraea chuckles lightly while my own mouth twitches uncontrollably.
Shameless, unaware flirt.
I decide to save Ryuu from further embarrassment and lead the conversation elsewhere.
"Well done on your first training. You seem to have learned to always be prepared both in mindset and stance and to always stay on your feet. This is good. Now, you must eat and head to sleep as your first dungeon training begins in the early morning with our Familia's guild advisor. Dinner should be ready in around half an hour, so get washed up and presentable."
After my words, I started walking away to make my own preparations for the meeting.
"She is right to head to bed early. After getting washed up, I'll show you around the Stardust Garden while we wait for dinner." Mother Astraea says from behind.
Well, for the first day, he did quite well.
As I exit the bath, I feel an inexplicable chill run down my spine.
How odd… there shouldn't be any opened windows here, no?
Hoping I wasn’t taking up the bathroom from someone else, I quickly drained the water before clothing myself.
Feeling refreshed and recharged, I walk down the hallway and start heading down the stairs, hoping to run into Mother Astraea before anyone else.
I really hope my acceptance into the Familia was, well, accepted by the rest of the girls.
After all, they’re going to be my housemates and allies for at least a while, right?
We should try to get along.
As I finally reach flat ground, I look around the large living room in front of me.
There were quite a lot of couches positioned throughout the room and bookshelves lining the walls, filled with various artifacts, trinkets, and books, obviously.
Turning my head to the side, I see Astraea leaving a room along with four other girls.
There was Alise and Ryuu, who I already recognized.
There was also a tall black-haired beauty who looked to be of Eastern descent and a short girl with medium-length pink hair, her hands placed on the back of her head.
That must be Kaguya and… Lyra, right?
Hmm… should I pretend to not know their names?
No, Astraea said she told them about me, so I should just get this over with.
"Good morning, Astraea, Alise, Ryuu, Kaguya, and Lyra, I assume?"
The girls’ eyes all widen slightly in surprise.
Oh shit.
Did Astraea not explain that part to them?
Or did she use something else?
I look towards Astraea in freight as she calmly smiles back at me.
"It's alright, Sirius. I explained to them your story and how you know their names.” Astraea says.
Oh, thank god.
Thought I fucked up big time there.
But Astraea explained my story, huh?
Hopefully not the complete truth, as she promised.
I’ll have to ask her about the cover story so our stories are straight.
“And feel free to call me Mother, although I understand that it will take time to become comfortable enough to do so." She continues.
“I-I’ll stick with Astraea for now, please.” I respond.
Calling such a beautiful lady ‘Mother’... no way, that was just way too embarrassing.
Alise then steps forward before crossing her arms across her chest.
“Ahem! Well, as expected of my beautiful self, it seems that you already know of me! Now, in case your future visions weren’t clear, I’ll explain it simply! I am Alise Lovell, captain of the Astraea Familia and the one who will be teaching you magic! Be grateful to have such a stunning beauty for a magic instructor!”
“Uh… yeah, thanks. I’ll be in your care.”
Although I was a little put off by the prideful nature of my new captain, knowing how good-natured she was, that’s just part of her charm.
From her words, it seems that my knowledge of, well, everything is explained by a ‘future vision’, which isn’t far off from the truth.
Very cunning, Astraea.
Anyway, although she was a bit prideful… that pride was not baseless.
Flowing red hair that seemed to brighten up the room, piercing emerald eyes, and sharp facial features that held a certain allure…
All in all, Alise Lovell was a very charming beauty.
Hmm… should I tease her a little?
It’s a great way to grow closer, after all.
"You are absolutely right. I am eternally grateful to be blessed with such an alluring captain. Your beauty and charm are truly captivating." I say with an exaggerated bow.
…Maybe that was a little much.
Although I did say that with the purpose of teasing, it seems that they had recognized the sincerity of my words if their stunned silence was anything to go off of.
Astraea, meanwhile, simply looked at the spectacle with mirth evident in her smile.
"U-um, yes! E-Exactly! Hahaha… A-Anyway! Your training will start immediately, with you starting combat lessons with Kaguya!"
After overcoming her initial surprise, Alise returns to her prideful, carefree tone.
…Although she was sporting a slight blush on her cheeks…
It seems that she is unused to sincere compliments on her appearance despite her confidence.
How cute.
I then feel the same chill that I felt leaving the bath, but this time much stronger.
Darting my eyes to the side, I see Kaguya staring at me with squinted eyes and a large smile.
But how odd…
For some reason, seeing that smile only gave me the feeling of wanting to escape.
I’m broken out of my thoughts by Kaguya's light laughter.
"Fufufu~ Despite having only just met, you surely wasted no time in seducing our captain, huh? What a naughty boy… Well, if you’re that eager, then let us begin your training right away, Sirius~"
Scary! Bad news! Very bad news!
I take a step back on instinct as Kaguya steps toward me, and in the next instant, she appears in front of me, holding my arm with an iron grip.
"Now, I'll lead us to the training ground, so let’s do our best~"
Unable to escape, I look over to Astraea and the other three girls as I’m dragged away, hoping for a saviour.
But unfortunately, all I am met with are expressions of pity.
And why was Ryuu bowing her head apologetically?
That was not doing wonders for my confidence here!
Eventually accepting my fate, I picked myself off the ground and walked alongside Kaguya.
Although I was scared, an even bigger part of me was excited to learn under Kaguya, the one who is known as among the best Orario in pure martial skill.
I was hopeful about what boons her training would bring, while at the same time, I was still terrified of what it would entail.
----- Astrea POV -----
After seeing off Sirius who Kaguya was dragging away, I turned towards the girls.
Lyra was smirking at Alise, whose demeanour had been easily shattered from the surprise sincere compliment, while Ryuu was wearing a pout.
Seeing Alise who was pointedly looking away from Lyra's gaze, I decided to tease her a bit.
After all, it was hard to find the confident girl show a hint of vulnerability, so I won’t let this chance get away.
"You know, Alise… I didn't detect a shred of untruth in his compliment."
Hearing that, Alise's face exploded into a blush as she straightened her back.
"I-Is that so? Ahem! A-anyways, I must go review the patrol routes! Yes, captain duties!"
With that, Alise took off to her room, despite the patrol routes being located in the office, leaving me and Lyra to chuckle at her expense while Ryuu devolved into a muttering spree.
How interesting… it seems the combination of Sirius' charming looks, heroic introduction, gentle demeanour, and sincere compliment dealt a critical blow to the egotistic captain.
"Damn human. Such lustful instincts couldn't even be suppressed for one minute. Flirtatious words thrown around like nothing… As expected of a human male. Disgusting."
Hearing Ryuu's words, me and Lyra once again find each other’s eyes before smiling in amusement.
One didn’t need to be a Goddess in order to sense the untruth in her rambling.
Ah… for some reason, I really want to tease her like I did with Alise.
Is this how Loki feels toward her children?
Well… it appears that accepting Sirius into the Familia has brought some unforeseen benefits.
I lean down before lightly speaking into Ryuu’s ear.
"Ryuu, my daughter… You can't lie in front of a Goddess~. Maybe you're just… jealous?"
Ryuu perks her head up as a blush similar to Alise's spreads from her cheeks to the tips of her twitching ears.
"N-No! Absolutely not! I-I'm going to my room!"
As Ryuu runs toward the stairwell, I and Lyra once again explode into another fit of giggles.
Calming down after a good laugh, Lyra then looks towards me with a serious expression.
"Mother. Moving on to more troublesome things, tonight is the meeting with Loki and Ganesha Familias about eliminating Evilus. With the information from the bodies left by the Juggernaut, and with the aid of the Hermes Familia, we have the locations of the remaining bases in or near Orario. With Ouranos' blessing with the operation, it is only a matter of time before we remove them once and for all." She says, her lips curling into a cruel smile.
Yes, while my children were all morally righteous, they were not ones to make enemies of.
"Good. Who will be joining the meeting on our side?" I ask.
"Myself, Alise, and Kaguya are going to be there. Speaking of this… did you tell Sirius of the information and gag order on the Juggernaut?" Lyra asks.
"He already knows how it spawns from excessive damage to the dungeon, but I'll be sure to tell him about the gag order before he leaves the house. Have you decided what to do with the claw it dropped?" I say.
"The girls and I talked briefly after receiving it, and we decided to give it to Sirius as he was the one to hunt it and save us, thinking that it would be a good material for his first weapon." Lyra says.
"Ouranos said that he will commission a weapon to be made from it by a trusted smith and that the guild will pay for it as payment for following the gag order. Apparently, he has a deal with Hephaestus herself for unique situations such as these. Anyway, I'll have it commissioned according to what weapon Sirius finds suitable from his training."
Hmm… I’m guessing he will be a front-line fighter as his magic works well with that position, but even if he doesn’t, one should always have a weapon to defend themselves in close combat.
"Understood, Mother. A weapon will be a good gift to thank him for what he did. Although Alise used it as an excuse to run away, we really should review the patrol routes with the meeting happening, so I’ll get on that. See ya later!"
As Lyra headed back into the office, I decided to do some reading while overviewing the training grounds to see how my otherworldly child was doing.
I hope Kaguya wasn’t going too hard on him…
----- Sirius POV -----
Sadist.
That, I am absolutely certain of.
Gojouno Kaguya, the vice-captain of the Astraea Familia, is a certified sadist.
A devil shrewdly disguised in human clothing.
We are currently finishing up our first combat lesson.
From such a lesson, you would expect to learn proper form, how to defend, how to move efficiently, how to regulate your breathing, and things like that.
No… this was nothing of the sort.
Once we arrived at the large dirt patch, which was the so-called training grounds, she immediately grabbed a wooden sword from the shed and struck me in the waist with astonishing speed, sending me tumbling backward in the dirt.
You would then expect the teacher to say: 'First lesson, always be prepared for combat. Now how you dodge that strike is by turning this way in order to be prepared for a follow-up attack.', or something like that.
Words of wisdom to help the student get back up and try again, attempting to put the teachings into practice.
But once again, my expectations were scattered.
Once I got back up to my feet I was immediately sent back again with a strike to the chest, although this time I got my arms in front of me to guard in time.
Like that the beatings continued.
Eventually, I was able to tell when she was going to strike.
Where she was going to strike was still a problem.
My combat prediction skills needed work, it seems, but this allowed me to focus on evasion.
The two lessons that have been implanted into my body so far, are to always be prepared to dodge or block and to always stay on your feet.
It seems that the sadistic Eastern princess has no qualms with kicking someone when they are already down.
Facing Kaguya, as the sun begins to set, I’m maintaining a stance that allows me to move in any direction in an instant, one that I have discovered by imitating her when she strikes me.
Maybe she is actually not that bad as a teacher after all.
But she’s still a sadist.
While watching her body for any form of movement, I flinch as she brings both hands to her wooden bokken and raises it in an overhead strike stance, one I have yet to see in our training together.
I jump to the side when she moves forward, expecting the overhead strike to be a vertical downward slash.
But as she brings her sword down, I watch as the trajectory of her blade fluidly changes into a horizontal slash, heading toward my head at a near-imperceptible speed.
Ah… I made a mistake, didn’t I?
Feeling a sharp impact on my head, sight and sound become distant as I greet the embrace of unconsciousness.
----- Kaguya POV -----
Seeing the body of Sirius crumple as he falls into unconsciousness, I wipe the sheen of sweat growing on my brow and smile down at my newest student with expectation and slight fear.
"A monster. A true monster of talent." I mutter under my breath.
Yes, Sirius… that guy is truly talented, just as Mother said.
He is already completely different from this morning.
His current level of skill took Ryuu a week to get to, and she is viewed as one of the most outstanding geniuses of Orario.
Although this method of training is harsh, it is extremely efficient.
The shock trains instinct and teaches preparedness, and as many of our members joined during the dark times of Orario, those traits were needed in order to survive.
But while this usually takes a week to ingrain into the student’s body, in one day Sirius had not only reached such a level, he had also gone past it, going as far as to predict my movements.
Simply astounding.
Although his experience with the Juggernaut likely progressed these skills, the growth from today deserves praise.
Even though I won't give it to him.
I'm also interested to see how far his stats have gone in one training session.
Now, while building combat skills was important, it wasn’t the focus for this initial training session, rather this was to see what type of training works best.
There are two sides of the spectrum for training.
One is showing them once or twice and having them learn from experience on their own.
This is usually done near the end of training when students need to find how to further their abilities on their own as their style becomes more unique.
On the other end of the spectrum, is the traditional way, where you clearly explain and demonstrate the proper techniques, laced in drills honing precision and building muscle memory.
Most people's optimal training lies somewhere in the middle of this spectrum, and the same can be said for Sirius.
I said nothing during this training yet he still grew at such a pace, yet he was picking up my techniques by watching my movements, such as my stance.
It was amateurish and inexperienced, for sure, but for someone of his level?
It was amazing.
He was even able to begin breathing properly!
And that’s not all… from this training, I was also able to see his determination and willpower.
Needless to say, it was impressive.
With his drive to progress, his talent, and the intelligence to properly merge them together… he'll definitely be making a name for himself in Orario soon enough.
Hell, he was even able to predict my overhead strike, despite seeing it for the first time, and properly dodge it too.
…Although he left himself wide open afterward, a mistake which I punished him dearly for.
Though, looking at his dozing form… perhaps it was a bit too harsh.
My thoughts are then interrupted by Mother Astraea and Ryuu heading toward us.
As Ryuu kneeled down and began healing Sirius, Mother began speaking to me.
"I see that you had some fun, Kaguya. How did he do?" She asks.
"You were right to call him talented, Mother. He should be ready to begin weapons training by the end of the week if he keeps up the progress." I respond.
From the way he moved naturally… he is most fit for slashing attacks, so spears and rapiers are out of the question.
"I see… Be sure to tell me when he finds the kind of weapon he prefers.” Mother says.
“Oh? And why is that?”
“The claw dropped from the Juggernaut will be used to make his first weapon. Ah, and Lyra wanted you to get ready for the meeting. It is quite soon." She says.
There was that, wasn’t there?
Although I feel bad for not having spoken once during our training, I will have to leave for an important meeting before he wakes.
Too bad, I wanted to give him some encouragement.
Though seeing the worried expression on Ryuu's face as she heals his numerous cuts and bruises, I think he has enough encouragement even without my interference.
In fact, seeing such a sight, I get the urge to tease the usually stoic Elf.
"Ah, Ryuu. I think that he needs some rest after his healing. He’s been at it for nearly six hours straight. Why don’t you carry him to his room?" I say to Ryuu.
"What? Absolutely not! You put him in this state, deal with your own mess!" She responds.
As I watch Ryuu's outburst I catch the still-unconscious Sirius take Ryuu's hand that was brushing near it from her healing and prepare for the inevitable strike of retaliation for touching the innocent Elf.
Haa… I’m sorry Sirius.
You probably won’t even know why, but no doubt Ryuu will make you feel the pain regardless.
"Look! He's waking up! See? There's no reason for me to carry him after all!"
The strike... never came?
I stare at the scene in shock as Ryuu seems undeterred by her hand that was intertwined with the man’s.
Glancing over at Mother Astraea, I notice that she is in a similar state of surprise, at least before her expression turns into one of intense amusement.
"Oh~? How bold, my child! I see you've taken your gratitude in a unique direction. Truly a wonderful reward to give your saviour." Mother Astraea teases.
Ryuu looks at us in confusion before turning to look at her hand.
Her body freezes as her face and ears quickly turn bright crimson.
She unlatches her hand from Sirius' grasp with a jerk and slowly walks backward with sputtering steps.
"I-I-I, n-no, h-h-heal. H-Healing, yes! I w-was just, h-healing."
Meanwhile, I was still somewhat stunned at the events.
Ryuu was an Elf, and despite her best efforts, an extremely prideful one at that.
At least when it comes to skin contact, that is.
If anyone she didn’t know touched her, save for children of course, what greeted them was an intense reaction that was usually in the form of violence, even if the contact was nothing lecherous, like holding hands.
Even me and the other girls the Familia, while not greeting our actions with violence, it was obvious she was uncomfortable when we did so.
But with Sirius, a stranger she had not even properly talked to, much less a man, she did not even notice.
And even when she did, the reaction was embarrassment rather than disgust or anger.
Still sputtering on the spot, Ryuu then decides the only proper course of action for her position.
Retreat.
And she does so with the speed befitting a high-level 4, reaching the house before I could even say a word.
I take a moment to gather myself from my own bewilderment at what had just occurred before hearing a groan come from below.
He shifts slightly before sitting up abruptly and looking around in confusion.
"Uhh? Damn… seems like I got knocked out.” He says.
Indeed you did.
“Huh? Astraea? What are you doing here? I swear I felt something soft on my hand before I got up… was that you?"
Mother Astraea chuckles lightly while my own mouth twitches uncontrollably.
Shameless, unaware flirt.
I decide to save Ryuu from further embarrassment and lead the conversation elsewhere.
"Well done on your first training. You seem to have learned to always be prepared both in mindset and stance and to always stay on your feet. This is good. Now, you must eat and head to sleep as your first dungeon training begins in the early morning with our Familia's guild advisor. Dinner should be ready in around half an hour, so get washed up and presentable."
After my words, I started walking away to make my own preparations for the meeting.
"She is right to head to bed early. After getting washed up, I'll show you around the Stardust Garden while we wait for dinner." Mother Astraea says from behind.
Well, for the first day, he did quite well.
