Editing CubexCursedxCurious:Volume14 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 1===

Starting the next day, Haruaki was going to begin his crash course at Lilyhowell's lair. Naturally, there was currently no time to spare for attending lessons so skipping school was the only option.

The crash course's venue was the vast and empty party hall. Leaning against the wall, Fear and the girls were monitoring Lilyhowell's every move with wary and watchful eyes. Haruaki understood how they felt but also thought to himself that excessive wariness would also make it difficult for him to train.

Seeming completely unfazed by the pressure exerted by those gazes, Lilyhowell said:

"Try drawing the sword."

Then she handed the magnificently ornate scabbard of black to him. Haruaki slowly attempted to draw out the sword&mdash;shining similarly with black luster, the blade made its appearance. Roughly a meter long, it was normal length for a sword. So this was the «Toxic Sword Poison Ritter»?

Naturally, he could feel that this was different from the weapon he had held in these hands to this date. Namely, it was different from the sword that was Konoha. Currently, the sword in his hand did not feel as light as Konoha. Neither was there a sense of trust allowing him to entrust himself to it without worry. Ultimately, this was nothing more than a block of cursed steel.

At this time, Lilyhowell looked at him in an intriguing manner. She was probably confirming whether the curse was activating or not.

"How is it?"

"If you ask me how is it... Hmm, it's basically a sword. Say, am I going to train using the real thing? Isn't that too dangerous?"

Standing next to Fear, Kirika also expressed agreement:

"That's right. The toxin will spread from a single scratch inflicted by that sword, right? If Yachi fell down accidentally and got scratched, everything would be over. Even for Yachi, the curse from a curse-granted ability cannot be prevented."

"Also, how should i say this? Sparring exercises are needed as well, right? The thought of scratching the other person fills me with dread."

"...I see. This is quite an oversight..."

Lilyhowell pondered for a moment, then finally nodded as though saying "no helping it." Glancing at Haruaki, she said:

"Re-sheathe the sword and give it to me."

"O-Okay."

Haruaki carefully inserted the poisonous sword into its scabbard then handed it over to Lilyhowell. Next, she took out another sword from her back together with its scabbard, then handed it over to Haruaki like just now&mdash;This time, it was a predominantly white sword. The scabbard was decorated in a manner similar to the «Toxic Sword Poison Ritter».

"This is?"

"Use it as a practice sword. Its shape and weight are both similar to the «Toxic Sword Poison Ritter»'s."

"I see, then of course, it's better to use this."

Haruaki drew out the sword to reveal a blade shining with a noble milky white luster. Apart from that, the sword's shape and the feeling when holding it were both very similar as Lilyhowell said.

"You're right. So what's this sword called? What curse does it have?"

Probably concentrating while returning the poisonous sword and its scabbard to her back, it took Lilyhowell a while before she answered:

"...Name? It is called... «Alius». Its curse is nothing special. If you face the enemy while losing your courage, the sword becomes blunt. Conversely, the more courageous you are, the sharper it becomes..."

"Oh..."

"You're conveniently carrying many spare weapons. Aren't they too similar to be coincidence?"

"Simply by chance&mdash;Although it's also possible that some of these swords were forged by the same person. In any case, these swords were all borrowed from the weapons vault of the Knights Dominion. It would not be surprising if they were kept together according to some system of categorization."

Sitting formally in seiza in front of Fear and the others, taking on an audience role, Kuroe sipped tea from a thermos and said:

"Borrowed~? Judging from how you said it last time, that doesn't sound quite right. You probably robbed by force..."

"I do not deny that."

Then&mdash;Lilyhowell turned towards Haruaki again and said "first try swinging it however you want." Haruaki casually picked up the borrowed white sword «Alius» and attempted a vertical swing. Unexpectedly, it felt heavier than it looked, causing his body to be pulled forward. Then he tried a horizontal sweep. Different from swinging a baseball bat, after all, it made him stumble unsteadily.

"Swords are essentially pieces of metal. Looks like you need to grow accustomed to the sword's weight first. It simply will not do if your movements are affected by the sword's weight."

"...In other words?"

"One, start with practice swings until you grow accustomed to the weight. Two, rest when you are tired. That is all. If I notice anything else, I will inform you."

The first day's training was apparently far simpler than imagined. Haruaki could feel his arm muscles shaking and trembling because they were not used to the weight, but he still raised the sword again, learning by watching, swinging the sword.

Sweat flowing on his forehead, the screams of muscle ache, all these led to the path of Konoha's rescue.

As soon as he thought that, of course he could not possibly feel tired.