Chapter 5 Training Novice (Heroes) Knights

Sunlight shines through the window, the sound of chirping birds and the smell of burning charcoal. Those are what welcome Sora when he wakes up in the morning. His first morning in The Blue Continent. Even after all that happened yesterday, he still cannot fathom why he got thrown to this unbelievably strange land. And now he and Amamiya will start the training for the war that seems very imminent. The war that according to the lady knight who explained to them yesterday, only can be stopped by him and his companion.

Sora sighs when thinking about it. He does not know how to fight in a war, moreover how to stop it. He even does not know if he will survive it. Those grim thoughts immediately expelled from his head. Not good for morale he said in the heart.

He then notices there are two buckets filled with water on the table next to the cupboard.

"How medieval," he commented.

Sora takes a fist full of water from one of the buckets, and drinks it. He then takes another and splash it to his face. He did this to his arms and hair. The cold water manages to straighten his clouded mind. The rest of the water he threw out of the window without any regard if anyone was actually standing below it.

Right in that moment, Amamiya wakes up.

"Good morning, princess," says Sora, greeting his lady companion.

"Don't call me that! Please!" Amamiya was not too amused by Sora's greeting.

"Alright, I won't. But, you did laugh at me last night."

Amamiya giggles. "I still cannot believe you are afraid of the dark. It's hilarious."

Sora pout. "I'm glad you find it amusing. I'll try to overcome that fear."

"Awww, pity. It's fun to tease your weakness."

Amamiya then looked around the room. "Where the toilet?" asks her.

"Toilet?" Sora was surprised by that question. "This Blue Continent. Not Earth."

"Oh, right. So, how are we preparing for the morning?"

Sora points at the buckets on the table.

"You gotta be kidding me. Then, where can we relieve ourselves?"

Sora points the corner of the room. There, a single chamber pot under a chair with hole, covered only by a foldable wicker screen.

"You got to be really kidding me."

"I'm glad that actually strikes fear in you."

Amamiya throws a pillow to Sora's face.

After a brief struggling moment in the morning, mostly for Amamiya, someone knocks on the door. Then, enter a middle age man wearing mail armor, a broadsword hanging from his hip. His hardened and battle scared face looks sterner with his short grey hair. There is a single emblem of a red dragon serpent carrying a sword attached on hard leather cuirass he wears on top of the mail armor.

"Good morning, Lady Amamiya and Master Sora!" The knight greets with thunderous voice.

"Good morning to you as well, Ser," Sora greets back the knight. But, we don't deserve to be called by those titles."

"Nonsense! Heroes like you have to greet dignifiedly," the knight dismissed Sora's comment.

"Very well," Sora seems not very satisfied with the knight reaction.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Horace Ironjaw. Knight Order's Armsmaster," says the knight in single breath. He then bows with his right hand on his chest.

"It's nice to meet you, Ser Horace," Amamiya bows with the same style as Horace.

"Nice to meet you, tooooo-."

Amamiya pushes Sora's back, forcing him to bow.

"What's the deal!?" yells Sora angrily.

"Show some courtesy, will you! And call the man properly!" Amamiya yells back.

Sora can only grunt.

Horace laughed. "What a fine woman you are, Lady Amamiya. But, enough pleasantries. Follow me. You two will be outfitted with your knight uniform."

Both Sora and Amamiya then follow the knight through the hallway.

"So, we are knights now? Amamiya inquired.

"But, of course. Only naturally you become part of the knight order," says Horace.

"Well, that fast," says Sora a bit cynically. "Is usually this easy to enter Knight of Crimson Drake?"

"Normally no. The candidates usually pick from noble houses, even then they have proved to be capable. Commoners can enter as well, but have to go through rigorous trials."

"Hm, obviously."

Amamiya punished Sora with a single punch to the ribs for his cynical remarks.

"Here we are," Horace enters the room which is apparently a tailor workshop.

The three of them were welcomed by an elderly man wearing a brown vest over his white tunic. It seems he's the tailor.

"What can I help you today, Ser Horace?" says the old tailor.

"New uniform for our latest recruit," says Horace with a proud tone while patting on Amamiya's and Sora's shoulder.

He accidentally crushes their shoulder when doing so. Which makes Sora and Amamiya flinch in pain.

"Sorry," Horace apologizes immediately.

"Well, lads. I might need assistance here," the tailor calls for his apprentices.

Then, five young men and 3 women, one of them looks like a housewife appear from the back part of the workshop.

"Measurement, please," orders the old man while pointing at Sora and Amamiya.

"Right away," says the apprentices in unison.

Next things that happen are very uncomfortable for the "new recruits". Each of them was measured by four tailor apprentices at the time.

"This feels very weird," says Sora, with his body practically bound by measurement tapes.

"Yeah, I never get used to it, either." Amamiya's condition is not much different.

"It's happened to you before?" asks Sora with a bit of struggle because the person who measures his neck looks like he wants to strangle him.

"You know who I am. At least every grand event I need to endure this kind of torture," says Amamiya, despite her protest she cooperates rather willingly with her own team of tailors.

One of the tailors who measure Sora, is a middle aged housewife. She is quite attractive despite her age, and that factor makes Sora blush whenever she is too close to him.

"What a healthy young man," the housewife commented when she measures Sora's torso.

"No, I'm just fat," now Sora both blushed and embarrassed.

"It's fine. You only still have baby fat on you," the housewife tries to cheer Sora up.

"I don't think a 25 years old man still has baby fat," Sora averted his eyes, so he does not want to stare too much at the housewife figure.

The housewife was surprised hearing Sora's age. "25!? Oh, my. You look as cute as a school boy."

She cannot help herself to not pinch Sora cheek. She clearly treats Sora like her son. 8 years old son most likely.

Normally, Sora will deny or avoid such attention. However, between bound by measurement tapes and he so enamored by the housewife, Sora cannot, or rather, do not do anything. He only can blush. Which very much is an entertaining scene for Amamiya.

"A man like you must have a beautiful and loving wife," the housewife keeps inquiring Sora. "She must miss you."

The last sentence of hers has a little bitterness.

"I'm not married yet," says Sora with a plain yet bitter tone.

"Really!? By Frea, that can't be true!" the housewife was so surprised, she stopped measuring.

Sora simply nods.

"Hmmp! Those women must be blind to pass such a fine man like you."

"Or he has bad personalities," Amamiya commented.

Sora glares at giggling Amamiya. This time he will not let her pass without getting even retribution.

"By the way lady, the princess over there is not married yet as well," says Sora with a cunning smile.

"Really!? A princess and a virgin?" the housewife seems interested to hear more.

"Oh yeah. She comes from a noble family," Sora clearly made that up.

Hearing that, Amamiya's giggles stopped.

"Why you….!? Shut up!" Amamiya eyes glares and her hands wish to grab Sora, alas the cunning man simply a tad out of reach.

"If not much bother, could you tell me any noble houses who are looking for a suitor. I want my lady friend here not to experience a virgin life like me," Sora continues to goad.

"Well, I might know a few," the housewife mentions names of noble houses which Sora playfully assesses.

"You snake! Shut up! Or I will make you mute for the rest of your life!" Amamiya, both embarrassed and angry, wants to grab Sora by the neck, again Sora still out of reach and she still "apprehended" by the measuring tapes.

After the measuring session is finished, the elderly tailor assesses the measurement of Sora and Amamiya.

"You two in luck. I still have uniforms that fit your measurement," the tailor takes two set of uniforms and hands them over to Sora and Amamiya.

"Come on, try. So, I can make adjustments," says the tailor enthusiastically.

"Here?" Sora was confused.

Amamiya already glared at him.

"The lady can change over there," the tailor points at the place beyond the foldable screen.

Simple design of the uniform makes the two of them wear it easily and swiftly. Both uniforms practically look the same, either it for male or female, long coat, trousers, a pair of boots and a belt. The coat dominated with red color except for asymmetrical cross that ranged along it, vertical line along the left side and horizontal line right at the chest. Belt, boots and trouser simply black. For the belt, it has a brass buckle and hook on the left side for hanging scabbard.

"How do I look?" Amamiya posing. She twirls to show her back side.

"Very manly to be honest," says Sora.

"I know, right," somehow Amamiya agreed. "Mine not different than you at all."

"And it's actually comfortable. I commended the design practicality."

"I thought it would be flashier," Amamiya still twirls to feel how comfortable her uniform is.

"Any flashier than that you will get shot from 1000 meters," the tailor commented.

"Now, attach this on your left shoulder," Horace gave them both a badge.

Sora looks at the badge. It was sized around his palm and shaped like a heater shield with a single silver sword in the middle.

"What is this for?" asks Sora.

"Those badges indicated your rank in the order," says Horace. "The single sword means you are still a novice knight.

"I thought we would get a special position," Amamiya wonders. "Since we're heroes and all."

Horace laughs. "Hah! Heroes maybe, but still untrained and untested. You two need a lot more training and combat to even surpass other knights."

"I presume now we go to training, right?" says Sora.

"Not quite. First, we will visit the armory. Follow me this way," Horace walks outside the workshop along with Sora and Amamiya.

They walk outside the building and walk through the training ground. There, they see knights training with poles against training dummies or sparring with other knights. Only a few of them are using steel weapons. The sound of training knights is quite deafening.

From there, they enter a building with its chimney spewing black smoke and clinging sound can be heard from it. Inside they can see three blacksmiths working with fire roaring in the forge. Without paying any regard to the blacksmiths, they climb to the second floor, where Sora and Amamiya saw a familiar face.

"Captain Lydia!" Horace greets with the lady knight, pats his fist to the chest.

"Armsmaster," Lydia greets Horace by doing the same gesture.

She looks at Sora and Amamiya, "Apparently, our heroes have been promoted to novice knight."

"With relative ease," Sora commented.

"Well, I assure you, Sora, the hardship will start now," Lydia points at a rack full of weapons. "There, you will choose a weapon you will train and fight with."

"There is no mandatory training aside from this?" ask Sora.

"There are. spearmanship, hand-to-hand combat and…,"

"Marching," says Sora with a sigh.

"Yes. How do you know?" Lydia confused.

"Lucky guess."

"You don't like marching, do you?" Amamiya whispers to Sora.

"Not at all," Sora replied.

"Yeah, not my favorite school subject either."

"Come on. Don't just lollygag there. Pick your favorite and let's train," Horace gives both Sora and Amamiya a nudge on the back.

The two of them have a hard time choosing. There are so many weapons on the rack, but each of them had very little experience with any weapons. One staff with a red crystal on top of it catches Amamiya's attention.

"What is this?" Amamiya picks the staff up and swings it.

Suddenly a fireball shot out from the staff and blasted the roof. Horace, Lydia and Sora ducking to avoid the blast debris while Amamiya just stands there, stunned.

"You should put that down," says Sora, cleaning the debris from his hair.

Amamiya nods and quickly puts back the staff.

"No, you should pick that staff," says Horace like nothing ever happened.

"What!?"

"Ehh!?"

Both Sora and Amamiya are clearly surprised with Horace encouraging words.

"Captain Lydia, you say we lack battlemages in the ranks, yes? I think we just found the right candidate to become one," Horace gives the staff back to Amamiya who receives it with hesitation.

"Well, she does have magical talent," Lydia tries to assess Amamiya. "But, what of the combat talent?"

"That can be trained."

"Very well."

"You sure about this?" Amamiya still hesitates. "I just blew off the roof and you want me to be trained as a battlemage?"

"Of course. Why?" Horace confused why Amamiya hesitates.

"W-well, because…. And he…?" Amamiya point at Sora who shaking his head, disapproving the armsmaster's decision.

"That doesn't matter. What matters is your talent and what you want. You prove you have the talent. Now, do you want to become battlemage?"

Although Amamiya still doubts herself, she nods.

"Good. Your turn young man," Horace gives Sora another nudge on the back.

Sora looks back at the weapon rack and picks a longsword.

"You sure about that?" ask Lydia. "That a bastard sword, you know."

"Yep, I know," Sora performed a few stances with the sword. Both one-handed stances and two-handed stances.

Horace and Lydia were impressed with Sora's stances.

"Why is this sword heavy?" Sora measures the sword with his index and middle finger and falls off balance.

"It's… not refined yet," says Horace reluctantly.

"Your training will begin in half an hour," says Lydia. She takes the sword and the staff to Horace to be refined. "Lady Amamiya, a guard will fetch you to the mage tower and Sora you come with me to the training ground."

Both Amamiya and Sora nod, and walk outside the armory. Amamiya is immediately taken to mage tower, east to the armory, while Lydia takes Sora through the training ground. The knights there keep training with paying attention to Lydia or Sora. They keep walking, passing the recruits who are training with their instructors. Sora realized that those recruits are still just kids, yet they have a sturdy stance and sturdier physique.

Lydia speaks with one of the instructors, she whispers something to him. Sora knows not what the lady knight said, he is captivated looking at the knights and the recruits training. The instructor then points at three knights who are talking under the tree. Lydia drags Sora to meet those knights. One of them noticed Lydia and Sora approaching, and stopped the conversation between his fellow knights. Two of them are wearing the same armor as Lydia except the one who is leaning on the tree, that knight wearing maroon brigandine and full-faced burgonet.

"Captain Lydia," the knight in black armor with golden lining salute, followed by two other knights. His appearance looks like all typical depictions of knights. Tall, dark short hair and stern and resolute face. "What brings you here today?"

"I hope you here not to take any novice knights to "meat grinder" mission," says the lady knight wearing armor with azure hue. Her long wavy brown hair flows when the wind blows.

Lydia only sighs hearing the comment. "Sora let me introduce you with our best knights. Roy, Gon, and the sarcastic woman over there is Margaret. You will be trained by them as a novice knight."

"H-hi," Sora greets awkwardly.

Roy, the knight in black armor, smiles cynically, while Gon, the knight in brigandine, sighs heavily.

"Well, we have made knights from the worst specimens," Margaret looks at Sora with full disappointment.

Although the insult is painful, Sora can't be helped but to agree. With a fat belly and rather hunched posture, he was hardly a knight material.

"Full training will take a long time to shape him," says Roy.

"No, there is no need for that. He only needs basic 3 months training," Lydia explained.

"You're joking, right?" says Margaret in disbelief. "What will you do with a flabby boy with only conscript training?"

"I'll tell you tonight. For now, just enlist him in combat training."

Margaret shrugs. "Alright boy, come here."

"If I may suggest Lady Margaret, Lady Lydia, the boy go through basic physical training first," says Gon. His voice sounded echoing because of the helmet. "He seems not ready for any combat training. Give me two weeks to develop his strength and vitality, and we'll see from there.

"That's not a bad idea," Margaret agrees. "Though, those two weeks will be hellish for the boy."

"I never expected any of you will hold back anyway," Sora commented.

"Hah! What do you know? The boy is quite a braveheart," Roy impressed Sora remarks.

"Seems so, but bravery already claims many knights' lives in the past years," Margaret stares straight at Sora, tries to intimidate him.

"Cowardice will not take you anywhere as well with the prospect of war this imminent," Sora stared back at the lady knight.

Margaret is disappointed, unable to intimidate Sora, but soon, her disappointment disappears and she's smiling.

"The boy looks like he can be trained to be a knight after all," says her confidently.

"Thank you, but stop revering me with "boy". I'm 25."

The knights stunned.

"Really!?" Roy sounded amused. "You are actually older than Margaret."

"He's not some kind of Margaret's long lost brother, is he?" Gon playfully jokes.

Lydia shakes her head while hand covering her mouth to hold the laughter. She is quite happy that the joke and Sora's true age manage to irritate Margaret.

Margaret only grumbled.

"Get him from my sight," says her, and walks away.

The new heroes' novice knights, training starts that day. Margaret was not joking when she said the physical training will be hellish. Gon pushes Sora to the limit and tells him to break that limit. The moment of respite only happens when preparing for basic sword defense training. After that, more physical training. Gon literally trains Sora until the novice knight falls flat on his face.

The same goes to Amamiya who is supposed to train to be battlemage. She also undergoes physical training as well. Though she used to exercise every day, the knight physical training is rather rigorous for her. And she didn't expect to train spearmanship on the first day. She never trained in any type of martial arts before and the instructor barely gave any explanation. In result, to Amamiya that training is not spearmanship training, but getting-hit-by-long-stick training.

At the end of the day, both Sora and Amamiya were carried to infirmary. There, the physicians tend to their wounds, while both of the novice knights lie flat on their face and can only groan in misery.

"Why they not heal the hurt and the pain with magic?" says Sora with a voice full of agony.

"Because all knights have to feel the pain of training every day," Margaret barged into the infirmary. "Good job surviving the first day training."

Sora and Amamiya greet the lady knight with groans.

"You two will get used to it," Margaret pats Sora's shoulder, making him hissing in pain.

"Well, at least the sword training is fun," says Sora.

"You already trained with the sword?" Margaret asked. "That reckless of Gon to train you swordsmanship this early."

"When Ser Horace brought me the training bastard sword that I chose this morning, Ser Gon said I need to train swordsmanship as soon as possible. He said it will shape my posture."

"He's right, though. But, I believe he just needs a training dummy to hit."

"That I agree. Soon, he noticed I know how to handle a sword, he passed the first lesson and straight to sparring lesson."

"What is the first lesson?" Amamiya asked.

"How not to stab yourself," said Sora and Margaret in unison.

"If he passed the lesson, it means you trained with the sword before." Margaret deducted.

"I read a book about swordplay before and practiced it only briefly."

"Well, now I know why Lydia wants you trained to be a knight," Margaret starts to respect Sora. "And how about the lady over there. What is her weapon of choice?"

"Mage staff, I guess."

"Train to battlemage. That must be fun."

"As if!" Amamiya groaned angrily. "Instead of studying spells, I get hit by a stick a lot of time during the training."

"You mean, you get spearmanship training," says Margaret.

"Well, she does describe what spearmanship or polearm training is," Sora barged into the conversation.

"Why would battlemage need spearmanship training?" Amamiya whimpers. "I know it's mandatory training, but still, why would a mage need that training? Mages have spells."

"Young lady you to be trained as a battlemage not an ordinary mage. Battlemages fight alongside the other knights in the thick of the enemy line. You need that combat training as same as your spell training," Margaret explains.

"It's not fun," Amamiya whimpers again. "I don't like it."

"Well, I know another reason why you don't like it."

"Other reason?" Sora asks.

"Yes. Reese Staghorn."

"The Master of battlemages. I heard his name mentioned by the other knights and guards. What about him?"

"Well, he's..."

"Dreamy," says Amamiyalustfully.

"Figures."

"Anyway, I will let you two to rest and groan, because tomorrow you two will train the same thing again. So, good luck surviving, and welcome to the order."

Margaret walks out of the infirmary.

Sora and Amamiya slam their face and groan loudly. They hope the night lasts very long so they don't need to wake up tomorrow. However, Sora released a faint smile. One part of his own self is actually looking forward to tomorrow's training. He's not the only one who is looking forward to tomorrow.

That night Lydia told almost all senior officers and veteran knights who Sora and Amamiya are. Gon nods with enthusiasm. He will train and shape Sora to the best knight. Margaret smiles mischievously, thinking about the future prospect of two novice knights she just visited in infirmary. Roy himself is full of thought and concern. Other knights murmuring with little joy in their heart. They are sure the salvation has come to Elzen.

Tomorrow morning, Sora and Amamiya are immediately dragged out to the training ground by their respective trainer.

***

"Argh!"

Sora landed hard on the stone courtyard. "Get up!" Gon ordered, his booming voice was a bit muffled under the full faced helmet he's wearing.

Without protest, Sora gets up. Steadied his stance and sword brandished at the mentor knight.

"En Garde!"

With that, both knights clashed in a fierce fight, or rather somewhat an uneven fight. Ser Gon is by all means bigger than Sora. Bigger stature, bigger muscle and wield a bigger sword. On the other hand, Sora is not just smaller than the mentor knight, he is also pretty much still an amature as a swordfighter. One could say the match between those two knights is one sided. However, ask any knights in there, trainee or veteran, they'll all say that ser Gon is holding himself back.

Sparring as training between mentor knight and trainee or novice knight is common practice in the Knight Order of Crimson Drake, and Sora was submitted into this form of training everyday in these couples of days after he and Amamiya was recruited into the knight order. Every morning the two of them will be dragged by their respective trainer. Sora will be brought to the training courtyard and Amamiya will be brought to the mage tower's training hall.

For Sora everyday training began with harsh exercise to increase his strength and stamina. After a short break, the training continued with sparring between him and ser Gon. This part of training lasted very long, and normally only ended because Sora is passing out. Ser Gon himself barely ever talks. He teaches just by giving short pointers with gestures and little words. Asides from that, the only time he ever talks just to tell Sora to get up or to fix his stance.

After a few days of training, Sora is already used to the sword fight technique and he is also stronger and fitter, enabling him to last longer in the fight. Still, fighting an experienced knight who can swing a giant sword effortlessly is not an easy task.

After exchanging several strong blows, ser Gon attacks with a downward slash. Sora manages to block that heavy attack, but the mentor knight kicks him in the chest. Pushing the novice knight away.

Sora pants.

"Focus!" Ser Gon yelled.

Even though he wears protective gear consisting of gambeson and leather cuirass, Sora still feels like he has been struck by a huge boulder. Short on breath, the novice knight can even barely stand.

"Try again! Attack!" orders ser Gon again.

"Tell that to the sword!" Sora yells angrily while showing the bent sword.

The previous strike has turned the straight sword into a 'L' shaped sword.

"You still have your shield," Ser Gon referring to Sora's shield gauntlet. "Stand your ground! En Garde!"

The mentor knight charges with an unimaginable speed.

"Oh! For the love of-Argh!"

The charge hit Sora like an angry bull, sending him flying. Once again, the novice knight landed hard on the stone courtyard. His helmet came off because of the impact.

"By Frea! Sora! Are you alright!" A middle aged woman runs hastily to Sora's side.

"I'm alright. I'm alright," says the novice knight while trying to stand up. Alas, his power is anything but spend. He is only able to sit on the ground.

"Get up!" Ser Gon gives the familiar order.

"Seriously!?" This time Sora protested the instructor's order.

"Good Ser, please let him rest for a moment. His wounds also need addressing," says the woman.

The mentor knight silent for a second.

"Fine. He can rest. But after that, the training will continue."

The woman bows as ser Gon leaves the training ground.

"Thank you, Lady Cara," says Sora, trying to stand up again with the woman's help.

"Just call me Cara," says the woman with a cheerful smile. "Come, let me tend to your wounds."

Both of them sit on a bench next to the courtyard. Cara gently cleans Sora's bleeding cheek.

"You do not need to do this, Lady Cara," says the novice knight.

The woman gently smiled and put her finger on Sora's lips. "I've told just call me Cara. And yes, I know I don't have to do this. But, it's my own choice, so let me take care of you."

Sora blushed. He is not used to receiving that kind of attention.

Cara is a housewife who Sora met in the tailor workshop when he was accepted into the knight order. She has long dark brown hair, grey eyes, slender fingers and sun kissed skin. Despite her age, Cara is quite beautiful. Hiding the fact she's a middle aged woman and most likely twice the age of the novice knight who sits beside her.

Aside from being an apprentice tailor, Cara also works at the knight's cafeteria. In the afternoon, she will go to deliver meals to the barrack. That time is where she occasionally visits Sora to see him training. Recently, Cara visited the novice knight more often. And she does more just see. She converse with Sora during his short rest, sharing a meal with him and tending to his injuries.

Sora finds himself feeling awkward and shy whenever Cara visits him. He confused how to react with all the attention he received. In the past, such attention and gentle care is a rare luxury that he can only dream. And yet, here, a beautiful and caring lady visits him almost everyday and gives him a motherly treatment.

"There. You are not bleeding again," says Cara jokingly while putting a plaster on Sora's cheek.

"Thank you once again, La-... Cara," says Sora awkwardly.

Cara poured a glass of fruit juice and gave it to him.

"Still, I don't understand why you are so kind to me? I'm sure there is someone deserving more of your attention than me."

"No, there isn't. And do you know why?"

Sora shakes his head.

"That's because I fell in love with you at first sight."

The novice knight's face turns bright red hearing the congestion.

Seeing the reaction, Cara laughs.

"I'm joking! I'm joking!"

Sora's grumbled. He has been tricked and blushed for nothing.

"You are not yet answering my question, Madam."

"Alright. Fine. Fine." Cara tries to hold the remaining giggles. "When I first met you at the workshop you looked so lonely. And during the training I saw you struggle greatly. You're tossed around a lot by ser Gon like a ragdoll."

"The latter can be said about Amamiya," Sora argues. "And yet, do not come to her."

"Well, that's because mage's training hall is not in my delivery path." Cara caresses Sora's cheek. "I pity you but, I am also amazed by you. Everyday you come to face harsh training. Everyday Ser Gon tosses you around like a ragdoll. And yet, you don't give up. You are incredible, Sora."

"I… I…" the novice knight does not know what to say. He never praised like that before for the effort he deem as the normal thing that everybody does.

"But, I feel sad whenever I see you training because you are doing it all alone," Cara rubbed a silver ring on her finger. "Nobody needs to face such hardship alone. I want to ease your burden even just simply by sharing a meal."

She smiled, but her visage somehow tells that she is in deep sorrow.

"You remind me of him?" she muttered.

"Remind you of wh-Eek!"

Before Sora manages to finish the question, Ser Gon drags him by the collar.

"Time's up! Back to training," he says.

"Bye, Cara. See you in the cafeteria at dinner. If I could walk out from infirmary that is," says Sora while being dragged effortlessly by the training instructor back to the courtyard.

Cara can only giggles when witnessing the rather comical scene.

***

Sora's right when he said that Amamiya also faced the same hardship as him. During spearmanship training, as per usual Amamiya gets smacked a lot. However, since, like her partner, she is stronger now and can endure more punishment. Yet, her fighting skill is still inadequate, non existed even. In every practice Amamiya simply charges blindly and tries to hit the instructor which makes her easily to be beaten which makes her want to hit the instructor for revenge. Thus, trapping the novice battlemage in a circle of pain.

Normally, other battlemage trainees will laugh at her incompetence during training. Lately, there are nobody laughing at her any more, and if anyone does, they make sure Amamiya does not hear it. Amamiya may be helpless during spearmanship training, but she is a natural prodigy during magic and spell lessons. In a short time, she already mastered most of the basic spells and some advanced destruction spells. Due to her high proficiency at magic, no trainees or novices want to cross her unless they will face her fiery wrath.

At today's training, Amamiya again charged blindly to the spearmanship instructor. She attacks and attacks without thinking to block or to dodge. And with a single hard thrust, the instructor pushed her back. Amamiya falls to the ground with a body full of pain.

"Goddamnit!" She punched the ground, cursing her another defeat.

"Get up!" the instructor ordered.

Amamiya glares angrily at him. With a mind full of revenge, she tries to get up albeit it was difficult with the pain she endures.

Suddenly a woman gives her a hand and helps her to stand up. Amamiya looks at that person and is quite perplexed by her appearance. The woman is as tall as her and looks like they were at the same age. Her white, silvery hair is tied into a bun and her face looks cold and somewhat emotionless. She wears a white uniform instead of the red one that other knights wear.

"Show me your stance," says the woman.

Suddenly asked by a total stranger, Amamiya reluctantly and awkwardly formed her stance.

The woman looked at Amamiya's stance and promptly fixed it.

"This way you can block and counter attack more easily," says her.

Amamiya slightly nods.

"En Garde!" The instructor orders to attack.

Without hesitation, Amamiya charges again. However, this time, with the stance that showed to her before, she managed to block some of the attack and even landed a few hits to the instructor. At the end, Amamiya is still pushed back and beaten again, but this small success makes her smile in satisfaction.

Amamiya sees that the woman who helped her before is still there.

"Thank you. I'm Amamiya." she introduces herself.

The woman only stares at her, then leaves. But, before going far, she stops.

"Evelyn," she said without turning her back.

Since that encounter, Amamiya skill on spearmanship slightly improved. Yet, everyday she still returns from the training ground with a body full of pain. On one particular day, she shambled back to her room. Sora is seen sitting on his bed, reading a book. His body also has bandages covering his wounds albeit they are fewer than Amamiya.

"Another painful day?" Sora greets her friend as she enters the room.

Amamiya ignores him. She throws herself to the bed, burying her face in the pillow and groans. After a few more groans, she peeks from the corner of her eyes and looks at Sora who is calmly still reading a book.

"Why are you less miserable than me?" she asked.

"I... don't know." Sora is confused with the question.

"You're still doing physical training, right?" Amamiya asks further questions.

"Yes, why?"

"Ser Gon is still beating you like a training doll, right?"

"I don't want to be reminded about that but, yes and why?"

"THEN WHY YOU LOOK SO PERKY COMPARED TO ME!?" This time Amamiya screams the question.

"I don't know, Amamiya. I don't know." Sora sighs. "I don't want to ask this but, is something happening with you today?"

Amamiya ignores the question and returns to burying her in the pillow and groans in pain again. Then her groans turn into sobs.

Sora once again sighing. He closes the book and moves to sit next to the crying novice.

"Hey, what actually happened to you today?" He gently pats her friend.

Amamiya unburied her face from the pillow. She was tearfully and very gloomy.

"What happened?" Sora asks again.

"I-I-I can't… I don't know what to do anymore!" The novice battlemage crying even louder.

Sora tries to calm her down so he can get the explanation why she suddenly cried like somebody important just died. After a few moments, Amamiya finally calmed down, although still sobbing.

"Every day, in every training I receive beating after beating after beating, but there is no improvement of my spearmanship skill," says Amamiya while wiping her tears. "The instructor did not give me any proper direction, the other trainees only laughed behind my back. In the end of every day I got nothing. No result! No anything! Just pain!"

Tears start to build up again in Amamiya's eyes.

"And when I see you relaxing like that, I just…"

The sentence was cutted as she was crying again.

Sora is well aware of what Amamiya faced because it was the same thing that happened to him during college years. The pain of his own failure, the frustration that pilling up is only slightly soothed by the pain of other people. Then he remembers about Cara. He realized that if she did not visit him everyday, he would be already broken now.

Sora normally does not much care about other human beings, except if he has vested interest with them. But, Cara was right, nobody must not face such hardship alone. And he is the only one that Amamiya feels familiar with because they come from the same place, and also share a room with.

He pats Amamiya, gentler this time, to calm her down once again.

"If it could give you any help, l could help you to improve your spearmanship skill. I may not be the best teacher nor the best training partner, but since I have some experience with pole training, I might teach you some of the basic techniques."

"Truly?" Amamiya stops crying. It seems Sora's suggestion gives her a slight hope.

"But, we must do it in the early morning before our actual training. If you are alright, meet me at the courtyard tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow's alright. I'll meet you there, Sora."

And thus Sora and Amamiya secret training begins. Sora acquired his pole fighting technique during his brief membership with Aikido club in high school. He gives Amamiya all the basic techniques he knew. Every day, in the early dawn, the two of them train. And the training certainly improved Amamiya's result during spearmanship training. She is still a vicious avenger with a pole, but she no longer charges blindly like a mad boar. Her attacks are more precise and she also manages block and dodge effectively. She even defeated the training instructor a couple of times. No longer she returned from training in tears and in pain. Now, Amamiya always returns with a confident smile.

Alas, her improvement is being paid by someone else. Because of helping Amamiya with her training, Sora often comes late to his own training. Displeased with the novice knight's tardiness, Ser Gon increased the time of physical training from two weeks to a month. Of course this frustrates Sora greatly.