CHAPTER 19: SCHEDULE(2)

The next morning, somebody is knocking on my door. Who is that? A woman's voice? A woman is looking for me?

"I am coming." When I open the door, there is a woman wearing the same uniform as the instructor MARK. Actually, she is the one from yesterday, the one sleeping with him. Ah, I understand.

"Good morning, miss instructor. Are you my private teacher? I am very sorry to be late." I say casually.

"Miss? Hahaha, you are quite the polite boy. Yes, I am your private instructor: ROSE GRANDCROSS. And you, little one, are late for your first session." She is indeed MARK's wife. With her red hair tied behind her head, brown eyes, a small and pointy nose, bright smiling lips. She seems quite friendly No, do not judge people too hastily.

"I am very sorry, ma'am. I will immediately get ready."

"Yes, you do that, I will wait for you at the field." I dress as fast as I can and go to the field. We wear a sort of heavy and thick yellow coat and red padded pair of trousers for our training. With only one functional hand, it is not easy to put it on.

***

"You took your sweet time getting ready. Are you possibly a girl under there?" As soon as I reach the field, Rose speaks to me harshly. Her attitude has changed from when she came to my room.

"I am sorry."

"Don't be sorry, be better."

"I will, ma'am."

"As I said earlier, I will be your private instructor for the next three years. I am a specialized close type using physical Angas and water Angas as elemental: a DEFENDER. I will try to teach you the basics and forge your body into something fitting of the order."

I am lost at the word physical Angas and elemental Angas of water. What does that mean? There really is too much I don't know.

"...Or, at least, this what I say every year to the apprentices. But as for you, I don't even understand what the higher-ups are thinking. You're a child. Children should be having fun and enjoy the time with their pa-"

"Please do not treat like a child!" I look at her with a fierce and enraged look. I am not here to enjoy anything. "Like your husband said yesterday. I am garbage. Worse even than shit. Treat me as such and throw at me everything you can!" The stronger I get, the faster I will be able to break all of you guys' necks.

"I…well, I didn't want to upset you. And how do you know Mark is my husband?" Oops. I got too emotional and spoke without thinking.

"Well, you said your surname was Grandcross so…"

"Even so, I could have been his sister. Though, I don't look like him at all, so maybe...?"

She looks puzzled. Did she think it would be hard to understand she is his wife?

"Okay, now, we will have a light sparring to see your physical condition. I was told not to hold back, but I prefer to evaluate things with my own eyes. Do you have a weapon?"

"Yes, I have a dagger."

"Hmm... Okay. Let's start with that. Attack me with all you have."

I grip my dagger and pounce on her. I slash from the front, but she just slightly moves the side and evades me like nothing. When I land, I jump back without looking and throw a rear kick but, I don't even come close to her. Feeling her presence on my left side, I throw a punch, or something closes to it. All my fingers are broken, after all. I just touch her hair. But that's good enough for me.

Using the momentum I have, I turn and launch my dagger. She catches it with two fingers. You want to play it cool, huh? I grab some sand and send it to her face. Last time, that assassin used some kind of power to pin me down when I did. It must be that Angas. If Rose can use it, she might also be able to do the same.

This time, instead of going to the front, I circle and come from the rear. I will attack her knees and bring her down. When I touch her knees with my hand, however, nothing moves. It's like I am trying to push a rock way heavier than me. And with one hand at that. I jump back, but before I can even touch the ground, she grabs and lifts me.

"You might have a little combat instinct, and it looks like you are a fast thinker. However, that is about it. You are weak. Your body is in bad condition, and also…" She stares at me, "why do you fight with a broken hand?"

She noticed my left hand is broken? Well, I don't think it is something hard to see.

"The infirmary is on the first floor. You should go there to be healed. As for your evaluation…"

She puts me down and gives me my dagger back.

"I will give you a 3 over 20. Well, you are seven years old, so it is to be expected. You should go and fix your hand then we will-"

"I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?" Rose's voice instantly becomes louder. "Do you think my training is a joke?"

"Even if I heal it, it will break again anyway."

"Do you have some kind of disease that breaks your bones or something?!"

"No, but I have personal circumstances." I don't think I am supposed to talk about assassinations, so I won't.

"Hmmm….I see. Okay, we will make do then." Does she know about it? Why is she accepting it so fast? "Okay, for starters, your schedule. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. You will do, every morning, three thousand slashes with your weapon using each hand. That makes six thousand. In the afternoon, I will teach you physical exercises to reinforce your body and develop your muscles. We will do that until I judge it is not necessary. Now, start with your slashes". And just like that, I started my first day of training with Rose.