Piece 18 (part 2)

We both approached a huge group of boys and girls crowding the sword training area, and it seems like a lot of boys are practicing using the wooden sword. Amongst them, I noticed a few who are genuinely trained in the art of the blade.

Jeremy's boys. As I expected, those three guys are really good with swords. I've always known that they are quite talented in that area, and they've won trophies for our school many times thanks to their skills.

Their movements using the wooden sword are incredibly calm and sharp. The knights they're facing are having a hard time because it's like facing an ordinary knight with smaller body size, and they certainly weren't expecting a bunch of children to be at this level.

"These three are indeed talented! Is there anyone else who wishes to give the wooden swords a try?" The knight captain, who previously talked to us from the entrance to the castle, has now moved here to become the host for this incredibly popular attraction.

A lot of students instantly lifted their hands, and some even started pushing forward. I realized that my presence can never be able to reach them, so I just turned to Roy with a disappointed face.

"Let's go somewhere else. We can go back here when things have calmed down." I said to Roy, and he nodded at me as we left the place.

The only other places that we can visit are the wall climbing training area, the basic survival needs area, and inside the castle where all the history stuff is located. I decided that the history stuff inside the castle is the most boring, so we visited the basic survival area next.

As I thought, it's very interesting. The knights there taught us basically everything that we needed to survive in the wild, whether as a knight or as a mercenary. They explained in hypothetical situations, drawing the environment as detailed as possible, and telling us exactly what needed to be done.

"Tying the knot can be difficult, but there is a way to make the knot stay locked at all times. And once the knot is permanently tied, this rope cannot be moved at all. It's made of a very firm material that can't easily be cut by swords, which makes it strong enough to stop a moving carriage!" The knight explained while showing us how strong the rope is, and all the students listening to him were all amazed by how strong that rope was.

The knight then did a little show where he tried chopping the rope with a giant axe. Even after being chopped many times, the sharp axe barely made a difference on the rope. It's certainly a military grade rope that is widely used by various people, like mercenaries or knights like them.

The interesting stuff, however, didn't really last long. After showing the cool tools, the knights started telling us the basic survival stuff that should be quite obvious. Roy asked me to check out other things, and we decided to move along with the tour.

After checking out random stuff, the time for the swordplay show has arrived. All the students were told to gather outside at the front field again, and a pair of knights introduced themselves as the elite knights.

"My name is Collins. I'm a knight vice captain from one of the divisions in Cytus. Nice to meet you all!" The young knight who was apparently a vice captain introduced himself, and a lot of the students greeted his name.

The older knight who is next to him didn't bow at us, and he only stepped forward with a much firmer expression.

"I am the division commander for the Ardjestyn kingdom's third division, Marvel Horus. It's a pleasure to be here with you all." The older knight introduced himself, and everyone turned widely surprised.

One of them was a knight division commander, which is one of the highest positions that a knight can ever own. It shocked many because no one expected such an important person to be here in person, and the knight captain from before helped explain that.

"Sir Marvel here will be the one showing you the true meaning behind a sword dance. His years of experience can be compared with the way that a younger knight like Sir Collins does with the blade. It's definitely a rare occasion to have someone like him being here with us, so let's give Sir Marvel a cheer for his guidance!"

The knight captain said in respect to the division commander, and the students simply followed exactly what was said. They all cheered loudly as the two knights got prepared to show us a sword battle between two knights.

One is an elite knight with a division commander rank, while the other is a vice captain who is still very young. The result should be obvious.

"Begin!" The knight captain loudly announced, and the two began rushing at each other really quickly.

FTAANNGGGG!!!!!!

The sound of two genuine blades hitting each other turned everyone wild. It's not exactly everyday that we see knights facing each other like this, so it's definitely a must watch for these students.

As the two blades kept hitting each other, I began studying the faces worn on the students. Everyone seemed to be really amazed by how fast those sword moves, and it was definitely something they don't see quite often. They are certainly enjoying it, so I realized I'm the only weird one around here.

Those two knights… they aren't exactly fighting for real. They're just mostly swinging their swords without the intent to practice nor to defeat their opponent. It's just a 'Swordplay'.

"Are they… good?" Next to me, Roy asked with such a weird look on his face, and I realized he must've noticed it as well.

"Oh, you noticed it. Well, to tell you the truth, no one can really tell. They aren't fighting for real, after all." I explained what I felt about the battle, and Roy turned his confused gaze to me.

"So, you can actually tell that those two weren't fighting for real?"

"My best bet is that they are only fighting for entertainment purposes. The ones watching them are children, so they're just doing it for the sake of looking cool."

"I see… I guess that's true."

Roy replied rather disappointedly after getting it, but I can't really blame the knights. We are children, after all. It's not like they get paid a lot of money by doing this, and it's not like they have an actual need to try and defeat each other. For sure, if things were serious, the younger knight would've been defeated in just a few moves.

After about three minutes, the vice captain's sword was thrown to the side, and it landed on the ground not far from the closest student. The vice captain laughed after seeing that he had been defeated, and the division commander sheathed his blade.

"The winner is Sir Marvel!" The knight captain loudly announced, and all the students cheered loudly.

I realized that the sword was purposely thrown to the side, but they definitely didn't expect it to fly so close towards a student. Had the sword reached the child, everything would go awry.

"Now, everyone please head inside. It's about to get real hot outside, so let's get into the castle to see what's in here!" The knight captain announced to the students, and it looks like it's about time for more history lessons.

"Milly." Next to me, Roy called out as everyone headed to the castle entrance, and I turned around to find his concerned look.

"What is it?"

"It's… nothing. The tour is still very long. Do you mind if I stick with you for the rest of it?" Roy asked with such a soft tone, and I can't help but try to understand why he's asking that kind of question.

Damn. He's really into me, huh…?

"That's fine by me! Come, let's head inside." I excitedly grabbed his hand and pulled him to where everybody else was at, and I noticed his smile grew bigger as well.

I guess… it's about that time already, huh?

The time for me to experience something I've never experienced before.

This feeling of my heart beating so fast… it makes me just want more.