Senior and junior (3)
When I woke up in the morning, light exercise with Rize was my daily routine.
“one two three four. two, two, three, four. Now, to the left.”
“To the left.”
Bend your back left and right, bend back and forth, turn left and right. Balance on one leg, then switch to the other leg.
After warming up to stretch each other’s bodies, we looked at each other with a little distance apart.
“Are you ready?”
“huh! I’m ready.”
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I held out my right hand, palm up, and flicked my fingers.
With him, Rize kicked off the ground and fired at me.
A fist extended at the same time.
Fain!
Even though I received it safely, the power was not touched.
“When you extend your fist, put a little more weight on your step foot.”
When I pointed out and forced Rize to retreat as if gently pushing her away, Rize stepped forward again and threw out her left fist without panicking.
This time, he didn’t cut it, but let the punch flow from the outside.
Then, she lightly tripped her off-balance foot and supported Rize’s body as she was about to fall.
“If you set the hitting point too far, it’s hard to get up when you’re out of shape like this. It’s a short, hard hit.”
“Oh, it’s harder than I thought.”
“Think of swinging a short sword and move around. You will feel that there are many similarities between swordsmanship and martial arts.”
Saying that, I let go of Rize again and widened the distance from me, waiting for Rize’s next attack.
Douglas taught swordsmanship, so I decided to teach martial arts during this spare time.
I decided to look at the other weapons gradually, and fighting skills were perfect in case the sword was not in hand or missed.
Like Rize, who has good body movements, she learned it quickly, but it seemed that she wasn’t used to not having a sword in her hand yet.
Still, as I moved my body little by little according to my advice, the unnaturalness was further reduced.
However, I soon lost my stamina and had to finish my morning workout.
“Okay, here we go.”
“Whoah… … .”
As soon as my words ran out, Rize relaxed her posture and exhaled heavily with her arms hanging down.
I did a warm-up exercise similar to the one I did earlier with Rize to release the tension in my body. The beginning and end of training should be done this way so that the body is less damaged.
“Were you here… … .”
Then the door opened and a dying voice was heard.
Scarlett, with a drawn face, stood out from the door and looked at me.
“Yesterday, how was it?”
“You need to increase your dose. Or don’t drink at all.”
“Ugh, did you make any mistakes?”
“I fell down right away and it was fine. I had to explain to senior Douglas because I was carrying him. Please tell me before further misunderstanding.”
At my words, Scarlett covered her face with both hands and made an indescribable sound.
It must be embarrassing because it must have been the first time I received help from others in this way.
In the meantime, while wiping Rize’s sweat from her finishing workout, Lize, who was glancing at Scarlett, tilted her head and asked,
“Dad, do you like alcohol?”
“Um, it doesn’t taste good.”
“It doesn’t taste good, so why do adults drink it?”
“That’s why it doesn’t taste good for kids, but it tastes good for adults. It will still be a little too early for Rize to eat.”
Rize slightly narrowed her eyes as if she didn’t understand my answer.
I glared at him as if there was such a thing, but I just laughed and rubbed my face roughly with a towel, and I burst into laughter.
“Scarlet-sama, drink water here.”
“Thank you… … .”
Irina, who came out before I knew it, handed the water to Scarlett first, and Scarlett, who still answered with a dying voice, barely swallowed the water.
Afterwards, Irina shared water with Rize and me, and we had a short break like that.
Scarlett still had a dying expression.
“I was going to leave today, but I guess I can’t.”
“No, if you rest a little, it will work.”
That’s what she said, but Scarlett had a bad hangover, so at least lunch had to pass.
It happened because of my fault for habitually ordering, but I still had no intention of leaving early in the morning.
Still, it’s good if you get back quickly, so if you go after lunch like she said, it’ll be alright.
thump thump!
“daughter! Did you wake up?!”
At that moment, the door slammed violently, and Douglas’ booming voice was heard.
At the sound of searching for herself, Scarlett immediately touched her forehead and murmured.
“Ah, why are you like that, really… … .”
Scarlett, who gave out a voice of embarrassment, immediately turned around and strode toward the front door, interrupting Douglas’s voice that was trying to continue, and shouted.
“Noisy! Why are you trying to mess around in someone else’s house?! No fuss, please!”
Contrary to what he said, his voice was not inferior to Douglas, but he decided not to say it.
Last night, after bringing a drunk Scarlett home, I had to explain the situation to Douglas.
It was easy for her to believe that she had accidentally drunk a drink that suited her taste, but when Douglas tried to take her to his lodgings, Scarlett began to rant furiously.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand Douglas’ reaction just now, as he poured out words like he didn’t want to go with dad and that he should leave me alone in a drowsy state.
In the end, Scarlett had no choice but to sleep in Irina’s room, and Irina, who slept with Rize after a long time, rather liked it.
Eventually, the five of us, including the Douglas family, sat side by side to start breakfast.
“Whoa, I feel relieved… … . Senior’s cooking is really delicious. Can I stop by sometime and get some food?”
“Arthur. Where do you keep going in and out?”
“Are you trying to keep the promise you made with Rize? Why are you doing that when you ask me to drop by like that?”
“That’s okay… … .”
Douglas was about to say something, but Douglas gulped down the water for no reason, and Scarlett snorted and turned her head to Rize.
“I’ll come whenever I have time, so let’s swing a sword together with you?”
“yes! I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Every time I come, I will test how much my skills have improved. I am learning hard from Master. Understand?”
“Yes, I will work hard. After this work, be sure to come with Dad.”
At Rise’s request with twinkling eyes, Scarlett nodded and promised.
I really don’t know why we’re so close.
As far as I remember, she wasn’t the kind of person who liked children that much.
Seeing that, I had to look away and meet Douglas, who was glaring at me. I shook my head, saying it wasn’t what I thought it would be, but it only deepened my doubts.
I tried to give a rough explanation, but Douglas spoke first.
“So, where are you two going together? What is the purpose?”
“I asked because I needed a little help with my request.”
“you? Didn’t you listen to your father telling you to throw a party?”
“Is it because your father asked you to learn something? Are you going to say something different now?”
At Scarlett’s words, Douglas shut his mouth and couldn’t say anything in response.
And now was the time for me to intervene.
It was good for her to see that if she left it as it was, there would be loud noises that would be bad for Rise’s education.
“I’m just going to help, so don’t worry too much. There is grace from seniors, and Rize is only going because he asked for help.”
“No, in that case, wouldn’t it be better for me to follow than you?”
At that moment, Scarlett stretched out her hand to block what she was about to shout and answered with a light smile.
“There are things we can learn from each other when we go with people of the same age. Maybe it’s because I can share my opinion more comfortably. And he didn’t want to show his immature side to his father.”
“Oh, not like that! What are you talking about!”
Scarlett stunned and protested, but it must have been a good excuse for Douglas to accept.
Douglas slowly came out and looked at Scarlett in turn, then twitched his lips and spat out a few short words.
“I get it. Have a good trip. If there is something to learn, learn a lot.”
As if she hadn’t expected to be allowed so easily, Scarlett turned her absurd eyes to me, and I just shrugged my shoulders.
After such a noisy meal, I immediately went to cleanup.
As soon as I got home yesterday, I met Scarlett and hadn’t properly finished the trip. Together with him, I am also preparing to face Chakaraka.
I don’t know why Scarlett is looking at me from the side.
Douglas’ terrifying gaze shot from behind him, so he managed to finish his preparations, trying not to be aware of it as much as possible.
After finishing lunch on time, I was completely ready to go out.
“Dad, have a good day.”
“Dad will come soon.”
“Hee hee, it tickles me.”
I was sad that I had to leave as soon as I returned home, so I touched Rize’s soft cheeks for no reason.
“Always be careful. Especially when traveling, you never know what will happen. Just two rooms… … .”
“Am I a kid? Can we stop doing this every time we go?”
Since friendly greetings between father and daughter were exchanged from the side, I secretly covered Rize’s ears.
It didn’t take long to get out of Findel after the tumultuous goodbye.
Both Scarlett and I were used to riding horses, so we were able to move at a fairly fast pace.
“Senior, why are you like that?”
“What?”
“No, that… … Should I say I’m on edge… … . Do you really hate going to help me?”
“… … No, it’s not like that.”
Realizing belatedly that I was frowning at Scarlett’s words, I rubbed my forehead with my finger.
It must have been an old habit since he was alone with her.
During the trip with her, I couldn’t help but be so nervous. It was because she herself had the constitution to attract events.
In less than a day, my ominous prediction quickly became a reality.
* * *
Rize, putting on her shoes, tapped her toes on the floor and turned around.
“Then I’ll come back, sister.”
“Have a safe trip. You know when it’s dangerous, right?”
At the words of concern, Rize tapped her chest lightly. There was a sound generating magic tool made by Irvin.
Rize waved her hand at Irina, who nodded, and vigorously opened the door and headed outside.
The weather was nice, and the streets were full of life.
Today is Rize’s holiday.
It was a special forced measure for Rize, who was constantly trying to learn something.
Irvin also said that since he was currently away from home, Irina would not follow him, saying that he would go out comfortably for today.
It was decided that it would be safe to play in Findel anyway, and only in the area near the house.
“Hi-Hi.”
Rize laughed for nothing and soon started running down the street with a light run.
Until Irina came, I had been playing alone all the time.
The surrounding area was no different from Rize’s front yard. Normally, she would have played with her friends in the neighborhood, but Rize remembered that today was a day for everyone to study.
Still, I was enjoying enough fun even going for a walk like this alone.
“Come on, let’s take a look. There are loads of items that are hard to find in Findel!”
“Quickly prepare that too. It will be tight to leave tomorrow.”
“Mom, buy me that!”
“Can I eat anything while on patrol? No, it’s not that I hate it.”
The sounds of various people coming and going filled the surroundings, and Rize quietly listened to those stories.
Rize liked stories like that.
The stories people shared in their lives made me feel things that Rize had never experienced, even indirectly.
Combining countless stories he had heard so far, Rize created stories in his head. Of course, it’s hard to include everything when people come to the plaza with so many people.
Rize walked around with light steps and looked at the people. There was no particular purpose, and no one was looking for it, but it was quite enjoyable just for that.
I was going to sit down for a while and watch people pass by, but one person suddenly caught my eye.
A girl sitting quietly in the corner of the plaza, in the shade.
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It may have been that he drew more attention because he had black eyes similar to his father’s and blonde hair with a dark color similar to that of his father.
However, none of the people around her paid any attention to the girl, and she seemed to be isolated by herself.
Perhaps because of that, Rize approached the girl as if possessed and stopped right in front of her.
“hi?”
“… … !”
The girl, Nora, looked up at Rize with a startled face as if she hadn’t thought of it at all.