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We Started The New Training
With this training, Leo would not attack us.
Because Mr. Ekenhart’s suggestion had been that we try to hit Leo with our swords.
He said that if we could ascertain the quick movements of a Silver Fenrir and hit her, that would be proof that we had skill as swordsmen.
Leo’s fur was soft and fluffy, and was wonderful to touch. However, when entering her combat stance, it would apparently harden enough to block swords.
And so no matter how many times we might hit her, Leo would not actually get injured.
Mr. Ekenhart hadn’t been used to Leo at that point, and so he whispered this to me so that Leo wouldn’t hear him.
That did make me feel a little conflicted

“Now, I’ll give the starting signal
”
“Thank you.”
Sebastian had been watching from a distance with Ms. Claire, but he stepped forward now.
As we waited for his signal, we faced Leo as if glaring, and held our swords ready to attack at any moment.
Leo was so intimidating now, that I could feel a cold sweat run down my back. But I ignored it and tried to focus.
Tilura must have felt the same way. I could tell that she was nervous.
“Now
begin!”
“Hmm!”
“Ha!”
As Sebastian gave the signal, we rushed forward and swung our swords at Leo.
It was more of a test swing. I didn’t know how Leo would move, and I was also still just an amateur.
It was important to think, but I wanted to see what would happen if I just went all out and attacked Leo first.
“Wuff.”
Though all my strength went into the swing, Leo merely moved to the side and dodged it.
To Leo, my attack was not even a gentle breeze. I could tell by her bark that she was not concerned.
“Ha!”
As soon as I had swung down, I turned my wrists and swung back upwards.
At the same time, I took a step forward so that I could hit her where she had moved.
“Wuff-wuff.”
And yet again, Leo calmly moved on light feet and dodged my blade.

In fact, the way Leo had moved just now
I could barely even see it

For nearly an hour after that, Tilura and I continued to swing our swords at Leo.
And Leo would continue to dodge us with a series of movements including side steps and jumps.
“Ha
Ha
”
“Hah
phew
 Leo is too fast
ha
”
“Wuff!”
At first, Leo had been taking this training very seriously, but once she realized how easy it was to avoid our attacks, she started treating it like an amusing game.
In other words, our attacks were still not good enough for her.

That hurt my pride, a little

Still, this was a Silver Fenrir. The strongest of monsters.
And so there was no way that beginners like us would be able to hit her so easily. I told myself this.

But I also promised myself that I would hit her eventually.
“Are you all right, Mr. Takumi? Tilura?”
“Ha
ha
 I’m fine.”
“Yes
haa
I’m fine too.”
Ms. Claire called out to us. But we were tired and panting so hard that we could barely answer.
It was then that Ms. Lyra and Ms. Gelda brought us some water.
“Here.”
“Drink this, Lady Tilura.”
“Ha
ha
 Thank you
ha
glug
!”
“Thank you
haa
haa
glug
”
I thanked them and drained the cup in a single gulp.
Once we had caught our breath, Leo, who was now carrying Sherry on her back, walked towards us, along with the others.
“
Phew
 Leo. You’re so fast that I couldn’t hit you at all.”
“
Good Leo
that was amazing.”
“Wuff!”
“Kyau!”
Leo barked as if to say that it was nothing. Sherry was just happy to be riding on Leo’s back.
“Mr. Takumi, Lady Tilura. From what I could see, there was nothing wrong with the form of your swings. You just need to think a little more about how you will land a hit.”
“Indeed
 To be honest, I can barely even follow Leo’s movement with my eyes. I’m not sure what to do about that
”
It was practically impossible to keep up with Leo’s speed.
After all, it wasn’t like I could move so fast that others couldn’t see me.
In that case, I might have to think of some roundabout way of getting a hit

“I do not know a lot about swords, but why not make your swings faster?”
“Faster
”
While it would be impossible for me to be as fast as Leo, maybe I could make just my swing faster for an instant

“In any case, you two will need more training.”
“It sure looks like it.”
“I will do my best!”
Whether it was a roundabout way, or swinging faster, I still needed to train in order to put it into action.
We hadn’t been training for long, and while the herbs made things efficient, we still didn’t compare to people with more experience.
“Leo. I’ll be counting on your help again.”
“Wuff.”
From now on, it will be every day. Training with Leo, basic training, and sword swings.

Thankfully, I was starting to really enjoy it.
When I looked to the side, Tilura had an expression of determination, and I could see that she would continue to do her best.
Now that the training with Leo was finished, we took a short break, and then returned to basic training.
Swinging swords was fine, but it was no good if you ran out of energy so quickly.
And so in order to build up my strength, I would jog until lunch time.
Leo would run happily next to me, but Tilura looked like she was barely keeping up.
But it was impressive, given how small she was.
“Mr. Takumi, it’s time for lunch.”
“
Ha
Ha
 Very well.”
When the sun was high in the sky, Ms. Claire called to tell us that lunch was ready.
Resting was also important.
There was no point in rushing with training, we just had to be diligent.
And so we wiped ourselves with the hot towels that Ms. Lyra prepared, and then headed to the dining hall.
“Thank you, Mr. Takumi.”
After lunch, I went out into the garden again and trained.
But first, I made some herbs for muscle recovery and shared it with Tilura.
“Tilura. This doesn’t help with fatigue, so don’t push yourself too hard, all right?”
“Yes!”
She replied cheerfully. And then we trained thoroughly until dinner time.