Chapter 24: I gave it to her because she was so confident

Julius leaned against the doorframe of Helos’ Workshop, arms crossed over his chest, his ink-black eyes watching helplessly the girl swaying gently in the hammock.

The girl was clutching the Mana Core that glowed with a faint blue light, holding it like a child who just received a new toy, a silly smile lingering on her lips that hadn’t faded for three whole days.

“Miss Helos,”

the boy finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up, “you’ve been grinning like an idiot holding onto that thing for days now.”

He took a few steps closer, the soles of his boots creaking softly against the floor. “Until now, I still don’t understand what it’s actually used for.”

“Tsk tsk tsk,”

Helos clicked her tongue without looking up, her silver hair swaying gently with the movement of the hammock. “Of course, you big dummy wouldn’t get it.”

At last, she was willing to lift her gaze from the Mana Core, a gleam of pride flashing in her pale purple eyes. “This thing has so many uses!”

Julius raised an eyebrow. “For example?”

Helos suddenly fell silent.

Her eyes wandered for a moment before a bright idea struck her. “For example, you can smash people with it!”

She raised the core as if to throw it but burst out laughing when she saw Julius’s somewhat stunned expression.

The boy rubbed his forehead in exasperation, his shoulders twitching slightly beneath his black uniform. “Are you serious?”

“What’s with that face?”

Helos pouted in dissatisfaction, shrinking her neck like a little mouse. “It’s basically just a battery!”

She waved the core around wildly, almost falling out of the hammock. “Without the right equipment, having energy alone is useless!”

“Ba… battery?”

Julius cocked his head in confusion.

“That doesn’t matter!”

Helos suddenly flipped over and sat up, causing the hammock to swing violently.

She rolled up her sleeves neatly, revealing slender arms, and her eyes sparked with fierce determination. “Alright, you brat, looks like I have to show you a thing or two!”

Julius acted quickly, grabbing the eager Helos’s wrist before she could leap into action, the warmth of her delicate wrist pressing into his palm.

He instinctively withdrew his hand but, worried she might actually go meddling in dangerous experiments, he braced himself and held her wrist firmly.

“Wait, wait, wait—”

A flicker of panic flashed in the boy’s eyes. “I can’t be your ‘human shield’ every day for the next few days.”

He sighed helplessly, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. “Miss Eleanor is going to be a Saintess Candidate soon, and she’s going to preach in villages around Olivius City.

The weather’s warm.

I have to accompany her as a guard, and it’ll take at least three or four days before I get back.

To ensure the young lady’s safety, I have to train hard now!”

Helos snorted. “Hmph—”

“Fine, then. When you get back, I’ll show you what I’m capable of!”

“Alright, I’ll be waiting.”

Julius had just turned and taken half a step toward the training ground when Helos suddenly called out to him:

“Wait!”

Her voice was laced with undeniable excitement. “I just thought of something really important!”

Julius turned around, confused, meeting the sparkle in the girl’s purple eyes.

Sunlight filtered through the window, casting a hazy halo around her silver hair.

She had somehow already jumped down from the hammock and was now clutching his sleeve tightly, looking a little shy.

“What’s so urgent?”

Julius instinctively caught Helos before she nearly collided into him, feeling the slender arm pressing against his hand through the thin fabric.

Helos tilted her face up, her eyes shining brightly. “You’re a Saint Knight, so your swordsmanship must be amazing, right?”

Julius’s hand unconsciously moved to the sword at his waist, fingertips brushing the cool sheath.

He shook his head gently, his black hair swaying with the motion. “I’m only a squire right now—”

There was a hint of humility in his voice. “My swordsmanship is just… passable.

I’m still far from mastering it.”

“Just the basics are enough!”

Helos suddenly clasped her hands together, nearly pressing against Julius’s body.

Her lashes fluttered rapidly. “Please, Julius! Will you teach me swordsmanship?”

Startled by her sudden enthusiasm, Julius took a half step back, his back hitting a nearby tree with a soft thud.

“W-why do you suddenly want to learn swordsmanship?”

Julius stammered.

Helos pouted, tracing small circles on the ground with her toe.

“I can’t rely on others to protect me forever, can I?”

Her voice dropped a few octaves. “Besides… my ‘Curse’—”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but Julius immediately understood what she meant.

In this world where magic reigns supreme, a person who can’t use magic but masters swordsmanship gains at least some means to defend themselves.

Julius tilted his head slightly, a flicker of thought passing through his eyes.

“…It’s not impossible, then?”

The boy finally spoke, hesitation mingling with a faint hope in his voice.

He brushed the black hair from his forehead and offered a somewhat shy smile.

“Since it’s all training anyway, I guess it won’t hurt to have you join.”

Helos’s eyes lit up instantly.

“Really? You’re actually willing to teach me?”

Seeing her so excited, Julius unconsciously straightened his back.

He cleared his throat, trying to appear serious.

“Although I can’t teach you the advanced techniques—”

He paused, glancing at her slender arms. “But the absolute basics, I think that’s doable.”

As he spoke, Julius placed his right hand on the sword’s hilt, his thumb gently pushing, and the blade slid out of the sheath about three inches.

“Oh~ so cool~”

Watching the gleaming blade emerge, Helos’s eyes sparkled like stars.

She had wanted to learn swordsmanship for a long time, but in the Duke’s Mansion, no one could teach her.

Even if someone could, they probably wouldn’t dare.

“Want to try?”

Julius smiled faintly at Helos’s eager expression.

He slowly drew the longsword fully, its silver blade slicing a graceful arc in the sunlight.

The tip tapped the ground lightly as he flipped the hilt around and offered the sword to Helos.

“Want to try?”

“Y-yes, yes, yes!”

Helos almost bounced forward, eagerly grabbing the hilt, her eyes glowing with excitement.

Her mind was already filled with images of herself performing elegant sword techniques, silver hair billowing, swordlight like a rainbow—maybe even a flashy spinning slash!

But the next second, reality hit her hard.

“It’s… it’s so heavy?!”

Helos exclaimed, her hands suddenly sinking under the weight.

She hastily gripped the hilt with both hands, her slender arms trembling from the effort.

The longsword felt like a thousand pounds in her hands, the tip clanging against the ground, sending a numbness up her palm.

Her face flushed a deep red in plain sight.

She gritted her teeth, sweat beading on her forehead, but could only barely lift the sword’s hilt a little higher.

The scene left Julius dumbfounded.

“Seriously…?”

“This thing’s probably light enough for even Miss Eleanor to lift!”