[ “Come, Bell.” ]
[ Grey assumed a dueling stance, but did not tense his entire body ]
[ Facing a small child, he felt there was no need to use his full strength ]
[ However, Grey felt something was off ]
[ ‘Let’s first test if he’s just for show.’ ]
[ Grey lowered his body, then immediately appeared in front of you, swinging a sword at your head ]
[ What responded to Grey was a tremor from the web of his thumb ]
[ The two longswords clashed, producing a metallic sound ]
[ Grey took a step back, taking your figure in again ]
[ But his mindset had completely changed ]
[ Apparently Grey had just launched an ordinary attack at you, but in reality, that sword strike was a very serious test ]
[ The test result was already clear: your speed and swordsmanship were not inferior to Grey’s ]
[ And you knew that just now, it wasn’t only your swordsmanship that worked; Poet’s Vision allowed you to predict the direction of Grey’s swing ]
[ ‘This body hasn’t fully developed yet; I can’t fight for long…’ ]
[ You easily took Grey’s sword strike, but the cost was that your slender arm was now numb ]
[ You prepared to take the initiative and end this match ]
[ “Lightning—” ]
[ The Battle Technique left your hand, and Grey looked at you with disbelief in his eyes ]
[ Then his body exploded with astonishing speed; he was an old swordsman of Eileen’s Adventurer Group, how could he be defeated so easily by you ]
[ However, your Poet’s Vision still caught his movement ]
[ ‘Right.’ ]
[ The practice sword drew a beautiful yet unbelievable arc in the air, accurately predicting the direction of Grey’s block ]
[ “Eh?!” ]
[ Grey let out a muffled cry; his muscle memory made him duck in time, dodging your sword ]
[ Grey breathed a sigh of relief and was about to adjust his stance, but your sword had already solidly struck his back ]
[ Of course, you definitely stopped at a touch, letting the remaining strikes release into the air ]
[ Grey felt pain, but held back and did not groan ]
[ As soon as you stopped, you felt dizzy and then nauseous ]
[ “Bell!” ]
[ Ailin caught you as you were about to fall to the ground ]
[ Only then did you realize that the hand you used to hold the sword was already broken, dangling from your arm like a foreign object, swaying slightly ]
[ ‘How is this body so weak!’ ]
[ You lost consciousness ]
[ When you opened your eyes, you found yourself lying on Ailin’s bed ]
[ A familiar floral scent wrapped around you; it was Ailin’s body scent ]
[ You sat up with difficulty and found that your hand was already in a cast, fixed with bandages ]
[ Perhaps she was afraid you would roll off that small bed and fall to the ground, so she let you sleep in her bed ]
[ It was also your first time lying in her bedroom; before, you could only peek slightly at the scene inside from outside the door ]
[ The furnishings in her bedroom were very simple; besides a large bed, there were only some necessary storage cabinets ]
[ After all, this was an adventure in the Dungeon, not tourism ]
[ So in a simple bedroom, all functions were realized, such as drying clothes ]
[ Not far above your head, several black and white silk stockings were hung on a rope, and beside them were some very plain underwear ]
[ Besides these very eye-catching “treasures,” there were also some armor and weapons neatly placed in the room ]
[ ‘Aren’t you afraid of falling and getting hurt by these things?’ ]
[ You spent a few hours somewhat bored like this, until Ailin returned to the bedroom ]
[ Seeing that you were awake, she poured you a glass of milk and brought two pieces of bread ]
[ Watching you wolf down the food, Ailin showed a gratified smile ]
[ “Bell, you really gave me a scare, but next time you need to know your limits; your body’s strength is too low to support you using that kind of Battle Technique.” ]
[ You nodded between bites and looked at Ailin with somewhat innocent eyes ]
[ “By the way, have you heard of the Sword Saint’s Blessing?” ]
[ You shook your head ]
[ “Me? When I was little, I was just like you, a very ordinary, very quiet child.” ]
[ Ailin wore a nostalgic expression ]
[ “And then, one day my father sent me to a Nun School. At the time, I didn’t want to become a nun; I wanted to be an adventurer.” ]
[ “My father flew into a rage and finally forced me into a Nun Academy, but I ran away on the way.” ]
[ You never expected that Ailin, who looked so dignified and had the air of a complete leader, would have such a rebellious past ]
[ In your view, she should have been born into a family of swordsmen ]
[ “The place I ran away to happened to have many bandits active at the time. My father went crazy with worry and called quite a few adventurers to save me.” ]
[ “But guess what? By the time I was found, I had already taken care of all the bandits by myself.” ]
[ “Since then, my father never forced me to become a nun again.” ]
[ Ailin poured herself a glass of milk, then continued speaking ]
[ “When I faced the bandits, I was very scared. At that time, I was just a fifteen-year-old little girl.” ]
[ “But I had a Holy Blade with me, originally an object used for prayer.” ]
[ “For some reason, when I raised the blade against those bandits, I felt I could do anything.” ]
[ “Just like you earlier, somehow I actually crippled more than ten bandits all by myself.” ]
[ “Later I learned that I had a divine blessing on me. More precisely, it’s called the Sword Saint’s Blessing.” ]
[ Ailin paused, then looked at you solemnly ]
[ “I think you probably also have the same blessing as me.” ]
[ Looking at Ailin’s serious eyes, you thought that indeed only this explanation could be convincing ]
[ Besides, what could you say to refute it? Since she thought so, just let her believe it ]
[ “Bell, you are a smart child. I won’t force you to learn the sword, but if you are willing, I will guide you from now on.” ]
[ Ailin said in a tone full of expectation ]
[ Naturally, you had no reason to refuse, and nodded to her ]
[ “Good, then from now on you are my student.” ]
[ Ailin affectionately stroked your fluffy head ]
[ You understood in your heart that your so-called Talent was nothing but Experience and accumulation from previous Simulations ]
[ However, having Ailin the Sword Saint guide you was a tremendous opportunity ]
[ You should know that in the last Simulation, when you were a Dragon, you didn’t even have full confidence of winning against Ailin ]
[ “By the way, Bell, you’ve grown up now. You can’t just read books every day like before.” ]
[ “For now, you’ll be my manservant.” ]
[ “Washing clothes and cleaning, you’ll need to do all of that well, and then I’ll find time to teach you practice.” ]