Right now we were advancing through the Zaven's territory, we were now deep into the enemy's territory, getting nearer to Cail.

There were fewer hills in this part of the land but there were more woods here and there and the monsters the scouts met were getting stronger, we were getting closer to the Lost's Forest.

In about a week we would reach Cail, there we would probably have to fight hard for the city, and maybe we would have to confront whatever the Zavenians were buying time for.

Right now I was sparring with Mark, while Lae and Roxanne also sparred together.

There was a new technique I wanted to try, like Shadow Leap it was a technique that used both mana and ki and it was quite difficult to do in the middle of a battle, but it could be extremely efficient.

Right now I was jumping around, striking, and then getting away with fire ki while using spells to create an opening from the distance. Mark instead was keeping his position, defending from my attacks with martial art techniques and then pressuring me with spells when I backed away.

A single good opening would be enough for me to close up the match, but Mark was responding accordingly to my every move.

I then created a cloud of black illusory smoke around him and closed in while preparing my technique. He rapidly got out of the smoke without showing an opening, but I just needed time.

I approached him from the front, he was ready for everything, but I had something new to show him.

I enhanced my right arm with dark ki on the inside, and surrounded it in dark mana on the outside, then created an illusory arm right upon it. I then used the ki and the mana to make my real arm invisible, it was difficult making something invisible with mana, but the ki made it much easier, permeating every cell and creating the same effect as if the arm didn't exist. The mana was there more to command the ki better rather than for using illusion magic, mana was the manifestation of the user's will after all, while ki was more the manifestation of instinct. Those two were difficult to use together, but they showed their true strength when doing so.

I then moved the real and the fake arm in two different directions, Mark trusted his eyes and didn't see my real arm, he thought I raised my arm to slash him from above and raised his shield, but I instead slashed him at his waist.

Being hit in the prostate was a fatal hit although it wouldn't kill right away and could be healed, so we decided that if one of us managed to hit that or the throat, he would win the spar if he didn't get defeated in thirty seconds.

I jumped back and prepared various trails of dark smoke so that I could leap around until Mark was defeated.

He tried to run to me but I leaped away, I then tried to prepare other trails, but I then heard something:

“Flash Bash.”

I saw a flash of light, and the next thing I felt was a pain in my chest and I saw the sky in front of me.

I was flying in the air, I prepared myself for the fall and tumbled to the ground.

“Flash Leap.”

Mark was now in front of me, I didn't have my training sword anymore, I tried to tackle him, but he kept me away with his shield, and then he just pointed his sword at my neck.

'Damn.'

It seems I wasn't the only one studying new techniques, he just used a technique that maintained the leap's momentum to clash against the enemy using the shield as a ram.

“All right, you won.”

“Sorry for sending you flying, it is a new technique so I still can't control it well. Wait, is your nose okay?”

I touched my nose and felt a sharp pain, I resisted a touched it more, the shape felt wrong.

“Maybe it's broken.”

“S-sorry, let me help.”

Mark started using his holy magic, he wasn't very good at it, but it was enough as first aid.

Lae then ran to me.

“Wait master, take this potion.”

“Don't worry, there's no reason to use a potion just for that, Mark's magic is enough for that.”

My nose retook the right shape, but I felt something was still wrong in my nostrils.

“I can restore the right shape, but I'm not sure I can heal properly the internal, you should go to a real healer. I think Erian should be free, we haven't fought for a while so she shouldn't have any emergency to treat. She's still busier than the medical squad, but, you know, like this she might have to examine your body, it's your time to show off man.”

'What is this idiot saying.'

I told him about my meeting with Erian on the battlefield and although I didn't tell him all the details for fear of being eavesdropped on, but I told him I reconsidered Erian a little.

But he seems to have taken that way too seriously, did he forget I almost killed her? Well, he probably did.

“I'll go later, now let's resume the training.”

“Master, I think you should use the potion, there's no need to bear the pain, Hoss's is paying after all.”

“I said there's no need, using potions for just that would make a bad impression.”

“Then let me call the medical team, you can train in the meanwhile.”

“I'm gonna train you next so stay here.”

“Then use the potion.”

“No.”

“But......”

“I'm not going there to pick up Erian if that's what's worrying you.”

Lae made a surprised and embarrassed expression, then lowered her head while blushing heavily.

“Now let's stop with the shenanigans and return to training, Lae, now start circulating your ki while moving.”

“Y-yes, master.”

Lae took up her training lance and started circulating fire ki through her linking body while executing thrusts.

We measured all her affinities except for demonic and the only one she was talented on was the fire attribute, it wasn't too good of a result, but she was happy we had an attribute in common.

She would have liked to be a magic swordsman, or lancer, in her case, but she knew she wasn't good with complicated concepts, so she choose to be a warrior.

I corrected her stance and strikes and also paid attention to her ki. She still wasn't good at concentrating it in single areas but her technique was improving relatively fast, it was clear she was giving it her all.

There was something I wanted to try since we measured her affinities though and now was the right moment.

“I want to try something.”

“Yes, master.”

“Circulate pure ki.”

She started doing it.

“Now close your eyes and focus your mind on the image of me.”

I felt the ki inside her getting more intense, I could feel something else mixed in now, it was getting less pure.

“Now think of Erian inspecting my body.”

“What?”

“Just do it.”

Her circulation became quite faster and now there were definitely traces of demonic energy inside her ki.

'As I suspected.'

It was normal in Hoss not to test the demonic affinity since it was illegal anyway, but I didn't want to test her demonic affinity in fear of exactly that, she had a good affinity with it.

'I did well not to test it.'

“Hm, it seems you're not good at keeping your circulation stable under pressure, we'll have to work on that. Now you can stop.”

Lae stopped circulating her ki. She now was keeping her head hung low, I couldn't see her expression but she was probably embarrassed.

'Sorry for that.'

“David no baka.”

She suddenly ran off.

'Wait, why the hell is she speaking Japanese, she doesn't know English, why would she know that'

She just said I was an idiot and ran off, she must have been really angry.

I looked at Roxanne and said:

“What just happened? Why is she speaking Japanese now?”

“Is Japanese the language talked by the founder of Heian, master David? I know that is an ancient phrase preserved by the people of Heian as a legacy of their founder, Shinichi Bunkanohito. Lae was raised in Zaven but her parents must have taught it to her. That is a phrase that is usually said to express great discomfort inside a couple, usually married.

All the legacies of their founder are held in high regard by Heian's people so she must hold you pretty dear to use that phrase.

Another legacy is the use for the offenders to accept being hit by the other as a form of apology, so you may d that, although considering your position is probably unnecessary.”

I see now, it was another one of that guy's pranks. I read about Shinichi Bunkanohito. He created a country and shaped its traditions in weird ways claiming they were traditions of his home country. But they weren't, they were all anime tropes he wanted to imitate for his own satisfaction.

For example, he decided that in marriages between the nobles, which are basically whoever is strong enough to deserve it, one of the two has to be officially adopted into the family of the other for a couple of months, and that if possible the girl has to be younger. He said it was to test if the marriage would last and to unite formally all the powerful families so that every powerful people in the kingdom would always be in the same boat, but I knew his purpose was another one.

He wanted to make everyone marry their little sister, he wanted to make his country into a giant anime trope. Another proof was that he decided that the way a wife has to call her husband is onii-chan.

I'm sure the only reason why he did all that was so he could technically marry his little sister and hear her call him onii-chan, cunning bastard.

He was an idiot, but he was an idiot of culture, I couldn't help but feel respect towards him.

'Respect for Shinichi Bunkanohito.'

Damn, I would have liked to be summoned in Heian.

“I see, well, I guess there's no choice.”

I followed Lae, she went to her tent, she was walking in circles outside of hit, with a very nervous look.

When she saw me she kneeled to me.

“I'm sorry, master, I don't know what has gotten to me.”

She seemed very regretful.

“Don't worry, I may have gone a little too far there. You can hit me if you want.”

“But I can't, you're my master.”

“You can't betray your roots, do it, and say “onii-chan no baka” while you do it. It's not like you can hurt me anyway.”

“I-I can't call you like that.”

“Do it.”

She approached hesitantly, with tears in her eyes.

“Onii-chan no baka.”

She hit my chest with the underside of her fists.

“Good, now it's done, sorry Lae for making you uncomfortable, but I needed to do it, there was something I needed to check.”

“N-no, I'm sorry.”

“So now let's return to training.”

“Okay.”

We returned to the others and resumed training as nothing happened. I trained Lae with the fire attribute, and Mark trained Roxanne with the wind and light attribute as much as he could.

After we finished, I went to Erian's tent, now there were also smaller tents outside, they were tents gifted by people of the pleasure camp that she used for people that were recovering, I could sense just two people inside them.

Usually, people were waiting outside her tent but today there wasn't anybody, I peeked inside and saw her visiting a boy in civilian clothes, either a merchant or a prostitute. There was no one else but them inside her main tent.

She was using a spell to heal a wound on his arm, but she was almost finished.

I waited for the boy to finish and get out and then entered.

“Monsters?”

I asked.

She looked at me, there was still hostility in her eyes.

“Yes, this morning Flesheater Deers attack the pleasure camp, a prostitute died and two adventurers hired to protect it were wounded quite heavily, they're recovering in the other tents.”

“Well, attacks like this are to be expected from now on, I'm surprised they're still following us.”

“They don't have a choice, the prostitutes that is, the army allows only how much as are enough for this number of soldiers, and the spots are assigned by the slums' leaders, there are no freelancers among them.”

“I see, by the way, did you have any luck at Twinmounds fort?”

“Why do you care?”

“I'm just curious, I think I would feel satisfied if I knew the brigade's animals missed someone.”

She lowered her eyes and with a sad expression, she said.

“No luck.”

I nodded and didn't go any further than that.

“Are you here for some other reason than just bothering me?”

“I'm here for bothering you and getting my nose checked up, earlier Mark decided to use it to test his new technique. He broke it, but then fixed it a little with his holy magic.”

I was starting to feel more comfortable with her, I didn't know why but she didn't feel threatening anymore, maybe because I knew she was going to die soon. I mean it's not like I was happy about it, actually, it made me quite angry that someone potentially as strong as her was going to let herself be killed by that fucker Ron or his buddies; but since she resigned herself to it she became quite predictable, she already choose her life and death.

“Well, let me have a look then, you may have just used a potion or gone to the medical team.”

“Using potion would have made me lose Alua points and there is always a queue by the medical team, people don't want to be seen with them during the day if they can.”

I said while doing a sign towards the pleasure camp.

She sighed.

“Let me look.”

She touched my nose without too much consideration and started examining it with her magic, it was a bit painful.

“It isn't just a broken nose, your nasal septum is fractured, your regeneration is already fixing it but it is repairing in a slightly wrong shape, you might have trouble in the future if it regenerates like that.”

“Can you do something?”

“Of course, who do you think I am?”

She didn't heal it right away though.

“Do you want something in exchange? I thought you were the healer of the people, the kind saintess helping anyone without asking anything in return.”

“Anyone except you.”

“What do you want.”

“Why did you come here?”

Her voice became more serious, I guessed she didn't buy it.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

“What?”

“Why are you letting them take your life?”

She looked around.

“I'm not asking why they want to kill you, I'm asking why you're not fighting back.”

She bit her lips.

“And you think you can come here and ask me whatever you want like that? Don't you have any tact?”

“You're already a walking dead, why should I be considerate?”

“People, have emotions you know?”

“Emotions are only a burden.......... most of the time.”

“You sure are a fool. Anyway, why do you want to know?”

“Because I'm curious, because I took an interest in you, and because I also owe you, I might be able to help you if you ask, you know?”

“And at what cost?”

“Whatever is necessary.”

“My life isn't more important than the others'.”

“Yes, but your potential is, think about how many people you could help if you survived, the people you are saving here will probably be much less than that, actually the people you are saving here are mostly composed of people who will return to the battlefield, whichever one it is.”

“I never put my life before the others, and I won't start now. If everyone was like me wars like this one wouldn't exist.”

“But they aren't, everyone has a selfish side, and that's not why people are shit. People are shit because they act selfishly for the wrong reasons, and that is because they don't think too much about what they do or don't want to admit being shit. You and I could have also become like that. Actually to me, you seem acting selfishly but not wanting to admit it, so I'll ask you again. Why do you want to be killed.”

“I don't want to be killed.”

“You didn't seem to be thinking the same when I almost killed you.”

She lowered her head and looked away.

"......"

She said nothing for a little bit, then started to speak meekly.

“I'm tired to fight alone, every time I try to find someone like me, they end up being rid of or they reveal themselves to be like anyone else. I gave up on changing the world, I can't do anything more than that. Now I just want to die doing what I like, then rest.”

“......”

“......”

“You make me angry. How am I supposed to feel, that I'm carrying on to this day? You should look better around you before jumping to conclusions, if you doubt that the world can be changed then just look at me doing it.”

“Please stop it, I have enough.”

She put her hand near my nose and used healing magic in a hurry, without chanting. It gave me a very comforting feeling, just like the other times.

“Get out.”

I stood on my feet and walked to the entrance. I looked back at erian and saw her still looking down, she seemed very pitiful.

I got out of the tent and returned to my tent, that night I trained extra hard in my secret training and achieved some progress again.