Hot.

Tense.

Suffocating.

The temperature in the room was absolutely palpable.

All I wanted was to enjoy my food, but the atmosphere in the room didn't allow such luxuries; it felt like I was trying to eat while being surrounded by a bloodthirsty pack of Fangwolves.

I made an attempt to ease the mood, "What a nice day we have here, right?" I clumsily commented.

"Yes, indeed, I'm sure it'll be a nice day if a certain someone apologizes."

Why!

"Gneu-gneu-gneu..., nice journey or not, I doubt "someone" who spends most of his time inside a hole cares whether the day is sunny or not."

"Who knows, maybe that "person" would appreciate it if that "certain conceited someone" at least tried to put in the effort."

"As if I... why would that "person" do that when the weather is perfect as it is? Humph!"

"Humph!"

Oh, God, what have I done?

***

"It can't go on like this," I said as Syrius and I walked toward my room.

I was on my way to my room, as I had just finished having dinner.

"What could that be?"

"Them, of course. The animosity between Mael and Ramia has recently become completely unbearable. "

There has recently been some animosity between the two cousins. Two cousins who were supposedly raised as siblings.

Weren’t siblings supposed to be caring, loving, and understanding of each other?

Why did it have to turn out like this?!

Well, I do know why?

Because of me, apparently.

To be exact, the whole mess began with the "reality figer" I received from Mael on my birthday.

Mael received three of these books from his parents during their two-year visit. He had kept one of the three books and given the other two away as a gift. I had received the last one, while Ramia had received one before me.

It was given to her as a gift, and she really adored it, which is one of the reasons she was so mad at me.

One of the main reasons she was upset with me was that for two weeks she wasn't allowed to visit the Edouard castle because Grandfather wasn't there as he, back then, went to fetch me from the Rosetta manor and it wouldn't be safe to send her here with Grandfather away.

Safe from what?

From herself.

The only reason Ramia, a ducal princess, was allowed to parade in the castle so proudly with that red sword of hers, was the presence of Grandfather Emilien.

Here in the Edouard castle, she can train how much she wants without any fear of injuries, all thanks to the backing of Grandfather Emilien's healing magic.

It was a completely different story in the Aubrecht castle, where she isn't even allowed to approach the smallest sharp-edged object.

With Grandfather Emilien away, she was immediately barred from coming to the Edouard castle, for there was no one else around in the castle who could use healing magic if she were to injure herself.

That day, she wasn't yet allowed out of their castle. She simply forced her way out of the castle and arrived at my birthday party; she must have been surprised to see me there, but facts were that, she still managed keep her cool. Things went really south when she discovered that Mael had given the same book he had given her to someone he had only met for less than two weeks.

I ran into her in the hallway at the most inconvenient time. She needed a punching bag, and I unintentionally offered myself up.

So that's pretty much how things came to be the way they are now.

Mael is essentially hoping for a genuine apology from Ramia, but he knows better than anyone that it will never come, at least not in this lifetime, yet he can't allow himself to simply forgive her because that would be admitting that she wasn't wrong. To make up for her "sin," he punishes her by simply ignoring or sarcastically antagonizing her.

On the other hand, it seems that on Ramia's side, she is clearly waiting for Mael to take the first step toward reconciliation.

Things are very awkward because of the tension between the two, especially at lunch, which we are forced to share at the same table. Grandfather, despite sharing the same table as us, seems unconcerned about the awkwardness, which in turn makes it even worse since he behaves as though it didn’t exist.

And I, well, I may be the best suited to act as a bridge toward reconciliation, given that I was the source of the dispute in the first place, but things weren't that simple, and given how poor, I sadly realize, my communication skills are, I could easily mess up and make things worse, just like earlier.

"Do you have any of them?" I said, as I entered my room.

"Any of what?" asked Syrius, confused by my question.

"Good advice,... I need your insight, Syrius," I said as I threw myself onto my bed, "Oh, Wise One. What should I do to put an end to the tension between Ramia and Mael?"

Taking to the game, Syrius put one arm behind his back while stroking his chin slowly with the other.

"Let me see... Both Lady Ramia and Sir Mael seem to be waiting for the other to take the first step. Why wouldn't the Young Lord try to befriend her first? Even if it doesn't work as well as it did for Sir Mael, I'm confident he'll take the first step if he sees Lady Ramia trying to get along with you or if you are at least trying to get along with her."

Befriend Ramia, huh?

"Hum... I think I see a pattern here. It should be possible to befriend her by taking advantage of a common ground? "

"Yes, but for the time being, I have no idea what you two might have in common except-." I interrupted Syrius' words by raising a finger.

"Say no more. I think I found it.

"I wonder what it could be?"

"Rather than tell you, I'd like to show you. Tomorrow, My Dear, you will see how genuine friendships are formed."

"This humble butler is looking forward to seeing that."

***

It's a little after two o'clock in the afternoon.

Syrius and I were making our way to the backyard, where Ramia usually practices her sword skills.

When we arrived at our destination, I noticed Grandfather, Mael, and, of course, Ramia were there.

When we arrived, Mael seemed visibly engaged in conversation with Grandfather, with their attendants standing by as usual.

As we got closer, everyone in the backyard turned their attention to us.

"Speak of the devil. We were just wondering why you called us here, Boy?" Grandfather Emilien said, a smile already on his face.

"What is the meaning of this, Ronandt?" asked Mael.

Ramia, on the other hand, simply stared at me antagonistically.

I went to a location where I expected to get the most attention, and "Ladies and Gentlemen, I've summoned you today to put an end to the ongoing animosity between Mael, this little lady over there, and myself," I declared loudly.

In response to my announcement, people's expressions began to change; Grandfather's face revealed a sly smirk; Mael's face revealed a mixture of surprise and embarrassment; and Ramia's face revealed nothing but fierce confusion.

Satisfied to say the least of their reaction, I continued, "To put an end to this conflict, I decided that I should be the one to take the initiative and bury the hatchet, given that it all began with me."With these words, I looked and announced in Ramia’s direction, "Therefore, in order to put an end to this conflict, I'd like to ask you, Young Lady, Yes, you! Are you willing to present... "

"I won't!" Ramia barked before I could even finish.

"Great, because I never intended to accept it even if you did in the first place," I explained as I removed the right glove I was wearing, before throwing it over her face.

She cut it in midair with her sword before the glove even reached her face.

I had intended to make this with the gloves Syrius had given me for my birthday, but I put down the idea after realizing she'd pulled something like this out.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ramia angrily questioned."As you can see, it's a challenge to duel. This whole mess started with violence, and I think it is right for it to also end with violence. " I said, my voice beaming with diplomacy.

"Wait a minute, Ronandt," Mael said, but his grandfather, reaching for his shoulder, silently told him not to intervene.

"You would like to challenge me to a duel? You? " She said, underestimating.

Why do I have the impression that someone is looking down on me here?

"And may I ask as to what you intend to duel me on? On book reading? Hahahaha! "

Good Lord! She’s laughing at her own joke.

"Of course, sword sparring. But if you're not confident in your sword skills, I wouldn't mind if we dueled over book-reading. " I pompously declared.

"As if I had any reason to be afraid of someone like you, I accept your duel," she announced, tightening her grip on her sword vociferously.

Woah!

This time, I’m certain that Girl is really ready to kill.

At a clap of Syrius’ hand, an attendant arrived with two wooden swords.

"We'll use these; I'm sure Grandfather Emilien can heal us if necessary, but I'd rather avoid being sentenced guilty of chopping a Ducal princess in half if at all possible."

She let out a "humph" that reminded me vaguely of the warthogs' loud breaths, which I suppose I can take as a yes.

We both took a wooden sword from the attendant's before approaching each other from a safe distance.

To get used to the grip, I began swinging the wooden sword around with my left arm, before staring at her in the eyes.

Without much announcement of any sort, it just began.

She charged at me, seemingly expecting me to come at her with a left swing, but instead what came at her, as she got to a close enough distance, was a sweep left kick.

When my left foot cleaved toward her sides, she reacted fast enough to dodge the blow, but though the attack had failed, it was enough for her to be slightly taken aback by it, which I took advantage of to make her taste a similar medicine to the one I received a few days ago.

My tightly clenched fist kissed my half-big sister's firm yet somewhat chubby left cheek.

Shameless! I know.

But it seems that my punch had less of an impact than I had hoped, as it did not make her spit out the same number of teeth as I did that day.

She, recovering from the blow, looked up at me with a baffled expression, her lips red with blood.

She hasn't used her aina since, and neither have I. She seems to believe that I am still unable to use it.

"What the hell was that?!" She roared, visibly enraged by my earlier punch and kick. Wasn't this supposed to be a sword duel?

"What are you on about?" The duel hasn't even begun yet. The two blows you gave me earlier were just compensation for the two blows you gave me on my birthday."

What I said enraged her even more.

She clenched her sword with all her might. The air around her was slightly changing. It seemed she had finally decided to utilize her entire arsenal.

She finally decided to finally use Aina, which she hadn’t earlier. As such, earlier, in order to respond in kind, I too began enhancing myself.

She took a charging stance before vanishing from where she was, a moment before, standing. She lunged at me with incredible speed, swinging her blade from left to right at my throat.

I quickly countered her strike with my sword, using it as a shield. When our wooden swords collided, it made an extremely loud clapping sound. I could tell her attack would have easily severed my neck if it hadn't been enhanced. That is, of course, if she had kept her attack at full strength until the end. When I blocked her attack, I noticed that the velocity of her blow had decreased substantially compared to the initial leap she took.

Her surprised expression as she retreated to a safe distance after her failed attack confirmed what I suspected.

It seems that Mademoiselle wanted to halt her attack midway and maybe spout some nonsense like "Know your place trash" or some cool lines like "You’re not worth my time" at me.

"Young Lady, I think that was enough!!!" Leonore said, in a distressed tone of voice.

If I had to guess what was going on, I believe she finally realized how unsure victory in this duel was for her Young lady.

"Young Lord, I also believe that that was enough." Syrius humbly said, hoping not to offend either me or Ramia.

I was about to respond to Syrius when a shout came from Ramia.

"No!! This isn't over until he admits defeat,"

Sore losers, aren't we? Well, I agree with her on that.

I’m not going to lie, I'm having the time of my life right now.

"It's exactly what she said, Rufus. It's not over until one of us admits defeat. Grandfather, as I said to Syrius. Please, no interference. "

Grandfather simply nodded in response.

Returning my attention to Ramia, we resumed our dueling posture.

Something had changed on Ramia's face, and I knew what it was because I thought I had the same expression on my face.

She had a smile of excitement all over her face.

She had the look of someone who had met someone to whom she could give her all without reservation.

We just stood there, waiting for the other person to make the first move, which a short while later, we both made at the same time.

We charged and swung swords at each other, causing our wooden blades to collide with a loud, resounding thud.

The only reason our wooden sword hasn't crumbled away yet was that, just like we were, it was infused with aina.

This was one of the things I, in my free time, within the library, learned to master. And I must admit, it came in handy during our Fangwolf hunting quests, with these creatures capable of, just like Syrius and I were, using aina.

I didn't think she'd be able to do it as well. Syrius, he wasn’t.

This was the only variable between Aina users, the ability to enhance weapons.

Our blades crossed. We pressed against each other with all of our might. And with a deft sword technique, she diverted my sword in the direction of the ground, which she followed with a horizontal swipe at my waist.

I hopped backwards before she could hit me, but she, relentless, immediately charged at me, launching a flurry of concussive slashes, all of which were blocked by me.

Still unsatisfied with her previous attacks, she violently thrust her wooden yet fully aina-enhanced sword into me.

I slip past her powerful yet intemperous sword thrust, to strike her in the face with a horizontal swipe of my forearm, which sends her flying away whilst allowing me, in the meantime, to seize her blade from her grasp.

She, finally, was on all fours.

"So, young lady, do you admit defeat?" I asked, pointing the tip of her own sword at her neck.

She gave me a look that said she hadn't had enough.

She then, head facing the ground, attempted to stand up.

A sight which prompted me, to announce,"You know, I’m a pretty mercifu- Blergh."

My words were interrupted by an intense pain coming from my stomach.

Wasting no time, she sprang at me, knocked away my wooden swords, and held me down on the ground before launching a series of punches into my face while I was dazed from the unexpected shock.

Something thick and heavy slammed into my stomach at breakneck speed. It took me a few seconds to gather myself enough to understand what exactly that thing was. The thing in question was a Reality Figer.

Not mine, hers.

It seemed that she used its shapeshifting ability to catch me off guard and its flying ability to knock me off.

I was helpless on the ground, and all I could do was watch as she punched me in the face. But that was before the perfect opportunity presented itself on a silver platter.

She slightly leaned on me, saying, "You know, I’m a merciful woman, I’m wi-" Her words were interrupted by my forehead slamming into her mouth.

I tried shaking her off of me, but she still managed to fight back clumsily, and so did I.

By that point, our initial "sword duel" had devolved into a messy wrestling match.

I had my right arm tightly wrapped all around her neck, and while she had my left arm pinned in a firm grasp over her shoulder.

Instead of trying to break herself free from my arm around her neck, she was holding onto the left one in a way that made it clear from the pressure I felt that she could snap my elbow whenever she wanted.

"Afmit...defeat. fook at you. I fan...fill if I... want." I seethed, panting and clearly lacking numerous teeth to even smoothly articulate a complete sentence.

"You ain’t... got that nerve, whereas... I can snap that elbow of yours with... ease. You are... the one who should... concede defeat. " Ramia muttered, visibly having a hard time speaking with my arm thightly around her neck.

"You fan only dream!"

We stood there, locked in that ridiculous position for, maybe, I don’t know, minutes, when out of the blue and out of nowhere, a chuckle came out of my mouth.

One thing leading to another, that chuckle was soon followed by a bursting laugh coming from Ramia. I could not tell exactly why I reacted the way I did, but the moment she started laughing, I did too.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha"

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha"

I let go of her and so did she of me, for I, unable to stop laughing, started rolling on the ground.

What were we laughing for? What was so amusing?

I don’t know. I was just, you know, laughing.

As I tried to stand to look over Grandfather and company in hope of help of any sort ,my gaze was drawn to Luke, who was the person I was expecting to see here.

He, just like everyone else, was looking at us with a weird expression on his face.

Reaching onto her shoulder, I warned, "Look, Ramia, isn't it your father over there?! hahaha."

"Hahahaha... Where? ... Yep, you’re right, Ronandt! Look at his face... Hahahaha... What am I going to do? hahaha."

"Apologize, maybe, I don’t know." I said, erupting into even frenzier laughter.

I need to stop this. My belly hurts so much... Please, someone stop this.

I was about to approach Syrius and the others when I stumbled over my feet, causing my face to not-so lovingly kiss the ground.

That day, during that small incident, I fainted for the second time this week and the third time in my life, and only then did my hysterical laugh come to a stop.