Chapter 82: Swords, Sweets, and Sibling Rivalry

“Haaah!”

With a sharp shout, Anne’s massive greatsword came crashing down toward me.

In a split second, I hesitated—should I dodge or counterattack? Quickly, I made my decision and sprang into action.

Clang!

I deflected the edge of the descending greatsword ever so slightly and charged toward Anne.

However, the sheer weight of her sword and her overwhelming strength made even that small deflection a challenging effort.

Boom!

Anne’s body and the trajectory of her greatsword shifted slightly.

Normally, I would have countered with my own sword, but her attack was so heavy that my blade couldn’t follow my movements in time.

Rather than risk a delayed sword strike that might give her time to react, I decided it was better to do something—even if it meant using brute force.

Thud!

Though it sounded dignified, what I executed was little more than a reckless shoulder tackle.

Under normal circumstances, such an impact would have caused her to stagger backward. However, thanks to the weight of her firmly gripped greatsword, Anne remained steadfast.

But being this close worked in my favor.

While the distance was too tight for me to swing my sword comfortably, it was outright impossible for Anne to maneuver her greatsword.

A beat later, my sword followed up, aiming directly at Anne.

She couldn’t block with her greatsword, nor did she have enough time to dodge.

At least, that’s what I thought.

To my surprise, Anne did something entirely unexpected. Instead of holding onto her weapon as any duelist would, she casually let go of the greatsword, which embedded itself deep into the training ground floor, and lunged at me with her fist.

What’s more, she skipped the fundamental movement of pulling her arm back to build force, simply striking straight away.

Even though I moved first, in such close proximity, her direct punch reached me faster than my sword could reach her.

Thwack!

Anne’s fist struck my abdomen. Despite the lack of a preparatory motion, the force of her punch was no joke.

I had always half-thought her punches during playful moments were just jokes, but now I realized how serious her strength truly was.

Caught off guard, I failed to absorb the blow properly, and the force sent me flying backward.

Although I didn’t fly far, the distance was enough for Anne to retrieve her greatsword and regain her stance.

“So, why the sudden use of hand-to-hand combat during sparring?”

I had known Anne’s compact frame packed abnormal strength, and that her melee skills were likely no joke. However, since she had never shown them during sparring before, I had failed to account for them, leading to this unexpected hit.

“Hehe! A trump card has to be kept secret, right? I was planning to save it for the Celestial Festival tournament. But since El can’t participate in the tournament, there’s no point hiding it anymore.”

A mere punch might not seem like much of a “trump card,” but with Anne’s monstrous strength, it absolutely qualified as one.

From just one punch, it was clear that her hand-to-hand combat skills were far from amateur. This level of precision didn’t come from just a day or two of practice.

“Well then, let’s start round two!”

Anne charged toward me once more.

In the end, the sparring match concluded with my victory.

Anne’s hand-to-hand combat was indeed formidable. However, I had enough experience sparring with her to know that keeping her at arm’s length was key to countering her techniques.

“Ugh! I really thought I’d win this time!”

“It was a close call, though.”

I wasn’t just saying that to comfort her. Even though I won, her newfound ability to cover her previously weakest range made her much more difficult to deal with.

“Well then…”

“Do you have a moment?”

A man’s voice interrupted Anne’s sentence.

Anne’s expression immediately soured. It wasn’t so much because her words had been cut off, but more due to her feelings toward the owner of the voice.

“What is it, Ian?”

Ian Klain.

He was Anne’s twin brother. While Ian stood a full head taller than even most adults, Anne was a head shorter than their peers, making their contrast all the more striking.

“I was wondering if you could spare some time for a sparring match with me.”

Thinking back, Ian and I are closer than most boys, but we’ve hardly sparred against each other.

In fact, we haven’t sparred even once since the second semester started.

“Hehe! You can’t even beat me, but you want to spar with El? Keep dreaming!”

“…For the record, it’s 67 matches with 34 wins and 33 losses in my favor. Don’t get cocky because you’re one match ahead.”

“Oh, really? Do you remember what happened around this time last year? Didn’t the gap grow to about 10 matches by the end?”

As expected of twins, Ian and Anne had sparred so much over the years that they kept a record of their matches annually.

“Well… I just finished sparring with Anne, so give me a moment to rest, and we’ll start.”

“Ah, should I grab you some water?”

“No, it’s fine. I just need to catch my breath, and I’ll be ready.”

Since becoming the hero, my stamina has improved considerably, so it wasn’t an empty statement.

“…Why doesn’t my dear little brother offer to fetch water for his sweating big sister?”

“Whatever, shorty.”

Anne, who looked like she needed water more than anyone else, was blatantly ignored by Ian. Perhaps this was the nature of siblings who were seemingly destined to bicker.

As someone without siblings, I found it hard to understand their dynamic.

Before Ian and I could spar, Anne, screeching a loud “Hyaah!”, charged at Ian, leading to an impromptu brawl.

“I swear, Ian has no respect for his big sister!”

Once all the sparring was over, Anne and I headed out into the streets together.

Usually, Celian and Yuri would join us, but both had other commitments today and had left right after the sparring matches. That left just Anne and me.

“Haha… Why don’t you just let it go since you’re the older one?”

Although from an outsider’s perspective, they both seemed equally at fault, I tried to console Anne with words like that.

For the record, my match with Ian also ended in my victory.

Ian’s immense strength, enough to wield a bastard sword single-handedly, was formidable. However, it wasn’t as extreme as Anne’s unnatural power.

Of course, Anne’s overwhelming strength was an anomaly in itself, so Ian’s performance wasn’t lacking by any normal standard.

Since Ian’s fighting style relied primarily on brute strength, it followed a more standard form of combat. In contrast, Anne’s style required entirely different strategies due to her unique capabilities.

Having already grown accustomed to standard combat through countless matches with Celian, I found Ian’s style easier to handle compared to Anne’s.

“Ugh! I can’t take it anymore! When I’m this stressed, I need something sweet!”

Despite their constant bickering, what kind of stress could Anne possibly have?

Of course, I knew it was just an excuse to indulge in sweets, but I didn’t bother pointing it out.

Anne led me to a café we often visited and, as usual, ordered a sweet drink and dessert.

I couldn’t even recall a time Anne came to a café and didn’t indulge in something sugary.

“Ah! I-I’ll have an Americano!”

I barely managed to stop Anne from ordering an overly sweet drink for me as well.

“Well, Anne, you’re probably good enough to rank in the top tier, don’t you think?”

Sitting at an outdoor table, I spoke as the cool autumn breeze began to set in.

“Top tier? What do you mean! I’m going to win it all!”

Her confidence was admirable, but I couldn’t help wishing she’d tone it down a little for the sake of those around us.

The café was popular among academy students, and I could feel the stares of several students in uniform turning toward us in response to Anne’s bold declaration.

“But this tournament includes upperclassmen and participants from other departments. It won’t be easy.”

Even though Anne wasn’t quite on Celian’s or my level, she was undeniably one of the top first-years in terms of skill.

However, in the academy as a whole, her standing was harder to predict.

There were already many renowned swordsmen among the upperclassmen, and there were students from the Magic Department whose abilities remained a mystery.

Not to mention, there were rumors of a ridiculously skilled paladin candidate from the Theology Department.

“El, you’re always worrying too much. Half the battle is won with confidence!”

Anne spoke confidently, crossing her arms and tilting her chin upward. While her youthful appearance made her bold gestures seem childish, they somehow felt natural thanks to her unique charisma.

“Alright, alright. I’m sure our Anne will win it all. I believe in you.”

And I wasn’t lying. Both Celian and I recognized Anne’s talent.

Though I cheered her on with a bright smile, Anne suddenly became flustered by my unexpected show of support.

“O-O-Our Anne…”

For someone who’s usually so energetic and confident, her ability to become shy in an instant was endearing.

“Om!”

While Anne was caught up in her embarrassment, the last piece of her chocolate cake found its way into my mouth.

“Ah!”

Her embarrassment quickly turned into sorrow as she stared at the now-empty plate where her cake had been, her expression becoming a new kind of dessert for me to savor.