The Necromance of Love and Death: Defeated Early in the Game, I Reincarnated as a Tragic Villainous Noble and Rebel Against the Scenario with My Beloved Using My Modern and Game Knowledge - Chapter 11

“Master, Lady Violette, welcome.”

“Ah, thank you. Is everything ready?”

“Yes, of course.”

We arrived at the training ground, and the sergeant guided us inside. The solid ground of the training area is a testament to the soldiers who have protected this city for generations.

“This is Enzo, one of our most skilled soldiers who will teach you both how to use a sword.”

“Interesting.”

The sergeant introduced a man in his thirties with short brown hair. He was tall, muscular, and reminded me a bit of a gorilla.

“I’m Enzo, pleased to meet you!”

Enzo bowed deeply, nearly at a right angle. He seemed quite nervous.

Well, I am the head of the Barbastor-Marquess family, and this is Vio, my fiancée.

Well, it’s understandable that he’s nervous, I thought. 

“Likewise, pleased to meet you. Enzo, don’t be too nervous. Teach us without worrying about our status. We want to become strong.”

“I also look forward to your guidance.”

“Understood! I will make sure both of you become satisfied warriors!”

“We’re counting on you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Then we immediately started sword training. As soon as the training began, Enzo slapped his cheeks with both hands.

A loud sound echoed around. Enzo’s cheeks turned bright red.

“What are you doing?”

“Just getting pumped up.”

“Getting pumped, huh? Well, we might be kids, but to Enzo, we’re far above him in status. He’s training us, so he probably feels the need to hype himself up.

‘Enzo, we don’t mind any disrespect during training. We really want to get stronger. You can train us just like you would with the new recruits.’

‘But, still, I…’

‘Vio doesn’t mind either, right?’

‘Indeed!’

‘We’re already asking a lot from Enzo. Don’t feel too pressured.’

‘I understand. If that’s the case… I might speak a bit harshly; please forgive me.’

‘Of course.’

‘Understood.’

And so the sword training finally began.

‘First, let’s start with some practice swings.’

So, we began practicing our swings. We drew our mithril swords from our waists, raised them, and swung them down. It was simple training.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure if this would really make us stronger, but Enzo is a master, so I decided to follow his instructions.

‘That’s enough. I get it now. Lady Violette doesn’t seem to have any experience with swords. The master seems to have some experience, though…’

‘Yes.’

I had taken some sword lessons since I was five, just as a child’s play. Enzo could tell that much just from watching our swings.

‘However, I see that neither of you understand the purpose of practice swings.’

‘The purpose of practice swings?’

‘What is that?’

‘Practice swings are to check and ingrain the correct way to swing a sword. From what I’ve seen, you both are not swinging correctly.’

‘The correct way to swing a sword?’

Is there really such a thing? I didn’t think there were so many types of sword swings…

‘When swinging a sword, it’s important to aim correctly and stop the sword at the intended spot. It might be hard to understand, so let’s do an experiment. Please put your swords away.’

‘I see.’

After returning my sword to my waist, Enzo kneeled in front of me, taking a position as if ready to clap, with a few centimeters of space between his hands.

“Master, please swing your hand between my hands as if you were practicing your sword swings.”

“Alright.”

I wondered how such a simple task could be training, but I followed Enzo’s instructions.

However…

“Hmm?”

My hand missed the intended target and struck Enzo’s hand instead.

This was shocking to me. I had aimed for the space between Enzo’s hands, but my hand ended up hitting his. It made me doubt whether my hand was truly under my control.

“Well, it happens to everyone at first. People often don’t use their bodies as accurately as they think. Imagine, if your hand alone misses this much, how much would the tip of the sword miss?”

“I see…”

It felt like a revelation. So that’s the purpose of why we should practice swinging the sword properly.

“Yes, just swinging a sword won’t help you improve. You need to aim correctly and stop the sword precisely at the intended spot. That’s the purpose of practice swings.”

“I understand now…”

Indeed, I had only been swinging the sword aimlessly. I wouldn’t improve at all like that.

“What does that mean?”

Vio, looking puzzled, glanced at me from the side.

She should experience this firsthand.

“Vio, you should try it too.”

“Alright.”

I swapped places with Vio and drew my sword. Following Enzo’s instructions, I aim carefully and swing the sword.

“Did I miss by that much?”

The sword had deviated by the width of a fist to the left. Correcting this is what martial arts are about.