Chapter 14 - Arriving at Roa

—-- Leon Greyrat —--

"Here you are, young lad! You're heading to the lord's manor, right?" the stagecoach says.

Hopping off the carriage, I respond, "Yes, I am. They should be expecting me… hopefully."

"Aye, then you should be fine. Just try to stay out of any alleys on your way there, alright? You'd be a prime target for muggers, after all."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," I say with a bow.

Although… I doubt any mugger would want to try to steal from me.

After all, the arming sword strapped to my side wasn't just for show, nor was the short sword hidden behind my back.

From what Paul had said, they should be expecting me at the gate, and if not, I had the letter of my employment's acceptance ready if need be.

While my position as the tutor of the young lady of the house, one Eris Boreas Greyrat, was still tentative, I had already been accepted as a guard to the girl. A duty I would be tasked with alongside my soon-to-be teacher Ghislaine.

I'm excited to see her again.

Walking up the vaguely recognizable streets of Roa, I soon find myself in front of the gates of the castle.

"Uhh… what are you doing here, kid?" one of the guards asks.

"I'm the new guard and possible tutor for the young lady, Leon Greyrat," I answer smoothly with a bow.

Dammit… I asked Lilia for a basic on etiquette, but I still hated doing it. And hearing about the other stories she had about nobles… yeah, I could see why Paul decided to run away as a kid.

I guess I would just have to grit my teeth and bear with it, I suppose.

"You're the new tutor? Aren't you a little, uh… small?" he says.

Huh… I was getting deja vu.

This must have been what Roxy had felt like, right? 

No, considering the fact she was actually in her 30s when that happened, it probably felt even worse for her.

"I promise I am. Here, I have a letter-"

"Let him through."

Just as I was about to rummage through my sack, I was interrupted by a familiar figure with a familiar voice.

My eyes lighting up in excitement, I run forward before wrapping my arms around her in a hug.

"Big Sis!"

"It's been a while, Leon," she smiles while rubbing my head affectionately. "You've certainly grown up well."

Removing my head from her chest, I look up at her eye, "Yep! And I got pretty strong too!"

"I can tell," she smirks, "Paul complained quite a bit in his letter. However that only made Young Master more open to hiring you."

I then separate from her as she gestures with her head, "Follow me. You should greet your new employer."

Walking through the estate, Ghislaine speaks up, "I suppose I should apologize for not picking you up. I assumed that you would be able to handle yourself just fine for the trip."

"No worries! It was only seven hours, after all!" I say back. "Just sending the carriage was enough. Though it was a bit hectic since I had to get ready to leave in a day."

"Mmm," she hums.

Although she was acting so stoic and serious, I could tell it was a front she was desperately trying to keep up as her tail was flicking back and forth.

It warmed my heart to think that she missed me that much.

Entering the same room as we did last time Paul brought Mama and me here, Ghislaine then motions for me to sit down, "We can talk later when we begin your training. For now, you will meet your new boss, Philip Greyrat. The Young Master of the Manor and the Mayor of Roa."

Nodding at her words, it didn't take long before the door opened to reveal the familiar man. Though he had aged since the last time I saw him, he was still handsome and still had that calculating smile that turned his eyes into crescents.

"You must be Leon Greyrat, no? I've heard much of you from Ghislaine and Paul's letter," he says.

Standing up, I go through the formal bow meant for nobility that Lilia taught me, "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Leon Greyrat."

"And I am Philip Boreas Greyrat," he then raises his eyebrow in surprise. "It seems you are somewhat knowledgeable in etiquette. Father will surely like that."

"Yes, I learned from my… second mother," Ghislaine snorts in amusement, "she used to be a maid for a noble family, thus she knew the basic etiquette I would be expected to use."

"So you're literate in two languages, an Advanced-rank swordsman, and a Water Saint, all before your second birthday? Paul seems to have raised you quite well," he says, amused.

"Oh, no. It was rather the guidance of Mama- Ahem, my dear mother, and my magic teacher, Roxy Migurdia, that made me so," I respond respectfully.

"I imagine," he says with a smirk. "Now, how about we talk about your position, shall we?"

Sitting back down, I listen in on his words, "As of right now, you are already acting as a guard for my daughter, a healer, and as well as serving the manor's mage. Your salary for this will be five Asuran silver coins per month, alongside being trained by Ghislaine. Are there any questions about this?"

I shake my head, "No, that is more than acceptable. And as for the tutoring position?" I ask.

He leans forward, "The tutoring, huh? If you accept, you will be tutoring my daughter in arithmetic, reading, writing, and simple history. That will net you an additional three Asuran silver coins per month. Now… do you like girls?" he asks, steepling his fingers.

…What?

"Are you… asking if I am a homosexual?" I say, confused.

What a weird interview question.

"No, no. Rather, I am asking if I will have to worry about your father's teachings interrupting your role," he clarifies.

Oh.

Is he asking if I would assault his daughter? The one that is meant to be my student?

"You don't have to worry about that. I am not as… lust-driven, as my father. And any 'teachings' I unintentionally picked up from him were quickly driven out by my mother," I say.

"I see. Then you pass," he says with a shrug.

That's it?

"I-Is that all? Are you not going to question my teaching capabilities?" I ask.

"Unfortunately, I am not in the position to choose who can tutor Eris," he says.

…Well that doesn't sound good.

"...What does that mean exactly?" I ask.

"As you know, she has had… trouble, with the school for noble children. And the two tutors we went through left shortly after meeting her due to her violence," he explained.

…I see. So she was a troublesome child.

And considering the fact she was likely a walking ball of noble pride, she was probably the complete opposite of Sylphy.

Haa… well, I'll try.

"She seems like a ball of sunshine then," I say jokingly.

"Ha. That is one way to put it," he laughs. "So? Are you up for it? Even when she's scared away everyone else?"

"Yes, there is no harm in trying. Besides, were the other tutors Advancd-rank swordsmen?" I ask with a smirk.

Philip shakes his head, "No, they were not. Although that wouldn't help much if you're attacked in your sleep."

…Sorry, what?

"But if you're so confident… Thomas, can you send Eris down please?"

Now hold on a minute!

"Of course, Master," the butler that was standing by the door says with a bow before leaving.

Twiddling my thumbs as I waited, eventually, the sound of pounding footsteps echoed from the open door.

"What is it, Father? Did you want something?"

A loud voice, overbearing with arrogance.

"Yes. Eris, come meet your new tutor," Philip says.

Suddenly a girl appeared in the doorframe, with wavy, blazing red hair that reached down to her waist and a pair of narrow, sharp eyes that darted around the room before narrowing in on me.

Her nostrils flared as she pointed her chin upward, "Who's this boy? Is he meant to teach me?"

She was fierce, that's for sure, but I could also see a bit of cuteness in her features that would shine if she wasn't glaring so much.

Though… that didn't seem to be happening any time soon.

Standing up, I decided to not bow to her, as she didn't seem like someone who liked noble etiquette upon first impressions, "You must be Eris, right? I'm Leon. Leon Greyrat. And I will be your tutor for the foreseeable future. So let's get along."

Her glare hardens as her lips spread into a teeth-bared snarl.

"Just who do you think you are!? Trying to teach me? Me!?"

She then marches over before whipping her hand out to slap my cheek.

Violent… that indeed was an apt description for the girl.

My head tilts backward as the wind blows against my face from her missed strike.

"Huh!? Who do you think you are to dodge me!?"

Uh… I'm pretty sure most people would dodge, Miss Eris.

She tries a few more times, even resorting to closed-fist punches, but to no avail. 

Her tirade only stops when Ghislaine cuts in, "Eris. It's no use. While he is your age, Leon is already an Advanced-rank swordsman in both the Sword God and Water God styles. You'll pass out before you land a hit on him."

Eris' eyes widen as she seems to look at me with a new light. At least before the arrogance returns a moment later.

"Hmph!" she huffs, crossing her arms, "I've only seen him dodge like a coward! If you're that strong, then hit me!"

My eyes widen as I look over to Philip for permission, to which he nods with a sly smile.

The hell… allowing me to hit his daughter… this family is so weird.

"Well… you asked for it."

My hand then whips toward her, and as she tries to block, I decide to clip her nose with my strike.

"Ow!" she exclaims. "You hit me!"

"You asked me to!" I exclaim.

Shaking my head, I watch as a small trickle of blood begins to leak from one of her nostrils.

"Haa… Here, it must hurt, right? Let me heal you," I then extend my hand slowly toward her face before casting Healing .

Chantlessly, of course.

"Oho? So that's what he was talking about… quite amazing indeed," Philip says from the side.

Eris, meanwhile, was simply looking at me with sparkling eyes.

Wait… this room… a red-haired girl my age… healing a bloody nose…

I remember something like this!

"It's you! The one with shiny hands!" she exclaims with excitement.

"Uh… yeah. I think I remember you too. You ran up to me before falling on your face, right?" I tease.

Her face turns bright red, "S-Shut up! T-That was years ago!"

"Apparently not long enough for you to forget, huh?" I smirk.

Her nostrils flare further in indignation, "W-Whatever! Forget about it! This instant!"

I don't think I will…

Just as I'm about to tease the girl further, another boisterous voice fills my ears, though this time, one of a man.

"Philip! Is he in here!?"

With the sound of thunderous footsteps heading into the room, a buff, muscular man then enters, who looks to be in his fifties. He had dark brown hair, peppered with streaks of white, and a large moustache that stretched across his slightly wrinkled face.

"Are you the one to teach my dear Eri!?"

Well… I guess I knew who Eris took after.

Taking a similar practiced bow, I introduce myself to the man, "Nice to meet you. I am Leon Greyrat, and am hoping to be in your gracious employ."

"Hmph!" the man huffs, "Passable! You seem to have some manners on you, boy! Be sure not to lose them!"

That was… easier than I thought?

That's good. He seemed like a troublesome fellow to have on your bad side.

"Am I to assume you are the Master of this household? Sir Sauros Boreas Greyrat?" I ask.

While I was being employed by Philip, I did know that Sauros here was the liege lord of the region of Fittoa, and by extension, Philips's boss, while also being his father. Which meant he was also Paul's uncle, though aside from the pride, I couldn't see the connection.

I didn't care too much about the family tree, but I knew that I could be fired at his command, so it was good to be accepted by him.

"Grandfather!" Eris exclaims, jumping into the man's arms.

The two seem to share a secret conversation through whispers, as Sauros then places Eris on the ground and turns to me.

"Leon! I have a request!" he shouts before pointing his chin at me. "Teach Eris magic!"

…Huh? Is that what they were talking about?

Looking at Eris who was smiling happily behind him, eyes shining with anticipation, that seemed to be the case.

Hee~? Did she like my 'shiny hands' that much?

How cute.

"Is this a request of Eris herself?" I ask.

"It is indeed!" Sauros shouts again, causing me to slightly wince.

God… so loud.

How did Ghislaine stand this man with her enhanced hearing?

"While I would gladly accept the assignment without any extra pay, I think it would be best to have Eris ask me of this herself. Consider this my first task as her tutor," I say, eyes shining with mirth.

Not only would it be a good way to make sure she didn't run to her apparently doting grandfather for everything, but this was also a way to cement myself as her tutor, at least in the meantime.

She seemed to respect strength, for better or worse, so if I was simply able to make her consider intelligence as a sort of strength, I had a feeling it would be relatively smooth sailing.

"For what reason!?" Sauros shouts.

I raise my head so that our gazes clash, "I simply think that Eris should learn to be able to ask for things by herself. It will be useful for when she grows up, as I'm sure you already know."

He brings his hand to his chin in thought, "Hmm… You make a fair point. Eris! Ask this favour of him on your own!"

Eris, on the other hand, was shocked, "W-What!? You said you would ask him for me!"

Sauros shook his head, "You need to learn to bow your head when asking for something. Now, be sure to use the proper attitude! Understood!?"

Eris clenched her teeth as she turned her glare toward me. Eyebrows scrunched up in humiliation.

She was, as Paul would call it, very pissed off.

I didn't think her pride was this big, to be so angry at being told 'no'.

Taking a few stomps toward me, she then takes two fistfuls of her long, red hair before pulling it to the sides, making a tail on each end of her temples.

"P-Please teach Eris magic, nyan!"

…What?

"Don't worry about teaching Eris reading or writing, nyan!"

No… hold on. What the hell was going on?

"Arithmetic doesn't matter either, nyan!"

She was trying to act cute, but the way she smiled only gave me chills, similar to how Mama's did sometimes.

Her cheeks burned bright red, and her eyes were slightly wet with unshed tears.

Oh… I see… so she was humiliated.

"Fine, yes. I'll add it to the curriculum, so there's no need to keep doing that," I say quickly.

She returns to normal in a hurry.

"G-Good! Hmph! I'm going to my room!"

Before promptly running upstairs.

I see. So she hated whatever the heck that was almost as much as I did.

Wait… "Master Philip?" I ask.

"Mister Philip is fine. But what is it?" he says.

"That way of asking for favours… is it some sort of tradition?" I ask.

"Why of course!" Sauros exclaims.

I see.

"Is that tradition perhaps a way of making asking for favours difficult in order to teach her how dangerous favours are in the world of nobility?" I ask.

It was, in a way, genius.

By drilling into children at a young age the 'shame' of asking for help would make them less reliant on them in the future-

"Huh? That's not the case at all," Philip says, cutting off my thoughts. "You see, the Master, as well as the entire Boreas household, have a great fondness for beastfolk. So that is simply a way of imitating them. It's quite cute, no?"

…Nevermind.

It went without saying that I was slightly disappointed.

—-- Information on the Six-Faced World —--

The Greyrat Noble Family

The Greyrat family noble bloodline is a prominent noble family of the Asura Kingdom that can be traced back to the royal family. The men of the Greyrat bloodline are infamous for their sex drive and perversion.

The Greyrat family is divided into these four noble houses: Notos, Boreas, Euros, and the Zephyrus, named after the ancient wind gods. With each noble house acting as the leading family for each region.

—-- Leon Greyrat —--

"So you… ate animal shit?" I ask hesitantly.

"Indeed I did," Ghislaine answers. "I got cheated out of money due to my inability to read, as well as my incompetence in arithmetic, and I was left with nothing but a few coins, which I used to have a scribe write a letter to Paul for me. At least he kept his promise with me, unlike with Zenith."

A Sword King… nearly dying from starvation due to being stupid… how ridiculous.

"But you seemed to have your fair share of problems dealing with Paul, huh?" Ghislaine says, ruffling my hair.

"Ehe~, yeah. But I think I got him in line now… Hopefully. And if I don't, I now have some income so Mama can kick him out without an issue," I say.

"Good boy," Ghislaine says.

As I had already dropped off my stuff in my new room, I was now getting a tour of the castle from Big Sis Ghislaine as we talked about how the past few years had treated us.

Ghislaine, unlike me, seemed to have quite a tough time. Especially after leaving the Sword Sanctum once again.

"So… you had trouble because you weren't intelligent, right?" I ask cautiously.

Ghislaine nods her head, "Yes. So please teach the Young Miss well."

"I will, don't worry. But… would you want to learn too?" I ask.

She looks down at me with a warm smile, "Thanks for the offer, Leon, but I wouldn't want to increase your burden."

I shake my head, "No, considering how much Eris respects you, it will probably be helpful to have you there. And besides, aren't you training me in swordsmanship for free?" 

"Your training is simply part of your pay. And I'm teaching you because we're… family, in a way," she says, looking away.

My lips stretch into a grin as I give her a hug, "Of course we are, Big Sis! That's why I don't mind teaching you as well!"

She looks to the side, "Still…"

Hmm, was it a sort of pride getting in the way?

Ha, it must be something in the air around here, huh?

Or maybe it was something similar to Roxy. The teacher not wanting to be taught sort of thing.

"Then how about this," I propose. "You teach me the Beast God tongue in exchange and also help me out whenever Eris is neglectful in her studies, and I'll have you join in on Eris' lessons. Deal?"

She mulls over it for a moment before responding, "Fine. Deal. Now come on. It's time I see how well Paul has trained you."

Although she sounded quite indifferent, her flicking tail once again told me otherwise.

Finding ourselves in the flat, dirt training ground, Ghislaine then tosses a wooden sword my way.

"Remind me of your rankings again?" she asks.

"Advanced-rank in the Sword God and Water God styles and Intermediate-rank in the North God style," I respond while testing the weight of the sword with a few swings.

"Alright. Now, try your best, okay?" she says.

"Uh, okay-!?"

Before I could respond, I felt the wind hiss as her form blurred toward me, and raising my sword, I was able to twist to the side, warding off her strike.

"Hmm… good. You are indeed at the Advanced rank in the Water God style," she says before blurring again, prompting me to raise my sword to defend.

The one-sided spar continued like this until the sun began to set, and I was able to engrave the difference between a talented Advanced-rank in Paul, and a genuine Sword King, deeply into my body.

Needless to say, I got some good healing magic practice later in the day.

—-- Eris Boreas Greyrat —--

Leon Greyrat… the person who was supposed to be my new tutor.

He was supposedly smart, but if he was, I was glad he didn't show it in the annoying way Father did.

Talking so annoyingly… it made you look weak!

Anyway, I remember Leon from before, though the memory was faint. It was that memory where I saw such a pretty sight flow from his hand that made me beg to be taught magic in such an embarrassing way.

Was he truly my age, though?

Father seemed to like him, and Ghislaine did too, and most importantly, he was trusted despite barely being here for a day.

Why was there such a big difference between us?

So, to find out, I decided to spy on their training session, which annoyingly coincided with what was supposed to be my lessons.

But Ghislaine said she needed to test him, so I suppose I would let it slide.

Thwack!

"Damn, Big Sis! You're super fast!"

"Focus, Leon."

'Big Sis'? And the way Ghislaine chided him with a warm smile… I guess they were closer than I thought.

Ghislaine did mention that she knew him from her adventuring days…

But thinking about that only made me more jealous.

Watching them dart around the training ground, kicking up dust and snow with every movement as their wooden swords clacked together, my mind was in a struggle between admiration and bitter envy.

He was my age, right? So why… why was he so much better than me already?

This was swordsmanship. Something I was touted as naturally gifted in, but he was already so far ahead!

Didn't he have that boring academic stuff and magic already?

Leave Ghislaine and the sword for me!

But still… despite those thoughts… I also couldn't help but gaze at the boy.

He was pleasant to look at, I suppose. With golden hair that reached his shoulder tied into a short ponytail, and a handsome yet cute face. But that wasn't what kept my eyes from wandering.

Rather, it was his strength.

Ghislaine had been with us for nearly two years now, and I had yet to see someone keep up with her as well as Leon was doing right now.

Each speedy attack would be redirected to the side, and each time he attacked in turn, Ghislaine would be forced to defend seriously.

She wasn't going all out, that much I could understand. But still… it was… amazing.

"Gah!" Leon exclaims, clutching his arm in pain.

"That's enough," Ghislaine says. "You did well, and now I know exactly what you need to work on. You've taken your training seriously, it seems. Zenith must be proud," she continues, rubbing his hair affectionately.

I can't help but grit my teeth.

Why couldn't Ghislaine do that more with me? Why couldn't Father or Mother look at me that proudly and tell me I did a good job?

I… I was trying too, in my own way!

Leon's arm sets alight in that familiar shining glow as his bruises and cuts begin to heal.

That… was healing magic, right?

I remember seeing it before by one of Grandfather's healers, but for some reason, even though their hands glowed, it wasn't as pretty as his.

I guess that's another thing he's better at, huh…

Dammit!

"Anyway," Ghislaine then looks my way, "Eris. Come on out."

Hah!? I-I was found out?

N-No! This is fine!

It's only natural for me to survey my land, right? It was rightfully mine, after all!

So, with confidence, I step out from behind the tree before walking up to Leon.

"You!" I shout. "How are you so skilled!?"

He blinks before showing me a kind smile.

W-What's with that? Isn't he going to shout back at me?

"It's simply because I started training earlier. Ghislaine told me how talented you are, so I'm excited to train with you," he says, sticking out his fist.

Huh? What's that?

"Eris, it's a common greeting amongst adventurers to connect fists. Much like a noble's bow of introduction," Ghislaine explains.

"Aha! I see!" I exclaim. "W-Well! I… I suppose I'll permit you to join me in swordplay!"

I then extend my fist towards his, "And I'll also gratefully exchange your greeting!"

Leon, on the other hand, only grows a teasing smirk, "Your eyes are shining, you know."

"What!? S-Shut up! I'm leaving! Hmph!"

I then turn and walk away, stomping back toward my room.

Dammit! I wish I could smack that smug smile off of his face!

—-- Leon Greyrat —--

A day had passed since my arrival in Roa, and it was time for my first set of lessons with Eris.

The only problem… was that she wouldn't show up.

"Haa… I really wish I could just drag her back, but I don't think that'd work," I sigh.

Ghislaine just shrugs, "That's just how she is. She reminds me of myself when I was younger."

"Ha. I guess you view her as a little sister?" I ask.

She nods, "I suppose so. Much like how I view you."

I lean back into my chair, thinking.

The only people that Eris currently liked, were her grandfather Sauros, her etiquette tutor Edna, and Ghislaine. And while she respected me, that was only in terms of magic and swordsmanship. Not academics.

That meant she was still extremely averse to learning arithmetic and literature, but I hoped I could teach her some basic history just by saying random facts here and there.

Hmm… her interest in magic… luckily, I think I could try to mould the other 'boring' subjects into those lessons.

And maybe I could use her interest in swordsmanship too.

Things like using combat situations or real-world examples would probably work better than a more traditional approach. And in my opinion, it would likely be a better method of teaching anyway, as it would teach her how to apply the knowledge while learning it.

"Ghislaine? Can you tell Eris that we're starting the magic lesson now?" I ask.

"Hm? Sure. Did you give up already?" she asks while getting up.

"No, I'm just… gonna try something, is all. I'll be focusing on Eris to start and get her interested in the subjects, so if you have trouble with my methods, I can teach you at a separate time," I say.

"I see. But don't worry about me, Leon."

It doesn't take long for Eris to return, and not wanting to scare her off, I put the papers and books to the side.

"Hmph! Finally done with that boring stuff? Now teach me magic!"

So haughty…

"Of course, Eris," I say.

As I had suspected, she hated the formality of nobility. But at the same time, she hated not being treated with respect by those deemed 'lower' than her.

Luckily, she seemed to respect me, so I was able to talk to the girl without her immediately snarling with anger.

"You want to learn magic, right? The one I showed you was healing magic. More specifically, it was the elementary spell Healing ," I explain.

Her face lighting up in excitement, she decides to take a seat next to Ghislaine.

"Now, while I will teach you this, I will also teach you fire and water magic, at least to the basic level. These two spells," I generate a ball of flames in my left hand and a ball of water in my right, "are the most useful for survival, and are seen as a necessity among adventurers."

Her lips curl into a smile as she turns to Ghislaine, "Is that true!?"

She nods in response, "Indeed. Magic is the easiest way to make a fire, and having a source of clean water is a necessity. Zenith and Talhand always made sure to keep extra mana for those spells, but when I was on my own, I found out just how important those spells were when I was starving for warmth and water."

Nice work, Big Sis!

I nod my head, "Indeed. But to learn such magic, one needs to understand the words written in this book."

I then pull out the magic textbook, courtesy of the manor's library, before flipping to the page that had the spell Waterball .

"These words," I say, pointing my finger at the chant, "are called an incantation, and they allow the speaker to cast magic. How about we go through it together?"

Her eyebrows scrunch up, "I don't need reading! You do it for me!"

Haa… Okay, Leon. Baby steps.

So using her love of magic didn't work for reading as I had hoped.

I guess I would have to try something else.

"...Fine. Now, could you two hold out your hand like so?"

Following my example, both Ghislaine and Eris place their palms face up in front of them.

"Now repeat after me…"

—-- Leon Greyrat —--

"Dammit! Why can't I do it!?" Eris shouts.

"It's not so easy. You need to practice discipline and focus to learn how to properly use your mana. Something that reading and writing would help with," I answer.

"Hmph! I'll do it without that useless stuff! Just watch!"

The magic lessons had borne no results, but this was somewhat expected.

I mean, Roxy said that only one in twenty people could properly use their mana, and even then, it wasn't so easy as chanting an incantation.

Well… it was for me… but that's beside the point. I was a bit of an anomaly.

They both said they felt something though, so I was confident that they could eventually learn. It would just take a while.

"Now… since it's not lunch yet, how about we move on to arithmetic?" I say casually.

Eris instantly gets up to leave but stops as I take out a pair of wooden practice swords.

"...What are those for?" she asks hesitantly.

Ha. Got her.

While Sylphy was always interested in learning arithmetic, it would sometimes get pretty boring, so I sometimes mixed magic in with the lessons.

So I just had to use the same method with our dear Eris here.

"We'll be learning subtraction with a more… practical approach," I answer, tossing her a sword.

Gripping the handle, Eris looks at me cautiously, "What does that mean?"

Smiling, I raise my sword vertically, "We're going to play a game."

She only looks at me with confusion, "A game? What type of game?"

"I'm going to call out a number, and after that, you will attack me with your sword, with each strike lowering my number by one, and you will call out the new number each time. Once you reach zero, you jump back and we start again. If you don't call out your number, or do so incorrectly, I will strike you. Lightly, of course," finishing my words, she seemed excited to perform the exercise.

So I guess violence is the way to go, huh?

"I'll demonstrate," I form a sword of ice in my left hand, "3!" 

The blades clash, "2!"

The blades clash again, "1!" 

And again, "0!"

I then have the ice sword transform into water before evaporating into the air.

"And then you jump back and start again. Simple, right?" I ask.

Eris nods her head excitedly before raising her sword in expectation.

"Ah, Big Sis. I'll have you perform this exercise as well, but please don't go all out against me," I say.

Ghislaine just nods her head, "Maybe."

…I couldn't tell if she was kidding or not.

That was a bit scary.