Chapter 25

When Nash arrived, there were only a few squads left, with several new squads also just arrived. The training ground is now more tranquil than it was before, when Squad Knights and Magic Knights were everywhere.

She went straight to their training area where she noticed Marais and the other squad 14 training together. A smile drew from her face as she walked briskly towards the squad 14, "Marais!"

"Nash! You've arrived."

Yjhan requested me to keep an eye on you," Grin explained.

"Thank you, Sir Grin."

"Want to have a duel?" Nash inquired of Marais, who declined. "Eh... Why?"

"Actually, Brix, this guy," Marais said, pointing to a man with green hair and brown eyes. "Want to have a duel with you."

"Is that so?" Nash looked at Brix and smiled, "I'm Nash! Nice to meet you!"

"I'm sorry to interrupt your duel with Marais,"

Nash shook her head.

"No, it's fine. We've already dueled, therefore a duel with someone with a different fighting style will be beneficial, right?" Nash relocated to an open area. "Should we begin?"

Brix took a step in front of her, "Let's get started."

Nash was about to attack first because she thought she should, but Brix ran towards her, catching her off unprepared. Fortunately, she blocked him and kicked his stomach, causing him to take a step back.

Nash attacked him from all sides, but Brix blocked them all. Nash gave a sly grin, 'He's quite good at blocking!'

She took a peek at his foot, which was still moving awkwardly. Nash cracked a grin.

She attacked Brix in different directions, front, back, right and left then kicked his stomach which caused him to fall. "Your upper body is good, but your lower body is not"

She approached him and drew him to his feet, "First and foremost, when someone attacks you and you want to take a step back, use your toes and put pressure on the balls of your feet, not your heels, or you will lose your balance."

Brix remained silent as he listened to Nash, "The way you move looks heavy, better do foot exercise, maybe? Then there's your stance, which is far too narrow!"

Brix was taken aback by Nash's abruptly irritated tone. "It's too narrow; widen it somewhat but not too much; it can impair your equilibrium, so keep an eye on it." That is your only issue, so everything is fine."

"I see... I didn't even notice it."

Nash kept an eye on his feet throughout the duel. Brix's footwork is being worked on for three hours because his feet are not cooperating, especially when he moves around.

"I appreciate it very much!" Brix aggressively shakes Nash's hand.

"Exercise your foot; likewise, your body is too heavy, making it difficult for you to be flexible."

"What should I do?" Nash looked at him with a blank face.

"Hmm... exercise and stretch your entire body. I suppose."

"Alright! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!" Brix walked over to his squad, showing his footwork. While looking at him, Nash shook her head.

After a few minutes, Squad 14 decided to go back to their inn, leaving Nash to train alone.

"It's alright. Don't worry about me; I'll be back in a few hours. Sir Grin, thank you for watching after me for a while."

"Just call me Grin. Take care, okay? Don't stay here until late at night. You've seen how monsters are beginning to prowl around the empire."

"Yes, I will. Thank you!"

Nash bid her goodbyes and as soon as they're gone, Nash let out a sigh of exhaustion.

She lies down on the grass and gazes up at the night sky. "It's difficult to train consistently while also teaching someone. I wonder what time it is now."

"It's quarter to eight," a head appeared from nowhere above Nash. Nash sat down with a shocked look on her face, holding her chest. "I apologize; I must have surprised you."

"Obviously!" She said then faced the guy. "Oh... you're the guy from earlier! Ken, right?!"

"It's Ren"

"That's what I said," she said it innocently.

Ren paused for a second and just agreed with Nash, "ah... Yes. I apologize."

"You're still here? How surprising. Which squad are you from?"

"Well, we're actually trying to achieve 24 hours of training as soon as possible. I'm also the leader of Squad 13."

"Woah! You don't resemble one! You see, I've seen that some leaders appear to be barbarians or badasses. Do you know who our leader is, Yjhan? He appears to be a jerk who has recently been released from prison."

"Hahaha. Then how do I look?" He asked while still laughing, 'What is a badass?'

"You appear to be some innocent guy, but everytime I meet any innocent appearing individuals, they are not as innocent as they appear! They're wild!"

"Wild...?" Ren has something different in his mind. "Did you encounter someone like that?"

Nash aggressively nodded. "There's this member of ours named Aeries. He appears to be a pure stunning young man, but when I saw him train before, dang! He's awesome!"

"Oh... that kind of wild..." Ren accidentally uttered it, which caused Nash to stare at him with a horrified expression.

"You..."

"Wait. I didn't mean to think about it that way!" He immediately said trying to save his reputation.

"What a perverted guy," Nash stated frankly.

"I told you I wasn't serious! Your explanations are so perplexing!" Nash kept staring at him, disgusted.

"Sir Ren! We have to go!"

Ren took the opportunity to walk away. "Oh look at that! We have to go bye! Please don't think of me in that way the next time we meet!"

"Geez," She stood up and continued to train on her own. She made a few combos while wielding her sword.

When it's already 11pm, the squad knights start to leave the grounds.

Nash was walking to her horse by herself because Squad 14 had already left and she didn't know any other knights from other squads. When she came on her horse, she noticed a letter in the saddle.

//

I'm sorry

-Ren

//

Nash shrugged and put the letter inside her pouch. She immediately left the training grounds and went straight home.

'I see... the Kapres are no longer lurking around.'

'But... are those red lights really Kapres?'

"Hey Raum,"

"What?"

"Tell me if you can sense someone following me, alright?"

"'Kay."

Raum's demeanor made Nash sigh. They rarely interact with each other, but it's a good thing that they are on better terms, unlike before on Earth when her aunt and uncle are trying to help Nash to control Raum.

It took almost an hour to arrive at their inn.

She was surprised to see all six of the members seated on the couch and on the floor when she entered the inn, looking at her.

"It's already midnight, why aren't you asleep?" Nash asked while walking to the kitchen to drink some water and eat a snack.

"It's already midnight, why aren't you home yet?" Aidan asked back and sat in front of Nash's chair.

"I completed 8 hours of training. Grin informed me that you trained for 8 hours. I don't want to be left alone on the ground anymore. It makes me feel a little uneasy, fortunately, Marais and the others are there to train with me, but they went back early, so I trained by myself again," she added before eating as the others watched.

"I'm tired. Goodnight," Kane said, then headed back to his room.

Nash took a look at them. "Aren't you tired? Go! I'll switch off the lights. I've already locked all the doors that need to be locked. Don't worry, I'm a responsible person."

"All of you, sleep. We're early tomorrow" They followed Yjhan and went to their rooms to sleep. Aidan looked back before leaving the kitchen.

Nash smiled and wave, "goodnight"

Nash was the only one left in the first floor of their inn. She finished her food and washed the dishes, but she stayed alone in the kitchen.

"Haa... I guess I shouldn't have said that I trained alone. They're all looking at me sympathetically."

"You do look sympathetic," Raum said, teasing.

"Shut up,"

"I'm just trying to comfort you,"

"Wow, how kind of you," Nash said sarcastically.

"Earlier you were just flirting with that guy named Ren with a pleasant look, and now you appear unpleasant."

"Huh? I'm not flirting with him at all. He's a perverted guy. Also, why are you meddling with my life?"

"Our life. We're one, remember?"

"Tsk. You're very talkative today, don't you have friends in your realm?"

"I don't care about them."

"How harsh. Anyways, I want to ask something. I just thought of it just now. Do you have a human form?"

"I don't,"

"I see... here I thought you're a handsome demon. Wait, are you even a guy demon or a girl demon?"

"I'm a man, obviously."

"Okay, nevermind that. Then can you step out of my body?"

"Yes, in my demon form."

"Really!? Do it!" Nash gets excited about it. He obviously has no knowledge about demons. She only learnt how to control it.

'I prefer not.'

"Ehh? Why?" Nash pouted.

"Your members are all stronger than you think. And since you can't fully use me because of Ivelisse's seal, I can't go out."

"Then I will remove the seal."

"No! You're truly an idiot, aren't you?! If you remove that seal, my strong presence will be detected. You'll be tracked."

"Then what should I do to free you?"

"If a portal were to open or train to control me. Ask Roven. He knows how to control a demon's form. He knows our history and such, but there is one thing he doesn't know... hihihi."

"What is it?" Nash became curious.

"I'll think about whether or not to tell you."

"Tsk"

"For the time being, it's best to train me. I'm stiff from being imprisoned here, you know! I've been straining inside you for the past 16 years."

"I'm scared you might get out of control"

"You moron! It is up to you to keep me under control, especially since you don't know how to utilize me yet. And because you don't know how to handle my power, if your emotions get out of hand, you'll use it thinking I should murder them. So it's obviously your fault."

"How come you're so willing to let me use you? Is something going to happen? My instincts are right, right?"

Raum didn't answer.

"Hey"

No matter how many times Nash called Raum, he never answered.

She sighed. "I guess I should sleep now."