"Caelan-sama, what a coincidence."
Kyros's mouth twitched.
He had just been relieved that he managed to stop Rebecca from meeting Caelan, but he didn't expect to run into him right around the corner.
Now, everything was ruined!
"Caelan-sama, when did you arrive?"
Kyros asked, his face full of awkwardness.
"I've been here since the very beginning."
Caelan looked at Kyros and smiled.
This guy was truly irritating.
He actually tried to stop a beautiful girl who admired him. Luckily, he discovered it early. Otherwise, he would have missed meeting Rebecca.
She was a fair and delicate girl with pink hair. Even though she wasn't wearing the "tight" armor that increases an opponent's attack speed, the fitted princess dress still showed her good figure.
In terms of appearance, she was exactly Caelan's type. The fact that she was related to Violet made him even more interested.
Caelan looked at Rebecca with open admiration in his eyes, and then sincerely invited her. "Rebecca, your swordsmanship is pretty good. Are you interested in following me?"
"But Father said I'm not strong enough and might cause you trouble."
Rebecca looked like she wanted to agree but couldn't, clearly conflicted.
She had been confident that with her strength as a swordswoman, she could be of help to Caelan.
But after her father's repeated words, she started to doubt herself.
"It won't be any trouble. I think you have great talent in swordsmanship, and I really want to give you some guidance."
"So, are you willing to learn swordsmanship from me?"
Caelan reached out and gently touched Rebecca's soft pink hair, finding it silky to the touch.
"I am willing, Caelan-sama!"
Rebecca was so excited that her face turned red as she agreed without hesitation.
She never expected that her talent would be acknowledged by Caelan.
This was her idol. She was so thrilled!
"Caelan-sama, you have so many important things to do. Wouldn't it be a waste of time to spend it teaching Rebecca?"
When Kyros saw Caelan's actions, his sense of crisis grew stronger.
The moment they met, he started taking liberties. This man has ulterior motives!
Men understand men best. It doesn't look like Caelan's intention is to teach his daughter swordsmanship. He's afraid that sooner or later he'll end up teaching her in bed.
"How could it be a waste of time?"
Caelan dismissed Kyros's comment and then said, looking into Rebecca's expectant eyes, "Just giving pointers during my own practice isn't a problem at all."
When he practiced before, he had also trained with Nami and the other girls, guiding them as well.
Now that the Nami group's strength had entered a slow-growth phase, they no longer needed constant guidance.
With his experience, teaching Rebecca would be easy.
"Thank you, Caelan-sama!"
Rebecca's eyes curved into crescents as she bowed to Caelan, a happy expression on her face to show her gratitude.
"Well then, since Caelan-sama doesn't mind my daughter, I'll leave Rebecca in your care."
Seeing this, Kyros felt helpless.
He didn't know what to do about his daughter who was so eager to offer herself!
But after all, she was still his daughter, so he had to make some effort.
After thinking for a moment, Kyros said to Rebecca seriously, "Since Caelan-sama wants to teach you swordsmanship, you must treat Caelan-sama as your Sensei, understand?"
"I understand, Father!"
Rebecca answered without hesitation.
It was only natural for her to respect Caelan as a Sensei since he was going to teach her swordsmanship.
Caelan immediately saw through Kyros's intentions.
This father clearly wanted to use the master-disciple relationship to restrict any further development between him and Rebecca.
But after seeing so many cases where disciples ended up going against their masters, he didn't care about this.
Instead, he became even more excited at the thought of his pink-haired female disciple.
Wouldn't this give him an attack speed buff?
"Don't worry. I'll teach Rebecca well."
Caelan patted Kyros on the shoulder and left with Rebecca.
Rebecca, you must take care of yourself and don't fall too early!
Kyros reached out as if wanting to say something but hesitated, and in the end, just watched the two leave.
---
Soon, Caelan brought Rebecca to his courtyard.
"Are you not confident in your own abilities?"
Caelan asked, rubbing his chin.
In fact, Rebecca's strength was quite good. She was already a swordswoman at a young age.
Compared to the current Zoro, there wasn't much difference.
"Yes, a little. I am far behind Caelan-sama."
Rebecca said, a little dejected.
"Are you comparing yourself to me? That's aiming a bit too high."
Caelan stroked Rebecca's long pink hair and said, "But with my guidance, I believe you'll improve quickly as long as you're obedient."
"I will be obedient. Please teach me strictly, Caelan-sama!"
Rebecca bowed deeply, inadvertently revealing her snow-white curves.
"You're very motivated. I acknowledge that!"
Caelan was momentarily stunned by the whiteness of her chest and acknowledged Rebecca's… strong determination.
"Then, our sword training will officially begin. I will teach you the Secret Sword, Swallow Return!"
Caelan looked into Rebecca's eyes seriously.
"The Secret Sword, Swallow Return?!"
Rebecca's face became serious, and she looked at Caelan excitedly.
"The Secret Sword, Swallow Return, allows a mortal to cut through a swallow in flight."
Caelan nodded and began to explain the origins of the technique.
"Cutting a swallow? That sounds kind of ordinary."
Rebecca commented somewhat cryptically.
In fact, for her, with her current swordsmanship, cutting a swallow wasn't very difficult.
"This is a great sword technique, one that can make someone worthy of being called a sword master. The key is not in cutting a swallow itself, but in allowing a mere mortal to be capable of cutting a swallow."
Caelan shook his head slightly, smiling.
In the world of pirates, many sword techniques indeed weren't that powerful.
But the concepts within them had real merit.
If the first stage of Swallow Return isn't enough, then there is still the seventh stage. It was enough to leave someone like Doflamingo so depressed that he locked himself away.
"A mortal cutting a swallow?"
Rebecca became even more confused.
How can an ordinary person cut a swallow?
Swallows fly high and fast, free spirits of the sky. She herself had learned flying slashes, so she could cut birds in the sky.
"Swallows are migratory birds that can sense air currents. When a mortal swings a sword, the swallow senses the change in air and changes direction."
"So, a single sword strike cannot kill a swallow. You need a second strike to block the path the swallow will take to dodge. But their reaction is so sharp that they may still dodge to the side even with the second strike. Therefore, there must be a third strike to block their sideways escape."
"One strike forces movement, one strike cuts, and one strike kills. When the Swallow Return is unleashed, three strikes are launched at different angles almost at the same time, leaving the swallow no way to escape and guaranteeing its death."
Caelan explained in detail.
It sounded simple, just three strikes.
But it was completely different in actual combat. The enemy, like the swallow, was constantly changing position.
Therefore, the directions of the three strikes must be adjusted on the spot, while still maintaining full speed and power, to deliver a fatal blow in an instant.
"Poor swallow."
Rebecca stuck out her tongue, lamenting the swallow's tragic fate.
What crime did the swallow commit to deserve such a terrifying technique?
Which sword master was so bored that they created such a move just to kill swallows?
"Fool. The swallows are pitiful, but your enemies are not."
Caelan flicked Rebecca on the forehead and scolded her with a smile.
"I understand, Sensei!"
Rebecca covered her forehead, looking pitiful.
If an enemy were to face such a move, they would definitely fall into despair.
In a daze, she imagined herself as a carefree swallow.
While flying freely in the sky, three flashes of sword light suddenly appeared.
Going forward meant death, retreating meant death, and turning sideways also meant death.
Death, death, death!
Trapped with no way out!
Rebecca was shocked by the killing intent behind the Swallow Return.
She couldn't help but feel excited. This kind of move was a supreme secret skill for any swordsman, one that would only be passed down at the final moment.
"Sensei, I want to learn this!"
Rebecca said excitedly, her eyes shining.
(To be continued.)
***
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