Eris stood frozen for a long moment before snapping back to herself, irritation flashing in her eyes as she looked up at Ghislaine.
Because she felt like she was being treated like a child.
But what met her eyes—
Ghislaine's expression was still as serious as ever, eyes slightly narrowed as she looked into the distance at the group of four conversing.
Her face was stern and cold.
It reminded Eris of Ghislaine's strict demeanor during sword lessons.
Ghislaine's cold, sharp voice rang out once more.
Still the same sentence.
"Allen is strong."
She lowered her gaze to Eris' face. After years of being together, Ghislaine knew exactly why Eris was reacting this way.
"Eris, in your heart, do you feel…"
She paused, choosing her words carefully.
"…disillusioned? Is that why you can't accept this?"
Eris raised an eyebrow.
"Hah? Disillusioned? What do you mean?"
"You think Allen is very strong, but his performance just now didn't match your expectations, so you're angry, right?"
Surprisingly, the young lady was speechless. Her face flushed red as she tried to refute it, but Ghislaine's stern gaze left her tongue-tied.
The latter, seeing Eris' expression, answered her unspoken question.
"Allen is strong. You can keep believing that."
Eris breathed a little easier, but then Ghislaine continued.
"His fundamentals are solid, and he has a unique understanding of the Sword God Style. That's why he can use the Silent Blade (Muon no Tachi) in a way that's entirely his own. I admire that. I understand how you feel."
"But when he used the Silent Blade just now, something puzzled me. With his swordsmanship talent, even if his teacher was Paul, his Silent Blade should be near-perfect. But it wasn't."
"His technique still has room to grow—especially in speed. He's not fast enough yet."
"That surprised me. I didn't expect it."
"But at that moment, there was someone else who was just as surprised."
"Do you know who?"
Eris furrowed her brows, looking at Ghislaine.
"Hah? Who?"
Ghislaine interrupted her again.
"Allen himself."
"Why was he surprised?"
"Because he hadn't realized that his Silent Blade had become slower either."
"As for the reason… I tested it during our spar. Sure enough—"
"He still tried to intercept my strike with his usual Silent Blade habit, but he failed and had to hurriedly switch to a Water God Style block. That's when my sword wind knocked him away."
"It's not that he hadn't mastered the Silent Blade, but that his blade had slowed—just in these past few days. And from the look of it, he hadn't even realized it himself."
Eris was stunned, trying to process all this. She asked without thinking—
"His blade slowed down?"
Ghislaine looked down at Eris.
"I had planned to wait until you reached Advanced level to talk about this, but this is a good opportunity. Maybe it'll help push you further in Sword God Style."
With that, Ghislaine changed the topic completely.
"Do you think swordsmanship can stagnate—or even regress?"
Eris, like a little lion, frowned fiercely.
"Of course it can! Didn't you always have me practice shadow swings? Like you said, what was it again? Right! A swordsman must train without rest! If I stopped training, I'd definitely regress!"
Ghislaine nodded.
"Then do you think Sword God Style's ultimate techniques—the Silent Blade, or the Light Blade (Hikari no Tachi)—can regress too?"
Eris hesitated. She wanted to instinctively say no—after all, those kinds of ultimate techniques, once learned, were learned. How could they regress?
But then Ghislaine's earlier words came rushing back.
"It's not that he hadn't mastered the Silent Blade. His blade had simply slowed."
She looked up, shocked.
"You mean Allen's Silent Blade regressed?!"
Ghislaine nodded and tried to simplify her explanation.
"Yes. And the reason for that regression points to the very core of advancement in Sword God Style—desire, or rather, obsession."
"Desire? Obsession?"
Ghislaine ran a hand along her sword sheath.
"Swordsmen of the Sword God Style—if they can no longer burn with desire, at best they stagnate. At worst, they regress."
"Just like Allen now."
"I don't understand! But—what should we do?!"
"You don't need to understand just yet, Eris. At your stage, this is still far away from you. You just need to watch."
"Just watch?"
Ghislaine looked at Allen in the distance, now chatting calmly with Sylphy, Rudy, and Hilda.
A faint smile tugged at her lips.
"Yes, just watch. I don't know when Allen will reignite that desire—but without a doubt…"
"He will rise again."
"And then, he'll swing a blade even sharper than before."
"When that time comes, what you see will no longer be the Silent Blade."
"It will be—"
"The Light Blade."
Eris' eyes widened, staring at Ghislaine.
The latter's smile only deepened.
At this moment—
While Rudy, Sylphy, Eris, and Hilda each found themselves lost in their own tangled thoughts…
The one who had the most confidence in Allen was not his yet-unrecognized mother, clouded by emotions—
Nor the friend whose life he saved—
Nor the lover who had yet to confess her feelings—
Nor the younger girl who now admired him deeply—
It was Ghislaine.
The one 'observer' who saw it all clearly.
Because she was objective enough. Because she had investigated Allen's talent in detail, knew him well, and because she herself had stood at the gates of the Light Blade for years—had even seen her own Silent Blade rise and fall just like Allen's now.
She understood Allen.
She believed in him.
Ghislaine flicked a finger against her sword sheath.
A resonant hum rang out.
Snapping Eris from her daze.
"Eris, do you know how many years it took me to reach the Light Blade and become a Sword Saint?"
Eris shook her head.
"One year!"
Ghislaine gave a bitter laugh and replied—
"Five years. So tell me, how long do you think Allen will need to reach that threshold and become a Sword Saint?"
Eris crossed her arms and thought for a while.
"If it's Allen… then just like you—five…"
She paused, remembering how Allen had been sent flying with one strike earlier.
Then faltered and said,
"Seven… seven years? Ghislaine, what do you think?"
Ghislaine patted Eris' head and smiled helplessly.
"I don't know. But—"
"Eris, you can watch. See for yourself how long it takes him to strike the Light Blade."
Eris pressed her lips together, looking toward Allen again. The light returned to her eyes.
"Mm!"
The two of them stood in silence for a moment.
"…Um, about that—desire and obsession. What do they mean? I don't get it!"
Ghislaine looked down at Eris, who was now fiercely staring at Allen, focused and serious.
She let out a soft laugh.
Then looked toward Allen in the distance.
Then back at Eris beside her.
And said—
"The day the Light Blade shines…"
"…will be the day your own desire ignites."
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][www.p@treon.com/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]