The rescue request paper that arrived last night was placed neatly on the desk in the office. Kain Gardos didn't look at it. In the training grounds behind the old barracks——where weeds stretched through gaps in ancient stone pavement and secondhand wooden swords stacked at the edge were already damp with morning dew, the shabby courtyard of Blaze Force——twenty-three members had gathered. Different from yesterday. Yesterday, half of them were sleeping. Today, everyone came. Word had apparently spread that a rescue request from Hornberg Village had arrived, and their faces were slightly more tense than the day before. Kain Gardos stood in the middle of the training grounds holding a single wooden sword. In a worn jacket, he let out a yawn. "Lie on the ground." Silence. The members exchanged glances. No one moved. "[serious]On the ground. On your backs. Sword in hand." One person timidly raised their hand. A man in his mid-twenties from the back row. "Um... is this really sword training?" "[sarcastic]No. It's gymnastics. Show the bandits your gymnastics." "That's not what I meant..." Another voice rose. A slightly taller female member from the front row. Her voice had an edge to it. "Can someone with a background as an adventurer understand knight training? I heard Balmcrow is a well-organized armed force. Do you really think we can stand against them without proper Silver Lam-style training?" Several people nodded. The atmosphere became slightly prickly. Kain Gardos didn't respond. He simply adjusted his grip on the wooden sword in his hand. That was all. And without moving a single step——he swung. Just one stroke. Not a large motion. The wooden sword simply flowed horizontally. Crack. A dry, short sound. A crack appeared in the stone wall. On the wall's surface, a depth of one fist. With a wooden sword. A practice sword made of wood had cracked the stone wall. No one made a sound. The weeds in the training grounds swayed slowly in the wind. That was the only thing moving. Kain Gardos brought the wooden sword back to his side. "[cold]You want to try?" There was no response. But this time, it was a different kind of silence than before. "Lie on the ground. On your backs with sword in hand, learn the sensation of swinging up from your opponent's feet. When surrounded three-to-one, if you try to fight standing up, you die. Low position is the only way to survive." Everyone silently began lying down on the stone pavement. --- Less than an hour later, another problem arose. It was when Kain Gardos gave the next instruction. "I'll teach you how to escape. Use the terrain to turn it into one-on-one. Building corners, elevation changes, narrow alleys——use things like that to break down three-on-one into one-on-one." "[surprised]Wait a moment!" Water-colored hair stood on end as Valdo Irina cut in. Golden eyes looked straight at Kain Gardos. The same eyes as when she'd been doing practice swings all day yesterday, but now they were directed differently. "Training premised on escape has problems as knight training. And teaching real combat without having the basic stance and footwork down will create bad habits that can't be fixed later. First the half-body stance, the angle of the step-in, how to return the sword——we need to solidify the fundamentals first!" "[cold]Even with perfect fundamentals, you die if surrounded." "If you only teach real combat, the fundamentals will collapse!" "How many years until the fundamentals are complete enough not to collapse?" "That's exactly why we need to start right now!" The training grounds fell silent. Lying on the stone pavement, the members looked back and forth between the two of them. Unsure whether they should get up, no one moved for now. Kain Gardos and Valdo Irina faced each other in the middle of the training grounds. Neither would back down. Kain Gardos looked up at the ceiling——no, at the sky. It was overcast. Winter was approaching, with thin whitish clouds. "...I'm getting a sigh out of me." "Same here." Another silence. Kain Gardos scratched his head. "[sarcastic]Fine then. You in the morning, me in the afternoon. That work?" Valdo Irina's eyes went wide. "W-why are you agreeing so easily...?" "Both are right. Do it half and half." "That's not really the issue; as far as training order goes——well... that works." Her voice had become quite deflated by the end. One of the members still lying on the stone pavement whispered to the person next to them. "Somehow it just got decided, huh?" "The instructor really skipped over the discussion part, didn't he?" Kain Gardos turned back. "[angry]You still lying down? Get up." Everyone scrambled to their feet. --- The morning was run by Valdo Irina. Half-body stance. The angle of the step-in. How to place your weight when swinging the sword down. Valdo Irina's instructions were clear and efficient. She demonstrated herself. Her water-colored hair swayed, and the silver wing ornament on her left ear glinted with each movement. For members whose stance wavered, she silently stood beside them and corrected their arm angle. She apparently knew that hands worked faster than words. Noon came. The members huddled in a corner drinking water. Kain Gardos was alone at the edge of the training grounds, doing practice swings with the wooden sword. The habit of confirming his movements before afternoon's real combat training hadn't faded in twenty years. He didn't notice Valdo Irina approaching at first. "[gentle]Instructor. Please show me your hands." "Huh?" "Your hands. You've been gripping the wooden sword continuously, so you should have abrasions." Kain Gardos looked at his right hand. ——He did. New red lines overlapped old scars. Some skin had peeled from continuing the practice swings. He hadn't particularly minded it. "[sarcastic]This much is nothing." "It's not about whether it's nothing; if it gets infected, it'll be a problem." Valdo Irina had already pulled out a medicine pouch. Cloth and fabric soaked with herbal juice were somehow already prepared, though it was unclear where she'd been keeping them. "[sarcastic]...Never mind." "Please bear with me for a moment." Without waiting for a response, Valdo Irina took hold of Kain Gardos's wrist with both hands. Then she began wrapping the bandage. Her face was serious. Like she was continuing her work, with intensely focused eyes, she carefully checked each of his fingers, confirmed the location of the wounds, and wrapped the cloth around them. Kain Gardos didn't know where to look. He looked at the sky. He looked at the stone wall. He looked at his own feet. (She's close) Not really. There was an arm's length of distance. But because Valdo Irina was leaning forward in concentration, her water-colored hair entered his field of vision. "[sarcastic]...That's enough now." "Not yet." "I'm telling you it's done." "It's not done." She completely ignored him. One of the members drinking water looked over and froze. The member next to them nudged them. Their eyes met. Their gazes returned to Kain Gardos. "[laughing]Instructor, your face is red." Kain Gardos turned back. "[angry]Shut up! It's hot today!!" "It's cloudy though?" "[angry]Shut up!!" Valdo Irina looked up. "Do you have a fever?" She reached out to touch his forehead. "[serious]Don't come near me!!" Kain Gardos took a step back. Valdo Irina stopped, looking bewildered. The members burst out laughing. Three of them were holding their stomachs, one looked like they might spit out their water. Only Valdo Irina tilted her head, still confused. "What's so funny, everyone...?" No one answered. No one could answer. Kain Gardos looked at the finished bandage. It was wrapped more carefully than he'd expected. "...Let's eat lunch and then start again." He said it in a deliberately flat voice. --- The afternoon was run by Kain Gardos. Dealing with three-on-one. How to escape using terrain. How to face opponents one at a time in narrow alleys. How to cut off line of sight using building corners. It was all gritty. Not the kind of thing in the Silver Lam training manual——the wisdom an adventurer had learned over twenty years of surviving. The members were confused at first. It was different from knight stances. The posture looked bad. It was premised on escape. But because the morning's fundamental training with Valdo Irina had sunk into their bodies, the movements had form. When Kain Gardos's real combat instincts were layered on top of that form, something began to be born that hadn't existed with just the morning session. Evening came. Mock combat. Kain Gardos stood at the edge, arms crossed, watching. The movements had changed. Still rough. Awkward in places. But clearly different from this morning. They didn't panic when their stance wavered. A moment to recover had been born. When three tried to surround someone, they instinctively began using the gaps in formation. Not three-on-one, but the sense of doing one-on-one three times——still hazy, but beginning to sink into their bodies. Kain Gardos watched quietly. (Not bad) He thought it in his mind. He didn't say it aloud. The mock combat ended. The members gathered, breathing heavily. Covered in sweat and dirt, but their faces were brighter than this morning. Kain Gardos thought for a moment, then opened his mouth. "[sarcastic]Well, you've at least reached the level where you won't die." A moment of silence. Then everyone thrust their fists in the air. "We did it!!" "[laughing]Not dying is way too low a bar!" "Give us a little more praise!" Voices overlapped, laughter mixed in. Everyone's faces had smiles. The hollow eyes from yesterday were shining today. Kain Gardos looked at the edge of the training grounds, a little distance away. Valdo Irina was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, watching the members. Her usual serious face——but the corners of her mouth were slightly relaxed. She didn't seem to notice. That she was smiling. Kain Gardos looked away from there. Well, not bad. That was all he thought as he looked up at the sky. Dusk was beginning. The edges of the clouds were tinted a faint orange. The old barracks' stone wall reflected that color slightly. --- Night fell. The office had its light on. As Kain Gardos walked down the hallway, he found Valdo Irina talking with a messenger in front of the office. She took the paper, looked at their face, and nodded. The messenger left. Valdo Irina opened the seal and began reading. Kain Gardos tried to pass by but stopped. Valdo Irina's face had gone rigid. "What is it?" "Another message came from Hornberg Village." He entered the office. Under the lamp's light, documents were spread across the desk. Valdo Irina handed one to Kain Gardos while standing. Balmcrow had burned the village's food storage. The villagers were starving. They were calling for help. The plundering was clearly escalating. "We'll go. Starting tomorrow morning, I'll prepare for departure——" "Wait a moment." Kain Gardos picked up another sheet attached beneath the documents. Supplementary material delivered to Blaze Force through an informant in the royal capital Lusentia, it said. One page. Balmcrow's activity report. Number of members, confirmed equipment, activity range. Kain Gardos's eyes scanned it. And stopped at one line. ——'Regularity observed in Balmcrow's behavioral patterns. Tactical encirclement from three directions combined with luring bears similarity to royal knight corps training manual. Likely command by former military personnel.' His hand stopped. Encirclement from three directions combined with luring. In Kain Gardos's mind, something overlapped. A memory from twenty years ago. Silver Lam Fourth Company's exercises. The formation their commanding officer had favored. Making it look like open ground, then tig