Arriving at the open training area, Remy took out one of the blunt-bladed practice swords from somewhere.
"I hope you haven't forgotten that you are going to have a duel with a Family Knight, and even if you successfully pass it, you will still be in danger of the Great Wasteland?"
"Of course."
That was what I wanted.
With a satisfied nod of her head, she handed Finlay the sword.
"Swing it."
"And no instructions?"
"Just do it, brother. First of all, I need to evaluate your skills."
"Okay."
He took the sword from her hands without question. To his surprise, it fit quite well in his hands.
In truth, with his personality right now, there was no one here who could appreciate it better than his sister.
Of course, neither she nor he expected much. You could only tell by their eyes.
As someone who had never received proper training, be it martial arts or magic, Finlay didn't possess much.
So, without feeling any pressure, he just did it.
Whoosh!
A blunt sword sliced through the night air in front of him, reflecting the light of the moon.
'It was easier than I thought.'
Whoosh! Whoosh!
He repeated the same thing a couple more times before Remy stopped him.
"Enough... that's enough."
Perhaps it was his imagination? She looked genuinely shocked.
Even now her pupils trembled unnaturally.
'Wait… Don't tell me that it was 'I Was an Unrecognized Bastard in the Swordsman Family, But I Was Actually a Hidden Sword Genius!' plot development?'
...And why does that sound like the title of another martial arts novel?
He turned his full attention to the only one who could resolve his doubts right now – his little sister.
Remy covered her face with her hand.
"Well…First of all ... why are you holding the sword like a stick?"
Her eye twitched.
"And what about this stand... forget it, I didn't say anything."
'I guess I was wrong. My hidden talent was probably still dormant.'
But it can't be that bad, can it?
'I mean, a sword is a bit like a stick, isn't it? In shape, length, and... you get the idea.'
"Ugh, nevermind. What I was going to teach you didn't require it anyway."
Remy took out another blunt iron sword from somewhere and used it as a stick to draw three signs on the stone floor.
"I'm going to teach you the Three Principles of Unity."
It sounded very... basic.
"To begin with, do you know about the Three Entities?"
"Heart, Body, and Soul?"
He answered with some hesitation, and Remy nodded.
"That's right."
She pointed at each of the signs in turn.
They were clumsy enough to be hard to read, but it was inscribed on a hard stone slab, so it was a sin to complain.
"The Heart conducts our Aura, the Soul stores our Soul Flame, and the Body is responsible for our movements."
Illustrating her words, she covered her blade with a calm platinum aura, which turned into a violent flame a moment later before she made a simple swing with it.
"The Aura reflects our emotions, the Soul Flame reflects our inner self, and the Body reflects our outer self."
'Could I be doing something like this right now?'
Mesmerized by this manifestation of the fantasy world, he secretly tried to repeat it, but failed.
It's a good thing it was done secretly.
"These Three Entities make up ourselves and what we call power."
He nodded to himself. That was about what Finlay had heard.
Although he wasn't well-loved enough to give him martial arts lessons, it was something so famous in this world that it was strange if he didn't know.
"So the Three Principles of Unity are based on these Three Entities?"
"Yes."
He gave her a look that said 'Isn't this too basic?'. She frowned.
"...You want to cut the heavens with a stick?"
"Yes?"
"...Aghh, just forget it."
'I guess the basics were important.'
With that, his training began.
To his surprise, they put the sword aside and sat down on the stone floor opposite each other, as if they were about to start their academic studies.
"Aren't you going to teach me the sword?"
Finlay expressed his bewilderment.
'Of course, I've heard that sometimes a pen is stronger than a sword, but that's too much, isn't it?'
"I am. Right now, just listen and remember. I will only recite the Three Principles of Unity mantra for you once, so remember this."
When he was ready, she started.
"I am whole—Body strong, Heart open, Soul free. In harmony, I rise. In unity, I thrive. In balance, I embrace…"
It really wasn't long. A few minutes later, she was done.
"Ugh... Can you say that again?"
Of course, even if he were a genius, memorizing all of this the first time was impossible. And he wasn't a genius.
"...Okay. From when?"
"Something about embrace..."
"…In harmony, I rise. In unity, I thrive. In balance, I embrace…"
***
"Hmm... I think I've figured it out."
Thoughtfully, Finlay nodded his head.
"So can you repeat it once more...?"
"..."
Remy sighed, but repeated it.
***
After a while, he fully memorized this mantra.
By the time he did, he was feeling a noticeable mental fatigue in his head.
'When was the last time I memorized so much at once, not counting my university exams?'
Rubbing his temples, Finlay couldn't help but ask the question that had been gnawing at him all along.
"That's pretty poetic and all that stuff… but how's that going to help me in actual combat?"
Not that his enemy would be willing to give up on a couple of pretty lines from his lips. Though if it was a woman, with his face….
"What happened to your face?"
…?
"You smirked so silly. Gross."
Shaking her head, Remy returned to the subject.
"How does this help in combat? Nothing. It wasn't really necessary to memorize it."
"…What?"
Say that again?
"But if you don't want to suffer future deviations or, worse, demonification caused by incorrect techniques, you should know this. Not to mention, just memorizing the mantra alone will give you some understanding of martial arts in your mind."
At her sensible words, Finlay exhaled.
'Okay, that made sense. I was almost ready to believe that my little sister had sadistic tendencies.'
"Get up now."
Rising from the stone floor, she picked up the blunt sword that they had discarded earlier and turned to face him.
"Three natural Entities create three movements of the Unity technique. In fact, they are simple: a vertical slash, a horizontal slash, and a thrust."
Remy demonstrated this. Just like she said, it was just a vertical slash, a horizontal slash, and a thrust.
Of course, every move she made, despite its simplicity, contained a facet that he couldn't quite grasp yet.
"The vertical slash corresponds to the Soul, the horizontal slash corresponds to the Body, and the thrust corresponds to the Heart. Therefore, they are commonly called: Soul Annihilation, Body Rampage and Heart Distraction."
'...What colorful names for regular strikes.'
He couldn't help but chuckle, wondering if this world had any taste for fancy names.
"Ideally, we are talking about a perfect balance of the Three Entities through the Principle of Unity, which will allow you to step over the edge and ascend... but let's not talk about that now. Just swing the stick."
With that encouraging remark, Finlay continued to swing his blunt sword under her guidance throughout the night.
***
The night had passed, the starry sky was replaced by the rising sun, and the light of dawn christened the beginning of a new day.
Warm bright sunlight fell on his bed through the vintage window, prompting him to wake up.
Barely opening his eyes, Finlay looked around.
He didn't remember how he'd managed to get to his room... though maybe Remy had just brought him here.
'That was a mistake.'
Thinking back to last night, he couldn't help but think about it.
He didn't feel much different now than Finlay would in the future. His whole body ached the same way, and every muscle in his body stabbed, wanting to escape.
Still, the sun shining through the window kept him from sinking into these pessimistic thoughts.
Unable to shake off the remnants of sleep, Finly tried to get out of bed to get a drink of water. He reached for the nearest nightstand, but his whole body suddenly froze.
"Good morning, Young Lord~"
The pleasant rays of sunshine weren't the only thing in his room.
Among other things, there was a girl standing there.
With shiny silver hair, soft dark skin, and long, pointy ears.
'Dark Elf...?'
His drowsiness was completely gone.