Chapter 159: Interlude — Try Calling Me Big Sister

A silver flash, like moonlight itself, tore across the air, barely traceable to the naked eye. What began as a single streak split into two, then four, and then dozens in the blink of an eye. They weren’t mere illusions designed to confuse. Each strike carried enough power to rip even steel apart like paper.

I clicked my tongue at the dazzling storm of silver. This was another new technique I had never seen before. I didn’t know what had changed within Yurina, but ever since she revealed her true identity to our companions over summer break, her swordsmanship had been climbing at a frightening pace. Even I was struggling to keep up with her now.

Ashen flame clashed with silver light, colliding in midair. Fending off dozens of strikes at once was no easy task. However, I wasn’t sitting back and doing nothing either. I executed Ashen Flame Style First Form—Modified: Ash Severance Chain. My blade, wreathed in ashen flame, unleashed a storm of rapid slashes, scattering the silver flashes into sparks. The impact shook the entire training ground.

I turned back to Yurina. “You’ve come a long way.”

“It’s not over yet!” Yurina adjusted her grip and swung again, fiercely shouting, “

Haaaap

!”

The soul stigmata etched into the left side of her chest flared. Silver aura erupted around her sword, spilling out in a violent surge. Her sword split the air, birthing a single flash that split again, and again, until dozens filled the training ground. I thought it was the same technique as before, so I raised my blade to counter it. However, it was not dozens, but hundreds.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I muttered.

Even the enormous training ground, too spacious for a single person, was now filled wall-to-wall with silver sword energy. The hundreds of blades of light drifted in circles like moons orbiting in the night sky.

What the hell is this?

Just like that technique I saw at the ruins, this too was something that even Yuren had never shown me in my past life.

Yurina’s face twisted. “

Urgh!

”

The strain was heavy for her. Still, she bit her lip hard, lifting her sword high. “Sun Sword Style Eighth Form.”

Eighth? Did she say the eighth form?

I gave a hollow laugh. The eighth and ninth forms of the Sun Sword Style were something that Yuren had mastered only years after joining my party in my past life. Back then, it was ten years after we had both graduated. In other words, Yurina was trying to leap ten years, maybe more, ahead of schedule. The even worse part was that the technique she unleashed bore no resemblance to the Sun Sword Style Eighth Form I knew.

“Moon... light!” she said.

The hundreds of silver blades circling in the air suddenly fired at me. But they weren’t just arrows shot in straight lines. Each slash carried the essence and mastery of the Sun Sword Style itself. For a split second, it felt like I was facing hundreds of Yurinas at once, and a cold shiver ran down my spine. It looked impossible to block.

The storm of sword energy tore into me. If there was a saving grace, it was that despite how terrifying it looked, each individual strike wasn’t overwhelmingly strong. But that didn’t mean they were weak. Their sheer number alone flung me across the training ground.

“

Ghhk!

Cough!”

Red sirens flashed across the training ground, alarms blaring.

Yurina came running toward me in a panic. “D-Dale! Are you okay?”

“

Ghh!

Yeah, I’m fine.”

It was a lie. Truthfully, for a second, I had thought my Blessing of Resurrection would trigger.

Yurina stomped anxiously in place, not knowing what to do. “S-sorry! I thought you’d be able to handle it easily... W-wait! I’ll go get Iris right away!”

“No, don’t... call her.”

If Iris saw this, she would definitely scold me to death.

“Are you really okay?” Yurina asked.

“Yeah. I just need to rest a bit.” I staggered up and collapsed onto the bench in the corner of the training ground. Leaning back against the wall, catching my breath, I asked, “So, when did you pick up a technique like that?”

Yurina gave an awkward, embarrassed smile. “

Ah!

I’ve been practicing the Sun Sword Style’s Eighth Form recently.”

“Is that so?”

What I had just seen was nothing like the Eighth Form I knew.

She continued, “Originally, the Eighth Form was a move called Solar Wave. But I reinterpreted it differently and created something new.”

It was as I expected. It was no wonder that the move felt completely different. Yurina had invented her own variation.

“You changed the name to Moonlight too?” I asked.

“Y-yeah. It just felt easier to think of it with the image of the moon.” Yurina lowered her head, looking hesitant. “Was that... arrogant of me?”

“

Hm

? What do you mean?”

“Well, I mean, I basically took the swordsmanship created by our ancestor, the Knight of the Sun Reynald, and rewrote it however I wanted.”

“Well, that’s...”

Her hesitation was expected. For Yurina, who was born and raised in the Helios family, Reynald’s swordsmanship was akin to a religion. To alter that swordsmanship and wield it differently was no different than a priest rewriting the sacred scriptures with his own interpretation. In other words, it was the kind of forbidden act you would expect from so-called heretics.

“I don’t really think that’s a problem,” I replied.

Moonlight spilled across Yurina’s face, brightening her expression. “R-really?”

“No matter how great a sword style is, it doesn’t mean it’s the best for everyone.”

Just as I had created the Ashen Flame Style, she, too, was carving out a path that suited her best.

I looked at her. “Maybe you should go as far as changing the name, too. Instead of Sun Sword Style, why not Moonlight Sword Style or something like that?”

Yurina gently shook her head. “No. I don’t want to do that. Like it or not, my roots lie in the Sun Sword Style. I don’t want to deny that.”

She recalled the days when she had first learned the Sun Sword Style under Yuren, a faint smile touching her lips. Even if it had all ended in tragedy, she couldn’t bring herself to erase the moments of happiness she once held.

“By the way, Dale, you weren’t fighting me at full strength, were you?”

“

Hm

? No, I was. I gave it my all.”

“Liar. You didn’t even release any smoke from your body. The flames didn’t ignite either.”

“That’s...”

Was she talking about Ignition and Blazing Fire? Well, it’s true I didn’t go that far. However, aside from those two skills, I had fought her with everything I had. And I still lost miserably.

I swallowed a bitter laugh as I looked at Yurina. Yes, Ignition and Blazing Fire were my greatest weapons, but considering how long I had been holding a sword, it didn’t make sense that I was losing to her in pure technique.

I had poured thousands of years into mastering the sword, and she was catching up to me in just half a year? Her growth lately was so staggering that even I, who knew Yuren in my past life, was astonished.

Yet despite her growth, she sounded restless, as if unsatisfied. “Do you think a day will come when I can catch up to you, Dale?”

“You’ve already caught up, if you ask me.”

“But I’m still not strong enough to protect you, am I?” She ran her fingers over the hilt of her sword and continued, “I want to be strong enough to protect you.”

“Well, there’s no need to rush. You’re already doing really well.”

“Really? Am I doing well?”

“Yeah.”

Yurina’s cheeks flushed as she tugged at my collar. “Then...”

I didn’t need words to know what she wanted. I slowly reached out and gently stroked her hair.

She beamed with a bashful smile. “Hehe.”

As I continued this now-familiar routine of patting her head, a notification rang.

Beep.

[Cadet Iris, access rights confirmed.]

With a chime like crystal bells, the training ground’s doors slid open.

Iris narrowed her eyes at the sight of me patting Yurina’s head. “There you go again. Honestly, Yurina, you’ve got such a peculiar taste.”

Yurina’s face turned red as she stumbled back in a panic. “N-no! This isn’t what it looks like!”

Iris gave a soft, amused laugh. “Relax. It’s not like this is new.”

Yurina tilted her head, puzzled by Iris’s oddly calm attitude.

“I brought lunch. Eat before you continue,” Iris added.

“

Ah

, thanks.”

Iris narrowed her eyes as she studied me carefully. “You’re injured, aren’t you?”

“This? It’ll heal quickly if I just leave it.”

“Even so, you should treat it. Let me see.”

She placed her hand over the training wound and murmured a short incantation. A faint light flowed from her hand, seeping into the injury. In the blink of an eye, the bleeding stopped and the wound closed.

“Thanks.”

She brushed her fingers lightly over the now-healed spot and smiled warmly. “No need. It was nothing.”

Yurina narrowed her eyes as she watched us. “Something happened between you two, didn’t it?”

Call it a woman’s intuition, but she could sense that the air between us had shifted.

Iris turned to Yurina, lips curling into a sly smile. “

Ah

, it’s nothing serious. Dale and I decided to start dating recently.”

“What?”

“You could say I’ve accepted all of him. That’s all.”

Yurina’s eyes went wide. “W-wait! Then what about me?”

“You still haven’t answered Dale’s confession, have you?”

“

Ugh

! That’s, that’s not fair!” Biting her lip, Yurina stormed toward me, closing the distance in long strides. “Dale! You’re not planning to just leave me behind, are you?”

“Well...”

She grabbed my collar and said in a trembling voice, “You said you liked me too!”

It was my own doing, but guilt welled up inside me, pressing heavily against my chest. I could only nod silently instead of answering. Apparently, that was enough.

Her expression softening, she let out a sigh of relief and turned to Iris. “We’re the same now, right?”

“

Heh

. Not exactly,” Iris replied.

“What?”

“I was just a little faster, that’s all. And besides...” Crossing her arms, Iris looked Yurina squarely in the eye. “You said you’re actually Yuren’s younger sister, didn’t you?”

“So what if I am?”

“Then aren’t you younger than me?”

Yurina was speechless. Indeed, she was the same age as the new first-year cadets just entering the hero academy.

After a moment, Yurina replied, “Y-you’re really going to bring age into this now?”

“Of course. Age matters a lot in relationships. There’s even that old Republican saying: Respect your elders, isn’t there?”

“

Urgh!

”

Iris smirked like a victor and gently stroked Yurina’s cheek. “

Hmmm

. In that case, Yurina. Why don’t you try calling me big sister?”

Yurina’s expression instantly crumpled in frustration.