Should she just use the knife she brought?

As she hesitated, Hildebert answered for her.

“Let’s start with the basics.”

He nodded toward the jackknife at her waist.

“Let’s begin with that length. It’ll be what you’re most familiar with right now.”

Nana swallowed and nodded.

Hildebert spoke casually.

“No need to worry. Today, we’re really just looking at the fundamentals.”

That was a relief.

“Take it out and draw a line from top to bottom.”

She didn’t question it.

Instead, she nodded and focused.

A line formed by the blade.

Nana traced a line through the air with her knife.

Whoosh—

“Nice.”

Hildebert smiled faintly.

“You’ve got the basics. You know how to gather your strength.”

“Thank you....”

Nana’s voice came out small.

But before she could even process the praise, Hildebert suddenly produced another blade from somewhere.

“Now try it with this.”

It was a bit longer than her jackknife.

Carefully, Nana accepted the machete-length blade from him.

Then she made the same motion again.

The balance was different, so it felt different—but once again, the blade sliced cleanly through the air.

“Lastly, this.”

Without much explanation, Hildebert held out another sword.

Nana took the longsword he offered.

It was slightly shorter than his.

And much lighter—probably one of the training swords provided by Black Badger HQ.

The blade rose smooth and clean.

“Go ahead.”

As Nana gripped it and tried to gauge its balance, Hildebert spoke calmly.

Whoom—

Ah.

I messed up at the end!

Nana realized it instantly.

If she had to make an excuse, she hadn’t adjusted to the new balance quickly enough.

If she tried a few more times—

“You’re good.”

Hildebert’s voice made her look up in surprise.

“That’s the face of someone who noticed their mistake right away.”

“Yes.”

Nana muttered, embarrassed.

“At the end, I—”

“Noticing it is already excellent.”

Hildebert didn’t seem stingy with praise.

“You’re not even a longsword user, and you still did this well. That’s impressive.”

Nana slowly straightened up.

Was he being generous because he knew she lacked confidence?

Either way, that hadn’t been her best.

She wanted to try again.

“Um, one more time—”

“That’s enough.”

Hildebert cut her off—not cold, but firm.

Nana almost felt hurt.

But she forced herself not to overreact. Hildebert was already bending down, pulling something out of the bag he had brought.

“I’ve got the basics down. Now let’s try this.”

The senior suddenly strode across the training room and dragged over a bench from the wall.

He placed it in front of Nana, then set an apple right in the center.

Did he bring that on purpose?

“The difficulty jumps a bit here.”

Hildebert smiled at her.

“This time, try cutting this.”

“What direction?”

Nana asked immediately.

Hildebert answered just as quickly.

“However you want.”

“Do I need to keep the bench intact?”

“Doesn’t matter. Just don’t touch anything except the apple.”

He stepped back two paces.

“You don’t need to aim for a clean half either. I just want to see your current level.”

The moment he finished speaking, Nana moved.

This time, she swung horizontally.

From right to left.

Slice!

The apple split cleanly in half and flew into the air.

Hildebert casually caught one of the halves midair.

“Haha.”

He laughed softly.

“You’re really good.”

Heat rushed to Nana’s face.

She held the sword with both hands and pressed her lips together, watching as Hildebert bit into one half of the apple and walked over to pick up the other.

Thank goodness it cut in one go.

She steadied her racing heart.

When she swung, she hadn’t thought much.

But now that it was done, she realized it hadn’t been easy at all. If she hadn’t swung fast and hard enough, the apple would’ve just flown away intact.

If the blade hadn’t been sharp, that would’ve been so embarrassing.

Clutching the sword, Nana glanced at Hildebert’s profile.

He bent down to pick up the apple—

...Huh?

“Hilde?”

Jack called out to him.

“What’s wrong?”

Hildebert had gone still, staring at something.

His golden eyes were slightly widened, as if he had seen something astonishing. His gaze was fixed in one spot, unmoving.

But the strange thing was—

There was nothing there.

“...Nothing.”

Just an empty wall and open space.

As Nana tilted her head in confusion, Hildebert straightened up and took the apple from his mouth into his hand.

Then he turned back to them as if nothing had happened and took a large bite.

“Sorry.”

After swallowing, he spoke.

“Let’s continue.”

“Are you feeling unwell?”

Jack asked.

“Just answer that.”

“Not at all.”

Hildebert looked at him.

Nana stared at him, watching as he gave Jack a faint, almost bitter smile.

Why did that smile look a little sad?

“That’s really not it, so don’t worry.”

Jack didn’t press further.

He simply nodded.

The second-generation senior and Luke also said nothing after witnessing Hildebert’s strange behavior. Luke looked puzzled, but he wasn’t the type to ask many questions.

And the second-generation senior—

He didn’t look puzzled at all.

Ricardo was watching Hildebert with narrowed eyes.

There was no confusion in that gaze.

What was that?

“Nana.”

Before she could think further, Hildebert called her.

“Y-yes!”

“Let’s try going one level higher.”

He smiled at her—a completely different smile from the one he had shown Jack.

Nana blinked, startled by the sudden shift in his mood.

Huh?

Why does he seem... more excited than before?

“I think you can handle this much.”

“...Y-yes!”

She stammered.

“I’ll do my best!”

He grinned.

As she blinked at that bright smile, Hildebert tossed the remaining apple half into his mouth and bent down again.

Chewing, he pulled something else out of his duffel bag.

...An octopus plush?

She hadn’t seen wrong.

It really was a cute octopus plush with multiple short legs.

The yellow-eyed senior placed it on the bench.

Then he looked down at it, picked it up again, and flipped it over.

“This side works better.”

The smiling octopus instantly turned into an angry one.

After setting it down again, Hildebert looked at Nana and smiled.

“Same rules as before.”

The angry octopus seemed to glare at her.

“Just don’t grab it—try cutting it.”

Nana looked at Hildebert.

For a while, she just stared blankly.

...She really appreciated that he thought well of her.

She was genuinely happy he was teaching her swordsmanship. She wanted to learn from him more than anything. She knew she could never reach his level—but even a quarter of it would be enough.

But this—

“...Senior.”

“You’re not even going to try?”

You can’t cut something like that without holding it.

The apple had already been borderline. There was no way she could cut a soft plush without stabilizing it.

But she couldn’t say that.

Because Hildebert looked straight into her eyes, as if he already knew what she was about to say.

Nana straightened instinctively.

“I’ll do it.”

She answered.

I have to cut it.

Then immediately—

I’ll find a way.

She raised her sword.

CLANG!

“Ah!”

The bench split in two.

The moment she brought the blade down from above without holding back, the bench beneath the plush was cleanly severed.

“I’m sorry!”

The bench— 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

I broke the bench!

I should’ve controlled my strength at the end!

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...! I’ll pay for it—I'll cover the damage—!”

“It’s fine, Nana. You did well. Since you did well, calm down and stay right there.”

“But the bench is cut in—”

“No one cares about that, so there’s no need to be so scared~.”

A relaxed voice cut in.

Nana jerked her head up.

Ricardo Sordi was watching her with a slight curl to his lips.

“You’re not the only one who’s broken something at HQ~. Breaking a training room bench isn’t even worth reporting~.”

“...Is that so?”

“Even veteran Badgers who’ve mastered control break training equipment all the time~.”

The second-generation senior let out a small scoff, speaking cynically.

“As long as it’s cleaned up, it’s fine....”

...I see.

That was a relief.

Was it?

Nana stood there, confused.

I guess it is?

At least it didn’t ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) seem like a huge problem.

She probably still had to report it, but thanks to the sky-high senior’s words, she managed to regain some composure.

She bowed politely.

“Thank you.”

Ricardo Sordi waved it off without replying.

Half wanting to cry and half relieved, Nana turned back to Hildebert.

And saw him picking up the plush from the middle of the severed bench.

The octopus plush she had been supposed to cut—

Its head was slightly torn.

Just slightly.

“Ah....”

Nana went blank the moment she saw it.

“I couldn’t cut it at all....”

She hadn’t even thought about controlling her strength.

She had swung with everything she had, determined to slice it—

And yet, despite that resolve, only a tiny tear marked the plush.

The blade hadn’t even reached between its eyes.

Just a small rip on the forehead...

“I really used all my strength....”

Facing the wall, Nana slumped in despair.

She stared blankly at the angry octopus plush with a bit of stuffing poking out.

“How did I not even reach the eyes....”

“Hahahaha!”

Hildebert suddenly burst out laughing.

Nana jumped in shock.

She looked up with wide eyes at the senior, who was bent over, shoulders shaking as he laughed.

Too scared to move, she stood there while the greatest swordsman on Earth struggled to regain composure.

Only after a while did Hildebert exhale deeply and lift his head.

Still smiling, he looked at her.

“You did more than well enough.”

Then, with a longer smile, he added:

“Take a short break. I’ve seen enough of your current swordsmanship—this is where we end today.”

Nana Dol didn’t understand anything that had just happened.

But at the word break, she nodded vigorously and hurried back to her peers.

***

“...That actually fits my style better.”

That was what Kyle said as he watched Nana head off to rest.

I smiled faintly and quietly pressed my clenched fist behind the plush I was holding.

Then, at an angle visible only to Kyle behind me—and not to the juniors—I raised my middle finger.

Like hell I’d let you steal my student.

Kyle saw it and scoffed.