Training with the Private Corps
"Thank you for having us today."
“Th-thank you very much…”
Wearing my usual ninja-style training outfit, and Belle in the gear she apparently uses when taking on adventurer guild requests, the two of us arrived at the training grounds early in the morning to join the private corps for their drills. Over on the bench in the corner of the field sat Zoey, Sarah, Pearl, and Rosso perched atop her, all watching.
I thought Zoey would be joining too, but she gently declined, saying she was here today as a maid.
“Are you really going to join in, Joan? It’s pretty rough for girls, you know.”
Gan asked, sounding a little worried. The other junior members of the corps around him all nodded in agreement.
“I’ll be fine. Oh, and this is my best friend, Belle.”
“N-nice to meet you…”
“She’s a bit shy, but she’s registered with the Adventurer’s Guild in the Burst domain too.”
“Whoa, that’s impressive. You got registered too, right, Joan? What’s your rank now?”
That question came from Nat, who had already graduated from the junior corps and become a full-fledged member—he was acting as our instructor for the day.
“I passed the promotion exam before enrolling, so I’m Rank D.”
“““““HUUUUUH!? D-RANK!?”””””
“No way… That’s the same as me…”
Omi muttered in shock.
““““Ahahaha!””””
“Oh, by the way, Belle is also D-rank at the Burst Guild.”
“What?! The Burst Guild is second only to the Lampail Guild in terms of skill, isn’t it?”
That came from Martin.
“She’s so cute, too…”
Ryujis murmured, and Belle instantly turned bright red.
Belle is so adorable~~!!
She's completely red.
“Well, you both seem capable, so I guess you can do the same training menu. Alright, we’ll start with a warm-up: fifteen laps around the training field. After that, for those who finish, 150 push-ups, 150 leg-raises, three sets each, then 100 swings on both left and right.”
““““““Yes, sir!””””””
While keeping a steady pace running, Martin came up beside me and asked:
“Wait—come to think of it, where’s Gene?”
“Brother Gene went to the Adventurers’ Guild with Young Master Eric. We’re going later in the afternoon.”
“Seriously? Those guys… They could’ve invited me! I’d rather take a request than do drills!”
“What about Noel?”
Gan asked.
“Brother Noel is… still asleep.”
“Huh? That’s rare for him. Did he catch a cold?”
“Nope. Just a hangover. He had too many cocktails.”
“Whaaaat!? Are you serious? Geez… That’s what he gets for overworking himself with all those student council duties.”
“He overworked himself? Brother Noel?”
“Yeah. It was your first weekend since enrolling at the academy, right? He said he wanted to go home with you, so he pushed through all his work. He must’ve been exhausted, and the alcohol just hit harder.”
So that’s what happened…
Sorry for calling it “clingy drunk mode,” Brother Noel.
I’ll bring you some Aqua water later—it’s supposed to help with hangovers.
After flawlessly completing the warm-up with the junior members, Belle and I received lots of praise. Apparently, this year all the applicants for new recruits failed their entrance trials, so the corps was currently considering changing the test content. And as it turned out, today’s warm-up was the trial—they were thinking of revising it. But Nat said that thanks to us managing to complete it, they probably wouldn’t have to change it anymore.
After warming up, we moved into sparring drills—pair up and spar for five minutes, one-minute breaks, then rotate to a new partner for another five minutes. With six of us total, it was a round-robin format.
First up—Belle and me.
At first, we both held back, only lightly tapping each other with the practice swords. But Nat pointed out that it was meaningless if we didn’t take it seriously, so we upped the intensity. By the five-minute mark, both of us were lightly sweating.
We switched partners every five minutes, and before I knew it, it was the last round.
My final opponent was Martin.
“You’ve been holding up pretty well, Joan. Bet you’re getting tired, though.”
“Everyone fights so differently—I was barely managing to defend at first.”
“Ahaha, yeah. And there’s a big height difference too.”
“Right. But this has been a great experience. I noticed we’re all using the same kind of practice sword today, but in reality, everyone uses different weapons, right? Why not train with your own?”
“Good question. Sure, you’re more comfortable with your own gear. But what if you suddenly can’t use it? In a real fight, you might have to grab a stick off the ground to defend yourself, right? That’s what we’re preparing for. And if you drop your sword during sparring, that opens you up—so learning how to deal with those moments is important too.”
“I see… It’s about whether you can respond flexibly during combat.”
“Exactly. So, ready for the last round? Don’t hold back.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I am in Knight Course A, you know.”
From fourth year onward, elective courses are sorted by actual skill, not grades. For the magic course, it’s based on magic power and spell accuracy. For the knight course, it’s combat strength. For the civil course, it seems to be divided into merchant track, butler/maid track, and so on—not entirely sure how that one works.
Incidentally, Brother Noel is in Magic Course 8-A, and Brother Gene, Young Master Eric, and Martin are all in Knight Course 6-A.
“Alright, then… I won’t hold back.”
“Bring it.”
“Haaah!”
With a spirited shout, I charged at Martin and slashed—but he effortlessly deflected it. I reset my stance and struck again—again, he parried smoothly.
I tried a horizontal cut from the left, but Martin leapt back and avoided it.
“Tch…” I tried to reposition myself, but just as I did, he sliced upward from below—and my practice sword flew from my hands.
“Kh…! Not done yet!”
I shouted and charged at him again—unarmed.
What do you think about this chapter?
