His eyes closed, the man stood against the unabating winds, with feet placed firmly against the verdant blades that danced away. Digging through the grass slightly, his legs rotated from the place they stood at before hastily halting themselves. Unswerving in focus despite the erratically swaying hair of his, Lutiel’s erect stature remained unchanged as well.

  Placing his arms ahead of him and stretching them out halfway while bending the elbows, his hands tightened around the firm material. Unlike the nights he had spent on his own, at the current moment, he grasped upon the dark leather grip of the metallic sword.

  However, as he set his body in place, freezing up, the face with widened eyes grimaced out of nowhere. Assaulting his ears, the smack pervaded quickly and stridently. Swiftly cutting through the space around him, his head turned to the right, immediately glancing at the person sharing a foothold with him on the hill.

  Piercing through his face with a glance down, she moved her right arm back to the prior position, resting the lengthy, wooden sword against the palm of her left hand. Slapping it delicately against the hand a few times, her eyes never escaped the scope of his face. Glaring at him with the stern, frigid looks, she abated little beneath his wails and winces.

  “Are you supposed to threaten anyone with that? That’s what kids do when they first lift the sword,” she said briskly, the voice cutting through the air right upon the man’s position. Flowing up, his eyes settled along her as they locked gazes.

  The parted, mellowy red lips glistened dimly, standing apart from the rouge complexion he could witness everywhere the skin sprawled out. Not nearly as intense as the blazing, ruby hair falling straight on her back without any tumble anywhere else. “Though, you might as well be one judging from your condition.”

  “I took this position from my clouded memories,” he spoke back to the indifference lingering around her glistening eyes. Making him feel as though he stared into a pile of golden coins, the girl’s impassive sight only added to the gleam. “The human knights inside the dreams were always using this stance to train.”

  “I don’t know if I wanna believe that,” she cut his words quickly, right after he had finished. “If they are, we must have done horrendously here,” musing to herself momentarily, the girl’s fleeting sight suddenly settled on his pale face, making it flinch abruptly.

  Lowering his head, he sent a peek at the sleek, pinkish hands, covered fully by the loose, pale shirt connected below the neck and around the sleeves with laces. Similarly tightened, though around the center of her hips, black leather pants rustled ever so slightly from the minute movement of hers.

  Catching his arms with the sword in her grasp, the elbows specifically, she guided them one by one as though he was some puppet she could adjust. Yet, as she spread his legs apart and lowered the knees, right when the inert human regained his motions, his body staggered slightly before maintaining the stance. His arms were raised, precisely to uphold the sword above his right shoulder.

  “Hold it there, remember what your muscles feel, how you're placed against the world. Don’t slash down yet, just try to ingrain the position into you,” she said whilst the sword had already gone back to her, her palm beaten relentlessly again.

  Standing there, with the sword piercing at the ashen clouds behind him, Lutiel didn’t bother to utter a single moan or groan. ‘Don’t you dare light up,’ he thought to himself, but he never glanced at the special hand, peering at the grassy curtains flowing ahead of him instead.

  However, no matter how long he could place himself there with a peaceful breath, as the appointed instructor beside him kept mum, he eventually started to stagger. On the surface, as well as in the lungs. And, as soon as a tremor ran through his right arm, he promptly followed the voice.

  “Stop,” she ordered before taking in his image, which remained silent for a few unsteady breaths. Then, her lips parted anew, the curved horns never waning against the gales in the slightest. “Repeat the motion. One hit for every wrong movement,” the demon muttered before lusting over him with her golden vision.

  Releasing a more shallow respire, the human tensed his muscles, imitating the stance he had held up for countless breaths already. Despite having just done it, as he raised the arms and spread the lowered knees, he groaned suddenly. Fleeting out of his nostrils briskly, the painful air followed the clamor that his flesh snorted out when the woman hit him against the right thigh.

  Repeating quickly, three more hits came in right after, leaving him to only clench his jaw. Under the somewhat relaxed muscles around her face, no longer as stern, the girl was about to sweep forward with another strike when she stopped, seeing him take on the proper form.

  ‘It’s still better than training with the knights and their whips, at least,’ he thought to himself whilst closing his eyes, keeping steady against the wind. Unruffled while the sweat tickled his face, Lutiel fell just as his limbs were about to give out.

  Once again, she made him stop, promptly letting the loud begging for air envelop both of their ears. Staring as the man’s chest started to rock about faintly, the girl quickly looked him up and down before stopping at the purple eyes.

  Stolen novel; please report.

  “I guess your physicality is higher than those soldiers, but I still can’t wrap my head around why she bought you,” she spoke suddenly, his head turning at the words. “Nor why she made me train you on my stay here. Do you know anything?”

  “Eh,” he uttered, scratching his head over the matter. “I’m sorry, teacher, but I don’t know if Lady Zyponia would want me to reveal it,” he spoke directly in front of her, to which she replied with sprawling laughter, though not harsh enough to beat against the winds.

  “It seems that she has you around her finger already,” she said after the chuckle had ended. “Just speak up already, the fault will be on me,” adding together with the sound of the sword beating around her palm, his eyes stumbled silently. Though, adjusting just as quick, Lutiel stared at her with his casual indifference.

  “I know a bit about magic already,” he said secretively, only for her to remain unimpressed, making his eyebrows furrow faintly.

  “Is that all? Countless humans are aware of it already, especially those in that newfound army of yours,” she spoke, her eyes starting to slowly peel off him. “I guess she must have bought you for your looks, huh,” musing below his silence, the girl bounced back to his face a breath after.

  “What I meant is I learn about magic better and quicker than other humans,” he said, the girl quickly searching around his face.

  “What do you mean? How can you learn better?” She asked, squinting her eyes ever so slightly whilst the sword dug into the grass, supporting the already erect back.

  “I’ve heard the word already, and the energy flowing through me is higher than usual,” he added briskly. Staggering about as the answer played whims within her, she looked at him for a prolonged breath, finally speaking as her gleam reflected itself within his serious pupils.

  “You’re not talking about the actual word, are you? What did you hea-” her calm voice vanished, gone together with the passing wafts. Her hair swaying as she raised her eyelids, the girl stared at him utter it.

  “Meiar,” he spoke momentarily, already finished after cutting into her tongue. “Do you believe me now?” He asked, but the girl didn’t reply. Despite the unamused expression she was showing a few breaths prior, she stared at him whilst utterly baffled.

  “No,” she replied suddenly. Still with her eyes not fully around his presence, the girl followed on. “That’s not possible.”

  “Well-” Speaking up, he wasn’t able to finish before his sight went awry, scouring all over the place. Since none other muscle of his body worked except for the lungs and the eyes, he could only look at the red-skinned girl in front of him move closer towards him whilst trapped in the invisible force.

  Before he even knew it, her right hand left the sword, crawling through the jacket and shirt he always had on himself. Yet, before she could fully feel his sensitive areas, she stopped around his slave brand, the firmed yet delicate palm exploring for the warmth of the heart.

  And, when it beat for her a few tens of times, she finally receded before letting him move about once again.

  “Amazing,” she uttered, staring at her right palm. Breaking apart her reserved face, her eyes practically shimmered while staring at the lingering feeling. “I was doubting if she had become some horny animal, but it makes sense now.” Saying so despite the lady’s slave standing there, the demon girl lowered her body, swiftly reaching for the sword she previously tossed away.

  “Alright,” adding while bending her body, as soon as travelled back, the face no longer stood so unmoved, a faint smirk crawling up the sides of her face. “You wanted to learn the sword from the beginning, right? I will make you the best human swordsman there was in your history, then,” she stated, with plentiful more vigour and pride compared to her approach earlier.

  ‘What?’ He asked himself all of a sudden, watching as she started moving closer to him, his body immured in place once again, though lighter than earlier, it twitched eagerly all over.

  “I was going to just teach you some random stances and slashes, but it seems like I need to get the basics entwined into you now. Come to me at ten in the morning every day, after you’ve done your tasks,” she spoke, back to her serious mien.

  Yet, he turned perplexed instead, glancing at the girl’s blank face. “Weren’t we meant to train every three days?”

  “So?” she replied immediately. “My statement has changed, so I will be training you daily from now on. With no excuses. If you won’t come to me after work, I will come deliberately to wake you up and train at night without the luxury of the clothes you're wearing now, understand?”

  “Yes?”

  “Understand?”

  “Yes, teacher,” he replied again, assured this time. However, his eyes traveled towards her doubtfully right after.

  “Good, then, after all this, just remember to save some for me,” she uttered discreetly, only to leave him no time to ponder about the statement, his legs trembling out of nowhere.

  Halting herself just a step away from the man, her brown leather boots suddenly moved, turning into a smeared flash to his eyes. Hitting against the slave’s right leg, she skillfully started to change his position of the foot, following the other one a moment later.

  “In order to have a bright future in the sword, you have to have good foundations. And to have good foundations, you need good movement of the body. But frankly, right now, you’re as rigid as a cold chunk of iron. When it comes to the sword, at least,” she stated, making him look down at the legs she was beginning to adjust with the hands.

  “Shouldn’t I move them by myself?” He asked, squinting his eyebrows somewhat while staring at the kneeling lady.

  “Just keep looking for now. You will understand in a bit,” she said, not looking up once as the words befell him. And, feeling as the legs tensed up in a way that he could still stand and move around effortlessly, she raised herself off the grass. “This is what you want to achieve when standing. Though slightly in different forms, it’s pretty much similar throughout walking and fighting with the sword,” she spoke calmly, crossing her arms with the sword leaning against her cheek.