After a full day of playing yesterday, it's time to catch up on my sword training!

  I take my trusty wooden sword and do my regular 1000 swings in the early morning, but I also add an extra 500 more.

  It's been a while since I've felt the burn of my muscles. That probably means I should level up my training.

  However, it may have to wait until Father teaches me another set of sword moves.

  Lunch today was a bit special, according to Mother. It was fish!

  It's rare to find fish this far into land, apparently. Only because transporting them far requires ice mana stones and those are expensive. Turns out Father had a merchant acquaintance from the Capital City of Inushi, located on the Valtovian peninsula, who had made a huge sale and had money to burn.

  So, the merchant gave him four frozen salmon. Since only four fish isn't enough for one cat person, we treat it like a dessert.

  Otherwise, the next few days were normal; Practice, eat, and play with my friends. Until…

  "Luxanna! How did you get so strong so quickly?" Valerie asked.

  Felicity is visiting my house today and she brought along her daughter.

  "Huh? I just do exercise. And I swing a wooden sword that Papa bought me."

  I show the wooden sword I keep next to my bed when I'm not using it. Valerie was awed at the sight of the sword. If this were an anime, there would be stars shining in her eyes.

  "Cool! I should ask my Dad for one!"

  "Yeah! You said you wanna be a soldier like him, right? If you get a sword we can practice together!"

  A sparring partner. Now that'll really ramp up my training, even if she's just a little girl. Having someone to fight would help solidify the basics, anyway.

  "I'll ask my Dad tonight!"

  I held out the sword to Valerie, "Why don't you start practicing now? I can teach you what Papa taught me."

  "Really?! Thank you!"

  We went to the backyard, my usual training spot and I showed the same slash-slash-stab combo Father showed me.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  Valerie clumsily copied me, but there was a myriad of mistakes in her form.

  "No, hold the sword like this. You gotta remember the way the grip is shaped, it'll help you aim the edge of the sword…"

  I ended up explaining it the same way Father told me. Still, Valerie didn't improve even after I showed her.

  "I don't get it. Dad just smashes things, I don't see him 'aiming' an edge or whatever."

  I tilt my head in confusion to her words. "Whaddya mean? Your Father doesn't use a sword?"

  "No… He calls his weapon a mace."

  Ah, the ultimate weapon; a stick with a rock at the end. No offense to mace enjoyers, it's a great weapon for straight-up destruction.

  I just prefer cutting down my targets.

  "Hmm… you sure you wouldn't prefer using a wooden mace instead of a sword?"

  "Eeh… but Luxanna is using a sword…"

  Aw, she wants to copy me?

  "Well, I can still teach you how to use a sword. It's just that some people have affinities for certain weapons."

  "Affinities? Like how some people are better at fire magic than other people?"

  "Yeah! That's a good comparison! If your Father is good with a mace, then that probably means you'd be good at it, too!"

  Valerie looked at the sword in her hands with furrowed brows. "Maybe… but I still want to learn the sword from you!"

  "Haha~ okay, okay. I'll teach you the best I can!"

  Instead of doing my exercises or playing with Valerie, I teach her the way of the sword. At least, I teach her the little I know of swordplay.

  By the end of the day… she didn't learn much. She got better near the end but still forgot to mind her grip and edge alignment or she just swung and swung while forgetting to do a stab move.

  Still, if she says she wants to learn, I'll teach, even if the student has no talent for the sword.

  ****

  Two days later, Valerie came over on her own, holding a wooden mace.

  "Dad gave me a mace!"

  "That's great! How does it feel in your hands?"

  Valerie swung the cudgel around with a big smile on her face. "It's heavier than the sword, but I like it that way."

  One of the signs that a person is talented in something is the way they feel towards the skill. That's not always the case, though.

  A person who likes the feeling of a clarinet might still be terrible at playing it, after all.

  But if the mace feels more comfortable for Valerie, she might just be a girl who prefers to smash without all the technicalities of a sword.

  "Okay… wanna spar?"

  "Spar…?"

  I raise my sword and get into a basic stance. "Like fighting, but it's pretend. We don't hit each other."

  "Fight! That sounds like fun! But… how do we win if we can't hit each other?"

  "If you're about to hit me, just stop before you or the weapon touches me. Like this!"

  I dash forward and swing my sword down at Valerie's head.

  "Whoa… Valy?"

  Much to my surprise, Valerie held up her mace with one hand pressing against the mace head in a blocking motion.

  Was that instinct?

  "I- I just moved on my own."

  …Most people wouldn't be able to react in time when someone swings something at them for the first time. Especially if it's a child.

  Chalk it up to catgirl reaction time?

  Or is Valerie a combat prodigy?

  If she is a natural when it comes to combat, it's actually quite fitting for her to prefer simple blunt weapons like maces or hammers.

  "It's okay, Valy. Blocking like you did was actually really good. You can just do what your body tells you when we spar, okay? Just remember to stop before you hit me."

  Valerie excitedly nodded her head and held her mace crudely, like she was at the home plate swinging a baseball bat.

  "Okay, Valy… here I come!"