Chapter 241 - Windsor
Windsor's Perspective:
"Windsor, remember this — you swing the sword to protect."
That's what my mother tells me most often.
Protect.
But I don't know who I'm supposed to protect. I just like swinging the sword. That's all.
If I had to protect someone, it would be my little brother and sisters, I suppose. And Pursena.
Because Dad is strong. My mothers are strong. Even Grandpa is strong.
Protecting someone, it really is a difficult thing.
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On the way to school, Lara rode Daibai.
Lucy and Tina walked with me. The distance isn't far enough to need anything else.
Lara never stopped talking the entire way.
"Windsor-nee~"
"Hmm?"
"Has your teacher started assigning that thing called [homework] yet?"
"Homework? What's that?"
"It's stuff you have to write at home. Like reflections on using magic, or something like that..."
I thought about it.
Actually, that does exist.
Apparently it's one of Nanahoshi-nee's little quirks. She introduced the concept of homeroom teachers, and then she introduced homework right along with it.
The parents are all thrilled, apparently.
Tina raised her hand.
"I did mine!"
Lucy nodded.
"I did too. Lara-nee, did you not do yours?"
Lara pulled at the corner of her mouth.
Then went completely limp across Daibai's back.
"I did it too... it's just that my homeroom teacher is Mama. If I don't turn it in, she'll lecture me all night."
"That's true. Only Roxy-mama can keep you in line, Lara-nee."
"...Ugh... Nanahoshi-nee is starting to annoy me..."
"Nanahoshi-nee just wants us to learn more."
"No she doesn't! She just likes messing with us! I overheard her at the lab door last time!"
"What did you hear?"
"She told Dad, [Hehe~ now your daughters have something to keep them busy. Have Roxy supervise their homework properly.] See! She's targeting us specifically!"
"That's just how Nanahoshi-nee is. Everything she says sounds like a joke, but she really does mean well."
"Lucy... you traitor."
Lucy and Lara are in the same class, which means they're both Roxy-mama's students.
My homeroom teacher is someone who only joined the school last year.
Her name is... Isolte...?
She once held the title of Water God, though she seems to have discarded it by now.
Apparently she used to be close with my mother, but she's never once visited our home.
When Sylphie-mama found out Isolte had taken the teaching post, she was unhappy about it. She said she wanted to go and ask some questions.
But Mama stopped her.
[Isolte wouldn't do anything to harm the children. Don't worry.]
I was still turning that over in my head when Lara spoke up again.
"So Windsor-nee, did you actually do the homework or not?"
"I forgot. I don't remember any homework being assigned."
"Hahaha — Windsor-nee definitely didn't do it!"
"...Probably not."
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"Windsor... I'll head to the library first?"
"Sure. You can always go home, though."
"I've gotten used to waiting, desu. I'll stay at school until you're done, desu."
"Mm."
Pursena.
When it's just the two of us, she doesn't call me Lady Windsor. She uses my name directly. I'm the one who told her to.
As for the library, she said,
[I've almost forgotten every character I learned before, desu...]
So lately she's been spending her free time there.
After parting ways with Pursena and my little sisters, I headed to my classroom.
Edward was already waiting at the door when I arrived.
"Windsor-nee, good morning."
"Yeah. Good morning."
At eleven years old, I understand what Edward's presence means.
He likes me. I don't like him.
Mama once said that liking someone means wanting to protect them, wanting to stay by their side forever.
I have no desire to protect Edward. I have no desire to stay by his side.
He confessed to me a few months ago. I turned him down clearly. After that, he said:
[Windsor-nee, can we still be friends?]
I nodded then, so this is where we ended up.
"Windsor-nee, today we have practical swordsmanship. Isolte-sensei is teaching it herself."
"Oh. Edward, has your swordsmanship improved?"
"Mm..."
"From that tone, I'd say it hasn't."
"I'm sorry, Windsor-nee... I don't have any talent."
"I know. You work hard. Keep it up."
"Yeah! I'll do my best!"
Whenever I talk to Edward like this, every girl in the class turns to look.
Honestly, I still don't understand why he likes me.
He's handsome. Girls from our class and even from the upper years all chase after him.
I've thought about it from every angle and I don't think I'm particularly charming. Edward might be showing affection because his mother wants it, I am the daughter of that Rudeus, after all.
I feel a little sorry for him.
When I sat down, I looked at the desk beside mine.
My seatmate is a beastfolk girl.
She has long, smooth golden hair that catches the sunlight and glows with a faint honey sheen. Two cat ears stand up between the strands, their tips covered in pale gold down, turning slowly with her mood. Her eyes are bright amber, her pupils slightly elongated, the particular aliveness of a cat's gaze. Behind her, a fluffy tail extends from her lower back, its tip circled by a band of light brown fur.
She's the chieftain's daughter, apparently. She's also the only beastfolk student in the class, so she doesn't have many friends.
I'm her friend, of course.
During class I can secretly pet her tail or her ears, so I was very willing to befriend her.
"Windsor, good morning, nya."
"Good morning, Milusha."
"Today's morning classes are... ah, the very first period is practical swordsmanship, nya."
"Yeah. Keep going — what comes after?"
"Oh... got it, nya."
She began listing the rest of the schedule.
I reached over and closed my hand around her tail.
Milusha is different from Pursena. Milusha is a cat; Pursena is a dog. That makes Milusha feel more like Ghislaine. But even Ghislaine's tail has a certain stiffness to it. Milusha is not like that.
Her ears are incredibly soft. So is her tail.
Every time I pet her this way, her face goes red, but she never pulls away.
A bit like how Pursena used to be.
"Done listing them, nya... has Windsor had enough, nya?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Milusha."
"You're welcome, nya... but Windsor — do you do this with all beastfolk?"
"No. Just you and Pursena."
"Got it, nya!"
For some reason, her mood lifted considerably after that.
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Practical Swordsmanship.
The teacher called Isolte is a blue-haired woman. This is her first time actually teaching our class. She's been listed as homeroom teacher for a year now, but she's never once shown up for a lesson.
The moment she arrived, she spoke.
"Everyone here knows the three major schools of swordsmanship, correct?"
No one looked confused. She nodded once.
"Good. I am the previous generation's Water God. I discarded that title barely a year after receiving it, because I wasn't qualified to hold it."
She placed her hand on her sword.
Sylphie-mama taught me that stance. The classic Water God Style posture, ready to defend and counter.
"I may not deserve the title. But I will say this: in the Water God Style, I stand beneath only one person. Now — class begins. Everyone attack me at once."
The words had barely landed when everyone gripped their swords and rushed in.
I stayed where I was and watched.
Sylphie-mama had told me once:
The most dangerous thing about the Water God Style is never the attack.
It's the waiting.
Waiting for you to move first.
Then ending the fight in the instant you leave yourself open.
Wooden swords swung from every direction.
Then,
THWACK. THWACK. THWACK.
A steady rhythm of impacts.
Isolte didn't move her feet. Her wooden sword deflected strike after strike. The movements were almost too fast to follow. Every parry landed with exact precision, as if she had already mapped out every attack before it arrived.
Under 10 seconds.
The first wave of students was already on the ground. Some had their swords knocked out of their hands. Some took hits to the wrist. Others simply lost their footing and went down.
Complete wipeout.
The class went quiet.
Isolte's voice stayed calm.
"Now you see why I hate hearing people call the Water God Style a defensive art. The real Water God Style doesn't absorb punishment. It ends the fight from inside the defense."
Her gaze swept the field.
Then stopped on me.
"Elwindsor Greyrat."
"Hmm?"
"Why didn't you attack?"
"...I hadn't observed your habits yet. Moving in blind wouldn't have changed the result."
"So you're the type who won't draw when the opponent looks unbeatable? Is that it?"
"..."
She raised her wooden sword and pointed it at me.
"Fight me. You are Eris's daughter. You are Rudeus's daughter. I want to see your talent for myself."
Silence.
Everyone looked at me.
Edward went rigid. Milusha's cat ears shot straight up.
"Windsor, do your best, nya."
I nodded.
Then picked up my wooden sword and walked into the arena.
Isolte looked at me.
Her expression was hard to read. Like she was looking through me at someone else.
"Begin."
I moved.
No hesitation.
The wooden sword drove forward, Sword God Style, basic thrust.
Isolte deflected it easily.
THWACK!
I let the deflection spin me and slashed from the side.
THWACK!
Blocked.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Faster with every exchange.
Isolte's expression sharpened.
I varied every angle deliberately. No fixed pattern. No fixed rhythm. Not even a fixed style.
Sword God Style.
North God Style.
Sylphie-mama's footwork threading through the combinations.
Eris-mama's aggression layered over the top.
Completely irregular. Nothing for her to predict.
On the 12th strike,
Isolte stepped back half a pace.
First time she'd moved.
The class erupted.
"The teacher retreated!"
"Is that real?!"
"Windsor made her retreat!"
I didn't listen.
I pushed forward.
But then,
THWACK,
My wooden sword left my hand. It skipped across the ground and stopped far away.
Silence.
Isolte stood where she had always been. Her wooden sword rested against my neck.
"It's over."
I looked down at my empty hand.
"Yeah."
I lost.
That's expected. She's the previous generation's Water God. Even if she held the title for less than a year before giving it up, she was still the Water God.
And I'm eleven.
Even so, Isolte didn't call the next group up.
She looked at me.
"Elwindsor Greyrat."
"Yes?"
"Do you know what you just did?"
I thought about it.
"Lost."
"Not that."
She shook her head.
"You made me step back."
"So?"
A loss is a loss.
One step or ten steps, it doesn't matter. If this were a real battlefield, I'd already be dead.
Isolte was quiet for 2 seconds.
Then she smiled.
"So alike."
"What?"
"Nothing."
She turned back to face the class.
"Everyone, pay attention. There was one thing worth learning from Elwindsor's fight just now. Observation. She didn't charge in with everyone else."
"She was analyzing."
"Analyzing the enemy."
"Analyzing habits."
"Analyzing movements."
"That is something many swordsmen never learn."
She looked up at the sky for a moment.
Then added: "Some of you might think, without our charge, she'd have had nothing to observe. That's fair. But you all forgot I use the Water God Style before you rushed in anyway. That is exactly the problem."
She looked at me again.
"Your talent is real. Truly... like Eris's child."
"Thank you, sensei. But I lost."
Isolte blinked.
Then laughed.
"Yes. You lost. So keep working. One day you'll win."
I didn't answer.
I wasn't sure that was true.
She really is that strong.
But,
Dad and my mothers could probably beat her, right?
Thinking that, I understood a little better why everyone admires Dad the way they do.
Strong people really do shine.
After class, everyone crowded in.
Edward reached me first.
"Windsor-nee!"
"Hmm?"
"That was incredible!"
"It was fine."
"That was Isolte-sensei!"
"I still lost."
"But she praised you!"
I thought about it. That does seem to be true.
"Mm."
Edward lit up like he was the one who'd been praised.
Milusha squeezed through from the other side, cat ears swaying.
"Windsor is so amazing, nya."
"Not bad."
"The teacher definitely thinks you're something special, nya! She seems like the type who only ever gives the smallest bit of praise, nya!"
"Does she?"
"Absolutely, nya!"
Then she dropped her voice.
"And the way the teacher looked at you just now was strange, nya."
"Strange?"
"Mm, nya."
"Like she was seeing someone else, nya."
I was quiet for a moment.
I noticed it too. When Isolte looked at me, there was always something off about it. Like she knew me. No, more like she was looking through me at someone who wasn't there.
I think I know the answer.
The storybooks mention it. The Water God Reida was killed by Dad. And given that Sylphie-mama objected to Isolte becoming my teacher, Reida and Isolte must have been close.
Sunlight spread across the training ground.
A spring breeze moved through.
And a thought settled quietly in my chest.
One day, I want to try. Try to catch up to Dad. Try to catch up to my mothers.
Even just a little closer.
I can't do it now.
But at least,
it seems I've already started moving in that direction.
➤ Next: Windsor 2