Hot.

Tense.

Suffocating.

The temperature in the room was absolutely palpable.

All I wanted was to enjoy my food, but the atmosphere in the room didn't allow such luxuries; it felt like I was trying to eat while being surrounded by a bloodthirsty pack of Fangwolves.

To ease the mood, I added to ease the mood.

"What a nice day we have here, right?" I clumsily commented.

"Yes, indeed, I'm sure it'll be a nice day if a certain someone apologizes."

"Gneu-gneu-gneu..., nice journey or not, I doubt "someone" who spends most of his time inside a hole cares whether the day is sunny or not."

"Who knows, maybe that "person" would appreciate it if that "certain someone" at least tried to put in the effort."

As if I... why would that "person" do that when the weather is perfect as it is? Humph...

"Humph"

Oh~ no, what have I done?

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

"It can't go on like this," I said as Syrus and I walked into my room.

I was on my way to bed after we finished our dinner.

"What could that be?"

"The animosity between Mael and Ramia has recently become completely unbearable."

There has recently been some animosity between the two cousins, who were supposedly raised as siblings.

What, you might ask, could have sparked that hostility?

Well me, apparently.

To be exact the whole mess began with the "reality figer" I received from Mael on my birthday.

Mael received three of these books from his parents during their two-year visit.

He had kept one of the three books and given the other two away.

I had received the last one, and Ramia had received one before me.

It was given to her as a gift, and she really adored it.

One of the reasons she was so mad at me was that she wasn't allowed to visit the Edouard castle for two weeks because Grandfather wasn't in the castle because he was on his way to fetch me in the Rosetta manor and it wouldn't be safe to send her here with Grandfather away.

Safe from what?

From herself.

The only reason Ramia was allowed to parade in the castle so proudly with that red sword of hers, was the presence of Grandfather Emilien.

Here in the Edouard castle, she can train how much she wants without any fear of injuries all that thanks to the backing of Grandfather's healing magic.

It's a completely different story in the Aubrecht castle, where she isn't even allowed to approach the smallest sharp-edged object.

With her grandfather gone, she was immediately barred from coming here because there was no one else here who could use healing magic.

She forced her way out of the castle and arrived at my birthday party; she must have been surprised to see me there, but she kept her cool; things went really south when she discovered that Mael had given the same book he had given her to someone he had only met for less than two weeks.

I ran into her in the hallway at the most inconvenient time.

She needed a punching bag, and I unintentionally offered myself up.

So that's how things came to be the way they are now.

Mael is essentially hoping for a genuine apology from Ramia, but he knows better than anyone that it will never come, at least not in this lifetime, and he can't allow himself to simply forgive her because that would be admitting that she wasn't wrong. To make up for her "sin," he punishes her by simply ignoring or sarcastically antagonizing her.

On the other hand, Ramia is clearly waiting for Mael to take the first step toward reconciliation.

Things are very awkward because of the tension between the two, especially for lunch.

Grandfather appears unconcerned about the awkwardness, which adds to the awkwardness.

And I, well, I may be the best suited to act as a bridge between the two given that I was the source of the dispute in the first place, but things weren't that simple, and given how poor my communication skills are, I could easily mess up and make things worse, just like earlier.

"Do you have any of them?"

"Any of what?" asked Syrus, confused by my question.

"Good advice,..." I need your insight, Syrus. "

"Oh, Wise One. What should I do to put an end to the tension between Ramia and Mael? "

In response to my question, Syrus put one hand behind his back and stroked his chin slowly with the other.

"Both Lady Ramia and Sir Mael are waiting for the other to take the first step." Why wouldn't the Young Lord try to befriend her? Even if it doesn't work as well as it did for Sir Mael, I'm confident he'll take the first step if he sees Lady Ramia trying to get along with you."

"I think I see a pattern here." Is it possible to befriend her by taking advantage of a common ground? "

"Yes, but for the time being, I have no idea what you two might have in common except-." I interrupted Syrus' words by raising my finger, prompting him to stop speaking.

"Say no more. "I believe I have a good idea of what it could be."

"I wonder what it could be."

"Rather than tell you, I'd like to show you. Tomorrow, Rufus, you will see how genuine friendships are formed."

"This humble butler is looking forward to seeing that."

❀⊱┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄⊰❀

It's a little after two o'clock in the afternoon.

Syrus and I were making our way to the backyard, where Ramia usually practices her sword skills.

When we arrived at our destination, I noticed Grandfather, Mael, and Mael visibly engaged in conversation, with their attendants standing by as usual.

When we arrived at our destination, I noticed Grandfather, Mael, and Mael clearly engaged in conversation.

As we got closer, everyone in the backyard turned their attention to us.

"I'm talking about the wolf." We were just wondering why you called us here."

"What is the significance of this, Ronandt?"

Ramia simply stared at me, her eyes indicating that she was ready to jump at my throat at any moment.

I went to a location where I expected to get the most attention.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I've summoned you today to put an end to the ongoing animosity between Mael, this little lady over there, and myself," I declared loudly.

People's expressions began to change in response to my announcement; Grandfather's face revealed a sly smirk, Mael's face revealed a mixture of surprise and embarrassment, and Ramia's face revealed nothing but fierce confusion.

"To put an end to this conflict, I decided that I should be the one to take the initiative and bury the hatchet, given that it all began with me."

I then focus entirely on Ramia.

"Therefore, in order to put an end to this conflict, I'd like to ask you, Young Lady, Yes, You! Are you willing to present-"

"I won't!" Ramia barked before I could finish my thought.

"Great, because I never intended to accept it in the first place," I explained as I removed the right glove I was wearing and threw it over her face.

Before the glove even touched her face, she cut it in midair with her sword.

I had intended to make this with the gloves Syrus had given me for my birthday, but I put down the idea after realizing she'd pull something like this out.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ramia questioned angrily.

"As you can see, it's a challenge to duel. This whole mess started with violence, and I'm committed to ending it with violence. " I said, my voice beaming with diplomacy.

"Wait a minute, Ronandt," I say. Mael continued, but his grandfather's hand on his shoulder cut him off.

"Would you like to challenge me to a duel?" And may I inquire as to what you intend to duel me on? On reading a book?"

Why do I have the impression that someone is looking down on me here?

"Of course, a sword spar." But if you're not confident in your sword skills, I wouldn't mind if we duel over book reading. " I said pompously.

"As if I had any reason to be afraid of someone like you, I accept your duel." She muttered this as she tightened her grip on her sword.

With a clap of my hand, an attendant arrived with two wooden swords.

Syrus appears to be taken aback by the appearance of the attendant, but I ignored it.

"We'll use these; I'm sure Grandfather Emilien can heal us if necessary, but I'd rather not chop a Ducal princess in half if at all possible."

She let out a "humph" that reminded me vaguely of the warthogs' loud "humph."

I suppose I can take that "humph" as a yes.

We both grabbed a wooden sword from the attendant's grasp.

We approached each other from a safe distance. Then, to get used to the grip, I began swinging the wooden sword around with my left arm.

When my left foot swoops into her, she appears to be about to do the same.

She blocked it immediately with her sword, but she was slightly knocked down by it, and I took advantage of it by slamming my right fist into her face.

My punch had knocked her to the ground, and she was on all fours.

It didn't take her long to recover from the blow and resume her fighting stance.

She hasn't used her aina since, and neither have I. She seems to believe that I am still unable to use it.

"Wasn't this supposed to be a sword duel?" She roared, visibly enraged by my earlier punch and kick.

"What are you on about?" The duel hasn't even begun yet. The two blows you gave me earlier were just compensation for the two blows you gave me on my birthday."

What I said enraged her even more.

She clenched her sword with all her might.

The air around her was slightly changing. It seemed she had finally decided to utilize her entire arsenal.

She was using aina, and in order to reciprocate, I began to improve my entire body.

She took a charging stance and then vanished from where she was standing.

She lunged at me with incredible force, swinging her blade horizontally from left to right at my throat.

I quickly countered her strike with my sword as a shield.

When our wooden swords collided, it made an extremely loud sound.

I could tell her attack would have easily severed my neck if it hadn't been enhanced.

That is if she had kept her attack at full strength until the end.

When I blocked her attack, I noticed that the velocity of her blow had decreased substantially compared to the initial leap she took.

It seems that Mademoiselle wanted to halt her attack midway and maybe spout some nonsense like "Know your place trash" or some cool lines like "You’re not worth my time."

And her surprised expression as she retreated to a safe distance after her failed attack confirmed what I suspected.

"Young Lady, I think that was enough!!!" Leonore said, in a distressed tone of voice, She appears to have realized how dangerous this duel could become for her lady.

"Young Lord, I also believe that that was enough." Syrus inquired humbly, hoping not to offend either me or Ramia.

I was about to respond to Syrus when a shout came from Ramia.

"No!! This isn't over until he admits defeat,"

Sore losers, aren't we? Well, I agree with her on that.

I won't lie, I'm having the time of my life right now.

It was my first time using my aina in public, and it was also the first time I used it against something other than a monster.

"It's exactly what she said, Rufus." It's not over until one of us admits defeat." "Grandfather," I said to Syrus. Please, no interference."

He simply nodded in response.

I returned my attention to Ramia, and we resumed our dueling posture.

Something had changed on Ramia's face, and I knew what it was because I thought I had the same expression on my face.

She had a smile of excitement all over her face.

She had the look of someone who had met someone to whom she could give her all without reservation.

We just stood there, waiting for the other person to make the first move.

After a short while, we both made our moves at the same time.

We charged at each other at breakneck speed, causing our wooden blades to collide with a resounding thud a certain distance apart.

The only reason our wooden sword hasn't crumbled away yet is that it was infused with aina.

During my training session in the forest, I learned how to improve weapons. That ability came in handy during my Fangwolf annihilation quest.

I didn't think she'd be able to do it as well.

We were pushing each other with our blades crossed.

With a deft sword technique, she diverted my sword in the direction of the ground.

And then she swung a horizontal swipe at my waist.

By moving back before she could strike me, I was able to avoid her strike.

She charged at me without pausing, launching a flurry of concussive slashes, all of which were blocked by me.

Still unsatisfied with her previous attacks, she launched a thrust that I believe would easily impale your buffest elephant.

I slip past her sword thrust and strike her in the face with a horizontal swipe of my forearm, which sends her flying away whilst allowing me to seize her off her blade.

She was on all fours for the second time that day.

"So, Young Lady, do you admit defeat?" I asked, pointing the tip of my sword at her neck.

She gave me a look that said she hadn't had enough.

She then looked down at the ground, attempting to stand.

"You know, I’m a pretty mercifu- Blergh." My words were interrupted by an intense pain coming from my stomach.

Something thick and heavy slammed into my stomach at breakneck speed.

That thing was a Reality Figer.

Hers.

She used its shapeshifting ability to catch me off guard and its flying ability to knock me off.

She sprang at me, knocked away my wooden sword, and held me down on the ground before launching a series of punches into my face while I was dazed from the unexpected shock.

I was helpless on the ground, and all I could do was watch as she punched me in the face. But that was before the perfect opportunity presented itself on a silver platter.

She slightly leaned on me and said

"You know, I’m a merciful woman, I’m wi-" Her words were interrupted by my forehead slamming into her mouth.

I tried shaking her off of me, but she still managed to fight back clumsily.

By that point, our initial "sword duel" had devolved into a wrestling match.

I had my right hand around her neck, and she had my left hand pinned by her hand over her shoulder; instead of trying to shrug off my arm around her neck, she was holding onto the left one in a way that indicated she could snap my elbow whenever she wanted.

"Afmit...defeat. fook at you. I fan...fill if I... want." I said, panting and clearly lacking numerous teeth to even smoothly articulate a complete sentence.

"You ain’t... got that nerve, whereas... I can snap that elbow of yours with... ease. You are... the one who should... concede defeat. " Ramia visibly had a hard time speaking with my arms around her neck.

"You fan only dream!"

We stood there in that position for around three minutes.

Then suddenly out of nowhere a chuckle came out of my mouth.

That chuckle was soon followed by a bursting laugh coming from Ramia

I don’t know exactly why I did that, but the moment that laugh came out of her mouth.

"Ahahahahahahahahahaha"

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha"

We both let go of each other and started rolling on the ground, unable to stop laughing.

What were we laughing about? What was so amusing about it?

I'm not sure.

I was just, you know, laughing as I tried to stand to look over Grandfather and company for help when my gaze was drawn to Luke, who was weirdly watching us.

"Look, Ramia isn't it your father over there?! hahaha."

"Hahahaha Where? … You’re right Ronandt hahaha. What are we going to do? hahaha."

"Apologize, maybe I don’t know, maybe."

I need to stop this.

My belly hurts so much... Please, someone stop this.

I tried to approach Luke, but then I suddenly stumbled over my feet, causing my face to hit the ground hard.

I fainted for the second time this week and the third time in my life.

Only then did my hysterical laugh come to a stop.