Domeron ran his hand over his hair in frustration. “We are sparring!”

“Then what is the problem?” Red asked.

“You cheated!” Allen was the one to respond.

Red looked over at the boy. He was still recovering from the blow while holding onto his groin.

“You never told me anything about rules.” the youth shrugged. “I was just trying to win.”

Domeron shook his head. “That’s the problem, kid. A sparring session is not meant to be a competition, but a training session. It’s about developing your fundamentals and testing your own skills in a place where you won’t risk your life by making a mistake.”

“Did I not rely on my own skills to achieve victory, though?” he was confused.

“What skills?!” the swordsman looked livid. “What you did was use dirty tricks to achieve victory! It’s fine to use them when your life is on the line, but how can you ever truly rely on them for every situation?”

His words gave Red pause.

Domeron sighed once he noticed the boy’s silence. “Look, kid, not everyone is as easy to trick as Allen.”

“Hey!” a grunt of protest came from the child.

“Experienced fighters can see through thousands of tricks and diversions. Once you’re with your back to the wall and forced to fight a true warrior, of what use will these dirty tactics be? The only thing you can rely on in the end is your own strength and skill!”

Red reflected on the man’s words and came to realize he had never considered such a simple matter before. His life in the underground had conditioned him to rely on anything to get a step ahead of his opponents, because he simply had no other choice if he wanted to live. Yet was this the way it had to be now?

How useful would proper combat skills have been in the myriad of situations where Red had faced monsters back then? Invaluable, he thought. And by far more reliable, as Domeron put it. The only problem was that Red had never been in a normal fight, and his previous experiences ingrained certain instincts within the boy.

Red looked back at Domeron. “I’ll lose.”

The swordsman just smiled. “Are you afraid of losing?”

Red didn’t respond. Instead, he glanced over at Allen and helped the boy up to his feet.

“Are you good to go another round?”

The young master grimaced. “Depends. Are you going to punch me in the groin again?”

Red shook his head. Allen smiled in response.

“Then let’s do it!”

It seemed the boy had already completely forgotten what had just happened earlier. The two stepped back and stood across from each other in the training field, waiting for Domeron’s instructions. The man finally waved his sword again.

“Go!”

Allen charged forward with the same eagerness as before. The young master threw a straight punch at him, forcing the boy to duck to avoid. Much to Allen’s surprise, however, Red didn’t step back and instead stuck to his opponent’s guard. Unfamiliar with hand-to-hand combat, the youth stuck to what had worked before and tried to target Allen’s legs to push him off balance with a kick.

The young master had no problem dodging his sloppy attack, though. He jumped over the sweeping kick and struck back with a blow of his own, swinging his leg like a whip against Red’s side. The boy recognized he didn’t have time to dodge and instead raised his arms to guard against the attack.

It hit like a truck, containing more power than a child should reasonably have. The kick sent Red sprawling to the ground, and he had to roll over multiple times before coming to a stop.

“Are you alright?” Allen didn’t push his advantage, and instead looked at the boy with a worried expression.

“I’m fine.” Red nodded as he got up. “Let’s continue.”

Allen looked at Domeron for approval. The man just nodded.

The duo continued to spar for the next ten minutes. Red, however, continued to be on the losing end, and it was clear he had underestimated Allen’s skills in straight forward combat. His opponent had a good response for every one of his attacks, and Red had failed to land even a single clean hit by the end of the session.

His footwork paid off, however, and Red had kept himself standing for a good amount of time. Unfortunately, his defense would eventually always fail him, much more so with Red taking a proactive stance, too. Allen sent him sprawling multiple times, but he didn’t feel dejected and kept getting up.

Domeron, however, called their session to a stop. “That’s enough for today.”

Allen stopped his attack midway through. The young master looked at Red with a wide grin on his face. "You’re great at dodging, did you know that? Your attacks are very weak, though.”

“… I know.” the boy didn’t know how to respond to Allen’s honest words.

“Maybe one day you’ll be able to fight me to a draw!”

Red frowned.

Domeron interjected. “Enough, Allen. Your presence here is not needed anymore.”

Allen nodded before wandering off. The sparring session didn’t seem to have affected his stamina.

“So, what do you think?” the swordsman asked.

“About what?” the boy was confused.

“About the sparring session. Do you have any insights?”

Red reflected on the question. “It took a lot of self-control not to hit him in the groin again.”

Domeron laughed at his response. “Yet you managed to do it. I must say, it impressed me how fast you adapted. Although you still got beaten, I thought you would have stuck to dodging the entire fight. You were very aggressive, though.”

“That would have been pointless.” Red shook his head. “I need to improve in the areas I’m weakest at.”

The swordsman had a wide smile on his face. “I’m glad you get it. You stuck to that principle even if you knew you were going to lose. It’s an admirable attitude for someone of your age.”

“I still want to win, though.” Red’s desire for victory had not diminished in the slightest. He wanted to beat Allen at his own game.

“It’s going to be tough. Allen is not just physically stronger than you, but he’s also very talented in combat. Hector personally trains him, after all…”

Red interjected. “But it’s still possible, right?”

Domeron just smiled at him. “Depends on how hard you want to win.”

…

Over the next couple of hours, the swordsman drilled the basics of hand-to-hand combat into him. Red already knew the footwork, but he also learned about stances, striking, guard, and many other things he didn’t even know applied to combat. The boy felt this was a science of its own.

When their training session was over, Domeron explained something to him. “I’ll try to speed up our training schedule as much as I can, but some things can’t be rushed. It might take a few months before you can see any results against Allen, and much longer before you can come close to beating him. He’s also constantly improving, after all.”

Of course, Red would have preferred if it didn’t take that long, but he knew there were no shortcuts when it came to skill. Having finished his training, the boy was about to head to his room before Eiwin approached him.

“Madam Frida says your clothes are ready.”

“Where are they?” Red asked with some eagerness.

“We need to go fetch them. I was wondering if you’d like to come.”

The boy hesitated. He remembered his experience a week before when he entered the town. Countless fluctuations overwhelmed his crimson sense, and he almost collapsed on the spot. Since then, he had refused to leave the Sect’s vicinity.

Now, however, it was almost afternoon, and the streets were probably emptier. Red also knew he couldn’t ignore this problem forever, so in the end, he accepted Eiwin’s offer.

“I’ll go. When are we leaving?”

The woman smiled. “Soon. I just need to go fetch Allen first.”

Red suddenly regretted his choice.

…

It didn’t take long into the trip for his crimson sense to flare up. In fact, the sensation was just as bad as the first time around, no matter how empty the streets were in comparison. When Red thought about it, however, it made sense. After all, the people from the busy mornings didn’t really leave the town, they just returned to their houses. With the 100-meter detection range of his power, how could they escape his senses?

Red wanted to curse himself for his stupidity. However, he powered through the wave of dizziness, more prepared this time around. Eiwin detected the strangeness of his behavior again, though, and looked at him with a worried frown.

“There’s nothing you can do…” Red shook his head. “I just need to get used to it.”

The woman put on a difficult smile and nodded. In the end, she respected his wishes and didn’t ask him about it. Her sincerity made Red feel conflicted, but there were certain things the boy would never feel comfortable revealing, no matter how many assurances she gave him. It was clear Eiwin had understood this too, which was why she didn’t pursue the matter.

Meanwhile, Allen was completely oblivious to Red’s condition. “Look, it’s people from the capital!”

His words caught their attention. Red looked over and saw a group of very well-equipped soldiers riding on horseback and talking to someone he could recognize. It was the Captain of the Town’s Guard, Orvin, who had arrested their sect members before. The man had an ugly expression on his face, a sign that the matter they were talking about wasn’t a happy one.

Soon enough, they finished their conversation, and the riders set off towards the town’s exit. Orvin stood in place, though, surrounded by a handful of his guards as they talked to each other with worried expressions. The scene had attracted the attention of a lot of the townsfolk in the street too, showing how rare the visit of folk from the capital was. Eiwin also frowned upon seeing the scene. “They must have received important news.”

Allen looked at her and suggested with eagerness. “Should we go ask?”

The suggestion compelled the woman, but she looked back at Red with a frown. “I can stay away if you’d like.” the boy could tell what concerned her.

“… No.” Eiwin shook her head after some hesitation. “It’s been weeks already. I doubt they even remember what happened with the merchant. You can come.”

Red would have liked to stay aside, but he knew he couldn’t avoid the town guard forever. As Eiwin said, it was unlikely that they were still concerned about that matter from back then. The trio approached them, and the captain was quick to notice them.

The man greeted them. “It’s a surprise to see you here, Miss Eiwin, little Allen, and...” Orvin trailed off as he looked at Red. “And who might this be?”

Eiwin spoke up before any of the boys could. “He’s called Red. A new member of our sect.”

“I see…” he frowned. “The guards told me about a red-haired kid wandering around town.”

Noticing the dangerous direction the conversation seemed to head, Eiwin was quick to change the subject. “I don’t mean to intrude, Mister Orvin, but I saw the soldiers from the capital. If it’s something we may know, what were they here for?”

The captain scoffed. “They were here to inform the Baron that an Empire envoy will head to the capital soon enough.”

“Another one?” Eiwin frowned. “They still haven’t given up?”

“When will they ever give up? This time it’s different, though. Sir Bernard himself is leading the envoy.”

Red felt his heart skip a beat. He recognized the name.

It was the name of the man he had promised Viran to kill.