Chapter 96 - Ask Him Out
Amukelo, Bral, Idin, and Bao spent the next while in the training area, each focusing on their own exercises. The room was quieter now, with most of the onlookers from the sparring matches having dispersed. Only a few individuals remained, either working on their technique or casually conversing as they went through warm-up drills.
Amukelo stood in front of a training dummy, gripping a wooden sword in his dominant hand. He tried to recall exactly what Padrin had said. "You need better control over your main blade." But what did that even mean?
His grip tightened around the hilt as he slashed at the dummy. His attack was faster, more refined than before, but it still felt wrong. The moment his sword connected, his balance shifted slightly off, just enough for him to notice. He frowned, adjusting his stance, and swung again. Again, the strike lacked something.
"Better control over my main blade..." Amukelo muttered under his breath, stepping back to analyze his own movements. The issue wasn't his strength or his speed—those were fine. But something about the way he followed through on his attacks left gaps.
From the side, Bral and Idin were working on their own dummy drills. Bral, who had been watching Amukelo struggle, smirked and walked over. "What's up, rookie? You're staring at that dummy as if it held some kind of secret."
Amukelo sighed and rolled his shoulders. "I'm trying to figure out what Padrin meant." He adjusted his grip, staring down at the wooden blade in frustration. "Better control over my sword... I don't get it."
Bral crossed his arms, tapping his own practice blade against his shoulder. "It means your swings are too wild."
Amukelo raised an eyebrow. "What does that even mean?"
Bral shrugged and said, "I don't know. They just doesn't seem like anything I've seen before."
Amukelo sighed, but before could respond, the sound of footsteps approaching broke through their conversation. Ewan entered the room. "Alright, enough hitting things mindlessly. Come with me. Your schedules are ready."
They followed Ewan back to the main hall, placing their wooden weapons back in the storage room before heading to the counter where he laid out their training schedules.
Ewan handed out the papers one by one, letting them scan their assignments. "Master Dainor put these together based on what he observed from your entry matches. These sessions should maximize your strengths while working on your weaknesses."
Bral was the first to peek at Amukelo's schedule, leaning in eagerly.
"Let's see what we've got..." His grin faded slightly. "Oh. We're in different groups."
Amukelo furrowed his brow, scanning his schedule more carefully.
Bral sighed dramatically, slumping against the counter. "Man, I was hoping we'd be in the same class."
Idin, who had been quietly reading his own schedule, simply shrugged. "If this is how they assigned him, then it's probably what's best for him."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Bral waved a hand, then turned to Amukelo. "Still, kind of a bummer. Guess we'll just have to compare notes later."
Bral then turned to Bao, raising an eyebrow. "What about you? What's your schedule like?"
Bao glanced down at her paper, then held it up for them to see. "I have a session today."
Bral scanned it over, nodding. "Yeah, but you're in a different group. Makes sense since you're an archer. They probably don't want you mixing too much with the swordfighters."
Bao didn't say much, simply tucking her schedule away.
Ewan, leaning against the counter, crossed his arms. "Alright, so now you've got your training assignments. What's the plan for the rest of the day?"
Bral stretched, rolling his shoulders. "I think I'll take a break before my class later." He glanced at Bao's paper again. "You have session when we do, but Amukelo don't. So me and Idin will probably head back to the inn to change, eat something, maybe hit up the bathhouse before heading back for training."
He then turned to Amukelo. "What about you? You coming with us, or staying here to practice?"
Amukelo thought about it for a moment. On one hand, he wanted to keep training, especially since his fight with Padrin had exposed so many flaws. But on the other hand, his stomach growled audibly, and he didn't know how toninprove on what he was lacking.
Bral and Idin both smirked, while Bao just gave him a flat look.
Amukelo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah... I think I'll take a break and come back later."
He glanced at his hands, flexing his fingers. "I'm starving after those matches. It's weird. This wasn't as dangerous or taxing as fighting monsters, but for some reason, it left me completely exhausted."
Bral laughed, slinging an arm over his shoulder. "Yeah, I know that feeling."
Idin nodded. "Sparring drains you in a different way. It's not just physical, it's mental too. You're constantly thinking, analyzing, adjusting... it's tiring in its own way."
With that they left the facility the facility and headed back to the inn first. Amukelo, Bral, and Idin went to their room, while Bao went to hers.
As Bao entered the room, Pao was sitting at her desk, hunched over, a candle flickering beside her. But something was off.
Pao wasn't furiously scribbling notes like she usually did. She was staring at the paper, her quill hovering motionlessly, as if she had forgotten what she was supposed to write.
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Bao set her bag down and stretched her arms, rolling her shoulders after the long day. "Hey, sis. How's the magic studying?" she asked as she walked over to her own side of the room.
Pao didn't answer immediately. She just blinked and looked up slowly, as if snapping out of a trance. "Oh... it's... fine, I guess."
Bao raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like the usual 'I learned the best thing today!' kind of fine."
Pao forced a smile, but it was weak, unconvincing. "It's just been... a bit hard to focus today."
Bao started untying the wraps around her wrists, frowning slightly as she walked toward Pao's desk. "I see. That's weird, though, you're usually—"
She stopped mid-sentence, catching the mess of crossed-out notes on Pao's parchment. Bao knew her sister well, and she also knew her study habits. Pao's notes were always meticulously organized, her writing smooth and structured, as if she was transcribing spells for a grand magical archive. But today it was chaos.
Bao reached down, lifting the parchment with one hand, flipping through the pages. Almost every line was either scratched out, rewritten, or left incomplete. Whole sections had been erased with aggressive strokes, and other pages were just empty, as if Pao had started but couldn't even bring herself to write anything down.
"What the hell is this?" Bao asked, looking back at her sister. "You barely wrote anything today."
Pao lowered her gaze, avoiding eye contact, her fingers tightening around her quill. She didn't answer.
Bao exhaled sharply, setting the papers back down with a soft rustle. "Alright, what's going on? And don't tell me 'it's nothing' because this?" She tapped the mess of parchment. "This is not you."
Pao hesitated, her lips pressing into a thin line, before finally giving a small shake of her head.
Bao sighed, rubbing her temple. She already had an idea of what this was about. "This is about Amukelo, isn't it?"
Pao flinched slightly but still didn't say anything.
Bao leaned back against the desk, crossing her arms. "This has gotten out of hand, Pao. I get it, you've been overthinking whatever it is you saw, but this? This is affecting your studies now. That's not like you."
Pao finally lifted her head, eyes flickering with uncertainty. "I—I just don't know how to ask him about it..."
Bao rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Then just do it. Ask him. Right now."
Pao shot up straight in her chair, her eyes wide. "What? No! I can't just—"
"Why not?" Bao cut in. "You're stressing yourself out over something that could probably be solved in two minutes. You need to stop running from it."
Pao gripped her hands together, fingers twisting nervously. "But how? How do I even start that conversation? Every time I think about bringing it up, I just... I freeze."
Bao sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Alright, then let me do it for you."
Pao jumped out of her chair, hands raised in alarm. "No, no, no! I have to do it myself! It's my problem, I need to confront it!"
Bao narrowed her eyes at her sister, unimpressed. "Then do it. Now."
Pao opened her mouth, then closed it, her shoulders slumping. "But... how?"
Bao groaned, throwing her hands up. "Seriously? Okay, listen. You need time, I get it. But here's what you're gonna do."
She pointed at her sister. "Tonight, Amukelo doesn't have a class. You ask him to go out somewhere, just the two of you. And when you feel comfortable, you bring it up. That's it."
Pao stared at her, clearly struggling with the idea.
Bao sighed again, this time softer. "Look, I really doubt this is even a big deal. But whatever it is, it's messing with your head, and it needs to stop. You can't keep doing this to yourself."
Pao hesitated, then slowly nodded, though she still seemed uncertain.
Bao pressed on. "So? Are you going to do it?"
Pao's voice was barely above a whisper. "...ask him out?"
Bao nodded. "Yes. In about ten minutes, we'll be heading out to rest before training. That's your chance. If you don't do it now, when will you?"
Pao exhaled shakily, clenching her fists, as if trying to force herself into action. "O-Okay."