147 Let’s Spar!
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After seeing Zack’s spirit, I realized that he had everything required to be a great fighter now. Although he wasn’t good at conventional magic, he had a large mana pool and was great with the axe. He was mostly self-taught in that regard, but he was already pretty good at using the axe techniques, as well as unarmed martial arts.
Using his Wind Magic, which he couldn’t really conjure into anything flashy, probably being similar to my father in his youth, he was able to boost his speed and even acquire the power to unleash stronger attacks with the axe. The strength of his axe merged with the wind, generating slashing winds when he swung the weapon.
Now with a spirit, this battle prowess was enhanced even further, making him even more formidable than before! I’m looking forward to his growth, to be honest.
“So, you’re having a little sibling in the near future, Sylphy?” Zack asked.
“Oh yeah. I guess I never talked about it. Aquarina kind of knew... I think,” I replied.
“Hmmm... Sylphy’s little sibling will surely be cute like her... I wonder if it’s going to be a girl or a boy... either way, I will also treat it as my little sibling!” said Aquarina.
“Hehe, I would be grateful if you did. It’ll be hard to be a big sister myself... I’m still growing and all, but mom said I didn’t have to worry about such things, raising the children was their responsibility after all...” I said in response.
“I see.... must be fun to be waiting for a sibling to be born soon... I wish I could have one,” Zack sighed.
.....
“Well? We can be your little sisters if you want,” I said with a smile.
“Eh?!” asked Aquarina in shock.
“L-Little sisters?! For me?!” said Zack. He looked at us while becoming continuously redder.
“Yeah... eh? What’s wrong? Are you okay?” I asked.
I noticed that Zack had become way too red, and steam was coming out of his ears. He looked at me in shock, as if I had said something I shouldn’t. On the other hand, Aquarina was looking at me with disbelief.
“S-Sylphy! How can you say that?!” she asked in surprise.
“What? What’s wrong?” I asked back.
“I don’t want to be this brute’s sister...!” replied Aquarina.
“Oh... okay, I get it... you don’t have to be like that...” I sighed.
“D-Don’t say such weird things... even if they’re jokes...” said Zack.
But I wasn’t joking? What’s wrong with that? Does he feel weird? I guess I should cut it out then...
“Okay, okay, I won’t say weird stuff again. Happy? Though, I really don’t know what’s wrong with that? I just want to become closer to you,” I said.
“C-Closer?!” exclaimed Zack as he once more got red.
What’s wrong with this guy? He really acts the weirdest in the most serious of moments.
“What?! Sylphy, you want to get closer with Zack? W-What about me? You don’t want to be closer with me instead?” asked Aquarina in response. She seemed desperate, as if her entire world was shattering before her and whatever I was about to say right now would decide her destiny.
“Eh? Erm... I also want to be closer with you too, Aquarina...” I replied as I held her hand and smiled back at her.
Aquarina blushed a bit as she hastened her breathing.
“Uwah... Sylphy! Sure! Let’s get closer!” she replied as she hugged me tightly. I petted her head and made her feel happier.
“I-I’m okay as it is now. Don’t get closer to me or something... also, it seems you lack common sense sometimes. What you said sounded very awkward...” said Zack not long after.
“It did?! I just thought we should bond more as friends... ahah... I’m not good at this...” I sighed. Aquarina looked back at me with an alarmed look once more, each attempt at me trying to “get closer” to Zack made her panic.
“Can you stop overreacting?” I asked Aquarina, who was startled, soon nodding in response.
“S-Sorry... I know I overexaggerate sometimes...” Aquarina said, letting out a light sigh after that.
I petted her head to comfort her a little bit. These two kids were often rather simple minded, but sometimes they would get way too complex for me to handle correctly. There’s Zack getting weirded out with my attempts at getting closer to him, and then Aquarina getting jealous about it. The whole dynamic is cute, but it gets repetitive very quickly.
In any case, for today, I had already checked the spirits of the two, and kind of wanted to do a few things. I knew I had been practicing my sword techniques and magic, and I also know Aquarina had been learning from Shade. On the other hand, Zack mostly learned by himself, although Nepheline came to teach him some martial arts using his body, which was more compatible with her own techniques.
And because I love to see them grow stronger, I’ve been itching for a fight lately. Back in my house, I’ve been mostly locked at home or practicing the sword or spells. I’ve been exploring the nearby forest, but I only get so far before my time is up.
So I thought, ‘Hey, why not spar with the two?’
Well, why not? It seems fun, and perhaps we could learn from one another better that way.
“Spar?” asked Zack.
“Yeah, you saw me spar with Aquarina back then. It was pretty intense. Wanna spar with me? I want to see how far you can go,” I told him.
“H-How far I can go...” murmured Zack.
He suddenly looked at his hands, which were covered in scars. Ever since he was a child, he has been battling and surviving. I could feel that he would be an even fiercer fighter than Aquarina.
“Come on. Why are you doubting so much? Are you chickening out?” asked Aquarina teasingly, making Zack grow furious.
“I-I’m not chickening out! I will fight... spar, I mean...” replied Zack.
“So, you accept? Nice! Alright, Zack. I’ve been seeing you grow for a while now. Time to show me what you’re made of!” I said pridefully.
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