Today I am practicing with the two ladies again.
I watched the two ladies move to greet each other.
"Hello, Shia." "Hello, I'm glad you're in a good mood, Iona." Although they were greeting each other, it was obvious to me that there was something different from before.
They had even shared a bed together, however now they both were acting a bit strange, probably because of the cooking showdown incident.
This is not good. I was the one who had proposed the cooking duel, and there was no way I could concentrate on my practice without feeling uncomfortable.
That's why I decided to call the two of them in for a talk. "I know it's a bit presumptuous of me to say this, since I was the one who caused it, but let me say this." With that introduction, I continued speaking.
"The two of you are both women, both are top-class knights, and both are good rivals. I'm sure you have mixed feelings about this."
"……" The two of them listened to me in silence.
"I hope that you two will get along well with each other now that you have come to study swordsmanship under me."
"……"
I can't even imagine what these two are feeling. Even so, the two of them listened to my words.
"To be honest, I'm embarrassed to say this again."
I continue speaking while enduring the shame.
"I think you're both talented and I personally like you both, it's not good for my mental health to have a strained relationship between you two."
“……” "Can you two please be friends like you were before?" After finishing speaking, I bowed deeply towards the two of them. “……”
Both of them seemed to be contemplating something. It must have been only a few seconds, but to me it seemed many times longer than that. "Please raise your head, Charles." Iona, who had remained silent until then, opened her mouth.
"I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I don't believe that Charles is the cause of my differences with Shia." Iona's words continued. "I do have mixed feelings about Shia, as Charles said, but that is my own problem, not Charles' or Shia's." "Iona ......!"
I looked at Iona's face. There was not the slightest hint of hesitation in her eyes. "I also don't think that it's Charles's fault that my relationship with Iona has become so strained." This time, Makishia began to speak. "I've always had admiration and rivalry towards Iona, it's not just something that happened yesterday or today." I turn to look at Makishia's face. Like Iona, there was no hesitation in her eyes.
"In fact, I am grateful to you for giving me the opportunity to become even closer friends with Iona than before." "Shia...!" "It's an embarrassing story, but..." Makishia continued her words with some hesitation. "It's just... I didn't know what kind of face I should make or how I should interact with Iona." Iona and Makishia faced each other, showing me slightly embarrassed expressions. Then. "Iona." Makishia calls out to Iona.
"In order to be on par with Iona and to surpass her, it is most important to know more about Iona's sword than I do now. That's why..." After saying that, Makishia looked at Iona with a serious expression. "Please teach me Iona's sword." As soon as she finished speaking, Makishia bowed deeply. That seriousness was clearly felt by me, who was watching from the sidelines.
"Of course, Shia. Although I still have a lot to learn, if you would like to learn my sword, I would be happy to teach you." Iona responds by carefully wrapping Makishia's hand in both of hers. The scene was beautiful, like a painting taken out of a fairy tale. "Iona…!" Makishia was overwhelmed with emotion at her words. Her eyes were filled with tears, as if she were about to burst into tears. Well, it might be a natural reaction for Makishia, who cares about Iona enough to challenge me, who is both a hero and a prince, to a battle for Iona's sake. And as for Iona. "I would also be happy if Shia could teach me how to cook. I have tasted many different kinds of cuisine in my life, but Shia’s cooking was the most delicious. I hope I can learn even a little bit about the taste. I would appreciate it if you could teach me." Saying that, Iona also asked Makishia for cooking lessons. "Of course, Iona. If you're okay with me, I'll teach you as much as I can!"
This time, Makishia takes Iona's hand. "Shia...!" Hearing her words, Iona's smile bloomed.
Originally, the two of them admired each other. It seems that reconciling the two of them wasn't as difficult as I had feared. In this way, I was able to mediate between the two of them and the matter was settled, I was relieved as well. Well, I also was the one who caused the rift in the first place. After this, we were able to practice without any problems, and we left the training hall feeling refreshed.
Later.
I have no problems with Iona teaching Makishia the sword.
With Iona's guidance, Makishia's ability improved rapidly. Well, it was the same with Iona, who was being coached by me. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but the difference in ability between Iona and Makishia still hasn't narrowed, and Makishia hasn't been able to beat Iona, although the difference is really paper thin. There's nothing wrong with that in itself.Makishia no longer had the same resigned attitude she had in the past, as she continued to fight to overthrow Iona, her archrival whom she could never catch up with.
There was a problem however with Makishia teaching Iona how to cook. While Iona measures things meticulously, Makishia does everything by feeling.
In addition, it seems that the distribution of seasonings varies slightly depending on the weather, humidity, and how she feels that day, so it is impossible to recreate the taste of Makishia by creating a manual recipe, according to Iona.
Makishia doesn't really think about it, and just casually creates godlike dishes.
I can tell you one thing I've seen in all the talented people I've met. That is. Geniuses are, almost without exception, terrible teachers. This is because they can do it without the slightest stumble, so they cannot understand the feelings and thoughts of those who cannot do it.
If the person they are teaching is also a genius, their skills will continue to grow, but if they are not, then things will be truly tragic. From my perspective, Iona is good at digesting things, but no matter how you look at it, she's a talented person, not a genius. Makishia really has a natural talent for cooking, but she doesn't know how to convey it to Iona. So, although Iona's cooking skills were already at a high level, they have reached a plateau since then. For that reason, it seemed that Iona could not be a good rival to Makishia when it came to cooking.
Even so, Iona's daily efforts to approach Makishia's taste is truly inspiring. Iona knows that she is no match for Makishia, but she has not given up. In that sense, I think the two of them have become friendly rivals in the truest sense of the word.
It's been a few days since the two made up.
I decided to ask them about something that had been bothering me for a while. "I want to ask you something Iona and Shia."
"Yes."
"Yes."
"I'm the one who won the duel after you both set it up." The two of them listened to me in silence. "Are you satisfied with the result? Don't you think that the reason for your defeat was the difference in physical ability between you and the hero's bloodline?" "Yes." Iona answers immediately. That's the answer I had imagined. She continues her words.
"It is natural that each individual has different abilities. And no matter how many reasons I give, my defeat will not be reversed. I can proudly answer that I did my best to defeat Charles." As her earnest impression suggests, she is the type of person that does not seek the reason for defeat from the outside.
As for Makishia, on the other hand.
"I would like to say yes, but to tell you the truth, I was a little bit worried about it."
She answered honestly.
The answer to this question depends on one's point of view, and I don't think there is a right or wrong answer. So, this answer is also acceptable.
I asked the question to both of them because I wanted to get into this line of thinking.
"I'm not proud of it, but I think it's because of the hero's blood. I don't mean to boast, but the reaction time of the hero bloodline is incomparable to that of ordinary humans. So..." They were waiting for my next words with great interest.
"I'm going to adjust my reaction speed, or rather, my physical ability, to the same level as the two of you." "Can you do that?" "I can do it." After saying that, I cast a spell and transformed into Makishia. "!? Charles can use magic like this too!?" Makishia lets out a voice of surprise.
"This is a magic that can only be used by those of the hero's bloodline. Not only do we have the same appearance, but my abilities are exactly the same as Shia. With this, I can have a fair battle with Shia."
"It feels very strange when Charles speaks in his usual tone with the exact same voice as mine..." "I can't help it, just bear with it. However, it would be weirder to hear me use woman's language, right?" "Well, you’re right, but…" After waiting for the conversation between me and Makishia to finish, Iona called out to me.Iona as intelligent as ever, asks a really good question. "After 30 minutes, I will automatically return to my original form. There is a time limit set as a safety feature. So, the cooling period is also 30 minutes, where I cannot transform."
"Thank you for your answer. I understand." Iona seemed satisfied and thanked me.
I think that's about it. "Now, let's leave the chitchat at this point and start the duel. Afterall that's why I took the trouble to take on this appearance." I was somewhat annoyed that people thought that I had won only because of my physical ability, so I decided to have some duels with the two of them.
Chapter length 4707 characters.
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