"Nn!"
With her usual terse cry, Byune swung the pure-white blade.
The short sword Pamidor had forged from Silver Lion materials had a noticeably longer blade than the one Byune had been using before.
And yet, despite the added length, her swing speed was actually a fraction faster than before.
Part of that was due to the combat training she'd been undergoing lately, which had improved Byune's overall fighting ability.
But more importantly, the weapon itself was significantly lighter than her old one.
At the same time, the blade's sharpness had clearly increased. For Byune, who excelled in short sword combat, this pure-white blade was something that could raise her combat effectiveness by a full level — perhaps even two.
Naturally, she understood that her own skill hadn't yet caught up to what the weapon was capable of.
That was precisely why she kept training — drilling over and over so that she wouldn't be wielded by her weapon, but would instead learn to master it.
"Too slow."
Vihera's voice rang out just as Byune's strike caught empty air, and she tumbled onto the snowy ground.
Realizing her legs had been swept, Byune scrambled quickly back to her feet.
While Byune was wielding a short sword with a pure-white blade she had only just obtained, Vihera wasn't even using Magic Items like her hand gauntlets or foot guards.
Even so, Byune felt a sting of frustration at being completely outmatched.
Her expression didn't betray the emotion, as usual, but the disappointment was only natural for the surprisingly competitive Byune.
Voices cheering for Byune echoed from the hallway and courtyard overlooking the backyard, where the combat training — now something of a regular ritual — was taking place.
Whether spurred on by those voices or simply refusing to lose at this level, Byune planted her feet firmly in the snow where she had fallen.
Gripping the pure-white blade once more, she squared off against Vihera.
"Nn!"
As Byune signaled for another round, a smile spread across Vihera's face — a smile so alluring it could captivate anyone who laid eyes on it.
Vihera considered herself inferior to Marina in sheer feminine charm, but the smile she wore when savoring a fight possessed a bewitching intensity all its own, capable of stealing the breath of anyone watching, regardless of gender.
In fact, the spectators who had been cheering for Byune moments ago were so transfixed by that smile that their voices had died away entirely.
Paying no mind whatsoever to the onlookers, Vihera beckoned to Byune with her index finger.
Whether provoked by that taunting gesture or simply fired up, Byune surged forward.
She knew that charging straight in would end the same way as before, so she loosed a volley of long needles as a feint.
Among them were transparent ones designed to be nearly invisible, but Vihera evaded every single one.
Her movements, combined with the flowing clothes she wore, amounted to a dance that would put any ordinary dancer to shame.
"Whoa!"
Rei, who had been leaning against Set's flank on the snow, let out a startled yelp as a stray needle embedded itself in the snow right beside him.
Pinned against Set as he was, there was no way for him to dodge. It couldn't be helped.
But Vihera and Byune didn't so much as glance in his direction, continuing their sparring session without pause.
Byune closed the distance while keeping up her barrage of needles, this time watching her footing carefully to avoid repeating her earlier mistake as she launched her attack.
But that very caution was what disrupted her natural rhythm, and her overall movement became sluggish as a result.
"Come on, what's wrong? You were a bit sharper just now. You're not committing enough."
With a grin, Vihera sidestepped Byune's strike and lightly placed her hand against Byune's torso.
If she had used her signature Magic Impact Palm, that alone would have been a killing blow.
Byune was wearing leather armor, but Magic Impact Palm was exactly that fearsome a technique — it transmitted impact directly into the opponent's body, bypassing armor entirely, even if it were solid metal.
Since this was a mock battle, Vihera hadn't channeled anything into the touch. She had simply tapped her.
Thanks to that, Byune was spared the full brunt of the blow, but knowing full well what Magic Impact Palm could do, she still froze for a split second.
"Come on, come on. Try a little harder."
Facing Vihera's smile, Byune launched another attack — but this time, instead of charging head-on, she circled around to Vihera's flank.
More needles flew through the air.
This time, rather than dancing around them, Vihera deflected the incoming needles with her hand gauntlets.
She could do this precisely because she was tracking every single needle with her eyes.
"Nn!"
But Byune had clearly anticipated this. Without so much as a flicker of surprise, she kept circling Vihera, continuing to hurl needles as she moved.
Vihera batted them away with the gauntlets on both hands.
"What's wrong? With only that, a strong opponent will read you in an instant, you know."
It wasn't that Byune had risen to the bait, but as she orbited Vihera, she suddenly closed the gap.
The trail of footprints stamped into the snow showed not the slightest sign of slipping.
That alone spoke volumes about the quality of Byune's footwork.
However... her opponent was still Vihera.
No matter how polished her footwork, fighting head-on, Byune was simply outclassed.
Even so — even so, thought the fiercely competitive Byune, pouring every ounce of her being into her swing.
The pure-white blade lunged at Vihera, nearly indistinguishable against the surrounding snow.
Under normal circumstances, the white of the snow would captivate the eye, and even for an instant, one would lose track of where the blade truly was.
But the one standing here was Vihera — someone who lived for battle.
She wouldn't be fooled by something so simple. She read the strike coming straight at her and dodged cleanly.
Ordinarily, she wouldn't have bothered evading an attack of this caliber — she would have deflected it with her gauntlets. But the short sword Byune wielded was forged from Silver Lion materials, the spoils of an S-Rank monster.
In terms of pure technique, Vihera had no intention of losing to anyone. But Byune's weapon was an exceptionally high-performance one, and a careless block risked having her gauntlets sliced apart.
Then again, if I can't block it, I just need to dodge.
Tracking where the blade would descend, Vihera shifted her body, and a smile crept to her lips.
But this wasn't the smile of someone reveling in combat — it was the smile of someone delighted that her younger sister figure had grown strong enough to fight like this.
Even so, as the one who stood in for an older sister, losing to Byune was not an option.
She evaded the incoming strike, watching the white blade cleave through the space she had occupied a heartbeat before, and quietly reached out.
The contact lasted only an instant. She took the force of Byune's downward swing and redirected it, sending her opponent exactly where she wanted.
"Nn!?"
The cry of astonishment came from Byune.
She had swung down at Vihera, and the instant she registered that her attack had been dodged, her feet had already left the ground. Of course she was shocked.
Though Byune's face was usually unreadable, pure astonishment broke across it the moment she realized she'd been thrown.
She somehow managed to twist her body midair, landing on both feet and her free hand instead of crashing on her back — but it made no difference.
"That's the match."
Before she knew it, the claws extending from Vihera's gauntlets were hovering a hair's breadth from her throat. The fight was already over.
"...Nn."
Byune looked crestfallen, but Vihera grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.
"Overall? Not bad. Your sword work was decent enough. But you're still not fully used to the weapon — your reactions were a touch slow."
"Nn."
Byune seemed to know it herself. She nodded with a regretful look as she listened to Vihera's assessment.
"You had some close moments, too. But listen, Byune. If you're going to carry that weapon, make sure nobody takes it from you. Not just in a fight — in your everyday life, too."
Byune nodded to show she understood, slipped the pure-white blade into its sheath, and hugged it tightly against her chest.
Anyone who caught even a glimpse of that weapon — the beautiful short sword with its pure-white blade, something that could easily pass for a work of art — would want it for themselves.
It would be one thing if they came asking to negotiate a purchase. But there would undoubtedly be those who took one look at Byune and decided it would be simpler to just take it by force.
Once word spread that she'd be partying with Rei from spring onward, the number of fools bold enough to try would surely shrink. But that protection would only extend to those who already knew that Rei, Marina, Vihera, and the others would be forming a party with her.
For those currently living in Gilm, it was safe to say almost no one would dare target someone traveling alongside Rei.
But in spring. Yes — once spring arrived, a flood of adventurers would pour into Gilm, just as they did every year.
And among them, more than a few would be rough, violent men.
There would inevitably be those who, upon seeing Rei, Marina, and Vihera, would convince themselves they were stronger — that the rumors were exaggerated, that it was all just the gryphon doing the heavy lifting.
What would happen if people like that set their sights on Byune?
Even knowing she traveled with Rei's group, Byune — unlike the others — didn't possess overwhelmingly superior combat power.
She was training desperately to prepare for the spring, but there were limits to how much she could close the gap.
In other words, she was the weakest member of Rei's party, and she was carrying a weapon forged from the materials of an S-Rank monster — a Silver Lion — crafted by a first-rate blacksmith like Pamidor, no less. A weapon that could honestly be called a work of art.
What would come of that wasn't difficult to imagine.
The adventurers who flocked to Gilm were, by and large, people who had confidence in their own strength.
If people like that attacked Byune, she wouldn't stand a chance.
That was why, as Vihera had said, she needed to be vigilant about keeping the short sword from being stolen.
"Nn!"
Byune understood this. She gave a firm nod in response to Vihera's words.
"Good. As long as you understand.... Well then, let's call it a day for training."
"Nn."
Though a faint air of disappointment clung to her, Byune nodded.
They had been sparring for quite some time, and Byune's stamina was considerably depleted.
She clearly understood that pushing herself to continue now would only risk injury.
Byune had been challenging dungeons on her own from an even younger age than she was now.
Because of that, she had a precise grasp of her own physical condition.
Without that ability to assess herself, there was a very real chance she wouldn't have survived this long.
"Good work. Here — drink this and recover."
Rei, still leaning against Set, handed Vihera and Byune each a cup of chilled fruit water.
He had pulled them from his Item Box, and for two people who had just been exerting themselves, the cold drinks were a godsend.
...Though if it was cold refreshment they wanted, they could always just use the snow.
"Oh, thanks. How thoughtful."
"Nn."
The two brought the fruit water to their lips, savoring every sip.
Even in winter, surrounded by snow, physical exertion inevitably produced sweat and parched the throat.
Their dry throats were thoroughly soothed by the fruit water.
"...Come to think of it, the year's almost over."
"Oh? Where did that come from all of a sudden?"
"Nowhere, really. Just crossed my mind."
Vihera, who had been mid-sip, tilted her head at the abrupt remark.
"Since the opportunity's here, why don't we throw a party?"
"We literally just had one not that long ago. Having another so soon is..."
"It doesn't have to be anything elaborate. Just me, you, Byune, and Marina. The four of us who'll be forming a party come spring — something to deepen our bond before we start working together."
"...Oh, now that sounds lovely. Especially the deepening-our-bond part."
Whatever she was imagining, Vihera reversed her position with a sly smile.
With Elena — her greatest rival — nowhere in sight, she was clearly calculating that this was her chance to have Rei all to themselves.
"Nn."
"Gurururu."
Byune and Set — the one girl and one gryphon — were on board for the simple reason that a party meant delicious food.
And so, the three of them and Set decided to propose a year-end gathering to Marina.