12. Lost
Therius watched Swordmaster Kamiizumi clash blades with one of the Lazulis knights. The knight tried to swipe at the man in green, only for him to block it with a still-sheathed katana.
"Why doesn't he unsheathe it?"
Therius looked to his left to see Zael standing by his side, blinking. "Zael…you're here?"
"Yeah. Dagran told me about the Swordmaster's new position." Both men watched Kamiizumi fight, and then Zael asked again, "Why isn't he unsheathing his katana? Shouldn't he?"
Therius remembered how he once sparred with the Swordmaster and Kikyo back in Eisen, shaking his head. "He doesn't really need to. Not yet. He's biding his time."
As they talked, the Swordmaster continued to block the knight's attacks, not even daring to counter. The katana stayed sheathed, and this seemed to frustrate the knight currently fighting him. A couple of paces away from them, Count Arganan stood, watching Kamiizumi. His niece Calista was by his side—and Therius couldn't help but find it so strange to see both the Count and his niece standing together like that. He'd never seen them standing together like that, and…well, he was somewhat aware of the animosity they both had with each other, too.
"I know he was a key commander in that civil war where he comes from, but…" Zael continued to watch, eyes wide, "How good is he? You and General Asthar worked with him."
"Better than me, that's for sure." Therius knew he could not deny that. As much as he hated to admit it at times, there were people that surpassed him in the skill of the blade. "He and General Asthar, when I observed them sparring one, were head-to-head."
That was when both Zael and Therius heard a 'thud,' and both of them turned to see that the knight was on the ground, completely disarmed as his sword was broken, and Kamiizumi held a now-unsheathed katana at his throat.
"I believe I've won this round." Kamiizumi managed, and the knight scowled and went to go grab the broken sword on the ground nearby. He looked to Count Arganan standing nearby, taking a deep breath. "Shall I challenge another of your knights? Only Asthar and Therius match my skills, and they come straight from the Empire. Yours…don't seem to match too well. They'll need a lot of work."
"I think you can light a fire under them." The Count spoke. Therius found it interesting how the Count was actually listening to this man. Therius didn't know how those two just clicked like they did the other day, but seeing Kamiizumi with the Count was like seeing Dagran with the Count—both men were clearly in the Count's favour. Perhaps Kamiizumi's dress mistake from yesterday, as well as his words, convinced the Count to be on his side…
"Ah, those knights can't do shit. You're wasting time on them."
That came from a red-haired woman, Syrenne. One of the mercenaries. Therius couldn't help but glare at her, and even Zael blanched as he looked to her.
"Syrenne!"
"What, Zael?" Syrenne looked to Zael, blue-green eyes fiery. "It's true! Even I'm better than the whole lot of them, and I'm a mercenary like you."
Kamiizumi looked to the woman, blinking. "Count…who is she?"
"One of the mercenaries I hired." The Count drawled, and Kamiizumi slowly nodded.
"I see." He looked to her, daring to make eye contact. "Miss Syrenne, was it?"
"You can drop the 'Miss.' I ain't prim or proper! And what kind of title is yours to be called Swordmaster if you lost a war?"
Kamiiizumi did not give any reaction to her talkback, but continued speaking. "You think you're better than them?"
She nodded, indignant. "I can wield two swords at once and yeah, I'm better than them. I can probably tell you how many knights ran away screaming when the Gurak last attacked!"
"Ran away screaming?"
Arganan looked like he was struggling with not looking embarrassed. Even Therius and Zael couldn't help but cringe. Kamiizumi simply smirked at the sight, before facing Syrenne again. "If that's the case, I'd like to present a challenge to you. A test."
Syrenne raised an eyebrow. "What kind of challenge?"
"Disarm me completely, lady mercenary," The Swordmaster challenged, "And I'll buy you a drink. Two, even."
"All of 'em, Swordmaster."
The Swordmaster blinked. Syrenne grinned.
"You gotta buy all of 'em, or I'm not playing your game."
There was silence, and then the Swordmaster smiled right back at her.
"Very well, Syrenne. Loser buys the other all of their drinks!"
"What!?" Praline stared between the two, and then looked to Kamiizumi, "Swordmaster…do we even have the money for that!? Who knows how much she drinks!?"
Kamiizumi couldn't help but shrug. "Honestly, I don't know. Let's just hope pg is acceptable currency in this world."
"…O-Okay, then."
Therius watched as Syrenne and Kamiizumi moved to stand a few proper feet away from each other, about to duel. Without missing a beat, Syrenne took out both her swords, before rushing at Kamiizumi.
The Swordmaster just stood there at first, not moving, but then as Syrenne slashed, he sidestepped the attack. She rotated on the spot, slashing at him again with one her swords, but this time he blocked it with his katana. Using the momentum of being stopped, she used it to push forwards and try stabbing at him, but the Swordmaster quickly sidestepped her again.
"All defense, aren't ya?" Syrenne asked, frowning. "That's not fun."
Kamiizumi smiled. "It's not all I can do, lady mercenary. Try again."
Syrenne didn't need encouragement—and Therius and Zael watched as she lunged at him again. Kamiizumi blocked it this time, before quickly swinging at her. When he did, his katana connected with both her swords, but it was hard enough to send stumbling.
"The hell—!?" She scowled up at him, and he kept that smile on his face.
"Defend and counter. That's my specialty. You seem focused on merely attacking, ignoring your defense—not the worst strategy, but also a reckless one."
"Keep riling me up and we'll see who's bein' reckless."
"If it'll get your fighting at your best…" Kamiizumi left that unfinished, lunging at her. As he swung, she leapt over him to dodge, rolling onto the ground and away from him to get some distance. Kamiizumi turned to face her just as she rushed at him, and both her swords began clashing with his katana, attack after attack.
Therius couldn't remember if the Swordmaster was ever this riled up when Therius and Asthar fought him and Kikyo. It was….well, he was acting differently than he thought. One might've thought the Swordmaster might be a bit more broken, given his loss in the civil war and the fallout with Edea, but from what it looked like, it was like he was in a better mood.
Which was strange, because surely he was in no great mood. He couldn't be. Right?
"—very reckless. You come off as no better than a simple mercenary."
The Count's words about the Swordmaster echoed in the the Swordmaster's mind as he fought Syrenne.
Mercenary. Reckless. Kamiizumi couldn't help but smile.
"I technically am one, Count."
He knew he had the Count in the palm of his hand, or at least feeding from it. Was it that the Count said?
"Reckless is not too bad a look on you."
The Swordmaster smirked, blocking another one of Syrenne's attacks, before swinging right back at her.
A yelp escaped Syrenne as the Swordmaster knocked both swords out of her hands, before pointing his katana at her throat. He simply smiled at her.
"I think I won this round. And you, lady mercenary, owe me a drink. Or more, if desired."
Syrenne looked irritated. The Swordmaster paused, thinking, before speaking.
"Then again…you did put up quite a good fight, I admit. Better than the other knights I just fought, as you claim. I wouldn't mind having you as a sparring partner, so…" He offered her a soft grin. "How about we pay for each other's drinks and call it even?"
The red-haired mercenary stared back at him, blinking, before she broke into a chuckle.
"Alright! A drink sounds good to me!"
Kamiizumi couldn't help but grin. Lucky for the mercenary in question, he knew that she wouldn't have to pay for much—because he didn't drink even a drop of alcohol.
…Oh, Crystals. His face fell, and he noticed Praline cringe nearby. Hopefully both of them had enough money to pay for the mercenary's drinks…
"She's in a better mood again, I see."
Zael couldn't help but chuckle slightly as he looked to a now giddy Syrenne, downing her drinks. It seem that Kamiizumi (miraculously) had just enough to pay for her drinks. "Yeah. Syrenne drinks pretty often—I guess you can say it's her pastime."
"I see." The Swordmaster took a sip of his own, non-alcoholic drink as he surveyed the table. Syrenne and Zael were there, yes, but the same went with two other mercenaries of the group—Lowell, a blond ice mage who was currently in the corner trying to flirt with one of the ladies in the tavern, and Mirania, who was too busy digging into her food to talk right now. "I'm glad I could talk to all of you."
"Well, Dagran's not here, so it's not all of us." Zael managed, shrugging.
"And that's perfectly fine."
"What?" Zael blinked, staring at the Swordmaster. "Do you…not like Dagran? I know he can be a bit stoic and all, but he's not that bad." He looked down a bit at his own drink, then up at Kamiizumi. "He's the one that got us all together. If it wasn't for him, we'd be alone. I guess you could say he's the glue. And he's good at talking and getting us the jobs we need to stay alive."
"He and I have our…differences, I believe." Kamiizumi knew it was best to lie—lie about what he really thought of Dagran. "I'm sure he's probably just stunned I came from an entirely different world, and is —getting used to that. Quite honestly, I'm still trying to get used to this world."
"Yes…that's probably it." Zael grinned faintly, before taking a sip of his drink. "So, uh...what is it that you want to ask us about without Dagran around?"
"It's about the Count."
Zael slowly swallowed his drink. Kamiizumi blinked.
"What? You said it yourself—Dagran's good at talking. Can't have Dagran hearing me and, I don't know, twisting what I say into something less savoury than I want. Politics relies much on words and exploiting them. Given that you wish to be a knight, as I heard, and that you're the savior of Lazulis, you're only going to get into something bigger than just fulfilling a one-time duty."
The younger man sighed, before putting his cup down. "Calista told me the same thing."
"The Count's niece?"
"Yes. And I know what I'm getting into. I think. But I can't just back away. Being a knight is something I've dreamed of, and I want to protect people. I want to protect her. So I can't back down."
Zael's determination reminded the Swordmaster, for a moment, of Edea. Of how determined she was to stay with the Wind Vestal, despite it being a horrible idea, despite it being a risk to all of Luxendarc.
"Swordmaster Kamiizumi?"
Kamiizumi blinked. "Hm?"
Zael's expression turned to concern. "You okay?"
Kamiizumi paused, before shaking his head. "It's nothing," He lied. "I'll be fine."
"Swordmaster Kamiizumi?"
The Swordmaster turned, to see General Asthar standing in the open doorway of his room.
"Ah. General." The Swordmaster offered him a neutral look. "I wasn't expecting you. I just got back from being out with Zael and Syrenne."
"I see you still have your regular clothes in one piece. That's good." Asthar couldn't help but chuckle. "I admit the display you showed earlier at the Count's office was the most interesting part of the whole meeting."
"I figured it would get his attention." Kamiizumi pushed a few strands of hair behind his ear as he spoke, still facing the General. "It's very clear he…admires me. I also think I'm not the only one who caught his eye."
"I'm aware that Master Dagran is his favourite." Asthar saw Dagran alongside the Count in the past, and it made sense—Dagran was the leader of the group of mercenaries that Zael was also part of. "I'm not sure if appearing before him in bedroom attire is the best idea to do again, though."
"I won't. I already swore that to him, actually." The Swordmaster paused, before speaking. "I imagine you're not here just to exchange pleasantries."
"No. I'm not." Asthar frowned, making direct eye contact with the other man. "I want to warn you about the Count. I know you may be aware of his attraction to you, but whether he actually means what he says is another thing."
"General." Kamiizumi dared to keep the eye contact going. "I never told you before, but as you witnessed me mentioning in my past conversation with the Count, fifteen years ago I ran a revolution along with my best friend, to defeat the ruling church. That friend of mine is now the Grand Marshal of the Duchy of Eternia—effectively acting as Eternia's ruler. And allying with the Swordbearers in the civil war that I literally just lost about a few days ago wasn't easy, either. I've been involved in enough politics to know when someone means something and when someone doesn't. I appreciate your concern, but I fear it's partially wasted on me."
"You lost allies. Not just a war. You lost Barbarossa and Kikyo, two subordinates I know you trusted deeply." Asthar knew it couldn't be easy for the Swordmaster to just…move on like that so easily. No way could it be that easy. "I know you want the lass Praline to be safe, for both of you to get back, but…"
"I can't focus on myself and my own safety right now. What matters is getting Praline back home, bringing Edea back to home and to her father so she will undergo her rightful punishment for her crimes, and also finishing this war in this world."
"You are grieving and you need to acknowledge that. Ignoring it will only make it worse."
Kamiizumi went silent. Asthar saw something in Kamiizumi's eyes shift, and he wasn't sure what the man was thinking, but Asthar kept talking.
"Look. I know it is the duty of us to be strong when hope is lost. But we are also people that have feelings and emotions ourselves. If we don't…we ourselves get lost."
The Swordmaster stayed silent, but something in his eyes told Asthar that maybe…maybe he got through to him. He wasn't sure. If anything, Kamiizumi actually looked vulnerable—not the angry sort of vulnerable such as back in Eisen, but actually, sincerely, vulnerable.
The Swordmaster then sighed, and spoke once more.
"…Perhaps, then, I am already lost."
"I don't like where this is going."
"…"
"I know my Uncle has plans for the Swordmaster, like how he has plans for Zael. I know he wants to use them both."
"Then why don't you do something about it? You're his niece!"
"He never listens to what I say. All we end up doing is fighting."
"But do you both ever…try to actually talk, and not fight?"
"You sound like you speak from experience."
"Master Kamiizumi and I had a…huge fight, before we ended up here. I even stabbed him."
"…I see."
"I don't know what to do. Maybe I can ask one of the guards to ask Master to come here so I can talk to him, but…I don't know if he will."
"You can try. And if the guards refuse to carry your message to him, I'll tell him myself."
"You'd do that? For me?"
"Yes. I mean that, Edea."
"….Thanks, Calista."
