David's sleep had been deep and dreamless, and as he jolted awake, he groaned, raising his hand to rub his eyes as his other squeezed the air a few times, confused by the lack of Derf's presence before he spotted the sword, sheathed, leaning on the table facing the couch. In his sleepy haze, it took him a few seconds to wake up enough to twist around and sit up on the sofa, blinking as he pulled off the blanket draped over his body. Had Louise provided that for him? He recalled the conversation, or rather, the rant she had gone on, but he couldn't quite remember what had happened between then and his passing out.
He held a hand to his forehead and rested his elbow on his knee, leaning forward and staring at the floor as he thought over her words. Ever since coming to this world, he had all but forgotten about her presence, acting as though she didn't even exist, and he certainly didn't expect her to be observing him that whole time. He knew how to get past the Academy staff's checks on messages being sent out, but he was careless on his end. Looking back, the times he tended to leave messages half-finished and shoved under a book somewhere in the dorm were pretty obvious in hindsight.
Louise wasn't an idiot, he should have realized that, and she had even paid close enough attention to realize how exhausted he had been, even when he himself had though he was just fine. Never mind taking a break, he was already feeling a lot better after just that nap, and as he stood up to walk to a nearby window and check on the sunlight, he hummed, a small smile on his face.
The fatigue from before was gone, but more than that, Louise's ranting had taken a weight off his chest that he didn't even realize he'd been carrying. He didn't need to hide his biggest secrets from her anymore, not when she had realized them herself. She knew that he was New Divide, and somehow, she had even realized that he saw this world as a story. Whether she knew that there was an existing fiction series following her life, he couldn't say, but now, he knew he could put his faith in her a little more than before.
She had realized everything, but more than that, she had still kept it a secret. From the desperate tone with which she spoke, it sounded like she had been holding that burden in for a long time, if not ever since he came to Halkeginia in the first place. Perhaps it was time to let go of his unreasonable mistrust of the pinkette for the things she did in canon and when he first arrived.
Really, she hadn't done all that much to earn his hatred here, save for things that he had caused himself, and now, she had been genuinely trying to help him now that he was finally giving her chances to talk.
Theorizing with him about the possible identity of the traitor, telling him about her self-aware unjustified hatred for Kirche, her fear of Karin, and now, all but slapping some sense into him again. She was right, he really hadn't been thinking of those he was dealing with as 'people', rather as 'characters'.
Everyone had their own perspective, and it took her of all people to wake him up to that fact. As he looked out the window, he reached his arm back to feel the raised edge of his scar through his shirt.
Gandalfr was loyal to spoken word, and this scar was proof of the one time he'd failed to do so, but more than that, he realized how that it was in itself a lifeline tying him to Alfheim. Before the attack, there was nothing physically stopping him from returning home, and he could make up some story about where he had disappeared to and pretend nothing had happened here, but since then, he was marred, given a visible reminder of the life he was leading now.
As he turned around, he sighed, reaching for the strap of Def's sheath to sling it over his back, the sword coming out to speak. "You seem downtrodden, Partner. What's the matter?"
The boy shook his head, moving along the furniture and out into the hallway towards one of the staircases he knew were nearby. "I've just had an epiphany, that's all. Did Louise say anything about where everyone is right now?"
The sword spent a few moments in silence, before responding. "It will be dinner time soon, so Karin is likely taking care of Ronchonner."
"In the stables...I didn't say anything about Karin, though." David stated, earning a laugh from the blade.
"I see no one else you would be interested in speaking with considering the look on your face."
The boy opened his mouth to respond, before groaning as he failed to find a comeback, reaching to push the crossguard flush with the sheath and quiet the weapon. "Alright, you made your point. Thanks for not talking over Louise, by the way. I can tell you had something you wanted to say about it."
Though the ancient sword's speech was blocked by his hand, he didn't feel the vibration of it wanting to respond, and so he let go of the handle, going quiet as he walked.
Even though he'd been here for a couple days now, he still hadn't explored much of the estate, and though it wasn't nearly the maze that existed within the Orleans mansion in Versailles, it was still a wonder how long he took to go anywhere, spending nearly fifteen minutes on his journey before finally discovering the pathway outside and towards the stables.
He found Karin exiting from the building, the woman not looking in his direction as she headed along another path, though as he came closer, she turned her gaze to face him. Her path didn't change, so he adjusted his direction to catch up with her, filing in line at her side as she looked forward.
"I see that you've recovered quickly." she stated quietly, eyes focused on the stone pathway ahead of her. "Yeshua was unharmed, but you recovered before Eleonore."
The briefest shadow of an unreadable expression crossed her face, but it vanished before he had time to respond, so he shrugged it off. "I'm glad I didn't punch Yeshua as hard as I thought, but I guess that also means I wouldn't have hurt you at all if it did land…" He sighed, crossing his arms. "I've got a long way to go, but I realize now that I don't stand a chance of getting stronger with the way you're training me."
She tilted her head to roll her eyes in his direction, a soft "Hm?" coming from her throat. "You think my training methods aren't thought out? That's bold of someone who has yet to escape a battle unscathed. Perhaps I should have you try again tonight, without Eleonore's help."
He shook his head, laughing at her statement. "No, it's not like that. I kind of realized how much I've been pushing myself, so is it fine if I take it easy for a few days? I mean, this is the biggest building I've seen in this world, and the estate of the most influential family in Tristain. I'd kind of like to sightsee for a bit."
She was quiet, before turning her gaze forward once again. "There is no end to your foolishness, asking someone of my rank and personality for a vacation, while forcing me to walk faster in order to stay ahead of you. If this were the Gaul or Henrikson families, or any number of those between Viscount and Marquis, you would be executed for such a tone, regardless of your position with Her Highness."
He was about to respond before she raised a hand in front of him, causing him to blink, pausing in his step and allowing her to step ahead of him. "I can tell that you've changed since that fight. You realize now that you can't just keep getting into every fight you're offered now, haven't you?"
He hesitated, uncertain how to respond to her query, before nodding. "...Yes. I don't want to let people be hurt, but I can't force my own body too far or I won't be helping anyone." he replied. "Those heavy hits and devastating destruction you've been doing, I can't handle that week after week or I'd eventually collapse. I'm not made of metal."
She hummed, nodding slowly at his assessment. "Steel is strong, but under enough stress, it will break like anything else. I intended to continue with that same strategy of continuously driving you beyond your limits until you finally realized that."
He blinked, surprised by her statement. "You...You were planning for me to notice my own weakness all along?" he asked, and she turned to look sideways at him.
"I have met many headstrong people who bravely walked into battle and were slaughtered as a result. Believing yourself the center of attention will only become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you hammer cold steel, it will do nothing but deform, but if given constant heat and softened first, then it can be tempered to become stronger than it was originally." She raised her chin her step speeding up a bit. "To create steel, you first need to purify the iron with excessive heat and mixing. You've finally passed that phase, so I will give you time to prepare, but…" She raised her hand again, a finger pointed to the sky. "There are 26 days left until Princess Henrietta's marriage and coronation ceremony. Until then, I will be training you and Eleonore properly, without the same heavy hand that I've been using. However, rather than giving you a week to prepare again, it will become a daily procedure. Are you capable of handling that?"
The boy was silent as he mulled over the option, before nodding, crossing his arms. "I'm not going to train to be a new Gandalfr, though." he stated, lifting his left hand to point the runes forward. "I'll do it as David, and show you that I'm more than just the people who came before me."
"Then so be it. If you want me to consider you worthy of your position as a Furst and the familiar of my daughter, then show me your drive. I'll give you a question, to be answered before your time here is done."
He blinked, confused, before she spoke up. "Everyone, even those with no magic whatsoever, has a tie to a certain element. Something that forms the structure of their personality, which in Chevalier Style practice is called the "core" of the soul and the place from where we draw power from the earth. So, in training with me and working together with Eleonore and Yeshua, I want you to be able to tell me...What is your affinity?"