Ilias Temple and its village (Part 3)
Turning to face away from the people present, Peter took a few seconds to breathe. He had let his emotions slip again. Worse, that particular memory was not something to be remembered, for the sake of his apparently cracking sanity. Yes, those were definitely bad signs, as much as Peter tried to regain his bearings, from previous actions it could be concluded that his mental health was tittering on an edge. It had been years since he had slipped in front of another person so badly or, more specifically, let another see those kinds of expressions. Worse, it had happened repeatedly.
Feeling the need to regain proper posture, or protagonist breathed deeply but quietly, so as to not disturb those near him any more than he already had.
That's right… They had seem him, now what did they think of him? This might have put the plan in jeopardy, and the possible reputation he hoped to gain down into the drain.
Peter HAD to find some excuse, cutting off the conversation wasn't an option, having already agreed to train the boy, and he did not intend to go back on those words.
But…
Why did he care about the kid so much?
"...Damn it, that's not the time to think about that", he whispered under his breath and satisfied himself with saying that Luka's answer had rubbed him the wrong way. After all, it was true, in a sense, it just felt weirdly moving when coming from the kid, for some reason he didn't quite understand.
Feeling that he had taken enough time already, he turned to face the mother and the old lady.
Strange. Lucifina's expression was more neutral than expected, and Erika's showed a shadow of a smile…
What? That's the first time someone reacted like this.
Walking slowly towards the two, our protagonist looked down with an ashamed expression. Again, it was half true. Some of it was simply a manifestation of how he really felt, it was also an exaggeration, trying to make it seem like he wore his emotions on his sleeve. Peter was especially proficient with this one, the apologetic facade. It was also one of his least favourite methods, because it was one of the more manipulative ones. Even though he really felt sorry most of the times he used the thing, it would often result with the other person making quite a few assumptions about his character. Again, that was the objective of such a technique. However, such assumptions would often put quite a wedge between what him and that other person.
Because it was essentially trying to make them feel sorry for something that was Peter's fault. It was dishonesty of the lowest sort, thought our protagonist. And in practice, if it was successful, the other person should treat him like an innocent hurt youth, some fragile and kind kid, "too innocent for this world" in the worst case scenario. Why? Acting like that type of person is what it took to make such a strategy work effectively in case of big fuck ups. This forced him to constantly maintain a persona in front of people he had used it in, making it hard to be truthful to them.
In other words, it was a big fat lie. One that forced him to lie even more on a constant basis.
And he was so looking forward to actually being friends with those people.
"But then again, being in another world doesn't change the kind of person I am", Peter reminded himself.
Steeling himself to the unpleasant conversation that would follow, he secretly gritted his teeth.
Three steps before reaching Lucifina.
3...
2...
1...
Inhale…
Exhale…
"I...I'm so-"
"As long as you don't teach anything dangerous, I'm fine with you training Luka", Lucifina cut off his apology.
"Huh? A… Of course! He's too young to learn dangerous techniques anyway, I'm just going to show some things appropriate to his age."
"Everything's good, then.", smiled Lucifina.
"What?", our protagonist said with a deadpan face. Did she just ignore that?
Seeing his confused visage, she laughed again. Erika, who was behind her, followed suit, glad that she could get things back on track. Moreover, the old woman was glad that the mother had followed her advice and tried to hide her suspicions, for now.
Looking at the young man, Erika laughed at Pete's dumbfounded expression. He really was an honest kid. The wizened woman caught her laugh for a moment to say something.
"Whatever your problems are, I don't think it's necessary for us to know. What matters is that you don't seem to be a bad person."
Shocked, he looked at Erika for a few seconds.
...
"I don't seem like a bad person, huh?", wondered Peter. Just like the woman from the wine shop. That one always had a knack to sniping people with a few choice words, that was not always a bad thing, but in his case, she always would go to places he didn't wish she would. She would always catch him even when letting him go, just like what she was doing right now.
Now he felt even worse for trying to manipulate them.
But also, how should he respond to that?
A few things passes his head: "Sorry", "Thanks", Nothing. Apologies, gratitude or silence. In this moment, these three things jumped immediately to the forefront of his brain. None of them, however, seemed complete. None of them were the right answer. Even if they would close the subject, Peter instinctively felt they were not enough on their own. Why did he feel the need to give proper closure to this?
...
Antonia, what should I have said to you?
Peter, what did you want to say to her?
It was a possibility he was never going to see her again, the one who was like a grandmother to him. Even though, to the last moment, he didn't trust her.
...
"Just be honest, Peter.", Antonia's silhouette could be seen over Erika's body.
...
"...Sorry, and... Thank you." he said out loud.
As his mouth moved, it's corners rose up into a smile. A completely honest one.
Sorry, for being a coward and never having the courage to say at least that. I hope I can one day say it in person.
...
Erika wasn't quite aware of what was going on, but she was certain about one thing. Her words had definitely made more than their intended effect, there was some closure on the way Peter expressed his emotions. After all, that was the most genuine smile he had done up until now. She had an idea something was bothering the boy, but now it was a certainty. Somehow, her words had helped him, even if just a little bit.
Putting her hand on his shoulder, the old woman delivered a few choice words.
"What a good smile! But I didn't think you'd go after lil old me after being rejected by Luficina!"
… Wait, does she mean?
Lucifina, seeing her chance, went on the offensive.
"My, my, I knew you liked older ladies, Peter. But I didn't think you'd go that far with your fetish… How extreme!"
"..."
"...UGHHHHHH" our protagonist groaned in pain as the two housewives teased him to no end. Once again, they had exploited his moment of weakness and relaxation to mount an offensive against his pride.
And they had won again.
"...So easy"
Damn it.
"But... what about my sword training?" wondered a confused Luka.
…
After saying his goodbyes to Erika, Peter turned to face Lucifina and Luka, who had bought vegetables from the stand, and asked them with a huge smile on his face.
"So, when are we doing this? I'm pretty much free for the day, so we can start whenever.". To be fair, he was pretty excited about martial arts and teaching them, even if it was to a kid.
"Really?!" Luka said excitedly.
Lucifina patted his head and smiled at him, glad at her children's happiness. After a moment, the young boy calmed down, but still presented starry eyes directed at Peter. Cute, that made him smile even more towards the kid.
"I think you can start right now! We closed our inn for today, since it's Luka's birthday. We just bought the vegetables we needed for the festivities", pointed Lucifina.
"So it's our lucky boy's birthday? Congratulations! If that's the case, I'll be sure to teach you a super secret technique that would make even Heinrich jealous." boasted Peter, in a show of bravado to make Luka more excited.
"Whooooa!" Hook, line and sinker.
Of course, he was not lying that he would teach the kid a special technique, nothing really dangerous, of course. At least, not dangerous to train. To an extent, all sword techniques were dangerous, but it was not a reckless technique, that's what mattered. An elegant technique by a famous swordsman, he just hoped Luka would see the genius of it.
Looking at such a scene, it made Lucifina a bit more sure about her decision. Luka didn't really have many friends, his personality and situation made it a little harder for him to become close friends with the other children, so she was glad that Peter at least tried to entertain her child on such a day. Ever since Marcelus left, these birthday parties, who didn't have many people to begin with, sometimes gained a slightly lonely tint from the father's absence.
"Say, do you have broomsticks and some rope... about three times this size?" said Peter, gesticulating with his hands to show the length of the rope, bringing Lucifina back from her thoughts.
"Hmm? Yes, is it for training?" asked the mother.
"Ah, yes. The broomstick will serve as makeshift blades and the rope will be used for exercise. Nothing heavy, mind you. Just something to warm up."
"If it's blades you need, Luka already has a small wooden one, so should I bring just one broomstick?"
"Hmm, no. The other one can also be used for exercise." he reasoned.
Even if Luka was a kid, Peter didn't intend to teach bad or fake swordsmanship. Some type of exercise and conditioning was necessary. After all, one thing was teaching a simpler form of the system, another thing was teaching a fake form of the system. Peter was strictly against the second method, even for children. He respected martial arts and martial artists too much for that. If he decided to teach martial arts, he would teach god damn martial arts. No fake or ineffective training regiments, even if he had to lighten up a little bit because of his student's level.
And that's what he decided to teach Luka, a simple and light training regiment that would drill the basics of swordsmanship into him. Slow acting but still effective. And if kept up with, he should become a good swordsman in a few years. Though he still had to iron out the details of what he would teach, that was the basic idea.
Putting his hand to his chin, the young man tried to structure the training curriculum.
"Let's see, do I teach him the six harmonies? Structure? Breathing? What about the eight methods? Power generation or techniques first? What about spirit, up to what level should I help him develop it?" calculated Peter, trying to figure out the approach he should take.
"Choices, choices… well, taking into account that he's a kid, beginning with power generation would just bore him. He's alse too young to develop killing instinct, so I should be careful with spirit training. Everything else… first I should confirm what he knows already."
Finally resigning himself to the "wait and see" approach, Peter's vision broke his line of thinking by noticing what he assumed to be the inn they had talked about. It was a relatively large two story building made of polished wood. It was mostly square shaped with one of the walls on one side protruding further than the rest. It wasn't the biggest inn he had ever seen, but it was definitely the biggest building in the village, with the exception of the temple, of course. It had a sort of sharp elegance, maybe because of the way the wood shone under the sun.
All in all, quite a beautiful place. If it was back on earth, it would have definitely made for a popular spot for tourists to stay in.
Thinking this was an opportunity to get on friendly terms with Luka's mother, Peter decided to comment on the building.
"I must say, it's a very beautiful inn. It looks really well kept and has a very distinct and simple beauty."
"Well, thank you! Trying to woo me, still?", prodded Lucifina.
Giving her a sidelong glance and a grin, Peter was now more calm and quite aware that she would try something of the sort again. After all, from the little that he saw of her, she seemed quite fond of this kind of teasing. He had met such a type of people before, who would use their beauty to poke at others and see they squirm. He had heard his mother was also like that during her hay day, and to this day she would try it every now and then. Of course he knew, intellectually, what to do about it, even if sometimes he would slip or let himself get caught by it for the sake of the atmosphere.
"You wish..."
Shut up. Anyway, in general, he had two options that would retain his dignity in front of such an onslaught: one, he could go forward and press with some teasing of his own; two, deadpan it through, boring reactions were a sure fire way to make them think it wasn't worth their time. There are some things to be remembered about such methods though. First of all, even when successful, depending on the teaser's mental disposition, they might very well go on with the teasing, immediately or afterwards. In the first case, if method one is used, things might get a bit awkward – it might end up looking like the two were flirting, or it could progressively become more and more raunchy. He really didn't feel like risking such thing in front of Luka, but then again, would SHE risk it? How far would she go? The second was much safer, but honestly, much more boring and slow working. He did it whenever he didn't feel like playing around.
Peter also didn't know Lucifina very well, but knew enough to realise they would be seeing each other with some frequency, if he was to train her kid. Not really close but not far, either. So a cordial relationship is ideal.
Options, options. Peter did feel like playing around a bit though.
"...Go ahead, I'm curious to see what will happen. I'm sure nothing too serious will occur."
Oh boy, this should be fun. Now let's see… that shouldn't upset the boy.
With a grin that hovered between shit eating and Cheshire-like, our protagonist made sure to put on the most appropriate voice he could. Something that was at the same time casual, deadpan and gloating, a matter of fact kind of arrogant visage. That's what made it work.
"Insisting on this wooing thing? Were you not a married woman, I'd have though that as an invitation."
"Hmmm?", slightly surprised, Lucifina turned to look at the young man. Seeing his face, she immediately knew what was going on. Laughing softly for a moment, she decided to go ahead and play a little bit more.
"Oh, not at all. Though you wish that was the case, I'm sorry if I misled you", the woman said as she hip bumped peter.
So she decided to play along for a little bit more, huh? Very well, he also had something to say to that.
"That lonely, huh? You should be ashamed. But I'm also at fault for giving the wrong idea.", Peter said as he hip bumped back.
"Looks like you're not as shy as you initially looked to be."
"You just caught me off guard, that's all."
Both stared at each others eyes with the most neutral expression they could muster. It was not to last, however, for after a few seconds they started laughing.
That's it, that's the kind of relaxing atmosphere Peter wanted. It seems even after fucking up so much, he had still managed to get on somewhat friendly terms with Lucifina. They weren't really close, but it was a start. Still, he shouldn't get too careless.
But anyway.
"Thank you, for back there, and now. I really needed the pick me up.", said Peter in between laughs.
"… It's no problem, dear. That's just what we do, help people in need.". As Lucifina's laughter subsided, she answered.
"But, I'm serious, Lucifina, thanks." as our protagonist expressed his gratitude, he took a sheepish grin.
He really was being more honest ever since that little bit had gotten off his chest.
"An honest young man..." the mother realized. Even though he had still not told whatever his problem was, it was a little bit clearer to her why Erika insisted so much on giving him a chance. She'd try to be a bit more frank towards him.
And that meant…
"Like I said, it's no problem, dear." the mature woman said with the most emphasis she could on the last word.
"Pffff… I see you're not going to stop". Peter expressed his exasperation. Maybe this was not so bad.
"Nope." Lucifina completed.
He hip bumped her.
She hip bumped him back.
The two looked at each other, challenging their opponent to go on.
"Mmmuuuuuuuu"
This newly grown rivalry was broken by a short purple haired boy, who, puffing his cheeks, expressed his clear dissatisfaction with the situation, even though he didn't quite know what was going on.
"I don't get it… But I don't like it!"
…
Peter and Luka were stretching, getting ready to start the training. Peter commanded and Luka copied his movements. The ground was of dirt and grass, now a bit dryer thanks to the heating sun. It was getting close to mid day now, so there wasn't much time for actual techniques. Deciding to put the physical training first, eating, then starting actual class, Peter tried to hurry up so they'd complete the routines before lunch.
Lucifina had watched them for a few minutes before deciding that she would go to the kitchen and prepare a meal for the three of them. Yeah, three. Apparently, she decided that was his payment for the fighting classes. Also, he was invited to the birthday party. Of course, he shamelessly accepted all of it. He was dying to know the local cuisine, and also to just talk and be with the kid a little bit more. Peter didn't quite like the idea of Luka's birthday party having just 4 people, what with the absence of his father.
It would also be an opportunity to thank Lazarus in person. Our protagonist was told by Lucifina that Lazarus was a common member of the party, together with his adopted daughter, and Luka's friend, Sonya. Apparently Lazarus was once a member of a group of adventurers commanded by Marcelus, the boy's father, together with Lazarus, Karen, Sonya's mother, and a Magician, Merlin. Together they had travelled the world to help the people destabilized after the great disaster. Lazarus lost use of one of his arms due to some unsafe methods and improper swordsmanship, but still was quite good at using clubs. Although it was said that, when he could still use his arm, he was the one in the party whose strikes packed the most punch, he was so crazy strong it almost looked like he wasn't fully human.
"Huh, that sounds like… No, I should see it myself before making any assumptions". There was a method in martial arts that allowed for quite a lot of force to be delivered, but exaggeration or mistakes in applying it could also very well cause cumulative damage to limbs and organs.
The thing is, it's very obvious when you fuck it up because failure means a world of pain. Nobody would be stupid enough to continue using it after it has become obvious that it's very damaging to your health, right?
Anyway, there's no way Peter would be teaching that to Luka. Even if he managed to do it, you wouldn't want a kid with the kind of strike capable of felling adults, would you? Also, Lucifina wouldn't approve.
Noticing that the stretching was finished, Peter turned to grab the rope Lucifina had lent them and gave it to Luka.
"Humm, what should I do with this?"
"Jump rope, this should train your leg muscles, liveliness and coordination. Many martial artists do it."
Cocking his head sideways, Luka looked puzzled at the idea that this children's game had something to do with martial arts.
"Something this simple will help with that many things?"
...How should he explain it? Well, first of all, he should find out how sharp the kid is in order to find out how to properly teach him. Maybe trying a more universal explanation first and seeing how he interprets it will be a good test?
"Many physical and mental skills can add to martial arts. Even something like calligraphy, which can sharpen your focus, adds something to your martial skills. Don't be focused only on direct application and forget your lateral abilities. No matter how many techniques you know, it's those abilities that separate the mediocre from the excellent." gesticulates the young man, trying to verbalize with his hands and make things a little easier to follow.
Looking at the young boy nodding his head, it seems that he had caught on. Though he didn't try to contest, or ask for more information. That could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how well he understood concepts.
What Luka said next cleared up the trainer's doubts.
"Is that what the stretching was all about as well? It was kind of slow, but it did feel like something you could use." asked the young boy.
That was a first. He realized the movements of the stretches simulated ones that would be used during application? Most just think of it as way of warming up, not realizing that it's actually a method of working muscle memory part by part very slowly, so that one can study the movements in a more detailed way, noticing where exactly they're making mistakes.
Luka was much sharper than he looked, Peter noticed. Maybe he will be a pretty good student.
"That's exactly right, Luka! You know, not many notice that kind of thing. You're pretty good, ya know that?"
"Hehehehe"
"Gosh, that's cute." praising your student whenever they did something right is part of a good pedagogy.
Now, moving onto the actual training.
…
"Hrm, 20 at a time seems to be your limit for now.". Luka had been jumping rope for quite a few minutes, but he was still very clumsy. Weird, he had supposedly practised a little bit of swordsmanship before, right? Even if this was the first time he jumped rope, 20 is too low a number. He should have had enough motor skills to do much more than that, after getting the knack of it.
"He doesn't know how to synchronize his hands with his feet", the young man though. That was a really bad sign, any fighter worth their salt knows that the upper and lower body should move as a unit; even in swordsmanship, practice swings should be done with footwork. If his hand-feet coordination was that bad, does that mean he only practised footwork and cutting separately until now? Sure, doing things individually had its benefits, but it was far from a substitute to doing them at the same time.
Wondering what the situation was, Peter asked Luka.
"Luka, how were you doing your practice swings up until now?"
"Oh, like this.", the young boy stood in place and made the motions for a downward strike.
"Sheesh", our protagonist could already see some grave mistakes in the child's form, but he chose to correct them later. For now, he had other questions to ask.
"And what about footwork?"
"What footwork?"
Huh?
"I mean, stances, body shifting, front and lateral movement, that kind of stuff… You know about those things, right?", Peter asked in an exasperated tone.
"… What's all that?"
… Who the hell would teach swordsmanship without footwork? It's one of the basics of the basics, something you learn during your first class. To fight without proper movement would be like… would be like…
… The guards at the temple…
"..."
… No... it couldn't be.
Having Vietnam flashbacks to the horror show that was the guard's combat training, sweat started to form on Peter's forehead.
"You've at least tried walking while practicing your swings, right?", horror could be heard in his voice.
"Noooooo?", more and more confused, the trainee gave a non committal answer.
Dreading what he would hear next, Peter followed up with a question whose answer he feared.
"… Luka, who were the ones that trained you before?"
"A few adventurers, but mostly the temple guards."
"…"
"…What's the problem?"
Shifting from pity to disgust, Peter decided there was only one thing that could be done if he wanted Luka to ever be good at martial arts.
"… Luka, I want you to forget everything you've learned up until now."
"No way!" Luka shouted, in shock.
Now… moving onto those practice swings.
…
..
.
Hello! John, here!
This chapter is a little bit shorter than I anticipated. It could have been longer, but then it might have to be cut at a more serious scene. Since last chapter had a more serious ending, I wanted this one to end more light heartedly.
As always, your opinions are precious!