Hello again. Sorry for the huge wait. I've explained in Fatal Bullet Rewrite but I'll give a short explanation here too at the bottom.

Chapter 7

Swordscraft Academy

I sucked in a deep breath as I readied my sword. It was parallel to the ground, ready to unleash my skill. I leapt forwards towards my opponent and brought my sword down onto their head. Yet the strike was blocked easily and I felt their foot connect with my jaw, sending me flying backwards.

"Get up." The rough voice muttered. I pushed myself onto my feet and readied my sword again. The flimsy wooden sword went first this time, aiming for centre mass. My sword was knocked upwards and I received a kick to the gut as a reward. I landed roughly, my arm feeling like to was about to explode from pain.

A deep sigh came from my opponent. "Disappointing." He sheathed his sword and opened up his flask of water.

I bent my knee, staying in a crouched position and bowing my head. I didn't say a word, sweat dripping down my face. I felt ashamed. "Apologies sir."

He raised an eyebrow. "No excuses? Yet I sense you're troubled."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Apologies again sir. I have an errand to run after training, and I have my focus on that rather than training. But that is no excuse."

Hearty laughter filled the hall. "And I suppose that errand involves a woman." His laughter eased some of the disappointment I was feeling.

I had departed from Eldrie about a year ago. I hadn't exactly changed much in the last year. My hair was slightly longer, and I had changed from my villager outfit to the page uniform, which was a grey jacket with several insignias on the white shoulder pad and neckpiece, grey pants and black shoes.

It turned out I had just missed the opportunity to put in my application, so I had to wait for a while. I spent that year exploring Centoria and completing odd jobs for people to earn money, like hunting monsters that were roaming too close to villages and deliveries. Luckily next year, I was in time and took my place as Primary Trainee Light, page to Lord Grant.

Lord Grant loved two things more than anything. His sword and his drink. He was from a noble family, which most commoners were wary of. But luckily for me, Lord Grant was a kind fellow. He stood at six foot, muscular and clean shaven. He had scarlet long hair that was brushed back but unkept, which threw people off considering his status. He wore a dull orange uniform with a bronze armband. His skill with the sword was mediocre at best, but his defence was undeniably the best in the academy. Overall, he was ranked 4th in the academy…mostly because he was drunk when he fought.

"We then my boy, I suppose we should finish up soon so you can go woo this woman." He laughed, grabbing a towel and wiping the sweat off his face. "Though I suppose I should mention where you're going wrong. You rely too much on tells. In a sword fight, this won't be an issue. However, when facing an opponent like myself, you're the one giving the tells."

"Thank you sir." I picked up my own towel.

"Listen my boy, when I see you walking around outside of training, you carry two swords. I wonder why you don't use two swords during training?"

I looked over to the corner where my two swords sat. "One was given to me by a friend. It was the first gift I received in this world. The other I got from the Vetal Duelling Tournament. I haven't really thought about dual wielding."

"Ah, I see. Sentimental reasons." Lord Grant slapped me on the back, making me stumble forward a few feet. "Well then my boy, I expect you to improve immensely tomorrow. I'll accept your excuse unless you continue to perform like this." I bowed. "I'll see you later for cleaning. No excuse for underperforming there." He laughed again.

I went over to the corner and grabbed my Night Shadow Blade and Myne's Sword. I attached them both to my belt and headed outside. The weather was pleasant and the wind was light. Judging by the position of the sun, I was meeting Myne in about half an hour.

I had managed to keep in contact with Myne through letters that I gave to a merchant. He made runs between Centoria and Vetal so it wasn't too out of his way, and I paid him so he was more than happy to take it to the Church and give me letters when he came back. I found out that she was coming to Centoria for a week.

"Where are you going then?"

I jumped in surprise. I looked to the garden and sighed. "I swear you stand there waiting for me every day to pass by."

Kimiko smirked. "Damn, you caught me out."

Kimiko had stayed behind in Vetal for a few weeks then journeyed here. She was the page of the Rank 7, Lilith Jade, a commoner. Since coming to the Academy, she had begun to use a single edged longsword. Her hair was no longer tied in a ponytail as she was no longer a blacksmith, hanging loose and resting just above her shoulders. She was wearing the female page uniform, which had a grey skirt and brown boots.

"So where are you heading off to in such a hurry?" She grabbed an apple from a paper bag she was holding and took a bite out of it.

"Myne is in Centoria for a week." I shrugged.

Kimiko's smirk widened. "Oh, I see. Well, don't let me hold you up from your date."

"Yeah, yeah. I only know you're teasing to hide your jealousy."

"I could get a boyfriend if I wanted. Just don't want one." She took another bite but I could still see her pout.

I walked away, waving behind me as I went. As soon as I exited the grounds, I was met with busy streets, people walking around and doing their daily chores. Centoria was always like this, even on days of rest. I had heard that every part of Centoria was busy, but Wesdarath had the densest population. Probably due to the forest of fruit trees that had been growing near the northern border which allowed for trade. Though a lot of people were visiting Norlangarth.

About a week after I got that feeling of no longer being alone in this world, a huge tree called Gigas Cedar had been cut down, apparent three years before it was meant to. Many had begun travelling there to take a look at the fallen tree. Meanwhile, I was more interested in who cut it down. According to the crier, it was a boy named Eugeo…and with him was someone called Kirito.

I wanted to try and find Kirito and ask him what he knew about me, if anything at all. But nobody seemed to know anything other than he was Eugeo's companion. I sighed to myself, leaning against a wall as I waited for Myne.

It didn't take long to feel a weight on my back. I stumbled backwards and patted the arms around my neck and smiled. "Okay, you got me."

"You're still so tall." The arms let go and I turned to see the familiar redhead. She had grown an inch or two, but overall was the same Myne I remember. Her nun outfit hadn't changed, apart from a red ribbon around her neck. "I hardly recognised you in that uniform. You look really…what's the word?"

"Formal?" I guessed.

"Handsome! That's the one."

I felt some heat in my cheeks and shook my head. "Oh come on."

"Hehe…you're too easy." Myne grabbed the sword and pulled it out of the sheath. "You can hardly see the crack in it."

I smiled sadly. "I didn't mean to break it."

"Yeah, I know." Myne shrugged before giving it back. "Besides, I got to see that amazing Sacred Art that you used."

I looked around. "So, is there anywhere you want to go?"

"I don't know. You probably know this place better than me. Take me somewhere interesting."

I began to run through the places I knew that Myne might like. It suddenly hit me that I knew very little of what she liked…or what girls liked in general. Kimiko hadn't helped in the slightest, preferring to tease me rather than actually talk to me. Besides, she seemed to be more of a tomboy anyway. Luckily, I heard Myne's stomach growl, which reminded me of a small café that was only down the street. "Fancy some food?"

"Haha…yeah…" Myne giggled, embarrassed.

"So what have you been doing at the Church since I left?" I took a sip of my drink while I waited for Myne to finish her mouthful.

Myne swallowed and let out a satisfied sigh. "Well, the day after you left, Killian was promoted to vice captain of the guard. We held a celebration at the town square. He told everyone that you had earned the sword. Since then, it's been slow. I've been getting better at Sacred Arts though and here I am."

"Good." I passed her a napkin as I raised a piece of cake to my mouth.

"And I'm getting married."

I almost choked. I managed to swallow the cake and catch my breath. "Sorry…that just caught me by surprise."

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting it so soon either." Myne's voice had gotten noticeably sadder.

I took a moment to take it in. Myne seemed way too young to have that happen to her. I took a sip of my drink. "So who's the lucky guy?"

"You remember Karma?" I did, and could immediately see why Myne wasn't thrilled about marrying him. Even in the short time I saw him, I could tell he wasn't exactly the most friendly guy. "Well, he's the son of a second rank noble and wants to become an Integrity Knight. He was supposed to win the tournament this year as it was his last opportunity to get into the Swordcraft Academy, but as you can probably tell, he's not exactly the best swordsman. So now he's trying every other way. He thinks he can get an audience with the Pontifex by having strong connections to the Church. And because he overheard me bad mouthing him, he had noble jurisdiction over me."

"And so he forced you to marry him?"

"Yeah…after other things." Myne's face was pale. I reached across the table and placed my hand on top of hers. She flinched slightly, but forced a smile. "It's fine. I'll be fine. Sister Fornell has been helping me a lot. And Killian has been keeping a close eye on him to make sure that he isn't doing horrible to me."

A pit grew in my stomach as I heard her recounting her experiences. "Well, at least you have other people. I wish I could do more."

Myne shook her head. "You should focus on this first."

"If he does anything, let me know." I said sternly. "As soon as I can, I'll come and teach him a lesson."

Her forced smile was replaced with a genuine one, a sparkle in her eye. "Thank you Light."

The sun was beginning to lower, the position saying it was about two hours until the sky turning gold. I stood up and smiled. "So should I escort you back to your residence? I need to return to Lord Grant soon."

"If you have the time, then why not?" Myne stood up and we headed out. I stacked our leftover cutlery, something that had become routine since I was at the Academy.

The streets were a lot less busy since this morning. A few stores were open but they rarely got business this late in the day. Myne led me down the main street and through one side street to her inn. She stopped outside and curtseyed. "I'll hopefully see you again soon." I bowed.

"Yeah, hopefully." Her right eye twitched slightly. "Hey Light, can you promise me something please?"

"Sure."

"When you become an Integrity Knight, come and see me again."

I smiled. "Even if I didn't, I would."

Myne nodded. She hesitated before stepping towards me and planting a kiss on my cheek.

I stood there, a little shocked by the action. It felt familiar, something I didn't expect to feel. I shook myself out of my trance to ask Myne why but she was gone, most likely retreating into the inn. I considered going in but decide against it.

A promise…

"Spotless as always my boy!" Lord Grant raised his bottle of beer. "Maybe I should hire you to be a janitor back at my parent's mansion." He laughed loudly as I stood there in a salute. "I'm glad you're back to your normal self. I admit, I was a little worried that your performance was slipping today. But it seems I was wrong."

I bowed. "Thank you sir."

"Anyway, training will be tomorrow. I expect you to be awake. I'd hate to get that trainee to wake you up again."

I shuddered, remembering hearing Kimiko yelling outside my dorm, only to receive a cup of water to the face as soon as I came out. That was not a pleasant morning. "I'll see you tomorrow sir." I bowed again before retreating, knowing he would engage in a drunken conversation about something random if I stayed too long.

As I entered my dorm and sat down at a desk. There were only two others that shared the dorm, and they both took forever to clean. I opened my journal and stopped to think before writing. Even though a lot had happened, I didn't know what to start with.

I wrote down one thing though.

I might be in love with Myne.

A bit longer than the previous chapter I'd say. Again, sorry for the brevity of that chapter. My mental health was taking a downwards spiral at that point, which one of the reasons I took a break. Another reason is that I was working on writing for a sample for a game and have dedicated a lot of time to that. Hopefully I'll never leave a project this long again.

Reviews:

Cdswalkthrough: I'll probably end up rewriting this chapter as I wasn't happy with it. I'll probably leave out a few parts still as you probably shouldn't be reading this without the anime for context. My version doesn't touch the first 12 episodes of the anime after all.

Again, really sorry about the delay. I'll try to make sure it never happens again. Until next time, Stay Cool.