Chapter 52: Papa! Teach Me Swordsmanship!
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The morning after the dream with the Gods, I woke up feeling stronger. My body was flowing with some kind of divine power around me. But after I got used to it and meditated a bit with the flowing energy around me, this sparkly aura receded. After that, I walked outside my room. My parents greeted me as usual, with their loving hugs and kisses.
“Sylphy, good morning!”
“How are you do- huh?!”
“Hi! Eh? What?”
For some reason, the two were looking at me with great shock.
“S-Sylph… Did you just get a divine protection?” my mother asked.
…..
“I did… ah, I had a dream last night… it included creepy gods and Theia telling me that I was a heroine now…” I replied in all honesty.
“W-What?!” father could not help but exclaim.
“So… it actually happened, huh. It really… happened as we were fearing…” mother muttered soon after.
“The Gods… did they really have to give it to her at such a young age? We got our titles at around 15… well, you, of course, got it at an even higher age… but Sylph is just four!” father said sometime later. From what I could sense, he was furious.
“It seems the Gods are getting desperate. Has the world been doing something lately? I can’t really tell… I would have to travel back to my homeland and interact with the Yggdrasil Sprout to see if the world is planning something…” mother said, sighing soon after.
“Perhaps they already know of it? The Demon King’s remnants might be trying to distract us from what it’s planning… perhaps another Demon King?” Father pondered.
“S-So soon? Remember how long it has been since we defeated the Demon King? That was only less than twenty years ago,” mother could not help but say, her tone worried.
“I know… this is bad…” Feeling hopeless, father let out a sigh.
Of course, as they conversed with one another, I was just standing there, looking at them.
“Erm…”
“Ah!”
Thankfully, the two quickly noticed that I was still there and went back to their usual selves.
“Sylphy! I guess… we can’t really do anything about it. It’s done. Right?” father asked with a sigh.
“Yeah… I suppose this only means that we have to be extra careful and… train you!” mother added.
“Train me? Finally?” I asked, a bit expectant.
“Well, I’ve been teaching you the basics of magic already!” mother replied.
“R-Right, but that’s just the basics of the basics,” I said in response.
“Hahaha! Right! I guess there’s no turning back now… Sylph, let me teach you sword fighting and martial arts! Aura as well! You’re good with the Fire element, right? Let papa teach you the way of flames, the strongest element there is!” father told me with a smile, his tone reassuring me somehow.
“S-Strongest element? Everyone knows Holy Light is the strongest element,” mother countered while crossing her arms in response.
“Geez, you’re starting this discussion again? It’s obvious that Fire is more offensive, it can easily burn things, destroy them, explode, combust… it’s obviously way deadlier than Holy Light. Well, sure, Holy Light can burn, but it isn’t as effective and powerful as Fire!” father retorted.
“Holy Light is incredibly fast. It’s as fast as light, you know? Fire may be good, but Light is deadlier since it’s faster. Plus, unlike Fire, which only has a scant amount of healing and defensive spells, Holy Light can be both offensive, defensive, supportive, and regenerative all at the same time. Therefore, it is the strongest,” mother said in response. It seems like she’s not taking no for an answer.
“And that’s exactly why Fire is the strongest. Holy Light is considered an element that’s a jack of all trades. On the other hand, Fire specializes in damage, splendidly so, if I might add. It cannot be easily surpassed by most elements in that regard.” Of course, father wasn’t also taking no for an answer.
“Geez! You’re very stubborn today…” Mother could not help but let out a sigh after that.
“C-Can you two cut it out? You look like kids…” I said with a sigh.
The two realized a kid like me was calling them kids, so they quickly decided to forget what they were talking about. However, a new discussion quickly emerged.
“So, Sylphy. Let’s begin your sword training, martial arts training, and aura training,” father suggested.
“Allan, she’s a kid! You can’t teach her how to use a sword so young. She’ll cut herself! Plus, you can’t possibly make her exercise with such a tiny body, right? She’ll easily end up with a wound. On top of that, you’re also a brute so you might end up hurting her without realizing,” mother quickly brought up arguments while waving her head and crossing her arms. Her elven nature was very prideful and domineering, but of course, my father wouldn’t give up that easily.
“Four years is the best age to start sword training! My father used to be a mercenary and-”
“I see. You’re going to do that again? Having a father that forces a three-year-old kid to swing a sword for 15 hours a day is not normal! Your father was insane. That’s why they called him the Mad Wolf,” mother chided.
“Look! My father might have been little wild, a bit wrathful, and perhaps quite irresponsible, but never ever call him insane!” father replied, feeling a bit wronged.
“Sure, whatever… but I won’t let you make her do what you want. Sylphy is still too young, plus she’s a half-elf. She doesn’t have the constitution of a pure human so her strength doesn’t develop that quickly. We elves are more delicate and swifter, more dexterous and also… more graceful in our movements. We are not brutes. Sylphy will become a good magician and perhaps a superb archer in the future. In fact, I can already see it on her,” mother declared.
“Eeeh? I don’t want to be an archer! I want to be a swordsman!” I proclaimed.
“W-What? S-Sylphy?!” My mother cried as if I had stabbed her in the back.
“Hehehe! That’s my little girl! See? She wants to do it!” father said in response, suddenly lifting me up high into the sky before beginning to laugh happily.
“You make your father so proud! I will instill upon you all the things I’ve learned!” he said soon after.
“I want to be a strong swordsman like papa! Also, who’s the Mad Wolf?” I asked.
“That’s your old grandpa! I haven’t seen the old man in over 5 years now, actually,” father told me.
“Can I meet him?” I asked excitedly.
“Maybe one day-”
“Never! He’s too much of a brute! I don’t even understand why you like your father so much after being so harsh to you throughout your childhood… I’m certain he’ll only be a bad influence for Sylphy…” mother could not help but retort.
Ugh. Why is mother extra stubborn today?
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