Chapter 109 :

Chapter 109 - Cabin Father and Son (4)

The fist narrowly brushed past her cheek, and then the opposite fist came in, aiming for her temple.

Lia avoided the second attack as well by a hair’s breadth.

“You dodge simple attacks very well. As expected, your eyes are good.”

Muttering that, Jing this time dug in from Lia’s right side.

Lia put strength into her left leg in preparation for the attack that would come from the right.

Thud!

Just because her eyes were good did not mean she could necessarily dodge.

With her guard properly raised, Lia was hit by Jing’s left fist.

“Ah!”

That did not mean the impact disappeared completely, though.

Perhaps the fist of the former Duke Feedus was not something one could simply endure even if he held back his strength, because Lia stepped back with a short scream.

“There is no training as good as real combat. Now, keep chasing the fists with your eyes!”

Vitality returned to Jing’s face, excited by the new recruit training that had begun after a long time.

Perhaps because of the knowledge of the holy relic, his sunken mood seemed to improve a little.

As soon as she corrected her posture again, Jing continued his attack.

“If you dodge using only your upper body, there will definitely come a moment when you get blocked. Use both your waist and your thighs to lower your posture!”

Whack!

Pow!

“Even if you get hit, you must not fall to the ground! If you do not know any techniques you can use on the ground, you will be pinned down and lose just like that! Get up immediately!”

However, his excessive adrenaline secretion was an ordeal for Lia.

It had not even been one minute since they started, but Lia already felt her breath rise all the way to her chin.

The parts she had been hit on stung and hurt.

Even though it had clearly felt like she had been hit lightly, beneath the skin of the struck spots, no, from the bones beneath the flesh, a prickling pain was felt.

This was far too different from the light practice Lia had expected.

“W, wait a second. Something about this is strange. Why are you going so hard today?”

“Going hard? You say that because you do not know how many people come looking for me to receive training like this.”

Together with words that were hard to believe, Jing’s foot flew again.

It was too heavy to dodge.

If this one hit, it would really hurt.

Searching for a way to minimize the pain, Lia’s head spun quickly.

This time, instead of a clear striking sound, a thicker, more muffled sound rang out.

Lia had clung to Jing’s leg and held on.

Her judgment was appropriate.

Because as Jing lowered his leg, Lia prevented herself from taking his kick directly.

However, Lia could not figure out what to do next and merely put strength into her arms.

Jing looked down at Lia, who was tightly holding his calf, and smiled.

“Good. What will you do next?”

“T, to be honest, I don’t know.”

At Lia’s honest answer, Jing burst into laughter.

“I told you earlier, did I not? When attacking, strike the temple, philtrum, shin, and genitals. Right now, you have obtained a chance to attack two of those places. Of course, normally, no one would kindly ask where you intend to strike like I do.”

“But I’m holding on with both arms, so I can’t attack either one. Besides, I feel like I’ll already get kicked hard by the other foot before I can attack.”

“That is why you must be faster. If you grab the leg and stop the movement, you must attack another part during that brief moment. At the very least, make them unable to move. While talking with me like this, Miss Lia, you have lost that chance.”

When Jing shook his leg hard, Lia was sent flying away.

“Kkeuak!”

Lia, who rolled across the ground, immediately raised herself and lifted her arms above her head just as Jing had taught her.

“Next time, as soon as you grab the leg, attack immediately!”

Watching Jing speak as if teasing her, Lia gritted her teeth.

Sweat was pouring down like rain, and it was a little frustrating, but her mood was not exactly bad.

No, rather, it was enjoyable.

Training with Jing was always like that.

It felt as if, after spending her whole life squeezing into clothes too small for her body, she had finally found and put on clothes that fit perfectly for the first time.

“Have you ever learned hand-to-hand combat?”

Jing, who had taken off his outerwear and was now in a simple tunic, asked as he faced Ratel.

Nod.

At the simple answer, Jing slowly recalled the way Ratel had fought Dito.

“It seems you have learned the basic stance solidly, but….”

As Jing muttered and took his stance, Ratel also raised both arms in preparation for Jing’s attack.

Jing’s fist headed toward Ratel’s face with the sound of cutting through the wind.

* * *

Naturally, Lia and Jing’s sparring ended with Lia being the first to be sent flying.

As Lia lay sprawled on the ground, breathing out the air that had risen to her chin, a shadow fell over her.

Lia struggled to raise her eyes and looked at Ratel, who had come outside at some point.

“Huff, huff…! Ratel, are you going to train too?”

When Lia asked with difficulty, Ratel expressionlessly nodded once and approached Jing, who had been loosening up.

After avoiding his fist, Ratel aimed his fist at Jing’s philtrum without hesitation.

“Your attack is too obvious and honest.”

Jing let Ratel’s hand pass as it was, then grabbed and lifted Ratel’s arm.

At the moment he was about to collapse, Ratel kicked off the ground, leapt over Jing, landed on the ground, and pulled out his captured arm.

“Until now, you may have been able to overwhelm opponents with strength and speed, but imperial family members cannot be defeated that way. You could not respond to the sudden attack in Amica’s space either, could you?”

“I went easy on you then.”

Ratel answered while rolling the shoulder of the arm Jing had grabbed.

“What do you mean, you went easy on me? You fainted without being able to do anything.”

“I pretended to faint for you.”

At that absurd stubbornness, Jing let out a hollow laugh.

“Fine, young man whose acting skills rival an actor’s. Let us begin again.”

Jing, who took his stance again, did not wait and kicked low at Ratel’s shin.

If Ratel dodged the foot, he intended to collapse the opposite leg as it was.

However, while Ratel followed Jing’s attack with both eyes, he did not avoid it.

Because it was an attack Ratel could have avoided, Jing was too late to take out his strength.

Crack!

It was the sound of bones colliding.

And Jing’s leg was grabbed by Ratel just like that.

Jing’s eyes widened.

There must have been an impact, but Ratel’s posture did not waver in the slightest.

“What is this insane human?!”

That was what Jing blurted out without realizing it after seeing Ratel’s face.

Because he was wearing a thin smile.

While Jing flinched, Ratel used his injured leg as support and struck Jing’s side with his opposite knee.

With a dull sound, Jing lost his balance, and Ratel immediately tried to slam down on his waist. Jing, startled, quickly widened the distance.

“Why do you not block or dodge?!”

At Jing’s shocked shout, Ratel tilted his head.

“I heal quickly even if I get injured to a certain extent. Rather than dodging, it is more beneficial to take one hit and attack.”

The problem was that he was not simply insane, but that he had gone insane using his head in his own way.

“That should be left as a last resort. How can you use it recklessly like that?! If you are someone who uses your body, you should know that your body is the most precious thing!”

At the sudden nagging, Ratel frowned.

“That applies to ordinary people. I do not die even if my stomach is pierced. Even if my arm is severed, as long as it is not completely destroyed, I can attach it back.”

“Even so, who deliberately throws their body in?”

“Injuries can heal as much as needed, but once you lose, it is over.”

“No, still…”

Jing lost his words for a moment and looked at Ratel.

It was not wrong, but it was a dangerous way of thinking.

“In any case, what I mean is, do not trust your toughness and use your body carelessly. I know you heal quickly, but deflect attacks that can be deflected, and avoid what can be avoided. Just because you heal quickly does not mean it does not hurt, does it?”

From the way Ratel rolled his eyes, no matter how one looked at it, it did not seem like he had accepted Jing’s words.

“I am saying this because it seems you have developed a strange habit. There are times when driving yourself into danger is effective. But if you learn only that, you will stop valuing your life.”

“Are you saying you can distinguish attacks that must be avoided from attacks that must not be avoided? Are you confident that judgment will be correct?”

“At least not when you are training with me.”

Jing, who answered without hesitation, paused for a moment.

Because he was unsure whether Ratel’s question was simply about offense and defense, or whether it was using them as a metaphor for something more abstract.

Their training ended awkwardly due to an unexpected disturbance.

“I told you not to touch it carelessly!”

It was because of the loud roar coming from the kitchen.

* * *

“Ah, seriously! I said I can do it!”

At the kid’s voice, full of defiance, I was coming back down the stairs when I happened to meet the three who were entering the cabin.

Lia, whose exhaustion was the most obvious among the three, brightened when she saw me.

“Ran, just now, Jing helped with my training. It would have been nice if Ran had joined too.”

“That’s right. What a shame.”

At my soulless answer, Lia pressured me to definitely join next time, but I pretended not to hear and moved toward the kitchen.

It was to check the cause of the shouting that had echoed all the way to the second floor.

“This time, I’ll definitely make something that will surprise Father!”

“You brat, seriously! What does someone whose blood hasn’t even dried on his head know, acting like you know anything?!”

The owner of the following voice was the owner of the cabin, in other words, the child’s father.

At the father’s voice, which sounded quite emotionally agitated, Jing and Lia followed behind me with worried expressions.

The cause of the fight was revealed immediately.

“Did I or did I not tell you not to enter the kitchen carelessly?!”

“I said I know how to do everything too, didn’t I? Just sit and watch.”

“What do you mean you know how to do everything? You made the fire too strong, and it looks like everything will burn!”

“Ah, I told you it has to be grilled this strongly so the gamey smell disappears!”

It was also revealed that the reason was more trivial than expected.

Angered by his son’s backtalk as he refused to lose, the man finally hit the child on the head.

“That is why I am saying you know nothing! Gamey smells are removed with spices!”

“Aaak!! It’s because you cover everything in spices like that that people are divided every time!”

Even while clutching his throbbing head, the child did not bend his opinion to the end.

“What are you two doing right now?”

Lia asked helplessly toward the two who were arguing near the hearth.

The father and son, who had been angry at each other without even noticing people coming, discovered us gathered there and scratched their heads in embarrassment.

“Oh dear, this must have been so noisy that you could not even rest… I apologize. This brat touched the kitchen on his own…”

“I didn’t touch it, I cooked. What Father makes has a strange smell.”

“What did you say? Why do you only become more strangely stubborn as you grow?”

“The one being strangely stubborn is Father.”

Beside the father, who quickly apologized, the cabin boy grumbled.

“If it is because of cooking, there is no need to fight like that. There is no one with picky tastes among us.”

Jing quickly interrupted the two before they could start fighting again.

“That’s right. We eat anything well. Besides, the smell is amazing.”

Lia quickly supported Jing’s words.

At Jing and Lia’s words, the child’s father had to give in with a slightly dispirited face.

“You must be very hungry… Then, for now, I will serve what that boy made as well.”

However, he quickly regained his energy.

“But! Even if it does not taste good, please do not worry! I will treat you even more grandly at dinner!”

“A, all right, so please just go in!”

The son forcibly pushed away his father, who showed pride in his cooking skills until the end.

Perhaps standing for a long time and arguing had been quite taxing, because as he went inside, he limped a little more severely than before.

“That old man only has a strong stubborn streak.”

The child muttered while watching his back.

The child’s gaze was directed at his father’s limping leg.