Nord heard about this from Sister Cire one month after Seneca had advanced to the Copper rank as an adventurer.

  He had known that Seneca had been promoted. It had been the talk of the guild, and his respected friend Naeus had praised both Seneca and Maiol for their achievements.

  However, what he didn’t know was that Seneca had decided to leave Baetica and head to the royal capital. Seneca had always said she would become stronger in Baetica. The fact that she was now leaving for the royal capital must have been because of that person.

  "Lucius, you fool," Nord muttered under his breath.

  His fist clenched tightly, and he ground his teeth, fighting back the surge of emotion that threatened to take over.

  ...

  Nord’s parents had been adventurers.

  He had heard that they were killed by monsters when he was very young, leaving him an orphan.

  His memories of his parents were hazy. In truth, he couldn’t distinguish his memories of them from those of the orphanage’s headmistress or the sisters who had taken care of him. Despite this, Nord had decided to follow in his parents' footsteps and become an adventurer.

  Nord had always been a big boy. A mischievous child, he enjoyed running around the orphanage’s garden, pying with Pike and Mitz, who had joined ter.

  There were older children at the orphanage, but since it was a peaceful pce, he had never been subjected to bullying.

  When Nord was seven, Seneca and Lucius arrived at the orphanage.

  Seneca was a beautiful girl with a delicate face, while Lucius appeared to be a weak and unimpressive fellow. However, both of these impressions turned out to be completely wrong.

  At that time, sword-fighting matches had become popur among the boys of Nord's age. They challenged each other both inside and outside the orphanage, and Nord was undefeated.

  One day, he invited Lucius to join in. To his surprise, Lucius was eager to participate, so Nord thought it would be an easy match. But it wasn’t. Lucius completely overwhelmed him.

  It was Nord’s first defeat, and it remained a bitter memory.

  However, what hurt Nord far more was what happened next.

  Thinking that they were merely pying with swords, Seneca had come over and asked to join. When she did, she moved with a speed so fast that Nord couldn’t even react, easily defeating him in a way that was both shocking and humiliating.

  That night, Nord quietly wept in his bed in the rge dormitory room at the orphanage.

  From then on, he fought with Seneca and Lucius every day. Even when he didn’t initiate the challenge, the two of them were always wielding swords.

  At first, Nord didn’t understand their talk about “range” and “positioning,” but as he mimicked their movements, he found himself growing stronger.

  After a time, Seneca and Lucius stopped fighting with the other children. They had grown too strong.

  The two of them often went hunting in the forest, and Lucius appeared to be learning swordsmanship from the city guards and gatekeepers.

  Nord was envious but continued to train in silence every day.

  Before long, the skilled individuals near the orphanage began challenging Nord to duels.

  He won every single one.

  The other children praised him, and though he didn’t mind the attention, he still couldn’t beat Seneca or Lucius, which left him with mixed feelings. Despite this, all he could do was smile.

  Nord liked Lucius. He liked Seneca.

  Emily from the orphanage often teased him, suggesting that he had a crush on Seneca, but Nord wasn’t sure what to make of it himself.

  He saw them both as friends from the orphanage, and as worthy rivals in swordsmanship. Above all, they were close and important goals for him to strive toward.

  Nord’s dream was to protect Baetica.

  He wanted to become an adventurer and defend the city.

  If the city was safe, the people at the orphanage could live peacefully, and he would be able to protect the comrades who were out in the world, contributing to society.

  It might even be nice to occasionally go on adventures with Lucius and Seneca. He had thought about it once or twice.

  ,,,

  Time passed, and now, at the age of eleven, Nord was a Iron-ranked adventurer.

  He was still honing his swordsmanship skill, desperately learning how to live as an adventurer.

  Aside from Seneca, Nord and his companions had advanced the quickest. Their reputation in the guild was solid, and they were well-liked by many of the senior adventurers who took care of them, teaching them both the good and bad of their profession.

  Nord, Pike, and Mitz never scked off in their training. Whenever they found time, they worked on improving themselves, and that relentless dedication was what earned them the goodwill of others in the guild.

  But despite their efforts, they had always assumed that their training was the bare minimum. After all, Seneca and Lucius had been pushing themselves beyond that level since they first arrived at the orphanage.

  Seneca and Lucius always seemed to wear calm expressions. Nord had always thought they were faking it.

  Despite their beautiful appearances, their hands were rough and calloused from excessive practice, and their legs were scarred from running through the wilderness.

  The others didn’t seem to realise it, but Nord understood. The true brilliance of those two wasn’t in their intelligence or beauty. It y in their unrelenting commitment to self-improvement.

  Nord had always thought he could never match them.

  Nord’s skill was [Swordsmanship].

  It was a straightforward combat skill, versatile and widely used.

  Many people possessed it, but if one mastered it, they could become stronger than anyone else.

  Two hundred years ago, there was a person who reached level 6 in [Swordsmanship], and they became known as the "Sword God."

  Nord was currently training in the swordsmanship style founded by that very same Sword God. He wasn’t the strongest among his peers, but there was no doubt that he was the one making the most progress.

  It had been over a year since he acquired his skill.

  That day, when he had heard Seneca’s skill name, he had foolishly thought he might become someone capable of protecting others. Riding on the exhiration of acquiring his own skill, he had become arrogant and said things he ter regretted. It was a bitter experience.

  However, Nord didn’t intend to retract what he had said back then. Even if everyone else forgot, he knew he never would.

  When Nord had first received his skill, he had thought it was a "lucky draw." So, when Seneca’s skill was revealed, he had foolishly dismissed it as a "bad draw."

  He knew that the words he had spoken carried weight, and even though they pained him, Nord was determined to one day surpass Seneca, and take responsibility for his words.

  At that moment, he also realised that he might be in love with Seneca. Back then, when Lucius was leaving, he had felt as though it was his duty to protect Seneca. Perhaps that feeling had influenced his determination.

  If that was the case, then his efforts might be driven by pride.

  When Nord looked at his hand, it was torn and calloused, as though it had been worn down by time and effort.

  ...

  Nord thought Seneca’s swordsmanship was exceptional.

  Her swordpy was incredibly sharp, and her ability to control distance was impeccable.

  Yet, many believed that without her skill, she would have reached a limit eventually.

  But they were wrong.

  When he thought about it calmly, it was clear that there was no way a child of her size could wield an adult’s sword. The hilt was too thick, the grip too loose, and the weight too much for her. She had overcome all of that through relentless training.

  Seneca had grown stronger.

  Her hands had become rger, and she could now grip a sword much more firmly. Her strength had increased, and she was no longer overwhelmed by the weight.

  Her physical development had finally caught up.

  Recently, Nord had caught a glimpse of Seneca practising sword drills in the arena. Her movements were unusually sharp.

  She hadn’t yet reached the level of a master, but compared to the master-in-training of the Sword God’s school, her form was already nearly on par.

  Even now, the image of Seneca’s movements was burned into his memory. He could recall them whenever he needed to, and it had helped him improve his own technique.

  When Nord shared this with Pike, Pike had grinned and said, “You’ve got it bad, haven’t you?” He gave Nord a pyful pat on the shoulder.

  ...

  Nord had come to understand something.

  Seneca was on another level. To achieve Copper rank at her age, she was undoubtedly a genius.

  He knew he could never match her.

  But that didn’t stop him.

  It didn’t matter if it took him longer.

  It didn’t matter if it wasn’t efficient.

  What mattered was that he would take one steady step forward at a time.

  That was how Nord chose to live.

  So, when he heard that Seneca was leaving the city, it was only natural that Nord would pick up a pen.

  He wrote a bold challenge in rge characters, sealed it, and sent it to Seneca’s dormitory with the words “Challenge” written on the outside.

  ...

  The letter from Nord was received by Mint, the dormitory matron. Since Seneca was out, Mint entrusted it to Maiol.

  Maiol frowned when she saw the rge characters spelling "Challenge." She assumed Seneca had gotten herself into trouble again, and a headache began to form.

  By evening, Seneca returned. When Maiol handed her the letter, Seneca smiled brightly and eagerly opened it, reading its contents aloud.

  “What’s this?” Maiol asked.

  With a cheerful tone, Seneca replied, “A challenge from my childhood friend.”