"I don't want to talk about it…" Aaki said quietly, his eyes numb.
"Master…"
"I'm sorry…" the Prince muttered, realizing he had touched a wound he shouldn't have.
Aaki slowly snapped himself out of his emotions.
"It's fine… let's not talk about it."
Then he changed the subject.
"The duel is between the princes of all the neighboring kingdoms, right?"
"Yes, Master."
"Are they all around your age?"
"Well, yeah. Most of them are my age, though a few are older than me. Why are you asking?"
"It's nothing."
Aaki crossed his arms thoughtfully.
"If most of the princes are around your age, then there's a very low chance they'll rely heavily on magic during the duel."
The Prince looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
Aaki let out a quiet breath.
"If the duel includes princes from every neighboring kingdom, then it'll be a long tournament."
"You'll all have to fight multiple matches."
"If they're still young, they won't be able to use magic continuously for that long. Magic consumes a huge amount of energy."
"To survive multiple battles, they'll avoid wasting magic carelessly."
"And you'll do the same."
The Prince scratched his head.
"But Master, fighting with swords is tiring too, right?"
"So why not just use magic instead?"
"The fight would end much faster."
Aaki patiently explained,
"Listen carefully. If you fight using only magic, how long do you think you'll last?"
The Prince opened his mouth… then closed it again.
"I don't know, Master…"
"If you use magic recklessly, you'll exhaust yourself during the very first duel."
"And after that?"
"You won't have enough energy left to win the remaining matches."
The Prince thought for a moment.
"So… I shouldn't use magic at all?"
Aaki shook his head.
"No. You should use it."
The Prince blinked repeatedly.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"First you say not to use magic, and now you're saying I should use it. I don't understand."
Aaki calmly replied,
"You asked if you shouldn't use magic at all. That's why I said you should."
"I'm not telling you to fight the entire match using magic."
"You should use magic strategically."
The Prince listened carefully.
"To put it simply," Aaki continued, "fight normally for a while without using magic."
"Your opponent will begin thinking you don't rely on magic."
"And the moment they lower their guard…"
"Use magic suddenly."
"You'll catch them completely by surprise."
The Prince's eyes widened with realization.
"Ohhh… now I understand!"
Aaki nodded slightly.
"Good."
"Master, one more question."
"Yes?"
"What if my opponent does the same thing?"
Aaki nodded approvingly.
"Good catch. That's definitely possible."
"But if you stay alert and never let your guard down, then their surprise attack won't work easily."
The Prince nodded seriously.
"Understood, Master."
Aaki let out a small breath.
"I'm glad you understand all this."
"To a dumb guy like you, I thought teaching these things would be much harder."
"But you learned faster than I expected. That's good."
The Prince smiled awkwardly.
"Thank you… Master…"
Inside his head, however, he screamed:
Was that a compliment or a straight-up insult?!
Aaki clapped his hands once.
"Now let's begin the real training."
The Prince instantly brightened.
"Yes!"
Aaki raised his hand into the air, summoning multiple human-shaped dummies across the training ground.
"Woah, Master…"
Then Aaki created a sword using magic and tossed it toward him.
"Here. Take this."
The Prince caught the sword and blinked in surprise.
"Wait… what?!"
"It's not heavy at all."
"It's light… and comfortable."
"What kind of sword is this?"
"It's a special sword," Aaki replied calmly. "I made it specifically for you."
"For me?" the Prince asked in shock.
Then his face lit up with excitement.
"Thank you, Master!"
Aaki pointed toward the dummies.
"Now strike down every one of them as quickly and precisely as possible."
"And make sure every strike carries enough force."
"Yes, Master!"
The Prince gripped the sword tightly and rushed forward enthusiastically.
"Here I come!!"
The moment his first slash landed on a dummy—
BOOM!
The Prince was blasted backward with twice the force of his own attack.
"AAGHH!!"
He crashed onto the ground and groaned painfully.
"What was that?!"
Aaki stood calmly with his arms crossed.
"That was your first mistake."
"You charged in without observing your opponent."
"But they're just dummies!" the Prince protested. "What was there to observe?!"
Aaki looked at him seriously.
"I already explained this to you."
"Never underestimate your opponent."
"Even if someone appears weak, that doesn't mean they actually are."
"They could simply be pretending."
The Prince tightened his grip around the sword.
"Understood, Master."
This time, he charged carefully.
Just before reaching the dummy, he suddenly changed directions, slashing toward its legs before quickly moving behind it and striking its back.
The dummy collapsed onto the ground.
The Prince instantly turned toward Aaki with sparkling eyes.
"How was that, Master?!"
"I looked cool just now, didn't I?!"
A small smirk appeared on Aaki's face.
"Too early to celebrate."
"Huh?"
Before the Prince could react—
BAM!
The fallen dummy suddenly threw a heavy punch straight into his stomach, smashing him into the ground again.
"Owwww… that's cheating…"
Aaki walked toward him and extended his hand.
The Prince grabbed it as Aaki helped him stand.
"Another mistake," Aaki said calmly.
"Never turn your back on your opponent."
Then a faint teasing smile appeared on his face.
"Are you learning from your mistakes?"
The Prince's jaw trembled.
"Oh yeah… definitely…"
"What a painful way to learn…"
Aaki pointed toward the remaining dummies.
"Now go finish them all."
The Prince forced out an awkward smile.
"Yeah…"
"As you say, Master…"