Leonard was seated on a bench. Around him were people—some committing crimes, some just sitting like him. Leonard removed his pocket watch and checked the time.
'1 PM.'
'She's extremely late today, by about two hours.'
He was holding two books in his left hand.
"Sorry I'm late," he heard a feminine voice say. Looking at the origin of the voice, he saw a lady with brown hair and brown eyes. She wore black trousers and a black jacket, with a black scarf covering half her face. Her clothes were clean compared to most, but there was nothing Leonard could do about that; what she was currently wearing was apparently the worst she had.
"It's fine. I didn't wait long," Leonard said. He noticed that she was holding a book in her arms. Noticing his gaze toward the book, she spoke.
"Here. It talks about the Laws of Qi."
'Laws of Qi.'
Leonard thought over it and realized that he had never seen such a book. She shoved the book toward Leonard; he accepted it, and the fresh smell of the paper was enchanting to him. He gave her the books he had brought with him.
"Were they helpful?" Ariana asked curiously while looking at Leonard.
"Yes, they were. They helped me understand something," Leonard replied.
"I see. Then I hope these books help you as well," Ariana said. Her voice sounded sincere.
Two weeks had passed after his first meeting with Ariana. In those two weeks, they had met six times in total, going to plenty of places per Ariana's request. Leonard had been given two books each time they met; some he had already read, others were new.
During these two weeks, Leonard had changed his workout, now doing four hundred sets of exercises while occasionally going to the mini-forest with his wooden sword to practice his swordsmanship, which was now adequate compared to before. He couldn't call himself a master swordsman, but he wasn't helpless either. Considering that he was teaching himself, he was moving at a steady pace.
Leonard also learned important terms, such as 'Qi Conservation'—that was the name of one book. The book stated that Qi is never depleted; if Qi exists today, it will exist a year from now. Leonard couldn't use or control his Qi due to his low rank, but he could direct the flow of Qi in his body. He had already done this, perhaps instinctively, when he first summoned his saber; the Qi in his body had moved to his chest. Leonard had likely subconsciously directed his Qi there; from that day on, whenever he needed Qi to summon his saber, it would come from his chest.
There was also something called 'Qi Output'—how much Qi a person could release—as well as 'Qi Reserve,' which involved how a person controlled the flow of Qi to a certain part of their body to stay there until needed, like Leonard's chest close to his heart.
'Qi is everywhere and also nowhere.'
This was what Ariana had once told him. He understood the first part—Qi is everywhere—but didn't understand the last part: 'but also nowhere.' He asked Ariana to explain more, but she feigned ignorance, saying she also wasn't sure and that her sister had once told her this.
Still, despite all he knew, his understanding of Qi was shallow. This was recognized by Ariana, although it was to be expected due to his lack of education; if anything, he knew more than he should for someone of his status. The time Leonard could use his saber had not increased; it was still ten minutes, meaning he was still at Rank 1. But his senses felt different—sharper, as if cleaner.
"I'm sure I will," Leonard replied to Ariana.
During the two weeks, Ariana had served as a teacher to Leonard. Although she didn't look like it, she was quite smart, correcting him where he was wrong and giving him extra information.
"Where do you want to go today?" Leonard asked.
"Let's go to the market you told me about," Ariana said.
"Okay," Leonard replied.
The two soon started walking. Leonard was hesitant to go to the market. He still didn't know why Melissa's sister had visited; he hadn't asked Ariana why she was there, and only briefly mentioned it, to which she didn't say anything useful. Despite meeting six times, their relationship wasn't that close. Leonard still didn't know her real name; he knew "Elizabeth" was an alias, but since she still didn't tell him her real name, he didn't bother pushing it.
The pressure the coronation brought was still with Leonard. Regarding the event, all Ariana said was that it would change more than people thought it would. Ariana was secretive with important information.
"Why did you push that woman who wanted to get close to you?" Ariana asked while they walked.
'Woman?'
"Ah, that person," Leonard said, remembering what Ariana was talking about. "She likely wanted something—protection via using my name."
On their third meeting, a random woman had attached herself to Leonard, trying to seduce him. To her misfortune, Leonard told her to scram before he got upset. When Ariana saw this, she was taken aback; it was the first time she had seen Leonard show a look of disgust.
Thinking of the woman, Leonard thought of someone else. It was a girl in his memories. She was around twelve when they met; Leonard was eleven at the time. Leonard had craved to be understood then, and the girl happened to have understood him.
'How could a person like you be my friend? I was only friends with you because my parents forced me to... I hate you, Reaper's son.'
Those were the girl's last words. The next day, her father had tried to kill Leonard, but he was killed by Leonard's mysterious protector. The girl killed herself soon after.
'What was her name again?'