Chapter 92: Surpassing Fear

「Well then, I guess it’s about time for us to start our training too. Can you come with me, oh dear adorable spirits?」

「Roger that, Beelzebub-sama!」

「Let’s become stronger for Aria-san and the others’ sake~!」

Lily and Faeri followed Beelzebub to a corner of the garden.

Although they felt slightly nervous in front of a former Great Demon King, they were pumped up to become stronger. Only that way, they could repay their debt of gratitude to Aria and co., who had saved their life.

「First, show me your skills since the content of your training will depend on that.」

It seemed the goal of the fairies’ training would be similar to that of Stella’s, developing derivate skills.

The two fairies then showed off their skills.

「Looks like it’s time for us to start our training too, Aria-chan.」

「Yes! Please take care of me, Alisha-sama!」

Aria happily replied to Alisha.

She was extremely delighted to be put under the direct guidance of her idol.

「As for my weapon… this should be enough.」

「Is that… is that a… wooden sword? And that skill, is it a storage skill…」

「Correct, Aria-chan. Now let’s start with a little warm-up.」

Alisha had taken out a wooden sword from the skirt pocket of her maid uniform.

It seemed she had used a storage skill similar to the one Tama possessed.

Aria looked dissatisfied upon seeing Alisha take out a wooden sword instead of a real one.

Surely, her power might be insignificant before a sword saint like Alisha.

But, a wooden sword, it was a bit…

「Fufufu, please don’t misunderstand, Aria-chan. I’m not looking down on you. It just that if I had used a real sword, you might have fainted upon receiving my 〝Sword Intent?.」

「…!?」

When Alisha said those words with a wry smile on her face, Aria was caught off guard.

Fainting just by being exposed to sword intent―She had never heard of something like that happening before.

But, looking at Alisha’s troubled face, Aria knew right away that she was telling the truth.

「Let’s begin, Aria-chan―」

「Hi——!?」

Alisha took a stance with a calm face, her hands gripping the handle of her wooden sword.

The very instant when she saw Alisha’s stance, Aria ended up screaming.

She trembled nonstop, and her body was drenched in cold sweats.

（I-I’ll die…）

The scene of Alisha taking a stance with a wooden sword was enough to drive Aria into despair.

（Uhm… Such sword intent! So this is Alisha―the legendary Sword Saint…）

Even though he saw it from a distance, Tama’s hair still stood on end.

Just seeing Alisha’s stance alone was enough to make him, an S rank monster, feel like he was about to die.

「Shall we stop then, Aria-chan? I’ll release my stance if you say ‘Yes’. But, if you wish to continue, I can keep my stance.」

Alisha asked Aria with a gentle voice.

At that moment, Aria was asking herself （A-Am I allowed to stop…?）.

And just like that―

「Stop… As if I’m gonna say that…《Acceleration》!」

Contrary to her mind and her body that were dominated by fear, she shouted the name of her inherent skill, 《Acceleration》, and leaped toward Alisha at her top speed.

Scared, Aria was really scared right now… But, she felt that if she backed out now, she’d lose something.

Running away here meant that she would be running away from her lifelong goal, to become a Justice’s Warrior like Sword Saint Alisha.

Most of all, backing down here meant that she was unqualified to fight the Four Demon Dukes.

And, if the Four Demon Dukes managed to release even just one of the Great Demon Kings, countless lives would be lost in the war that would follow.

She absolutely couldn’t let that happen!

Thus, Aria’s blazing sense of justice triumphed over her fear.

「Here I come… 《Sacred Blade》―」

Because of trying to overcome her fear, Aria had ended up attacking Alisha for real with her full powered 《Sacred Blade》, and yet―

「I see! Holy element, huh. And judging by this output, it seems to be an ancient skill. But, it also consumes a vast amount of mana…」

「!!!!!!!!?」

Aria’s eyes opened wide.

Tama, who was looking at their sparring from afar, ended up shouting ‘NO WAY!!!’. But to everyone else, he was only letting out a slightly louder version of his adorable cry.

He had been guessing whether Alisha would defend against or dodge Aria’s 《Acceleration》 and 《Scared Blade》 combo. But he ended up seeing something that surpassed his imagination.

Alisha, who had been standing in front of Aria up until now, had appeared behind Aria, intently observing the silvery light of the 《Sacred Blade》.

「Congratulations on passing my test, Aria-chan. Now you’re qualified to challenge the Four Demon Dukes.」

「Eh, Passing… the test?」

Aria couldn’t understand the meaning behind Alisha’s words.

But then Prince Julius stepped up to give her an explanation, his face displaying a wry smile.

「In short, Alisha was testing whether you had the willpower to endure her training or not, Aria.」

「… Ah!」

Aria instantly understood.

（Well, I don’t want the precious life that I saved in the past to die at the hand of the Four Demon Dukes, after all…）

Alisha was thinking about that, as she displayed an affectionate smile and looked at Aria, who had finally stopped trembling in fear.