Chapter 149 - The Sword Saint's Request
"—It's magnificent...!"
With her hands clasped together in admiration, the Sword Saint's gray eyes seemed to be sparkling. Her gaze was fixed on Sora.
Sora, who was freely manipulating a floating magic sword of sand, was beaming with an unparalleled smile, having received unconditional praise from the person she admired.
"Ehehe..."
A genuine, heartfelt "ehehe" from a master of the art.
"Sora-chan. How much fine control do you have over this sword?"
"Fine control... um, let's see."
Ui-san, completely engrossed, fired off one question after another, and Sora-san answered each one with an incredibly happy expression.
...What is this scene? The concentration of wholesomeness and cuteness in this space is off the charts. If you could disperse this air across the entire planet, you could probably achieve world peace.
After their conversation—or rather, chat—which lasted for the better part of an hour, my partner, who had been at her limit, finally managed to calm down.
Then, once she was calm, she promptly went down for the count from a different kind of embarrassment. After the two of us soothed her... well, as you can see, now Ui-san is the one captivated by Sora.
Long story short, the reason Ui-san had not only readily agreed but had eagerly insisted, "Please, bring her with you," was this.
The Sword Saint was supremely interested in the one-of-a-kind 'magic sword' in Arcadia.
"I see... I see."
After a while, the initial barrage of questions seemed to be over. Ui-san, who had been staring intently at the magic sword, nodded in understanding, then turned to face me, the bystander.
"Haru-kun. I now fully understand why you said she was more special than you."
"Right?"
I put on a deliberately proud face, and she deflected it with a warm smile. "You have a partner to be proud of."
"This is an exceptional Anima. With just this one ring, she can achieve so many things that no one else can."
"Even I, with my lack of knowledge, could tell it was broken with just one look."
Nodding, Ui-san added, "And above all," as she turned her gaze back to Sora.
"What's truly astonishing is Sora-chan's own innate talent."
"Hweh...?"
Having been thoroughly praised for her magic sword, Sora let out a surprised yelp as the focus suddenly shifted to her... but come on, this is no time for "hweh." Not just me, but Sora-san too needs to recognize her own abnormality.
"Her spatial awareness and situational adaptability are particularly outstanding. She's intelligent, and her thought processing speed is extraordinary."
"I know, right?"
"Th-that's... n-no... what...?!"
No, no, unfortunately, there's nothing to do but agree.
Looking back, I'd seen glimpses of it in various places ever since we met.
And considering the battle against [Angalta], where all those talents bloomed at once, I can only nod in agreement with Ui-san's words.
It's not my place to talk, being the weirdo I am, but Sora-san is pretty nuts in her own right.
Starting with the quick-change incident, it's becoming quite clear that there's a disconnect between this world's common sense and my own perception of the difficulty of 'thought control.'
Perhaps it's an aptitude for the unique technologies of this virtual world? I'm sure I'm not mistaken in thinking there are significant individual differences in that area.
Considering that, Sora's magic sword control technique seems bizarre.
All those things floating around her, from one to ten—no, from one to a thousand—are controlled solely by thought. You know?
Since Sora's current style awakened, we've spent time creating a number of 'techniques' together... but honestly, I don't think I could imitate any of them.
My guess is that my aptitude for thought control and Sora's are geared in different directions.
If I specialize in thought control over an extremely narrow range, like body control and weapon switching, then Sora is the complete opposite.
Just like with her magic sword control, she might specialize in controlling things over a wide area.
On top of that, there's her rapidly developing combat sense. Furthermore, during the [Angalta] battle, she demonstrated judgment and leadership that let her direct me.
Everything I've seen so far makes the girl's uniqueness undeniable.
"Yes... if you don't mind, could I see it in action once?"
"Um...? I've already shown you..."
Sora, who had been looking embarrassed from the sudden praise, tilted her head at Ui-san's words.
—Ah, no, that's not it, Sora-san. Judging from her expression, what the Sword Saint wants is...
"Sora-chan."
"Y-Yes!"
Ui-san stared straight at her, and Sora instinctively straightened her posture—and upon seeing those eyes for the first time since they met... she unconsciously took a half-step back.
"Are you comfortable with sparring against another person?"
"Huh...? Sparring... um... I've trained with Haru a number of times, but..."
"I see—in that case, Haru-kun."
The moment her gray eyes turned to me, I knew exactly what she was going to say.
"I was just thinking I'd like to see her fight someone other than myself—so, please, show me."
And just as I thought, the gently smiling Sword Saint said the exact words I predicted.
"Ah..."
As for my response...
"Well... as you wish."
No student can defy their teacher. I had no choice but to nod.
"Eh..................Eh...?"
Sora, who had never experienced this side of Ui-san, was left behind, blinking in sheer confusion.