Chapter 96: The Quarrel
When he came out of the study, Yuan and Royce’s voices were still echoing faintly along the corridor.
(What are they doing?)
Going to look, he saw two figures out in the back garden, with the dusk of evening closing in at the windows.
As he made for the door that led out to the back garden, Yona was there beside the tree near it. She started and turned round to Ren, and looked up at him with a troubled, sorrowful sort of face.
“Ren-niisama…”
“Yona, what’s the matter? Out here of all places.”
“Yuan and Royce-niisama are quarrelling again.”
“Again…?”
Ren turned his eyes towards the training ground in the back garden.
In the open space a little beyond the archery butts — around the place where Royce often trained — he could make out Royce and Yuan.
There was a sword in Yuan’s hand. The blade caught the evening sun and flashed.
(A real sword?)
Ren was appalled. It was probably the one bought from the travelling merchant. Why were the two of them arguing with a real sword in hand?
Royce was shouting at Yuan, worked up.
“I’ve told you not to smash the earth wall I made!”
“You’re always smashing them yourself, Royce-niisan.”
“It’s all right for me to smash what I made!”
“If it’s going to get smashed anyway, what’s the harm? It’s for training, isn’t it.”
“It’s my training!”
Looking closer, there was a wall of earth about waist height between the two of them, with clods of earth fallen at its side.
“…So Royce put up an earth wall with Earth Magic and Yuan smashed it.”
“That’s right. Yuan went whack and did it.”
Yona answered the words Ren had murmured half to himself. So that was what the quarrel was about, Ren thought.
Royce was still shouting.
“Why! Why smash it!”
“…I only wanted to try how well the sword cut.”
“Do that on a bundle of straw!”
“You can just make another, can’t you! …With Earth Magic.”
At Yuan’s words, Royce caught his breath.
“…Yuan. You…”
Royce’s voice dropped low.
“What do you think my… my Earth Magic training is, exactly?”
“…Swordsmanship is stronger in a real fight anyway.”
Royce’s fists shook.
“Are you making a fool of Earth Magic!”
“But look…”
Yuan let the sword in his hand swing loosely.
“It broke that easily with a sword, didn’t it. The earth wall…”
“—!”
“Swords are stronger, after all.”
“…Don’t be ridiculous!”
Thud.
Royce kicked the earth wall. The wall of earth came down with a heavy slump. When Royce glared at him, Yuan seemed to flinch a little. He said in a small, muttered voice,
“But swordsmanship is special, they said…”
“…So you’re saying it means nothing unless it’s swordsmanship!”
“…”
Royce forced the words out, and Yuan didn’t answer.
A heavy silence hung there.
Yona was trembling in the shadow of the tree.
Ren drew in a breath and stepped forward.
“Are you two fighting?”
At Ren’s voice, Royce and Yuan both started and turned round. Royce drew his brows together and looked at Ren almost as though glaring at him.
“…It’s nothing!”
Royce broke into a run, slipped past Ren and went into the house.
Yuan, left behind, wore a look of confusion.
Ren turned his eyes to the sword in Yuan’s grip.
“Yuan, you have to put the sword back in its sheath. It’s dangerous.”
Told this by Ren, Yuan looked down at his hands and, fumbling and unpractised, carefully returned the sword to its sheath.
“…Father and Mother both said the swordsmanship skill is something special…”
“Even so…”
“I’m the one who got the ‘Swordsmanship’ skill, so everybody ought to be glad. They said it would be for the good of the house too. …And yet Royce-niisan is in a temper. I don’t understand it.”
“Yuan…”
Ren looked steadily into Yuan’s eyes.
“I think Royce didn’t like it because the earth wall he worked so hard on was smashed.”
“But Royce-niisan smashes them himself!”
Yuan stuck out his lip, looking unconvinced.
“And besides…, a real sword is dangerous.”
“…It’s all right. I’ve got the swordsmanship skill!”
Yuan looked at Ren with a firm, strong-willed set to his eyes, and he seemed to be saying, unlike your skill, Ren-niisan.
Yuan went off at a run into the house. Ren watched in silence as his back disappeared inside the building.
Yona came out from behind the tree. She spoke in a low voice, almost muttering.
“…I think it’s Yuan’s fault…. He’s done nothing but swing that sword about since yesterday. It frightens me…”
“That’s… dangerous, yes.”
Yona lowered her eyes and said sadly,
“…I don’t like Yuan lately…. Ever since it turned out he had the swordsmanship skill, he’s gone somehow horrid…. And Royce-niisama is on edge all the time. And…”
Yona raised her face and turned her eyes towards the building. Her brows drew down.
“Father and Mother think of nothing but Yuan…”
Yona looked up at Ren. Her eyes wavered uneasily.
Ren didn’t know what he ought to say.