My practice blade lashed through the air. It thrust at Augusta's armored face. She batted my blow to the side with her own training weapon, while the other students were doing different exercises around us.

  Tomorrow was the next break day, and I was doing a bonding event with Augusta then. In the meantime, it was sparring before other physical activities as usual.

  Augusta thrust her weapon forward. I ducked under it while stepping in to try to stab her in the chest. My friend moved backward, out of my reach. Before I could withdraw, she struck my weapon hard.

  It almost flew out of my hand. However, I held on just enough to keep myself from being disarmed. I pointed it at Augusta to try to stop her from lunging in.

  She suddenly moved at a much greater speed than before. Augusta ducked under my practice sword and thrust up, hitting the side of my helmet.

  Sweat poured down from my body. My breaths were heavy. It felt like my arms and chest were on fire. But I tried to give Augusta a thumbs up with my free hand. However, she spoke in a calm voice before I could.

  "I'm sorry, Dante. I got too excited and held back less."

  "It's fine, Augusta," I assured her. "I might have gotten the hit if you kept holding back as much as you were. I mean, you'd probably have stopped before I could hit you and still gotten the win, but still...."

  Augusta took off her helmet. Her face was coated in a stoic expression.

  "You don't have enough confidence," she shook her head. "You'd have beaten me for sure that time."

  I shrugged.

  "If you think so, but I doubt it," I said.

  Augusta stood stoic for a moment. Then, a look of sadness crossed her face.

  "It's a shame that sparring for today is over," she stated.

  "Yeah, it is," I agreed.

  If I would have won if Augusta hadn't held back less, that's a sign that I'm improving. But I don't know if that's the case. I needed to do more training to make sure I was getting better.

  And...I really liked sparring with Augusta. It was the most fun I had on a day-to-day basis.

  Sir Ethan Penbrook approached us. He had an expression of caution on his face.

  "Good work, you two. Especially you, Your Royal Highness," Sir Ethan said. "You are both very dedicated to the way of the sword and the path of honor."

  The knight placed a hand over his heart.

  "Thank you," I replied.

  Augusta gave him a single nod.

  "Now, I'm talking to you both before the rest of the class because I know you two can handle yourselves," Sir Ethan stated.

  Translation: For as much as the school wants titles of nobility to matter little here, he can't really go against the will of a princess. And he is worried that if Augusta does combat training with anyone other than me, she will break them.

  "What do you want to say?" I asked.

  "We are starting a different sort of martial arts training today," Sir Ethan answered. "After all, you don't want to lose just because you're unarmed, right?"

  I gave him a smile.

  "Right," I said.

  "So, tell me, do either of you have any wrestling experience?" Sir Ethan questioned.

  Augusta's eyes widened ever so slightly.

  "Yes," she stated. "I am trained in wrestling."

  Unfortunately, memories did not flash through my head of my past life. But I did have some knowledge of wrestling. It's just that...ummm...well...it wasn't 17th-century wrestling. It wasn't Olympic wrestling. It wasn't even high school wrestling.

  "I know about wrestling. It just isn't the type of wrestling you are thinking of," I said.

  Sir Ethan grinned.

  "Ah! You're trained in some local style of wrestling? Perhaps regional to Calavon, judging from your surname?" he then turned to Augusta. "Your Highness, you're the Princess of Calavon. Are there any local forms of wrestling there?"

  Right. Dante and Augusta were from the same kingdom. Someone mentioned that Augusta was from Calavon before, but it hadn't fully sunk in until now.

  "I don't know. Wrestling's wrestling, right? Even if the styles are slightly different, the basics should be similar enough that it doesn't make much of a difference," Augusta said.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Sir Ethan paused a moment before speaking.

  "You should expose yourself to more wrestling styles, Your Highness. Then, you can see the differences for yourself," he stated.

  Augusta turned her full attention to me.

  "Maybe your style will be a good place to start?" she suggested.

  Sir Ethan moved over to the other students. A sense of awkwardness flowed through me.

  "I'm not sure if that's a good idea. The wrestling I know about isn't a very good fighting style. It's more for impressing people than defending yourself," I said.

  Augusta placed a hand on my head. She patted it. This was far more affectionate than Augusta had ever been before. I hated how much I enjoyed this.

  "Don't worry. I'm not very good at wrestling. I rely too much on raw strength. If I hold back and make this a match of skill, you should dominate me," the girl stated.

  I let out a deep sigh.

  "First, no woman I'm about to wrestle should use the word 'dominate' unless we're dating," I replied. "Second, this isn't me having low self-confidence. It's an accurate description of the type of wrestling I know."

  Augusta removed her hand and stepped back. The girl took off most of her armor, and I did the same. She then got into a low stance with her arms outstretched.

  "Then, prove it. Show me your style. Show me how the wrestlers you know start a match," Augusta said.

  Well, she asked for it.

  "The match starts before the actual fight. The wrestlers promote themselves first to get people to watch the match," I explained.

  Augusta tilted her head.

  "How?" she asked.

  "Allow me to demonstrate."

  Turning around, I flexed my back muscles as best as I could.

  "I was in a castle, in a place not far from here. And I came here for one reason."

  Then, I turned to face Augusta. I gave her my best angry face. She just seemed confused.

  "To take and keep coming! Not to ask, but just to gift! Not to want but just to sin! Sin the fighter down everyone's throat, until they're sick of it!"

  "That doesn't make any sense," Augusta pointed out in her calm voice.

  I continued.

  "And you're going to be sick of it, br...err...sister."

  Then, I spread out my arms.

  "Because me and all the fighters are floating through the veins. And the power of the fighter."

  A moment of silence passed as Augusta just looked at me.

  "What did I just watch?" she asked.

  I lowered my arms.

  "The wrestlers I know about do stuff like this all the time," I answered.

  Then, I looked around the room. Mostly for dramatic effect.

  "They also fight in a square-shaped ring with a rope wall around it. A lot of their techniques are based around using the ropes. But there isn't anything like that here."

  An expression of pity crossed Augusta's face. She patted my head again.

  "I understand. Your home county must have a truly cruel noble ruling over it," Augusta said. "They make insane people wrestle each other for their own amusement. As a commoner, you must have had no choice but to watch."

  She then gave me a quick nod.

  "But you don't have to worry, Dante. I know enough about proper wrestling to teach you, even if I'm not good at it. We'll build up our skill and your strength together," Augusta stated.

  At that moment, an incredible feeling of gratitude pulsed through me.

  "Thank you, Augusta. And if you ever need anything from me, if you ever want me to do anything for you, just let me know. I will," I promised.

  Augusta took her hand away.

  "You want to help me, so I will tell you when I need it. Don't stress over things too much, Dante. You have already done more for me than you could ever know," the girl said.

  There were the faintest hints of warmth in her cold voice.

  "I didn't do anything special," I replied.

  "Yes," she nodded with a slight smile. "That's the sort of person you are. For you, it was nothing special. But for me, it was everything."

  A sense of awkwardness flowed through me. I rubbed the back of my head.

  "Seriously, I don't know what I did. Are we childhood friends or something, and I just forgot about it?" I questioned.

  I could see the Duke's Duplicity using that trope. However, Augusta shook her head.

  "We met for the first time at King Casimir Academy," she said.

  Then, Augusta got back in her wrestling pose.

  "Mimic my stance, Dante," the girl ordered.

  I did as such.

  "You catch on fast. Maybe you know more proper wrestling than you think?" Augusta pondered.

  "Well, you know why I don't know for sure," I replied. "What next?"

  "First, control is essential when grappling. A good way to get control is the double underhooks. What you do is wrap your arms under your opponent's armpits."

  I held up my hand.

  "Hold on. Under your armpits?" I asked.

  "Yes," Augusta answered.

  I looked at her chest. Augusta looked at her torso. A moment of silence passed with us both just gazing at her breasts. Somehow, this was less awkward than me trying to explain professional wrestling to someone from the Early Modern Period. Then, I looked at her eyes.

  "Do you see the problem here?" I questioned.

  Augusta looked at my eyes, a reluctant expression on her face.

  "I do," she said. "I think I know why all my wrestling teachers were other women."

  With a nod, I folded my arms.

  "It's well and good to spar with someone and treat them with respect, regardless of their sex. But there are some lines that I am not willing to cross. It is far too easy to end up touching more than just your breasts in wrestling training," I stated.

  I gave Augusta an apologetic expression. Her parents clearly never explained to her why they never had her wrestle boys, and her teachers didn't either. She was probably looking forward to grappling with me, too. Turning her down felt awful. But I was certain that Augusta would understand that this was for the best.

  "And thus, it is impossible for me to wrestle you, Augusta. I'm not going to touch you anywhere inappropriate," I said.

  Augusta looked down. It was difficult to read her emotions on the best of days. But what was she feeling now? Sad? Angry? Guilty? I hadn't the faintest clue.

  "Dante, thank you for your politeness. You are a commoner, but you wouldn't be out of place at court," Augusta said in her cold voice.

  "You're welcome, Augusta. And thank you," I replied.

  She then looked up, facing me. The girl's expression filled with determination.

  "But Dante, there are two reasons why things are inappropriate. The first is if society does not approve of them. And I'm pretty sure you don't care what society thinks," Augusta said.

  I gave her a thumbs up.

  "Society is made for assholes by assholes," I stated. "I'd say you should stop caring about what they think, too. But that's probably impossible for someone in your position."

  Her face retained its stoic and determined expression.

  "There are some people I should stop caring about the opinions of. Anyway, the other reason why something is inappropriate is if the person you're doing it to does not approve of it. Do you agree with this premise?" Augusta asked.

  "I do," I answered.

  Appropriateness is determined either by society or by individuals. There isn't really anyone else who can talk about it.

  "So, if I was okay with you touching my breasts, we could wrestle as much as we wanted."

  Blood sprayed out of my nose. I fell backward, collapsing onto the hard floor of the gym-like room. Augusta's voice flowed into my ears.

  "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

  "Don't worry, Augusta, it's not your fault. I had no idea this world ran on anime logic," I said.

  "Anime logic? What the-Dante, you've lost too much blood. You're delirious," Augusta replied.

  It was hard to disagree with her.

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