For swordsmen, losing is losing; there are no ifs or buts.
Thinking of this, a look of annoyance appeared on Nina's otherwise exquisite face.
Recalling that she initially just wanted to befriend the other party, she wondered how things had turned so drastically.
Nina sighed, took off her long pants, and looked at the unknown liquid on them with disgust and disdain. Faintly, she could still smell a peculiar odor coming from the pants.
Since it was a girls' dormitory, Nina didn't hold back, wearing only her underwear as she walked toward the water bucket.
"May the great blessing of water descend upon your desired place, let the cool shallow flow manifest here—'waterball'."
Water gathered in Nina's hands and then flowed into the wooden bucket.
Nina knew a bit of simple magic, but that was about it.
Looking at her reflection in the bucket, Nina felt annoyed.
Eris had struck hard; even though Nina was two or three years older, she still felt the pain.
The swelling and pain on her face made Nina feel irritable.
Holding a towel, she soaked it in the water and began to wipe away the filth.
…
Unlike Nina, who hid in the shadows to lick her wounds, the commotion on Eris's side quickly disturbed those around her.
Of course, Roa and the old sword god had already noticed, but neither of them paid attention to what was happening over there.
It was normal for matters between juniors to escalate to such a degree.
Roa had the intention to reprimand Eris, thinking that even if she got beaten, it was for her own good. However, Eris ended up beating the other party instead, which indeed caught Roa off guard.
But it was also somewhat strange; it felt like Nina's sword god lineage was too strong.
The old sword god's expression was quite unpleasant. He wasn't angry that Eris had hit his daughter; he was angry that his daughter had caused trouble and then got beaten up for it. After a glance, he lost interest in watching.
In other words, Gal had not seen Nina's embarrassment; he only felt that the noise over there was annoying. Otherwise, Nina would have to face double the torment.
As Nina had suspected, the old sword god was already prepared to train her well.
In the past, it didn't matter; the little girl could do whatever she wanted as long as her swordsmanship was acceptable. He could turn a blind eye.
Now it was different; it had gotten to such a point that she couldn't even beat a junior swordsman, which made the old sword god feel extremely embarrassed.
Without saying much, the four gathered for lunch.
Roa, Rudeus, Eris, and Ghislaine.
Roa had a gloomy face, the sunny disposition he usually had completely vanished, and he exuded a terrifying sense of oppression.
Rudeus opened his mouth, wanting to defend Eris, but after being shot a fierce glare from Roa, he fell silent.
Ghislaine, on the other hand, looked like he was enjoying the show, wearing an interested smile, standing by as if he was watching a spectacle.
Eris lowered her head and said nothing.
The girl remained silent; although she didn't dare to speak due to Roa's intimidating presence, she believed she hadn't done anything wrong.
Eris's face was also bruised, but compared to Nina, her injuries were minimal.
Roa naturally knew what Eris was thinking and couldn't help but sigh.
"Eris, do you know where you went wrong?" Roa asked in a calm tone, his light golden eyes fixed on Eris's face hidden in the shadows.
Eris still didn't speak, but often, silence is a form of attitude.
It was rare for a girl to show such determination to stand her ground.
Roa remained silent, watching Eris.
Rudeus quietly glanced at Eris and quickly averted his gaze.
Rudeus was also quite anxious, fearing he would be implicated.
Although Rudeus hadn't done anything, the fact that he hadn't done anything was precisely the problem.
Earlier, he had gotten carried away chatting with the students, completely ignoring what was happening with Eris.
When he heard the sound of Eris falling and the shouts from the crowd, Rudeus rushed to where Eris was.
He made it there, but it was already too late.
The incident had been too sudden, and Rudeus hadn't been able to help at all, watching as Eris was bullied.
Oh, scratch that; Eris was the one bullying others.
Well, although Eris hadn't suffered, as a companion, he should have supported her; it was truly unacceptable.
In short, Rudeus felt he had no right to speak.
Ghislaine had always been very reassured by Roa and believed that Roa was doing a great job educating Eris, so he remained silent, standing by to watch the show.
The silence didn't last long. Roa walked up to Eris, lifted her chin, and raised her dirt-streaked face, her fiery red eyes locking onto Roa's.
Eris showed no signs of backing down; she believed she hadn't done anything wrong, so there was nothing wrong.
However, her eyes were slightly red, indicating that Eris felt wronged, believing she hadn't done anything wrong while Roa insisted she had.
She had clearly been the one to provoke first; why was she the one being scolded?
The girl's determination at this moment made Roa feel somewhat troubled.
Roa sighed and reached out to stroke the girl's forehead, saying, "Eris, you are too impulsive. You need to consider the consequences of your actions. This is not your home; have you thought about what the consequences of your actions might be?"
Eris swatted Roa's hand away, feeling anger for the first time, and shouted, "So am I supposed to let her hit me?"
Roa didn't respond but continued to look at Eris.
This time, Eris could no longer hold back and began to sob.
Even if she were struck by the old sword god's wooden sword, Eris wouldn't cry; even if she took a punch to the face, she wouldn't care.
But being questioned by Roa made Eris feel extremely uncomfortable.
Ghislaine looked at the crying Eris and then at the still calm Roa, pondering for a moment before choosing to remain silent.
Roa must have his own way, right? Probably?
Roa sighed and asked, "Eris, do you really think she came over specifically to fight you?"
"Isn't that so?" Eris retorted loudly.
Fortunately, the nearby students had already dispersed; otherwise, there would have been even more onlookers.
Raising a daughter is difficult; the little cotton-padded jacket is becoming increasingly stubborn, which gives Roa a headache.