The following morning, after completing the exercises my father had assigned me—before he began my actual training in spear usage, which he promised me, and which is the only thing he excels at—naturally, because he is a spearman.
I need someone else to train me in swordsmanship. But who could that be? As I was thinking about all this while walking, not realizing where I was going, I found myself leaving the city and heading toward the nearby lake, the one I've visited almost every day for the past seven years I've spent in this world.
Along the way, I spotted someone standing in the middle of the lake, holding a fishing rod. As I moved closer, I recognized who it was from her shimmering silver hair. It was Lyria.
Lyria Kraft, the daughter of Melius and Amelia. She's about my age—maybe a little older, I don't really remember. Her most distinguishing feature is her silver hair that reaches her shoulders, with black strands at the front. She has round, sapphire-blue eyes like Cipher Stones, a small nose, and fair skin. I think she's barely over a meter tall. She's considered stunning for someone her age—anyone who sees her would think she's a princess or something, which is half true. Her father, Melius, is the governor of this city, so she's technically a princess.
When she noticed me approaching, she cheerfully called out:
"Good morning, Ed."
"Good morning, Lyria."
Lyria Kraft is my only friend—or rather, I'm her only friend. Despite having all the traits that could place her at the top of the social ladder, she has no other friends. Probably because her father is the governor, and no one dares get close or befriend her. Most likely, they just don't want to bother her, so they avoid her as much as possible.
"I'm going to catch a lot of fish today," I said, knowing exactly what she would say in response. It was better that I start first.
"You're the one saying that?" she added, laughing. "You didn't catch anything yesterday or the day before, and now you say you'll catch something today? Don't make me laugh!"
But you're already laughing. I take back what I said about her not having friends because of her father's job—it's clearly her sharp tongue.
"I'll catch more than you."
"You won't beat me even in a hundred years."
"Alright then, how about this—whoever loses has to do one thing the winner says."
"Deal. I'll crush you!"
And so the challenge between me and Lyria began, at Edgeton Lake, which isn't far from the city—only a 15-minute walk. We each went in different directions. I headed straight to a spot where I saw some boys catching big fish yesterday. "I'll defeat you soundly today," I muttered. We'll see who really wins.
I had a secret weapon I'd been preparing for a while, and it was finally time to try it out. It was a mix of special baits I had gathered to attract more fish, based on something I read in a book at the library.
I tied the mix to a strong line and threw it into the water, then waited for a while to let the fish gather around it. But… half an hour passed, then an hour, then two hours—and still no fish.
What happened? Did the bait mix fail? I started to feel disappointed. Maybe I did something wrong. As I pondered where I might've messed up, I heard a commotion behind me. I turned around and saw Lyria wrestling with a giant fish.
Whoa, whoa, whoa—you've got to be kidding me! I was stunned by the sight of Lyria struggling with that fish. But what snapped me back to reality was her fish basket—overflowing with fish.
I found myself wondering: what the heck is going on here? How could she catch that many fish without using a special bait or something like my secret mix? She must be cheating. There's no other explanation.
With that thought in mind, I approached her, raising my voice in frustration:
"Hey! What did you do to catch all those fish?!"
"I didn't do anything."
"These fish are mine!"
No doubt about it—the fish she caught were attracted by my bait mix. There's no other explanation.
"Ha ha ha, I didn't see your name written on them," she said with a smug grin, without even bothering to face me. That confirmed it—this girl is definitely cheating.
"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
"Why should I, loser crybaby?"
"Who are you calling crybaby, you airhead?!"
"Airhead?! Who are you calling that, you failure?!"
This girl… one day I swear I'll tie her to a rock and toss her in the lake. But wait, that wouldn't solve the problem—she'd just scare off the fish. I need another way.
At that moment, I heard a splash, like something emerging from the water. I turned to see what it was—and there it was, right above the fishing hole I had been using. A creature with no fur and spikes running down its back. No doubt about it—it was Nero. Even though it was the first time I'd seen it in real life, I was certain. That was definitely Nero.
But how did Nero get here? Then I saw it—he had a huge fish in his mouth. That's when I understood. He had been the one eating all the fish attracted by my bait mix.
Doesn't matter now—Nero is worth more than a hundred fish. I crouched down and carefully approached him, silently pulling out my collapsible rod so he wouldn't notice. I was just a few meters away when suddenly, I felt the air around me get heavy and my body became sluggish. After a moment, the feeling vanished.
Regaining my balance, I calmly turned toward where Nero had been—but what?! What was Lyria doing there? Wasn't she just behind me? I turned to look at where she had been—only her basket remained. That was definitely Lyria. But how? And when did she get in front of me?
Looking closely, something was lying near her feet. Is that…? No, it can't be. It must be something else. But the more I looked, the more I was certain—it was Nero.
Seeing my shocked face, mouth and eyes wide open, Lyria smirked and said:
"For your information, I saw him first."
"It's… not…"
"Haaaa?"
What am I even saying? My words weren't making sense. This isn't good—stay calm. There must be a logical explanation. As I tried desperately to regain composure, Lyria collapsed without warning. I immediately rushed toward her.
"Ugh… where am I?"
"Calm down, dear, you're at our house."
After she fainted, I carried Lyria to our house—it's the closest place to the lake.
"Good afternoon, Aunt Evelyn."
"Haven't I told you a hundred times to call me Auntie?"
"Sorry."
"It's afternoon, not morning."
"What happened?"
"You fainted, and Ed brought you here."
"Thanks, Ed."
Huh. Her expression now is completely different from this morning—much calmer. And when she thanked me with that genuine, unforced smile, I couldn't help but smile back.
But that smile quickly faded—she suddenly seemed to remember something and asked anxiously:
"What about the fish?"
"Don't worry, I took them to the orphanage."
She seemed relieved after hearing that and let out a deep sigh. She really does care about that orphanage.
"What about Nero?"
"He got away."
Her expression changed again—she looked disappointed. So I added:
"Sorry, it was my fault. If I had been a little faster, I could've caught him."
It's true. After Lyria hit him on the head, I thought he was dead, so I didn't rush. But while I was thinking, he must've regained consciousness and fled. In short—it's my fault.
"It's not your fault. If I had hit him harder, he would've been knocked out completely and you could've caught him."
"You'll catch one next time," said my mother, hugging her.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. You'll get another one—I'm sure of it."
"Thank you, Auntie Evie."
"That's what I wanted to hear."
Lyria smiled again—a bright smile this time. Things ended well this time, even though I have a lot of questions. But let's save those for next time.