The Ice's Yearning Volume 1 Chapter 4

Sitting in front of a small table, Alfra was listening to Takas.h.i.+ro with a serious expression.

“Mana, OD, Spiritual power, Ki. It has various names, but we demons usually call it magical power.”

“Yes!”

“In order to use magic, you must first feel the magical power itself.”

Alfra tried to feel magical powers just as she was told to, however she still couldn't understand what exactly it was.

“Magical power is energy. It also exists in the atmosphere, but only in minuscule amount. First, please try to sense magical powers that dwell inside of you.”

――If I am able to use magic, I'll definitely be praised by Byakuren-san.

She was wis.h.i.+ng strongly, but regretfully, Alfra still couldn't feel that grounding.
Her curiosity about the outside world had already diminished and she was taking Takas.h.i.+ro's lessons only with the purpose of being liked by Byakuren.

A few times a day Byakuren would come to take a look at how things were going,  watch Alfra struggling for a while and leave just as quickly.
The expectation that if she got better, Byakuren might pay her more attention and the fear that if she didn't show any results she would be abandoned, urged Alfra even more.

Even though the days were quite painful, Byakuren would always come to Alfra's room at night and give her a drop of blood.
The frightful exaltation she felt when drinking the blood and the times when Byakuren touched her in order to calm down the heat of her body was a supreme moment for Alfra.
After all, those were the only times when she could hug Byakuren as much as she wanted.

Perhaps she was still at the age when she missed skins.h.i.+p with parents, but Alfra's feelings towards Byakuren might have been not those of deep affection, but rather closer to religious piety.

Just what did the always expressionless and indifferent Byakuren think about when she came close to the human girl?

Several days pa.s.sed after Takas.h.i.+ro's lessons started, however, Alfra stumbled on the first step of perceiving magical powers and made no real progress. The results were late to show up.

“Madam, making a judgment might be too early, but I doubt that Alfrsama has talent in that direction.”

“I see……”

“As expected, there is a fundamental difference between us and the humans. Demons can use magic since childhood without being taught, but it doesn't seem to be the same for humans.”

Byakuren reached for the goblet that was set on the side table near the throne.

“If you feel that learning magic is a top priority for Alfrsama, then she would be best entrusted to the inst.i.tution that trains human mages”

“Inst.i.tution?”

“Big cities have Mages' guild or something like a training school, so it must be around there.”

“So in the end demons and the humans are different, huh.”

Looking at Byakuren, who was staring at the goblet in her hands as if thinking hard about something, Takas.h.i.+ro held his tongue.

“She can't use magical powers but her healing and resistance are improving.”

“Yes. It seems like she is doing it unconsciously. Although she doesn't seem to be able to direct the force outside.”

“I wonder if the unconscious internal use of the energy comes as naturally as breathing to the humans too?

“I dare say so.”

“….You are able to use bare-handed martial arts, right?”

“Yes. A little bit of martial art called Aiki, pa.s.sed down on the faraway eastern island country since the ancient times.”

“Then teach her how to fight.”

“Certainly.”

Byakuren put the goblet with wine to her lips with a gloomy expression.

Alfra, who was trying to sense the flow of magical powers in her body through Zazen, a specific way of sitting taught to her by Takas.h.i.+ro, was slightly drowsy.
Byakuren arrived in the early afternoon, exactly during the time when she was about to fall asleep.

“We, demons, respect power. Strong ones plunder and the strongest become the Kings. The weak are robbed and obey the strong.”

“Y…..es.”

Despite not understanding her words, Alfra was still barely able to nod.

“Demons have been a militant race since the start and that's exactly why the power is absolute.”

“Yes!”

“Learn how to fight from Takas.h.i.+ro.”

“……yes?”

“Follow me.”

The female demon, who muttered that humans and demons were different, was trying to force the values of demons on a human girl who adored her.

Alfra. who left the room for the first time, was goggling at the surroundings. There were l.u.s.trous white walls everywhere.
While restlessly turning her head all around, she followed Byakuren and climbed the stairs. And eventually, they reached a pa.s.sage with an atmosphere of an old fortress, surrounded by ancient-looking stone walls. Walking further, they saw many open windows and the scenery of the snowfield outside came into the sight.

――So the room I was in was in the bas.e.m.e.nt.

The outside world she hadn't seen in a while, was painful to look at because the sunlight reflected on the snow was glittering.
Walking more for a little while, the place which Alfra reached was a reception hall with a high ceiling. There was a wooden dining table inside and Takas.h.i.+ro was preparing tea.

“I have been waiting for you.”

Byakuren sat down on the chair that Takas.h.i.+ro pulled back and elegantly tilted the teacup.

“Please start.”

“Understood.”

“…Eh? what am I…supposed to do?”

“Please change into this first.”

Alfra was handed folded clothes from Takas.h.i.+ro.
Turning around, the old butler faced backward.
Although she was bewildered, Alfra still took off her one-piece dress, put her arms through the tunic and changed into the trousers that were the type which was tied on the waist.

―― There aren't any panties, as expected…..

She felt a little disappointed.

“Alfra, Takas.h.i.+ro recognized a talent for fighting in you so as a reward I will give you blood earlier than usual.”

“――――――?!”

Alfra was unable to reply.

――Name! I was called by my name just now?!

She was unable to utter a word due to her immense happiness. For Alfra this was already the best reward.

――Probably for the first time since the day I met Byakuren-san?!

Her big, mahogany-colored eyes were wide open to the point that they were almost falling out and Byakuren, which saw Alfra trembling with emotions, furrowed her eyebrows.

“Alfra, reply! and close your mouth.”

“Yes!”

Although she was reprimanded by a slightly harsh voice, Alfra's high tension showed no signs of calming down.

“I would like to start with building up basic physical strength first, but for now I will explain the core principles of the martial art Aiki that we would like you to learn, Alfrsama.

“Yes!”

“That was a good reply. The basics are easy and can be summarized to changing the direction of the force.”

“Changing…the direction of the force?”

“That's right. Well then, please try to grab my arm with both of your hands.”

“Yes!”

“I will apply pressure from above, so, please use more force so I am unable to overpower you and move away from this place.”

“Like this?”

Alfra lightly lowered her hips and opened her legs.

“It seems that you are ready. Then, here I come.”

While resisting the gradually increasing force, Alfra tried to push him back but was unable to withstand for long and staggered.

“Let's do it one more time.”

“Yes!”

She tried to push him back by lowering her hips even more, but this time the arms were unexpectedly pulled sideways and she fell forward while violently shaking.

“Kyaaa!”

Grabbing the collar of Alfra who was about to collapse, Takas.h.i.+ro grinned.

“This is what it means to change the direction of the force.”

“Yes, I was surprised.”

“If you take all the given force up front, you would need 10 times as much power to pay back 10 people. However, if you divert the opponent's force sideways or in front of you, 2-3 times the power would be sufficient.”

“Amazing!”

“This is what we call ‘deflecting'. At first, just like its name, it's the act of receiving and deflecting. Let's train so that in the end you would be able to perform the act of deflecting and dealing damage to the opponent in a single breath.”

Alfra listened to Takas.h.i.+ro explaining while gesturing without missing any of his words.

“This can also be applied to the battle with weapons. Based on the principle of ‘soft and fair goes far', it is an art that aims to defeat those who surpa.s.s us by power.”

“Yes!”

“First I will teach you the basic model so let's start with repet.i.tion exercises. I will decide the daily basic physical strength building menu while observing your movements.”

“Please take care of me!”

“Alfrsama, your physique is quite powerful compared to your age and your lower half is also unexpectedly firm. It seems that teaching you will be worth it.”

After being praised by Takas.h.i.+ro, Alfra stole a glance at Byakuren. However, there was already n.o.body there, so her shoulders dropped in disappointment. Regardless, soon she became engrossed in the knowledge of martial art that she had come to know for the first time in her life and her earthly desires gradually disappeared.

Outside the balcony, the curtain of night had fallen. The only source of light inside the room was the several torches emitting dim light.

“Alfrsama has quite good muscles. I suspect that she seems more powerful than her looks would suggest because madam's blood is improving her physical strength and endurance. Especially her explosive power is very wonderful.”

“I see.”

Byakuren, who was listening to Alfra's evaluation without changing her expressions, tapped her fingers on the armrest of the throne.  It was a gesture that suggested she was in a good mood. This was one of the elements which Takas.h.i.+ro used in order to judge the mood of his Lord who barely showed emotions on her face.

“She's also quick to learn and seriously engaging in the training. It must be the manifestation of honestness that Alfrsama originally possessed.”

“Then, eventually teach her how to fight with weapons too. You can do it, right?”

“Please leave it to me. In this castle, there are arms left from the time when savages were living here, and when the occasion arrives, we can try to fish around the storehouse for a bit.”

Tap, tap, a rhythmic sound continued.

“Those are quite old items, so their maintenance will take some time. Depending on the situation, we might need to go shopping in the city to gather the necessary tools.”

“Leave maintenance and shopping to others. Try to stay with Alfra as much as possible, Takas.h.i.+ro.”

Oh? – he looked at Byakuren's face but as expected he was unable to catch any emotions from her expression. He felt curious about the change of heart of his master who started calling her 「Alfra」instead of 「That girl」, but being aware of his own position, Takas.h.i.+ro obviously did not mention anything.

“As you will. Then should we also make them bring various items for Alfrsama along the way too?

“Various items?”

“There are no other children in this castle. There must be something that she would need in the daily necessities.”

“You're right. I didn't think that much through. Ask Alfra if there's something that she wants.”

Looks like the day when Alfra would obtain her long-desired panties wasn't too far away.

—

Notes:

OD is supposedly short for Odic force, hypothetical vital energy or life force which was named by Baron Carl von Reichenbach in the mid-19th century. The name comes from the Norse G.o.d Odin.

Ki is basically a j.a.panese name for Qi(or Ch'i) and if you don't know what that is, it's apparently a vital force of every living being according to the traditional Chinese culture. In Korean it's gi and in Vietnamese it's khi. (According to Wikipedia, that is.)

Zazen ( ザゼン) is apparently a type of meditation in Buddhism where you sit upright with your legs crossed.

受け流す is “to ward off (e.g. an attack); to fend off (e.g. a question); to elude; to evade; to dodge; to turn aside (e.g. a joke)​” but deflecting is probably more appropriate in this context.

The raw idiom is 柔よく剛を制す, which has two meanings apparently – “soft and fair goes far” and “willows are weak, yet they bind other wood​”

either way, the actual meaning is the same. You don't have to have lvl999 stats to win in a fight.

I know I promised Cinderella in the last chapter but I've been thinking about these two for a while now.

Ugh, too much hard sentences in this chapter. I'm definitely not proud of how it turned out.

Please notify me about mistranslations, typos and awkward grammar.