Every day, Aizel's rigorous training regimen continued under the watchful guidance of Aquarian.
He spent the mornings in deep meditation, getting into the spirit of the ocean and bringing his mind and body into balance with the ocean's currents.
As the sun hit its highest point in the afternoon, Aizel and Aquarian fought fiercely with their swords.
The mastery of the sword arts became his second nature, a fluid and formidable extension of himself.
Aquarian sword art was like becoming one with water. Whenever he fought Aquarian, he felt like he was wielding his sword against an entire ocean.
Evenings brought a change of focus as Aizel delved into the world of botanical knowledge with Vespara.
Together, they learned about the many different kinds of plants and flowers and how they could be used in battle. This important knowledge of nature's cures and poisons would help him a great deal in his future work.
At night, when the land was covered in darkness, Aizel found comfort in Daisy's presence. They talked about important things and enjoyed each other's company before falling asleep together.
While Aizel was underway with his training, there was another man getting ready for the tournament.
More likely, he doesn't need any training. The only thing he need was a sword.
"Young Master, is this right?" One of the maids asked.
With a graceful flourish, she placed the plate of steaming food in front of Soren, who sat at the table with a disinterested air.
Her movements were deliberate, her demeanor poised, as she fulfilled her duty of serving him.
"What is right?" Soren asked.
"Battling against your father?"
"Hmm... Someone needs to show that coward his place, and besides, I won't be able to use the sword if I don't fight him for it."
"I wished my lady would have been here with us; nothing would have happened like this."
"She is gone now; don't dwell on the past," Soren replied.
"My son... so when would you like to fight?" Yongiri said, quickly grabbing a seat to sit.
"Whenever you are ready," Soren replied plainly while sipping the soup.
"Then I will ask the king to...
"No, you don't need to invite anyone. We will fight alone, you and me... no one else should be there to spectate."
"Huuuuu, don't tell me you are scared to see your shit getting beat up in front of people? AHAHAHAA...
"I can't even imagine myself in such a situation, and besides, I would like to avoid everyone seeing a coward getting his ass beat up and crying."
A mischievous glint danced in Yongiri's eyes as he locked his gaze on his son, his expression transforming from playful to menacing in an instant.
"Don't push your luck, brat,"
"I don't believe in luck. How does tomorrow work for you? Or you will run away once again like a coward?"
Yongirir's brows twitched.
"Tomorrow is fine. I will bring the artifact with me, and we will duel alone. Remember, don't beg me for mercy when you are on the verge of death."
He stood up and left.
"Don't worry, luckily I take after my mother a lot," Soren replied.
The maid sighed.
*****
*Knock knock*
"You may enter,"
"Princess, Sir Yongiri has sent a message to everyone." The guard bowed and said.
"What is it?"
"He mentioned that he is going to fight Sir Soren tomorrow. They have both decided to fight alone and don't want anyone to spectate."
"NOOO...
"I can't let this happen. Where is Sword Emperor? Call him immediately." Zareena gave the order, and the guard bowed and rushed quickly to call the sword emperor.
After a few minutes...
"You called me princess?"
"They both are fighting, and they don't want anyone to spectate."
"Yes, I heard about it."
"You have to stop them or at least be present there. You can't let Soren die."
"I know you care about him, princess, but I can't do that. But I will try to observe it from afar and will only intervene if I see him dying."
"Where is Father?" How did he react?" Zareena asked, walking back and forth in the room with a nervous expression on her face.
"The King is with the Queen in her chamber.
"He respects the decisions of both of them and is not going to intervene." The Sword Emperor replied.
"What are the rest of the group doing?"
"Edumont has been training with me every day. Raven seems to spend most of her time in her household.
"Seraphine is helping that mage called Hazel."
"What about him?"
"I have heard from Vespara that he has been training somewhere with Aquarian daily."
Zareena's eyes were wide open with shock when she heard that.
"WHY HIM? Why is he teaching him? Why did he not teach me anything when I asked?
Veins throbbed on her forehead, a telltale sign of her rising anger, as her expression twisted into a more malicious and vindictive visage.
"Why is everyone favoring him? First the War Goddess, then the Father, and now even the Aquarian.
"Why are they trusting a guy so much who suddenly appeared out of nowhere?"
The Sword Emperor stood resolute, a pillar of silence, allowing the princess to unleash her fury without interruption.
"I see now, you want attention, huh... You want everyone to praise and favor you... and you actually like the young war god status..
"Just wait for the tournament... I will put you in such a tough spot that you will have zero chance to return alive."
Sword Emperor let out a sigh and left the princess room.
At the same time...
Aizel made his way back to the potion shop, where he reunited with Shelly. The day of Irene's wedding was drawing near, and they were preparing to journey back to attend the wedding.
Alora quickly teleported them back to Earth.
"Will you join us, Alora?" Shelly asked.
"Of course, I will." She replied.
"Okay, so in the evening we will all head together. For now, I am leaving to visit my mother,"
"Take care of yourself and send my greetings to your mother, Doc," Aizel said.
"Sure, I will. See Yaa."
