บท 39: Real Training
Austria, June 1st 1792
3:24 PM
Lukas and Herman were meeting in the garden for another training session. Herman was standing in front of Lukas with his hands on his hips.
They were a bit earlier than usual because Herman had told Lukas that he wanted to talk to him.
"...So, why are you standing like that in front of me?" Lukas asked.
Herman cleared his throat. "I'd like to congratulate you, Lukas," he said. "Today, we are going to begin our training with real swords," the bulky man.
Lukas was actually very excited to hear that. "Oh! Really?!" he asked.
Herman nodded his head with a smile. "Yes! You can already support the weight of the wooden swords without any problem, so I considered that you already deserve to go to the next stage," he said.
Then, Herman went to a bag nearby and took out two small, steel swords.
After that, the bulky man handed one of them to Lukas. "I decided to pick a smaller model so you wouldn't struggle to use it so much," Herman said.
Lukas then took the sword and was impressed by its weight. "Wow... I thought it was much heavier," he said.
Herman chuckled. "Let's see if you can swing it around like you used to do with the wooden sword," he said.
"...Good point," Lukas answered.
"Okay, unsheathe the sword so I can start talking about it," Herman said.
Lukas then unsheathed the sword and looked at it with a lot of interest.
"That sword was used by the templars. It's supposed to be a single-handed sword, but since you are much weaker than the templar knights were, you'll probably have to use both your hands in the first sessions," Herman said.
Lukas just nodded his head in understanding before Herman kept speaking.
"Regarding its weight, yes, the swords can never be very heavy. Swords with 4 pounds (approximately 2 kilos) have rarely been used in battles," Herman said.
"How heavy is this sword?" Lukas asked.
"2,4 pounds (1,1 kilo)," Herman said.
"I see," Lukas answered. He was actually very impressed to know that the swords are, in fact, so light. 'I guess it makes sense, though,' he thought.
"There a few more things that I wanna talk to you about. Now the real training sessions are going to start," Herman said.
Lukas looked at Herman. "Were we not training for real before?" he asked.
Herman shrugged his shoulders. "More or less. Since you are very young I am not in a hurry to make you a full-fledged soldier," he answered. "You are a pretty rare case, I don't know anyone who started having military training at three years old.
I started a bit later than you, I started when I was eight years old, so since I already had more physical strength I started training with a real sword right away, however, since you are quite young I decided to take my time with you," the bulky man explained.
Lukas nodded his head in understanding. "Oh, that explains why you made me train with a wooden sword for 7 months," he said.
"Well, I also would like you to start using your left hand more when we are training," Herman said.
Lukas widened his eyes. "Huh... what are you talking about?" he asked.
"I'm not an idiot, Lukas! I have known that you are left-handed for a very long time! I see your habits!" Herman answered.
Lukas sighed. "Whatever, you won! But why do I have to use my left hand more than my right one?" he asked
"People who use their left hand tend to have some advantage in the battlefield," Herman answered.
"Now the fire guns are being more used in the battlefield, but our good, old swords will never be discarded, so you will have to be smart when using them," he explained.
Lukas raised his brow. "Why do lefties tend to have more advantage in the battlefield?" he asked.
Herman shrugged his shoulders. "It's quite a small advantage, but that does make the difference," he started. "The point is that there are many more right-handed people than left-handed ones, so when you duel against a left-handed person you will struggle more, simply because you don't have as much experience with them," the bulky man explained.
Lukas nodded his head in understanding. "So... that struggle also applies to lefties? Theoretically, a lefty will struggle more when fighting against another lefty, right?" he asked.
Herman nodded his head. "Exactly," he answered. 'That's the good part of having smart pupils,' the bulky man thought.
"Well, there is just one more thing that I would like to talk to you about," Herman said. 'Knowing Lukas, this one is gonna be difficult,' he thought.
Lukas raised his brow. "What is it, Herman?" he asked. 'Seeing Herman's expression, I can see that this will be a serious subject,' the blonde boy thought.
After a long break, Herman took a deep breath. "Lukas, we will have to change your nutrition," he said.
Lukas took a while to process what Herman had just said. "W-What?!" he asked, incredulous.
Herman sighed. "I know that-" he was interrupted by Lukas.
"Herman! I have a body to maintain! I'll starve to death if you change my nutrition!" Lukas said.
"But I-"
"I'm a boy who's growing up! I need to eat properly!"
"Just let me-"
"Besides, if I don't eat properly, how can I have a good performance in your training sessions?! That just doesn't make any sense! You don't eve-" this time, it was Lukas who was interrupted.
"JUST SHUT UP AND LET ME SPEAK!" Herman yelled.
'Sheesh...' Lukas thought.
After panting for a bit, Herman started speaking. "The main point of this diet is not going to be decreasing how much food you eat per day. I'll just change what kind of food you eat," he explained. "It will help you to increase your muscular mass. You started training very young, let's take advantage of it!" the bulky man said.
Lukas nodded his head in understanding. "What kind of food will I eat?" he asked.
"Well, I decided to take a lot of features from the Mediterranean diet," Herman started. "That means that you'll have to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, not to mention the grains and cereals. But since we want to build up your muscular mass, you'll also have to invest in lean meat and eggs as well," he said.
"...Oh, that actually doesn't sound so bad," he said.
Herman chuckled. "What did you think I would ask you for? Eating one tasteless meal per day?" he asked.
"Yes," Lukas answered straightforwardly.
Herman just ignored Lukas's answer and took a small paper out of his pocket before handing it to Lukas. "Give this to your cook. I know that you eat more than most people do, so I decided to increase the amount of food a bit," he said.
Lukas smiled. "Have I ever said that I love you, Herman?" he asked.
Herman laughed. "I just hope you are not picky with food," he said.
Lukas's friendly look then turned into a hostile glare in one second. "Of course I'm not picky with food! Don't play with serious stuff," the blonde boy said with a threatening tone.
Herman just looked confusingly at Lukas. 'Why did he have this kind of reaction?" he wondered.
The bulky man sighed. "Well, this is all I wanted to talk to you about today," he said. "Now we can start our training session."
"So... we are going to duel with real swords? Isn't this a bit risky?" Lukas asked.
"Well, that's why instructors must be very skilful, so accidents will not happen," Herman replied.
Lukas nodded his head in consideration. "Yep, that makes sense. Very well, let's start!" he said.
After that, Lukas ran towards Herman before he had unsheathed his sword. Meanwhile, Herman calmly started unsheathing his sword.
When Herman was done, he parried Lukas's attack just in time, after that, he pushed Lukas away with his sword with the minimal effort.
"Remember to use the guard of the sword to parry the blow," Herman said.
"I know, I know!" Lukas said.
After that, the blonde boy charged once again at the bulky man, who promptly blocked his blow. "Faster, you brat!" he ordered.
After that, Lukas spun his whole body, getting rid of Herman's blocking and then he tried to hit the side of the bulky man's arm, however, he was too fast and promptly blocked Lukas's attempt once again.
"Nice one, Lukas, but you still have a lot to improve," Herman said.
Lukas gritted his teeth and jumped backwards, after that, he moved the sword backwards and he slashed it downwards as he jumped forth at Herman.
The bulky man easily blocked Lukas's blow. After that, the blonde boy couldn't endure the weight of the sword very well and stumbled a few times.
Herman laughed at Lukas struggling. "So, brat, is it still light?" he asked.
Lukas just snorted and charged at Herman once again. Even though the duels were the main subject of this session, they also trained a lot of other things, such as bow and arrow.
-----
Austria, June 1st 1792
5:30 PM
Lukas was sitting as he panted and sweated dripped down his forehead. 'I really thought the real sword wouldn't affect me so much, but I was awfully wrong,' the blonde boy thought.
Herman approached Lukas and poked him with his foot. "Stand up, brat, I wanna talk to you," he said.
Lukas just sighed and stood up. "What is it?" he asked.
Herman shrugged his shoulders. "Let's sit on the bench, we have no reason to be standing here," he said.
'You say that but you made me stand up,' Lukas thought.
When the both of them were sitting on the bench, Herman looked at Lukas. "I found out that your Uncle's funeral has already happened, what happened?" he asked.
Lukas raised his brow. "I had already told you when it was going to happen, you forgot? Besides, why didn't you ask me earlier?" the blonde boy asked.
"It was a matter of respect, Lukas," Herman answered.
Lukas just rolled his eyes. "Well, the funeral was very monotonous. Only me and my Father were present there... well, the priest too, of course" he answered.
Herman nodded his head in understanding. "It must have been very difficult to Elias," he said.
Lukas rolled his eyes. "I don't think so, you know, he was not showing any emotion at all," he said.
"That doesn't mean that he wasn't affected by his death," Herman said. "I understand why you don't like your father, but you at least have to be a bit more comprehensive," he said.
Lukas sighed. "Sorry, Herman. That will not change anytime soon," he said.
Herman sighed. "Someday you will understand," he said.
That sentence was the one that Lukas hated the most. "Whatever, Herman," he answered and then crossed his arms, as if sulking.
Herman sighed. "Lukas, I know you are very smart and all that stuff, but you can't expect that you'll be treated like an adult all the time," he explained.
Lukas didn't answer, he just kept sulking, which made Herman sigh. "There are even things that I regret supporting you on, like your Uncle's death, I would have never helped you get the key if I knew your true intentions," the bulky man said.
Lukas grunted. "Look, Herman, I know that I still act like a child sometimes. I sulk a lot, I get mad when something doesn't go my way, I know all that, but I still wanted you to have a bit more trust in me!" the blonde boy complained.
Herman frowned. "What are you talking about?! No other instructors would have helped you the same way I did! I even told you that I regretted doing some things that I did!" he answered.
"What I don't understand is why that war is a special case! I just don't get it!" Lukas argued back.
"Well, it's not me who decided to make you wait. When Elias tells you what truly happened, ask him. It's just that simple," Herman answered.
Lukas nodded his head in consideration and then sighed. "I guess you are right..." the blonde boy then showed a slight blush. "... sorry for having reacted like this," he said.
Herman chuckled and patted Lukas's head. "It's okay, brat. I understand your situation," he said.
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