An Aura Farmer's Guide to Another World-Chapter 39: Night Squad

Within the castle’s southeast administrative tower, Lana’s office welcomed sunlight through its window, where she sat behind a desk.

The desk was cluttered with maps and neatly stacked reports, and bookshelves brimming with leather-bound volumes lined the walls. Above Lana, a collection of framed military decorations hung alongside the portrait of Queen Violet.

Cupcake sat on a velvet armchair beside the desk, while Lucy, Evelyn, and I stood on a heavy, woven rug covering the stone floor.

Lana declared, "You will now be known as the Night Squad."

Cupcake frowned slightly, a crease forming between her brows.

"Bang!"

Her hand slammed against the desk, and she leaned closer and stared at Lana.

"You said I’d get to name our squad."

Shifting in her seat, Lana tapped her pen impatiently. Abruptly, she hoisted her leg and thudded it onto the desk, rattling the orderly piles of reports.

"The Cupcake Squad?" she asked. "Surely you could come up with a better name than that?"

Cupcake shot Lana a mean look. ’Perhaps I should go with the cake squad,’ she mumbled.

As I glanced to my left, Evelyn stood on the woven rug, a smile on her face.

Situated to my right, Lucy wore a blank, uninterested gaze. She was tapping her fingers against her thigh in a restless rhythm.

"The king squad, that will be perfect." I chimed in.

Lana and Cupcake both snapped, "Shut up!" without even glancing at me.

Lana leaned back in her seat. "There is no end to this," she sighed, then looked up at the ceiling with a defeated expression. "Very well. I’ll give the go-ahead for updating your clothing selection. In return, the squad name will be ’Night Squad’."

Cupcake interlaced her fingers, and a slow, triumphant smile spread across her face. She pulled away from Lana’s desk and glanced at an invoice positioned on the desk.

"You’re going to approve everything?"

With a sigh, Lana admitted, "Yes, everything." Her gaze remained on the ceiling as she spoke.

’Oh.’

Lana’s eyes met mine, and in a flash, she flung her pen. It flew straight toward my face.

’Swish!’

’Clack!’.

I managed to intercept it just in time, preventing it from striking my right eye. The force of the impact sent tremors up my arm, my wrist quivering violently.

With a gentleness that belied her recent attempt to blind me, Lana spoke, "Meet me at the training ground in the Oak Forest, come alone."

***

I was standing on a rugged training ground nestled amidst a dense oak forest within the castle.

The ground was composed of even stones, offering a solid surface for practice. Tall oaks surround the area, creating an isolated natural arena.

’Creak.’

Clutching the silver sword’s hilt tightly, I aimed its tip toward Lana, who stood only a few meters from me. Adorned in a green Kimono and wielding a sword that mirrored the crescent of a new moon.

"Come at me with all you got," She said, casting a dismissive glare toward me.

I advanced with my sword raised above my head. Reaching Lana, I swung my sword in a horizontal strike, intending to hit the spot between her horns.

However, Lana sidestepped, and a blur of motion followed as she spun on her axis, her leg moving from behind her in a swift arc before connecting squarely with my left ribs.

’Bam!’

I was violently thrown through the air by the force of the impact. I slammed into an oak tree, located seven meters from the stone floor’s center.

’Ugh!’

I rose to my feet, wincing as I rubbed the spot where Lana’s boot had connected. With my Sword in hand, I aimed the tip directly at her.

Clenching my teeth, my gaze was fixed on Lana, who bore a smirk on her face as I began to move in her direction.

"You can’t be this pathetic," Lana murmured as I approached.

Grasping the sword’s hilt firmly with both hands, I delivered a powerful vertical strike aimed at her ribs, only to find my attack met with an unexpectedly effortless block.

"At this rate, even a seven-year-old can beat your ass in a duel."

A sudden, stabbing pain erupted as Lana’s blade found its mark, piercing my left shoulder joint and drawing forth blood.

She withdrew her sword, and I mirrored her attack pattern, thrusting my blade toward her neck.

’Clang!’

Lana deftly parried my strike, maneuvering over my blade with delicate and precise footwork, ultimately positioning herself behind me.

’Slash!’

’Argh!’

With a vicious swipe, Lana’s sword ripped through my back, a hair’s breadth from reaching the bone, leaving a deep gash in its wake.

’Bang!’

A sharp kick from Lana sent me sprawling, my body slamming hard against the stone floor.

I felt her pants brush against my skin as she sat on my head, her sword positioned close to my ear, planted firmly beside it.

’Is it possible she’s not wearing anything beneath her kimono?’

"Ugh!"

A sigh escaped Lana’s Lips, "Absolutely unacceptable," she said.

Applying gentle pressure, she rested her hand on my back, shifting her weight and leaning further against me.

"I placed my reputation on the line and recommended you to the queen. It would be humiliating if your weakness came to light," Lana stated under her breath.

I cast a glance at her from the corner of my eye, but her piercing green eyes stabbed me, compelling me to avert my gaze in shame.

"If I use my gravity revelations, I am not this weak."

’Tsk.’

Withdrawing her hand from my back, Lana shifted, settling her full weight back onto my face as she adjusted her ass on my head.

"One cannot trust those when fighting at close range, Kenjutsu is what you need."

Lana’s underwear had an odd fragrance, like a jasmine flower, as if she sweated perfume instead of sweat.

"Are you going to train me in Kenjutsu ?"

"I am going to drill it inside your head like a nail until you can wield a sword in your sleep," she replied.

I took another look at Lana. She was staring straight ahead at the oak tree where I’d crashed earlier. Her eyes held an odd mix of feelings, a strange blend of both pity and hope.

"Despite persuading the council to spare me from execution, I was disrespectful to you during the ceremony."

I swallowed hard.

"Why are you helping me? Do you believe I am the demon King?"

Lana rose and faced me. I was bleeding from my shoulder and back.

"I pity you, that’s all." She glanced away.

’Liar." I hissed under my breath.