They returned to their rooms.

  After a hot bath to wash away the fatigue, they met up again—as usual—to head toward the hill.

  But just as they were setting off, Karim suddenly grabbed Luca’s arm.

  “All right, I’m just gonna say it—I’m seriously craving meat and juice,” he said with a slight smile.

  Luca groaned in response:

  “Ugh, if only! Let’s see what they’ve got in the mess hall…”

  But Karim didn’t let go of his arm.

  “Did you think I forgot what you said? You promised: if I beat Emily, dinner’s on you.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  Luca stared at him for a second.

  Then he let out a deep sigh:

  “Come on, I’m not spending all my earnings just to feed your bottomless stomach.”

  “A promise is a promise, Luca,” Karim reminded him, smirking.

  Throwing his hands in the air, Luca grumbled:

  “Fuck’s sake—fine!”

  And they headed toward the tavern.

  The moment Karim stepped through the door, the smell of beer and roasted meat made his stomach growl even louder.

  The tavern was bustling.

  They found a seat at a corner table on the upper floor of the two-story building and sat down.

  They placed their orders…

  But Luca looked genuinely grumpy.

  He hadn’t expected Karim to take something like this so seriously.

  As they waited, Karim suddenly stood up and said:

  “Gotta take a piss.”

  Then he walked away from the table.

  A short while after the food arrived, Karim returned and sat back down.

  The two ate quietly.

  Eventually, Luca reached for his pocket to pay the bill.

  But the waiter smiled calmly and said:

  “The payment’s already been taken care of.”

  Luca blinked in confusion.

  Then, slowly, he turned his eyes toward Karim.

  Karim couldn’t hold it in—he burst out laughing.

  “Come on! Did you really think I’d let you pay for that?” he asked, grinning.

  Luca let out a long, relieved breath.

  Then he rolled his eyes and muttered:

  “You bastard… If you’d told me in the middle of the meal, I might’ve actually enjoyed it a little.”

  Karim laughed and gave Luca a light slap on the back.

  ***

  The next day, Karim and Luca went out for what seemed like a simple run.

  At first, they thought it was just a regular warm-up.

  But soon enough, they realized this was something else entirely.

  The General didn’t let them rest—not even for a minute. He made them run for hours.

  And the worst part? He followed them on horseback.

  That way, he could see exactly if they were trying to cheat.

  After hours of running, the two could barely breathe.

  Their legs were shaking, and their lungs were burning like fire.

  At last, when the General finally declared the training over, they dragged themselves back to their rooms.

  And the moment they hit the bed—they passed out like corpses.

  ***

  The next morning…

  When Karim and Luca arrived at the yard, they were greeted by a pile of large stones.

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  For a moment, they had no idea what to make of it. But then…

  Without offering a single word of explanation, the General simply pointed at the stones.

  That was all it took to make things clear.

  That day’s exercise was painfully simple:

  Move the stones from one place to another—and then bring them back. All day long.

  And it was, in every sense of the word, torture.

  ***

  With the first light of morning, the two met again at the General’s house.

  All they wanted now was not to move something from one place to another.

  Just as Karim raised his hand to knock, Luca grabbed his arm.

  “Karim, what if we just told the General we’re done carrying shit around? What do you think he’d say?”

  “I don’t know,” Karim replied, not particularly concerned, and knocked on the door anyway.

  Emily opened it, casting them a quick, indifferent glance, then silently gestured for them to come inside.

  When the two made it into the yard, eyes bloodshot from exhaustion, they stood in front of the General.

  As always, the General eyed them with stern silence… then suddenly brought his hands forward from behind his back.

  Two wooden swords appeared in the air.

  The faces of Karim and Luca lit up—they had been waiting to return to sword training for a while.

  But the joy didn’t last long.

  This time, they wouldn’t be facing Emily.

  They’d be facing the General himself.

  He stepped into the center of the training ground and spoke in a firm, unshakable voice:

  “All right, Luca. We’ll start slow… then ramp it up and push your limits.”

  Luca sighed involuntarily, but didn’t protest. He took the sword.

  After locking eyes with the General, the two began to slowly cross blades.

  Emily already knew she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

  But what she didn’t understand was—why was her father training these two clowns to protect her?

  Sure, maybe they had saved his life. But hadn’t he already paid that debt with bags of gold?

  What more could they possibly be owed?

  Meanwhile, the duel between Luca and the General grew even more intense.

  With every passing second, the General moved faster, pushing Luca further past his limits with each strike.

  As he swung his sword swiftly, he barked a sharp warning:

  “If you want to finish this lesson, you’ll need to counterattack, boy.”

  Just as Luca braced himself for a counter—

  The General accelerated.

  Luca struggled to keep up with the blows, realizing he was being cornered.

  And in that moment—

  The General’s sudden strike knocked the sword right out of his hands.

  The wooden blade clattered to the ground and rolled away, and the General immediately stopped.

  Luca was left panting, drenched in sweat, and crouched on the ground.

  The General nodded with a look of satisfaction and said:

  “Well then… you’ve come further than I thought, Luca.”

  Luca blinked and slowly lifted his head.

  Catching his breath, he replied in a tired but proud voice:

  “Thank you… sir.”

  The General and Luca made their way over to where Karim and Emily were sitting, deciding to rest for a bit.

  Turning to Luca, the General began pointing out his weaknesses, offering advice, and listing both the good and bad aspects of his performance to help him improve.

  Then, he turned to Karim with a faint smile:

  “All right, Karim. To be honest, Luca wore me out pretty badly today. So as a surprise… your training ends here—for now. We’ll meet again at the same time tomorrow.”

  ***

  The moment they left the house, Luca spun toward Karim, grumbling in pure disappointment:

  “Fuck your luck, man! I spent half an hour clashing swords with the General, and you just sat in the shade watching—and your training’s over?!”

  “Hey, that wasn’t my call. Go complain to the General,” Karim replied, shrugging.

  Luca scowled and smirked in a teasing way:

  “Nope. You should go talk to Emily instead.”

  Karim paused, raising a brow.

  “What does she have to do with anything?”

  Luca quickly stepped in front of him, arms crossed, blocking his way.

  “I saw the way you looked at her. Don’t you dare fall in love, man! I can barely handle your dumbassery as it is—I will not survive that.”

  Karim rolled his eyes at Luca’s accusation.

  “You’re being ridiculous.”

  But Luca wasn’t giving up that easily.

  “Sure, sure… We’ve been together for nearly two years, and I can count on one hand the times you’ve laughed with me. Yet somehow, whenever you’re around Emily, you’re always smiling.”

  Karim narrowed his eyes at him and said with a mocking smirk:

  “Are you jealous?”

  Luca blinked, caught off guard.

  “What? Me? Why the hell would I be? She’s way too cold and insufferable to get between us. You know that.”

  Karim shrugged, answering calmly:

  “First of all, calling her cold and insufferable is kind of harsh, Luca. She’s just a person—like you and me.”

  Luca’s eyes widened in disbelief at what he was hearing.

  “If you ever compare that demon to me again, Karim, I swear I’ll cut my dick off and shove it in your mouth to shut you up!”

  Karim grinned mockingly:

  “I can’t believe it… Luca Delun, jealous of me over the teacher’s daughter.”

  Luca rolled his eyes, then growled in a threatening tone:

  “Say I’m jealous one more time, and I swear I’ll claim that hill for myself!”

  Karim chuckled to himself.

  “Alright, alright. You’re not jealous…”

  He paused, then raised his eyebrows with a curious expression:

  “Or… are you in love with her?”

  The moment those words hit the air, Luca whipped his head toward Karim, frowning deeply as he shouted in rage:

  “What the fuck did you just say?! I wouldn’t fall in love with her even if someone fucked it into me!”

  ***

  The next morning, before the sun had fully risen, Karim and Luca walked toward the general’s yard with tired but determined steps.

  After yesterday’s conversations, Luca was still grumbling.

  It still pissed him off that Karim had completed the day without lifting a finger.

  “I hope you’ll be drenched in sweat today too, Karim,” he muttered while stretching his arms.

  Karim laughed and shrugged.

  “If you’re jealous that I earned the general’s approval, just say it, Luca.”

  Luca rolled his eyes.

  “One day, I’m gonna cut that fucking tongue of yours,” he murmured.

  When they reached the general’s yard, they saw Emily was already there.

  The girl had left two swords in the middle of the yard and stood waiting for them, arms crossed.

  The general stood at the door and called out to them with a cold expression:

  “Things are going to be a little different today. You’ll both fight at the same time.”

  “But Karim hasn’t even sparred with you yet!” Luca said, frowning in confusion at the general’s decision.

  The general nodded calmly.

  “I’m aware, Luca. But I don’t want to waste another day like yesterday. So both of you will spar with Emily.”

  Grumbling, Luca stepped toward Emily, and Karim followed behind him.

  But this time, there was something different:

  Compared to the wooden swords they normally used, Karim and Luca’s new swords were longer and heavier.

  The general continued his explanation:

  “Normally, you’d be able to carry a shield alongside the swords you use. But this time, considering that both of you will be attacking Emily, and thinking it would be good for you to try a different weapon, you’ll be working with longswords.”

  Karim tried to lift the longsword off the ground with one hand but struggled.

  He had to use his other hand for support as he raised it and slowly swung it a few times to get used to the weight.

  “Definitely feels different,” he said, turning to Luca.

  Luca was doing the same, frowning as he moved.

  “Absolutely. Who the fuck would use something this heavy and slow?” he muttered.

  The general watched them get used to the weapons, then continued:

  “Alright, even though you’ll both be attacking Emily, this isn’t a test; it’s a lesson. So while one of you attacks, the other will wait their turn. The main purpose here is for you to get accustomed to a different weapon and see just how much pressure Emily can handle.”