The next morning, when the sun had just risen, the children's cries echoed in the space that was filled with laughter. Their dearest elder sister had left and of course they missed her very much. Father Nicholas had to prepare breakfast and comfort the children, his heart still not completely at ease.

"Don't worry, I will go and pick up your sister soon." [Nicholas]

Father said that to the children not only as a simple comfort, it contained his and all their hopes in it. Because he knew that they were not alone now...

Anatole had just woken up from a deep wound yesterday, and now he was completely healed. This was something Father Nicholas had always wondered about, was it related to the fact that he had been shot but not seriously injured?

Right now, he was looking at that sword again, then swinging it again. Only now, after taking care of the children, Father Nicholas came to his side to check.

"Are you practicing?" [Nicholas]

"Yes, Father, but I don't understand either. Like I told you, I was able to kill that monster last time, but why isn't it as fast this time?" [Anatole]

"This is something I don't even know, I'm not much of a swordsman... but I know a few things about swords, maybe I can help you a little?" [Nicholas]

Anatole looked quite surprised.

"You seem to know more than I thought, tell me?" [Anatole]

"Let's see... first of all, the sword you're using is a cavalry sword, right? This type of curved sword is mainly used for fighting on horseback. That means when you slash, you need a thrust like when you're galloping, which allows you to easily take down your opponent with just one slash. So when you're on the ground, it's hard to achieve that condition, and with this weight, it also greatly reduces your flexibility when fighting..." [Nicholas]

"Well, it seems difficult, this sword is really hard to fight flexibly. So why was I able to cut down a monster before?" [Anatole]

"I think it's because something pushed you up to create the force to slash hard?" [Nicholas]

"Then..." [Anatole]

He stuck a log into the ground and walked away, then ran quickly towards it and slashed at the log. The log was of course still unharmed.

"No, this doesn't seem to be enough." [Anatole]

"Or maybe you should try adjusting your posture, don't hold it with both hands, use one hand, and also relax your wrist, don't tense it too much. I think this will save more effort? I don't remember anymore..." [Nicholas]

"Alright, let me try again." [Anatole]

He prepared as his father said, then walked away once more and rushed towards the log. This time the slash was deeper.

"Well, it's effective, but this still isn't fast enough." [Anatole]

"That's right, you can't take her down with just this... I don't know what to do." [Nicholas]

While the priest was thinking, a daring idea came to him. He kicked his feet as if preparing to jump.

Then he stepped away again, aiming at the log. With all his strength, he ran as fast and fast as he could, jumping up half a meter from the log...

The surprising thing was that when he jumped, he found himself jumping higher than usual, he quickly got into a stance to slash horizontally, holding one hand, relaxing his wrist... a flash of light appeared on the sword as if it had become sharper...

In those few seconds, when the priest had just looked at him, the log was cut in half flat, Anatole landed on the ground, gasping for breath.

"You...how did you do it?! My God!" [Nicholas]

"I don't know, Father..." [Anatole]

Both of them went to examine the cut log, and he immediately recounted.

"I thought that jumping up and slashing from above would have more power... and it did, but other than that, it felt like I was electrocuted or something? I suddenly jumped higher than usual, the sword flashed as if it had Arcanum, and then I was able to slash with just one hand..." [Anatole]

"I don't know, but are you an Arcanist? How did you manage to use this?" [Nicholas]

"I don't know, father, I was never supposed to be able to use arcane arts, but even so, the Foundation has confirmed that I have Arcanum, I just don't really know exactly what it is..." [Anatole]

"No, the Arcanum in each Arcanist is not only through the direct use of Arcane skills, but Arcanists can also use it indirectly or can accidentally activate it without being intentional? [Nicholas]

"So father means that through this sword I can use my own Arcane skills?" [Anatole]

This was a discovery that even Anatole had doubts about.

"Yes, your Arcane skills could be related to controlling or increasing the latent power of these ancient artifacts? When you come into contact with this sword for a long time, do you feel that something strange always happens?" [Nicholas]

"Yes, father..." [Anatole]

This made Anatole doubt himself, something that he never knew existed and it chose him to exist.

"Then there's no need to argue, it's given you the opportunity to show off your hidden power... if you can use it, it'll be useful. Always keep the sword, okay?" [Nicholas]

"I don't think I'll ever be able to part with it again." [Anatole]

After saying that, Father Nicholas asked again.

"However, if that's the case, I'm a little curious..." [Nicholas]

"Go ahead, Father?" [Anatole]

"Do you remember the time you were shot and the time that Manus Vindictae shot you a fatal blow? Don't you wonder why you're still alive?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, Father? Well, maybe I was lucky then?" [Anatole]

"No, I didn't think it would be that lucky. Both of these wounds were in vital spots, but the damage wasn't too serious, as if something had stopped it... when I examined the bullet wound, I found it wasn't too deep, and it was shallow enough to easily pull the bullet out. As for yesterday's, there was indeed a tear in the wound and some blood was flowing out, but it only reached a certain layer of skin and then stopped, as if your body had solidified inside the skin, like a hard "rock" that was strong enough to prevent anything from penetrating too deeply... a kind of instinct?... As for you receiving that powerful Arcanum attack and surviving, it must have been the same as when you were shot, right? Although I think the damage it caused was much more than that." [Nicholas]

"What do you mean?" [Anatole]

"This, I think has become your instinct, like when you touch boiling water, you pull your hand away. It stems from many things, like your body has already decided that hot things are not to be touched. It's a long story, I'm not sure, but I have a hypothesis..." [Nicholas]

"Just tell me, Father? I'll try to understand." [Anatole]

He looked forward to what his father was about to say, and it was indeed very important...

"It's possible that you can sense approaching danger and are quite sensitive to everything around you, so your body has a function that is like a defense mechanism, it makes your body stiffen the part of your body that is about to be impacted a little to reduce the damage received, like when you unconsciously raise your hand to block an attack or close your eyes when sand blows by. I think this can be explained by genetics, as it may come from your ancestors, perhaps related to Arcanists who have the ability to stiffen themselves to prevent dangerous impacts? If it's also your Arcane skill, then it must be expressed more strongly." [Nicholas]

"It's true that it's a bit... hard to accept." [Anatole]

"Yes..." [Nicholas]

"But I never thought that priests would care much about this kind of scientific stuff, right? And how to use a sword?" [Anatole]

"That's right, you can't heal people with holy water or forge a sword with a cross. "Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind" Einstein once said." [Nicholas]

"But even if it can't cure or fight, faith is what gives us the greatest spiritual support to fight against illness or fight with all our might... I can't judge anyone's faith, but I know how strong people are when they still have faith, and I believe that you will always believe in your choices." [Nicholas]

"Father only gives me shocking things." [Anatole]

Anatole pondered for a moment.

"At least it's not bad at all." [Antole]