Soma dropped to her knees, embarrassed and a little bummed about the loss.

  "Looks like luck was on your side today, Grandpa," she mumbled. "I was holding my dagger without much strength... someone hit my wrist yesterday, and it still hurts to grip things properly." She said it while staring straight at Spearhead, who simply looked away, pretending not to hear her.

  "But a loss is a loss," she added with a smirk. "You're still strong, old man... haha."

  With that, she walked off to search for her dagger that had flown away earlier. But instead of just finding her weapon, she found someone—a girl about her age, bleeding. The dagger had struck her hand, leaving a nasty wound.

  Soma’s eyes widened. Without thinking, she rushed the girl into the house. Spearhead immediately tended to the injury with his usual calm skill. Once the bleeding stopped and the girl was bandaged up, both Soma and Spearhead apologized over and over again.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  But the stranger just laughed it off and said,

  “Oh, it’s okay, really! But how about we skip the apologies and introduce ourselves properly? I’m Maricela. Nice to meet you both!”

  Spearhead gave a small bow. “I’m Spearhead. Retired warrior.”

  Soma followed, glancing toward her little brother peeking from behind the door.

  “I’m Soma. And that scrawny boy over there is my brother, Theo. Nice to meet you… I guess.”

  Maricela grinned. “Sooo… what were you even doing with a dagger, anyway? You know that’s dangerous, right?”

  Spearhead chuckled. “We were training. That reckless girl wants to become a strong fighter—so she can protect herself and her brother.”

  Maricela’s eyes widened, then lit up with something like... determination.

  “Can I join?” she blurted. “Can I train with you guys too? Please?”

  Soma’s face lit up—she’d always wanted a real rival. Even Spearhead, surprisingly, welcomed the idea.

  And just like that, Maricela promised she’d come back every day for training.

  True to her word, the very next morning, she showed up with a bag in hand. She handed it to Soma as a gift—it was filled with clothes and girly stuff Soma never really owned.

  In return, Soma gave her a handmade long sword, forged by her own hands. She had blacksmithing skills that would make any craftsman jealous.

  And from that day on, a solid bond was forged between the two girls.