"Uh… did I say something wrong?"
He lingered for a few moments, then turned away.
"No. Effie just likes to run her mouth sometimes. She shouldn't have told you that."
Not quite understanding what was happening, but feeling dark undertones in his voice, the teenage girl awkwardly smiled.
"Oh, did I just get Effie in trouble?"
Staring at the practice weapons, Sunny sighed.
"...No. It's just that… there is indeed a girl I bring flowers to when I can. But she isn't my girlfriend."
Rain glanced at him in confusion.
"But… uh… why do you bring her flowers, then?"
Sunny turned around and looked at her darkly. Rain suddenly shivered, realizing that she had never seen Sunny acting this… cold.
A few moments later, he said evenly:
"It's because I made it out of the Dream Realm, and she did not. Do you understand?"
The teenage girl thought for a few moments, then paled a little, and nodded.
Sunny shook his head.
"I don't think you do. And hopefully, you never will."
With that, he took a round shield and a straight practice sword off the wall, closed his eye for a moment, and then forced an easygoing smile to appear on his face.
"...Anyway, here's what you'll be training with from now on. They might be a bit heavy for you, but the weight will help you condition your body. What do you think?"
Still feeling a bit awkward, Rain took the weapons, weighed them in her hands, and cleared her throat.
"Uh… actually, I prefer ranged weapons. That's what I've been mostly using in school."
Sunny shook his head.
"Ranged weapons are wonderful, and you should definitely know how to use them. But they stop being wonderful as soon as a Nightmare Creature gets close to you, and believe me, they will. So you should learn melee combat first"
Rain looked at him with a bit of stubbornness.
"But Night from Nightingale is an archer, and he is a hero who has a True Name."
'Oh, gods… don't tell me that my little sister is his fangirl, too! Damned Kai... just you wait...'
Sunny stared at the teenage girl for a few moments, his expression unreadable. After a while, he said in a strange tone:
"Night from Nightingale can fly. Can you? In any case, learn how to use a sword first. If you do, I'll get him to personally teach you how to shoot a bow. How about that?"
Rain laughed.
"Yeah… sure! Why don't you invite him for dinner as well, while you're at it?"
After that, she covered her mouth with a palm and laughed even louder.
Sunny sighed heavily, then shook his head.
'This child… she's hopeless, isn't she?'
He waited until Rain stopped laughing, and then said sternly:
"Before we start, though, I am going to ask you a question."
She looked at him, turning back into her serious, studious self.
"Yeah?"
Sunny lingered for a few moments, and then asked:
"...What do you think the essence of combat is?"