Day 259 - Word training 7

Day 259 - Word training 7

“You're distracted.”

I don't need an instructor to tell me that.  “I'm not being called upon for the war effort.”
Her voice is terse as she states “You're already combat trained, and the device around your neck isn't suited for war against humans in any case.”
I don't need her to tell me that, either.

“Surely it isn't that uninteresting.”
“It's worse than uninteresting.  It's disgusting.”
“Do you dislike romance novels?”
“It isn't that.  It isn't just that,” I add, correcting myself.

I reach over to bring the hot tea to my lips again.  It's cooled enough to sip from, at least.  The desk on which the books are piled is so old that it creaks whenever I lift or replace it.  The books, however, all seem to've been published in the past year.

“Then?”
“Monsters are terrible authors.”

I picked “The Moonlight Caught in Her Scales” because I thought it would be the least awful.  At least the man on the cover wasn't actively stripping.
I couldn't have prepared myself for how unpleasant it would be.
It's making me physically uncomfortable.

“Is this really training?”
“Yes.”
“Was it discomfort the whole time?  Were all of them just new ways of trying to discomfort me?”
“No, but that's a reasonable guess.”  That she's willing to admit that bothers me.

“Only seven days left.”

---

I'm assuming “his turgidness” is a reference to a penis.

Yes.  Yes it is.  I sigh as I look up, away from the horrid book in front of me.
“Tell me, paladin.  How have you used the words so far?”
Is this a test, I wonder.  “Mostly for defense.”
She looks up from her own book (A Bed to Remember), staring through me with those sharp, blue eyes.  “Is that truly necessary for you?”
“It hasn't been, necessarily.”
“Do you use them often.”
“No.”
“So you rarely use them, and you don't need them when you do.  Why are you putting yourself through this, then?”
“I'll have far more use for them once I've overcome their drawbacks.”

For the first time her expression clearly shifts.  She raises her brow as her eyes widen in surprise.  “They have drawbacks?”
“Yes.”
She nods after a moment, and returns her attention to her book.  “Very well then.”

“They do.”
“Time is running out, paladin.  Read.”

---

For the eighth time this hour, I set the book down in frustration.

“He has an evil twin,” I announce.
She looks at me, and in perfect monotone says “How exciting.  I wonder how they'll overcome that obstacle to their relationship.”
This isn't work for her.  She tortures people as a hobby.

Something else strikes me, though.  “You seem less troubled than usual.”
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
Her head nods slightly to the side.  “I suppose I am.  I had the chance to speak with someone recently.”  She returns her attention to her own novel again.  “She assured me that everything would turn out fine.”

“Instructor.”
“Yes?”
“How is this training?”
“You hate monsters.”  I stare at her.  “Yes, that's really it.”
“Okay then.”
“Do you understand?”
“No.”

She sighs this time.  “You're trying to make me retire, aren't you?”