An Old Man from the Countryside Becomes a Swords Saint: I Was Just a Rural Sword Teacher, But My Successful Students Won’t Leave Me Alone! - Chapter 4

4 - The old man from the country side goes to the capital

I surrendered myself to the carriage’s gentle rattling as I gazed out its window.

The scenery is the same as it’s always been.

I could see the gentle, rolling plains on both sides of the road. In the distance, I could see the mountains’ shadows, behind which hid the still rising sun. Occasionally, we would pass a river, giving my eyes a nice change of pace, but in general, the journey was long and monotonous.

Bidden Village was situated in a rural region.

It wasn’t a hard life, but it wasn’t glamourous either.

If you ever wanted to travel between there and the capital, the landscape was bound to be quiet and empty until you approached the city.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been to the capital.”

“You’ll have many more opportunities to do so from now on, Master.”

I was feeling rather uncomfortable, with both of us not saying a word, so I commented offhandedly on the view while looking at my co-passenger from the corner of my eyes. Alexia replied promptly.

Alexia’s profile was simply picturesque.

She had long silver hair and slightly slanted eyes. Her facial traits were sharp and well defined, as if a statue had come to life. She had grown much more feminine and serene since I last saw her.

She’d always been quite an attractive girl. She used to be cute and pretty, but now she had matured into a beautiful woman. Not that I harbored any wicked thoughts about my former disciple, of course.

Yup.

The Revelio Knights were famous for their extremely high standards and strict selection tests.

Even I knew that, and I lived in the middle of nowhere. The fact that even I was aware of their reputation was a testament to their abilities.

This knight order was also an organization that symbolized the Reveris Kingdom.

In addition to having tradition and prestige, it is also the largest force under the direct control of the kingdom in terms of strength and played the role of the “big stick” when it came to diplomacy.

If you looked at it in terms of simple strength though, skilled mercenaries and adventurers would certainly fit the bill, but they were independent from the state. It wasn’t always possible to rely on them in times of crisis, although some of them might favor the Reveris Kingdom.

When it came to their duties, their work ranged from maintaining peace and security in the city to defeating large monsters.

They were also extremely popular among the citizenry. I’ve had countless people other than Alexia that knocked on my dojo’s door specifically in order to join the Knight Order, though I have no idea how many actually made it in.

Half the reason I knew so much about them was due to their extremely effective publicity, that reached even the most remote of areas. The other half is due to Alexia’s letters. Really, I wonder how she has the time to write such lengthy letters every time.

With the Knights of Revelio being such an important national institution, it’s leader must of course be a person of great ability, popularity and personality. And sure enough, Alexia fit the bill. The had the potential to become a real heroine.

“So, what Mr. Mordea was saying…”

“Oh, don’t worry about him, he was just messing around.”

Alexia kept the conversation going, perhaps seeing my mumblings as a desire to talk.

Mordea my old man’s name.

He nearly past his mid-sixties, but he’s still as mentally and physically fit as ever. He’s been rather worried about his back pain lately, though.

Even though we were headed to them most important city in the country, it was still going to take us half a day by carriage.

No matter if the dojo was closed or not, I couldn’t just suddenly pack up and leave, so I told my father about the circumstances. I couldn’t lie to him, so me and Alexia told him the whole story, from start to finish.

“Hahahaha! This is good! You should be honored! Go to the city and find yourself a wife, son. Or what about this lady right here? She isn’t bad!”

And that’s what my old man had to say about it.

He had no sense of delicacy. No tact at all. I’m still amazed he was able to marry my mother.

I know he’s worried about me still being a bachelor at my age, but really? Alexia?

She was way out of my league in terms of…well, everything. Looks, abilities, status…

“You…know I don’t…mind…”

“Hmm? Did you say something?”

“No, no. Nothing.”

“Ah, alright. I’m sorry about my father.”

While I apologized for my father’s insensitive words, I took another look at the scenery.

To some extent, I didn’t want to prove my father right, but this is Baltrain, the capital, after all. Might as well make the most out of it and stretch my wings a litte.

Maybe I’ll buy a souvenir for my parents, even if I don’t meet anyone. Oh, and maybe a good quality sword. Yeah, that’d be nice.

Sure, that sword might not see use outside of practice, but I’d like to have one. I don’t have any other hobbies anyways. Not like I’m spending my money anywhere else.

No way this dull, forty-year-old man who has nothing more in his life that the sword will ever have anybody to spend this money on, so why would I let it burn a whole in my pocket?

“By the way, what are we doing once we reach the capital?”

“First thing on the agenda is meeting with the Knights. After that, we’ll set-up Master’s instructor schedule, and if we have time, maybe a little lesson.”

“I understand. My father will probably be annoyed that I didn’t get to meet anyone in Baltrain, so I’ll buy him a souvenir instead.”

“Then let’s get the paperwork over with as fast as we can, then I’ll guide Mater to the market.”

“Alright.”

She seemed really eager to get started. It was almost scary.

It was a bit nerve-wracking to know that I’d be looking at the Knights practice as soon as I got there, but then again, I won’t know how it’ll go until it happens.

I couldn’t turn back time. Once the hands of a clock have moved forward, they couldn’t be rewound. I’ll leave the future problems to the future me and think of something fun instead.

I was next to a beautiful woman, who’s way too good for me. And she also happened to be my cute former student, though apparently, she had a shady side to her…

“Speaking of souvenirs, does Mr. Mordea like anything in particular?”

“Oh, my father likes steamed buns even though he’s old.”

And so, while the carriage was arriving at the capital city of Baltrain, I indulged in idle chatter with Alexia.