Chapter 1: An Old Country Bumpkin Visits Home
“Okay, I’ll be off, then.”
“Mm. Have a nice day.”
It was early in the morning. After parting ways with Mewi at the front door, I left my new home, which I was now getting thoroughly accustomed to. Well, I called it my new home, but it was really nothing more than a hand-me-down from Lucy. Everything is a matter of perspective.
This was my first true residence in Baltrain, though I had stayed at the inn for quite a while, and back in Beaden, I’d lived in my family’s home. This also happened to be my first experience living with someone else besides my parents. So far, our curious cohabitation was going well—it was about time for both Mewi and me to truly settle into this environment. However, I wanted to be extra careful to avoid instigating any strange disputes.
“Ugh... It sure is hot today,” I grumbled.
Setting such household matters aside, I squinted at the sun pouring energetically down on yet another morning. Yes, it was unbearably hot. Summer was upon us.
Liberis had a relatively predictable climate all year round. No matter where you went—whether it was the capital city or out in the sticks somewhere—there wasn’t a huge range of weather patterns. The temperature didn’t change much by region, though it did vary by the seasons. It got appropriately cold and hot.
Lately, we’d been on the hot end of the spectrum. The sun sure is healthy up there... I did a decent amount of physical training, so such temperatures didn’t bother me much, but I felt like my resistance to heat was deteriorating every year. Was this also part of getting old?
In that sense, my dad was amazing. He was well over sixty and seemed even more energetic than I was. I wanted to be like him, but my goal still seemed so far away.
“If it’s like this outside, the training hall is probably gonna be crazy hot by the middle of the day...”
My thoughts drifted toward my destination. The knights of the Liberion Order were selected from talented aspirants across the kingdom. They were definitely robust, but they were still human. I was a little worried some might collapse in this heat. It was part of an instructor’s job to bring a training session to an end before that happened. Allucia and I would just have to make the right judgment call.
Even back at the dojo, some of the more energetic children had collapsed from being overly active. The knights had more self-restraint than children, but they were still passionate practitioners of the martial arts. I had to make sure they didn’t take things too far.
“Mewi’s constitution seems a little frail. I’ll have to keep an eye on her too.”
Naturally, the concerns of overexercising applied to Mewi and the other students taking the sword magic course at the institute. I still dropped by there every now and then. But now, there were far more students in the course than when I’d originally taken the job, so I doubted I could put a name to every face.
The only ones I could recognize at a glance were the five initial students. I would probably remember the others if I attended their class every day, but I had few opportunities to talk to them face-to-face and even fewer to register each as an individual. Frankly, I had plenty more opportunities to forget them.
As for what those students were up to now, well, they were on break. It turned out the magic institute had summer and winter vacations. I’m jealous...though maybe I shouldn’t be. We’d had scheduled days off at the dojo too, and as dojo master, I could’ve technically taken a break whenever I wanted. Even at the order, I was only going nearly every day because I wanted to. If I needed a break, I could take one. Still, getting more rest than necessary would make me feel out of shape in no time. It was like everything I’d slowly built up would go to waste in an instant, so I never really rejoiced in the idea of taking time off. I’d been entranced with swinging a sword ever since my childhood.
Anyway, Mewi was in the middle of her vacation, so I was now getting the valuable experience of having someone see me off in the mornings. It felt a little strange to have someone at home wish me a nice day. Normally, it would be the role of my wife or child, but unfortunately, that seemed like a distant prospect.
And with such thoughts in mind, I arrived at the order’s office.
“Good morning. Sure is hot, isn’t it?”
“Hello, Mr. Beryl. Ha ha, yeah! Summer is definitely here.”
I exchanged greetings with the royal garrison guards at the gate, who were carrying out their duties splendidly. It wasn’t like they could take a break just because it was hot outside, and I felt sorry for them. They smiled back at me, but I could see the sweat pouring down their temples. They weren’t even allowed to dress lightly when it came to defending public order, so the heat must’ve felt even worse.
“Training again today?” one of them asked. “Make sure to stay hydrated.”
“Thank you. You be careful too.”
After we showed appreciation for one another’s work, I passed by them and entered the office. Getting out of the direct sunlight definitely made things better. The building was pretty huge, so ventilation was good—the heat would only get worse inside a stuffy space. I reminded myself to keep the windows at home open during the summer.
“All righty, looks like everyone’s going at it.”
I made my way straight to the training hall, and despite being early in the morning, a fair number of people were already practicing diligently. This kind of heat made you want to slack off, so I was glad to see that the knights were maintaining their willpower.
On a side note, to get to the training hall, I’d needed to pass through a courtyard. This layout meant that the training hall couldn’t be seen from the outside. There were multiple reasons for this, ranging from crime prevention to diplomatic ones. I honestly wanted the populace to see how hard the knights were working for their sake, but that was the perspective of a civilian. There were more than enough official reasons to keep the hall obscured.
“Good morning, Master.”
“Yo. Morning, Allucia.”
The knight commander greeted me as I walked in. As always, she maintained a composed demeanor, but the heat was definitely affecting her too. Much like the garrison guards outside, she had sweat trickling down her brow—and it wasn’t from physical exertion. It was somewhat rude to think this, but seeing her a little sweaty made her seem human. Back in her days at the dojo, she’d been far more expressive and full of youth, but now she was more stoic—it was like she’d taken a step toward being a mature woman.
“It’s gotten awfully hot, but I see everyone is the same as usual,” I remarked.
“Yes,” Allucia agreed. “I’m making sure they’re taking frequent breaks and staying hydrated.”
“Sounds good.”
Allucia knew what kind of effect this climate had on a fighter’s condition. There were ridiculous instructors out there who scolded their students for lacking willpower if they were incapable of moving their limbs due to fatigue or if they collapsed from the heat. As an instructor myself, this screamed of ignorance and negligence.
Everyone had their personal thresholds, but there were also clear limits to human endurance. Once beyond that point, even the greatest masters would be rendered immobile. Naturally, this applied to the knights of the Liberion Order too. As knights, there were times when they had to push themselves beyond what they could tolerate, but training was not one such time.
“Anyway, it’s rare to see you here so early in the morning,” I said.
“I’ve been able to focus more on my office work ever since you started here as an instructor,” she replied.
“Glad to hear it.”
Allucia was both the knight commander and the order’s instructor. Just being the commander surely made her more than busy enough, so overseeing her subordinates’ training on top of that... Well, it was a harsh schedule. Anyone else likely would’ve been overwhelmed.
If my meager efforts were enough to lighten her burden a little, then I could ask for nothing more. After all, it was no exaggeration to say that she was one of the country’s most valuable assets. With my appointment here as special instructor, she’d apparently reduced her visits to the training hall so that we didn’t overlap, which had allowed her to focus more on her office duties.
“Also, I have something to give you,” Allucia said.
“Hm?”
However, she’d explicitly chosen to overlap her schedule with mine today. I had no clue what she wanted to give me, though. There was no reason for me to be receiving any sort of present, and I hadn’t earned any kind of award from the order or royal family...probably.
“Here.”
And as I wondered what it could possibly be, Allucia handed me an envelope.
“A letter?” I asked.
“Yes. It appears to be from Beaden.”
“Aaah...”
Now I remembered. After moving in with Mewi, I’d sent a letter home reporting on recent affairs. Things had been so busy lately that I’d completely forgotten about it. I hadn’t even expected a reply.
“Have you inspected it?” I asked.
“Not really. I decided that was unnecessary based on the sender and recipient.”
“I see.”
I gave it a once-over, and just as she’d said, there were no signs it’d been opened. It wouldn’t have been a problem if it’d been delivered directly to me, but since it had been sent to the order’s office, it fell under Allucia’s jurisdiction. I was working for the order, after all, and if she had enough cause, she could inspect any mail. She’d decided not to this time around, though—the contents of the letter were definitely harmless and trivial.
“Hmm. I’m curious, so I guess I’ll open it now,” I muttered.
I was sure that the letter didn’t contain anything dire, but that didn’t mean I was indifferent to what it said. I’d exchanged letters with Allucia during my days at the dojo, but back then, I had never expected to leave the village. This was my first time getting a letter from home.
Judging by the thickness, there weren’t that many pages inside. I wanted to know what it said, and not opening it would likely distract me during training, so it was best to check it out sooner rather than later.
“Let’s see...”
What could it be? I really hope my dad isn’t moaning about me not finding a wife or having even the slightest prospect of finding a lover.
I broke the seal with a finger and pulled out the letter. It was only two pages, so I had enough time to read through it now.
“Okay...”
After exchanging glances with Allucia, I started reading. The letter began with an expression of relief that I seemed to be doing well. My dad’s idiosyncrasies were still there, but it was well written.
I don’t have any children of my own, but if I did, would I also worry this much about my kid leaving the nest? I felt like I would worry about Mewi, and we were only living together—not blood relatives. It would probably be far worse with my own child.
Thinking back, the letters I’d exchanged with Allucia had also largely focused on asking how she’d been doing. In her case, she’d been doing far too much and far too well for her own good but still.
“I guess it makes sense to wonder about that...”
The next section concerned Mewi. It wasn’t really possible to explain everything about her situation in a letter, so I’d omitted quite a lot from my report. Regardless of the circumstances, the son who hadn’t left home for forty-five years was suddenly looking after someone else’s child. My parents had to be uneasy about it. The words “Explain yourself thoroughly” were written pretty bluntly.
Hmm. My dad told me not to come home until I’d found a wife, but dropping by every now and then is probably fine. In truth, there was a lot about Mewi that was hard to explain in writing, and since she happened to be on vacation from the magic institute, the timing was just about right for a visit. I kept a return trip to Beaden in mind for the near future as I flipped over to the second page.
“Aah... That reminds me. It’s almost that time of the year.”
The letter finished with a request for me to drop by Beaden for a short while if possible. It wasn’t an order or anything—my dad made it clear that it was up to me. So why did they want me to come back after throwing me out? Well, it wasn’t only because of Mewi.
“Did something happen?” Allucia asked as I finished the letter.
Guess I can talk to her about it. She knew about Mewi, and as my former pupil, she knew Beaden very well.
“It’s mostly trivial stuff. Wanna take a look?” I offered.
“Are you sure?”
“There’s nothing problematic—you can read it if you’d like.”
I’d already talked to Allucia about why I’d left Beaden, and she knew a lot about my circumstances. The letter itself was addressed to me, but the second half was actually meant for the order, or more specifically, for Allucia. After all, my returning to Beaden meant leaving my post for a little while, and the knight commander naturally had to authorize that.
“Then allow me to take you up on the offer...” Allucia said hesitantly.
“Go ahead.”
I handed her the letter. I could’ve just explained it, but I’d technically been appointed as a special instructor here by the king, so to visit home, I needed a reason—even if only on paper. I felt like a verbal rationalization for my leave was somewhat weak, and though I was sure it would be approved, this kind of thing was better when put in writing.
The content of the request was trivial—my dad wanted to borrow me, someone relatively insignificant, for a short time. However, the Liberion Order was an organization with status, authority, and power. It was best for them to have a perfect grasp on matters of national defense, which involved having everyone in the organization present. After all, there was no telling when or where someone might try to start something.
“I see...”
As I thought of such things, Allucia finished reading the letter and raised her head with an understanding expression.
“Now that I think back, it happens every year around this time,” she said.
“Yup. That’s why they’re hoping for an extra hand.”
Allucia knew why my dad was going out of his way to ask for me to come back. It happened every year in the middle of summer—exactly around this season. In a sense, it was a kind of festival, but to be specific, it was a hunt that took place annually due to a certain local phenomenon, and the village used it as a form of entertainment. A festival alone wasn’t enough to call me back, but Beaden’s hunt required a fair number of skilled hands to pull off.
“The scale...is still unknown, I assume,” Allucia said.
“Yeah. They’ve probably just started investigating.”
The only village I knew anything about was Beaden, but it was likely that other remote villages went through something similar. Though Liberis was a well-established kingdom, that didn’t mean all of its lands were safe. If some extremely dangerous monster popped up, or if there was some great disaster, the order and the magic corps were sure to make a move. Depending on the circumstances, even adventurers could be mobilized.
However, the order had limited personnel, wizards were in even shorter supply, and though adventurers and soldiers were far more numerous, they had finite resources. Because of this, the only option was to prioritize incidents as they came up. Inevitably, problems that weren’t judged to be a national threat were steadily pushed back. I wasn’t criticizing those organizations or anything—everyone had their limits, and every organization aimed to do what they could within said limits as efficiently as possible.
Knowing this, it was often best to solve more “minor” problems ourselves. That way, we avoided having to prepare the large sum needed to put out a request for adventurers or the order. As far as I could recall, Beaden’s hunts had never involved a large number of people from the outside. Once in a while, mercenaries or adventurers who just happened to be staying over had lent a hand, but that was about it.
“That’s the gist of it,” I said. “If possible, I’d like to take two or three weeks off.”
“I don’t mind. This position wasn’t meant to bind you to the capital anyway.”
“Thanks.”
And with that, my application for a vacation had been approved without a hitch—I would be going home to take part in the hunt and introduce Mewi to my parents. I thought I’d have to fill out a form or something, but Allucia was the highest authority here, and her verbal agreement would probably be enough.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, she said, “I do need you to fill out a document, though.”
“Aah, sure.”
I didn’t want to believe it was possible for anyone in the order to slack off whenever they wanted, so this made sense.
“When will you be departing?” Allucia asked.
“Hmmm... I’ll think it over after I explain things to Mewi. I won’t be going right away, but there’s no point in leaving it too late.”
“Understood.”
What’s the procedure for when an instructor like me wants to take a vacation? I have no idea. Maybe it only involved a signature on a single piece of paper, or maybe it was an unimaginably complex web of bureaucracy. Either way, Allucia said she would take care of it, so I figured it was best to leave it to her. She wouldn’t have gone along with my request if it had been unreasonable, and she wasn’t the type to do anything unreasonable herself...probably. I didn’t like the idea of relying on others too much, but this was Allucia. The fact that she could, somehow or other, get anything done was one of her virtues.
“Commander, Mr. Beryl. Good morning.”
“Hey. Morning, Henblitz.”
“Good morning.”
And as that conversation came to an end, the lieutenant commander entered the training hall. He was also very busy, even if he didn’t quite have Allucia’s workload. Regardless, he came to the training hall almost every day, which gave us a glimpse into the dedication he felt to the order. His physical strength was something neither Allucia nor I possessed. The only one barely capable of rivaling him in this respect was Curuni.
“Oh, right,” I said. “Henblitz, I guess I should tell you too.”
“Yes? What is it?”
Since I had both leaders of the order here, I figured I might as well share the details of my trip home. Allucia was sure to fill him in later, but it was best for those in charge to know as soon as possible.
“There’s some stuff happening back in my home village,” I explained, “so I’ll be stepping away from the order for a bit.”
“I see... How long do you plan to be away for?” he asked.
“It’ll probably take two or three weeks.”
“Understood.”
Much like Allucia, Henblitz accepted immediately—our conversation ended in under ten seconds. I didn’t mind if they wanted to pester me for all the details, but it was nice that they had such trust in me. My title as special instructor probably played a role in this. Still, it was reassuring to have the faith of those in charge. Not that I’m planning to exploit that trust in any way...
“Paying your home a visit is always a good thing,” Henblitz added. “I feel the need to let loose every now and then too.”
“Aah, that’s not why I’m going back,” I said.
“What do you mean?”
My dad had told me not to come back without a wife. If I showed up just because I wanted to let loose, he would immediately kick me out again. I was sure of it.
“Every year around this season, a pack of saberboars pop up near the village,” I explained.
“I see.”
Henblitz nodded along. A saberboar was a subspecies of boar. Unlike their common counterparts, who were hunted as a food source, saberboars were far more aggressive and had huge tusks they used to impale their prey. They were technically edible, and though the meat could be somewhat tough, it still tasted good. Also, their tusks and hide were fairly valuable. However, because of their aforementioned features, it was rare for anyone to go out of their way to hunt them—they were too dangerous for the average hunter, and the reward wasn’t necessarily worth the risk. Adventurers got extermination requests for them every now and then, but apparently, they weren’t popular jobs. I recalled idly chatting with adventurers during their stays in Beaden, and there’d been plenty of grumbling about saberboar jobs.
Still, despite being relatively troublesome, saberboars weren’t considered a major problem, so society at large constantly put off dealing with them. As a result, small communities like Beaden were forced to do something about it themselves. For better or worse, we’d managed to handle it all these years.
“You’ll be returning to investigate the pack’s scale, and then you’ll send a request to the order or adventurers, right?” Henblitz surmised.
I cocked my head. “Huh? Not at all.”
“Not in the least,” Allucia added.
“Hm?”
There was some kind of strange dissonance in how Henblitz had perceived the situation.
“Ummm... We’re talking about saberboars, yes?” he asked.
“Mm-hmm. That’s right,” I confirmed.
“So...it must be a very small pack?”
“I’m not sure. Last year, I think there were a few dozen.”
Henblitz fell completely silent. Saberboars were dangerous animals. They were obviously a threat to children, but even full-grown adults would suffer a devastating defeat against one without proper combat experience. Conversely, anyone with enough experience could manage. That didn’t mean the danger was nonexistent though, so I could understand his concerns.
“Henblitz,” Allucia said, calling him out of his stupor.
“Ah, yes?”
“Master Beryl... No, Beaden is simply that kind of place.”
Henblitz was once again rendered speechless.
Actually...Allucia’s statement was pretty ridiculous. What did she mean by that kind of place? Living in such a remote region was more dangerous. A city dweller might consider it a nice, tranquil place to live, but that wasn’t exactly the case. Be it farming or hunting, every day could get pretty harsh. I didn’t expect everyone who complained about city living to try surviving in the backcountry, though.
Still, even after taking such rigors into account, village life wasn’t all that bad. Taxes weren’t too high—but not particularly low either—and it wasn’t like we had bandits or thieves to worry about around the clock. Despite being in a remote region, there were proper trade routes, so a fair number of adventurers, mercenaries, and merchants dropped by. And after witnessing Mewi’s circumstances, one could describe country life as almost being drunk on peace.
Beaden was still fundamentally a nice village, and the land around it was good country. Even if saberboars were a threat, they were a significant step down from the likes of Zeno Grable or Lono Ambrosia.
“Still...” Henblitz muttered after a long silence.
“Hm?”
“If you’re not making any requests for help, does that mean the village...has enough strength to deal with dozens of saberboars on its own?”
“Yeah, I suppose we do. I plan on returning, and we have the dojo’s pupils too. Above all else, my dad is there.”
Say that a completely defenseless village was threatened by a large pack of saberboars—it would definitely be a major incident. They would surely ask adventurers or the order for help as soon as possible. However, Beaden was home to Mordea Gardenant. He was getting on in his years, was constantly nagging me to get a wife and give him a grandchild, and had lately been complaining about back pain, but he was still the strongest swordsman I knew.
The dojo’s pupils and I were basically a bonus. And Randrid was around too, making for an unnecessarily large bonus. Not all of our pupils were at a level where they could go fighting wild beasts, but we still had more than enough manpower to handle the situation. We’d done so every year.
“If Mordea is still active, I feel like you don’t even need to go back,” Allucia remarked.
“He probably just wants to see Mewi,” I said.
“Aah...”
Mewi wasn’t my child, so she wasn’t my dad’s granddaughter. Still, after going so many years without even the slightest prospect of a lover, let alone a wife, I was now looking after a child. He was obviously curious.
It would’ve been entirely possible for me to keep Mewi hidden for a while, but unless I completely severed relations with my family, they would’ve found out eventually. I had no intention of cutting ties, and I wanted to go back to the dojo one day too. When that time came, maybe I could officially get Randrid to become my assistant instructor—if his family was okay with it, at least. That was if I could figure out what to do about my dad’s unreasonable behavior, though...
It was really late to comment on this, but I was the chief instructor at the dojo, so I was supposed to be in charge. I still had to respect my parents, of course, but my dad was retired. I’d been so busy ever since coming to Baltrain that I hadn’t really paid it any attention, but thinking back on it now, I’d had no reason to listen to his ridiculous order.
Yeah. That’s right. Let’s go complain to the old man when I bring Mewi back to Beaden with me.
I knew he was worried about me. The dojo did need an heir, and I understood how anxious he was as a father—after all, my life had been utterly devoid of romance. I couldn’t argue if he said it was my duty as the current head of the family to prepare the next generation. Still, kicking me out of my home didn’t sit right, even with Allucia’s visit and the offer of becoming a special instructor.
“Master?”
“Hm? Aah, sorry. I was just thinking.”
Allucia’s voice had called me back from my wandering thoughts. Oops, now’s not the time to be pondering all this. It really was too late to complain. Ruminations on whether I would or wouldn’t return to the dojo full-time could wait until after I got back. Also, just as I mentioned before, I wasn’t particularly dissatisfied with my current lifestyle, though it was still pretty hectic. There was a lot of pressure on me, and I had plenty of responsibilities. Being a dojo instructor in the sticks had been nothing like this. Nonetheless, my sense of fulfillment and my need to complain to my old man were separate matters.
“Well, that’s the gist of it,” I said. “I’ll be going back to Beaden for a bit. I want to introduce Mewi to them too.”
Just as I’d told Allucia, I still had to figure out when exactly to leave Baltrain. At the earliest, I would finish today’s training, talk it over with Mewi, prepare, and then leave in two or three days. It also depended on how fast things could be processed at the order.
“I would love to come along, but...” Allucia muttered.
“No, no, there’s no need for that,” I said.
That would definitely be excessive. Also, we couldn’t keep the Liberion Order’s commander in a remote village. There was a mountain of work that only she could do. Having the knights dispatched would be welcome, but the matter didn’t seem serious enough to ask for that.
“Is that so...?” Allucia sounded somewhat disappointed.
“It’s not like you came to Beaden for previous hunts,” I told her. “There’s no need to feel so down about it.”
She had actually participated in the saberboar hunts while attending the dojo, but she hadn’t gone out of her way to come help after graduating. I had alluded to the hunts going on while exchanging letters with her, but she’d been far too busy to join in. If anything, ever since finding employment at the order, she’d only gotten busier. The hunts weren’t that serious—we didn’t need someone as powerful as the commander of the Liberion Order to come and take charge.
“Now then, shall we get to training?” I suggested.
Allucia nodded. “Yes... Our time is limited, after all.”
“You’ve got that right.”
It wasn’t like I’d come to the office just to chat. I was here to train with all the knights, and I had to do my job.
I picked up a wooden sword as I continued talking to Allucia. For some reason, Henblitz’s silent expression left a lasting impression on me.
◇
“Okay. Shall we call it a day?”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
A few hours into the morning, with the sun high in the sky, a wave of heat washed mercilessly over the area. We had decided to wrap things up today just before noon. We’d made sure to allow for frequent breaks and hydration during training, but the knights were still considerably fatigued. Even the robust members of the Liberion Order couldn’t withstand this high temperature for very long. Allucia and Henblitz were drenched in sweat too.
Above all else, things were getting pretty bad for me. My position involved guiding others, so I wasn’t moving around as much as the knights. Still, I could feel my fatigue and discomfort escalating with every passing minute. I could’ve kept going if I’d had to, of course—the same surely went for the others. But there was no need to push ourselves to our limits. Leaping over an unreasonable chasm at the eleventh hour was an act reserved for the rare occasions in actual combat that necessitated it.
Also, if you constantly drove yourself to the very limit, you’d no longer have the energy to handle the unexpected. Training was important, but it was meant to prepare you for the real thing. It would be ridiculous to be unable to move at a critical moment because of habitual fatigue. Well, the best situation was to never have to experience the real thing, but still...
“I’ll be off, then,” I said. “See that everyone stays hydrated and gets some rest.”
“I’ll make sure they do,” Allucia replied.
No one had collapsed during training, but that didn’t mean we could relax just yet. It was entirely possible for people to fall to the ground after training was over. So, even if we sounded a little pushy, we had to give strict orders for them to drink water and rest. It would be too late to warn them after they collapsed, so it was best to pester them about it while they still had energy to spare.
“Commander, may I have a moment?”
“Yes, what is it?”
As I left the training hall, I heard Henblitz addressing Allucia. It probably had something to do with the order’s management, which had nothing to do with me, so I ignored it and went on my way. If I needed to be involved, they would call out to me.
“Phew... That feels nice. It’s still hot, though...”
I took one step out of the training hall, and a pleasant wind brushed against my flushed skin. If only the sun weren’t so scorching hot. Sweating was necessary to maintain a healthy body, but there were still limits, and I was dripping quite profusely. Makes me want to down a good mug of ale.
Why was it that alcohol tasted so good after intense physical exertion? It was quite a mystery. If I’d been living on my own, I would’ve made my way straight to the nearest tavern. But I had Mewi now. That wasn’t to say that I would get dead drunk in the middle of the day, of course. Still, I was planning to invite her on a trip back to my home in Beaden. This was pretty serious for her, so I wanted to do it completely sober.
“What do I do if she refuses...?”
The question naturally came to mind as I made my way back home. I didn’t want to force Mewi to come along—after all, she had no reason to go to Beaden to meet my parents. I wanted to get her sincere consent and depart without any misgivings.
Mewi had mellowed out significantly since we’d first met, but she still had a rougher temperament than the typical child. I doubted she would throw a tantrum, but she had every right to balk at going to a remote village for an extended period. If anything, her refusal was highly likely.
Unlike during her days spent alone as a pickpocket, she now had a place where she belonged—the magic institute. Even if I went back to Beaden on my own, she would manage as long as I left her enough money. And if she insisted on playing with her friends during her precious summer vacation, I couldn’t deny her that. If she didn’t want to be alone, I knew I could entrust her to Lucy again while I was away. Lucy was sure to accept, and Mewi wouldn’t be completely against it either. Interacting with Lucy as a student of the magic institute might also lead to Mewi’s growth.
“Crap, now I really feel like she’s gonna refuse...”
The more I thought about it, the fewer reasons I saw for Mewi to come along with me to Beaden. Also, my objective was to eradicate the beasts that were popping up around the village. To put it bluntly, this had nothing to do with her. I could clearly picture a future where she told me to go enjoy myself while she stayed here.
“But I have to tell her...”
If I was only going to be gone for one or two days, then we could pretty much wrap up the discussion with a brief “I’ll be going out for a bit.” But that wasn’t the case. It would be absurd to leave the house for a few weeks without telling her where I was going or why. Dragging her along against her will was out of the question, as was leaving without saying anything. So, the only choice was to explain the situation and yield the decision to her.
“Hmmm.”
Ultimately, it was up to Mewi. No matter how much I worried myself over it, the outcome wasn’t going to change. Nonetheless, once I’d started thinking about it, I couldn’t stop. Did all the parents of the world worry like this?
“Oh...”
And with such thoughts in mind, I found myself in front of my house without realizing it. Baltrain must’ve looked lively to match the summer season, but I didn’t recall any of the scenery. I hadn’t dropped by a tavern on my way back, and the idea of buying a drink to have while I walked had flown out the window.
Still feeling like Mewi was going to refuse, I called out timidly as I opened the door, “I’m back...”
“Welcome...” said Mewi. “What’s wrong?”
“Oh, uh... Nothing?”
Peeking out from within, Mewi easily picked up on my nervousness. Dammit. Now that I think of it, she’s pretty good at reading emotions. I doubted this was an inherent skill—it was something she’d learned during her time as a pickpocket.
“Hmmm.” Mewi’s eyes pierced me with a somewhat sharper gaze than usual.
There wasn’t really anything wrong with me, but it was difficult to explain my current mental state. So I entered the house while ignoring her suspicious stare. It was a little awkward.
“Want lunch...?” Mewi asked, perhaps unable to take the atmosphere.
“Hm? Oh, yeah.”
Reading emotions and acting considerately were not the same thing. Mewi was adept at the former, but she’d been completely incapable of the latter. She’d never even tried to be considerate. But now, she was trying to console me in her own awkward way. How could I not be happy about it? It blew my melancholy away. Also, I was actually hungry—famished, even. That was what training first thing in the morning did to a man.
“It came out pretty good this time...I think,” Mewi said.
“Hmm. I’m looking forward to it.”
Ever since the magic institute’s summer vacation had started, Mewi had taken over a lot of the cooking. I hadn’t asked her to—she was just at home more often than I was. Thanks to this, it seemed her cooking was steadily improving, and she was more confident in her work. It made my expectations soar.
“Let’s dig in,” I said.
“Mm.”
Today’s lunch was bread and pot-au-feu. Her cooking repertoire hadn’t exactly expanded, but the soup was clearer, showing she’d definitely improved.
“Ooh, nice. It smells great—there’s no odor of scum,” I remarked.
“Mm...”
When I took a sip of the soup, umami oozed out of the sausage and vegetables and rushed through my mouth. It was delicious—definitely a success, just as she’d claimed. The clean umami flavor was proof that she’d continuously removed the scum during the boiling process. Of course she did—this is Mewi I’m talking about. She definitely waited patiently in front of the pot the whole time. This glimpse of her touching effort made it all the more delicious.
“Yup. Tastes great. You’ve gotten better.”
“Thanks,” Mewi mumbled, awkwardly staring at the table.
She was being shy. I knew her well.
“So?” she asked, shaking off her embarrassment.
“Hm?”
“You have something to tell me, right?”
“I’m surprised you can tell...”
“It’s written all over your face.”
I didn’t think it was that obvious. My entrance had been a little pathetic, but that was about it. Her keen eye was praiseworthy. It was true that I had something to tell her, but I’d failed to communicate, and now she was worrying about it.
“Yeah... To tell you the truth, a letter addressed to me from back home was delivered to the order,” I explained.
I couldn’t just pretend like nothing had happened, so I prepared myself for the worst and began telling her about my day. That said, the majority of the letter didn’t really concern Mewi, so I chose to omit those parts. She wasn’t the type to prod too deeply about it either.
“My village wants some help, so they’re asking if I can come back for a bit. I’ve told them about you too. My parents probably want to meet you. I was wondering... Would you like to come to Beaden with me?”
“Mm. Sure.”
“You don’t have to go to the institute right now, and you have your friends to consider, so I won’t force you. If anything, you can stay with Lucy while I’m—” My eyes widened. “Huh? What did you say?”
“I said sure. I’ll go.”
I’d been trying to explain things so that she wouldn’t feel guilty about refusing, but I was thrown off by her response.
Did she just say “sure”? She did, right? And almost immediately...
“What? You got a problem with that?” Mewi pouted.
“Ah, no! Not at all! Uhhh...thanks.”
“Hmph.”
She was back to hiding her embarrassment. I hadn’t expected her to agree so readily, so her answer had come as quite a shock. She wasn’t the type to grumble about things, but I’d still been under the impression that she’d refuse.
“When are we going?” Mewi asked.
“Earlier is better, but there’s the order to consider too. I’m guessing it’ll be at the beginning of next week.”
“Okay.”
Even though I’d gotten Mewi’s consent, we weren’t going to be leaving right away. That was simply how society worked. Allucia had mentioned a document I needed to sign, so it would probably take a few days to get everything settled. In the meantime, I had to get ready to leave—not that Mewi and I had much luggage. I’d had almost nothing on me when my dad had kicked me out. That damn geezer.
“Thanks, Mewi.”
“Whatever...”
I showed Mewi my gratitude once more, and she gave her usual curt reply. Still, I sensed a slight but certain growth behind her voice.
◇
“Morning, everyone.”
“Good morning!”
It was the day after I’d talked to Mewi and gotten her consent, and my schedule remained the same as ever. As always, I went straight to the order’s training hall. It was dawn—the sun had just peeked up over the horizon. No matter what time I showed up here, it was never empty. That was simply how much the knights devoted themselves to their art.
This was a good thing, but with the ongoing heat, I had to remain focused as their instructor and make sure they finished up at the right time. However, I wasn’t here around the clock to stop them from overworking, and the training hall was open during my absence. If anything, it was far more common for people to be here when I wasn’t. Nevertheless, I was an obstinate instructor who refused to let anyone overdo it while I was watching. Everyone in the order was an excellent knight in both mind and body, so they weren’t really the type to make mistakes like that.
“Mr. Beryl! May I have a match?”
“All right—let’s do it.”
Those who intentionally chose to come this early in the morning were knights with a great dedication to self-improvement. If anything, their drive could be called hunger. The young knight addressing me—Evans—was one such person. He was about the same age as Curuni, had a good heart, and was full of energy. That was just my opinion of him, though—I had no idea how he held up in his professional duties.
“Here I go!”
We backed away from each other, bowed, and in a flash, Evans charged.
Mm-hmm, he’s pretty fast.
There was no comparing him to Allucia or Surena of course, but as far as I knew, he was still fast relative to the average knight.
“Hup.”
“Hngh!”
He thrust his wooden sword, and I used the tip of mine to entangle his blade. My eyes were the one thing I had absolute confidence in. I was sure I could handle attacks that came at me at an average speed. Evans looked like he was about to lose his balance, but somehow, he managed to steady himself using only his muscles.
In terms of pure physical strength, Henblitz was far beyond him, but Evans was still impressive enough to live up to the Liberion Order’s reputation. His body was splendidly flexible. Every knight possessed different levels of various skills, but all of them had at least one outstanding quality. Curuni’s power was one such example. Allucia had two, three, or four outstanding qualities, though.
“Hyah!”
“Oop.”
Evans twisted his body to right himself and simultaneously unleashed an attack. However, such reckless motions were easy to read. These types of attacks could technically catch someone off guard. However, even if this was just training, it was a proper match. No matter the opponent, I wasn’t conceited enough to let my guard down.
“Hmph!”
“Whoa! Oh! Ugh! Gah!”
I parried Evans’s hearty attack and went on the offense. This was practice—my goal wasn’t to give everything I had to cut down my opponent. I put a fair amount of strength behind my strikes and focused instead on delivering multiple blows.
Surprisingly, Evans withstood the barrage on pure reflex. His eyes and instincts were pretty good. He also had plenty of muscle. If he continues training like this, he’s sure to become an impressive knight. I could see a clear image of it in my mind.
Since his eyes were good, I had to attack from a place he couldn’t see. It was easy to put into words, but I’d trained for years to acquire this technique. I wasn’t going to lose.
I chose the moment his right arm was raised—he’d drawn it back—and struck at his blind spot from the left. My sword hit his body. A finishing blow.
“There, that’s one,” I said.
“Gaaah! You got me!”
“Evans, your eyes and reflexes are pretty good,” I told him.
“Thank you very much! I’m still lagging so far behind both you and Commander Allucia, though...”
“Don’t worry about me, and Allucia is...well, you know. Let’s just try our best.”
“Yes, sir!”
Evans had an excellent foundation. I considered my own eyes to be better than average, but that was less of a learned technique and more something I’d been born with. You could say it was an innate talent of mine. Actually, it’s rather hard to train your eyesight—I have no idea how to do it.
I’d noticed my good eyesight and kinetic visual acuity around the time I’d started learning swordsmanship. Still, the world wasn’t soft enough that eyesight alone could bring you victory. I’d had a nonstop series of losses against my old man, and he was supposed to have worse eyes than me.
“However, you rely on your eyes a little too much,” I added. “You’ll have an easier time if you can predict your opponent’s movements based on their sword and center of gravity. Let’s steadily brush up on that.”
“Understood!”
No matter how excellent your inborn talents were, they were meaningless unless you fostered techniques that made full use of them. In that sense, Evans was still developing. He was a shiny raw gem in need of polishing.
Back in the dojo, on very rare occasions, we had pupils who learned extraordinarily quickly. To put it simply, they were geniuses, or very close to it. Ficelle and Allucia were good examples of this; Surena was probably one too, but she’d left Beaden before I could genuinely start teaching her swordsmanship. She’d either been self-taught since then or had grown under a different teacher. That was amazing in its own way.
The Liberion Order was, in essence, a gathering of geniuses (and those who were almost geniuses). Maybe it was absurd to compare a dojo in the sticks to the country’s greatest order of knights. Still, I definitely had a lot to learn out here.
As a special instructor, I couldn’t overlook someone’s talent—I wanted to foster their growth. Honestly, I felt a lot of pressure, but that just made it all the more worthwhile. Each and every knight possessed a talent that would shine after some polish, and it was a joy to teach them.
However, unlike the knights, I wasn’t young anymore. At some point, I would no longer be able to swing my sword at full strength, and that deadline was steadily closing in. Even my dad had been unable to win against the sands of time, and he’d set aside his sword. For how much longer would I be able to cross blades with these young, sturdy knights? A part of me wanted to keep going, at least into my sixties, but there was no telling whether things would shake out like that.
“Mr. Beryl?”
“Aah, sorry. I was just lost in thought.”
Evans’s voice brought me back to the present. Now wasn’t the time to be thinking of such things. In the end, whatever happens, happens. I would do everything I could to greet that distant future, and I had to pay attention to my health and avoid any serious injuries or illnesses. In other words, it was the same as usual.
“Looks like you’ve been training your core,” I said. “That’s a good thing.”
“Yes. I tried focusing on it, just as you told me to. At first, my whole body ached...”
“Ha ha ha.”
I hadn’t wanted to linger on my idle musings, so I’d forcefully changed the topic. Core strength was important not only for swordsmanship, but for any art that required the body to move. However, unless you consciously focused on it daily, the core was unexpectedly hard to train.
“I didn’t lose right away when you did that thing where you twirled the tip of my sword, so it looks like my training was worth it,” said Evans.
“Aah, branch breaker...” I mused. “With your good eyes, I think you’ll be able to learn that technique too.”
“Really?!”
“It’s tough to master, though.”
“Figures...”
Branch breaker was one of the techniques taught at our dojo. It involved entangling the tip of your opponent’s sword to throw them off-balance. I favored it quite a bit, it was an extremely effective way to take the upper hand without having to completely knock down your opponent.
Though it sounded simple on paper, that was actually pretty hard to pull off. The technique worked on the premise that you were able to completely read your opponent’s sword strokes. It also necessitated a perfect understanding of their posture, center of gravity, and movements. Though the degree of perfection differed from practitioner to practitioner, all those who’d graduated from our dojo—like Allucia and Ficelle—were capable of doing it.
Conversely, that meant Surena and Curuni hadn’t learned it. Maybe Surena could pull it off if she put her mind to it, but it didn’t really suit her fighting style. A part of me was glad that she hadn’t really been influenced by my style—Surena’s technique was unique. No matter how much you trained at my dojo, you would never end up with her skills. Allucia and Surena both stood at the pinnacle of swordsmanship, but their styles were completely different.
“At any rate, your eyes and reflexes are splendid weapons,” I continued. “Keep training your core and do more freestyle sparring. Don’t move only by reflex—get some predictions in there too. Over time, your precision will improve.”
“I see... Understood!”
He wouldn’t be able to learn branch breaker for now, but Evans had good enough technique to have joined the Liberion Order. Each knight was an accumulation of their own guidance, style, and habits—it made their swordsmanship very personal, and they had very little uniformity. I did my best to guide them without ruining that individuality, but it was hard to completely ignore my own preferences. Is bringing over all the techniques from my dojo the right choice?
They worked fine back home. All those who came to our doors did so with the intention of learning our style. But things were different here. The knights all had their own techniques and training methods. I felt like it wasn’t quite right to simply push my style onto them.
I’d consulted Allucia about it before, but she’d told me to just do as I liked. She was one of our dojo’s graduates, so she simply assumed that the techniques I taught were correct. I’d given it quite a lot of thought already, but this was a difficult problem to solve. After all, there were definitely those who weren’t suited to my style and techniques.
Shortly after my match with Evans, as more and more knights shuffled into the training hall, Henblitz and Curuni arrived together.
“Good morning.”
“Top of the morning!”
I nodded at them both. “Hey. Morning, you two.”
They were as passionate about their art as ever, but I felt it was still unusual for them to show up together. They’d probably just happened to bump into each other at the gate or something.
“Curuni, let’s spar!” Evans said—he was fired up after our match. “First to three!”
“Ooh, sure thing! I’m not gonna lose!”
He was about the same age as Curuni, and they’d apparently joined the order at a similar time. Because of this, the two got along pretty well. As for their sparring record, Curuni had gotten a string of early victories, but Evans had made a comeback. However, after Curuni had switched to using a zweihander, she’d once more overtaken him. The two spurred each other’s growth. Having someone around your level to constantly spar with definitely made a big difference.
“Mr. Beryl, may I have a moment?” Henblitz asked.
“Hm? Sure. Something happen?”
I wondered what it could be. Anything to do with the order’s management wouldn’t involve me. Was he going to request some private instruction?
“Let’s talk outside,” he said.
“Got it.”
It seemed this wasn’t something he wanted to discuss in front of everyone. The two of us stepped out of the training hall. I really had no idea what this could be about.
It was still morning, so it wasn’t very humid outside. A refreshing wind befitting the fine summer morning brushed against my cheek.
Now then, what could Henblitz want? He was likely coming to me for advice, but would I be able to meet his expectations?
“Allow me to get straight to the point,” he started. “It’s about your return to Beaden. Please allow me to accompany you.”
“Huh?”
Why? And why are you bowing so low?
“Th-This is pretty abrupt,” I said, completely bewildered. “What brought this up?”
I somehow managed to ask him for his reasons. Seriously, why would he want to come along? Let’s make the wild assumption that the order has deemed a pack of saberboars a significant threat. In that case, he’s acting as a knight and offering to go with me. That almost makes sense. The pack shows up pretty much every year, and we’re used to it, but we still can’t be careless.
However, even taking that reasoning into consideration, this wasn’t something that the lieutenant commander of the Liberion Order should personally get involved with. In my opinion, someone of such high standing shouldn’t vacate his post at the order for an extended period.
“I discussed it with the commander yesterday,” Henblitz said, straightening his posture and meeting my eyes.
“Mm-hmm.”
“Facing an individual saberboar would be one thing, but I questioned whether a backwater...sorry, a remote village truly possessed the strength to repel a pack.”
“Uh-huh.”
Henblitz was under the impression that Beaden was a backwater village. He wasn’t wrong—it really was in the middle of nowhere. It made sense for him to question our defenses, but we’d managed fine so far. I’d even taken part in the hunts in my late teens, back when I’d only just started learning swordsmanship.
“She told me that if I still had doubts, I should go see it for myself. This is only if you consent, of course.”
“Hm?”
Ah, so this request was Allucia’s idea. But did that logic hold up? “If you don’t believe it, go see for yourself.” This was correct, in a sense—a picture was worth a thousand words, after all. But even so, that didn’t seem like a good enough reason to thoughtlessly mobilize the lieutenant commander of the Liberion Order. By my estimates, the hunt would take at least two weeks. At worst, it could take three weeks to a month. What were they going to do about the order’s leadership in the meantime?
“Is that really okay from the order’s perspective?” I asked.
“The commander said to go if it’ll expand my horizons.”
“I see...”
If he had Allucia’s permission, it meant she’d decided that there wouldn’t be a problem in his absence. Still, though she was extremely talented—and a genius—she was human. It was impossible for anyone, including her, to instantly finish a mountain of paperwork. She wasn’t one to misjudge that.
Going by that logic, it wouldn’t be a problem for Henblitz to come along. If Allucia was putting up a stoic front, or was recklessly cramming in her office work, then it would be best to refuse him. However, Henblitz was very familiar with her pace of work, and he didn’t believe her judgment was wrong.
“Well...if Allucia has given permission,” I said, “then I guess I have no reason to refuse.”
“Thank you very much! I’ll strive not to be a hindrance.”
“Oh, there’s no need to worry about that.”
Honestly, this was an extremely welcome development for Beaden. We would be getting help from the Liberion Order’s lieutenant commander. It was like adding a hundred men to our ranks. In fact, Henblitz was undoubtedly far stronger than a hundred normal men.
But how will I explain his presence? I could think of a few excuses. Perhaps, as his instructor, I wanted to observe him in the field. Or, to inflate my ego, maybe I should say that he was here to see my hometown after receiving my guidance. Henblitz would surely play along either way.
“Mewi will be coming along too, so hopefully we’ll have a safe journey,” I added.
“Aah, that girl from before—the one with the magic accessory, right?”
“That’s right.”
Mewi wasn’t personally acquainted with Henblitz. I’d told him the bare minimum—like how I’d gotten a house from Lucy, become Mewi’s guardian, and that I was living with her now. However, Mewi had only come to the order’s office that one time, and the only knight she knew was Allucia. It seemed Allucia still didn’t have a great impression of Mewi for some reason.
Not too long ago, I would’ve refused Henblitz’s request out of consideration for Mewi’s mental state. But her emotions had stabilized a fair bit since then, and she was far less thorny. If anything, it would be a good thing for her to get involved with someone of Henblitz’s status and good nature.
“By the way, I know it’s not really my place to ask,” I said, “but will your work be all right?”
“Not a problem. The commander and I have already finished making adjustments.”
“Good.”
As to be expected, they’d worked things out—I now had one fewer thing to worry about. Though I doubted Allucia would’ve given him permission if that had been a problem.
“When do you plan on departing?” Henblitz asked.
“Hmmm, I’d like to leave next week. I don’t really have that much to prepare, so the trip is just pending Allucia’s paperwork.”
If it were up to me, I would’ve left the next day. The only issue would be whether I could get a carriage to travel all the way to Beaden, but if I didn’t need one on the spot, it wasn’t much of a problem. Allucia had gotten a carriage when she’d taken me to the capital and back, so I doubted it was that hard to arrange.
“Knights need to leave their posts every now and then too for personal reasons,” Henblitz explained. “The documents don’t take that much time.”
“I see.”
According to Henblitz, the majority of these cases were for family events such as funerals or weddings. But my situation didn’t really fit that mold. Maybe it would take a little extra time to get my paperwork processed because of that.
I’d technically been hired by the nation, so I wasn’t really allowed to do whatever I wanted without any documentation. I couldn’t just leave without finishing the paperwork, so my only choice was to sit back and wait. I wanted to believe that Henblitz was right and it wouldn’t take all that much time.
“Well then, I must be off,” said Henblitz. “I need to apply for my own leave and do my paperwork.”
“Oh, right. Makes sense.”
If I needed paperwork to take leave, then he would obviously need it too. He was the lieutenant commander, so he even had to work on it himself. He probably didn’t want to be the cause of any delays, so I prayed he could get it done quickly.
“Okay, back to training.”
After getting a quick bow from Henblitz, I made my way back to the training hall. He probably didn’t really want the other knights to hear about this. The lieutenant commander of the Liberion Order was a big shot among big shots, and there was no telling how others would react to him going out to the countryside just to satiate his personal curiosity, even if he did have permission. The knights had to be informed of their lieutenant commander’s absence but not necessarily the details. However, it would be far too much of a social faux pas to tag along without telling me about it. That was why he’d pulled me aside to chat.
“Ah, Master! Welcome back!”
“Hey, sorry for stepping out.”
Once I was back in the training hall, Curuni greeted me energetically. Her expression was cheerful, but she was already sweating profusely.
“Did you spar with Evans?” I asked.
“Yuppers! Three to one! I won again!” Curuni smiled like a blooming flower.
She’d shown remarkable growth lately. Before that, she’d possessed raw strength and good fundamentals, but ever since switching from a shortsword to a zweihander, perhaps due to greater compatibility, she’d sketched a frighteningly steep growth curve.
This was definitely an important period for her development, and failing to grasp it now could affect her greatly. As an instructor, I couldn’t let this time pass me by.
“Huh? Where’d the lieutenant go?” Curuni asked.
“He had something to take care of,” I said vaguely.
If I’d answered her honestly, it would’ve ruined Henblitz’s efforts to speak in private. I’d just brushed off the question. I wasn’t really lying, so it was okay.
Oh, right—Allucia and Henblitz know I’ll be absent for a while, but the other knights haven’t been informed yet. I wondered if it was best for me to tell as many of them as I could myself. I was a special instructor, so I wasn’t obligated to show up every day. Still, I had nothing else to do, so I usually came by daily. If I vanished without saying anything, it would just make them unnecessarily anxious.
“Something on your mind?” Curuni asked.
“Hmm... No, it’s nothing.”
After pondering over it a little, I settled on just letting it be. Allucia and Henblitz were sure to realize the same thing—it was best to leave it to their leadership. I didn’t need to do anything unnecessary.
“Okay, let’s give it our all for another day, shall we?”
“Yessir!”
I decided to focus on today’s training. Including Curuni, there were plenty of promising knights with the makings of great swordsmen, and it was an instructor’s duty to face them with all sincerity. If anything, letting talent stagnate in such a wonderful environment would be an instructor’s greatest shame.
I did have Beaden on my mind, but nothing would change by worrying about it now. Besides, my dad was there, so nothing serious was going to happen.
For yet another day, I devoted myself to my duty.
◇
“All right, that should about do it.”
“Mm, this is fine...I think.”
A few days after my conversation with Henblitz, Mewi and I did our final luggage check for the trip to Beaden. If I had been on my own, I would’ve been rather carefree about it, but things were different with Mewi around.
I was fine as long as I had my sword and traveling expenses, but she needed stuff like a change of clothes for each day and textbooks from the magic institute so that she could study. This made for a lot more luggage. I wasn’t against it or anything—it was simply a refreshing experience for a lifelong bachelor.
Frankly, it was somewhat moving. I felt like all men with a wife and child went through such hardships when they had to plan a trip. Fortunately, Ibroy’s box—the one he’d gifted to Mewi—had contained plenty of clothing, and Mewi wasn’t the type to dress up that much to begin with.
Personally, I wouldn’t have minded buying her one or two nice sets of clothes, but she remained uninterested in getting anything new. She gave me a pretty sour look when her clothes were too flashy or cute, but that didn’t stop her from putting them on. The nicest outfit we had for her now was her uniform for the magic institute, which really showed how amazing the institute’s budget was.
“Forget anything?” I asked.
“Nope.”
The morning sun was as scorching hot as ever as we did our final, final check and left the house. This would likely be Mewi’s first experience riding in a carriage over a long distance. I had to be careful of her condition along the way, and if necessary, we would take more frequent breaks. Naturally, I was carrying most of the luggage—I couldn’t make Mewi carry anything heavy for our journey.
I’d consulted Henblitz about arranging the carriage. He’d ended up offering to get one for us, so I’d gratefully accepted. Since we weren’t traveling on an invitation from the order like when I’d first come to Baltrain, I was paying for it myself.
This was also when I learned how expensive getting a carriage to Beaden was.
Carriages within Baltrain or the regular commuting carriages to other cities were pretty cheap. They were priced so that almost anyone could ride in one without concern for their finances. They emphasized convenience for their customer base, so making them cheap would get as many people on board as possible, which was a sound business choice.
However, things were different when getting a carriage to a remote backwater village at a specific time. I could technically hitch a ride with a merchant or something who happened to be going our way, but our schedule was somewhat fixed. If we had to wait for a merchant, there would be no telling when we could leave. There was also no guarantee we would be able to get a ride with them at all.
I had Mewi this time around, so a private carriage was the better idea, even with all that money flying out the window. I had no problem paying such a sum on a few occasions, but I would be hesitant to spend that much on a daily basis.
On that point, I was grateful for my current income. Lucy had mentioned that it was best for me to have money, and it turned out that she was exactly right. I didn’t believe everything in the world was about money, but having an abundance had expanded the choices available to me. Though I hadn’t been conscious of that until recently, I was now learning how important it was to have enough money—it helped me avoid being inconvenienced.
“Oh, right,” I said as we walked the streets. “I mentioned this already, but Henblitz will be at the meeting point.”
“A knight, right?”
“Yup, the lieutenant commander.”
I trusted him quite a bit. Mewi was young and had somewhat complex circumstances, but he was sure to get along with her. At the very least, he wouldn’t treat her harshly. I wasn’t going to tell them to be friends, but he was never going to do anything to make her hate him.
“What kinda guy is he?” Mewi asked.
“Hmmm... He’s honest and good-natured. I trust him.”
“Got it...”
I’m glad she’s been showing interest in others lately. Up until now, she truly hadn’t cared about anyone but her sister. The world she’d lived in had been so narrow, but it’d been enough to provide her with the emotional support she’d needed.
However, now that she was living with me and attending the magic institute, her world was expanding—whether she liked it or not. I was glad to see that this change in environment was having a positive effect on her.
Noticing my gaze as I rejoiced over her growth, Mewi curtly turned to me. “What?”
“Oh, nothing.”
“Hmph.”
She was a lot less thorny now, but her tongue was still sharp when it came to such frank exchanges. Would she change as she grew into adulthood? Such growth was worth celebrating, but the idea also made me feel somewhat lonely.
“Are we there yet?” Mewi asked.
“Just a little farther. It’s on the main street in the central district.”
We were meeting up at a carriage stop in the central district. Our house was located at the edge of the district, so it was a bit of a walk to the main street where our destination was. It wasn’t particularly close but not too far either. This distance was perfect for getting in some good exercise with a nice walk.
We were leaving Baltrain early in the morning, so accounting for breaks along the way, we were scheduled to reach Beaden around sunset. As long as no major issues arose, we would definitely get there within the day.
It was a little worrying that we didn’t have guards to accompany us, but with me and Henblitz around, we shouldn’t have problems unless something drastic happened. If anything, I was more concerned about how to evade my parents’ criticisms once I got back home.
The first day will be fine because Mewi’ll distract them. However, we couldn’t talk about only Mewi for the entire visit. My folks were guaranteed to steer the conversation toward the reason I’d gotten kicked out of Beaden to begin with—my search for a wife.
They had called me back because of the saberboar hunt and so they could meet Mewi. However, a part of me wondered whether their true motive was to probe into my progress in finding a wife. There was no way I would ever write to them about that. My parents—especially my dad—knew that well.
It would definitely be hard for them to ask me to come back and report on my progress, especially after kicking me out and telling me not to return. So, the saberboars’ breeding season and the events surrounding Mewi had conveniently lined up—they’d provided my dad with the excuse he needed to ask for a check-in. That is absolutely something he would do...
Still, this was nothing more than my own conjecture. It was entirely possible that they didn’t have ulterior motives. Ever since moving in with Mewi, I’d come to better understand how guardians felt, and I could understand how my dad and mom were worried about me.
However, unlike Mewi, I was an old man, so was it appropriate for my parents to worry that much?
“Ah, I can see it. Over there.”
“Mm.”
Our destination was now in sight. It was early in the morning, and the commuter carriages that traversed the interior of Baltrain didn’t stop here, so there weren’t many people around. The vast majority of Baltrain’s citizens spent their whole lives within the city itself. There were plenty of jobs to go around, so very few people chose to live in the city and work in the country—even fewer chose to commute to some remote village every day. I questioned why people like that had chosen to live in the city to begin with. In general, people lived where they worked. I would find living in Beaden while working in Baltrain, or the opposite, rather unreasonable.
“Oh, there he is.”
As we walked closer to the meeting point, I was able to identify the few people present. I simply had to look for a relatively tall, handsome, blond man. It was easy to spot him.
He also saw me around the same time.
“Mr. Beryl! Good morning!” Henblitz called out loudly.
“Morning.”
“Good morning, Master!”
“Hm...?”
There was another person with him—a cheerful woman with light brown hair, carrying enough luggage to go on a trip.
“Why...? Ummm...Curuni?”
“Yuppers!”
Don’t “Yuppers!” me...
I was utterly stumped by the sight of her carrying her favored zweihander and her luggage. I’d only told Henblitz and Allucia about my return to Beaden, and one of them must’ve informed the other knights at some point. It was a little weird for someone to just suddenly tag along. Why is Curuni here?
“Henblitz?” I inquired.
“Sorry... I lost to her enthusiasm.”
“Whaaa...?”
What does that even mean? At the very least, judging by his apologetic expression, he hadn’t asked Curuni to come. My absence had probably become public knowledge at some inopportune time, and he hadn’t been able to tell her no. If I’d been on my own, having another person tag along would’ve been perfectly fine, but I had Mewi with me, so the situation was a little different.
Curuni wasn’t a bad person or anything, but her personality was pretty much the exact opposite of Mewi’s. I glanced reflexively to the side, and just as expected, Mewi was looking at Curuni like she was asking what was wrong with her. I honestly sympathized. Mewi, I have no idea either.
“Oh, I guess I should introduce you,” I said. “This is Mewi. On paper, I’m her guardian.”
“Hello...” Mewi murmured.
It was fine to question Curuni’s presence, but I couldn’t ignore Mewi, so I started by introducing everyone. As expected, Mewi seemed a little nervous around strangers, and she stopped conversing after the briefest of greetings.
“I’ve heard about you. I’m the Liberion Order’s lieutenant commander, Henblitz Drout.”
“Knight of the Liberion Order, Curuni Cruciel! Nice to meet’cha!”
The two of them greeted her courteously without treating her like a child. Mewi’s expression was a little mixed. She hadn’t come to hate them right away, but she didn’t see them favorably yet.
And dammit, Curuni, you’re totally planning on coming along, aren’t you?
Now that introductions were over, I cut to the chase. “So? Why are you here?” I asked Curuni.
She was my former pupil, but she’d only spent two short years at the dojo. She’d left to take the order’s enlistment test and had managed to pass. I was glad to have a connection to her again due to my role as special instructor, but we didn’t really need to revisit our past together. Curuni’s lifelong desire had been to join the order, and now that it’d been granted, she had no reason to join me on my return to Beaden.
“Erk... I know I’m being a bother...” Curuni said, her expression even more apologetic than Henblitz’s. However, her eyes remained clear. “But I’m curious to see how much I’ve grown. Back when I attended the dojo...I didn’t get to fight any saberboars.”
“Hmm...”
Her answer was very knightly. We had never brought Curuni along on the annual saberboar hunts. She’d had good foundations, but she’d still been in development. At the time, it’d been too risky to expose her to such danger just for the sake of experience.
Before she could join us on the hunts, she’d passed the Liberion Order’s enlistment test and had left the village. And now, she wanted to know how strong she was as a knight and as a swordswoman. How much had she grown? I could understand her desire to find out.
To add to that, Curuni had shown significant progress since switching to a zweihander. She rarely lost her matches against Evans now, so her technique had definitely improved. It did make sense to use a saberboar pack as a test of her training. Still, agreeing to her inclusion on our trip at the last minute was a bit much to ask.
“I understand your reasoning,” I said. “But I can’t say I approve of forcing your way in without consulting me beforehand. I’m not a knight, so maybe it’s not my place to say this, but I don’t believe your behavior lives up to that of a model knight.”
“Erk... I know...”
I started by reprimanding her. It was possible the knights had simply learned too late, and there hadn’t been any time to consult me, but just showing up out of nowhere and assuming she could come along was going a bit too far.
“Henblitz, losing to her enthusiasm is a pretty weak excuse too,” I continued. “You’re her boss. You should’ve taken a firm stance, or at worst, reported it to me.”
“You’re right... I have nothing to say in my defense.”
What was more, Henblitz’s actions here weren’t laudable either. A subordinate’s failure was their boss’s responsibility. Even if this wasn’t necessarily a failure on Curuni’s part, the lieutenant commander had some responsibility for not remonstrating her over her selfish behavior.
“To be blunt, I’m a little angry about this,” I said.
“Sorry...”
They both lowered their heads despondently. I had no intention of scolding them harshly or yelling out in rage. If anything, I was more confused and shocked than angry. It would be petty to raise my voice.
However, I still had to draw a clear line. I’d decided to go back home after getting a letter from Beaden. It’d been out of the blue, so I was indebted to the order for getting the paperwork done and adjusting their schedule. Allucia had said it would be okay, so the order had clearly approved my leave. Henblitz coming along was one thing, since he’d discussed it with her beforehand, but Curuni was another matter. I felt like she should’ve had to clear it with someone else first.
“From now on, be careful not to act purely on the momentum of your own whims. That’s all I have to say.”
“Y-Yessir!”
When scolding someone, it was best not to drag it out—you got better results when you concisely told them what they were doing wrong and how they could improve. Being sour might’ve been okay in a once-in-a-lifetime encounter with a person, but I was planning to maintain a long acquaintanceship with these two. Even if it was just putting on airs, I needed to convey my thoughts on their behavior. They were knights, so I wanted them to maintain their rules and morals. Still, it was kind of hard to scold the famed knights of the Liberion Order in the middle of a street, even if there weren’t that many people around.
“Mewi, what do you think about Curuni coming along?”
“Huh? Me?”
“Mm-hmm.”
I threw the decision over to Mewi. She’d probably been under the impression that this had nothing to do with her, and she was now making a face like a pigeon who’d been hit by a peashooter. This trip was my homecoming, but Mewi was also the main focus. If she had an opinion, I couldn’t overlook it. I wasn’t leaving it completely up to her, of course, but if she was against someone else coming along, I would feel bad if I ignored her and brought them anyway.
Sensing that her next few weeks were entirely in Mewi’s hands, Curuni began pleading with her. “Erk... Please, Mew Mew!”
“Don’t call me that...”
“Please! Mewi!”
It seemed Mewi didn’t like nicknames, so things were off to a bad start.
“Whatever...” Mewi mumbled. “You’re not a bad person or anything, right?”
“Nope, I can guarantee she’s good,” I said for Curuni—the answer would’ve had less credence coming from her. A bad person wouldn’t have been able to join the Liberion Order to begin with.
“Then I don’t really mind,” Mewi decided.
“Really?! Thank you so much!”
Mewi unexpectedly accepted without spending much time thinking about it. I’d been planning to let Curuni come as long as Mewi didn’t throw a tantrum or something. And even if things hadn’t really progressed in the right order, I did understand Curuni’s desire to test her skills.
Now that we had Princess Mewi’s permission, I was fine with our travel party being me, Mewi, Henblitz, and Curuni. It was double the number I’d originally planned, but things would work out one way or another. There was plenty of space back home—the village was a total backwater, after all—so it would be no problem for them to stay awhile.
“However, I’m gonna have you two help out with cleaning the dojo during your stay,” I told them.
“Yessir! Understood!”
“Not a problem,” Henblitz said. “Forgive me for being such a bother.”
And so, I decided to have Curuni and Henblitz do some work as “punishment”—Curuni for selfishly tagging along, and Henblitz for overlooking his subordinate’s behavior. They understood my reasoning for this. It was better to be clear about my expectations so that they weren’t left feeling any emotional unease...even if cleaning the dojo wasn’t a real punishment.
“Oh yeah, that means we have more luggage,” I said. “Will the carriage be okay?”
“Not a problem,” Henblitz told me. “We’ve arranged for a reliable coachman.”
“That’s good.”
Henblitz had made a reservation for a carriage for three people. I was wondering what we would do if there wasn’t any space for Curuni, but it seemed there was no need for concern.
Hang on, is the carriage relatively expensive because we went through the Liberion Order’s purveyor?
And as such thoughts crossed my mind, our carriage arrived.
“Sir Henblitz Drout, thank you for waiting.”
“Just in time.”
“Oooh...”
It was a splendid four-horse carriage. The outside was gaudily ornamented to fit a noble’s tastes, and it was big enough to easily fit four people and their luggage. It was definitely expensive.
“Please board first, Mr. Beryl, Ms. Mewi,” Henblitz said, bringing me out of my bewildered state.
“R-Right. Let’s go.”
I warned Mewi not to trip over the step, and we each boarded. The seats were solid, and the interior wasn’t gaudy, but tasteful. If it’d been too extravagant, Mewi and I would’ve probably felt mentally exhausted by the end of the trip, so this particular carriage was the right choice.
“Then let us depart.”
After checking that we were all aboard, the somewhat elderly driver signaled that we were leaving.
All right, time for my first trip home in a while. I’m probably not gonna get to relax once I get there, so let’s kick back and enjoy the ride.
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