Tensei Shite Inaka de Slowlife wo Okuritai - Chapter 581

Words that make swordsmen angry

"Phew, that was a really good meal."

　After finishing his Dalipan, Salva lay down and stroked his stomach with contentment.

　As soon as Rasha finished her meal she quickly returned to tending the store, and now the post-meal time was passing leisurely.

"Hey, what did you come to see me for?"

"Hmm? I don't have anything special to do."

　Isn't there any?

"If you know you have a friend you rarely get to see, isn't it natural that you would want to see him?"

"Hmm, I see."

　Salva says such things without any embarrassment.

　That's why I find it suspicious. Is it because I'm perverse?

　Well, if there is no special reason, then that's fine. I can just have some tea, chat, and then head back to the royal capital at a convenient time.

"Hey, does Salva really teach swordsmanship to soldiers?"

"Yeah, but I've trained first-class in royal swordsmanship after all."

"……Really?"

　I heard the same thing from Baghdad, but I don't think Salva is that good a swordsman.

"You seem to doubt my abilities?"

"Yeah, I doubt it."

　There is no way that a prodigal prince who greedily ate three loaves of bread by himself and filled his stomach could be such an honorable person.

　After he answered immediately, Salva, who had been lying down, stood up with an irritated look on his face.

"Very well. In that case, have a mock battle with me."

"Huh? Why? I can't use swordsmanship."

"Don't lie to me, brat. I can tell from the way you carry yourself that you've trained in swordsmanship."

　He tries to lie nonchalantly, but not only Salva but also Shanaria calls out to him in pursuit of him.

　You've got to be kidding me. I'm free from the sword thanks to my stay in the royal capital, so why do I have to practice sword fighting in such a remote place?

"Well, ever since I first met you, I knew you were no ordinary person! It makes sense that you had trained first-class in royal swordsmanship!"

"There's no point in trying to flatter me like that now. Let's go to the desert."

"Huh?"

　He immediately retracted his previous words and tried to encourage Salva, but it seemed it was too late.

"Shanaria-san, the prince is about to do something dangerous. Shouldn't you, as his guard, stop him?"

"Well, it wouldn't be dangerous if it was a mock battle, right?"

　He tries to cling to Shanaria, but is cut off sharply.

　That's true, since the first time we encountered them was near ruins in the vast desert.

　In comparison, how safe it is to go out into the desert and have a mock sword fight.

"Baghdad!"

“…Lord Salva wants Al to recognize his abilities. I want you to understand that.”

　I tried asking the most understanding person out of the three for advice, but he gave me a response that I couldn't understand.

　Why do you want me to acknowledge your abilities? I don't understand.

　What would Salva and I gain from doing that?

　All I could understand in the end was that I couldn't change the flow of the sword fight with Salva.

　Magic is one thing, but I'm no good with swords, so it's depressing.

　I just came to buy some spices, how did this happen?

　After leaving Rasha's shop, we decided to head to the western desert, just like last time.

　If we were to have a mock battle with the second prince, Salva, right outside the gate, we would attract a lot of attention.

"Okay, let's use my ship again this time--"

"Since we don't need magical power this time, we'll travel on my ship."

　Before Shanaria could create a boat with earth magic, I created one with my own magic.

"Hey!"

"Because I get seasick on Shanaria's boat."

　Perhaps because Shanaria's piloting skills are still poor, she makes sudden starts and stops.

　The vibrations are so loud that just riding it makes your butt hurt.

"...kid."

　When I pointed that out bluntly, Shanaria glared at me, blushing.

"Hahaha, Al said he'd show me how. Let me learn from him."

　Salva said with a cheerful laugh, while Shanaria looked annoyed and silently boarded the ship.

"The only ones who could say something like that to Shanaria are Al and Baghdad."

　Come to think of it, Shanaria is also a noble family of distinguished descent who serves the royal family in Lazule.

　Furthermore, he is a royal magician and is undoubtedly quite skilled in swordsmanship.

　He's an elite with a good family background, magic, and swordsmanship.

　I guess I haven't had much experience of being told something like that directly until now.

"Rather than being told by a relative, it would be better for that person to be criticized by someone younger than them who they don't even know, and that would make them grow, right?"

"When I talk to you, Al, I almost get the illusion that I'm talking to someone of the same age, or even older."

　If you add up his age in his previous life, he's older than Salva.

　Maybe it smelled a bit old-fashioned?

　Salva and Baghdad boarded the ship, and then I boarded last.

　Use earth magic to move the sand directly below the ship.

　This causes our ship directly above to slowly move forward.

　As the speed at which the sand is moved gradually increases, the boat also picks up speed and moves forward.

　Shanaria, who was at the front, watched this sequence of movements intently.

　It seems he is observing how I control the ship and my magical powers, and using this information to improve his own magic.

　Even though he was complaining, he was serious in the end.

　We maneuver the sand, being careful of the steep dunes, and move the boat forward.

"It's going faster than last time and there's less shaking."

"I'm starting to get a little more used to the characteristics of the sand I'm manipulating and the terrain."

　However, I'm not completely used to sand and don't have a full grasp of the terrain.

　Although it is a small detail, sometimes the operation can fail or a slight vibration can be felt.

　The only way to improve this is to run long distances. I still have a long way to go.

　As we were sailing, we suddenly saw a large cloud of sand rising to the right of our field of vision.

　When I concentrated magical power in my eyes to strengthen my eyesight, I saw a large rhinoceros-like monster clad in rock armor approaching me.

"Rock Dran!"

　Shanaria, who was in the lead, spoke up.

"I'll just scatter it around."

"No, he has a vindictive personality. Since he's targeted me, it would be best to defeat him."

　It's a monster with troublesome characteristics.

"Salva-sama, it's time to show off your royal swordsmanship!"

"I'm royalty, you know? Why should I do it when I have guards?"

　The plan was to avoid a troublesome mock battle by having him take on Rock Doran, but this was thwarted by his royal mindset.

"I think it would be amazing if I could cut through such a big and tough monster..."

"We're going to have a mock battle now, so that's fine."

　I understood that a mock battle was unavoidable, but if he wasn't so adamant about moving, it would be no fun for us to be manipulated by Salva's selfishness.

　Therefore, I decided to say the number one line that can provoke a swordsman.

"Hmm, you can't cut it?"

　When I said this with a hint of contempt and an exquisitely annoyed look on my face, Salva's handsome expression distorted beautifully.

"...Who said you can't cut it?"

"Eh? Salva can cut that? There's no need to push yourself."

“…I’m not pushing myself too hard. That’s fine. Al, you focus on piloting the ship.”

"Okay."

　See, you've been caught. It seems that Eleonora and other true swordsmen just can't stand it when they hear this. I don't understand.

"You two, don't lay a hand on me. That's my prey."

"Ha."

　Salva stood up and put his right foot on the edge of the right side of the boat.

　I took him up on his offer and focused on controlling the sand and the ship.

　Every time Rock Dron gets closer, sand gets kicked up violently.

　Although he looks clumsy, he is surprisingly fast.

　If he wanted to, he could pull away, but since Salva was going to slash away at him, he decided to maintain the same speed.

　It was about eight meters long. Seeing it up close was quite an impressive sight.

　Salva was standing on the edge of the boat, his usual cool expression on his face, but he suddenly had a curved knife in his right hand.

　I think the weapon was called a jambiya knife.

　The blade was about 15cm long and curved. The handle was made of an ivory-like material and was beautifully decorated.

　When did you take it out?

　It was such a natural movement that I didn't even notice it.

　Salva held the jambiya knife directly in front of his body and put his left hand behind his back.

　It's a beautiful, ritualistic stance.

　As I was entranced, magic power flowed through Salva's jambiya knife.

　The next moment, a powerful flame erupted and converged on the knife.

　As expected of royalty, he has quite a bit of magical power. Compared to me and Baghdad, he may seem inferior, but even among magicians, his magical power is probably quite high.

　As Rockdran closed in with his jaws wide open, Salva thrust out his right hand with blinding speed.

"La Faal Serga!"

　The concentrated flames were released along with a slash, leaving a large hole in Lockdran's forehead as he was about to eat us and the ship into his stomach.

　With a large hole drilled into the top of its head, through which it could even see the scenery beyond, Rock Doran ceased all vital functions and its huge body lay down.

"How is it?"

　After defeating Rockdragon, Salva turns around with a smug look on his face.

　Even though the body has been strengthened with magic and fire attributes, I still don't understand how a simple knife can have that much power.

"...Isn't it more of a thrust than a slash?"

"That's petty! I defeated him with my swordsmanship just as you wished, so it's fine!"

　When I asked him about something that bothered me, Salva sat down with his arms crossed, looking somewhat sulky.