From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won't Leave Me Alone Volume 4 E-Book

Shigeru Sagazaki

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won't Leave Me Alone
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 320

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

Following the hectic royal escort mission, Beryl settles back into his quiet life with Mui. Unfortunately, his peace is shattered by yet another unannounced visit from Lucy, and this time, the ace wizard Ficelle is with her. Beryl learns that Ficelle has become the instructor of sword magic at the institute, but there’s just one problem—she’s a terrible teacher! When Lucy asks Beryl to help with the class, he is bewildered. How can he possibly teach young wizards when he’s just an old backwater swordsman with no magical talent? Still, he agrees to sit in on Ficelle’s class, and what he observes is just as bad as advertised. Can Beryl help his former pupil learn to teach pupils of her own? After all, sword magic can’t be that different from the swordplay he taught at the dojo...right?!

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Characters

Story Summary

Chapter 1: An Old Country Bumpkin Takes Up Teaching

Chapter 2: An Old Country Bumpkin Nurtures Friendships

Interlude

Chapter 3: An Old Country Bumpkin Dances with Shadows

Epilogue: An Old Country Bumpkin Thinks of the Future

Afterword

Color Illustrations

About J-Novel Club

Copyright

Landmarks

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: An Old Country Bumpkin Takes Up Teaching

“Ummm... I think it’s this way.”

After my daily training, I left the office and started heading somewhere besides home. Though I had a set destination, I didn’t really know the way there. I was pretty sure I was going in the right direction, at least. Should’ve asked Curuni to come along...But I didn’t want to bother her.

“Oh, there it is.”

Either way, it seemed I’d chosen the right path. I spotted a small smithy squeezed into a row of compact buildings a little off the central district’s main street.

Made it here.

“Excuse me.”

“Yo, welco— Ooh, Master!”

A hearty voice greeted me as I opened the door. This was Balder’s Smithy, the shop run by my former pupil. We’d bought Curuni’s zweihander here, and Balder had forged my sword from Zeno Grable’s materials.

Balder’s as big as ever. I guess a blacksmith needs to be bulging with muscles to do his work.

“What’s up?” Balder asked.

“I’d like you to check my sword.”

“Hmmm?”

I saw a suspicious glimmer in his eyes. I hadn’t done anything I should feel guilty about, so why was he looking at me like that?

“Something happen?” he asked.

“Well, I used it a bit too much.”

I removed the sheathed sword from my belt and handed it to Balder. From what I could tell, the blade wasn’t visibly damaged. But that was the opinion of an amateur—it was best to leave this stuff to the experts. The idea of walking around with a sword in questionable condition made me anxious.

“Hmmm... All righty, then. Lemme take a peek.”

“Yeah, please do.”

Balder drew the sword. His eyes were so intense that it was like he was having a staring contest with the blade. He touched it every now and then and ran a cloth along its edge. I got tired of watching him pretty quickly, so to pass the time, I turned my attention to the weapons decorating the shop.

They were really nice swords. Surena, an adventurer of the highest rank, favored this smithy, so that was pretty much a guarantee of Balder’s skill. I was also satisfied with the sword he’d forged for me. I doubt I’ll ever depend on another blacksmith for as long as I remain in Baltrain. Balder being my former pupil is a point in his favor too.

“You sure used the edge a lot... What happened?” Balder asked.

“Uhhh... You hear about the recent uproar?”

“Yeah. Heard the rumors, at least. Right, you’re with the knights, huh?”

“Technically.”

I’d cleaned my blade after the incident, but Balder could still see how much the edge had been used. I had no idea what he was looking at or how he’d figured it out, but this level of expertise was one of the reasons I wanted him to check it out. Even if the blade hadn’t dulled, I’d used it to cut down a ton of people—it could be chipped or damaged in ways I couldn’t see. So, to clear such anxieties from my mind, I’d decided to come here after today’s training.

“How is it?” I asked.

“Hmmm...” Balder’s expression wasn’t grim, but it wasn’t cheerful either. “Well, it’ll be fine after a quick sharpening. It’s not that worn out.”

“That’s good to hear.”

My sword was truly outlandish. After such a lavish feast of foes, no normal blade could be returned to its prime with just a little sharpening. The way I’d abused it, a standard iron sword probably would’ve broken in the middle of the battle. Its strength had to be due to Zeno Grable’s materials. Also, I think it was called...elven steel? He’d apparently thrown some rare metal in the mix, so that had probably made the blade even more durable. Not that I knew much about metalwork.

“Anyway, Master, you sure are amazing,” Balder said as he started cleaning the specks of dirt and dust off the blade.

“Hm? How so?”

“I mean, it don’t matter how sturdy a sword is if you can’t use the edge properly—a bad swordsman will dull or break a blade in no time flat. You gotta handle swords with skill. And yet, despite all your skill, you still abused the heck out of this thing. Must’ve been one hell of a fight.”

“Ha ha ha, thanks.”

It felt pretty nice to have my swordsmanship complimented, even if it was the biased opinion of a pupil. Anyway, it was pretty uncommon to take on that many foes at once. A normal sword would dull after cutting down five people—maybe ten at best. On that point, this sword continued to demonstrate how abnormal it was. A part of me thought this masterwork was wasted on me, but I couldn’t guarantee that something like the assassination plot wouldn’t happen again. It was best to have as nice a weapon as possible. Because of that, I wanted to persuade Allucia to get a new sword, but she wasn’t going to listen to me. It was a little dispiriting.

“Hmmm... Guess I’ll redo the coating while I’m at it... Hey, Master?”

“Hm?”

“Mind leaving this with me for a day or two? I wanna reapply the elven steel coating after I sharpen it.”

Hmm... What to do? There was nothing going on right now that I would need a sword for. A few days without it was probably fine—I’d spent over a week without a sword before getting this one.

“You can take any of the swords lying around here as a replacement,” Balder offered.

“Oh, sure. In that case, I don’t really mind.”

I was just thinking that my waist was going to feel awfully light, but I had nothing to complain about if he was offering a replacement. It was nice to think that my weapon would be restored to prime condition. Also, I doubted an incident like that was going to come up again in only a few days.

And so, I decided to leave my sword with Balder and choose a new temporary partner. Not that I planned to be very picky about it. However, setting the right mood was important when making these kinds of choices.

“Now then, which to pick? Hmmm.”

I selected one at random. It really was a nice sword. The blade was very sharp, and its center of gravity was just right. If possible, I wanted something the same size and weight at my hip. Wielding something too different, even if only temporarily, would leave me feeling restless.

“I guess this works.”

After looking at a few with the eyes of an amateur, I settled on a totally plain-looking longsword. There was nothing outstanding about it, but I could tell it was a solid weapon. I made a living wielding a sword, but I wasn’t any good at forging them, and I didn’t have a trained eye for choosing the best ones.

“Mm. Not bad.”

I placed it at my hip. The weight and size were just as I thought they’d be. It’ll be good enough to trick my brain for a few days. And since Balder had forged all the swords in this shop, none of them were going to be shoddy.

“Okay then, the sharpening and coating fee will be ten thousand dalcs,” Balder said.

“Yeah, sure thing.”

I’d come here initially hoping to get my sword sharpened, so this expense was within my expectations. Also, I’d gotten the sword for free, so paying this much would make me feel better about that. Getting free stuff sounded nice in theory, but I made a living teaching swordsmanship, and from my perspective, skilled labor deserved appropriate payment. Balder was an excellent blacksmith, so it was only right to compensate him accordingly. Well, Surena paid him to forge my sword, but I personally hadn’t given him a single dalc.

“All right, come by again the day after tomorrow,” Balder said. “I’ll have it done by then.”

“You got it.”

I paid him, fitted the replacement sword to my belt, and then left the smithy. It really had been the right choice to let Balder, a specialist, take a look at it. No one distrusted my eye for detail as much as I did.

“Okay, time to head home.”

I had nothing left to do today. Well, that wasn’t entirely true—I still had the important mission of going home, having dinner with Mewi, and showing her affection. She was getting accustomed to her new lifestyle, and once in a while, she even talked about her time at the magic institute over dinner.

It was fun listening to her stories. Above all else, I was relieved to hear that she was settling in as a student. Still, even though I frequently asked her what was going on and what kinds of classes she was taking, she kept a lot to herself. I didn’t really need to force it out of her, so as things were now, I simply listened whenever she decided to share something.

The sun was sinking to the west, and my shadow stretched out long and far. If I head straight home, I’ll get there well before sunset. I pondered over what to have for dinner and also thought about how comfortable our financial situation was.

“Hmmm... I guess we still have enough ingredients.”

I considered the state of our food stores. If I remembered right, we still had plenty. Generally, Mewi and I spent most days outside the house, so we prioritized food that could be preserved for a long time.

Mewi had been eating very well lately. She was currently at the age where she should be growing like a weed, but since she hadn’t gotten enough to eat in her early years, she’d been malnourished. But now, to put it nicely, she was a hearty eater. To put it poorly, she was a noisy one. Manners aside, it was a salve for the heart to watch a child eat so much. I was looking forward to her growth.

Incidentally, our household bought groceries every few days—Mewi and I primarily ate at home. Because of the escort mission for Prince Glenn and Princess Salacia, I hadn’t really taken her out to eat much lately, so maybe it was a good idea to treat her to something.

“I’m back.”

With such thoughts in mind, I reached my house, which I’d finally gotten used to. I’d been given this place due to a strange connection to Lucy, and it was practically perfect for my life with Mewi. Now, if one more person joined us, our home might become a little cramped, but I had no current plans to get another housemate. I’d need to find a wife for something like that to happen. To repeat—I didn’t have any plans in that regard whatsoever. It felt a little pathetic of me as a man to admit that, though.

“Mm, welcome home.”

“Yo, welcome back.”

“Hmm...?”

Two voices? Again? Another familiar voice had greeted me alongside Mewi’s. Lucy was lounging around in my home again without asking. This house had belonged to her, but it was ours now, so I felt like it was fine to complain a bit.

“Welcome back, Master.”

“Oh?”

And just as I entered the room, planning to give Lucy a piece of my mind, a third voice brought me to a stop. Someone else?

“Ah, if it isn’t Ficelle. What brings you here?”

A woman with black hair wearing the robes of the magic corps was sitting quietly at the table and sipping at a cup of tea Mewi had likely prepared for her. Huh. This is the first time one of my pupils has visited my home. I never imagined it would be Ficelle.

“The commander brought me,” she explained briefly.

“I-I see...”

She didn’t show much emotion when she spoke, but that wasn’t unusual for her. I knew it was part of her character, so I wasn’t going to say anything about it.

“Hm? What happened to your sword?” Lucy asked.

The red sheath for my sword was pretty conspicuous—so much so that it made people curious about why a plain old man had one at his hip. But that also meant it was obvious when my sword was absent.

I didn’t really have a reason to keep that information from her, so I said, “I left it with my blacksmith. This guy’s filling in.” I patted the blade at my hip. “So? What do you need?”

I was starting to get used to Lucy’s eccentric behavior. I knew she wasn’t the type to show up someplace when she didn’t have any business being there. She’d gone out of her way to bring Ficelle too, so she had to need something from me. Whether I’ll comply is a different matter...

“Right. I have something I want to consult you about,” Lucy said.

“Hmm...” That was unusual. Judging by her personality, I figured that everything she brought to my doorstep would either be an order or a coercive request. But I was fine with giving advice.

I nodded and took a seat at the table, which was only big enough for four. I sat next to Mewi, whereas Lucy and Ficelle were across from us. It really did feel cramped in here with four people. Looks like two or three is the limit for permanent residents.

“By the way, have you been to the magic institute yet?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah. I brought Mewi there a couple times.”

“I see. I see.”

So this had something to do with the institute. I had plenty of knowledge regarding swordplay, but none about magic.

“At the start of this year, a sword magic course was established at the magic institute,” Lucy said.

“Yeah, I heard from Ms. Kinera.”

It was a course to raise sword magic users like Ficelle. According to Kinera, there weren’t that many students taking it. Is Lucy here to get some help with shoring up their numbers? I’m pretty sure there isn’t much I can do about that.

“Oh? You’ve met Kinera?” Lucy asked with a surprised look.

“Mm-hmm. She toured us through the school. She’s also Mewi’s homeroom teacher.”

Kinera was a teacher at the institute, so I didn’t think it was strange for Mewi and me to know her. Still, I didn’t know how many teachers they had there—if there were tens or even hundreds of them, meeting one specific teacher was likely improbable.

“Kinera is talented,” Lucy said. “Her defensive magic is first class.”

“Hmm.”

Did that mean all the teachers were relatively talented with magic? Perhaps they needed to be in order to serve in their roles. I’d never seen defensive magic for myself. Wonder if it can block Ficelle’s sword magic.Maybe she’ll show me next time if I ask. Maybe it can’t block sword magic, but I am genuinely curious about what it’s like.

“Ah, we’ve gotten off track,” Lucy said. “Back on the topic of the sword magic course, Fice here is serving as the teacher.”

“Oooh.”

My eyes naturally shifted toward Ficelle. The fact that she was my former pupil remained prominent in my mind, but now she was in a position to teach others. Time sure flies. Oh, Ficelle is looking awfully proud. I feel like a ton of my pupils make that face.

“But she sucks at teaching,” Lucy added.

“Uhhh...”

Ficelle’s expression stiffened. It was usually hard to interpret the emotions behind her voice, but her face was always easy to read. She was a little like Curuni in this respect. Well, in Curuni’s case, every facet of her behavior was easy to read.

“Um... Ficelle?” I prompted.

“People are only cut out for certain things,” she answered, averting her eyes.

“I-I see.”

Her behavior really highlighted her youth—it made me feel a little warm and fuzzy inside.

Lucy didn’t specify how exactly Ficelle was bad at teaching, but knowing Ficelle’s personality, I doubted she was high-handed or anything.

“I like Ms. Ficelle’s classes, though...” Mewi said quietly, joining our conversation.

“Hm?”

Ms. Ficelle...? Miss? Huh? Ficelle is Mewi’s teacher?

“Mewi is taking the sword magic course,” Ficelle said, her triumphant expression making a comeback. “She is indeed my student.”

“Oh, I see.”

That wasn’t what I was getting at, though. This was the first I’d heard about Mewi learning sword magic. She never really talked about her classes at all.

“Huh? You didn’t know?” Lucy asked curiously.

“Nope. This is news to me.”

Among the people here, I was the only one who hadn’t known about Mewi taking this course. I’m technically her guardian, dammit. At any rate, it was surprising that Mewi was taking a course that had anything to do with swords. By nature, swordsmanship and anything related to it were techniques meant for conflict. Kinera had mentioned Mewi having an aptitude for offensive magic, but I hadn’t expected her to learn how to use a sword.

“You could’ve told me,” I said to Mewi.

“It’s not like you had to know or nothing...” Mewi said, huffing and turning to the side.

Yup, she’s being shy.

“Ha ha ha!” Lucy cackled. “It makes sense that she wouldn’t tell you—Mewi joined the class out of admiration for your swordplay!”

Mewi gasped. “Hey!”

Ooh, I haven’t seen Mewi panic like this often. I mean, it’s gotta be embarrassing for me to find out.

It wasn’t like I had to learn stuff like this from Mewi—with Lucy around, the truth would reach my ears eventually. I felt a warmth in my heart at how Mewi had tried to keep it a secret from me, and I was also happy that a child like Mewi had been impressed by me. Swordplay was a skill, an art, and I wanted to teach my pupils more than just the act of slaughter.

“Dammit... Why did you tell him?” Mewi mumbled, making a complicated expression. It was like she had no idea what to do about her embarrassment.

“Hee hee, sorry about that.” Lucy apologized, but she’d known exactly how Mewi would react. She had as rotten a personality as always, but I’d gotten to see Mewi being cute, so all was forgiven.

“So? What do you want from me?” I asked.

“Oh yes. That.”

We’d gone off track with all this stuff about Mewi, but it was time to get back to the matter at hand. If I had to guess, Lucy had brought Ficelle here because she was bad at teaching sword magic. I knew nothing about magic, but I had plenty of knowledge regarding swordsmanship and teaching. In short, Lucy wanted me to teach Ficelle how to teach others.

“Want to try teaching at the magic institute?” Lucy asked.

“Huh?”

Wait. Seriously? That’s what you want?

I was flabbergasted. “No, no, no, no... What?”

“You’ll be paid appropriately,” Lucy added. “I don’t think it’s a bad deal.”

“Uhhh... That’s not really the problem.”

Don’t move things forward on your own, dammit! Be it swordsmanship or magic, teaching others meant passing along one’s techniques to another, so it was only proper to be paid for it. That part made sense, but nothing else did. Why would a swordsman teach at the magic institute?

“Are you sure I’m the right fit?” I asked. “I can’t use magic.”

Would the students be okay with a teacher at the magic institute not being able to perform magic? After all, the students there were highly motivated to nurture and grow their inherent magical talent. It was just like my dojo—that was a place to learn swordsmanship, so it had naturally been a gathering spot for people with a great interest in swordplay. Would students brimming with an interest in magic really accept an old man barging in without knowing the first thing about magic? I was used to Lucy’s reckless behavior by now, but this still sounded unreasonable.

“Don’t worry about that,” Lucy said. “I’m not asking you to teach magic. You’re quite clearly a swordsman.”

“So you do understand...”

That was exactly my point. I’d only gone to the magic institute to accompany Mewi. They couldn’t expect anything more from me, nor did I want to get more involved than that.

“I want you to teach them how to use a sword instead,” Lucy explained. “That’s what you do to begin with, isn’t it? I don’t see the problem.”

“Hmmm...”

I didn’t hate teaching or anything. I wouldn’t have taken over the dojo if I had. However, it felt too strange to be teaching swordsmanship at a school for magic. Maybe it was just my own prejudice speaking, but I couldn’t accept with such unease rooted in my mind.

“I’m in agreement, Master,” Ficelle said. “I want to see your swordplay again.”

“R-Right...”

And now I had the support of the current sword magic teacher. A part of me wondered if she should really be fine with this. Essentially, Lucy was attempting to make me steal my pupil’s spotlight. People did have things they weren’t cut out for, and I understood that Ficelle’s personality wasn’t suited to teaching new pupils. However, dragging in someone from the outside wouldn’t help the next generation grow.

Ficelle couldn’t just keep claiming that she was bad at teaching. Not everything was decided by seniority, of course, but spending a long time in the same environment meant she would steadily gather more juniors and subordinates. Even setting aside my personal reluctance, a part of me worried that taking this on without due consideration could hamper Ficelle’s growth.

“What do you think, Mewi?” Lucy asked, trying to get the opinion of an active sword magic student.

“Either way works...” she answered.

A part of me would’ve been depressed if she’d outright objected to it, but if she had, I could’ve used it as an excuse to refuse. It seemed everyone was in favor of me going to the magic institute.

Maybe I can use my title to get out of this. “But I’m serving as a special instructor at the order, remember?”

“Allucia said she wouldn’t mind if it’s just once a week,” Lucy said. Apparently, she’d already gotten this approved.

“Oh...”

I was once more reminded how fast Lucy was to act. Don’t run around removing any obstacles in the way before trying to convince me, dammit!

I decided to bring up the other thing that was bothering me. “Oh yeah. Regardless of Allucia’s approval, is it really all right for someone with a royal appointment to take up a second job?”

Ultimately, I was just hired help, but the main issue was the man who’d hired me: the king himself. I didn’t feel more obligated than necessary just because he was royalty, but I had to at least perform the duties expected of me. If I was criticized for not fulfilling my obligations as a special instructor because of this job, I would lose face.

“Mm. That’s not a problem,” Lucy said.

“How so?”

“I can’t go into detail, but I made sure it’s not a problem.”

“Whaaa...?”

How much clout did Lucy have, exactly? Was she like this in front of royalty too? I couldn’t even imagine how she’d made the problem go away. Still, I knew she wasn’t the type to lie or spout nonsense. If she said it was fine, it was fine. How she’d accomplished it remained a mystery, though.

“I’m not forcing or ordering you to do this,” Lucy added. “I’m simply consulting you.”

Now she’s easing off. On the surface, this put me at ease, but a part of me felt like she was doing this to reel me in. Hmm, what to do...? As I’ve mentioned before, I wasn’t against teaching swordsmanship. But I did have two solid concerns: I would be teaching somewhere foreign to me, and I was unsure about whether I could moonlight at the academy while being a special instructor of the Liberion Order.

Even during my first visit to the order, a ton of the knights had stared at me like they were questioning who the hell I was. It wasn’t hard to imagine how much worse it would be at the magic institute. If I was going to teach, I preferred to do so in a place where I was comfortable. My bout with Henblitz had cleared things up at the order, but how were things going to end up at the institute? Lucy had likely confirmed the logistics of the situation with the key parties, but had she considered the minor details and emotional aspects? Probably not. She was the type to sort those things out in the heat of the moment.

Those who were directly involved were going to suffer the most from this. I found it hard to feel motivated when I imagined being stared at like that again. However, it was really hard to refuse when Lucy had already cleared it with Allucia, when she’d somehow worked things out with the king, when the actual teacher, Ficelle, was okay with it, and when Mewi, her student, was in agreement.

“How about going there and seeing the students before deciding?” Lucy suggested, providing me with a compromise. “Feel free. I’m sure you’re curious about them.”

This wouldn’t be my first visit to the magic institute, but it would definitely be my first time as a potential teacher rather than a visitor. Checking out how the students would react sounded like a good idea to me. This was different from my time in the dojo, though. There, students would come to me to test the waters—here, I was going to them.

“Hee hee, sounds fun,” Ficelle said, smiling slightly. She was in an awfully good mood.

“It’s settled, then,” Lucy said. “I’ll get the papers ready.”

“Hang on, I haven’t decided yet,” I protested.

“It’s best to be prepared, isn’t it?” Lucy insisted.

“You’re not wrong, but still...”

Say I did go to the magic institute to teach swordsmanship—it would mean being a new hire. In that case, there was paperwork to do. A part of me felt like getting all that ready ahead of time blocked off my path of retreat.

“The magic institute has some quirky students, but they’re basically all good kids,” Lucy said.

“Here’s to hoping...” When it came to teaching, obedient children were easier to handle than quirky ones.

Lucy nodded. “Okay then, I’ll get things rolling for you to come take a look.”

“Yeah, sure.”

It was almost like this was being forced on me, but nothing was decided yet, so I figured it was fine to approach this in a carefree manner. Besides, I was also curious about Mewi’s behavior in the classroom. That last bit of curiosity was purely personal, though.

“I’ll contact you when a schedule is set,” Lucy added. “I don’t think it’ll take that long.”

“Got it.”

How was she planning to contact me, anyway? Was she going to barge into my house again? Passing a message through Allucia or Ficelle would be far less of a surprise, so that would be preferable.

“See you, Master.”

“Yeah, take care.”

Lucy left with Ficelle in tow. In the end, things had been settled without much input from Ficelle, but Lucy probably just wanted her around for this. She was the current teacher, after all, so her consent would help convince me.

“Hmph...”

After they left, Mewi huffed somewhat awkwardly. You’re still embarrassed? Are you that shy about me seeing your swordplay? What an adorable girl.

“You could’ve told me you were learning sword magic,” I said, teasing her because she was so cute.

“Hmph!”

This time she was seriously pouting. I felt just a little bad about it.

“Well, let’s get ready to eat.”

Our guests were gone and the sun was about to set. I’d stood up and was about to get dinner ready when I spotted a bundle of clothes sloppily strewn around the room.

“Mewi, if you leave your uniform out like that, it’ll wrinkle.”

“Hmph.”

“You wear it every day. It’ll reflect poorly on you.”

“I get it already...”

With that annoyed grumble, Mewi left the living room and reluctantly folded her uniform. She had been supplied with a uniform to attend the magic institute—it was primarily blue and distinguished by a skirt and pelisse. It was a very cool and clean design appropriate for a school of elites.

The robes Ficelle and Kinera wore were apparently proof of them being full-fledged wizards, so students didn’t wear them. Instead, they had a uniform to show they were affiliated with a school of wizardry. Incidentally, the boys wore trousers instead of skirts.

“It suits you, so take care of it,” I added.

“Shut up...”

“Ha ha ha.”

This could’ve been me playing favorites as a parent, but the blue uniform matched Mewi’s blue hair very well. Even considering her naturally thorny eyes, the sense of unity suited her wonderfully. It would be rude to say that clothes could make anyone look good, but it was touching to see this temperamental tomboy in such a formal outfit.

I wasn’t trying to tell her to be girlier or anything—she was free to grow up however she liked. Still, I wanted her to acquire at least the bare minimum education and culture that I could provide her with. Ultimately, Mewi would be the one to suffer if she lacked these things. I couldn’t be her shield around the clock. One day, she would grow up to be independent, and I didn’t want her to end up in a situation where she would be ashamed of her upbringing. So, even if she didn’t really like it, I sometimes had to scold her.

“Swordsmanship, magic, and culture. You sure have a lot to learn,” I said.

“Hmph.”

One day, she would no longer need me to intervene. I was happily looking forward to that time...but I was also a little sad about it.

◇

“Ooh, they’re really going at it.”

The day after Lucy and Ficelle’s visit, I dropped by the order’s training hall, just as I always did. Noticing my arrival, Allucia came over to greet me.

“Master, good morning.”

“Mm, morning.”

No matter how this thing with the magic institute ended, my regular job wasn’t going to change. My role here was the same as usual. I had to train the knights—and get some training in for myself too. After all, slacking off at this age would have an immediate effect on my body. I was already a plain old man, so I had to do what I could to maintain my physique.

“Master, what happened to your sword?” Allucia asked curiously.

Hmm, why does everyone I know bring that up right away? I guess that red sword really does stand out when paired with an old man like me.

“Aah, I’m just having it sharpened,” I said. “I’ll have it back the day after tomorrow.”

“Is that so?”

That was the end of it—there was no reason to elaborate.

It was early in the morning and the sun was just about to rise, but inside the training hall, several knights were already swinging their wooden swords enthusiastically. I was an early riser, so while I found it admirable that they were here before me, it also worried me a little. Allucia in particular also had her official duties as knight commander to attend to. I really wondered when she ever got a break. I’d casually brought it up before, but she’d simply said, “I’m not pushing myself, so it’s fine.” Well, she wasn’t the type to act recklessly to get things done, so if she said it was fine, it probably was.

“Anyway, you’re here awfully early,” I remarked.

“Things just worked out that way today,” Allucia said. “Now that our escort mission is over, office work seems to have settled down too.”

“I see. That’s good to hear.”

I often mused over how much free time people in power had, including the commanders of the order and the magic corps. If things were slow for the leaders of powerful military forces, it was probably a good thing for the world because it meant things were much more peaceful. From another perspective, things being too peaceful could lead to a deterioration in strength and morale, but there was no need to worry about that within the Liberion Order. Lucy was maybe a bit too much of a free spirit, though.

“Oh yeah—Lucy and Ficelle visited me yesterday,” I said, stretching my muscles before my training. Lucy had already told Allucia about my offer from the magic institute, so I figured it was fine to bring it up.

“Ficelle was there too? Their visit must’ve had something to do with the institute, right?” Allucia asked.

“Yeah, that. They want me to teach swordsmanship there. Didn’t Lucy tell you?”

Allucia’s reaction wasn’t quite what I expected. I was a little uneasy about how much Lucy had actually told her.

“Umm... I heard the institute would like to borrow you, but nothing more than that,” Allucia said.

“I see...” Dammit, Lucy. You really didn’t go into detail. Now I have to explain it. “Um, the magic institute wants me to take up a teaching position for their sword magic course.”

Allucia nodded agreeably. “Ah, that sounds nice. It’ll help your reputation.”

This response was better than her outright rejecting the idea, but it bothered me a little how she was fixated on something as useless as my reputation. I was pretty sure she was the only person who cared about that.

“My reputation, huh? That doesn’t really mean anything to me.”

“You don’t pay it enough attention,” Allucia retorted. “Normally, it’s something to be delighted about.”

“Is that how it works...?”

“Yes, it is.”

It was true—taking up a teaching position at the well-renowned and storied magic institute would be a considerable honor to my name. I didn’t really care about that stuff, though. If anything, I didn’t want to draw more attention to myself.

“Regardless, as long as you don’t spend every day at the institute, it won’t be a problem for us here,” Allucia said.

“Right. That’s good to know.”

Say that I do go along with their idea—how often do they expect me to teach the class? Lucy had mentioned once a week, and this was infrequent enough that it wouldn’t be much of a problem for the Liberion Order. I certainly didn’t want to neglect my duties here just so I could teach over there. Also, how long do they expect me to teach at the institute for? I have no idea. I hope Lucy gets all the details ironed out soon.

I could set those thoughts aside for now. Here in this training hall, I was a special instructor. I had to do my duty.

“Guess I’ll get warmed up and start training everyone,” I said.

Allucia smiled. “I’ll accompany you.”

“Sure, thanks.”

Not wanting to get in anyone else’s way, Allucia and I went to a corner of the training hall. As usual, we began our training session by closing our eyes.

It wasn’t complicated—we always started off with some meditation. This helped me to get settled in body and mind so that I could face my sword properly. I’d followed this routine ever since my days of teaching at the dojo, and it was something Allucia was accustomed to as well.

It was still early in the morning. The spirited shouts of the training knights and the sounds of wooden swords clashing resonated through the sparsely filled hall. The amount of time I spent on meditation varied from day to day. Sometimes, it took only about five minutes. However, if something unpleasant had just happened or if I couldn’t really get in the mood, it could take up to half an hour.

“Haaah...”

I estimated that around ten minutes had passed since I’d closed my eyes. Things today were looking just a bit better than average. It was difficult to keep both body and mind in perfect condition around the clock—doing so would inevitably exhaust the spirit. Working that hard was fine in a fight for your life, but when it came to daily training, things were a little different. A bit better than average was the best balance to maintain, and it was important to be able to bring out a certain level of strength in any given situation. That was what I believed, at least. Though, in an actual battle, there was no time to casually stand around meditating.

“How’d it go for you, Allucia?” I asked.

“I’m done too. Not bad, I would say.”

“Very good.”

Allucia opened her eyes when I did—she seemed to have reached the same state of mind. She was far younger than me but was already making steady progress toward developing the presence of one who walked the path of swordsmanship. This was the result of her rare talent and constant effort, and I was once more reminded of just how splendid my former pupil was.

My one anxiety was whether my teachings had wasted all her talent. This wasn’t something I was going to bring up with her, though. I knew her personality, and even if my anxieties were true, I was sure she wouldn’t answer me honestly. The only thing I could do now was serve in my role as a special instructor to the best of my ability. This position had suddenly fallen into my lap, but now that I was here, I had to do it properly.

“Then, shall we?” I asked.

“Yes, Master.”