From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman: My Hotshot Disciples Are All Grown Up Now, and They Won’t Leave Me Alone Volume 5 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: 311

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Summer—a time when old men are forced to constantly wipe away sweat as they reflect on their declining physical strength. It’s also the season for the annual festival and hunt back in Beryl’s hometown, Beaden. Beryl receives a letter from the dojo asking for his help with the hunt, but his parents have another request as well: they want to meet his adopted daughter, Mewi! Henblitz and Curuni tag along to offer the support of the Liberion Order. However, what starts out as a peaceful visit home soon turns chaotic when a herd of saberboars goes on a rampage. To defeat them, Beaden will need every sword arm it can get—even Beryl’s retired father will take up his blade! City knights and country swordsmen team up to battle the boars, but will their combined strength be enough to keep Beaden safe?

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Characters

Story Summary

Chapter 1: An Old Country Bumpkin Visits Home

Chapter 2: An Old Country Bumpkin Has His Fill

Interlude

Chapter 3: An Old Country Bumpkin Overcomes a Wall

Epilogue: An Old Country Bumpkin Senses Defeat

Afterword

Color Illustrations

About J-Novel Club

Copyright

Landmarks

Table of Contents

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?”