Chapter 47 - Fam's Sword and Maira's Melancholy
We were on our third day of travel.
We were at morning practice again. I thought Avea might have banned me, but when she saw me, she just shot me a smug grin. Did she awaken to a love of exhibitionism or something?
The members were the same as yesterday. Aira was here again today, on standby in case of injury. I'd only asked her for yesterday, but it seems she's going to watch over our training from now on.
"Today's matchups are Mash and Fam, and Mizuki and Beers," Avea announced.
"Master, the day has come to settle my daily grudges."
To hear that from Fam, of all people, was a rather shocking accusation.
"You hold a grudge against me too…? What kind of master do you have?"
"I was just imitating Mizuki. I do have a little grudge, so I'll be clearing it up."
"…"
For the sake of Fam's education, it might be best to keep her away from Mizuki from now on.
"I'm kidding. I just want you to see the results of my daily training."
"Starting today, you'll be wearing these."
Avea handed us iron helmets and gauntlets. We'd only ever worn leather armor, so this was my first time with iron. The helmet wasn't a full-face type; it looked more like a construction helmet from my old world. It was heavy, and my neck felt unsteady. The gauntlets restricted my wrist movement, making it awkward to move. But with these, we wouldn't get injured whether we were hitting or getting hit. I wish she'd given them to us yesterday. Then I might have been able to beat Mizuki.
"It doesn't suit you, Master," Fam commented.
"It doesn't suit you either."
She looked about the same as me, wobbling around, which made me chuckle a little. It was like watching a walking helmet.
"Hmph, you laughed, didn't you?"
She raised her wooden stick into a middle guard. It seemed she planned to fight in the same style as me.
"Alright, today I'm settling my daily grudges, too."
I also took a middle guard stance.
"Huh? You have a grudge against me?"
"Heh heh heh, that's a secret."
I closed the distance in a flash, bringing us into one-step, one-strike range.
Fam tried to stop my advance, using the tip of her weapon to press down on mine.
I ignored it and closed in further, increasing the pressure on her.
Flustered, Fam initiated a strike.
I moved my weapon tip in a counter-clockwise motion, ensnaring hers and knocking it from her grasp.
The timing was perfect. The wooden stick flew from her hand and clattered to the ground.
"Huh?"
I gave her dazed, defenseless head a light tap.
The match was over.
"I don't really understand what just happened," Fam muttered.
"That's what's known as 'initiative in response.' You were baited into striking. I used that opening to catch your weapon with the tip of mine and twist it away."
I demonstrated the move again.
"You're like a master swordsman. That was so cool!"
Fam was excited. I was pretty happy about the praise, too.
"If we're fighting in the same style with this armor on, I might be stronger for now."
Her swordplay was too honest, with no mix of truth and deception. She'd figure it out eventually and surpass me in no time.
"I've got a lot of cheap tricks like that."
"I want you to teach me!"
"Well, I don't know if they're actually useful in a real fight."
As Fam and I were talking, Avea approached us.
"You seem used to this kind of formal sparring," she said.
"Yeah, well. I've done it countless times. But I don't think it's suited for real combat."
"Alright, then you'll spar with me again today. I'll beat into you how to make it work in a real fight."
Avea started swinging her wooden stick around, testing its feel.
"Wait, I just finished a match."
"It's fine. You didn't swing your weapon even once today, either."
Avea grinned.
"Come to think of it, I never asked what your job is, Avea."
"Warrior. Level 52."
"…"
There was no way I could win. I wondered if there was a goblin in the world capable of making her scream, "Ugh, kill me!"
After that, I sparred with her and was beaten to a pulp. I single-mindedly aimed for the bikini armor's weak point, but I couldn't even touch it once.
I'm starting to think she has it out for me.
Our caravan was making its way through a forest. The rocking of the wagon was the same as ever.
Nothing was happening. It was boring. So boring, in fact, that I was starting to feel like we should just attack the caravan ourselves.
I was sitting with Maira at the back of the wagon, keeping watch behind us.
I looked up at the sky. It was overcast today. It might start raining soon.
I spread my arms toward the sky. Come, storm! But if one actually came, we'd be in trouble, so I was only joking.
"…What are you doing?"
Maira asked. Her tone felt a little cold.
"Does it ever rain in this world?"
"Of course it does."
Yes, I could definitely feel the coldness in her words.
"…Are you… angry about something?"
"I'm furious."
"…"
"I was supposed to be your girlfriend after Fam. But without me knowing, you've made moves on Mizuki, Cecily, and Aira, and you even kissed Claire. I just want to cry."
"I'm sorry."
There was no excuse I could make, so I just apologized honestly. Mizuki wasn't here right now, so I figured it might be a good time to grope Maira's chest.
I scooted closer to where Maira was sitting. Noticing my movement, she slid closer to me as well. Our bodies pressed together from shoulder to hip. Her body heat felt comforting.
"Please pay more attention to me," Maira whispered.
I was contemplating poking her chest with my index finger when Cecily, riding a spare horse, dropped back to the rear of the convoy.
"Hmph." The sound escaped my lips at her terrible timing.
"'Hmph'? What was that for?" Cecily demanded, her sharp ears catching it.
"Oh, nothing. Is your motion sickness better?"
"Yes, thanks to you. Avea said it might rain, so she told me to be careful. I came to pass on the message."
"I see. Got it."
Was this my fault for saying it never rains? Or was it because of that pose I struck earlier?
I looked up. The sky was covered in clouds, but it was still bright; it didn't feel like rain was imminent. But it did seem a little darker than before.
Cecily kept a slight distance, following behind us at the tail end of the line.
"It was strange, though," Maira murmured. "I'd heard that men like you, who go after one woman after another, are only interested in sex and lose interest once they've had it. So I was just waiting for my turn to come and go."
"Hey! Is that really the kind of guy you want?"
I was genuinely worried for Maira's future.
"But you're so considerate to the ones you've already slept with."
Is this that thing about not feeding the fish you've already caught? If anything, I want to keep all of them in my net. The thought of letting any of them go is just… ridiculous. No, it's impossible.
"…It's because I don't want to be disliked. Cecily and Aira have no choice but to follow me, but to be honest, I don't really understand why Fam and Mizuki stick around."
I was scared of the day they'd get fed up with me. Hearing that, Maira let out a deep sigh. Come to think of it, Maira might be the only one with a clear reason for following me.
"I want to be cherished as much as Fam and Mizuki."
"What? If anything, I cherish you the most."
I haven't even made a move on her yet, after all.
"…That has nothing to do with romance, does it?"
Maira gave me a suspicious look.
"Well then, how about we go on a date soon?"
"R-Really?!"
"Do you have any requests for what kind of date you'd like?"
"Let's see… I want to go somewhere without any… interlopers… I mean, without Fam, Mizuki, Aira, or Cecily. Maybe we could go into a dungeon somewhere, one that only someone at my level can enter…"
An unsettling aura began to emanate from her. Where did the kind older sister from the church in Richelle go?
"…Hey. We are not going to a terrifying place like that. A town. A town will be fine. Flucht is a port city, I'm sure there's something to do there."
"You're right. I heard they have two-person rowboats. We can go for a little tour on one of those. It's a promise, okay?"
"Yeah. I'm looking forward to it."
It would be embarrassing if it was one of those swan boats, but Maira's mood seemed to be finally improving, so I kept my mouth shut.
"We can eat river fish in Flucht! I'd love to have some grilled fish on a stick with a mug of ale."
"You can drink, Maira?"
"I can drink more than Aira, but not that much."
"…"
I was reminded of a certain dwarf. Was this a result of Aidan's tutelage? At the same time, I remembered how Aira drank alcohol like water on our last day in Richelle. I prayed Maira was the happy drunk type.
"Right. There's something I need to tell you, Maira."
"What is it?"
"At the next village or town, wherever we can stay at an inn, I'm going to summon Racshell."
"I-I'm finally going to meet Lady Racshell?"
Maira leaped to her feet, nearly falling off the wagon. I grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. I felt a slight pang of sadness that she was more excited about this than our date.
"S-Sorry. Is this for real? Can I be there too?"
"Yeah."
"Thank you!"
"Hey, it's nothing to thank me for."
I was about to summon a good-for-nothing. The image of the goddess in her mind might shatter. It really was nothing to thank me for.
"There are things I have to ask Racshell."
"You're right. What is the Demon Lord? Why do we have to defeat it? Is there a time limit? What happens after we defeat it? Why do people from other worlds have to fight each other…? Are those the kinds of things you want to ask, Mash?"
"Yeah, that's about it. I'm counting on you."
"Why are you counting on me?"
"You can resist Racshell's charm, right?"
"…That's true."
There was a slight pause before Maira nodded. It seemed she sensed something was amiss.
"If possible, I'd also like you to get the Demon Lord's location, its weaknesses, how to input a god-mode command, and any easy ways to win using bugs or cheap exploits."
"…I don't understand some of what you're saying, but are you trying to turn me into your personal assistant?"
She caught on.
"You can ask whatever you want, too."
"I suppose so. I'd like to ask about the battle of the gods in the myths. And why are heroes transferred from other worlds in the first place?"
She had a point. They could just give a special skill to a resident of this world and assign them the mission.
"Also, after the summoning, I'll be asleep until midday the next day, so I'll need you to support Fam."
"You're not going to use a mana recovery potion?"
I think it's a sensory thing, but the feeling of being depleted and recovering at the same time is unpleasant. Also, similar to the super-regeneration of my muscles, I feel like my total mana pool increases when I let it recover naturally.
"I'll rely on it in an emergency. But after a summon, I can't re-summon for a while anyway. I'm useless, so it's fine to just leave me be."
"Is that how it works? How long do you have to wait between summons?"
Maira asked.
"It feels like my mana—or rather, my willpower—doesn't return for a few days. But this is something I should probably test…"
It would be a pain for Racshell, but I decided I'd give it a try.
As I was talking with Maira, the wagon came to a halt.
"Looks like the front of the line has stopped."
Cecily, who had been following behind us, said.
"I'll go check it out."
She spurred her horse and rode off to see what was happening at the front.
I hopped off the wagon, and Maira followed. If it were an emergency, a whistle would have been blown. It didn't seem to be that kind of situation.
I couldn't see much from here.
It started to rain.
"Let's go take a look, too."
Maira nodded.
"I'll let Fam and the others in the wagon know."
We ran toward the head of the caravan.
Avea and Beers were standing there.
From atop her horse, Cecily was glaring down at something with hatred in her eyes.
Fallen trees blocked the road. The surrounding area was torn up, with marks that looked as if they had been gouged out by some giant creature.
Lying there on the ground was a woman of the black panther race.
Thank you for reading. To those who have liked, bookmarked, and rated this story, thank you very much. It encourages me to keep going. I'll do my best.