CH 142

“Oh, you can see it now,” I said.

The carriage with 4 people including me left Baltrain early in the morning, and although we took several breaks along the way, we progressed without any major problems.

Having lunch at the riverside with the horses, it’s too peaceful, in other words, Kuruni and Miu take a nap on the road, or rather, Kuruni is highly excited and tries to play around with Miu and Miu brushes her off and ignores her, and while I was relaxing while watching that scene, we were just before Bidden Village in no time.

What time is it? The sun hasn’t quite set yet, but it feels like it’s taking more than half a day.

A 4-horse carriage has power, but if there are many people and luggage on board, the carriage itself will need to be larger, and the load will be increased accordingly. Furthermore, the fact that it’s summer is also a factor, and the horses get exhausted quickly.

In the end, the carriage couldn’t reach top speed, and it took a while because we took a lot of breaks for the horses.

However, it’s good that we made it through without any major problems along the way. The area around Baltrain is still fine, but the more we head out to the countryside, the more likely it is we’ll be attacked by bandits or animals.

“Ueh…” Miu groaned, exhausted. “Are we finally here?”

“Just a little more,” I said.

Just beyond my vision, I can see faint buildings ahead of the rolling plain. Bidden Village would be the only visible settlement around here.

And like I thought, Miu was tired from not being used to riding in a carriage for so long.

“It looks like we’ll be able to arrive before the sun goes down,” I said.

“Yeah, I’m glad nothing happened on the way,” Miu said.

If even one of the troubles, such as a battle, had occurred, the situation would have been completely different. If we ate up so much extra time, in the worst case we’d have camped overnight.

Putting aside the Knights of Rebelio who are probably accustomed to such marches, we wanted to avoid forced marches with Miu, so they were lucky this time.

Clip, clop, the sound of hooves echoes gently in the silence.

In Baltrain, unless it was midnight, the air was mostly filled with the hustle and bustle of people.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to fully enjoy the scenery as the sun sets, but it would be fine after tomorrow. For now, I just want to take a breather now that the trip has ended safely.

“Everyone,” the coachman said, “we have arrived.”

It’s been a while since I saw the village in the shadows.

Today’s trip ended when the horses reached the defense fence—which was too poor compared to the walls of the capital city Baltrain—and they worked hard for a frontier village.

“Thank you very much,” I said. “It was a comfortable journey.”

“I’m humbled by your praise,” the coachman said. “Thank you for your continued patronage.”

With that thanks, I plant my feet on the village’s ground.

It’s not the cobblestones of Baltrane, it’s a natural grassland. There were several breaks along the way, but it felt more familiar than the hard ground. I’ve lived in the countryside all my life, so I feel more comfortable here.

“Fuiii, it’s been a while!” Kuruni cries as she rises and stretches from sleeping in the carriage.

For sure, it’s been a long time since Kuruni came to Bidden Village. Or rather, most disciples don’t bother to visit after graduating from our dojo. Something like Alexia’s visit is actually quite rare.

As for me, there were times when I felt lonely, but I thought that was fine.

It’s hard to say, but it’s safe to say that this is a rural area. I’m happy that you’ve learned my swordsmanship, but there’s no need to be tied up in a rural village like this.

Becoming a knight, an adventurer, or a magician, the goal to reach by learning the sword varies but in short, everyone is walking their path. In other words, it’s perfectly fine for those paths to lead away from here.

“Let’s go to my house first,” I said. “I’ll show you around.”

After confirming that everyone got off the carriage and had their luggage with them, we decided to head to the dojo.

By the way, it seems that the coachman who prepared the carriage is going to the inn in the village. Apparently, it wasn’t his first time here, and he was very good at moving the horses around. I don’t think I have anything to worry about.

Kuruni and I are the only two people who have the geography of this village in our heads. Kuruni is comfortable in a way because she’s familiar with it, but Henblitz and Miu’s expressions showed some tension.

In particular, Miu was restless as she looked around nervously. Although she is not the type to speak actively, to begin with, I’ve seen a significant decrease in her words.

Henblitz is probably used to going on expeditions to unfamiliar lands, but for Miu, it must be a genuine first time. I know why she’s so nervous. Well, maybe when we get home, she’ll be nervous in a different way. I’m sure my parents won’t let us go just like that.

The sun hasn’t set yet, so it’s unlikely that they’ve already fallen asleep.

In a remote place like this, once the sun goes down there’s little to do but go to bed. If this is Baltrain, there are various options such as going out to bars. Unfortunately, such entertainment does not exist in rural villages.

“Well, this is my house and the family dojo,” I said.

“Ooh… so it’s medium-sized,” Henblitz said.

It’s been a while since we got off the carriage at the entrance of the village. Having said that, if it was a village of this scale, you wouldn’t have to walk so much, and we got to my home without incident.

As Sir Henblitz said, I think the dojo was a reasonable size. As expected, it can’t be compared to the Knights’ HQ or the Magician’s Academy, but the countryside has much more land compared to its population. Although it may be a bit much to say that the population and land size are mostly inversely proportional.

“Maybe my parents are still awake…” I said.

For some reason, I get a little nervous at my family home. As much as I think so, I can only feel that I was so far away from Bidden Village.

I take everyone with me and put my hand on the front door.

“……I’m back,” I said.

I was a little worried about what to say first after opening the door, and in the end, I decided to behave as usual. This is definitely my home, and no matter how you look at it, I feel like I’m being too rude.

“Ouh, if it isn’t you, Beryl?” my Old Man, Mordea Gardenant, said as he appeared from the back of the house.

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I didn’t know if he noticed the subtlety in my emotions.

It shouldn’t have been that long since we last talked, but I feel like I haven’t seen the Old Man’s face for quite some time.

“Pardon me for putting you all on such a long trip,” the Old Man said, after giving me a glance and then turning to the others behind me. “There’s nothing to see here, but please come inside.”

“Sir, thank you for your concern,” Henblitz replied. “Please excuse us.”

He’s probably the most accustomed to this sort of thing.

Come to think of it, I’ve lived my whole life learning swordsmanship from the Old Man. However, I have almost no recollection of seeing my father in social situations

He’s always been a strict father and instructor when it comes to swords, and I don’t have many memories of being spoiled by him. As long as I aspire to the path of the sword, I’m sure I’m not too dissatisfied about never experiencing that.

Since the Old Man sent the letter, he might have already known I’d come back.

However, he probably didn’t expect to bring in guests other than Miu. Yet he responded without the slightest hint of agitation or embarrassment.

“Sorry to be a bit of a bother!” Kuruni said cheerfully as she followed Henblitz. “I think this might be the first time I’ve been in here.”

“Hmm?” the Old Man said, surprised. “Little Lady, were you from our dojo?”

Who has more disciples out in the world, me or my Old Man? It would probably be the latter. Probably because I still have a shorter life as a master than the Old Man, but the number of disciples has increased since I took over for him.

That said, it’s not like the number of disciples has suddenly increased. In the end, the total amount of time I spent teaching this kind of thing should speak for itself.

And since the Old Man handed over the dojo’s sign to me, he hasn’t been in the dojo that often. So he doesn’t remember much about the disciples I taught during my being the master. Kuruni’s stay was short among them, and she became a Rebelio Knight on the way, so it would be unreasonable to say that the Old Man should have remembered her.

“Yes! My name is Kuruni Krussier!” Kuruni said. “I’m indebted to Master!”

“Oh, it’s good to see you so healthy and hearty,” the Old Man said. “As you may know, I’m Mordea Gardenant. I’m this guy’s father, just in case you don’t know.”

“Just in case, he says,” I grumbled.

“Oh, shut up, boy, it’s just what you say to be polite,” the Old Man said.

This Old Man. For the time being, I want you to think about the feelings of your son, who you tell strangers is your son “just in case” they didn’t know.

“Thank you for your kindness,” Henblitz said. “My name is Henblitz Drought, and I am the Vice-Captain of the Rebelio Knights.”

“Woah, another big shot,” the Old Man said, his eyes widening a little. “Likewise, thanks for taking care of my son.”

Well, normally, you wouldn’t expect the Vice-Captain of the Rebelio Knight Order to come to a place like this. When Alexia came before to recruit me, it was believable, but I seriously couldn’t predict that Henblitz was coming without official business. Furthermore, he is not one of our disciples, so he has no reason to visit.

“Is that the girl you mentioned in your letter?” the Old Man said.

“That’s right. Come on, Miu,” I said.

And finally, all eyes gather on her.

“Uh… hey, I’m, Miu…” Miu stammers stiffly

“Hah-hah-hah! Not even nervous when surrounded by these bastards but now she is with me!” the Old Man laughed in a good way. “Come on, step into this house like it was your home.”

This might be the first time I’ve seen Miu so nervous. When she went to the Magician’s Academy, she was still stiff, but not to this point.

From her point of view, the Academy and the Knight Order are completely outside her personal life. But this time it’s my parent’s house, so it’s hard to say she has nothing to do with them, and it is part of her personal life, too, if you talk about how our relationship is on paper. I guess Miu doesn’t know at all what kind of attitude she should take. She’s cute in that aspect, too.

“I don’t want to talk about that here, and as the Old Man says, you should all get inside,” I said.

I can’t have a long conversation at the entrance, so let’s head up to the house.

For the time being, I’d like to introduce myself and take it easy today, eat and sleep, and from tomorrow I’d like to start investigating the saber boas and various other things. Also, I want to see the people in the dojo. They’ve already disbanded today, but tomorrow the students will come back.

“By the way, Kuruni, was it?” the Old Man asked as he walks back up the length of the entrance hallway.

“Yessir!” Kuruni said.

The hallway wasn’t that long, but it wasn’t short, either, so we could all hear.

“Are you Beryl’s prospective wife?” the Old Man asked.

“Uooii…?!” Kuruni choked.

This old bastard…!