CH 209

I Talked About The Time I Fought The Monsters

“Very well. I will write the report and send a messenger to deliver it to His Grace.”

“Thank you.”

Sebastian bowed and then left the room.

After that, the reports…or meeting, ended, and things returned to the usual relaxed atmosphere.

And so I was able to drink the tea that Ms. Lyra poured and relaxed as the time went by.

It was during times like this that I could really appreciate that I was back in the mansion.

The place was really starting to feel like my home.

“By the way, Tilura. I hope you have been diligent with your training?”

“Of course. I continued to train in your absence, without rest!”

As I drank my tea, I remembered to ask Tilura about her training.

It was something that she greatly enjoyed doing, and so I doubted she would be skipping it. And it turned out that I was right.

I had trained as well while I was gone. However, I had not been able to concentrate much, and so I was a little worried about being left behind.

“But more importantly I want to hear about you, Mr. Takumi!”

“Me?”

“Yes. How was the battle with the monsters?”

Ever since we had returned to the mansion, Tilura had shown a great interest in the battle.

And since dinner was finished and we were all relaxing here, it was the perfect time to talk about such things. And so I decided to tell Tilura about what had happened in Range village.

“Uh, the monsters were orcs. Dozens of them. Though, I don’t remember the exact number…”

“And you defeated them all by yourself?”

“Hahaha. Of course, not. Just like you, I have only started my sword training recently.”

“Is that so? Then what happened to the orcs?”

Even though I could handle a sword well enough, it would be impossible for me to take on so many orcs alone.

All I could do was buy some time.

Well, if it was one on one, and I kept my guard up, I could defeat one orc. That showed my own growth, and I was quite happy about that.

Tilura’s eyes shone as she listened with great interest as I told her about the battle.

Leo was curled up into a ball, and Sherry lay on top of her.

Ms. Claire was just like Tilura, and seemed to be very curious and amused with what I was saying… As they were sisters, they could be very similar sometimes.

Ms. Lyra and Ms. Gelda stood and waited without changing their expression, but it also seemed like they were listening.

…Was this story about fighting monsters really that interesting?

“That’s right, Tilura. What Mr. Ekenhart said was true after all.”

“Father? What do you mean?”

When learning to fight with a sword from Mr. Ekenhart, he had taught me a few points to be careful of.

As Tilura had heard them as well, she tried to remember what they were.

“About not stopping your movement during combat…”

“During combat… What happened?”

Of course, in a one on one battle, if the opponent doesn’t move, then you might stop and observe them, but when you were being attacked by multiple orcs… When it was a battlefield with both allies and enemies, to stand still would be suicidal.

When I had activated Weed Cultivation, I stopped to think about why it had happened.

And that’s when an orc targeted me from behind… Thankfully, the spearhead was broken, but I was still badly injured.

“I was lucky to survive… But stopping in that situation could have easily meant my death.”

“…I see…”

“…Oh…”

As I talked about it, Tilura nodded seriously, as if to carve the words into her mind.

Ms. Claire also sighed with relief at my luck.

…Perhaps I shouldn’t have told her about it.

“Well, it didn’t just end there. After all, the orc was still going to attack me, and I couldn’t ask for help, as the other villagers had their hands full.”

“…And so what happened?”

“…How exciting.”

As I continued to talk, Tilura listened intently, but Ms. Claire…seemed to be thinking out loud, which was a little awkward.

Well, I suppose she was also listening intently in a way.

“Due to my injury, my body would not move how I wanted it to. I thought I was done for when I saw the orc raise its arms over me.”

After all, I couldn’t move and the orc was targeting me.

Others were there, but none could help me.

If I couldn’t dodge it, I would have to be struck by the orc once again. And I wasn’t confident that I’d be able to stay conscious.

“And so I closed my eyes and braced myself…”

“Then what?”

“What hapened?”

“…Leo came to help me.”

Tilura and Ms. Claire were leaning forward as they listened.

I almost chuckled at how similar they looked. But I held it back and continued.

“Leo did!”

“…Oh.”

“Wuff?”

When I said that Leo came, Tilura broke into a big smile and Ms. Claire sighed. Leo looked up and turned to me questioningly.

“I am so glad that you came when you did, Leo. Thank you.”

“Wuff-wuff.”

I petted Leo, who lay next to me, and thanked her once again.

After that, I told them about how Leo helped with capturing the merchants, and how we healed the wounded with the Loe.

By the time that I was finished, it was quite late, and since Tilura was getting sleepy, we decided to retire for the night.

I was quite sleepy myself, and so I decided to sleep without swing practice today.

“I can skip one day… Besides, things have been so tense recently.”

“Wuff.”

I was sure to at least take a bath and warm up before going to bed.

As always, Leo lay half of her body on the bed so that I could rest against her like a pillow…

If anything, Leo was the one who should be coddled after working so hard.

That being said, I was grateful for her kindness, and drifted off to sleep while enveloped in her fur.

It really was the best way to sleep.