Published at 28th of November 2022 08:26:56 AM
“Well then, I’m heading out,” I said.
“Mm,” Miu said. “Have a nice day.”
It’s early in the morning. After exchanging greetings with Miu at the front door, I left my new home, which I was now quite familiar with.
Well, even though I say it’s a “new home”, it’s actually a hand-me-down from Lucy. This kind of thing is important to be specific about. Probably.
For me as well, apart from living in an inn since I came to Baltrain, this is my first experience living outside of Bidden Village where I was born, and moreover living with strangers.
For now, this bizarre communal life is going well, but it’s time for me and Miu to settle down physically and mentally in this environment. We should be more careful than ever so that strange disputes and dissatisfaction do not arise.
“Uhaa…” I groaned, “it’s even hotter today…”
Anyway.
Today as well, I squinted my eyes unintentionally at the light of the sun shining brightly from the morning, and I couldn’t help but complain a little.
Yes. It’s hot out. In other words, it is summer.
The Kingdom of Rebelis has a relatively stable climate throughout the year. It doesn’t change much whether it’s Bidden Village in the countryside or Baltrain, the capital.
Because the climate is stable, the temperature is also relatively stable. But that doesn’t mean that it’s comfortable all year round, it’s cold when it’s cold and hot when it’s hot.
So, just when I thought it was getting hot recently, the weather is very nice today.
I’m trying to train like everyone else so that I won’t lose to that kind of heat and cold, but I feel like that kind of temperature tolerance is declining year by year. Does this mean I’m getting old?
When you think about that point, my Old Man is amazing. Even though he’s over 60, he’s still much healthier than me. I have aspirations to become like him, but the road to that is still a long way off.
“If it’s like this outside, the training ground at midday looks a bit risky…” I muttered.
I’d be heading to the Knight Order of Rebelio’s training ground now.
This Knight Order selects talented people from all over the kingdom. They are undoubtedly tough.
However, no matter how high you go, you are still human after all. When it’s hot like this, I’m a little worried that some people might collapse from the heat.
Well, it’s the duty of me and Alexia, both instructors, to decide to end the training before that happens.
Even in the dojo, it was rare for a child who was hopping around energetically to suddenly collapse. Compared to the children in the dojo, the knights are probably more self-disciplined, but they are still enthusiastic about martial arts. I have to keep an eye on them so I don’t go too far.
“It doesn’t look like Miu’s body is very strong either, so I guess we should be careful about that as well,” I said.
Of course, it wasn’t limited to the Knights, it was the same for Miu and those who studied Sword Magic at the Magician’s Academy.
Even now, I still show up at the Magician’s Academy from time to time.
That said, the number of students has increased significantly since I was first asked to watch it, so it would be pretty suspicious if I was asked if I could match everyone’s names and faces. It’s probably the first five people who pop out.
If you go through this every day, you can remember it, but if you don’t have many opportunities to meet each other, you won’t have many opportunities to remember. And you’ll frequently forget.
So, what are these students doing now? They are on vacation. Apparently, the Academy has a summer vacation and a winter vacation. I envy them.
No, well, I had days off during my dojo days, and since I was the dojo master, I could take as many days off as I wanted.
Even a Special Instructor for a Knight Order like myself just shows up almost every day, so I can rest if I want to.
However, in the end, after resting more than necessary, my body doesn’t move as well as I thought it would. For some reason, I feel like everything I’ve worked so hard to build up is about to collapse in an instant, and I haven’t had many experiences in my life to enjoy a vacation. When I was little, I was completely absorbed in swinging my sword.
That’s why Miu is at home in the middle of her vacation right now. So, it was quite a valuable experience for me to watch her say goodbye to me as I left the house. Though, my back itches a bit from the sense that something is off.
It’s not bad to leave the house while being seen off by someone. Normally, this would be for a wife or your child, but unfortunately, it seems that such a life is still far away for me.
“Good morning. It’s hot out, isn’t it?” I said.
“Hello, Sir Beryl. Yeah, you’re right, it’s summer now, isn’t it?” a gate guard said.
While I was thinking about such things, I arrived at the Knight Order’s HQ.
I say my greetings to the members of the Kingdom Garrison, who are doing their duty very well today as well. As expected, they can’t rest just because it’s hot. Thank you very much for your hard work.
The guards who I exchanged greetings with said so with smiles, but sweat was gradually forming on their foreheads. It’s not like the people who protect the public order of the city can be lightly dressed, and they must be feeling the heat considerably more than I am.
“I wonder if it’s tough on you all today,” I said. “Don’t forget to hydrate.”
“Thank you very much. Take care of yourself, too,” a guard said.
After passing each other, I entered the government building as usual.
Yeah, it’s much better just to avoid direct sunlight. Especially when it comes to the Knights’ HQ, the building itself is wide and large, so the ventilation is reasonably good. If the air is stuffy, it will become dangerously hot. The windows of this building should be kept open during the summer.
“And, here I am. They’re already at it,” I said as I go through the HQ and onto the training ground.
Even though it was early in the morning, a decent number of people were working hard on their training. When it’s hot like this, it makes me want to be lazy, but it seems that the knights with high ambitions don’t feel that way.
By the way, it’s a relatively small detail, but you have to go through the courtyard at HQ to go to the training ground. Due to that design, you can’t see the training from the outside.
It seems that there are various reasons such as crime prevention reasons and diplomatic reasons. I’m doing my best, so I think it’s okay to show it to everyone on the street, but this is just my opinion as a small citizen. Still, there would be value and reasons to keep it a secret.
“Master. Good morning,” the Knight-Captain, Alexia, said as soon as I entered the training ground.
“Hey, good morning, Alexia,” I said.
She looks cool as usual but it seems that the heat is still on here. Just like the guards guarding the front gate, her forehead is dripping with sweat, and not from exercise.
When I see this kind of thing, I think it’s rude, but I feel reminded she’s still human.
When she was in our dojo, she should have been more emotional and young. Now I can’t help but feel like she’s jumped a little beyond that realm into a completely mature woman.
“It’s getting hotter everywhere, but everyone’s still the same as always,” I said.
“Yes,” Alexia said. “We make sure to take frequent breaks and stay hydrated.”
“That’s the spirit,” I said.
Alexia is well aware of how heat, or rather climate and weather, can affect a person’s condition in battle.
Some joke instructors call collapsing just a lack of guts to keep going, but from my point of view, I have to say that it’s ignorance and neglect on the part of the instructor.
Although each person has a slightly different threshold, there is a clear limit. Once that limit is crossed, no master can keep moving.
Naturally, the same is true for the Rebelio Knights who are usually training. Of course, as a knight, there will be times when you have to push yourself beyond your limits. But at least not during training.
“However, it’s a little unusual for you to be here this early in the morning, Alexia,” I said.
“I have been able to concentrate on my work since I entrusted you with the role of Special Instructor,” Alexia said.
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said.
Alexia is both the Knight-Captain and Training Instructor of this Knight Order. Just the first would be plenty of work but the latter added even more burden to that, it’s a tough position that no one else but her could handle.
If someone like me can lighten her burden even a little, that would make me happy. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she is a national treasure because she is both skilled in academics and athletics both. 1
“Also, I have something to give you today, Master,” Alexia said.
“Yeah?” I said.
And since I was appointed as Special Instructor, Alexia seemed to have been coming less frequently to the training ground. As I said, it probably meant that she was able to concentrate on her original duties.
However, it seems that she came here personally today to hand me over something herself.
Of course, this is inevitable, but there’s no particular reason in mind for it to happen now.
I’ve got no reason to receive special gifts, and conversely, there should be no reason to receive something from the Knights or the royal family.
“Here you go,” Alexia said, handing me the item.
As I was wondering what in the hell it would be, she gave me an envelope a little larger than my palm.
“…… A letter?” I asked.
“Yes. It seems to be from Bidden Village,” Alexia said.
“Ah…”
I remember what I was ordered to do.
Come to think of it, when I started living with Miu, I wrote a letter to my parents’ house to report on my recent situation. Since I came here, I had been busy with various things, and I had completely forgotten that I had even sent that letter out. I also mentioned I didn’t expect a reply.
“What about checking the contents yourself?” I asked.
“It’s unneeded,” Alexia said. “The sender and recipient told me as much.”
“I see,” I said.
I tried turning it in my hand for a while, but there was no trace of the wax seal being opened, just as she said.
If this had passed directly into my hands, there would be no particular problem, but since it reached the Knights’ HQ, even though it was addressed to me, it would be under Alexia’s jurisdiction. Even with my status, I’m in the custody of the Knights.
If she has reasonable circumstances and suspicions, she can inspect the mail. Well, it seems she didn’t show it this time. Almost without a doubt, it would be trivial content that wouldn’t be a problem if seen by someone else.
“Hmm. I’m curious, should I open it here?” I asked.
But that doesn’t mean the content is trivial.
Even when I was at the dojo in Bidden village, I was exchanging letters with Alexia. However, at that time, I never thought that I would leave my hometown, and naturally, it was the first time that I received a letter from my parent’s house.
Judging from the thickness of the envelope, I don’t think there are that many pages in it. If you think about the possibility that I will be worried about the content and not be able to put myself into the training, it would be better to check the content here as soon as possible.
“Now then,” I said.
What in the hell is written?
I can only hope that they are not complaining or whining about me, who has not even the slightest sign of a romantic relationship, let alone a wife.
Footnotes This really isn’t all that unusual. “Dumb Jocks” are usually a fictional stereotype, student-athletes are also generally incredibly high academic achievers.Chapter end
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