An Old Man from the Countryside Becomes a Swords Saint: I Was Just a Rural Sword Teacher, But My Successful Students Won't Leave Me Alone! Chapter 24

Published at 9th of August 2022 07:04:23 AM

24 - Say Hello To The Newcomer, An Old Man From The Countryside

“Well then, do you still have any complaints?”

Arms crossed, gaze sharp.

It was just after we finished our duel, Selena quietly asked Meigen that.

“Weeelll?”

On a related note, Lucy was also looking smug.

You know you can leave now.

On the opposite side, Meigen looks amazed with his mouth hanging open.

However, when Selena finally snapped him back to attention, he began to apologize. “… No,” he said, “It was an exceptional show of skill. Mr. Gardenant, I'm so sorry I was so suspicious of you.”

“No, your suspicions were reasonable, Mr. Meigen,” I said. “Please, raise your head.”

He's bowing down alongside the apology, I'm panicking.

He didn't seem to have any animosity towards me with that apology. I think he's just worried as a Guild administrator.

An old man suddenly pops up to educate the newcomers! It doesn't matter where that old man came from, in that perspective, Meigen's attitude was right.

But I don't know what makes me up to snuff in his eyes.

I just managed to hold out.

“Hoo-ho,” Nidas said, “it's decided, then, isn't it? A pleasure to be working with you.”

“… Yes, Guild Master,” I said.

The mood is decided by Nidas's comment.

… I can't protest the decision. I want to, though.

“By the way,” Nidas said, “let me introduce you to your charges. Meigen, please call them.”

“Yes, Master, understood,” Meigen said.

It seems my introduction to the new Adventurers will start here.

Well, it is a training ground after all and if you're a newbie, it wouldn't be strange to be here. And I'm going to be accompanying them, after all, so it's better to know their faces and names to start with.

Compared to the Knights, the Adventurers have extremely large numbers, so it seems to be difficult to find someone without information.

“… My apologies,” Nidas whispered to me after Meigen got some distance from us. “Meigen is an excellent worker but he's quite stiff.”

“… Oh, no,” I said, “don't worry about it.”

I've thought about it many times, but his doubts are plausible so I can't blame him. I'm convinced about that.

If anything, I want him to be more concerned about me since I'll be carrying this burden from now on. Am I qualified for this? It doesn't seem like I'm qualified for this.

“… Selena,” I said. “Do all Adventurers work alone like you?”

After Nidas's small apology, I felt a little awkward and tried to chat with Selena.

Though I hadn't realized it earlier, I was ignorant of the Adventurers as well as the Knights. I want to at least have the basics.

“No,” Selena replied, “we usually form teams of 3-6 people. If there're too many people, we'll start to argue about cooperation and the cut of the rewards, so it generally stays at around that number. I'm also basically a solo Adventurer. But, sometimes I form a team with others.”

On and on, she speaks like a teacher.

I see, is it basically a party system? Well, it is true that there are limits to what you can do alone and it's better to have more friends than you need than less. Bigger jobs are also quite dangerous.

“You should call me when you raid a dungeon, Sir,” Lucy said. “I'll come and help you.”

“No, I don't think that'll ever happen,” I said.

“Why not?!” Lucy snapped.

Those who want to raid a dungeon do so with joy and courage. I'm not aiming for fortune or fame.

I just want to spend a leisurely life as a swordsman.

I mean, what did she really come here to do? Just go home already.

“You'll be the vanguard and I'll be the rearguard? I think it's a good combination…” Lucy mumbles.

“I won't deny it is, but I'm not for it,” I said.

As she says, a swordsman vs a magician is the worst match-up in a fight, but when it comes to teaming up, I think it's a great match. Whether or not it will actually happen is beside the point.

“Thank you for your patience, everyone,” Meigen said as he returned with a trio.

Just by casually looking them over, I can see they're quite nervous.

It's probably because newcomers don't get the opportunity to talk to Black Ranks. Isn't it reasonable to be nervous?

“Well then, introduce yourselves, everyone,” Meigen said.

“Ye-Yes, Sir!” everyone cried like they were just about to jump out of their skins.

“I, I'm Porta! I'm a swordsman!”

“Ne-Nedley… I'm, also a swordsman…”

“I'm… Salkatz…”

Whoah, so nervous.

I wonder if this is going to be a real-deal dungeon raiding party. I'm worried now.

It seems to be a team of two young men and one woman.

I see that Porta and Nedley's rank plates are Bronze, only Salkatz is Silver. That said, I think there's barely any significant difference at these levels.

“I'm Beryl Gardenant,” I said. “Nice to meet you.”

“I'm Selena Lysandera,” Selena said. “In the coming event… I'm going to be supervising your team alongside Sir Beryl Gardenant. By the way, does this team have a full-time Seeker? Or was that all of you?”

What's a Seeker? It's the first time I'm hearing that.

“Ah… that, would be me…” Salkatz said, slowly raising his hand.

“Originally, this was only a team with Porta and Nedley,” Meigen said. “And this would be when Salkatz joined, you see.”

I see, it used to be a duo. I wonder if they're childhood friends or something like it. So far as I can see, they all seem to be barely adults, and only Salkatz looks a bit older.

It's hard to tell at first glance the age of a kid before reaching adulthood, but I've seen a lot of children at the dojo. I've got rough ideas.

“Selena, I'm sorry to bother you,” I said. “What role does a Seeker play?”

All that being said, let's resolve this question for now.

Since I'm going to be a team leader, I feel a little awkward that I don't really know much about Adventurer's terms and know-how.

“Seekers are mainly responsible for investigating and sometimes disarming traps and detecting monsters from context clues and traces of evidence,” Selena explained. “Some teams don't have them, but many are full-time members.”

“I see,” I said. “Then, Salkatz is the keystone to this team?”

Salkatz's shoulders begin to shake at my question.

I didn't mean to pressure you. Please forgive me.

“So then, Meigen,” Selena said. “What dungeon are we raiding this time?”

Now that the greetings are done, the conversation changes to the dungeon raid.

“Aah, it's a dungeon located in the southern part of the Azalamia Forest,” Meigen said.

“I see, it's over there,” Selena said. “It's perfect for newcomers.”

As they chatted, I didn't have any reason or opportunity to comment, so I just half-listened to the conversation. Do they really need this old man? I don't think they do.

By the way, Azalamia Forest is a wilderness located a bit southeast of Baltrain.

It's got many wild animals and monsters and it seems that a few large species have been confirmed. I haven't entered it, so I don't know the details, but it seems the overall threat level of the region isn't very high.

“Then tomorrow morning we'll meet at the carriage stop at the Central Ward,” Meigen said.

“Mm, got it,” Selena said. “Will that be alright with you, Master?”

“Uh, ah, yeah, it is,” I said.

Suddenly, I'm addressed directly and I got a little nervous.

I'm a bit freaked out from being asked to speak out of the blue.

“Ple-Pleasure to be working with you!” Porta cries happily.

“Yeah, a pleasure to be working with you, too,” I said.

Well, she's still young, but I think she's got a good foundation. I suddenly remember the students I left behind at the dojo.

Speaking of that, is Landrid doing well? I'd like to go see the situation when I have free time but I think Father will just send me away again…

Oops, nope, nope. I've lost my train of thought again.

The area I'm going to this time isn't very dangerous, so I should be able to handle it. As the elder, I have to be firm so these young sprouts aren't nipped in the bud by an accident.

T/N: I'm not too sure who the female in the party is, though Salkatz used male pronouns once. (“Boku” can also be used by girls, usually tomboys.) Porta is the most likely candidate and it seems they're a one-time deal.

Chapter end